The Smiley Smile Message Board

Hello all -
since I have acquired the SMiLE 2004 set on double vinyl and have yet to play it: I have a few questions.
1. Can anyone post a complete list of backing tracks (including b-sides etc.) of SMiLE 2004?
2. How does the vinyl compare to the CD format qua sound?
3. Is there any material from those sessions that we haven't heard yet but is of huge interest?
CLF

"1. Can anyone post a complete list of backing tracks (including b-sides etc.) of SMiLE 2004?"

Don´t know if they are all official, and I have no idea were I got them ( ;)), but: "Heroes And Villains", "Roll Plymouth Rock", "Cabin Essence", "Surf´s Up", "On A Holiday" and "Wind Chimes".


2. How does the vinyl compare to the CD format qua sound?

Don´t have the vinyl, but almost everyone said that the vinyl sounds much better, warmer etc.


"3. Is there any material from those sessions that we haven't heard yet but is of huge interest?"

From the 2004-sessions? Doubt it, since they went into the studio with an exact plan what to record and how to record it.

There's also the freebie from ESQ 'Mrs O'Leary's Cow (Fire) - Instrumental' and 'In Blue Hawaii - Instrumental' from the 'Good Vibrations' CD single.

There's also that remix of Our Prayer that was included on a very rare vinyl single. That's sort of related to this as far as extraneous BWPS material is concerned.

Is that really all that necessary? Of all the instrumentals they could've released... how disappointing.

I think it's cool, more like the original take without the Fall Breaks vocals.

Eh, ever since the let-down of the "On a Holiday" instrumental not sounding as good as "Holidays" off Smile, I wouldn't want to hear Mrs. O'Leary's Cow/Fire or In Blue Hawaii instrumentals.. that's just me, though.

Well, that's all very true. The new tracks aren't as good as the old ones.
BWPS doesn't really stand up to being picked apart, but Oh Mama, the whole thing is incredible, ain't it?

Stand back: Red rag to a bull! Red rag to a bull! ;)

I burnt 'em all onto 1 disc and I think they're just as cohesive as the '66-'67 era tracks, personally.

Actually, we could start a new combustible thread with your above quote as the header .. sure to be a lively topic.

Are the instrumental tracks available from a digital source (i.e. non-vinyl)?  If so, has anybody attempted to subtract the intrumental tracks from the complete versions, and isolate the new vocals?  Or are there mix/mastering differences which make this impossible?

Liam

I can only answer the above part for you ..

'In Blue Hawaii' ('B' side to 'Good Vibrations' CD Single)
'Roll Plymouth Rock' (ESQ Exclusive CD)
'Mr's O'Leary's Cow' (ESQ Exclusive CD)
'Surf's Up' (LSL 'Beautiful Dreamer' Bonus CD)
'H&V' (Bonus track on Japanese 'BWPS' CD)
'Cabin Essence' (Bonus track on Japanese 'BWPS' CD)

There are differences between the 2 bonus tracks on the Japanese release compared to the bonus tracks on the vinyl issue. One version has backing vocals still left in the mix.

"...and 'In Blue Hawaii - Instrumental' from the 'Good Vibrations' CD single."

Damn, I totally forgot that one. And I listen to it regulary.



"Mrs O'Leary's Cow (Fire) - Instrumental"

Almost as good as the a-cappella-version of "Our Prayer". ::)



"Eh, ever since the let-down of the "On a Holiday" instrumental not sounding as good as "Holidays" off Smile..."

That´s funny, because IMO it´s one of the few recordings that is CLEARLY superior in the new version.

Yeah, they're as cohesive. They just don't have the dark ominous majesty of the originals. You can replicate notes, but not vibes.

Thanks so far to everyone for the detailed answers!

you can get H&V (instrumental) off of the iTunes release of BWPS

As per your vinyl quality question, I have the vinyl, and it's indeed warmer and wider than the CD version.

