The Smiley Smile Message Board

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKQ8rGv2Yz8 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKQ8rGv2Yz8)

This is something I've been working on FOR. EVER.  Let me know what you think.  It is more or less a "proof of concept" that my transcriptions are accurate, so I can be sure that I am representing this great music scrupulously as I put it forward as material that is worthy of serious study.

I’m not sure whether this falls under constructive criticism, JH, but I’d say you nailed it! And it was certainly worth the wait, as always. ;)

If Brian is not yet aware of what you are doing for the future of his music, it’s high time he was. (Paging Howie E…)

Joshilyn, this put this biggest smile on my face. I'm still grinning ear to ear.

This is PERFECT. The piano part at 2:07 blew my mind, sounds like an exact copy of the original (and for that matter the entire thing sounds like an exact copy of the original). Seriously awesome work.

Gonna be playing this throughout the day.

Outstanding!  :pirate :h5 :rock :thewilsons :love :happydance :bow :spin :woot :woot :woot :thumbsup :listening

Impeccable.

Definitely will share this around.

I also have to say, this is a GREAT way to extend the life of these songs. Not that "Rhonda" is not a well-known song, one of their most of course.

But I gotta say, having that BB SiriusXM station on at various points, it can get a little tiring hearing something like "Rhonda" twice per hour. Not that the great stuff ever isn't great. But you all know what I mean.

But actually SEEING all of these parts performed, it really engages the senses and provides another way into enjoying it. As someone who has dabbled as a musician, this engages me on that level, and just as a fan/scholar of the music.

Selfishly I immediately have about 100 BB/Brian songs I want to see this done with.

A million thumbs up to Joshilyn!

That is a huge reason why I'm doing these things -- it would be a heck of a lot easier to just share the audio tracks, but I think there is definite value in seeing the number of instruments involved and the physicality of playing them.  And, even with Brian's very competent backing band, nobody has ever completely represented the extreme minutia of some of these arrangements in a visual representation and in audio-reproduction.

Thanks for the comments, all.  I plan to do the entire catalog this way, eventually, perhaps skipping around a bit after Friends.

yes! it's all there.  true tempo.  instruments take over their parts though with a light feel.  it makes people smile because there's some musical humor in the arrangement

I was thinking a version of Stack-o-Tracks for the instrumentals that weren't on the LP, but a physical release of a select portion of this built around the videos (whose charm and cleverness can be "changed up" now and again with the offbeat taken a bit further...) could be a way to self-fund more research. People get a great product, and they pay for it: more concrete than donating. You just need a label--how about Capitol? It's another way into the music, and much of what you'd be recreating wouldn't be available.

"Stacking the Tracks with Joshilyn!"

I also loved the little trick of shutting down each little screen separately at the end of the track--nice deadpan humor, there.

This is soooo cool! Really unbelievable! It's so much fun to see all the pieces coming together. Also very clever video editing, I love how it cuts to the drums for those snare hits! Somehow seeing the instruments visually makes it easier to hear how they interact. Like, you can really hear what the ukuleles are adding, and the way that the two basses playing together create a distinctive sound that on the original record is totally there but is somehow harder to place. Nothing is extra.

Excellent !!  Love this.

Amazing work, Joshilyn! Great video, too. It's so great to see the real instruments.

This video made me realize that the bonus track on the Party/Stack o Tracks twofer doesn't seem to be readily available on the streaming services I have - I wanted to compare them directly because the one nitpicky thought I had was looking for a higher frequency when the organ came in - but that might just be mixing with the ukeleles. I'll have to find it another time, but from memory it feels complete.

My other bit of constructive feedback would be to "pan" the videos to match the mix whenever possible (like, ukeleles on the right when you hear them on the right). I think that would help the viewer process the information more easily. Obviously that's not always going to be possible but just a thought.

Looking forward more of these!

Wow! How many instruments do you have in your apartment?

Wonderful performances.

Fantastic! Is there anything you don't play?

I didn't realize there was an organg on the lower rhythmic part. That's a very nice chugging sound.

I had no idea that ukuleles were even played on 'Help Me Rhonda' until I watched Joshilyn's video. Also, watching the drums being played was eye opening for me - I always think of drummers as just pounding away on the drums, but this was such a mellow beat that was lightly played....makes you realize that instead of just using the drums as the main instrument to drive most of the rhythm, Brian was using almost every instrument to do drive the rhythm - the drums were just one small part of it.

Again, great video, Joshilyn. I've been watching it over and over again since you posted.

Good thoughts -- are you talking about the main chugging organ on the basic track?  That was one of the hardest sounds to match I've ever experienced in my life, and I didn't quite nail it.  I'll explain more in the breakdown video.

If you count individual percussion instruments, it's something in the order of 125?

At the moment, I've never played a bassoon.  There's also a bunch of instruments from other countries that I'm sure I'd have to spend some time on to play properly.  Otherwise, I pretty much have it covered.   ;D

As for the organ, as I said above to Mitchell, that organ sound has been one of the hardest sounds to match I've ever encountered.  I still am not exactly sure how the sound was built up.  I'll get into it in the breakdown video.

Hal used very light drum sticks and barely tapped the drums a lot of times -- if he played too loud it could potentially get in everybody else's mic and ruin the blend.  It's truly a lost art.

Important work.
Keep it going!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yeah, I was thinking I heard something a bit higher in the organ spectrum (in addition to the chugging low part). Having now listened to the Stack o Tracks bonus track, I think I hear a higher wavering organ part panned just to the right of centre. It's actually similar to the quieter organ part in the following California Girls track (this time mid-left in the panning, playing along with the bass line). Maybe they are separate organ parts?

Extra edit: my initial reaction to your video was that the low organ needed something higher but I think that was just a product of hearing it more separately in the mix (though you acknowledge it was hard to get right). It was going from memory and I was probably confusing it with the electric guitar (no ukes at that point). But having said that I think there is a separate organ part (or two?) that comes in during the chorus (around 0:29) - one playing a kind of "drone" (sustained notes) with a bit of vibrato on it (or whatever the organs of the day used) AND (maybe) a part playing along with the blues riff.

As I said before, this is incredibly nitpicky and I'm not even sure I'm hearing things right (either in your video or the Stack o Tracks bonus track).I don't want to diminish the fantastic work you put in already -  I only offer this feedback because I think you're seeking it.

Returning a few days later to say: I'm never going to be able to unhear those ukuleles when this song comes on! They're super clear, even in the mono mix. Not that I ever noticed them before! Also that amazing countermelody the guitar (and later one of the horns) plays in the second half of the chorus. So cool! Also, this will surprise no one, but I think it's kind of cool that (according to a brief youtube survey), that guitar part was never played live by the Beach Boys, but the Brian Wilson Band always seems to have someone audibly on it!