I'll believe it when it's released.

Me too.

I think you've been reading too much Greil Marcus.

I'm bored. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZ5TajZYW6Y

http://movies.nytimes.com/2010/06/30/movies/30agony.html

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/17386/121429

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/26/arts/music/26quaife.html

I'm glad the conversation is returning to the Mellotron. Not sure how this all turned into who sued who?

Tony Banks from Genesis is interviewed in the film as well as Mike Pinder from the Moody Blues and Ian McDonald from King Crimson.

I just got back from seeing the documentary. It was pretty good. The two Beach Boys songs that have Mellotron, according to the documentary, are Country Air and Add Some Music To Your Day. The filmmakers told a funny story about going to Brian's house to interview him. They brought a Mellotron to Brian's house so he could play it for the documentary and Brian thought it was gift. Also when Brian was asked to play the Mellotron, he would just press down with the palm of his hand. Brian's handlers hand to twist his arm to get him to play some actual chords.

Also, Brian mentions in the documentary that the Mellotron was not used as a replacement or substitute for string instruments. Brian said the Mellotron was used along with the strings to augment the sound.

Here is the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCabuis6t2w

anyone seen this yet? It's playing at a theater near where I live on Saturday. I'm going to check it out. In the trailer Brian plays California Girls with a Mellotron. Does anyone know if a Mellotron was used on California Girls? Was that not an organ?

Dominic Priore has a book called "Look! Listen! Vibrate! Smile!" and it compiles all of the media coverage of the making of Smile. It gives you an idea how big a group the Beach Boys were in 1966-1967. They were big. I mean just look all of the top ten records and singles they had from 1964 to 1966. And remember Good Vibrations is one of the biggest hit singles of ALL time.

Hello, long time lurker here. Being the Beach Boys obsessive I am, I've developed a hypothetical scenario over the past few months of what might have happened if the greatest album never made had come to fruition. After seeing the incredible knowledge displayed by some of the users here, I more or less expect to have to make some revisions when I find some of my facts to be wrong.

Well here it goes:

On December 13th, 1966,  a week after a particularly ugly dispute between himself and Van Dyke Parks regarding the song's lyrics during a session for "CabinEssence", Mike Love announces that he is leaving the Beach Boys in favor of a solo career. This is usually marked as the beginning of the end for Brian Wilson.

Finding a musical collaborator, Mike Love writes the lyrics for a feel-good single that sounds reminiscent of the group's "surf" phase, although lyrically somewhat more mature and with a bit more of a "rock" edge to it. Released in late February of 1967 with a cover for the B-side, the single peaks at #18 on the charts.

In the meanwhile, although emotionally crushed by his cousin's departure, Brian soldiers on with his project. While still maintaining his professionalism in the studio, his mental deterioration continues to progress at an alarming rate.

On (or possibly a day or two after) February 17th, Brian hears the new Beatles single "Strawberry Fields Forever" for the first time while driving his car. He is so taken aback bu what he hears that he pulls over his car to listen to it, remarking to his companion that The Beatles "Got there first."

Work on SMiLE abruptly shuts down for two weeks. At one point it seems that the entire album would never see the light of day. Fortunately, Brian, mentally hanging by a thread, is slowly coaxed back into the studio by the other Beach Boys, Van Dyke Parks and several of his close friends. Although recording resumes by mid-March, the sessions are much more infrequent and cover less ground. The "Heroes And Villains" single is released in July like it was in "real life", also like the musical world we know, it peaks at #12 on the charts.

The "SMiLE" finally released on August 24th, 1967, one year and four months after the first recording session, has the same track listing as the one Brian Wilson released in 2004. Although Bob Dylan released the double album "Blonde on Blonde" a year previous, Capitol is extremely reluctant to release two LPs of new Beach Boys material. As a compromise, the fourth side is used as sort of mini greatest hits compilation, featuring six of the Beach Boys' most successful previous singles to help ensure sales. This goes through despite Brian's heavy objections. Mike Love's voice can be heard on about half of the tracks on the album.

The album receives huge amounts of praise from critics, reaching #4 on the Billboard charts. Follow up singles "Wonderful" and "Wind Chimes" peak at #9 and #15 respectively.  Paul McCartney remarks in an interview his astonishment that Brian Wilson was actually able to top "Pet Sounds."

Despite all this, Brian still feels that the Beatles have won the musical war, the release of "Sargent Pepper's" in particular, leaving with barely enough wind in his sails to add the final few details to "SMiLE." He is completely and utterly defeated.

