The Smiley Smile Message Board

That above quote (in response to my initial probing) is from Wirestone. Sure there are books than could be written about this -- one such book that was written about this (among other things) is Inside the Music of Brian Wilson: The Songs, Sounds, and Influences of the Beach Boys' Founding Genius by Phillip Lambert (2007), although it deals with the 1962-67 period first and foremost -- but until then, would a stand-alone thread, dedicated to this sort of archaeology, suffice? I hope so; to this end, let's list instances where Brian Wilson has become smitten with some melody or phrase or what-have-you and reused to notable effect in various other songs.

...I cannot think of any more, so you need to start! Yes, you!

The beginning of "The Like in I love You" is reminiscent of "Spirit of Rock and Roll"
The end of "Little Bird" reminds me of "Child is Father of the Man"
There's also a bit of "God Only Knows" influence in "Our Sweet Love"

guitar riff in The Little Girl I Once Knew and Pet Sounds.

Pied Piper tune - Lazy Lizzie
County Fair- I do
Car Crazy Cutie- Pamela Jean

Mountain of Love (though I know he didn't write it) - Little Children

Virtually every single Beach Boys album -- and every single BW solo album -- contains reused material of some sort to some degree. Brian's boyhood friends have spoken of recognizing melodies he composed during high school showing up years later on Beach Boys records. This is a man whose head seemingly recombines and reuses dozens or hundreds of melodic fragments.

Early on, he used the songwriter's trick of rewriting other tunes. When You Wish Upon a Star morphed into Surfer Girl. Sweet Little Sixteen became Surfin' USA. Surfin Down the Swanee River. He went back to this more recently -- Little Children takes the Mountain of Love chorus, as mentioned, and the unreleased Someone to Love takes the verse melody from Dennis's San Miguel. Heck, even on TLOS, Forever She'll Be My Surfer Girl reworks Who Loves You by the Four Seasons.

Most people will mention his re-use of his own melodic phrases -- or entire songs. This just goes on and on. Heck, Girls on the Beach is a Surfer Girl rewrite in and of itself. Much of the original Smile material was repurposed -- He Gives Speeches into She's Goin' Bald, for example. The bass line of Wind Chimes shows up in Can't Wait too Long and the unreleased anti-drug song Just Say No from the Usher sessions.

And then there are the riffs or little instrumental passages that repeat. The Mow-mama-yama-glory-halleluyah chant that finally found its way into Morning Beat after 30 years. The "boys and girls" vocal bit from Heroes and Villains appears on the Christmas album. And so on.

Two words: Shortenin' Bread.  ;D

Proud Mary.

Maybe Brian's next album of own-writes will include a number entitled Short Mary, or Mary's Bread. Call the album Mother's Pride and be done with it Make it a concept album with a character called Mother Mary. (I knew it'd come to me...)




it's been a long week guys, I'm fading....

Da Doo Ron Ron-He Couldn't Get His Poor Old Body To Move
Being With The One You Love-Doing Time On Planet Earth

from what I've heard, this is the exact same song with different lyrics

You hear correctly, sir.

"Car Crazy Cutie" is also just a rewrite of "Pamela Jean" as "Our Car Club" is "Rabbit's Foot" recycled.

Land Ahoy - Cherry, Cherry Coupe
Pamela Jean - Car Crazy Cutie
Thinkin' 'Bout You, Baby - Darlin'
tag of At My Window - tag of A Day in the Life Of A Tree
Fire Music - Fall Breaks...
Do You Like Worms - Whistle In
Hawaiian Song - Little Pad
That's Not Me - Good Vibrations
Loop De Loop - Daddie's Little Girl
That Same Song - Rio Grande
Spark In The Dark - Chain Reaction Of Love
Barbara - Cuddle Up [I know, not BW - so hate me]
Little Girl I Once Knew - Trombone Dixie (I think)
Child Is Father To The Man - Little Bird
Good Vibrations - Look (again, I think)
Child Of Winter - Mike, Come Back To LA - Some Of Your Love
Marilyn Rovell - Do Ya - How's About A Little Bit

I don't hear some of those, AGD - That's Not Me and GV? Same Song and Rio Grande?
I also don't hear the purported similarities between Trombone Dixie and Had To Phone Ya, unless they're compositional....

