The Smiley Smile Message Board

I've heard of a "vocals only" version of "Please Let Me Wonder" but I have never actually been able to track one down - does it exist or is it just a fan-created OOPS mix from the SOT set?

An a cappella mix of PLMW is impossible, because Brian overdubbed organ during the instrumental break on the mixdown. The vocals can be isolated, but you'll still hear the organ.

I have an officially created mix of this a cappella version somewhere.

Well, it's certainly not impossible to do an a capella mix.  The vocal tracks all exist on multi-track over several generations without any overlap from the instrumental overdub, which was likely punched in at the end of Brian's lead vocal track.  The background vocals are probably somewhat locked in mono, although a single-tracked backing group vocal should exist on it's own track.  It looks something like this, from what I can tell:

gen 1:

L-track
C-bgs 1
R-track

Gen 2:

L-track reduction
C- bgs 1 plus live-to-tape additional bgs 2
R- Brian's lead vocal and punched-in instrumental insert, Carl's "I Love You."


It's kind of odd because there's Mike's attempted lead in there too which may or may not have been wiped from the multis.

Background vocals in mono? Impossible. On my copy of this a cappella mix there is wide stereo separation (as in HARD to the right channel) on the backing vocals. Lead vocals in the left channel. It's a perfect a cappella mix, minus the organ, which had to have been overdubbed onto the mixdown. Whomever made this mix (not an OOPS) had access to binaural/two-track stereo tapes or work tapes. It could never have been isolated on the SOTs. Someone in the Beach Boys' organization made this mix.

I think that if you take the combined bgv reduction track, pan that opposite the single tracked first vocal overdub, and do some subtle EQing, you can get a pretty nice stereo sound out of the backgrounds.    If you consult the SOT set, you'll find that they present the material in a way that is compatible with my little track rundown:

The tracking session in stereo
the first vocal overdub with stereo track
second vocal overdub attempts with mono track
lead vocal overdub plus organ interlude OD

So, unless they're missing a generation, which seems unlikely, because then there would be more missing from the session, the doubled BGs would have to be in mono.

Perhaps Mark will see this and can clear it up for us.

Jason

Just wondering if you found that acappella mix of this song...  ;)

Wasn't a vocals-only version of  this song featured on an early BBs bootleg?  I'll have to try to look it up. Might even have been available in the pre-CD days.

The Capitol Punishment boot has somewhat of an a capella mix. It starts playing a rough mix of the song, then the instruments drop out, and it's just the voices. It sounds pretty neat if you ask me.