The Smiley Smile Message Board

I posted about this in the album thread, but no one bit, so I will try again as a new topic.

The tracklisting for the new album originally had "My Life Suite" listed as the second-to-last track. The group members (including Brian) mentioned in pre-release press that there was a suite at the end of the album. When the final tracklisting was posted, "My Life Suite" was replaced by "From Here to Back Again" and "Pacific Coast Highway."

Many of us, including myself, reasoned that this was just a change in the track breaks, so the suite was broken up onto a few tracks. Apparently though, the full 7+ minute suite was nixed from the album, and these two tracks are what they decided to use, comprising a little less than half of the suite.

A recent article about the new album mentions that "From Here to Back Again" and "Pacific Coast Highway" were part of the suite, according to an unnamed band member. The writer went on to say (paraphrasing) 'apparently, artistic ambition still has its limits within the Beach Boys camp.'

This may have just been the writer inferring from past situations (SMiLe, "Til I Die," "Mount Vernon and Fairway") that there was an intraband reason for the suite being pared down. It could have been Brian's idea to pare it down, or the record label's.

One possibility is that they will use the rest of the suite on the upcoming compilation/hits album which is said to have brand-new songs included, presumably from the sessions for the new record.

Does anyone have any idea about this? This full suite could become the final White Whale of the Beach Boys' recorded output - a tradition that includes SMiLe, Adult Child, the Caribou sessions, and many other pieces of music. It looks like we may have something to speculate about endlessly until the group's reunion in 2030 with a cybernetic Mike Love and a new album on Holo-Disc.

It's not SPIN.

I'm sure we'll hear the whole thing before the year is out in an exclusive suite tie-in offer with Bob's Big Boy or something.

I wonder what the thinking was to break it up and not include bits, I'll guess we'll be able to guess when we hear it. What's on the 18.5 minutes? Shortnin' Bread sung all sweet?

I don't think it would make too much sense to have a part of a suite on a hits/compilation album.

I haven't followed the suite-topic so I don't know. Maybe we'll get the suite and the three last tracks of the album will be it.

Maybe they want to save material for their next album...

It makes plenty of sense. You sell the exclusive, way too artistic to be included suite to the fans who wouldn't touch the 23490578309th reissue. Money sound fx here.

Or you make it the last track on the new boxed set.

Right, the box set is more likely. I would love to know why the suite wasn't included.

Maybe everybody (Brian included) decided that it would be a better album with just the two tracks from the original suite. Sometimes less is more.

From There To Back Again-    3:23
Pacific Coast Highway-         1:52
Total Time-                        5:15

That's a lot longer than  "a little less than half" of 7 minutes. Assuming that the  "7 + minute" information was reliable (from Brian? Bruce is not a reliable source) that would leave something around 2 minutes on the cuttting room floor. Right now, until some more definitive information surfaces, I am inclined to believe that the 2 songs, as is, are the complete suite.

My post from another thread:

Regarding the suite concept, I find it amusing that fans have wet dreams for such a thing. As if the suite form was elevated art per se, miles up above a string of 3-minute songs. There is also this bizarre idea that Brian gives free reign to his creativity through suite composition. In this sense, the suite in an album would be his most sincere artistic approach. That's bullsh*t. Brian's a songwriter. It was Lenny Waronker who first insisted on a suite in a BW album. Since then it seems to have become mandatory for every BW album statement to have some sort of suite to be legitimate. Rio Grande was strong, Happy Days weak, and TLOS can be enjoyed as an album of songs without the transitions or spoken parts (which are ok). And each of them is a collection of individual songs, conceived as such, only to be glued into a suite when it's time to make the "Brian's a genius" statement again. As if needed.

...

May I ask: are we sure Summer's Gone wasn't part of the suite? Add that and you have what? 8 mins.?

I figured that "Summer's Gone" was the end of the suite, but the article says otherwise. Whether it is correct is another matter, but it apparently came from a member of the band... and, Dr. Lenny, I just finished replying to this post on the other thread, so I am putting it here as well...

Good point, Lenny. Just because there is a suite doesn't mean it is good quality. Brian is a consummate master of the two to three minute pop song, and suites are certainly not the only thing he creates that are of of artistic interest. In fact, as you observed, suites are not his typical song form.

It does seem, however, that Brian puts a lot of musical and creative energy into suites: each song on SMiLe is a suite unto itself, as is the totality of the album; Mount Vernon and Fairway, and of course "Rio Grande" and "Happy Days," as you mentioned.

I would be willing to bet that if Brian decided to write a suite to close the first Beach Boys album in many years, and possibly their last album ever, that it would be high-quality. It also gives Beach Boys fans a new "white elephant" - the lost suite from the reunion album. What happened to it? Why wasn't it included? I'm sure we will hear it eventually, and until we do, it is fun to speculate.

I'm presuming "My Life Suite" will not be the same thing as "Life's Suite", which supposedly was the original version of "Rio Grande", if that story can be believed. (Maybe AGD could tell is if it can?)

More like 10 minutes.

9.56.

I think a more plausible explanation is not that the Suite got nixed, but that it was simply cut down by around two minutes. Imagine the label, they're presented with this 7+ minute suite, and some of it is eh.  So they cut it down to two different tracks that chalk up to five minutes of the original seven minute grand finale, and then there's Summer's Gone to close the album.  

It seems to be much more likely than the suite getting "nixed", per se.  In any event, I ain't complaining.  Two Brian tracks that comprise some sort of suite material is fantastic.

