The Smiley Smile Message Board

WOAH. With video of the Good Vibrations vocal sessions!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ot7vCQisW_4&feature=channel_video_title (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ot7vCQisW_4&feature=channel_video_title)

Mark has a STACK of reels there 4 feet tall.  Holy sh*t.

Mike really is street level, look at all his bling.

I've been saying it for years, Mike Love is a pimp.

Brian's memory of the group's reaction to the music must have changed since "Beautiful Dreamer".

Mike, if anything, is consistent.  Isn't "Wonderful" the song he introduces on that live album?  

Doesn't Mike always have this look on his face like he could kick your ass?  You never quite know.  All that meditation stuff is b.s.  He looks, everytime I see him, like he's about to swing.  

It's the same look Buzz Aldrin has on his face all the time, and we all know how he knocked that asshole out in that youtube video.  

If we don't all know, here's the youtube video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUFO8AGMwic

The why's and wherefore's about SMiLE seem to change with the slightest convenience.

"Brian is at war with Oceania. Brian has always been at war with Oceania."

(http://www.snarksmith.com/images/101406/goldstein.jpg)

Even Mike Love is positive about Smile. He critized the whole thing back then. On the other hand, when you listen to his vocal input for Smile, his background vocals are all over the place and sound great. Don't think his bg vocals sounded better after that.

My jaw just about hit the floor when that Good Vibrations vocal session footage came on, I've never seen that before. Anyone know any details on that particular footage? Is this it's first appearance?

Yes it is

Wow! Just watched this video twice. It really adds some excitement to the release, I want my box set now! Listening to the tracks, seeing the footage, hearing Al say it will be a "truly life changing" experience, well...... I am so happy! I hope this becomes mainstream, that people sit up and go "wow, those tracks sound great, the Beach Boys were good!". Maybe now they will get the public recognition they always deserved? I feel so privileged to be a part of this and thanks to this board, I feel like I really am part of it! :)

I dunno man, I think in general the public already realizes they were good.  If they couldn't catch that from all the other songs that have came out, they never will. 

Me too - holy $&%!

Nice to see the other guys finally getting involved with the promo here too.

You know what I mean though, the Beach Boys as a whole are grossly underrated! Yes at one point they were bigger than the Beatles but look at albums like Sunflower and songs like Forever, how many people know about them? I read a post a while ago somewhere that commented on the lack of BB merchandise compared to the Beatles - musically the BB blew them out of the water so in theory they should be much more appreciated. I truly believe that! But trying to tell that to people who only think of Surfin USA etc when you mention them is hard!

I don't know, this is a time for diplomacy. Brian says "I know they're going to like this and sure enough they blew my mind with their vocals", he doesn't actually finish the sentence how you would expect "and they did like it" or "and they loved it" he said "they blew my mind with their vocals" they can blow our minds with those vocals now.

That GV footage got me all farklempt for some reason. 

Frankly, I'm okay with people only knowing the Beach Boys for surf/car/girl songs.  They're always going to be out there, played on oldies radio, used on TV and in movies.  They're always going to be there for people to discover the deeper stuff, like we all did.  

Maybe Mike's opinions of Smile have changed over the years.  Or maybe he's speaking well of Smile only to help promote a product whose sales he will benefit from.  Or maybe he just wants to present a unified front and support his crazy cousin.  Or maybe it's all of the above.  At this point, does it really matter?  I've been a fan long enough to figure that any reason, relationship, and idea within the Wilson clan is complicated.  

Yep posted this on my facebook profile about 30mins ago and already got a couple of likes from friends who aren't beach boys fans. Loving this weekend already roll on Monday :)

That's part of the problem, though.  Surfin' USA is one of the reasons you should be illustrating to people how great they are.  They were great not only for their later, ignored albums, but also for that early stuff. 

I honestly don't see where Mike's opinions of Smile have changed at all.  They play a few snippets of him saying the music (not the lyrics!) was great (he's always said that)... he says he likes Wonderful, like I mentioned above, in the 70's he used to introduce that on stage and play it live.  Mike's opinion I think has been fairly consistant in that he thought the lyrics for a lot of the songs were rubbish. 

Wow.

To see them all in the studio, cutting vocals. Mike on a separate mic. The other guys round theirs, the close proximity and interplay as they sang those wonderful parts. I've read about the sessions, but to actually see one. That was very special.

Are those new Holmes drawings?  I thought I saw "Child Is Father Of The Man" and "Barnyard"?  "Wonderful" is there too, I think AGD mentioned that was a mid 90s Holmes drawing?

Well he said he liked the vocals too.  So I guess at the very least he is satisfied as to how the group interpreted the lyrics.  All in all it was a nice piece, somewhat bittersweet but nice to see everyone on the same page.  I wish Denny and Carl were still here to join in on the fun because I think they'd both be having a blast with this stuff.  Alan Boyd came off really well in the piece too, very astute and knowledgeable.