An example of BW possibly not being the one doing the reusing of his musical motifs - Heroes And Villains chorus = Piano on Don't Go Near The Water. Even in the same key!

Hrrm - they have a similar feel and tempo but otherwise I don't hear it.

"Good Vibrations" and "That's Not Me" has been talked about before. Listen to the instrumental of "That's Not Me", imagine it sped up a bit and it's a little bit similar to the organ opening of "Good Vibrations".

What about Here Today and Good Vibes? (bass lines)?

Try singing "Rio Grande, Rio Grande/I'd swim you but I can't" over the intro to "TSS". ;D  Or "doobie dod, doobie do" over the intro to "RG".

Also, organ riff in the middle of "TNM" ended up in "GV".

Who Ran The Iron Horse...

'Frere Jacques, dormez vous?' = 'Are you sleeping, brother John?'

f***, that's what I meant - not "That's Not Me" and "Good Vibrations", but "Here Today" and "Good Vibrations".


Don't hear that one.

It's there, i swear - not the 'heroes and villains, see what you've done' riff, but the arpeggiated (?) chord is the same. Same as Bicycle Rider, but that's Gm and not Ebm like H&V.

I got you instantly when you realised you meant 'Here Today', though.

Andrew - i don't hear it. It sounds more like California Girls or Sloop John B than anything...

On the Good Vibrations topic:
Organ on GV - Organ on He Came Down

Heroes and Villains - I Can Hear Music
Bass lines are fairly similar

does the end of the extended version of Concert Tonight (from Sweet Insanity) contain a recycled part from Walkin' the Line's chorus?

What does the verse melody of Christmasey recycle?

A couple others.

Clang (1975-76) and Walkin' (1968-70) were reused in Morning Beat on TLOS.
Wondering What You're Up To Now (1985) was reused in California Role on TLOS.
Sweetie (1981) was reused in Love Ya on Sweet Insanity, and then reused again as Sweetie in 1996 during sessions for The Wilsons.
Black Widow (1983) was redone in 1986 with Gary Usher under the same title and then rewritten with Landy as Let's Do It Again in 1987 during the sessions for the '88 album.
In The Night Time (1983) was rewritten slightly as The First Time on Live at the Roxy.
"Take Me Home"/"Yeahhh" (1982) was reused (loosely) in Rio Grande in the section after the "Indian chant".
"I Said A Prayer" (1982) was reused for This Isn't Love in 1997 as an instrumental, and then again on Live at the Roxy with Tony Asher lyrics.
Up In The Sky (1983) became There's So Many with a lyrical revision.
They're Marching Along (1976) became Little Children in 1983, which was slightly revised for the '88 album.

have you heard that specific recording?
or do you just know that through research on the board?

My source is Mr. Andrew G. Doe. You all know him as AGD. I know him as one cool yet cranky dude nearing the 6000 mark. :)

that's what i figured.

what songs from the aborted smile made it on later albums?

I Just Got My Pay - Marcella
I'm pretty sure the first half of the verse melody of Deirdre was a take-off of something, but I can't place it and it's doing my heid in...

The last few bars of "A Thing Or Two" are not unlike a rather large number of bars of "Do It Again"...

Be True To Your Shool - I Get Around

The chorus to I Get Around is a rewrite of the Be True To Your School's chorus.

Additionally, the rhythm track arrangement of the verse to I Get Around was copped from Sugar Shack.

Now that I think of it, maybe the BG vocal part of  Be True To Your School's chorus, "Ra ra ra ra..." came from Surfin' USA's BG vocal part, "Inside outside USA...".

The chorus to Dance Dance Dance is closely related to these songs, as well.

now you're just talking rhythm patterns.

Not only that, I clearly see and hear compositional, harmonic, structural and , yes, rhythmic similarites.

here's a somewhat sloppy mash-up of Trombone Dixie/Had To Phone Ya (http://www.sendspace.com/file/4i5sq6)

and here's Tune X/Little Pad (http://www.sendspace.com/file/yzhcrr)


the verse of "Deirdre" was supposedly based on "We're Together Again"

Happy Days = My Solution, All This Is That

Sorry if this has already been mentioned.

