So is it still generally unknown as to who bought the acetates?  Any rumors of what, if anything, might come of this?

Excerpts from "The Beach Boys' Quickest Album" , LA Times, October 8th 1967:

"Well, the album didn't really head for any direction. We just decided to, or I should say Brian decided to, make a real simple album. So, with that in mind, we recorded it at his house and it's the quickest album we've ever done." (Carl Wilson quote)

That again confirms that recording for Smiley Smile (other than GV and bits of Vegetables and HV of course) only took place between June 3 and July 14--not earlier.  Shut Down Vol. II, for example, was recorded 1/1/64 to 2/20/64, barely longer than Smiley Smile.

The unplugged Party is excellent, definitely an improvement on the original.  The sessions however add nothing to what has been previously released on Sea of Tunes - however they did squeeze the sessions onto 2 discs rather than 3.

A few years ago I condensed the Party SOT release down to one 80-minute CD, with the goal of including all unique titles while eliminating repetition.  I wouldn't otherwise have listened to Party, but I like the self-made compilation.  Bicyclerider- you say that these new discs add nothing new.  I'm not sure if you mean that in a general sense, or if there might be a few new titles (or extended versions of existing titles) on there.  Has anyone looked at that in detail?

I know that Keith Badman's book has been shown to be wrong in many cases, but this is the timeline according to him:

4/29: "From his desk in Los Angeles, Derek Taylor announces in Disc that 'Vegetables' will be the next single.  He writes: 'All the 12 songs for the new Beach Boys album are now completed and with every indication that the group's dispute with Capitol Records is over, there are plans to release the album on a rush schedule at any moment.  A rough draft of the cover depicts a nursery-like drawing of a smile shop, where people can go in and buy their smiles and grins to size.'  ...  A press release from Taylor dated today and appearing in both Record Mirror and New Musical Express reveals that 'Heroes and Villains' has been held up 'due to technical difficulties.  There is a new single in the wind.  ...  The title of the new Beach Boys single, 'Vegetables', is a light and lyrical, day to day, green grocery song on which Al Jardine sings a most vigorous lead.  The other side is 'Wonderful', which I only heard improvised at the piano with the boys humming the theme for Paul [McCartney]'."

5/6: "Today's Disc & Music Echo reports Taylor saying: 'In truth, every beautifully designed, finely wrought inspirationally-welded piece of music ... has been SCRAPPED'."

5/11: "Gold Star studio (A), Los Angeles, CA.  Back in California, unaffected (and possibly invigorated by) Taylor's statement of the 6th, Brian returns to the studio and 'sweetens' his March 2nd mixdown of 'Heroes and Villains'."

5/16, 5/17, 5/18: ILTSDD sessions.

5/19: ILTSDD session (cancelled).

6/3: Recording of Smiley Smile begins.
 

I tried for a while to put together the album based on what would have been, but finally came around to the idea that the material doesn't exist to do that properly, and that we can't know what would have been.  I've particularly come to dislike the insistence of so many on creating tracks that are speculative at best (Elements, IIGS) and using backing tracks that, without lead vocals, become quite repetitive (i.e., a 3-minute Child).  These things obviously are not what Brian intended.

My attempt at SMiLE is to recreate what might have been if Brian had decided in late April '67 to finish Cabin Essence, Prayer, Surf's Up and the Worms verses, and to work those songs and everything else that was then recorded (and available to us today) into the best album he could.  (And for the 21st Century release, he added a short coda.)  With one exception, I've stuck to complete or portions of released versions, complete or portions of BW mixes, continuous bits of session material, or reconstructions of those things (to achieve better sound).  No combinations or splicing based on my own opinions of what sounds good.

I've managed—with some debt to Soniclovenoise—to put together a track list that flows better than any of my previous efforts, and manages to include everything I like about SMiLE.  The track groupings work for me thematically, and, most importantly, it sounds quite finished to my ears.

As for the theme, this obviously is one of many possibilities.  I recognize that some of these songs can be interpreted in multiple ways, and that I'm picking and choosing somewhat.

