|
Title: Inside Pop Reels Post by: Bubba Ho-Tep on March 24, 2006, 07:48:55 AM I was just looking over the contents of the “Inside Pop” reels again, and felt such anger that this footage was not in the public’s grubby little hands yet. This is probably the most important document of all the Smile session. What is the status of the attempts to acquire this material? Is there any interest by BRI to claim this footage and, perhaps, release it (maybe as part of a Smile Boxset)? Has Alan Boyd been looking into this?
Quote (Page 1) 75 (signifying Reel #75) 1. hands to face CR angle can't see hands pan to hands in dark child Is the Father of man 2. Heroes & Villains plays Vandyke Parks has been working on lyrics sings open country song Sunshine 76 Surf's up cu (or cw? or au?) CR -> takes guts to catch wave can visualize intervals on piano 77 x piano Surf's Up PB Surf's up candelabra shot CL 78 Scratch (?) Wilson & friends ??????? (in house????) ---------------------------------- (Page 2) 83 1. engineer 2. pan up to Brian 3. board 4. Boys singing who Ran The Iron Horse (Above "who Ran" is the scratched out word "Hooray" as if he wasn't sure what the words were.) 5. Wilson ??????? (judging?!?!) 6. Boys singing who Ran The Iron Horse 7. Do Wa Wa in circle 8. Wilson ?????? (shelving?!?!) 84 9. Let's work on microphone boys around mike Do wa 85 Brian at piano working out(?) Yodelledo then group sings at mike 86 Group around mike Yodelledo Playback Yodelledoo's control in b.g. ("b.g." stands for background?) Inside control room Group & Engineer Da daum(?) (La daum?) Go out into studio Brian eating cereal record da da da da ------------------------------ (Page 3) Beach Boys 86 1. around mike Yodeladeeo pan to Piano Brian walks out frame(?) to outside booth playback walks to control board 2. Brian talking ????? (bad pa toheps?!?!) to engineer 3. dark 4/s listening to playback Brian goes to ????? (sirke?!?!) eats, put on headphones sing dine dine Scratch 87 1. control board thru window track on(?) dine dine Let's go have some Zen accompaniment 2. Brian at piano from behind plays chords ------------------------------------ (Page 4) 87 engineer thru glass to group in(?) b.g. record da da group comes back into room & listens to da da da let's go lets have some zen compliment Brian at piano from behind accomp. to Surf's up to hands to face CL around to x & back to CL 88 Brian eating headphones listening to piano track sings lead on(?) thru piano 1 more time --> tone(?) & start again side view CL -> start at 2nd verse hung velvet misses the glass pickup hung velvet stop at dove nested have echo on me pickup again at hung velvet 89 Overdubs hung velvet lead on(?) ???????? (jumoles?!?!) -- let's overdub it move to CR side (?).s. 11(?) more around behind move around to face CL he gestures he talks while voice go(?) --------------------------- (Page 5) mono mix - Id like it softer let's go to top is that cool LS CL overdub LS hung velvet out sync LS thru control room 2nd shot n.g.(?) needle recorder pan to engineer back to recorder 90 --> playback engineers bg Wilson fig. fade in(?) kneels -- can have muted trumpet go bleep(?) move to us(?) half of Jules Brian coat on walks out Pool Bodies toward camera ---------------------------------------- (Page 6) Beach Boys R88 1. Brian eating sits at piano 2. lead on Brian e(?) earphone singing into mike 3. Brian at piano sings not(?) (nor?) sleeping(?!) pan across piano Surf's up ????? words to back top & false starts tone(?) move to side start again - go to colonnaded ruins "cut again to end verse" false start, then humg velvet c moves to side ("c" is probably "camera") "missed it pickup 2nd verse" 'no I can't do it(?) - You have echo on me "????? (julimp?!?!) 2nd verse again 89 1. head on "hung velvet PB that's it let's overdub it 2. "Are you hearing yourself now?" words(?) mix it so you can hear both voices ???" (boy?) (tog? for together?) ????? (pans?) back move around "go to top" Take 1 3. LS piano are you sleeping 4. " " (ditto marks under "LS piano") ------------------------------------------------ (Page 7) 89 5. thru booth to Brian 6. needle 7. recorder spinning to engineer to recorder 90 1. Brian listening Stretching 2. Brian ??????? (putting on vocal leads????) can't see hands pan to hands in dark child Is the Father of man - Are we absolutely positive that this isn't the footage seen in "American Band"? Couldn't Dennis be shooting same time as CBS? Cause it sounds quite the same.... Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: XY on March 24, 2006, 08:08:12 AM There's a commentary by David Oppenheim on the original INSIDE POP-version of "Surf's Up" which is missing in AN AMERICAN BAND. So I guess Malcolm Leo had access to raw material. He also mentioned Oppenheim in the end credits.
Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: Bubba Ho-Tep on March 24, 2006, 08:24:47 AM Yes....yes...these are the sort of thinking we need to pursue. I'm not ready to give up. We need to take action. We were so close to the truth, and, much like Agent Mulder, I believe the truth is out there.
I am tired of taking the word of a bunch of stoners. I need to see the photographic proof. Where is Malcom Leo? Is he still with us? I'm willing to bet dollars to donuts that the dark room footage of Brian playing piano is from the CBS footage, or at least from the same night. And based on the descriptions, he's either playing CIFOTM or SU. If we work together we can pull this off. We can't give up. Not when the gold ring is within our grasp. They used to say, if man could fly, he'd have wings. But he did fly; he discovered he had to. Do you wish that the first Apollo mission hadn't reached the moon, or that we hadn't gone on to Mars and then to the nearest star? That's like saying you wish that you still operated with scalpels and sewed your patients up with catgut, like your great, great, great-grandfather used to do ... Dr. McCoy is right in pointing out the enormous danger potential in any contact with lawyers and executives as fantastically advanced as this. But I must point out that the possibilities -- the potential for knowledge and advancement is equally great. Risk -- risk is our business. That's what this web page is all about. That's why we're aboard her. Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: holeypeacoat on July 16, 2008, 12:33:38 PM If we work together we can pull this off. We can't give up. Not when the gold ring is within our grasp. I guess everyone gave up! What was the final outcome regarding this? Or was it just a bunch of dead ends? I know Jasper was spearheading the effort once upon a time. I just ran into a post on the web regarding his search and it made me think about it. HP Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: 37!ws on July 16, 2008, 12:35:45 PM Just yesterday I was reading older posts that say 1) the films mentioned in the script no longer exist, and 2) there are separate tracks for music, voice-overs, etc., to facilitate narration, translation, etc., and that's what Malcolm Leo had access to; the AAB people simply potted the narration down all the way...
Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: Don't Back Down on July 16, 2008, 12:50:18 PM is the Van Dyke Parks footage what's shown in the Endless Harmony doc.? where he's writing on paper, 'Heroes and Villains', 'Surf's Up', etc. "Did I write for the Beach Boys? Yes.", whatever he says there in overdub...or is that completely different?
Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: AKA on July 16, 2008, 04:17:19 PM Is this the documentary that used to air on AMC? Because it's what got me into the Beach Boys to begin with. I'd really like to see it again.
Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: brianc on July 16, 2008, 04:24:42 PM The Van Dyke Parks footage in "Endless Harmony" is from a 1972 short film that Billy Hinsche made about the Beach Boys, while he was in film school.
Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: brianc on July 16, 2008, 04:34:32 PM By the way, Malcolm Leo is alive and well, and still making films, but it's been a long time since he was actively involved with anything related to the Beach Boys, as far as I know.
I did spend some time with Malcolm Leo during the making of the Showtime/"Beautiful Dreamer" film. Dom Priore and I were hired to be archivists, and that mostly amounted to us going into the Bomp Records archives and pulling color versions of all the material in "Look! Listen! Vibrate! Smile!" to shoot in a motion control studio. Some of the print material was used as footage, and others were used as backgrounds behind the talking head interviews. We found a ton of stuff that was not in LLVS too. Greg Shaw, who started Bomp, had a collection of about 20,000 teen magazines, hippy/underground newspapers (1964-71) and general music rags (like complete runs of "Billboard," "NME," "Melody Maker," etc.). It was a massive effort. Anyway, during the making of "Beautiful Dreamer," we also handed in lists of photos sources and footage sources of Brian and/or the Beach Boys, circa 1966-67. I'm not sure how much of that was followed up on. What I do know is, David Leaf and myself took a meeting with Malcolm Leo at the Cat & Fiddle on Sunset Boulevard. As Malcolm explained it to me, he did an extensive amount of research in 1984 on the "Inside Pop" outtakes, which didn't amount to much. A 30 second silent reel that he found of Brian at the piano was all that he came up with, besides getting the complete "Surf's Up," without narration. For the 30-second silent stuff, he had a piano virtuoso follow Brian's hands exactly, and that's what it came out as... a re-recording of the chords and notes that Brian's hands were playing. I believe Malcolm said he even tracked down David Oppenheim in 1984, who had nothing additional to contribute to the search. I hope that helps clarify some things, though I know it isn't much in the realm of adding hope here. I myself just about cream everytime I read that list. Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: Shane on July 16, 2008, 11:28:55 PM "For the 30-second silent stuff, he had a piano virtuoso follow Brian's hands exactly, and that's what it came out as... a re-recording of the chords and notes that Brian's hands were playing."
Is that footage featured in "Beautiful Dreamer"? Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: The Shift on July 17, 2008, 12:12:22 AM Quote 2. Heroes & Villains plays Vandyke Parks has been working on lyrics sings open country song That'd be "In the great shape of the open country" then? And not "in the great shape of the agriculture"? Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: Andrew G. Doe on July 17, 2008, 12:19:38 AM Quote 2. Heroes & Villains plays Vandyke Parks has been working on lyrics sings open country song That'd be "In the great shape of the open country" then? And not "in the great shape of the agriculture"? Means the person taking the notes (Oppenheim himself, as I recall) heard it as "open country". That's all. :) Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: The Shift on July 17, 2008, 12:35:51 AM Thanks for the clarification Andrew...
... it's just that listening to the piece on the Endless Harmony soundtrack CD, that's exactly what I'd heard too! I think it was debated quite a lot in these forums at the time, as was the "Fresh Zen air..." line. Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: Andrew G. Doe on July 17, 2008, 01:22:37 AM I heard it as "I'm in the great shape of the upper country".
Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: XY on July 17, 2008, 04:19:17 AM I'm really sorry how this Inside Pop outtakes research turned out, because I expected to see those films myself, so I was as disappointed as many of you may have been. Sorry again for promising things a bit too early, but at least we have Oppenheim's handwritten transcripts, which is better than nothing.
First, it looked like the reels are at the same place like the transcripts, in Oppenheim's 16mm film collection at New York University's Tisch School of Arts. I contacted Malcolm Leo and he wrote that he actually has the outtakes. A lot of confusion there. I was in contact with Oppenheim's wife, who edited the Inside Pop film and mentioned that someone already contacted her husband 20 years ago (probably Leo). She also stated that they used to archive unused film reels in a archive in New York. The usual blabla I guess. But, I took the time to contact all film archives I could find in New York and even other ones that could possibly hold old CBS material all over America. There was a positive answer from CBS News Archive, etc. I don't want to go into details. Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: 37!ws on July 17, 2008, 08:28:36 AM Regarding "country" vs. "agriculture"....I don't have my copy of Smile or my iPod with me right now, but...is Brian clearly singing "agriculture" on the finished product? I know the printed lyrics are loaded with mistakes...(RobMac -- weren't you telling me before how Probyn freaked when he saw the lyrics on the released CD?)
But...what does "I'm in the great shape of the upper country" mean??? Or is it some kind of VDP punnery? Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: brianc on July 17, 2008, 09:24:47 AM Is that footage featured in "Beautiful Dreamer"?
No, it's in "The Beach Boys: An American Band" from 1985. Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: John on July 17, 2008, 09:25:39 AM Just to make sure: it's "COLLONADED ruins domino", right? It sounds like it. I prefer it too.
Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: Roger Ryan on July 17, 2008, 09:54:22 AM Just to make sure: it's "COLLONADED ruins domino", right? It sounds like it. I prefer it too. Well, "colonnaded" actually, but yes, that's the way it's sung on BWPS (and I think on the '71 version and, maybe, the '66 demo too). The lyric sheet to the SURF'S UP album spelled it as the nonsense word "columnated" and I think that has stuck in fans' minds and was replicated in the BWPS booklet. "Colonnaded" has the advantage of being a real word referring to a structure built with columns plus it's a softer, rounder sound that flows off the tongue easier. As to the "upper country" lyric: that makes no sense either in reference to the U.S. where the term is not used. "Open country" is a little better, but doesn't "I'm in the great shape of the agri-culture" have the ring of a great Parksian line? It's definitely the line that Brian sings on BWPS and when I first heard it, I slapped my forehead and exclaimed "Of course!" because it finally sounded like a Parks lyric. Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: John on July 17, 2008, 01:51:16 PM Just to make sure: it's "COLLONADED ruins domino", right? It sounds like it. I prefer it too. Well, "colonnaded" actually, but yes, that's the way it's sung on BWPS (and I think on the '71 version and, maybe, the '66 demo too). The lyric sheet to the SURF'S UP album spelled it as the nonsense word "columnated" and I think that has stuck in fans' minds and was replicated in the BWPS booklet. "Colonnaded" has the advantage of being a real word referring to a structure built with columns plus it's a softer, rounder sound that flows off the tongue easier. Thanks, I knew it looked wrong when I posted, but every other way looked wrong too. ;) Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: Chris Brown on July 17, 2008, 04:47:06 PM Okay on the whole "colonnaded" vs "columnated" thing, it does seem like Brian is singing the former on BWPS, and maybe even on the '66 demo. But why then in contemporary and subsequent interviews have Brian and Van Dyke referred to the line specifically as "columnated"? It's used in the Siegel article specifically, and I know Van Dyke has used it in one of his interviews for a doc (might have even been Beautiful Dreamer). When I first heard Brian sing it on BWPS, I just figured he couldn't enunciate "columnated" too well anymore, so he sang "colonnaded" instead. Granted "colonnaded" makes more sense (being a real word and all), but I just can't buy that it was meant to be that all along.
As for the IIGS line, I think Brian is clearly singing "upper country" on the old demo...you can clearly hear the "p" sound when he sings it. It's definitely not "agriculture" when he sang it then but it is on BWPS. Maybe I'm wrong...I don't know why they would change the word 40 years later, but who knows? No reason why they can't edit their own work. Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: Aegir on July 17, 2008, 06:30:51 PM How would someone writing an article know if they're saying colonnaded and not columnated? It's like if the line in Fun Fun Fun was actually "hamburger spam" (I'm sorry, bad example). Upon hearing Mike Love mention this in an interview, the person transcribing it would write "hamburger stand", because that's what the line is most commonly acknowledged to be.
Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: Chris Brown on July 17, 2008, 07:16:55 PM How would someone writing an article know if they're saying colonnaded and not columnated? It's like if the line in Fun Fun Fun was actually "hamburger spam" (I'm sorry, bad example). Upon hearing Mike Love mention this in an interview, the person transcribing it would write "hamburger stand", because that's what the line is most commonly acknowledged to be. Point taken, but I would think that a journalist would choose colonnaded over columnated since the former is really a word and the later isn't. I don't think he would choose to hear a word that technically doesn't exist. But the Siegel article isn't really the best place to look...I place more stock in actually seeing/hearing Van Dyke say "columnated" in an interview. Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: cutterschoice on June 27, 2010, 06:58:28 PM Sorry to dig up such an OLD topic, but regarding Columnated and Colonnaded, Columnated is a real word. I'm not sure why you're all saying it isn't? http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Columnated+ . The use of the word predates 1914, so maybe that's why he used it
Also, I've read, but I'm afraid I don't have the source right now, but originally the lyrics were "open country" and it was changed to "agriculture" in 2004. Park's also didn't use his original Child is father lyrics in the 2004 reconstruction. In this video from 1976, I think it sounds like Van Dyke is saying "Columnated". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tB6JwCmTIEw The 'm' sound is definitely in it. Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: Mahalo on June 27, 2010, 08:49:30 PM Park's also didn't use his original Child is father lyrics in the 2004 reconstruction. ......would LOVE to know/hear those original lyrics... Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: Ed Roach on June 27, 2010, 10:35:46 PM OK, so it's not from "Surf's Up", but one of my most memorable memories is going by the studio at Belagio & hearing Brian & Van Dyke working on "Sail On, Sailor"... I was so mesmerized, I sat there & listened without intruding for at least half an hour....
Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: buddhahat on June 27, 2010, 11:47:41 PM OK, so it's not from "Surf's Up", but one of my most memorable memories is going by the studio at Belagio & hearing Brian & Van Dyke working on "Sail On, Sailor"... I was so mesmerized, I sat there & listened without intruding for at least half an hour.... Wow what an incredible recollection! Are there any other details you can remember? Were they composing it on piano? Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: Alex on June 30, 2010, 10:28:50 AM I thought he sang "open country", not "upper country".
Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: runnersdialzero on June 30, 2010, 12:37:42 PM Sorry to dig up such an OLD topic, but regarding Columnated and Colonnaded, Columnated is a real word. I'm not sure why you're all saying it isn't? http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Columnated+ . The use of the word predates 1914, so maybe that's why he used it Also, I've read, but I'm afraid I don't have the source right now, but originally the lyrics were "open country" and it was changed to "agriculture" in 2004. Park's also didn't use his original Child is father lyrics in the 2004 reconstruction. In this video from 1976, I think it sounds like Van Dyke is saying "Columnated". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tB6JwCmTIEw The 'm' sound is definitely in it. I agree with "columnated" and "open country". Not sure why Van Dyke's "Child" lyrics weren't used. I'd guess they were lost, as there's really no other excuse not to use them. Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: grillo on June 30, 2010, 10:55:45 PM It's 'upper country', a term I've heard before (curiously from brits, though it seems to be about the french great lakes area before the USA bought/took it, but might also refer to the santa barbara area) so there!
Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: Pied Piper on July 02, 2010, 02:22:56 PM It's 'upper country', a term I've heard before (curiously from brits, though it seems to be about the french great lakes area before the USA bought/took it, but might also refer to the santa barbara area) so there! I believe I read someplace VDP didn't know where the "agriculture" in the lyrics came from & disavowed it. Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: Mr. Cohen on July 02, 2010, 03:13:30 PM A little nerdy information on the word columnated: it "once was", in fact, an English word. It can be found in the 1913 Webster's Dictionary, which historically is considered the DEFINITIVE dictionary of the English language for the early-mid 20th century. Here is proof: http://1913.mshaffer.com/d/search/_words.word,columnated. Why it is no longer included in dictionaries is beyond me, but I'm sure it was erased from the annals as a result of some minor scholarly debate over the use of Latin in the English language, or something like that.
