The Smiley Smile Message Board

Does anyone know if this song was recorded before Airplane?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDXqI8XlnMs

"Airplane" was recorded October-November 1976 (tag on 1/12/77). Bruce played the song to Groucho, who died 8/19/77, but whether it was just a demo or the full studio take, I don't know. If I had to guess, I'd say not.

Is this Bruce singing lead?

I'm pretty sure it's Curt Boettcher, but he seems almost to be doing an impression of Bruce -- there are odd phrases that sound more like Bruce than Boettcher ("we'll send those tears away", "carry on with our brand new old friends"). I think the vocal's been varispeeded as well, which makes it harder to tell -- the two did have similar voices. But I'm 90% sure it's Boettcher. The only vocalists credited on the CD release are Boettcher, Brent Nelson, and Joe Chemay, though Bruce is clearly audible in the vocal stack.

I don't have speakers at the moment, but what is the connection between this song and "Airplane"? Similar melodies?

I know at some point in my life I must have listened to "Brand New Old Friends" but right now I can't remember what it sounds like. But judging by the fact its mid '70s Johnston, I'm guessing there is gobs of electric piano, some super sensitive, saccharine Bruce vocals, and a nice cute melody.

Yeah, that's pretty much it except for a kinda bad lead vocal by Curt. Bruce would have done a much better job on the lead.

There's perhaps vague melodic similarity in melody between the Airplane verse & Brand New chorus, if you slowed down and kept a strict steady slick 4/4 beat to Airplane, but other than that, no real connection. 

Kicks off with the electric piano, then is heavily piano driven (ie, the piano mostly plays throughout, while the backing drums/bass dramatically go quiet from time to time), some strings wash in, and there are modern style BB backing vox (ie, similar to the bg vox on LA & KTSA, suprise suprise)

Yeah. It's also more ambitious musically than most of his stuff around then -- lots of different sections. It's by far his best mid-late 70s thing, and probably other than Disney Girls the best song he's done musically, though it's ridiculous that he wrote such a saccharine, sentimental song about the Marx brothers of all people. Bits of the melody were reused for Happy Endings, but Brand New Old Friends is much better.

I hear some similarities between the verses of Airplane and some parts of some of the verses of Brand New Old Friends. I'm not suggesting anything was "appropriated", but my guess is that the writer of one song had heard the other. Maybe I need to be more timid in my speculations.