here's an attempted reconstruction of a March '67 H&V, I'd love to get some feedback on the sequencing and in particular the added vocals to "Prelude to Fade"

http://www.mediafire.com/?c4ofz63tf30gttz

ok... semi-retired? older? do you have any thoughts on the sequencing itself?

But if the hero is retired, then why does he still have to jive to survive?

"3 score and 5" means he's 65, so I think he's bragging about "still having it" precisely
because he IS retired.

Why no I'm In Great Shape before Barnyard like on the piano demo?

because by March, IIGS was it's own track. The 11/29 IWBA/FN session was logged as (I'm In Great Shape) so I think that, Carol Kaye's comments aside, it's likely that the BWPS structure of IIGS/IWBA/FN may have already been in place.

The length issue - all the evidence supports a 5-6 minute length for the working versions
of H&V in March. The March 25 DISC article says "probably 5 minutes." In June, Mike told
a reporter that about 6 versions of H&V existed and that they just had to choose the right one.
He played the reporter a version that lasted "about 6 minutes."

One of the biggest differences between the cantina and Smiley versions of H&V
is the lack of a chorus. I think that the February 20 variations were meant to be
the chorus sections. The Smiley chorus is in some ways a re-record of
"Part 2 Revised Version," which even has the tack piano/harpsichord "Bicycle Rider"
theme, albeit in a major key.  At this point all I've done is taken the cantina
mix and inserted the section slated as "Part 2 Revised Version" at the first logical
place, after the acapella breakdown. The Smiley version follows the same structure of

1st 2 verses
acapella breakdown
chorus

In addition, the final chord on the tack piano of "Part 2 Revised Version" resolves nicely
with the first chord on the tack piano of the cantina section. I've restored the train whistle
 because that particular edit in the cantina mix sounds odd to me. I can't defend the
historicity of that decision. Brian may have edited it out because he wanted to use it to close
DYLW like on BWPS and TSS, I have no idea. I think it sounds better with the whistle. The
comical "You're under arrest!" that ends the cantina section seems like an appropriate edit
point for the next chorus which was slated as "Part 3" and features somewhat comical percussion.
It also features animal sounds at the end which leads me to believe that this is where Barnyard
goes. The fact that he had the guys make these animal noises on Feb 20 lends credence to
Barnyard still being part of the song at that time. The structure of Barnyard here is the 2004
one used on BWPS and TSS.

Barnyard marks a change in theme, the first half of the song is a Cowboys & Indians
adventure (the Indians are in the first chorus) and the second half is the retired hero raising
his family and waxing nostalgic. Tempo-wise Barnyard also matches well with the next section of the
cantina mix, the "Children Were Raised" section and the "3 score and 5" verse. The "dum dum dum"s in
 the "Whistling Bridge" that comes next in the cantina mix sound nearly identical to the "dum dum dum"s
in the section slated as "Version 4," used here as the final chorus.

Now the most controversial part - I've always thought that the "Prelude to Fade" would've had lead
vocals and that the "sonny down snuff" lyrics were a strong candidate. Structurally and musically
they're extremely similar, but I know it's jarring to hear those vocals in a new context.
If you think it doesn't work musically, to each his own. The fade re-record is a no-brainer, but
I decided to add the "False Barnyard" vocals as it always seems incomplete to me without them.

This is a work in progress so I'd love to hear arguments against the decisions I've made as well as
suggestions to improve it. Here's a mono version meant to be more historically accurate - it includes
the "Intro" as well as a shorter Barnyard section conforming to the acetate's structure. I should also
point out that without the insertion of "Part 3"/Barnyard you get an approximately 5 minute version and
If you were to split this mono version just before the Barnyard section you would have 2 approx.
3-minute "Parts," each with a distinct theme.

H&V March '67 Mono Reconstruction
FLAC: http://www.mediafire.com/?hvmducla8w5v5mc
MP3: http://www.mediafire.com/?c4ofz63tf30gttz

I did the best I could to figure out where all the pieces Brian had recorded by March would have
fit into the allegedly wiped mix done that month. I've taken the approach of expanding the cantina
mix using the February section names as a guide. It's in stereo since it's impossible to be historically
accurate anyway. The big liberty I've taken here (besides the stereo verses) is adding vocals to the
"prelude to fade" section. Enjoy!

