The Smiley Smile Message Board

There has been a lot of talk over the years about abandoned projects (Smile, Adult Child), even ones that were never officially projects (Landlocked) but suggested albums with radically different track listings. One that doesn't get mentioned as much as the above was the collection of songs that Brian and the group was working on post-Friends. I put together a list today on my iPod that consisted of songs that were being worked on before he pulled away quite significantly in late summer-early autumn 1968. I called the list "Rendezvous" for a few reasons, one of which is that it was an early title for Do It Again. The list is as follows:

1. Do It Again
2. Walkin'
3. The Nearest Faraway Place
4. We're Together Again
5. I Went to Sleep
6. Been Way Too Long (from GV Box)
7. Sail Plane Song
8. Walk on By
9. Old Folks Home/Old Man River (mix of Hawthorne and Friends/20/20)

Obviously this comes up quite short - around 22 minutes. Still, what is here is perhaps the seeds for an interesting (and potentially more cohesive) follow-up to Friends. It's laid back but a bit more dreamy than Friends. There is a vague theme of return (another reason for my title) in songs like Do It Again, We're Together Again, Been Way Too Long and a bit of Americana with Walk on By and Old Man River. What is interesting too is how few of these recordings were used or expanded for 20/20, especially considering Brian was less in the picture. Anyway, the songs altogher make up what sounds not necessarily like a lost Beach Boys album but a lost Beach Boys "phase" - it strikes a tone that is a bit different from the Friends tone and the Sunflower tone. It would have been interesting to see how an album that expanded on this tone would have sounded at the time. Anyway, just curious on your thoughts about this list or this phase.

This would of probably been one of my top BB records!

Shame nothing became of Walkin'.... it's an interesting little song, albeit totally unrelated to its title!

And Walk on By! That one floors me.

Thanks for the responses! I forgot about this thread. Surprised that it got a response after seven months.

didn't it turn into Morning Beat?

Was just about to post that. Yeah, it did.

Disappointed as I thought this was an appreciation thread for the great Bruce Johnston's song "Rendezvous"...

"I'm gonna meet you on a Rendezvous oh oh Rendezvous, Rende Rende Rendezvous!"

Great!

No, it didn't. The TLOS "Walkin'" was exact same melody as "Morning Beat", just different lyrics (some of which were used in the released track, author uncredited).

a) Wait, "Walkin'" with the lyrics about the old lady and the car was recorded for TLOS? Am I understanding that correctly?

b) Right, "Morning Beat" is basically an evolution of "Walkin'" as was implied in the original posts.

No. "Morning Beat" was originally called "Walking" - same instrumental track, mostly different lyrics. No connection to the 1970 "Walkin'" whatsoever beyond the title.

The 1970 "Walkin'" is the song about the old lady and the car though, right? If so, it's almost the exact same chord progression and structure as "Morning Beat". Compare the "That lucky old sun smiles on me" section with the stop to the "It's in a dark garage, been sittin' there for years" section with the stop, for instance.

If "Morning Beat" was originally recorded during the TLOS sessions as "Walkin'", that's even more evidence to support that much of it was derived from the 1970 song.

Um...yeah. Do you mean to tell me that you CAN'T hear the connection between the 1970 Walkin' and Morning Beat? If it's a coincidence, that is one enormous coincidence.

If I could remember where "Walkin'" is, then I'll gladly do an A/B and if necessary recant.

Get The Boot 1, I think.

As far as bluesy stomps go, they're a bit similar but the melodies are different!

Speaking of Walk on By, I vaguely remember news of a longer version being found after the 2fers were done - I'd love to hear that!  Maybe for Made in California?

Yeah, my tweaked version on 20/20 has an Americana section that includes OFAH/OMR, Cottonfields, Cabinessence, and uses the vocal only OMR has a "reprise."

Here's possibly the most damning evidence: http://www.fileden.com/files/2007/2/20/800088/walkin-morningbeat.mp3 (http://www.fileden.com/files/2007/2/20/800088/walkin-morningbeat.mp3)

Didn't even have to adjust the key, and I only had to speed "Walkin'" up slightly time-wise (not pitch-wise). The verses basically match up too, although "Morning Beat" uses a pretty standard rock 'n roll key change of the same progression mid-verse where as "Walkin'" does not.

The melody was indeed re-written, although there's a part ("She flipped on the light, but it wasn't there"/"Wanna slide down the mountain to the dancin' sea") where they're both clearly going for roughly the same melody/syncopation. ^_^

Alas, I cannot access that site as the wifi I'm currently piggybacking has a most Victorian attitude towards sites of questionable origin.  ;D

Just colonize it!

YouTube'd it real quick: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kdoMbBIkc4 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kdoMbBIkc4)

do that to the whole song! that clip sounds really cool.

In a court of law that would be ruled as a leading question and dismissed. I'd like to hear the 1970 track unadorned, please.

Seems very un-AGD to make a claim like "no connection to the 1970 "Walkin'" whatsoever" without having the facts to make such a claim.

My question is: Where is the real AGD and what have you done to him!?!?!

 ;)

Another question. Do we know who wrote the Sunflower-era "Walkin'"? Was it Brian after all? I always kinda assumed it was Al.

then


Priceless.  ::)

For what it's worth, I immediately spotted the "Walkin" melody during the TLOS show I attended.

WHAT!?!?
If this is true then it NEEDS to be out there and heard by everyone!

that song about the Old Lady and the Car is deffo Morning Beat, I mean, the backing track, obviously the vocal melody is totally different.

Its crazy how a lot of Brian's solo albums had songs that were made of recycled ideas from the 1960s recordings.

First I've heard of it. If so, why wasn't it included on the 2fer reissues ?

Maybe because it was found after they were done?

OP said "after the 2fers were done", which was 1990. Reissues were ten or so years later. Same version of "WOB".