The Smiley Smile Message Board

In the iTunes LP for The Smile Sessions, it says that several live shows were recorded during the period.  The first was in Michigan in 1966 which would document the first ever performance of Good Vibrations.  The second was in Hawaii in 1967 featuring Brian!!!  Does anybody know why these albums were never released and if there are any public recordings of them available?  It would be awesome to see an archival release of both shows together, I would especially love to hear the one from '67.

The Michigan and Hawaii shows have been bootlegged. Also investigate the Wally Heider studio stuff from that period which has also been bootlegged.

I would suggest that you use the search option this board makes available and enter Lei'd In Hawaii or Hawaii Concert 1967  or Michigan 1966...use your imagination for variations. There have been countless discussions on this board and others about this well researched subject. You might also try "google". Pretty much everybody here knows why these albums were never released, and you can too with just a tiny bit of effort.

Well I didn't know that everybody here knew that.  I'm fairly new to these message boards, no need to get cheeky.  I didn't intend to annoy anyone.  But thank you.

Not to be "cheeky" myself but this issue of repeated threads has been touched on a little in other threads also and considering I am a "newbie" myself, and there might be more new members coming on to the board especially with the Reunion tour coming up---there will probably be an influx of repeat threads coming.  To be completely fair, there is no rule in the Rules and Guidelines section about what kind of threads we can/can't start. 

Don't get me wrong...I completely understsand how people can be annoyed by this.  It's a legitimate pet peeve.  On other messageboards that I visit (of other bands) where I've been around much longer, I also get irked when simple and repeated threads come up from new members.  But I will say that out of all the boards I visit, this board seems to have a very low (close to zero) tolerance on the matter. 

All I'm saying is that if this issue bothers people so much, perhaps we should escalate it to the powers that be and have the moderators create an official rule and/or a sticky at the top of the board to remind all members of the new rule:  "RESEARCH YOUR QUESTION:  Use the Search function as a required first step before posting."  Again, I don't know how seriously the moderators feel about this but from the reaction on the board...it seems to be something most people want.  At least then, new members know what's up around these parts.

Yes, but seemingly sharing it with so obviously a new member, should be added to that list on a stone that Moses was handed to by God.

Jeez. No wonder this place has a rep.

True. And it's absurd. I bet if you tally up the time it would take to give the answer and then tally up the time it takes for people who know the answer to not give the answer but instead explain why they aren't giving the answer, it would equal out to roughly the same time. So what's the point? There is an answer to this question but my guess is it's too uncomfortable an answer for many people to confront it.

The happy medium might be to give a brief answer and then refer to the search function for deeper details.

Some of these tracks are scattered on various archive releases.

The '93 box set includes 'Good Vibrations' from Michigan '66 as well as 'Surfer Girl' from Hawaii '67 (rehearsal).

The 'Concert'/'Live in London' reissue CD has 'Heroes & Villains' from the Hawaii show.

The 'Smiley Smile'/'Wild Honey' CD includes 'Their Hearts Were Full of Spring' (rehearsal).

'Leid in Hawaii' was originally planned as a live album to follow 'Smiley Smile'.  Brian went with the group (Bruce stayed home because he felt things got 'weird') and brought his Baldwin organ (a trademark sound of the period).

The performances (2 shows) were deemed to be unfit for release (there were some technical problems and the group simply felt they didn't perform very well), so they actually went back into the studio to fake the live show.  Some of these recordings have been released ('God Only Knows' on 'Endless Harmony' and 'Good Vibrations' on 'Hawthorne, CA').

Ultimately, the album concept turned into 'Wild Honey' instead, so they put that out ... 'The Letter' from the 1983 'Rarities' LP is from the same sessions I believe.

Fan opinions are mixed regarding the material ... a fairly accurate description is that it sounds like the Beach Boys playing live tracks in the style of 'Smiley Smile' ... very stripped down, kind of foggy & druggy.  I personally love it and would like to see a full 'Lei'd in Hawaii' release with the concerts, rehearsals, and studio re-recordings.

One thing notable about this show (aside from Brian's appearance) is that this is essentially what the group did instead of playing Monterey Pop, where they were a legendary no-show.

Go here - Unreleased albums (http://www.esquarterly.com/bellagio/unreleased.html).

we can only wonder how such a stripped down Smiley Smile-esque set would have gone down at Monterrey!!!!!!

The bigger question is: Would they have worn the striped shirts?!

Maybe its a generational thing. Some people seem to routinely ignore the obvious...like doing searches. This board is an awesome resource and the search function will get you up to speed on just about any fundamental BB's related thing you want to know. You came to the right place Rocky if you want to learn some cool stuff. Just don't piss off AGD.

