The Smiley Smile Message Board

This might've been solved ages ago, but I never heard about it:

On my old vinyl SMILE #2, it says that the backing track is a SMiLE-era recording made by Brian.

I don't believe it myself. It sounds close, but to my ears, it's a good approximation.

Any validity to this tale? What's the full story, if anybody knows? (Besides Dean Torrance, that is...)

It is defintely NOT a smile track. It was recorded by Dean, Joe Osborne and Larry Knetchel in Osborne's garage studio. Recorded circa June 1967 after Dean heard the Smiley track. The single also credits the song as "from the album Smiley Smile" on the label. The interview in which Dean mentions the background to the song was done in 1973 and printed in Hot Wax in 1978. Released on White Whale records.

Two versions:

10/67  The Laughing Gravy  White Whale WW 261   Vegetables/Snowflakes On Laughing Gravy's Whiskers
  1/72  Jan & Dean                United Artists 50859     Vegetables/Jenny Lee

It's all a bit confused, but J&D experts consider that the first is purely a DT  production, while the second has Brian & Spring on bvs, and Brian may have co-produced (although it also apparently uses the 1967 track/lead). Confused ? Me too.

So, which one is on "Pet projects"?
BTW, I think that version is superior to the Beach Boys' SmileySmile-version.

Though the label of UA 50859 (erroneously) states "recorded fall ´68".  

(http://i52.tinypic.com/2qdtnvp.jpg)


It´s the version released as UA 50859 by Jan & Dean.

I always liked the little recited list of vegetables in the fade--the one thing I feel is missing from the BB's version.

The original Laughing Gravy single is available on CD on In the Garden:  the White Whale Story.  As far as I know this is the only place you'll find it.

The remake is the same track/lead vocal with backing vocals by Brian and Marilyn and who knows who else, and I assume the backing vocals are what Brian "produced."

If Jan was there too, would it have been recorded at the same time as "Don't you just know it" ?

Brian's vocal, and the track, were allegedly recorded in 1970.

However, Jan had nothing to do with either version of "Vegetables"

Allright. i just thought because the label says Background: Jan Berry - Brian Wilson 
So probably just a promotional thing, right ?

I'd say so - Jan's certainly not in any photos of the later session that I've seen.

It's also on the Japanese CD "I Still Dream Of You: Rare Works Of Brian Wilson" (MMCD-409).

By comparison, I think the track on "Pet Projects" although credited to The Laughing Gravy, is actually the later 'J&D' remake.

I have that I Still I Dream of You - I'll have to pull it out.

No Jan involvement…strictly a Dean Torrence vision.

Here's an excerpt from my interview with Torrence in 2007—
ESQ: Why was “Vegetables” initially released as The Laughing Gravy?
DT: It was pretty obvious to me that Jan wanted full control over the recordings. As far as I was concerned we missed our window of opportunity, which was somewhat shortly there after his accident. We had the press, we still had somewhat of a track record that still wasn’t that far in the past. …at that point I resolved myself to the fact Jan was not going to allow anything to happen that he didn’t do, so I didn’t even consider it to be a Jan & Dean song. Because we did that tape at Joe’s house anytime we were messing around or had extra time on our hands we would tinker with it. There were probably tons of different versions with add-ons and subtractions just on a whim. I don’t remember in what sequence of order it happened.

ESQ: Tell me about “Snowflakes on Laughing Gravy's Whiskers,” the B-side for “Vegetables.”
DT: It was the same jamming-type scenario with all the musicians sitting around and experimenting with different instruments, studio electronics, etc. They would sit around and come up with melodies, and when they’d get bored with it they’d put it back in the box and a couple weeks later take it out and tinker with it some more. The whole idea was to make it sound like it was lifted from an old film. It was pretty progressive for its time. That’s a case of the studio guys just amusing themselves.

ESQ: What are the differences between the White Whale version and the version that ended up on the Jan & Dean Anthology album?
DT: I really don’t remember.

ESQ: That’s a really cool picture sleeve that you put together for the “Jenny Lee”/”Vegetables” single with the tear look with the album cover behind it.
DT: That was actually a promotional piece to promote the Jan & Dean Anthology album. It wasn’t really a “serious” record that we thought was gonna get played on the radio. It was just a promotional piece that had the oldest song on the album and the newest song on the album, and if you wanted to hear everything in between then you had to get the anthology. Using pieces from the actual album cover was kind of a way to tie the whole piece in continuity-wise: the LP with the little promotional piece.

© ESQ 2007/All Rights Reserved