The Smiley Smile Message Board

This is obviously the first Beach Boys song to feature strings. I know it was recorded for someone earlier (Bob & Sheri) and according to AGD's website it was recorded in August 1962 and then the Beach Boys version a year later. I haven't hear the Bob & Sheri version but I am assuming that the backing track is exactly the same. But here is my question, who did the string arrangement for this song? I just love it so much, its fantastic.

As I posted above (i am repeating it just in case you miss it) but the Bob and Sherri isn't the same track musically.

Yeh sorry MBE, I know I stated that error (about it being the same) twice, but obviously I was just using it towards making my point or asking my question.

Okay so Im assuming nobody knows who arranged The Surfer Moon strings, but did Brian write out all the string & brass arrangements himself, Ive read that he did, but Ive also heard people say that he didnt so I am unsure of what is true. I realise that if he did do them that he didnt always do them (like in the late 70's etc..) but when did Brian (if at all) start doing his own string & brass arrangements?

No need to be sorry, it's good to ask questions.

I always assumed that Brian did his own string arrangements...I remember reading how Tony Asher was blown away during Pet Sounds because he didn't know that Brian could arrange strings.  So unless someone who knows better can correct me, I'm thinking it was Brian doing the arrangement on The Surfer Moon.

It was my impression that Brian picked up on string and horn arrangements from people like Dick Reynolds who arranged the orchestra on the Christmas album. And I've heard that the unreleased session titled "Three Blind Mice" was Brian's early stab at string arrangement (1965) in preparation for the "Pet Sounds" sessions where he wanted to do all the arrangements himself. If this is the case, it's possible that early tracks like "The Surfer Moon" had strings arranged by someone else.

To my (musically illiterate) ear, the strings on the BB version of "The Surfer Moon" sound very pedestrian.

I too am pretty musically illiterate, but I like them. Im not saying they are the most amazing strings ive ever heard (in fact miles from it) but still I am doubtful over whether Brian (who at the time was coming up with arrangements like In My Room, Surfer Girl etc.. (ie: nothing totally amazing - though still amazing songs of course)) could arrange strings at all, no matter how "pedestrian". But as I said, I quite like them as they suit the song quite a lot (in my opinion), they just add to the song so much for me unlike a song such as In My Room (which I think is MUCH better without strings). Like I just think their a fantastic addition to the arrangement of the song. Its kind of like how their might be a fairly "pedestrian" bass line in a song but if you take it out it sounds so much different and changes the feel of the song A LOT (in some cases anyway), and I think if you take out the Surfer Moon strings then it would sound pretty boring. Just my opinion anyway.

I think I read somewhere the guy who arranged strings for the four freshmen did that one

That would be Dick Reynolds, the same guy who did the Christmas album strings.  Very possible, though I didn't know he worked with Brian before the Christmas album.

I don't think he did, which is why the Xmas album was so special to Brian.

That's a good point, I didn't even think of that...on the 1964 radio interview Brian gives about the Christmas album, he says "I've been wanting to meet him and work with him for quite a long time".  I guess its safe to say that Dick Reynolds didn't do the Surfer Moon string arrangement after all.

I still think that Brian could have done it.  Like Andrew said, the arrangement is very "pedestrian", and its not like Brian wasn't already arranging his own stuff.  I don't put it past Brian at all, even in 1963.

Yeh I doubt that Dick Reynolds would be capable of such "pedestrian" strings since he did the Christmas Album strings (I still think they are good though). I think you might be right, maby Brian did do the string arrangement for the Surfer Moon. I mean it might've just been his early attempt at it. I guess it is Brian who in the space of 3-4 years went from pretty elementary arrangements (eg: songs like Lana) to Pet Sounds and SMiLE. Pretty amazing if you think about it, how quickly he was growing musically.