For the Newb's.  Make sure that you acknowledge the signature (footer) on AGD's posts:

"Got a question ? Try Bellagio 10452 first - if the answer's not there, then ask me."

You can also ask some of us wanna-be know-it-alls on the board.

I think some of it is just that things look a lot different from the inside than the outside.

I knew a girl who was a waitress at a hipster restaurant.  We were having a conversation on her break.  Eventually the conversation turned to "stupid customers".  "I hate the 'ranch' people," she said.  "People are always asking for a side of ranch. We don't even have ranch and there's nothing on our menu with ranch!  It's so annoying."

Word!

I highly and heartily recommend a daily perusal of AGD's site with your morning coffee.  Outstanding!  With or without a side of Ranch!

When someone shows they're willing to try first (and as Jon says, these days it's very, very easy), no problem... but when someone come straight in with the "tell me this, explain that, why is this so ?" approach, well...  :old

yes, the search feature is a very nice function to use.

and remember..google is your best buddy. a lot of the stuff you may love to hear but never have can be found using google. very easy to find and obtain. (a lot easier than back in the day when one had to use snail mail to collect this stuff)

oh...welcome to the board.

There was also a question which popped up again and again for years about the "weird" version of "Do You Like Worms" from a few Smile sets, which turned out to be a cover from Ant-Bee (in one of the most sublime examples of either direct or indirect guerrilla marketing I've seen... :)). Whenever someone heard or acquired this recording for the first time, the question would pop up again and again, and someone would answer "it's a cover by Ant-Bee, not a Brian mix" and I'm sure more people searched and accessed Ant-Bee's website and info based on that than on any traditional marketing methods. It became a running joke, but in a good way and in a harmless way. I could see someone who had no idea of the backstory maybe feeling like they were getting mocked or blown off, but it wasn't that way. But in that case too, a search on the topic would have answered that.

That Worms cover...ahhh, not too big of a fan. But in general, when I saw that Ant-Bee covered The Monkees "Love Is Only Sleeping", I thought before even hearing it that anyone who covers *that* Monkees tune is alright in my book, and I'll have a listen to his other music. ;D

I'd say there is more in-depth info on the Hawaii shows collected in various threads here than you'll find anywhere else. It's worth a search!

Was Pabst Blue Ribbon the featured beer on tap? :-D

I think it's more 'upscale' hipster ... so probably Stella !

Is it true that Brian Wilson slept in a sandbox for three years?

PBR and their returnable glass bottles got us through college.

The only thing I hate more than hipster jokes is people bumping old threads from like 12 years ago! It even gives you a warning "this thread is f.u.cki.n.g old! don't post here unless it's really important!"

Posting on Smiley Smile 101:

Posting to an old thread:
"We hate that!  Go away!"

Posting a completely new thread:
"Come on, we already talked about that before...go away!"


Okay, got it  :smokin

I've found that if you use the word 'hipster', it means you're a hipster ... oops

it's very strong for a cheap beer ... around here in San Francisco, Eye of the Hawk is the real stuff !

The Michigan show has a high rep as being a very good show as far as energy and performance goes.  I've only heard it once and can't remember much about it.

The two 67 shows I've heard, and the best way to describe it is as above, a Smiley Smile type of stripped down performance.  Dennis hardly plays drums throughout the show, the drums are very Love You like.  It's nice to hear Gettin' Hungry live, and the performance of Heroes and Villains is nice as it's a stripped down version of the Smiley version with Brian in pretty good voice, though it tails off like a lot of the songs into nothing.  The Letter is a good performance too.  The Baldwin tends to grate at times, I really wonder about some of the sounds chosen for the concert.  Hawthorne Boulevard was a disappointment, it's essentially a Chuck Berry-esque 12 bar instrumental.  You're So Good To Me is a nice version.  The re-recordings from Wally Heider's studio are much much better and it's really interesting to hear the new arrangements of the older songs.  They are worth tracking down and are quite easy to find on the internet.  I prefer the first concert to the second in performance and quality.  Once you've heard the Haiwaii shows it becomes obvious why they were never released at the time.  It'd be a nice historical document now though.  The version of Surfin' also has Brian playing the high wordless vocal line from Do It Again on the Baldwin.