In any case, this is what I came up with:

Side One: Destruction and Fall From Grace (19:42; mono)
1- You're Welcome (Smile Sessions D1)
A faded-in welcome to the album.
2- Heroes and Villains (Cantina version, from Made in California)
Introduction to the narrator and the main theme.
3- Do You Like Worms (combining portions of Soniclovenoise Smile 67 mono and Smile Sessions D1; BWPS folded down for the verses)
Destruction of the natives, part 1
4- Cabin Essence (Made in California)
Destruction of the natives, part 2
5- The Elements Part One: Fire (SOT Vol. 17, D3, track 17, editing out the count-in at the start)
Destruction of the natives, part 3
6- Wind Chimes (Soniclovenoise Smile 67 mono)
Narrator contemplates death of the natives (death symbolized by wind chimes)
7- Good Vibrations (Smile Sessions D1)
Narrator imagines moving on to a better place in his life, where romance is again possible

Side Two: Redemption (17:59; stereo)
8- Wonderful (Smile Sessions D1)
Embrace of a new world
9- Look (Smile Sessions D3, but faded out before Twelfth Street Rag section)
Transition
10- Vega-Tables (Made in California)
Narrator works the land, part 1
11- I’m in Great Shape (Smile Sessions D1)
Narrator works the land, part 2
12- Barnyard (Seltaeb?; replicates the Smile Sessions D1 track but without the piano artifact)
Narrator works the land, part 3
13- The Old Master Painter   (Seltaeb?; replicates the Smile Sessions D1 track but without the tag)
Sunset.  Transition from work to spiritual awakening
14- Child Is Father of the Man (Soniclovenoise Smile 67)
Spiritual awakening, part 2.  Narrator focuses on why he does what he does.
15- Prayer (Made in California)
Spiritual awakening, part 3
16- Surf’s Up (Soniclovenoise Smile 67)
Spiritual awakening, part 4
17- Whispering Winds (10 seconds of dead air, then the Whispering Winds portion of Holidays)
Coda.  BW looking back on the whole thing.

Total time 37:41.

A couple of points on the above:
- It took me more than a decade to decide to splice the Worms verses into the original Worms, but I'm very glad I did, in part because they fit seamlessly and really help the song.  But I've also come to see the 2004 Worms verses as similar to the '68 work on Cabinessence and Prayer and the '71 work on Surf's Up, as each recording was an attempt to finish things in essentially the manner contemplated in '66.
- I know a lot of you are hung up on sticking exactly to the 12 tracks on the back cover, but keep in mind that by doing so, you're not necessarily getting the best final product.  And if the album had a few extra tracks listed on the LP but not the back cover, would anyone really have complained?  It would have been additional music after all.

Still no article 

Looking more and more like this was just a tease.

What are the odds of The Bedroom Tapes being released

What are the odds that you take down the annoying and disrespectful image of BW masturbating?

[Smiley Smile]

It's a great idea about the zap back to reality and that the invigoration caused by a calm meditative state but .... I dunno ... I think you give them too much credit here.

I say to you, "Wind Chimes" (Smiley Smile version).

There's no way Wind Chimes going into Gettin' Hungry wasn't intentional. One of the most hilarious bits of sequencing I've seen. You have to turn up your stereo ALL the way to hear the Wind Chimes tag, then Gettin Hungry bursts out with that really loud organ..  Brilliant.. They kinda do that "back to reality" dose with Wind Chimes itself with that weird organ burst that comes out of nowhere in such a tranquil, low volume sounding song before it ends.

I would say "TM" at the end of Friends has to be a joke. I can't see how it would be an accident to put a song like that at the end. Seems like Brian loved to f_uck with his audience with some of these track inclusions. Everyone is still perplexed with these to this day, especially that one, "Big Daddy" on Today and "I'm Bugged By My Old Man" on Summer Days, which sounds like 'Smiley Smile' already..

I think you and others are confusing Brian's sometimes odd sense of humor for brilliance or genius.    The fact that Brian chose for things to be a certain way does not make that the right choice.

I wish they would have included: Rock + Roal To The Rescue in the track lineup..

Absolutely, let's make sure everyone knows that they became The Beach Boys Tribute Band in the 80s and 90s!

I still hear more of a resemblance to CIFOTM.

Easy my child, it's just enough to believe
(I believe, I believe, I believe)
Out of the wild into what you can't conceive...

What was released as I Believe In Miracles is all that exists of I Believe In Miracles. The part with the handclapping is part of Can't Wait Too Long.

wat? They're clearly both part of the same recording and meant to go together, assuming we're both talking about the same version.

Clearly?  Not to my ears.  And, more importantly, not to the ears of the compilers.

[An]

Over the last few days I've seen posts talking about a connection between I Believe In Miracles and Can't Wait To Long, but for the life of me I can't hear it. To me, I Believe In Miracles sounds more like a rejected/reworked Child Is Father Of The Man fragment.