FLAC:
http://www.mediafire.com/?5t545a8fpit78ca

MP3:
http://www.mediafire.com/?fg4n8bjgpdl8cjj

check out my myspace page.
in particular the live from death row track
is inspired in part by brian wilson.
there's even a subtle orange crate art
sample in the fadeout.
feel free to add me if you've got an account.

http://www.myspace.com/memoryman

This may have been posted here before, but here's an interview with Brian by Steve Jones of the Sex Pistols from 2004:

http://indie1031.fm/podcasts/audio/indiecast-2005-11-08-10420.mp3

take 5 of the false barnyard re-record from february 28 exists and is a complete take. i think it's been booted, but i can't remember where. it has carl's "doo doo doo" vocal.

[BWPS]

Small problem - on all the 1966 tapes, and also on BWPS, Brian quite clearly sings "wahala", not "mahalo"

Small problem #2 - no matter how you put together the translation below, it's still nonsense. For example:

"Thanks, quiver/thanks, boring/Many protuding branch"

or:

"Respectfully, grass/Respectfully, calm/King flash particle"

It sounds like wahala to me, but Van Dyke wrote "mahalo." Some people think "over and over the crow cries uncover the cornfield" is nonsense. Language is idiomatic and can obviously be easily mistranslated. I think it was in Korea that the KFC tagline "finger lickin' good" was rendered "so good you'll eat your fingers." Looking at the definitions above and attempting to make sense of it as a "prayer of thanksgiving" may be difficult, but I don't think that that means it's without meaning. Only Van Dyke can give us a translation approximating what he intended.

It's definitely not meaningless syllables.

"mahalo lule mahalo lula kini waka pula"

Those are real Hawaiian words, but each word has several meanings, making the context difficult to figure out.

from http://wehewehe.org:

MAHALO
nvt.

1. Thanks, gratitude; to thank. Mahalo nui loa, thanks [you] very much. ʻŌlelo mahalo, compliment. Mahalo ā nui, thanks very much. (PPN masalo.)

2. Admiration, praise, esteem, regards, respects; to admire, praise, appreciate. ʻO wau nō me ka mahalo, I am, [yours] respectfully. Ka mea i mahalo ʻia, Mr. Pākī, the esteemed Mr. Pākī. (PEP masalo.)

LULE

1. vi. To quiver, as jello; to sag, as flesh of a fat person; weak, flexible. (PCP lule.)

2. n. A variety of pili grass.
 
LULA

vi. Calm, windless, dead still; bored. Lūlā au i ka hoʻolohe i kāna haʻiʻōlelo, I'm bored listening to his sermon.


KINI

1. num. Multitude, many; forty thousand. Ola nō ia kini i ka limu lomi lima o Kai-lua, the crowd thrives on the hand-massaged seaweed of Kai-lua. (PEP tini.)

2. n. King. Eng. Kini peki, king of spades.

3. n. Kin, relatives. Eng.

4. Also gini n. Gin. Eng.

5. Also tini n. Tin, pail, can. Eng. Kini kākai, pail with a handle. Hale hoʻokomo kini, cannery. Pā kini, tin plate.

6. n. Marble (a child's best marble in the game; kinikini is more common). (Probably Eng. tin.)

7. n. Zinc. Eng.

8. n. Guinea (coin). Eng.

9. n. Jean, Jane, Jennie Eng.

WAKA

1. vs. Sharp, protruding.

2. Same as ʻowaka, wawaka, to flash.

PULA

1. nvi. Particle, as dust; particle in the eye, mote, speck; to have something in the eye. Cf. pulakaumaka. E ʻau mālie i ke kai papaʻu, o pakī ka wai ā pula ka maka, swim quietly in a shallow sea, lest it splash into the eye (be careful!]. (PCP pula.)