Here's the setlist of the second show (and IIRC the first show is the same)

1. Hawthorne Boulevard
2. Hawaii
3. You're So Good To Me
4. Help Me Rhonda
5. California Girls
6. Wouldn't It Be Nice
7. Gettin Hungry
8. Surfer Girl
9. Surfin'
10. Sloop John B
11. The Letter
12. God Only Knows
13. Good Vibrations
14. Heroes And Villains
15. Barbara Ann

and here's the list of songs re-recorded at Wally Heider's:

God Only Knows
California Girls
Surfer Girl
You’re So Good To Me
The Letter
Help Me Rhonda
Heroes & Villains
Their Hearts Were Full of Spring

And here's the setlist of the Michegan show:

Help Me Rhonda
I Get Around
Surf Medley
Surfer Girl
Papa Oom Mow Mow
You’re So Good to Me
You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away
California Girls
Sloop John B
Wouldn’t It Be Nice
God Only Knows
Good Vibrations
Graduation Day
Barbara Ann
Johnny B Goode


Hope that helps.

I think i have the 66 shows in a SOT box i believe and i found the shows weak +67 weaker..If i was a newbie id start with 68 onward thru to mid 70"s. Better quality shows..With some back up musicians + better arraignments..Then go back to that period + check those out.IMHO

The Chicago 1965 shows with Brian rock on the live box.

The band sounded good during the November '67 tour. Very good, in fact.

A couple of hipsters walk into a bar! What do they say?

F$*ck this place, it's full of hipsters!!!!!

Smile  Brian i believe you are right. My stuff is in storage and i cant look at the box in question at the moment.But there were add on"s on the disks at the end and that does sound right i think but im a little fuzzy.Haven't heard that box in 3 years. I felt that BB were still getting used to playing without BW + BJ bass playing was weak + there was To much talking + goofing around on those shows..Ive only heard + own one 67  Hawaii show + its too minimal for me.
I much prefer BJ on keyboards in fact than bass..Great period pieces tho..

Agreed!  This can be verified by listening to 'A Vocal Element'.

Like the one about the hipster burning his mouth on the hot coffee so he could drink it before it got cool?

At that point in time, it was a riff he'd nicked from The Frogmen's "Underwater"*.  :)

[* - oddly, the only other national hit that Candix ever had]

I like any sixties concert bur even more when Brian was involved. Wish these would have come out at the time.

Be warned, trying to obtain Lei'd in Hawaii is not as easy as you may think. Type it into a search engine and you will have to wade though roughly 10001 references to the song Hawaii.

.The first show had a slightly different set list:
1. The Letter
2. Hawaii
3. You're So Good To Me
4. Surfer Girl
5. Surfin'
6. Gettin' Hungry
7. Sloop John B
8. California Girls
9. Wouldn't It Be Nice
10. Heroes and Villains
11. God Only Knows
12. Good Vibrations
13. Barbara Ann

My only exposure to shows from '67 besides the Hawaii gig is the songs that are tacked onto my copy of the Carnegie Hall '72 show. And they sound dreadful - everybody's goofing off, the playing is poor, the audience sound confused..... Guess I'll try and track down 'A Vocal Element'.

The Hawaii shows are wonky, if a little endearing for it. I'd be mad if I was there and paid money for it, though, the band is painfully inept for some reason. I tend to turn to the Heider session for my stripped down fix.

I have both shows, its smiley smile the live experience. The band is on drugs and Brian says bizarre things to the crowd during the show. The crowd didn't care about the performances and were cheering like usual.

Highly recommend it.  Soundboard City.

then be creative...say like "beach boys lei'd" and whammo...right at the top of the page.  :)

I agree with hypehat"s post completely.!

Not having played a live gig for almost four months might have something to do with that.  :)

What a d1ckhe@d !

I look at these shows as the coda or end to the SMiLE era of the band.

Im sorry AGD.I disagree with you..4 months between gigs..Its called rehearsal time,,!.You have been very kind to me but BB have never been good at rehearsals..CW has been quoted as sayin the show PLAYS itself..Weather good or bad show,Number one reason the BB go on autopilot, People clap + chear no matter what..Thats because no one could hear half what was played.!We go to a BB show + hear parts that would never be played or sung..Example ..Ending of FFF......Thats a quote from..David Leaf

My point exactly - no shows for four months = ring rusty. I seriously doubt they did any rehearsal other than that which they did when they got to Hawaii.

\
Huh?? How does that constitute said person having a male appendage located on his forehead?

