The Smiley Smile Message Board

What's the story with that wiggly distortion? Did the bumble bee from the Wild Honey stained glass window come to life and fall into the organ?

Me I love it, sadly missing from the MIC stereo remix. It even gets a 'burst-through-the-speakers' mention in the Twofer booklet.

Is it the famous Baldwin? Why was it left in? Was it deliberate? I'm intrigued!

I wonder if the Great Mr Desper knows?

Chamberlin

I *love* that sound...

It makes the song what it is.  ;D

If that's the case, then I guess the bee is also stuck in the piano for the entirety of "Here Comes the Night"

If I understand correctly, the Chamberlin preceded the Mellotron, was more versatile but less easy to mass produce, although both seem to have been used equally over the years.

On a side-note: I never realized the cello in Oasis's "Wonderwall" was a Mellotron! 

Simply put, the Mellotron was (literally) a rip-off of Harry Chamberlin's homebrew devices (the recordings of which were made in his garage). Chamberlins were handmade in the US, and the sounds were generally superior (original Mellotron tapes were actually Chamberlin tapes dubbed down with extra compression added).

Fascinating. Thank you, sir.

Thank you for that!

For those so inclined:

http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php?action=printpage;topic=4394.0

Thanks, Donny. I remember that topic now from c-man's comment about Alan and the drum effect on "Do It Again"...

Wow thanks for that link... that was great!!  8)

The song also features the best hum ever of any song.

Along with 'Little Pad' and 'Surf's Up' of course.....  8)

It´s indeed a Chamberlain or Mellotron - BUT it doesn´t sound well.

I've heard that bee in at least one section of "Can't Wait Too Long".  Apparently a part done during the Wild Honey sessions?

Lack of technical jargon alert: I wonder if the Chamberlain was faulty, or the method of recording could not handle a certain frequency or something.

Definitely not the method of recording ... as this same "issue" is apparent on the Sagittarius track "Musty Dusty": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMZc2zft70Q ...

And I don't think the Chamberlin on both track was the exact same unit, as I believe the Beach Boys owned theirs (something Mr Desper could possibly verify if he weren't chased off this board in that other thread).

My guess is that preamps are overloading/distorting as a result of the high-mid frequencies present, or the Chamberlin was in a bright amp (like a Twin Reverb), where the "whistling" type overload occurred. Could also be on the original tapes or error in the duplication of the tapes ... though I've never ever been able to pin down which tape is used for "Country Air", I would guess a strings and brass combo. I don't think there's any distortion like this on the original tapes though; they're pretty clean sounding compared to a Mellotron.

Is it wrong that the thread title phrase "wiggly organ" makes me giggle a little?

 :lol

 :lol +1

Well you can't have a name like mine without the odd wiggly organ on the agenda.

:lol

Wouldn't this song have made an wonderful single? A gorgeous elemental double A-side with 'Cool, Cool Water' perhaps.

Perfect song, perfect recording.  And  important ingredient of their greatest LP, "Wild Honey."

I was thrilled to get 'Country Air' in stereo finally.

What's the deal with not releasing all of the Wild Honey album in stereo? Are multis missing or have they just not gotten round to it yet?

AGD discusses it here (second paragraph and then at the end):

http://www.esquarterly.com/bellagio/monostereo.html

And see here:

http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/beach-boys-stereo-mixes-today-summer-days-wild-honey.163402/

Thanks John!!

There is a nice mention of 'Country Air' on page 175 in Mike's book.

Will you tell what it says? Thanks in advance.

It says nice things. There are two paragraphs but I can only type with one finger.  :(

I can only assume this is page 175...

First, click on this url:

https://books.google.nl/books?id=3KLiDAAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=good+vibrations+my+life+as+a+beach+boy&hl=en&sa=X&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=country%20air&f=false  

Then click on "page" of the top entry.

Then scroll up a bit.  

I hope this works!

It didn't. Not available in this country. Thanks to try.

Willy Wilson, will you retell what it says in short? Thanks in advance. Though it would be cool if smb. with Mike's book in front would write down the 2 paragraphs.

This is for review purposes only. Buy Mike’s book, it’s great!

****

….Szekely claimed that Jesus taught natural health practices, including fasting and vegetarianism, as ways to purify the body. This struck a chord at a time when I had seen so many people poisoning their own bodies. I was also taken by the author’s invocation of nature as a pathway to heaven, to bliss. I was someone who had always loved the outdoors, so these words spoke a deeper truth that I knew and felt.

“Seek the fresh air of the forest and of the fields, and there in the midst of them shall you find the angel of air. Put off your shoes and your clothing and suffer the angel of air to embrace all of your body. Then breathe long and deeply, that the angel of air may be brought within you … Truly, all must be born again by air and by truth, for your body breathes the air of the Earthly Mother, and your spirit breathes the truth of the Heavenly Father.”

I included these ideas in some of our music, as I wrote “Country Air”, with Brian, which drew explicitly on this search for purification (the song appeared on Wild Honey). This organic approach to life also seemed to capture something that was going on in parts of the country.

****

Cool, thanks! & don't worry, it's OK to post bits from the book. It isn't like you write down whole chapters. Totes fine. :bw

Dammit, Mike doesn't explain why the organ sounded like it did. I can only guess it was a fault with the speaker used for the organ priming over and the studio mic picking this up. Only SWD can save us.....on the other hand, I'd perhaps not know how this magic occurred and just enjoy it.

"Mmm mmm mm m-mmm, m-mm m-mmm...."

Much as I adore 'Country Air', those mm-mm lyrics weren't Mike's greatest were they.

I wonder if there were more lyrics planned and they just had to use the song as it stood to rush out the album.

I must be a weirdo, as I like the song as is!

In that case I reckon this place is positively crawling with weirdos. :lol

...but we knew that already ;) j/k

Topic of the Year!  :woot

I too. Always love wordless singing by the Beach Boys.

I love: the vocal "Aaah!" at 0:30, the tuneless whistling, the "C'mon"s and the c*ck crow at 1:55.

Did I mention I love this song?

THIS so much  :bw

Get a breath of that country air
Breathe the beauty of it everywhere
Get a look at that clear blue sky

Come on
Get a breath of that country air
Breathe the beauty of it everywhere
Mother Nature she fills my eyes

Get a breath of that country air
Breathe the beauty of it everywhere
Rise up early the day won't let you sleep

Sheer bliss  :tm

...but what is it that they sing at the end of the first two verses?

"...that I breathe?"
"...and I breathe?"

Dunno.

To my cloth ears it could almost be "I see" instead of "I breathe"... 

"...and I feel"?

Sounds to me like "and I hear".