I have it in high-quality MP3 if you want it.

.. and there's the rub, Ian .. imho, the '66-'67 era stuff is too dark and ominous to make me smile (no pun intended). At least with 'BWPS', the music sounds joyous to these humble lugholes.

Another thing, is that we on this humble board know far too much than we ought to know about the personal stuff. We know the "darkside" to that era and that clouds the '66-'67 era for me.

Just me rambling, move along .. nothing to see here :)

Or tack pianos, man.  Or tack pianos...

 :o......... :-X

That's why so many fans love it! It's so un-Beach Boys!

See, I actually find BWPS to be too serious.  If the 66-67 sessions were "dark" there was also at times a gleeful silliness to the procedings... A precocious childishness, if you will.  The chanting during the Roll Plymouth Rock chorus, while the band is clearly having fun on BWPS, is just more willfully off-kilter and un self consciously ridiculous on Worms '66.  IMO.

Yes, the vinyl is the definative way to hear Smile. If you listen to the vinyl and CD back to back there's no comparasion. I sold my CD version because it was so far inferior. As far as the instrumentals go. You have the following.

Heroes and Villains - Bonus Track on Japanese version of the CD
Heroes and Villians - Side 4 of the vinyl version with some backing vocals
Roll Plymouth Rock - Special bonus CD that came with the Smile issue of Endless Summer Quarterly
Cabin Essence - Bonus Track on the Japanese version of the CD
Cabin Essence - Side 4 of te vinyl version with some backing vocals
Surf's Up - Bonus CD with Smile DVD when ordered through LSL Productions
On A Holiday - Side 4 of the vinyl
Wind Chimes - Side 4 of the vinyl
Mrs. O'Leary's Cow - Special bonus CD that came with the Grammy issue of ESQ (apparantly no backing vocals)
In Blue Hawaii - Track 2 on the CD single of "Good Vibrations"

Those are the officially released instrumentals. Though a lot of the instrumentals can be heard in the Beautiful Dreamer documentary.

One more bit of trivial. The song "Child is Father of the Man" is listed as Child is Father to the Man on the tracklisting of the vinyl version. At least mine is.

I agree, Jason. I have done and do still love it too for what it was, but the personal stuff clouds it for me and makes it a harsh listen these days.

This really makes me want to buy a record player, which is something I've pondered doing for a while.

Is the vinyl (that is, the version you can buy new, say, on UK Amazon) of Pet Sounds good as well.  Any pros and cons to it, compared to the CDs?  It's only really these two records that make me desire a turntable.

That's all part of the legend. The main selling point for most people is that they would love to hear the music that supposedly drove its creator insane. Me, I thought it was so dark and so ominous that I actually got chills listening to a few of the sections. If there's one thing we can learn about Smile, it's not really a "happy" album.

That's never been a main selling point for me, I must admit.

For me, it's always been about the legend of Brian Wilson's magnificent unreleased opus magnum that should've followed 'GV's. The album that might have tipped the scales in Brian Wilson's (ergo: the Beach Boys) favour in the Pop/Rock/Psyche hierachy in the '60's if it had been released back then.


Hehe .. that's how it used to be for me, before I learnt about the whole backstory.


You're right, the '66-'67 session tracks/vocal castoffs and tidbits don't make for happy listening. SMiLE, on the other hand' as released by Brian Wilson; makes for one helluva happy album ;D

As long as the '66-'67 era stuff is archived properly for posterity ( .. America's band at what could have been it's finest point in it's career) then I'm happy.

For me, the music is timeless. I could give a rat's ass about whether it's the old version or new one. And the complaints about pianos is, to me, pointless. It's all about the composition of music that transcends, and whether it's the '66 model or the 2004 one, nothing else quite reaches the heights of imagination like SMiLE.

I think everyone, even those who can't get past the fact that there is no tape hiss on BWPS should sit down and listen closely to the instrumentals and throw all preconceptions out the window forever.