The Smiley Smile Message Board

Hi all hope you had a nice festive period

I was just wondering if there is any news on the Dennis BBC4 doc I think it had been mentioned for a Jan 10 airing.

Also, what ever became of the feat. Queen version of Holy Man?

Cheers
Sam

We're still waiting for an official air-date slot for the BBC TV documentary. The last update i was given... is that they are looking at a February premiere (tentatively). The Queen version of Holy Man is in release limbo as of now. News on either of these things could break at any moment...or it could twist in the wind for a while longer.

One question. And everyone probably knows the answer but me, but what was the very last thing Dennis ever recorded?

I'm not sure anybody DOES know, even Stebbins...

Man, was it the "cocaine sessions"??

Thanks Jon looking forward to it :)

If Andrew's date for it on his site is correct that may be the last thing he did.

I think the "Cocaine Sessions" were probably '81-'82, but Dennis did a session for a tune he called "Labor Day" on Sept. 3, 1982.

The cocaine tapes were likely sometime right before Brian was kidnapped in October of 1982.

Hmmm... I was told the 'cocaine' sessions were in November 1982. Brian was 'fired' from the Beach Boys November 5th. He was admitted to Cedars-Sinai Hospital on 1/2/83, then flown to Kona (kidnapped, according to Carolyn Williams) two weeks later.

I think its impossible to pin down a specific timeline on these "sessions" since they were informally recorded over a span of time in someone's Venice living room(Garby Leon). Brian and Dennis would meet there, one would play the hammond, the other the grand piano, and they'd  jam, compose, and party. Garby turned on his home reel to reel to capture some of it...the result is the Cocaine/Hamburger sessions as we know them. The only studio creation to come out of this 81-82ish BW/DW collaboration is the track "Stevie" recorded at a proper West L.A. studio by Brian and Dennis with Mr. Leon in attendance. (Do we have a confirmed date on that session?) There may be a basic track to one other song recorded at the same session. I was given the impression by Leon that the total process of this series of events took place over a span that could have been several months or longer...with the Stevie session occurring approx. in the middle.

January 14th, 1981 at Sounds Good studio.

Ed...That certainly seems to fit what Tom Murphy emphatically stated in outtakes from our recent interview for the BBC shoot...that starting in '79 DW increasingly became non-productive whenever he'd book a session. Short circuited and unable to focus, couldn't accomplish anything...is how he described it. All the more aggravating when compared to the hard working and driven guy who practically lived in the studio just a couple of years earlier and pounded out great track after great track. Your memory of the Labor Day session seems par for the course in the post POB era. And yeah...of course I remember hearing your "FU Harry" tape...that is a classic!!

Getting a little off-track, but does anything exist on tape of collaborations between Dennis and Christine McVie?  Are there tapes in her possession that haven't leaked out?

For the horn overdub.  Fall of 1980 was the original reported timeframe for that track, so perhaps the basic was laid down September-October-November-Decemberish, but I couldn't say for sure when.

I can confirm there are tapes, they are multi-track...they were recorded, at least in part, in Hawaii apparently...they were not found in Christine's possession. No one in my circle has heard them yet.  A certain party reached out to another party to discuss the viability of assessing them in a discreet manner. Nothing is happening with them yet as far as I know. That's all I can say.

Audissey Studios in Hawaii, November 1980, according to the original report by Brad Elliott (read in Add Some Music).  The report said they recorded demos of two Christine songs.  One of them MIGHT have been "Only Over You", which was on the next Mac album (with a thank you for inspiration to Dennis).  

Man, it is threads like this that make me feel very fortunate that people like Mr Stebbins and Mr Roach find time out of their day to respond to us eager, knowledge hungry average fans.  :) :bow :bow :bow :bow :bow

Imagine if Dennis had sat in with Fleetwood Mac while recording Tusk, and they recorded a couple of his tunes. Lindsey doing different productions for each song, both the full-on late 70s slick coked-up Mac sound and the quirky home-demo feel of Wild Honey. Imagine they found those tapes and they're being released later this year...that would be nice.