Wow what a week

I think Mike's doing a fine job of walking the line between sounding defensive like he usually does, but also not just rolling over and playing dead on his opinion.  I wish somebody would type up what his page says in the box set. :( 

My god, that footage  :o

Ron, in regards to your reply, I know that part of the appeal of the BBs is the surf/car era but as Brian said himself, they needed to grow musically and the result of this is what most of the non-fan public aren't really aware of. All their songs shaped their history so if someone likes them because of Surfin USA I am happy but what I am trying to say is this will show people their music was a lot deeper than that.

Oh man! That footage was amazing! Here we go guys... soon... soon...

As one of many who has knocked Mike over the years I would like to at least credit him for fronting the promotion of this thing. This weekend will be 'positivity' posts from me only.

Go Mike! :banana

Kinda surprised they didn't include a DVD in the deluxe box set.    No doubt they'll release it separately with official Beach Boys sand--exclusively stepped on by each Beach Boy for a low price of $999.99.

 :lol  :lol  :lol  :lol

That is the best thing I've ever read... ever. And I've read The Da Vinci Code cover to cover!

I would put money on a DVD or programe at some point. Those interviews are not just 'grabs' of Mike after a gig but more along EH. Maybe something is being done for the 50th.

EH was great but I could go for a detailed look at the music and how it evolved.

These are indeed special, special times to be a BB fan. I never imagined I would see actual studio footage of the BB in action, especially GV!!!! I'm just floored by this. The night of BWPS's debut was very special, but this week just trumps it, for me. I've been a fan since 1995 and I've never been a happier BB fan than I am right now. I'd love to know how this week rates for some of the longer term fans.

I was most impressed with Jardine in the doc. There was a palpable sense of regret there that he couldn't hide even if he tried, though I'm sure the meme of this promo was all about "positivity".

So we have finally come to the understanding that of all the brothers, Brian is the big one? :o :o

What if this GV stuff is not just the only footage found. The Oppenheimer stuff may be a bit of a stretch, but just think, "what if..."

Wait; you mean there's never been ANY footage of them in the studio? 

If you're talking about the years 62-66 reaching into the Smile era, this is correct. The only other footage available to watch is the silent footage of Brian at Western with the firehat (see the other thread on that film for the examples).

That has been the frustrating thing about all of this: Photos of the BB's in the studio are somewhat available. Photos of Brian and the Wrecking Crew in the studio are super-rare. Film of Brian and the Boys in the studio now includes a total of 2 clips. Footage we know (definitely) was shot but hasn't been seen or discovered is the Holy Grail of all this lot.

There's footage of them in the home studio recording "Time To Get Alone", but as far as the Hollywood recording studio days...no footage of that up till now except for the "Fire" session and Brian playing the piano in the dark.

Between this and Surf's Up '67 it does make you wonder what else they've found recently.

double post

It's not a "Fire" session unless that was recorded on 8 track, we were trying to get to the bottom of that clip in another thread...if I can wade through all the posts I'll post it here so you can check it out.

Interesting clips, specifically Van Dyke wearing a firehat! And they're mixing on an 8-track machine at Western... :o

I'll have the link posted here soon...

Sooner rather than later:

http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php/topic,10570.0.html (http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php/topic,10570.0.html)

The video still shots starting on page one are the frames I brightened up to show more details. Fascinating but short piece of film.

It can't be a proper Fire session because Fire was at Goldstar and the footage shows Western #3...

Yeah, I know there's confusion about what session those are from.  It's really hard for me to not associate that footage with Fire.  Why else would they be wearing fire helmets?  LSD?

Maybe it's from the "H&V Intro" session that has been tagged onto Fire.  Which studio was that recorded at?

Brian liked firehats. For real. :)

The firehats are the same toy firehats which were used when they filmed the GV promo film at what is now the LA firefighting museum, with the actual firemen and all of that. That was late October 1966, the Fire session was November 28th. I'd say the hats had nothing to do with the music of "Fire" when they wore them in the October film.

Yeah, I guess he wore them for a few weeks and got tired of it like so many other behavioral phases during this period.  Maybe once c-man's sessionography is out there for us to digest we can pin down what session those are actually from.  Are there any shots of a wall clock in that footage or the stills from that session?

When I was making the stills I didn't notice a wall clock in Western, if you're talking about the firehat/Western #3 clip. The biggest clues of that clip are Van Dyke being there, 8 tracks being played back on an 8-track tape machine, and Carl reading the German music mag with Ringo on the cover...lining up with their tour of Europe in fall '66. And the fact that it appears to be a vocal session at Western...that narrows it down a bit.  Perhaps the set of Heroes sessions in Jan. '67 or even into Feb '67 could be the date? Until further info, that's a guess.

Going slightly off topic, is the TTGA footage you refer to on one of the DVDs (American band/endless harmony) or is this something I haven't come across yet. Would love to see it.

To my knowledge, it's on American Band

(http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n295/guitarfool2002/sd3.jpg)

Note the Baldwin in the background, probably collecting dust after Smiley. :)

In American Band there is also a film of them in the control room with Jim Lockert listening to Hawaii concert mixes, 1967...if that's what they're listening to. So that could count as additional studio footage.

American Band has some terrific video and film, just turn the sound down when it reaches the Smile era into 1967 for historical accuracy. ;D