Play nice now! ;D

Agreed AGD..So when are you gonna use your  info and  write a new book about BB..?.. I"d be the 1st guy in line to read ANYTHING you would have  to say in print. We all know England has a soft spot for BB.You guys loved the BB when USA went cold..You could print up a book of reviews of all BB//BW concerts
you have ever seen..It would be an interesting read..You guys love the BB for different reasons than USA folks do..Ive lived in california all my life.I have a different slant than the rest of USA let alone a British perspective..IMHO..You + your researchers..{Ian etc} could put together a GREAT book..Take the info from your website with stories of concerts + meetings + fan"s stuff and write a great book and not even use any dirt..Your perspective of seeing BW play SMILE 1st time in print would be AWESOME..Please consider this thought..Yes i know lots of stuff is on internet..I prefer books to internet..What DOYA think.??.Paul

I have not heard the Michigan show but I quite enjoy the Hawaii recordings. Like SMILE Brian said, it's like getting a live Smiley Smile experience. It has a vibe that the other shows from that era don't. I'd be very happy to see an official release one day (with dvd footage as well).

I'm not sure how many live shows were officially recorded/filmed but it would be nice if The Beach Boys got a bootleg series as Miles Davis just did that combines 2 cds with a dvd of live footage.

I think that 1) there are other people far more qualified to write something of this nature and 2) the market for such a book would be limited. But thanks for the kind words.

BTW, Ian isn't "my researcher" - I can't afford his salary.  ;D

This, plus the fact that Bruce wasn't there to play the bass, and Brian was stuck behind his Baldwin which left Carl and Al to split the bass duties.  And I may be mistaken, but wasn't Dennis' kit stripped down to just a snare and a kick drum?  Or just a snare?  It's been awhile since I've listened to these shows.  Anyway, totally different instrumentation means totally different arrangements.  Add in the fact that a certain member(s) of the ensemble may (or may not) have been under the influence of a certain substance(s), I can definitely understand why the shows turned out the way that they did.

List of shows that circulate from 1967 (from The Real Beach Boy's list):

8/25/67   Honolulu International Center Arena, Honolulu, HI (40 minutes, soundboard)
Aloha From Hawaii (And Hollywood) - Spank (2001)
8/26/67   Honolulu International Center Arena, Honolulu, HI (40 minutes, soundboard) - Hawthorne Boulevard is the big "surprise".
Let's Take A Trip Down Hawthorne Blvd - RTG (???)
11/17/67   Masonic Auditorium, Detroit, MI (35 minutes, soundboard)
A Vocal Element (Disc 1) - Hang Ten (2006)
11/19/67   Constitution Hall, Washington, DC (40 minutes, soundboard)
Goodbye Surfing Hello God (Disc 2) - Vigotone (2001)
11/21/67   Westchester Community Center, Westchester, NY (30 minutes, soundboard)
A Vocal Element - Hang Ten (2006)
11/22/67   Penn Theatre, Pittsburgh, PA (35 minutes, soundboard)
A Vocal Element (Disc 2) - Hang Ten (2006)
11/23/67   Back Bay Theater, Boston, MA (35 minutes, soundboard)
A Vocal Element (Disc 1) Hang Ten (2006)

I added text in italics with the names of titles circulating. You can probably find these easily on bit torrent sites or various "fan" blogs.

@ lunarjetman: If you don't agree with the general tone of a post (and to be honest, I've seen much much worse than this) there are several more constructive ways to reply. And this is not one of them.

...for our very own Andrew.

I was at the Michigan show, in Ann Arbor in October 1966, on the heels of the release of Good Vibrations. It's widely known that Brian made the trip to help the group polish its live version of the song. They announced that the show was being recorded and, at the end, they brought Brian, who did not perform, out to thunderous applause. Equally cool was that the Standells opened the show.
Good times.

Here's one from 66 you could listen to:

http://bigozine2.com/roio/?p=739

Just to sum up the concerts they had "officially" recorded up to Fall '67 I believe had been considered off and on for release, and I'm guessing off the top of my head they and Capitol were fishing for a follow-up to the original "Concert" release which was a bigger hit as an album than I think a lot of people realize in its day.

For us as fans, we hear some really, really great live performances on these various "officially" recorded show. The unplugged-acoustic-Party! mini set is especially a highlight, with Dennis' lead vocals and a pretty damn good fidelity recording of them playing acoustic/stripped-down music on stage.

But for probably many reasons, they never seemed to get enough together that they were happy with to assemble a full concert album as they had earlier.

AND...keep in mind their music had changed so drastically in some cases, the differences from 64 to 65 to 66 to 67 would be massive. And some might sound dated for a new release. Imagine getting a 65 concert after the group was out touring behind Pet Sounds. Jarring, perhaps, for fans.

And this is also why one concept that almost made it to the record shops in '67 was one of the plans around the Wild Honey project to include "highlights" from the last few years' vault collection of live shows, from Michigan to Hawaii. That too obviously never materialized.

That's Al's falsetto on Hawaii and Bruce on I Get Around, right? If so, it's amazing how much stronger Al's voice was than Bruce's, even in 1966. And it's amazing how similar Al could sound to Brian.