It'd be interesting to know what was intentional, what wasn't, and what's fans just making stuff up.

Surprised no one has mentioned the little snippet of melody from God Only Knows in the Smiley version of Wonderful. That absolutely makes that version of the song come together.

what songs from the aborted smile made it on later albums?

Are you referring to those turnaournd/pick up bass notes at the end of the each verse?  Oh, I was talking about the Smile Wonderful. Oops...

Smiley Smile version of Wonderful. Carl sings it: "na na-na na na na na" is the same melodic line as "What good would living do me?" from GOK.

that part always reminds me of "Pomp and Circumstance"

You mean the bit from P&C #1 that became "Land of Hope and Glory"?! The first five notes are the same, now you mention it. :=)

what songs from the aborted smile made it on later albums?

You can look up the songs on Smiley Smile, but after that it goes something like this:

Mama Says on Wild Honey is the chorus of Vega-Tables
Do It Again on 20/20 uses Workshop
Our Prayer and Cabinessence on 20/20
Cool, Cool Water on Sunflower
Surf's Up on Surf's Up
Leaving This Town on Holland uses a piano bit from CITFOTM
Goin' On from Keeping the Summer Alive uses the descending/ascending vocal bit from the end of Heroes and Villains to wonderful effect.

I think that is it.

Naw.

Dennis' 'Sound of Free' and 'River Song' have bits common to each.

Yar. Listen to it.

thanks so much :) i'm checking all of em out right now and it's crazy how u hear the similarities yet hearing the differences at the same time.

It's only a passing similarity (i.e. it's far enough removed from being the "exact" piano part) and is total coincidence, as opposed to, say, "Little Bird" actually taking a proper part of "Child".

u forgot about little bird.

What part of Little Bird?

The tag at 1:24 borrows much of the "Child Is The Father Of The Man" chorus.

this part "The tag at 1:24 borrows much of the "Child Is The Father Of The Man" chorus."

this part "The tag at 1:24 borrows much of the "Child Is The Father Of The Man" chorus."

Interesting. I had never noticed that before. I still think the loop in Leaving This Town is just as applicable though.

@newguy, are you a little slow?

I think it's hard to claim Brian's signature pounding chords on similar sounding progressions as actual similarity..... even if the song in question was written by Brian, which Leaving This Town wasn't, and it's extremely likely Brian had nothing to do with that number.

Whereas 'Little Bird', you have a case - you have a much more active Brian in the studio, for one.

True. Still, it just sounds like they too that piano snippet and looped it to my ears. Cool with Little Bird though. I had never heard that.

at moments i am.

is there a site that lists all these? or is it just on this and a couple of other threads?

I'm pretty sure I started one as well

The difference is, though, that Brian deliberately gave that part to Dennis to help finish up "Little Bird" and worked on it with him. Same notes, same chords, a lot of the same instruments, etc. The "Leaving This Town" bit has a similar rhythm but is not the same chords, etc. as "Child", so I think that one is just coincidence. Also, we know how involved Brian was with Holland.

I'm unsure if this has been mentioned, so I apologize in advance if it has.

But I know when BW's Gershwin album came out, we were quick to say that I've got Plenty of Nuttin' borrows parts from Three Blind Mice....which I agreed with but now that I listen to Denny's I don't Know from the Smile set...that sounds more like what Brian was borrwing from, especially the banjo part and rhytm parts.

Anyone else hear this?

I agree, it's not as Smile like as one would hope. I honestly think the coda/ending to Don't Go Near the Water sounds more Smile like than that part on Leaving this Town

When thinking of questions to ask Brian...one would think (as Ken Kerchival once told me) "There's not a question that hasn't been asked...everyone's just asked the same things over and over." While I feel this may be true for someone who starred on the hit series: Dallas, I don't find it true for someone like Brian Wilson. In this case, I wonder if he's ever been asked about all these riffs...for instance: "What's the story on putting the "workshop" on the ending of Do it Again?" "What about borrowing CITFOM riff for Little Bird?" etc. etc.

Have these questions been asked to anyone official?

I believe I read somewhere(maybe Desper?) that Carl tacked on the woodshop thing to Do It Again, simply because he felt he had to justify the cost of that recording session to Capitol.