I'll keep the argument here.
I enjoy Brian's suite-form music. Intersting that you chose to include Mt. Vernon as to me it is more incidental music than an actual suite (once we accept to call a suite something like Rio Grande or the like).
Regarding the Smile songs, most of them are a different case,  I think. Brian wrote and writes songs in sections and those sections are sometimes contrasting, sometimes not, sometimes linked, sometimes not. In the case of Smile, a number of songs -not all I agree- were conceived as such IMO.

A suite can sometimes be a vehicle for half-baked or undeveloped songs or song ideas. The plethora of Ding Dangs that didn't make it as indpendent album songs. Brian seems to have enough of them to fill quite a few suits... Paradoxically, this is proof of his short time-span (un-suite like) for composition.

Would someone who's heard the album tell us if the iTunes sample of From There To Back Again  is indeed the end of the complete track (that little jazzy flute flourish), or does it continue on from there? It sounds like the end. I don't know how much you're allowed to say, so if you don't answer, I get it.

the "7 minute" time for the suite came from Bruce who said "i'm just guessing last 7 minutes of the album".  so i'm not gonna look too much into that number and i don't think anyone else should either.

I think Summer's Gone was part of it at one point, sounds like thematically it is.  i think they just split it up into different songs, which i'm happy with because now we have 3 great ends songs instead of just one. even if it was just FTTBA and pacific.

i don't think there's a missing link of music that will become a myth, if it does. then we can say it was created in this thread.

here's another possibility...
"Think about the Days" as the first part of the suite.. that was taken from the suite and used as a opener for the cd...
that added to the other two songs runs just over 7 minutes.. and it seems to flow together?


just a guess
doc smiley   ;D

The problem with this theory is that, if you add the times for From There To Back Again, Pacific Coast Highway, and Summer's Gone together, you would get a 10 minute suite. There has been no suggestion by anyone that a suite of that length ever existed. Let us not forget, also, that Summer's Gone was listed separately from My Life Suite in Capitol's press release.


Maybe, at some early time, but don't forget, Capitol's original press release had Think About The Days mentioned as a separate track.

To sum it up, they blew it, they blew it consistently, they continue
to blow it, it is tragic and this pathological problem caused The
Beach Boys' greatest music to be so underrated by the general public.


- Jack Rieley

But, but... There seems to be a consensus that a "suite" nobody heard was much better than what we're getting. That's beyond absurd. It's like people, in the month of March, calling the tour a failure because Jeff's voice was too loud at Dodger Stadium.

Except, they're not at all blowing it this time.  This time they're doing it right; they're redeeming themselves and ending their career on a beautiful and heartfelt note.

Which was already ridiculous back then.

(http://image.spreadshirt.com/image-server/image/composition/18877665/view/1/producttypecolor/1/type/png/width/280/height/280/riddikulus_design.png)

A perfect example of a suite composed of half-formed ideas is the suite that ends McCartney's Red Rose Speedway album. Still, if each part of that sweet had been cut down by 3/4, I would probably like it a lot more.

I knew a guy who liked Brian's work, purchased BWPS, and basically thought it was a melánge of half-formed ideas. Horses for courses.

I think you're looking for a point of contention where there simply is none, unless you have some information about the suite that conflicts with my original post, in which case I'd love to hear it. I never said the suite was better than what we're getting, nor did I ascribe any qualities to it at all beyond what we have heard on iTunes.

The fact that it was apparently part of the album and was pared down is of interest to me. I like Brian's suites and thematic pieces of work, and the parts that were left on the album sound beautiful. It makes me curious about what was cut, hence the thread about it. What are you trying to argue?

Oh, sorry. I intended to address my comment to the Rieley quote and other posters. I understand your point perfectly, boots.

One more thought... "think about the days"... Was that part of the suite originally?

No problem. If this thread lasts long enough, the suite will all of a sudden be considered "Greater than SMiLe" - I suppose that's human nature. Maybe we should start saying that we heard it is the best thing Brian's ever done, just to gussy up the legend.

i think "my life suite" was just two songs, FTTBA and pacific.  Bruce overstated when he said 7 minutes, he said he was guessing anyway!   That original press release didn't mention FTTBA and pacific because obviously they made up "my life suite", when every other song on the album was mentioned.  they decided to split it into two for the album release.  i'm gonna say i'm 95% confident in that.

When you all hear the complete "FTTBA/PCH/SG" sequence - or suite, if you will - hopefully you'll be satisfied. I am, and I'm not easily pleased.

Material getting cut from an album? Shocker.

Why are people assuming this wasn't Brian's decision? You write a song that's too long, you edit it down. Saying they've made a mistake without even hearing what was cut is a bit too presumptuous.

And we're not even sure that anything was cut in the first place.

True, although some of we might be able to make a shrewd guess.

This link is posted on another thread.  Great article that explains the whole "My Life Suite" thing:

http://www.vcstar.com/news/2012/may/24/the-beach-boys-are-making-radio-waves/

Pretty much answers everyone's questions.  Wow.

Yes it does!

Wow wow wow.  What I take from this is a satisfying sense of unity of purpose by all the agents here and a sense that no one ruined Brian's dream by cutting the suite; rather it seems like a  literary and musical decision to present what they finally decided was the best work, placed coherently, as I have argued, in the new album  A very informative and clarifying read.

Also: I can't see how they won't do another album together; it just makes sense, and it's been Brian's renaissance. He loves the Wondermints, but he's a BB, for God's sake, and the deep fulfillment of being with his family again is telling and palpable. Thank for for the link.

Thanks to 'Slim Shady' - I got the link from his post in the new album thread.