2. n. Leafy branch, as of coconut, pandanus, or ʻilima, used as a broom to drive fish into a net and to poke into reef crevices in order to frighten out the fish.

3. nvt. Kindling; to start a fire with kindling.

4. n. A fish, perhaps Pempheris mangula.

In addition, if the words are broken differently (lu le instead of lule) the meaning is different. Mahalo also has a much deeper meaning than the definition above. Check out this link:
http://www.geocities.com/~olelo/shelties/mahalo-aloha.html

Has Van Dyke ever offered his interpretation of the Hawaiian chant in Worms/Plymouth Rock? I tried some online Hawaiian dictionaries and the best I could come up with is:

"The divine blessing quivers. The divine blessing is dead still.
In a flash, the multitudes are a speck of dust."

I've not heard about a comp reel with the end of Prayer chopped off but if there is then it isn't hard to believe that there was a good reason for doing it.

The comp reel version of prayer actually has the second to last section removed, not the final hum.

I think OMP doesn't work as a repeated section, and I also think that part of what's so cool about SMiLE's modular structure is that you an get away with A-B-C tracks in between more traditionally structured songs. Also once you start repeating more and more secions, you quickly pass the 40 minute single LP limit.

Also, is there any evidence that the master take of the "eggs and grits" section has been snipped off (a la Old Master Painter) for a comp tape?

Jesus, my brain hurts. What I remember was Jon Hunt quoting Alan about the Great Shape master take! I'll definitely ask on his thread. As for almost everything in the vault being booted or logged, I think that's largely true, but as I said, missing does not mean lost forever. I, for one, still hold out hope that we'll hear Durrie Parks' acetates (how's that for eternal optimism?) and see  the Inside Pop outtakes.

The thing about the 2004 IIGS/IWBA/FN that rings true to me is actually it's SIMILARITY to other SMiLE tracks in structure. Wind Chimes (at least the quasi-finished version) and OMP (including barnshine) also follow an A-B-C format. I also happen to think that the tape explosion works great going into IWBA.

I agree that Vega-Tables was the earth Element at one point, but the same could be said of IWBA/FN being part of Great Shape at one point due to the session log. Doesn't that get partial credit?

As to whether Mike (or anyone else) ever refused to sing leads, it's all speculation. I do think, however, that it's signifigant that Brian makes that comment in Beautiful Dreamer about being able to finishng the vocals himself, but needing the Beach Boys' blend.

something he couldn't make them do.

Oh, I think, as evidenced by sessions and the eventual Smiley Smile release, that he could make them do just about anything. I'm more of the opinion that there WERE leads, or at least some leads, but that they were wiped. Or if they were never tracked -- there is a multitrack reel with MOST of the Smile tracks, which I still think dates from sometime around the time the Beach Boys returned from tour, i.e. late November '66, and I suspect it was made with the intention of cutting lead vocals -- it was more than likely at Brian's behest.

As uncommercial as Smiley Smile is, it's lyrically much more in line with the Beach Boys image. Little pads in Hawaii and getting hungry for women is much more Mike Love than columnated ruins domino and crows uncovering cornfields. I agree that Brian had supreme control in the studio, until December 15, 1966, that is. According to Domenic Priore, Mike "picked a fight" with Brian over the lyrics to Surf's Up in front of CBS TV cameras. Dom may just be inferring this from the Siegel quote about the session going badly, but that seems like a stretch as he had access to Wilson and Parks for his new book, and they are definitely being more candid about Mike's resistance of late. The fact that Love went through with Smiley Smile proves nothing about his willingness to complete SMiLE.

In addition, I understand that the master takes for OMP and Great Shape have been snipped off the multitrack tapes for a comp tape which is missing.

