The Smiley Smile Message Board

What the....?!

After a first quick listen I'm guessing this is an out-of-phase stereo version, but can't verify right it now.

A very different mix, without most of the Moog parts familiar from the finished version on Surf's Up

Oh yes, I can hear the bvs are quieter, but the inadequacies of my laptop speakers won't do this justice ! Is this a work in progress mix to go with the promo film that it's posted with ?

I think this is from the 5.1 mix on the EH dvd, I don't know how but someone has extracted the 6 channels into sepeat tracks, and then played around with each track to make a "New" mix. This is done alot with the Beatles Rock Band game too ,alot of great sounding bootlegs and mixes have come out this. And it's something I'd love to do myself!!!

I think this is from the 5.1 mix on the EH dvd, I don't know how but someone has extracted the 6 channels into sepeat tracks, and then played around with each track to make a "New" mix. This is done alot with the Beatles Rock Band game too ,alot of great sounding bootlegs and mixes have come out this. And it's something I'd love to do myself!!!

i have the EH dvd with a surround so,

so how do i get these "mixes"?
do I listen to separate speakers for different parts?
do i mess with the balence?

Some years ago. I sent an e-mail to Mark Linett asking about Surf's Up 5.1 DVD, and he told me about it: the project was cancelled, because the DVD-Audio format is dead (his words). The mix was prepared, but Capitol only agreed to release Pet Sounds 5.1 (and only some years after the mix was made).
But in 50th anniversary, this is the  year to release it, or never.

Some years ago. I sent an e-mail to Mark Linett asking about Surf's Up 5.1 DVD, and he told me about it: the project was cancelled, because the DVD-Audio format is dead (his words). The mix was prepared, but Capitol only agreed to release Pet Sounds 5.1 (and only some years after the mix was made).
But in 50th anniversary, this is the  year to release it, or never.

I'm sure Adam can expand on this in greater detail, eloquence, and from more informed experience, but to my ears what Carl did was record an acoustic guitar foundation track either by himself, or with some sort of rudimentary time keeping thingy, a metronome or something he programed with the same box that they used for the "drums" on Till I Die.... and sang along with a scratch vocal track and then built the recording up around that and this is an in-progress mix while still stacking/experimenting with overdubs etc.

.... or something like that.

That may be, but if he wrote this on guitar, I'm stunned.  I'll tell you why.

I'm sure you're right here. I think I was just so surprised to even hear and acoustic guitar on this!!

Between the complexity of the chords and murkiness of the mix, this is easily THE MOST difficult Beach Boys song I have ever had to work out.  In fact, the thing made no sense to me at all until I stopped thinking about the relationships of the chords and started thinking about the SHAPES of the chords.  So much of this song is just certain chord formations moved up and down on the keyboard, or clustered chords where only one note shifts, while picking a note in the bass that clashes as much as possible.  The song simply doesn't make sense any other way then moving your hand around on a keyboard.  The chords are just that weird and they're impossible to keep straight without thinking of them visually as opposed to harmonically.  For me, anyway.  

So it's hard for me to believe that Carl wrote it on guitar and then figured out these bizarre voicings that never would transpose to or from guitar (or at least I wouldn't think they would).  Also, in the bridge, the foundational chord structure is gone in this mix.  You hear the synth flourishes but no chords.  That suggests to me that it's not that the basic keyboard bed wasn't recorded yet, but that it was mixed out (evidence of this is that I do hear a couple of notes of the Wurlitzer at one point on this mix).

So I vote remix for this.  It's pretty cool, anyway.
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I think I was just so surprised to even hear an acoustic guitar on this, that my mind immediately just took that more typical route!

Listening it it now: Damn, was Carl in an MUSIC STORE when recording this and just walking past whatever instrument caught his eye and trying it out on the track????

Also, who's playing drums on this? Is it one of Dennis'  "one-handed" drum appearances ala SDT, or is it Carl? It's a really deep nice pocket, so I have no idea!

Either way, my mind can't get around this song! I simply need to know what was recorded first!!! Should I assume piano by Carl alone?

For curiosity's sake I had a bit of fun extracting the separate elements of the 5.1 EH mixes last year, although now I'm not even sure how I did it!

Brian has stated that he wrote "Til i Die" in a similar fashion, by moving his hands into different geometric shapes on the keyboard.  As for the acoustic guitar:  I've always been able to hear it in the official mix, just really subtly in the verses (especially the second verse, I think).   And as for the instrumentation, Mike introduces the song on one of the concert tapes from the era (Carnegie Hall, Sept. '71 IIRC), and says Carl pretty much played everything on it (I think he specifically mentioned guitar, piano, percussion, etc.).  On the AFM sheet, Carl's name is listed seven times, once for "Piano", then O.D. Guitar, O.D. Moog, O.D. harpsichord, O.D. Percussion, O.D. Drums, and O.D. Organ.  VERY strange way of filling it out, and I haven't seen any other AFMs done up like that!