Listen to the bootlegged version and you'll hear the connection.

Also, blend sounds right to me on the booted version after the intro, I don't hear much weirdness. Dennis is a LOT louder than he normally is on other mixes, which may be what's throwing off. I think it's all '67, I have to imagine the later overdubs were on one of the Wild Honey versions, presumably the more "classic" sounding take and not the take that sounds more obviously Wild Honey-era. No idea why they'd put overdubs on an early Smiley Smile version which I doubt is much longer than what we have.

The "feminine" falsetto vocal, if not Brian, sounds a lot like Carl. Hard to say.

Any idea why just the intro vocal was released here? Why not all that exists of the song? Strange move, to me.

I woud imagine that the "intro" is all that exists of that particular song.  That's assuming that 'Miracles' and the subsequent handclapping bit are two different works.

At any rate, the compilers' decision to include nothing else in the 'Miracles' track seems to indicate that the other booted CWTL material originated no earlier than late '67.  Presumably it also means that 'Miracles' is at most a forerunner of CWTL, and may have no real connection at all.

So what's the story behind I Believe in Miracles?  We know that it was recorded during Smiley Smile, but more than one boot has it connected, literally, to Can't Wait Too Long, which was thought to have been started during Wild Honey.  The best clip I've heard is a 35 second track labeled "Can't Wait Too Long (fragment)" from Alternate Dumb Angel 1.  It includes I Believe in Miracles along with other CWTL-ish session material.

It could be a splice job I suppose, but it may well be that CWTL originated from the Smiley sessions.

Thoughts?

Yep each song has its origins and session info. However, it is mainly "recorded during the Sunflower sessions, 1969" for example.

So is there are any notable or surprising information there?  You're a Mystery for example -- does that say that a portion of it was recorded recently?

Just got the set delivered 10 minutes ago! Packaging is beautiful. A faux-leather bound booklet the size of an LP. When I first opened it up I thought "WTF"? as all the existing band's signatures where in there!! The photographs start with a bang and go upwards from there. There are some pictures which I have never seen before - like a teenage Brian at the family piano. Then some B&W live gig pics circa 61 or 62 - THEN color ones!! In  many cases photo montages of ones that have grace back cover slicks - and with a bit of detective work you'll find a couple that are new. There are many of the individual Hawthorne front lawn shots which were used for the CD of the same name. Further interior Wilson home pics follow - alot I have not seen before. Then a stack of 1964 pictures many of which are alternates of 45 shots. SDaSN boat pictures and ASL outtakes are also there. Bruce is seen in the boat pics. Many B&W shots of the (I guess) Party! Including one which explains why we only ever saw the top half of Mike. Then come m,any Pet Sounds cover session shots from SD zoo. A nice big color Frank Holmes drawing of SU from the Smile booklet (would have been nice to have some more Smile session photos, but oh well). There are a set of the H&V promo shoot pics (where they are leaning on haystacks), and then some color pics of the guys circa 1967 playing sports. There is a glorious Sunflower gatefold shoot of the town square. A couple of SU session pics follow with the album cover. Then we move to 1976 with alts (and not so alts) of known pics from then through to the 1980's. Then a jump to the C50 concert pics. There is a 2012 group shot and then a curious set of location pics in and around LA which will get a few laughs followed by track details interspersed with candid shots from their long career. A nice dedication to Carl and Dennis and a complete list of session and band member alumni.

Was there any session information or dates of recordings in the booklet?

Awesome guys. What's the delivery time for you?

Mine says it will be shipped Friday, which means I'll have it Saturday (if all goes well!)

Dutch retailer btw.

Says 3-10 days, so hard to know.  I'm in Hawaii, so could be weeks.  I'd be interested to hear from anyone who's used Deep Discount as to how fast shipping has been.

December 19, 1973.

Alternatively, February 28, 1981.

Got an email from Deep Discount a couple of hours agro saying that they shipped MIC to me.  I'm a little dubious though.  Has anyone else been told it shipped?

What's the matter with Ten Little Indians? It's not exactly good but it's miles away from the worst thing they ever did...

What's the matter with County Fair? It's all subjective now, isn't it. I can listen to all 12 tracks, but I like some more than others. Ten Little Indians being the least of them.

I'm just wondering what specifically people hate about it. For me it doesn't really stand apart from the other tracks in any way, it's just kinda bland is all.

