The Smiley Smile Message Board

I tried a search on this topic, and was unable to find much on it.  Please forgive the new guy if this has been discussed at length before.

Does anyone know exactly what lies in the vaults regarding this album?  I know we have some tracks and sessions on Sea of Tunes (which I don't have, but am somewhat familiar with), but I realize that does not necessarily mean that's all there is. 

Mr. Linett did an incredible job of remixing "Let the Wind Blow" on Hawthorne and I can't help but wonder if it would be possible for any of the other WH songs to get the same treatment.  I have a few well known fanmixes obviously made from SOT tracks, and although they are pretty rough they give an idea of what could be.

The trouble with the vault material on Wild Honey (and Smiley Smile, for that matter), is the way it was recorded.  Many of the songs have only the backing track of the verse recorded.... meaning like 35 seconds or so long.  Then vocals for verse one were overdubbed.  Then vocals for verse two were laid down on another track.  Then verse three on another.  Then the song was finally assembled, piece by piece through editing.  So basically, all the verses have the exact same music, just repeated.

Its a very odd (and somewhat lazy) way of putting together an album.

I've often assumed this was the case.  And decades before pro-tools, no less.

With Wild Honey, it's not as much an issue of not having complete songs, but there was plenty of stuff that was added straight to mono, or stuff that is not on the multi-track.

But IMO, a passable WH could be done as long as you aren't a real stickler for complete historical accuracy.

I don't think we're, like, flat out missing any songs.

This is mainly what I was wondering about.  Possibly an "Alternative" Wild Honey could be assembled.  I've said it many times on other boards, Wild Honey just screams for a stereo facelift.  IMO, it's got to be the BB's most hip album.

Another question: why does documentation for WH seem so scarce?  Is there just not much info to research, or is it generally felt that there is not enough interest in it?  I would find the latter hard to believe.

What sort of documentation do you find to be lacking?

I believe sockittome is referring to session information... obviously there is extensive documentation on many of the early Beach Boys albums.  The reason in Wild Honey's case, is because the album was recorded for the most part at Brian's home studio.  Having a studio in your home lends itself to a much more casual environment for recording, as opposed to the earlier sessions, which required extensive documentation due to musicians union contracts.

I agree with that, I have been trying to figure out the bass situation on Wild Honey for years...but it's not all a black hole, that era.

This is what I was referring to; I should've been a little clearer.  But I think you answered it.  The home studio environment had to be a whole different ballgame.