The Smiley Smile Message Board

I've always been curious about this and assumed it was so.  There isn't much guitar work on the album, and the drumming just sounds like the way Brian would play -- for the most part.  Is "Love You" Brian's "McCartney" -- a one-man band performance?

Love You has some embellishments from Carl and Dennis, but not many. Brian can play a guitar, but he wisely left the playing on there to Carl. The drums, when they're not electronic, are either Brian or Dennis.

the night was so young has an awesome gtr line on brians falsetto and some flanged strumming
same w/ Airplane.

It's close -- Carl's guitar and a few drums from Denny is about all that gets added.  Of course, Carl spent hours mixing it to make it releasable.

forgive me, but when i first tasted this on the 93 boxset...The Bee Gee's later 70's output immediately came to mind on the chorus,
is somebody gonna tell me why????

Wanna know what my favourite moment is on Love You?  It's the ghost tail end of the count-in on Johnny Carson.  You missed that, Carl, thanks.

four!

More like "r!"

I'd never noticed that before! Thank you.

I've read a lot of books on the Beach Boys, and found nothing that mentions studio information like this.
Is this Badman's book (that I was told to ignore for all the false SMiLE merda) or some other text?

Who told you to ignore that book?  Whoever it was is a bad person.

There's not much on Love You in it, but there is lots of studio information.

Yeah, it chronicles up to 1976 or so, and then whips through the rest, so most of Love You just misses the cutoff.

Not that there would be much to document, as most of the basic tracks weren't done in the studio, were they?


As for Badman, yes the Smile stuff is "take it with a grain of salt", but that doesn't mean don't get the book.

Most of the info we have on the "Love You" sessions comes from interviews done at the time...Brian, Earl, etc.

Like, f'rinstance, the "Mona" track was done more-or-less live, with Dennis on drums, Ed Carter on guitar, and two horn players that Brian worked a lot with, almost certainly Steve Douglas & Migliori, on saxes.   "I Wanna Pick You Up" was a "15 Big Ones" era outtake with Denns on drums.  Brian played piano, harpsichord, (Moog) bass, and drums on "Airplane".  And Dennis played drums on "Honkin' Down The Highway" (this last is proved by listening to the rough mix with Billy Hinsche's lead vocal...the count-down is still there, and it's definitely Dennis).

C-Man

"Good Time"... don't forget "Good Time".

On the 'new' stuff, Brian played moog, moog bass, pretty much any other keyboard there is, snare, bass drum and I do believe the odd gee-tuar lick.. Anything else is, well, someone else.

heh.

Man, I want to hear those Love You alternate takes...

Which guitar would be Brian, or he is even audible on the released cuts?

Ah yes, "Good Time".  Cut the same day as "Susie Cincinnati", according to Badman's book.  Therefore,
PROBABLY with the same personnel...although not necessarily on the same instruments...meaning, I only hear one guitar on "Good Time" (a 12-string), so probably Carl was on either guitar or bass and Alan on the other, while Brian played piano and organ...but then what did Daryl do?  Horns were overdubbed, of course...

Did Badman have (at least limited) access to Steve Desper's hallowed studio log book?  The one Steve says is now "packed away"?  Can anyone convince Steve to scan its pages and post them on his website?

C-Man

Do I sound greedy?  It's cause I am...not when it comes to money, mind you...just when it comes to this stuff...

C-Man

Perhaps a petition is in order, to "liberate" Steve's log book.  We know Steve likes petitions, since he suggested doing one for the live stuff.

There ya go...get it goin', and I'll sign it!
I'll even get my whole family and neighborhood to sign it!

C-Man

We, the undersigned want you to dig out your studio log, Steve:

Aeijtzsche.

I think he'll take it more seriously if you use your real name.

He knows my real name.

Well, maybe you should make an official petition. I'll sign.

I'm not very good at "following through with ideas."

Don't be so down on yourself.

It's just the truth.

Anyway, where is the "electronic drums" comment coming from?  I believe it's all real drums, often recorded interestingly, but not electronic.

Not on Honkin' Down The Highway. At least on the non-intro parts. That has to be an electronic set.

No, I'm sure "Honkin'" is all real drums.
The "electronic drum kit" quote comes from David Leaf's book, 1978.  Listen to that snare on "Let Us Go On This Way", "Roller Skating Child", and "Johnny Carson", to name three.  I don't know of any other records in 1976/77 that had real drums sounding like THAT.  Compare that to "Mona", "Honkin'", and "I Wanna Pick You Up", to name three.

Now, I should be clear:  I dont mean a drum MACHINE that you program, but rather a kit with an electronic snare pad that you hit with a drumstick. 

-Man

Just sounds like a highly tuned snare, maybe mic-ed on the snare side with a lot of room sound to me.

Then I wonder why that sound was never used on any of their other records?  And I wonder why
David Leaf would've mentioned that in his book if someone didn't give him that info?  Leaf is no musician, so I'm thinking Earl or someone must've told him that.

There WERE various electronic snare drums available in the mid-'70s.  I guess this will have to be a question for Mr. Mankey...does anyone know how to access him?

C-Man

I do, and I have a bunch of questions in to him right now.

Cool...is that one of them?

C-Man

Probably not that directly, but I can probably make sure that gets answered.

Brother Studios provided for a phenominal drum sound.  You can hear it on 15 Big Ones, what sounds like it could be a synth snare at times, on "It's OK" for example, but I believe they were only using analog drums on that album, and taking advantage of the room reverb as H pointed out.  You could probably hear it as well or better on Pacific Ocean Blue if Steve Moffitt hadn't butchered the mix on that record.  When the band sold the studio, there went the classic drum sound.

Have either of you guys had a chance to hear the Ricci Martin solo album that Carl produced at Brother?  I've never been able to score a copy.  AFAIK, those are the only albums besides Love You cut at that studio before the Boys sold it.


Random Question:  Is that a gently brushed snare head providing the rhythm at the beginning of Dennis's "You and I"?

Not heard it, but I just recently bought it off of e-bay.  Don't have a working turntable at the moment, is the problem.  And, parts of "MIU" and "LA" were recorded at Brother (dig Bobby F's massive snare sound on "Angel Come Home", which was tracked there).

C-Man