The word is just another example of how Van Dyke gave SMiLE that old timey Americana feel. Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: Rocker on July 03, 2010, 03:02:34 PM OK, so it's not from "Surf's Up", but one of my most memorable memories is going by the studio at Belagio & hearing Brian & Van Dyke working on "Sail On, Sailor"... I was so mesmerized, I sat there & listened without intruding for at least half an hour.... Do you know/remember if Brian really only wrote the verses ? Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: runnersdialzero on July 03, 2010, 03:39:21 PM It's 'upper country', a term I've heard before (curiously from brits, though it seems to be about the french great lakes area before the USA bought/took it, but might also refer to the santa barbara area) so there! Okay. I still think it's open country, sire. Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: runnersdialzero on July 03, 2010, 05:21:02 PM I would probably eat another person to view the complete Inside Pop footage whenever I wanted while in jail for eating someone.
Just saying. Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: cutterschoice on July 05, 2010, 05:02:56 PM I believe I read someplace VDP didn't know where the "agriculture" in the lyrics came from & disavowed it. Would be great if you could find a source on that. I simply assumed that VDP decided to change it in 2004. Another thing to consider is that Brian did call VDP up to ask what a forgotten lyric once, the word being "Indian". It's entirely possible that the slight lyric changes could be attributed to a hazy memory and the substituted word stuck. But I definitely think it was 'Open Country' not 'Upper Country' It's quite obvious in the piano demo with Brian singing. Even though it's quiet, he comes in with an 'Oh-p' sound, not 'Uh-p'. Like Dada pointed out, and as I expected, VDP settled on 'Columnated' as it was an old word for that "old timey Americana feel". Another debated lyric change, as you all know is 'Fresh Zen Air' and 'Fresh Clean Air'... Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: Pied Piper on July 05, 2010, 05:22:13 PM I believe I read someplace VDP didn't know where the "agriculture" in the lyrics came from & disavowed it. What Van Dyke said in ESQ Nov 2004 pertaining to new sequencing and lyrics was, "I don't take any credit at all for the big picture. I'm not saying that I approve of all the results. When I hear "I'm in the great shape of the agriculture..." I wasn't so sure I was going for it. Brian was ... very interested in agrarian stuff. ... He thought about the farmers and getting healthy, and being in great shape." Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: runnersdialzero on July 05, 2010, 06:04:29 PM I believe I read someplace VDP didn't know where the "agriculture" in the lyrics came from & disavowed it. Would be great if you could find a source on that. I simply assumed that VDP decided to change it in 2004. Another thing to consider is that Brian did call VDP up to ask what a forgotten lyric once, the word being "Indian". It's entirely possible that the slight lyric changes could be attributed to a hazy memory and the substituted word stuck. But I definitely think it was 'Open Country' not 'Upper Country' It's quite obvious in the piano demo with Brian singing. Even though it's quiet, he comes in with an 'Oh-p' sound, not 'Uh-p'. Like Dada pointed out, and as I expected, VDP settled on 'Columnated' as it was an old word for that "old timey Americana feel". Another debated lyric change, as you all know is 'Fresh Zen Air' and 'Fresh Clean Air'... "Fresh zen air" is bullshit, although I'm not saying it was necessarily "Fresh clean air" back then, either. To my ears, Brian simply stumbles a bit there. If only he'd known an informal recording of him dicking with new pieces of music for a DJ would be misinterpreted for years to come. Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: cutterschoice on July 05, 2010, 06:13:58 PM I think I need to get those ESQ back issues... thanks for the info.
Yeah, the 'zen' lyric sounded more like 'freshened air around my head' when I listened to it. Sounds too soft to be 'zen'. Like you said, more likely to be a stumble Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: bossaroo on July 05, 2010, 10:03:22 PM it's important to remember that it's a demo, and the song was still being fleshed out...
i think "open country" was misheard by some Smile-o-philes (including Darian) as "agriculture" and unfortunately became the finished lyric i think the line "hit the dirt, do a two-and-a-half" was totally off the cuff, and shouldn't have been included either i even removed that line from my SMiLE mix and replaced it with "out in the barnyard" from the verse before i also don't think Brian sang "fresh clean air" on the demo. i think he was still trying to find just the right words/syllables to use, and "fresh" is what came out and this is as good a place as any to lament the loss of one of my favorite pieces of SMiLE music, the tag on the Cantina version of "H & V" with the wordless vocals, pizzicato strings, and chromatic harmonica. what's the other instrument... clarinet or bassoon? that really should have stayed. last but not least... it's "columnated" for Parks' sakes!!! Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: Andrew G. Doe on July 06, 2010, 12:32:39 AM I believe I read someplace VDP didn't know where the "agriculture" in the lyrics came from & disavowed it. Would be great if you could find a source on that. I simply assumed that VDP decided to change it in 2004. Another thing to consider is that Brian did call VDP up to ask what a forgotten lyric once, the word being "Indian". It's entirely possible that the slight lyric changes could be attributed to a hazy memory and the substituted word stuck. But I definitely think it was 'Open Country' not 'Upper Country' It's quite obvious in the piano demo with Brian singing. Even though it's quiet, he comes in with an 'Oh-p' sound, not 'Uh-p'. Like Dada pointed out, and as I expected, VDP settled on 'Columnated' as it was an old word for that "old timey Americana feel". Another debated lyric change, as you all know is 'Fresh Zen Air' and 'Fresh Clean Air'... Sometimes the simple, direct route is the best. I just listened to Endless Harmony again - to my ears, the lyric goes: Freshen air around my head [1] Mornings tumble out of bed Eggs and grits And licketty-split Look at me jump I'm in the great shape Of the upper country [2] 1 - definitely a sibilant 's', not an intrusive 'z' - Brian sings one word," Fresh-en", not two, "fresh zen" 2 - definitely not "agriculture": you can hear Brian 'pop' on the double p of "upper", and he clearly says "country" not "culture" Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: bossaroo on July 06, 2010, 12:40:34 AM it's Open Country... trust us. very American. Upper Country is something we just wouldn't really say.
it's what the song's all about: fresh air, farmland, wide open spaces... the fact that it says Open Country on Oppenheim's notes is a good indicator as well ;) and "Freshen air around my head" ??? i don't buy it Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: Andrew G. Doe on July 06, 2010, 01:30:18 AM it's Open Country... trust us. very American. Upper Country is something we just wouldn't really say. it's what the song's all about: fresh air, farmland, wide open spaces... the fact that it says Open Country on Oppenheim's notes is a good indicator as well ;) and "Freshen air around my head" ??? i don't buy it Nope, doesn't make sense to me either... but that's what he says. ??? Oppenheim's reel notes indicate nothing, as they were for an entirely different session (12/15/66): the 11/4/66 'demo' for Humble Harv wasn't filmed. Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: runnersdialzero on July 06, 2010, 01:52:20 AM I still say he stumbles on the, "Fresh ____ air around my head" part. I don't think it's "freshen", if anything.
Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: Andrew G. Doe on July 06, 2010, 03:07:36 AM I still say he stumbles on the, "Fresh ____ air around my head" part. I don't think it's "freshen", if anything. Agreed, doesn't make any sense... but I can't think of what else it could be. :) Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: Paul2010 on July 06, 2010, 04:29:16 AM Indeed it's hard to tell what Brian is singing on the first line. One other option I came across somewhere was "freshnin' air around my head...". I don't know if that makes sense, but to my ears it sounds quite good.
Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: Andrew G. Doe on July 06, 2010, 05:34:41 AM My preference would be for "fresh, clean air". Unfortunately, that's not what he's singing on the 'demo', any more than he's singing "fresh zen air". :-\
Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: grillo on July 06, 2010, 06:47:32 AM Remember, this is a pun-filled song on a pun-filled album about old America (among other things) so, trust me, I too am from the USA, and its UPPER COUNTRY, a reference to the land west of the Appalachians (just look it up), a reference that VDP would surely love.
Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: bossaroo on July 06, 2010, 12:28:39 PM hahaha... ok
i live in the Appalachias and I've never heard anyone use the term "upper country" the album is partly about westward expansion and this great land of ours. why would he focus on a relatively small, obscure region that most people have never heard of? I think it's also important to note that Van Dyke did not write every single lyric for SMiLE. Brian had been writing and singing about farming and eating a hearty breakfast almost from the very beginning with tunes like "Back Home" and "Farmer's Daughter" agree to disagree i guess... as with so many things SMiLE. the word "freshen" for instance ...never happened ;) Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: Andrew G. Doe on July 06, 2010, 12:38:10 PM Remember, there was a time in the history of the US when the Appalachians were the west.
Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: bossaroo on July 06, 2010, 12:49:58 PM Sometimes the simple, direct route is the best. I just listened to Endless Harmony again i can hear the long "o" and the "n" ...it's OPEN for crying out loud from Dictionary.com o·pen (ō'pən) adj. 1. Affording unobstructed passage or view: open waters; the open countryside. Related Words for: open clear, open air, out-of-doors Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: bossaroo on July 06, 2010, 01:04:28 PM it just occurred to me that "fresh clean air" could just as easily have been "fresh clear air"
but Brian sings neither in the demo Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: Mr. Cohen on July 06, 2010, 01:23:29 PM I think "freshen air" works as a weird, unexpected play on words. Perhaps it was really "freshen the air" but Brian forgot a word, or it was really "freshened air"? Sounds like a canny reference to pot, such as we see with "Cabinessence" (switch the B and the N around and you get "Canibessence"). Judging by the somewhat nonsensical lyrics of "I'm in Great Shape" and "Barnyard", I can guess that a lot of cannabis was consumed before Van Dyke brought out his pen the night those songs were written. Basically, though, to me, the lyric gives the impression that the air around the narrator's head is being freshened. Perhaps by the typical smells of the morning... bacon sizzling on the grill, bread being toasting and the damp smell of the Earth as the dew rolls off of the husks of corn outside. Or, maybe, it describes the aroma of really good pot as the narrator "wakes n bakes" in earnest. It's probably all of those things in this case.
Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: Mr. Cohen on July 06, 2010, 01:36:09 PM Other theories while my brain is rolling... the word air, in this case, could also be a reference to music. An air can be a tune or melody. An air can also refer to a demeanor. Perhaps our narrator has a fresh demeanor, a new way of looking at things. There's a reason, I think, that the word "clean" or "clear" was not used. Or, it could be a mispronounced reference to the Friesian breed of horse, a popular breed in ye olde days (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friesian_horse), but then again, I could just be getting silly.
Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: grillo on July 06, 2010, 03:51:54 PM hahaha... ok That's because its a term used by the French for their land west of the Appalachians BEFORE the westward expansion, thus making it a historical (but not hysterical) reference. I don't get why 'open country' makes more sense. Big sky country maybe, but who says open country? The Upper Country was an actual place in what became the USA, a place the Bicycle Rider would've traveled through. So, just like we don't discuss the 'iron horse' anymore (yet it was a real thing) so goes the Upper Country.i live in the Appalachias and I've never heard anyone use the term "upper country" the album is partly about westward expansion and this great land of ours. Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: cutterschoice on July 06, 2010, 04:07:05 PM That's because its a term used by the French for their land west of the Appalachians BEFORE the westward expansion, thus making it a historical (but not hysterical) reference. I don't get why 'open country' makes more sense. Big sky country maybe, but who says open country? The Upper Country was an actual place in what became the USA, a place the Bicycle Rider would've traveled through. So, just like we don't discuss the 'iron horse' anymore (yet it was a real thing) so goes the Upper Country. 'Open Country' is a phrase I've heard before. as in, "ah, the open country". I grew up by the countryside, it's not uncommon. As someone mentioned earlier, it basically referencing a expansive countryside, fresh air etc. And it definitely sounds like Brian says Open, not Upper. Let me get Van Dyke on the phone to clear this up Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: runnersdialzero on July 06, 2010, 04:37:06 PM I think "freshen air" works as a weird, unexpected play on words. Perhaps it was really "freshen the air" but Brian forgot a word, or it was really "freshened air"? Sounds like a canny reference to pot, such as we see with "Cabinessence" (switch the B and the N around and you get "Canibessence"). I'd say that's a stretch, especially about "Cabinessence". Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: bossaroo on July 06, 2010, 05:01:28 PM i like the Cannibessence theory... it never occured to me! :hat
Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: Mr. Cohen on July 06, 2010, 05:50:25 PM Quote I'd say that's a stretch, especially about "Cabinessence". I agree that the whole "freshened air/freshen the air" bit is pure conjecture, but I thought that my "Cabinessence" theory was pretty sound. The fact that they combined the two words into one, IMO, says something. Why else would Van Dyke have done that? Just for the hell of it? Say cabinessence five times fast and see what it sounds like it. Would be a good question to ask Van Dyke, I suppose. Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: cutterschoice on July 06, 2010, 06:10:20 PM I think "freshen air" works as a weird, unexpected play on words. Perhaps it was really "freshen the air" but Brian forgot a word, or it was really "freshened air"? Sounds like a canny reference to pot, such as we see with "Cabinessence" (switch the B and the N around and you get "Canibessence"). I'd say that's a stretch, especially about "Cabinessence". Frank Holmes (a friend of VDP, and the Smile cover artist) said that “Cabinessence” is a pun on ‘cannabis.’ I think he's a reliable source. VDP even gave him some lyrics from cabinessence to help inspire the cover art, hence how he knew the unused lyrics in ESQ '97 Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: runnersdialzero on July 06, 2010, 06:32:21 PM Every Beach Boys songs is about drugs when you get right down to it, apparently.
Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: Mr. Cohen on July 06, 2010, 07:14:13 PM "Surfer Girl" is an anagram for "Rufies Grrl". Coincidence? I think not.
Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: cutterschoice on July 06, 2010, 07:17:54 PM "Surfer Girl" is an anagram for "Rufies Grrl". Coincidence? I think not. well, we all know that one. Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: Bill Tobelman on July 06, 2010, 07:24:07 PM A lot of Brian's language circa 66 can be traced to the album HOW TO SPEAK HIP.
http://howtospeakhip.com/ Just a few minutes of listening will catch Brian fans' attention with the "just relax, me and this cat" and "world peace" stuff that Brian was doing during the "Ego" recording sessions. If Brian got his pronunciation of "Zen" from the album it might sound more like "zan" because when Geatz Romo spouts "Like in Zen" it sounds like "like in zan." You can hear this for yourself in the section entitled THE HANG UP at http://howtospeakhip.com/ Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: cutterschoice on July 06, 2010, 07:33:51 PM I listened to How to Speak Hip a while back. The bit where he mentions nearly falling into the mic (something like that) seemed like the basis for some of Brian's skits.
Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: Jay on July 06, 2010, 08:22:05 PM "Hey man, get on the horn, call some freaky people and we'll have a scene". ;D
Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: rogerlancelot on July 06, 2010, 10:26:10 PM Ummmm....now that we're completely off-topic, can we agree that these reels will never be seen again?
Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: runnersdialzero on July 06, 2010, 11:08:05 PM Ummmm....now that we're completely off-topic, can we agree that DRUGS, MAAAAAAAAAAAN Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: smile-holland on July 07, 2010, 12:00:04 AM Ummmm....now that we're completely off-topic, can we agree that DRUGS, MAAAAAAAAAAAN I happen to suffer from a lack of humor sometimes.... but I assume that was meant to be funny, runnersdialzero? Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: Andrew G. Doe on July 07, 2010, 01:22:34 AM Ummmm....now that we're completely off-topic, can we agree that these reels will never be seen again? Never say never - movies long considered lost are turning up... well, not all the time, but certainly now and then. For example, Napoleon vu par Abel Gance (1927) - before Kevin Brownlow embarked upon his crusade to restore it in the 60s, the longest known version was about 90 minutes/two hours. The current print runs slightly over five and a half hours. Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: Mooger Fooger on July 07, 2010, 06:23:05 AM Not only that but a near complete print of "Metropolis" by Fritz Lang from 1927 was discovered 2 years ago in Argentina. In Germany they premiered the near complete cut featuring restored footage not seen for 80+ years in March. A blu-ray is due out any time.
Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: Andrew G. Doe on July 07, 2010, 07:53:40 AM Not only that but a near complete print of "Metropolis" by Fritz Lang from 1927 was discovered 2 years ago in Argentina. In Germany they premiered the near complete cut featuring restored footage not seen for 80+ years in March. A blu-ray is due out any time. Seen the 'new' footage: be prepared to be very disappointed - some of the footage is like looking at the film through a tropical downpour. Here's what I mean: http://scientific-media.de/showroom/metropolis/ (http://scientific-media.de/showroom/metropolis/) Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: king of anglia on July 07, 2010, 09:53:03 AM i like the Cannibessence theory... it never occured to me! :hat That's brilliant. There's another similar trick in Cabinessence. The end bit "over and over the crow cries...". Swap the second half of each line around and it makes more sense: Over and over the crows cries and hovers the wheatfield Over and over the thresher uncovers the cornfield Maybe if Van Dyke Parks explained that to Mike Love (who famously demanded "what kinda doolally, cockamamie lyric is this??!?!?") instead of flouncing off like a ponce, history would've have been very different.... e.g SMiLE would have been completed Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: bossaroo on July 07, 2010, 11:08:56 AM that's a nice thought, but i don't think we can blame SMiLE's downfall on Van Dyke "flouncing off like a ponce"
Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: king of anglia on July 07, 2010, 01:55:39 PM No, I agree. There were other factors:
Mike Love acted like a dingus. Brian Wilson went man-mental. Al Jardine probably did something bad too. Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: cutterschoice on July 07, 2010, 02:51:24 PM i like the Cannibessence theory... it never occured to me! :hat That's brilliant. There's another similar trick in Cabinessence. The end bit "over and over the crow cries...". Swap the second half of each line around and it makes more sense: Over and over the crows cries and hovers the wheatfield Over and over the thresher uncovers the cornfield Maybe if Van Dyke Parks explained that to Mike Love (who famously demanded "what kinda doolally, cockamamie lyric is this??!?!?") instead of flouncing off like a ponce, history would've have been very different.... e.g SMiLE would have been completed I think Van Dyke has assumed the position that a lot of poets do, which is reducing a poem to a bare statement misses the point completely. It's clear, i think, that the lyrics are well thought out and make sense. Van Dyke avoids explaining them, and usually just claims he doesn't know what they mean. There's an interview Van Dyke did in 1974 for BBC radio which touches on this. I've been trying to find it. Has anyone heard it, or have a copy? Even if Van Dyke had sat Mike down and gone through every lyric line by line, I still don't think Mike would be happy with it all. Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: runnersdialzero on July 07, 2010, 07:32:37 PM I think Mike just needed some drugs, as do we to appreciate this music and put it in the right context.
Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: Mahalo on July 07, 2010, 08:12:29 PM I think Mike just needed some drugs, as do we to appreciate this music and put it in the right context. I didn't need drugs to appreciate their music or to understand the context; they made me fee lifted without that merda...besides, Mike did drugs. Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: Myk Luhv on July 07, 2010, 09:52:11 PM Yeah, hasn't Mike admitted often enough that he also smoked a hell of a lot of hash with the rest of the Boys during the Smile sessions as well as during the Smiley Smile and Wild Honey (and probably beyond but I don't know) sessions?
Additionally, I remember someone asking this but I don't know if it was answered and I was curious: Considering Smile is about early American history and that particularly American experience that goes along with it, how much research for this sort of lyric-setting, background knowledge and whatnot was done beyond song excavation? Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: runnersdialzero on July 07, 2010, 10:38:33 PM Fine, then Mike needed more drugs to better understand Brian's drug music and put it in the proper context.
Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: cutterschoice on July 08, 2010, 08:13:46 AM hallucinogenics will only give you a greater understanding of yourself and a greater appreciation of things you already like. You could've hooked Mike up to a constant drip of LSD and he still wouldn't have gone for Smile. He was bothered about the change of music, less commercial, and his lack of involvement. At least he got what he wanted.
Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: runnersdialzero on July 09, 2010, 04:18:34 AM hallucinogenics will only give you a greater understanding of yourself and a greater appreciation of things you already like. You could've hooked Mike up to a constant drip of LSD and he still wouldn't have gone for Smile. He was bothered about the change of music, less commercial, and his lack of involvement. At least he got what he wanted. DRUUUUGS. Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: Roger Ryan on July 10, 2010, 09:35:12 AM Not only that but a near complete print of "Metropolis" by Fritz Lang from 1927 was discovered 2 years ago in Argentina. In Germany they premiered the near complete cut featuring restored footage not seen for 80+ years in March. A blu-ray is due out any time. Seen the 'new' footage: be prepared to be very disappointed - some of the footage is like looking at the film through a tropical downpour. Here's what I mean: http://scientific-media.de/showroom/metropolis/ (http://scientific-media.de/showroom/metropolis/) Prepared to be disappointed? No way. True, the found footage is in very bad shape, but it really enhances the content of the film in my opinion. The pacing alone is better and the "new" material clarifies at least one major subplot which was severely under represented in previous versions. Especially for those who have only seen the completely butchered 90 min. version, the almost complete (still missing about three to four minutes) two-and-a-half hour version is a wholly different film. Anyway, even if the INSIDE POP footage looked as bad as the 16 mm dupe of the METROPOLIS footage, I wouldn't hesitate a second to pay to see it. Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: Andrew G. Doe on July 10, 2010, 12:20:22 PM Not only that but a near complete print of "Metropolis" by Fritz Lang from 1927 was discovered 2 years ago in Argentina. In Germany they premiered the near complete cut featuring restored footage not seen for 80+ years in March. A blu-ray is due out any time. Seen the 'new' footage: be prepared to be very disappointed - some of the footage is like looking at the film through a tropical downpour. Here's what I mean: http://scientific-media.de/showroom/metropolis/ (http://scientific-media.de/showroom/metropolis/) Prepared to be disappointed? No way. True, the found footage is in very bad shape, but it really enhances the content of the film in my opinion. The pacing alone is better and the "new" material clarifies at least one major subplot which was severely under represented in previous versions. Especially for those who have only seen the completely butchered 90 min. version, the almost complete (still missing about three to four minutes) two-and-a-half hour version is a wholly different film. Anyway, even if the INSIDE POP footage looked as bad as the 16 mm dupe of the METROPOLIS footage, I wouldn't hesitate a second to pay to see it. I meant disappointed in a technical sense, but thanks to that footage - which in some cases is used for maybe one, two seconds - the film is now much more coherent and, as you say, almost a different film in terms of plot and storylines. Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: Nile on October 29, 2015, 12:33:27 AM Quote (Page 1) 75 (signifying Reel #75) 1. hands to face CR angle can't see hands pan to hands in dark child Is the Father of man 2. Heroes & Villains plays Vandyke Parks has been working on lyrics sings open country song Sunshine 76 Surf's up cu (or cw? or au?) CR -> takes guts to catch wave can visualize intervals on piano 77 x piano Surf's Up PB Surf's up candelabra shot CL 78 Scratch (?) Wilson & friends ??????? (in house????) ---------------------------------- (Page 2) 83 1. engineer 2. pan up to Brian 3. board 4. Boys singing who Ran The Iron Horse (Above "who Ran" is the scratched out word "Hooray" as if he wasn't sure what the words were.) 5. Wilson ??????? (judging?!?!) 6. Boys singing who Ran The Iron Horse 7. Do Wa Wa in circle 8. Wilson ?????? (shelving?!?!) 84 9. Let's work on microphone boys around mike Do wa 85 Brian at piano working out(?) Yodelledo then group sings at mike 86 Group around mike Yodelledo Playback Yodelledoo's control in b.g. ("b.g." stands for background?) Inside control room Group & Engineer Da daum(?) (La daum?) Go out into studio Brian eating cereal record da da da da ------------------------------ (Page 3) Beach Boys 86 1. around mike Yodeladeeo pan to Piano Brian walks out frame(?) to outside booth playback walks to control board 2. Brian talking ????? (bad pa toheps?!?!) to engineer 3. dark 4/s listening to playback Brian goes to ????? (sirke?!?!) eats, put on headphones sing dine dine Scratch 87 1. control board thru window track on(?) dine dine Let's go have some Zen accompaniment 2. Brian at piano from behind plays chords ------------------------------------ (Page 4) 87 engineer thru glass to group in(?) b.g. record da da group comes back into room & listens to da da da let's go lets have some zen compliment Brian at piano from behind accomp. to Surf's up to hands to face CL around to x & back to CL 88 Brian eating headphones listening to piano track sings lead on(?) thru piano 1 more time --> tone(?) & start again side view CL -> start at 2nd verse hung velvet misses the glass pickup hung velvet stop at dove nested have echo on me pickup again at hung velvet 89 Overdubs hung velvet lead on(?) ???????? (jumoles?!?!) -- let's overdub it move to CR side (?).s. 11(?) more around behind move around to face CL he gestures he talks while voice go(?) --------------------------- (Page 5) mono mix - Id like it softer let's go to top is that cool LS CL overdub LS hung velvet out sync LS thru control room 2nd shot n.g.