What about Lindsey producing Brian now? I know they worked together in the 80s, but let's have some more.

This is very interesting, since the "cocaine tapes" that have been bootlegged seem to be mostly Brian, with somebody occasionally hitting a random piano note or two(Oh Lord). Dennis does not sing on any of the songs that have been bootlegged, and I don't think you can even hear his voice at all on the bootlegged tapes. Are the recordings that the fans have heard indeed the infamous "cocaine tapes" or are they mislabled recordings from around the same time period?

According to Jon's book they sure do have Dennis on them. I think he may have helped write the songs.

Hey everyone.  I've followed this board for over a year but haven't felt the need to post until now.  I have much respect for everyone's dedication to the BB career & look forward to contributing more.  I was introduced to them around age 4 & am now 31.  Brian & Dennis have been probably the biggest influences on me as a musician over the years.  Pet Sounds is my go-to album when I need musical inspiration, & I've studied SMiLE for well over 10 years now, even made my own version of the album based on the latest SMiLE book by Dominic Prior. 
 
I thought about this for awhile before making it known knowledge that I have the final mix of the Brian May version of Holy Man.  To describe it... It's the Taylor Hawkins version but Brian recorded background vocals (making it Queen-esque) & soloed over the long instrumental outro as well as making his own ending, which is just the intro with him singing over it.  It's definitely interesting, but I honestly prefer Taylor's original version that was released with the POB/Bambu rerelease.  I can listen to the latter along with DW's other songs seamlessly.  Brian May's version is cool for what it is, but that's it.  It doesn't sound anything like what DW would've done.  That said, it is cool & I hope it gets released at some point...

In which case I'll apologise, since I have not had an oppertunity to read John's book. I was just going by the recordings I have heard. You can hear somebody other than Brian talking a little bit(at the end of "I Feel So Fine") but I don't think it's Dennis.

At the end of "Night Blooming Jasmine" (bonus track on Rhino's remaster of BW's 1988 self-titled solo debut), I think you can hear Dennis' voice, very faintly.  That was recorded by the two of them in the Fall of '81, according to a contemporaneous Brad Elliott report in the "Add Some Music" fanzine.  Also, Brian is known to have said at the time that he and Dennis cowrote "NBJ", "City Blues" and other songs.

At the end of "Night Blooming Jasmine" (bonus track on Rhino's remaster of BW's 1988 self-titled solo debut), I think you can hear Dennis' voice, very faintly.  That was recorded by the two of them in the Fall of '81, according to a contemporaneous Brad Elliott report in the "Add Some Music" fanzine.  Also, Brian is known to have said at the time that he and Dennis cowrote "NBJ", "City Blues" and other songs.
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Very interesting… I think it's so cool that Dennis' spirit remains so alive. I love his music, and have enjoyed doing the special editions of ESQ on Dennis through the years. Working with Jon in 2008 was a great experience. If it wasn't for Dennis, the Beach Boys would mean something completely different to me. Dennis changed perception, and for my money, was as creative in the 1970s as Brian was in the 1960s.

I'd really like to hear Carl B. Wilson tackle "Holy Man"… That'd be worth a serious listen.

A Carl D. Wilson version would have been out of this world......

Maybe if we all get together, and send him that thought at the same time, he'll think of it and try. 
What time's good for you?

We'll see…

whatever happened to "In Bloom"?  Are Carl B and Justyn still playing together?

Oh yes, count me in! Carl B's rendition of "Forever" brought the house down.

Well, sure, that's what I meant. 

No confusion here, I just meant that a vintage Carl Dean Wilson vocal on Holy Man had it been released at the time (1973-1974?) would have been incredible.

Let's not forget Carl B's take on "Only With You," from the ESQ tribute CD of the same name (2008), and his cover (with cousin Justyn) of "Baby Blue" from the "One In A Million" tribute CD (2004). He should be the one singing "Holy Man." I was standing with him right when Taylor Hawkins version came on at the release party, and he didn't seem too concerned, but, I mean… C'mon! Who is better suited for singing that? Carl B. Wilson.