Much to surprise of everyone though, Brian begins work on a new song. "Can't Wait Too Long" is paired up SMiLE sessions reject "He Gives Speeches" for release as a single on December 4th, 1967. It reaches #19. In the meanwhile, the other Beach Boys have also been working on new songs as well as "Can't Wait Too Long"

On January 12th, 1968 the mental and emotional roller coaster Brian Wilson had been on for the past year comes to an abrupt and tragic end when he is found dead in his house. Investigators rule the cause of death as a suicide. The remaining Beach Boys are thrown into mourning and complete, utter chaos. Nobody knows what to do after this. The album that the group was working on, entitled "Wild Honey" (inspired by a comment Brian made once that it was a really good title for a song) is released in March. Obviously this album bears absolutely no resemblance to the "Wild Honey" we know, featuring 8 songs written by Al, Bruce, Carl and Dennis as well as "Can't Wait Too Long", "He Gives Speeches" and "Heroes And Villains" B-side "You're Welcome" to add some Brian songs and to fill out the album's length. It hits #28.

Feeling enormously guilty for not making amends with Brian before his death, Mike* does so with the other Beach Boys. The five of them decide to record the album "Friends" as a tribute in Brian's memory.  Released at the tail end of 1968, the album is by far the saddest and most emotionally intense collection of songs in the Beach Boys catalog, even if it's somewhat uneven. It peaks at #64.

Afterwards, the Beach Boys continue to release albums with a couple fan favorites each release, but worse and worse sales figures. The group eventually disbands in 1973 with their final album "Holland." All the Beach Boys except Al hae sporadic solo careers afterwards. In 2003, Rolling Stone names SMiLE #1 on it's list of Greatest Albums of all time. "Pet Sounds" is #3 and "Today!" is #91.

Holy crap I spent too much time writing this.


*by the way, his solo career didn't go very far after that first hit. Maybe a couple more singles barely hit the top 40 and an album that goes nowhere.

**Blondie Chaplain and Ricky Faatar still appear on the last two albums if you were wondering.

Hey elchriso, I think that was pretty good.

I am glad that freak, Mantinee Idyll, doesn't post here anymore.

Cheap Trick's first three albums:

Cheap Trick
In Color
Heaven Tonight

It's kind of sad this album is still underground and unknown after all this time. Other albums that were pretty much ignored, like Odessey & Oracle and Forever Changes, have been recognized but no one gives a sh*t about Sunflower.

Ask and ye shall receive, Brian on Stern: http://www.yousendit.com/download/RmNCQndObThubVZMWEE9PQ

Get Yer Ya Ya's Out - Rolling Stones

Thanks for sharing this. I've just started getting interested in the blues. Right now I'm listening to classic Chicago Blues - Howlin Wolf, Muddy Waters, Little Walter, Willie Dixon, etc. I discovered them from being a fan of Clapton, Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones. I'm not sure if I will get into 1920's blues, when did powerful lead guitar players join blues bands?

Why did they leave Gimme Shelter off the album? I just watched the Gimme Shelter documentary and a live version of Gimme Shelter played over the closing credits and it sounded great. Can anyone recommend an appropriate bootleg where I can find it?

I was at the Palladium show on Tuesday. It was the first time I've seen Dylan live and I was really disappointed. I don't like his band, they're just really loud, but then again the sound system at the Palladium sucks. Also, Bob Dylan has a strange way of performing songs, they don't sound anything like the songs he originally recorded. I guess I'm living in the past, because through the entire show I was watching Dylan on stage and thinking "what happened to this guy?"

One of the most interesting Brian-bass moments for me is the big sing-a-long at the tribute show from 2001. He's up with the bass, and the band launches into Fun, Fun, Fun -- which is not a song he ever plays bass on onstage (he has practically always limited himself to Surfer Girl and Barbara Ann). And you can see that he spaces out from the crowd and is just focusing on the bass, and actually plays the Fun, Fun, Fun part (well, part of it, at least). You can see that the bass actually interests him most at that point, because it's this somewhat unexpected challenge, but he also remembers what to play.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ND6hjCsbpXQ

Make sure to watch through till the end -- everyone is dancing around, and he's watching his fingers.

That clip is a good example of why I think he should be the bass player in his backing band. He looks a lot better standing up and being at center stage, he seems a lot more comfortable, and just looks really cool with a bass. 

Someone posted a comment that Brian's bass is not plugged in,  on the youtube page for that clip.

And of course Brian looks better playing bass. Anything would be better than just sitting in front of a keyboard that he doesn't play and staring at a teleprompter.

One of them, I think it was Jon Hunt, was married to Diablo Cody who wrote Juno and won an Oscar. After she hit it big in Hollywood she dumped his ass and filed for divorce. Now she hangs with Quentin Tarantino and company. I know they started the Smile Shop, but those guys were douche bags. Major Douche Bags.

Read the NY Times obits:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/25/arts/music/25knechtel.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/27/arts/music/27greenwich.html

Hate it.

Roger The Engineer - The Yardbirds

YES!