That may be true of "OMP" -- the only version we have with vocals is from an acetate, and as far as I'm aware (Alan?) no multitrack with leads for either the verse or the tag have been found. But it is not, as far as I'm aware, true of "Great Shape." The only "Shape" tape that's cropped up is the tape with the backing track for the only part we have confirmed. The recording from Oct. 17th has gone missing, presumably, and the only other "Great Shape" reference we have is on the "Friday Night" session log. In addition, a performance or partial performance of Great Shape is on the "Inside Pop" missing footage, and god knows what happened to the effort to track down those tapes. "Shape" is, even moreso than The Elements, the great mystery of Smile that will likely never be solved unless a new tape discovery is made (unlikely at this point -- it seems to me pretty much everything's been combed through in the vaults) or unless that Inside Pop footage is found (guys??).

Alan said that the master take for the "eggs and grits" section was snipped off the multitrack and is missing. That's what I was referring to. It could, presumably, contain unlogged vocals. He also said recently that he hasn't even gone through all the SMiLE tapes, and I also don't think new tape discoveries are unlikely, especially with so many tapes missing. Misplaced/stolen and lost/destroyed are very different things. In my opinion, the 2004 arrangement of IIGS/IWBA/FN is pretty close to what Brian envisioned for the song in December '66. If you "wanna be around," you better be "in great shape." What constitued the earth, air and water sections of The Elements still seems more mysterious to me.

....plus the April attempt at Wonderful for a potential Vegetables single B-side.

Including the Smiley versions, he cut Wind Chimes 3 times and Wonderful 4 times. Meanwhile the whole album lay unfinished. Why not just keep what he had in the can and spend 15 minutes recording a lead for Worms or Cabinessence? His behavior makes no sense. He was obviously a confused man.

What was the date of the April "Wonderful" session(s)? I know it was mentioned as a possible B-Side to a "Vegetables" Aoril single release, but wasn't aware of any additional sessions for it that month.
Again, I think there was only one "full version of "Wind Chimes", just recorded in two parts at two different sessions, with the intention of spicing it together. Maybe the first session did produce a full version, but the second session was intended only to replace part, not all, of the original version. And the January "insert" for "Wonderful" was just to add a drums, bass & guitar overdub track, and I think at some later point he thought about taking just that overdub track and turning it into a different song called "Rock Me Henry" (or whatever it is).

Agree with you, though...all this meandering is the product of a confused mind.

1) As far as we know, the only lead vocals Mike Love recorded for SMiLE were the Cabin Essence tag and Good Vibrations hook. Common sense would dictate that Mike was slated for at least some of the missing leads for Worms, Great Shape, etc. and Brian has said that although he could have performed the remaining vocals needed himself, he wanted the BB blend. That doesn't sound confused. The confused one was the bearded guy looking his gift horse in the mouth. Pet Sounds probably would have never come out either if Mike had refused to sing That's Not Me and Here Today.

2) The 2nd Wind Chimes session produced the 3 sections heard on the GV box version recorded one section at a time. The 1st session featured a completely different arrangement cut live. Considering Brian added vocals to the 2nd version and didn't use any of the 1st session in his rough mix, I think the assumption that he only intended to replace part of the original version is off base.

3) The Jan. 9 Wonderful "insert" session did not include any of the original Aug. '66 harpsichord track. They're even in different keys. It is indeed a true rerecord of the entire track, as was the April version, which produced the piano track used on the Smiley Smile version.

4) The fact that Brian continued to experiment with arrangements for these songs while the rest of SMiLE lay unfinished doesn't necessarily mean that he was floundering creatively. As I mentioned before, all he needed was for the guys to put they're voices on tape, something he couldn't make them do. As far as I can tell, instrumental tracks had been completed for every song on the Capitol tracklisting by April, with the possible exception of The Elements. In addition, I understand that the master takes for OMP and Great Shape have been snipped off the multitrack tapes for a comp tape which is missing. Who knows how many SMiLE vocals were acually recorded that we haven't heard...

i have a question for alan. as i understand it, an 8 track comp tape from december '66 was discovered during the "hawthorne" vault search which contains the verse vocals for heroes and villains that appear on smiley smile. i noticed that the organ overdub for this section turns up only on the 5th vocal overdub on sot 17. does this organ part (the short fanfare that accompanies the trombone flutter) appear on the unlabelled comp tape? if not, are there only 4 vocal overdubs on the tape?