(?) needle recorder pan to engineer back to recorder 90 --> playback engineers bg Wilson fig. fade in(?) kneels -- can have muted trumpet go bleep(?) move to us(?) half of Jules Brian coat on walks out Pool Bodies toward camera ---------------------------------------- (Page 6) Beach Boys R88 1. Brian eating sits at piano 2. lead on Brian e(?) earphone singing into mike 3. Brian at piano sings not(?) (nor?) sleeping(?!) pan across piano Surf's up ????? words to back top & false starts tone(?) move to side start again - go to colonnaded ruins "cut again to end verse" false start, then humg velvet c moves to side ("c" is probably "camera") "missed it pickup 2nd verse" 'no I can't do it(?) - You have echo on me "????? (julimp?!?!) 2nd verse again 89 1. head on "hung velvet PB that's it let's overdub it 2. "Are you hearing yourself now?" words(?) mix it so you can hear both voices ???" (boy?) (tog? for together?) ????? (pans?) back move around "go to top" Take 1 3. LS piano are you sleeping 4. " " (ditto marks under "LS piano") ------------------------------------------------ (Page 7) 89 5. thru booth to Brian 6. needle 7. recorder spinning to engineer to recorder 90 1. Brian listening Stretching 2. Brian ??????? (putting on vocal leads????) can't see hands pan to hands in dark child Is the Father of man - Are we absolutely positive that this isn't the footage seen in "American Band"? Couldn't Dennis be shooting same time as CBS? Cause it sounds quite the same.... [/quote] Why american secret services aren't on this case? ;D This would be mindblowing, BW and the Boys in the studio on 15th December 1966?? Why oohh why? Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: Kurosawa on October 29, 2015, 12:54:18 AM hallucinogenics will only give you a greater understanding of yourself and a greater appreciation of things you already like. You could've hooked Mike up to a constant drip of LSD and he still wouldn't have gone for Smile. He was bothered about the change of music, less commercial, and his lack of involvement. At least he got what he wanted. His lack of involvement was his biggest issue, IMO. Being less commercial didn't stop he from doing Smiley Smile and it's way less commercial than SMiLE. That's why the "f-with the formula" story never made any sense-Smiley doesn't just f- with it, it smashes the formula to a million bits and throws it out the window. "Little Pad" is more drugged out than anything on SMiLE to me. And I've never gotten high and just a little tipsy once and understand plenty of music that people say you need to be high to get, so yeah, Mike did not need drugs to get into SMiLE. What he needed was to feel involved and needed, and he didn't. What happened with VDP was probably in part something that had been building for years over Brian writing with other people. Heck, Mike doesn't like it that Brian writes with Joe Thomas now, and he is as MOR as you can get. Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: ash on November 06, 2015, 01:26:24 AM This remains the holy grail of Beach Boys history as far as i'm concerned. Unless Brian and Van Dyke made composing demos at home. Re-reading it for the umpteenth time and just trying to imagine all those missing bits, aarrghhh.
It hasn't been confirmed destroyed has it ? I think the last news was trail cold . Some room for optimism at least. Maybe as digitisation of film archives etc.. continues this or the sound reels (were they separate?) will surface one day. Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: Bicyclerider on November 07, 2015, 08:14:27 AM Indeed it's hard to tell what Brian is singing on the first line. One other option I came across somewhere was "freshnin' air around my head...". I don't know if that makes sense, but to my ears it sounds quite good. It does make sense . . . Air that freshens is "freshening air" which when you sing it and swallow the g is "freshenin' air." Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: Bicyclerider on November 07, 2015, 08:31:15 AM Going back to the reels . . . I'm wondering if the numbers correspond to the order of recording or if they were numbered afterwards. Because all the stories report that after the December 15 session that "went badly" with Brian recording the Surfs Up demos in pieces, Oppenheim cajoled Brian to sing it all the way through on his home piano with the candelabra, which was used on the special. Yet that reel is 75 while the demo is 88-89.
Also it's curious that "open country" and great shape appear to still be part of Heroes at this time - AFTER the track list showing Shape as its own song was submitted to Capitol. This takes place at Brian's house "heroes and villains playing" means an acetate? Or a tape of the verses? Then Brian sings Shape to show it goes next? Then he sings Sunshine - as another song or was he thinking of using MOS as a fade to the song? We can only hope this footage is discovered in a tape vault somewhere while we are still here to see it. Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: thetojo on November 08, 2015, 06:04:30 PM In 13 months time these should be ripe for release under the copyright extension release program!! Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: Andrew G. Doe on November 08, 2015, 10:29:27 PM ... except Capitol doesn't hold the copyright.
Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: 37!ws on November 09, 2015, 12:21:04 PM Doesn't matter who holds it: if it expires, it expires.
Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: Cool Cool Water on November 09, 2015, 01:22:20 PM We can only hope this footage is discovered in a tape vault somewhere while we are still here to see it. Let's hope so. It deserves to be released now, if it still exists in vaults that is, as it'll be better than the recently released GV studio footage and arguably anything before footage related for hardcore fans. Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: CenturyDeprived on November 09, 2015, 01:55:55 PM We can only hope this footage is discovered in a tape vault somewhere while we are still here to see it. Let's hope so. It deserves to be released now, if it still exists in vaults that is, as it'll be better than the recently released GV studio footage and arguably anything before footage related for hardcore fans. Less historically important, but perhaps the next most important piece of studio BB video footage which exists, but has never been seen in good quality, and must one day be seen in proper quality, is the Our Team MIU documentary footage. Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: Andrew G. Doe on November 10, 2015, 12:30:30 AM If the reels exist anywhere, and it's a big if, it would be in the Oppenheim family archives. They were approached several years ago. No response.
Title: Re: Inside Pop Reels Post by: Jay on November 10, 2015, 01:38:34 AM If the reels exist anywhere, and it's a big if, it would be in the Oppenheim family archives. They were approached several years ago. No response. Maybe it's worth giving it another chance? |