No track on this album stands apart as being especially bad, any more than any one of a group of midgets stands out as being especially short.

https://www.google.com/#bav=on.2,or.&fp=a773a66c1fa0ca72&q=brian+wilson+wiki

http://www.peolpstar.com/Brian-Wilson.html

I kinda like it

[Sail Plane Song > Loop De Loop]

Brian has always been keen at recycling an older riff into a newer composition.

...
Sail Plane Song > Loop De Loop...

At this rate he's made a career off of recycling. And for good reason - if it's a good riff, he remembers it.

This should be Lifter Leg & Poker > Sail Plane Song > Loop De Loop

[My Top Ten Tracks From This Era That Are Missing:]

Here's my take on how each early studio album is represented in the new boxed set.


My Top Ten Tracks From This Era That Are Missing:

Custom Machine
Don't Hurt My Little Sister
Girl Don't Tell Me
Good To My Baby
Hawaii
Keep An Eye On Summer
She Knows Me Too Well
The Surfer Moon
Then I Kissed Her
You're So Good To Me (studio)


Songs Missing From The Top 100 Poll I Conducted Here Last Year:

#92 - Good To My Baby
#84 - Girl Don't Tell Me
#82 - You're So Good To Me (on boxed set in live version)
#67 - Hushabye (on boxed set in BBC version)
#49 - She Knows Me Too Well


Basically, they were three tracks away from nabbing everything Top 100-worthy from this era according to us.

Would have been great to have No Go Showboat on there.  An amazing track that is too often ignored.

Don't Hurt My Little Sister on the other hand ... ugh.  I've never understood what that was doing on Today.  It's one of the few early BW tracks with no magic at all ... it just sits there.

Seriously, what's there to like? "Oh wow, they're capable of playing generic chords in time! Listen to that bass hammer away repetitively on the root note! Someone was able to get three of their fingers to plod on the keyboard all at once! And Mike managed to write a pedestrian melody!"

One of the shittiest attitudes toward an artform I've ever seen. Why are you here and not on some math rock forum?

What smart-ass remark?  I was merely trying to characterize the now-prevailing attitude on this board.  Sure, there are a few dissenters, but to many, MIU is the new Pet Sounds, Pitter Patter is the new Good Vibrations, Mike is the new Brian and basic is the new complex.  Eventually, keepinthesummeralive.net will be the new smileysmile.net.

Aaaaand one of the most absurd posts I've seen around these parts. You and Ron should hook up, you can be extremely, irrationally hyperbolic and condescending to one another all the live long day.

Sorry guys, but jeez.

This Ron sounds like a good guy, at least if he objects to the canonization of MIU and other cr*p that has nothing to do with what made the band great (or even good).

[Beach]

The late '70s Beach Boys always sounded like a karaoke band instrumentally. With the kind of money being thrown at them, you'd think they could try a little harder.

I'm gonna call this song trash. Not because it's necessarily bad, but it's about as rudimentary of songwriting as you could do. There are a million bands that could write a clunker like this. In fact, the bands at those rock & roll "camps" Brian always makes a cameo at have probably churned out stronger material.

Seriously, what's there to like? "Oh wow, they're capable of playing generic chords in time! Listen to that bass hammer away repetitively on the root note! Someone was able to get three of their fingers to plod on the keyboard all at once! And Mike managed to write a pedestrian melody!"

But ... but ... it's "Goin to the Beach," don't you see?  It has the word "Beach" in it.  "Beach" as in where people go surfing and spend their summers.  And the "Beach Boys."  Beach, I tell you.  So if you don't like this track, or you think it's a bad idea to market the box set with "Goin' to the Beach," or if you think they should be promoting that "arty" stuff, you're denying the group's history.  Don't be a denier.

Why the smart-ass remark? Are you making fun of people who just may like it? If you don't like it, that is fine, but really, is it necessary to ridicule others? Promoting anything other than what the general potential buyer may know isn't going to help sell the box set. Many in here are deluded if they think promoting Smile era music or the later stuff will help sell units. The old stuff sells. We have seen that for years. So far, Capitol has gotten it right. Also, I don't see this song any differently than I do any song from the KTSA time frame.

What smart-ass remark?  I was merely trying to characterize the now-prevailing attitude on this board.  Sure, there are a few dissenters, but to many, MIU is the new Pet Sounds, Pitter Patter is the new Good Vibrations, Mike is the new Brian and basic is the new complex.  Eventually, keepinthesummeralive.net will be the new smileysmile.net.