The Smiley Smile Message Board

In the book for the big version of the Smile Sessions box it gives the date 10/17/1966 as a possible date for the recording of the cornucopia version of "Vegetables".

Anyone out there know how the compilers of the box set came up with that date? Does anyone strongly disagree with the date?

I find the date plausible. If this was the date it is interesting that the group recorded this at Columbia. Maybe it was done in the spare time left in the session after doing vocals for "I'm In Great Shape" and/or "H&V"? The recording definitely feels like a sketch, much like the feel of "He Gives Speeches" (as far as it's demo-like quality).

And to get a little more out-there: does anyone see any significance in the fact that "Vegetables" might have been done the same day as "I'm In Great Shape"? I've always thought the two songs had lyric similarities. They both seem to take place on a farm, and have a sort of comic/cartoon-ish feel to them. Actually, "Barnyard", "Great Shape" and "Vegetables" all feel cut from the same cloth lyrically. Tumbling out of bed, quickly eating eggs and grits, jumping in a pig pen, shoes flying off when trying to kick a ball, jumping up and down and tossing carrots etc. "Vegetables" feel like the third act in the story set up by "Great Shape" and "Barnyard". The guy gets up, has breakfast, goes out into the barn yard, does push-ups in the pig pen, then heads out to the fields where they are harvesting vegetables. Same comic tone, same character point of view all the way through.

I wonder if "Sleep A Lot" was originally part of IIGS before it was inserted into V-T. However, the key of SAL seems always to have been E just like V-T, and IIGS was recorded in C# like H&V.

Maybe drop c-man a PM or wait for him to see the thread? He would surely be able to tell you what his research came up with.