In no particular order:

a) Brian had no friggin' idea how to put this sh*t together - too open ended, couldn't decide which structures were best, etc.
b) Van Dyke jumping ship
c) Drugs
d) Varying degrees of opposition from Capitol, Murry, Mike, etc.
e) Worsening mental condition

But mostly A.

How's this still being argued about?

All the above is true - but Brian either can't or doesn't want to deal with the uncomfortable truths as noted above in a public setting, thus the single sentence explanation that the music was too advanced and they kept it under wraps for 40 years until the public at large could appreciate the music.  He likes simple, clean, and concise answers in these interviews because lunch is waiting.

True, I s'pose, but I feel like he's basically said everything I said over time. Even the "too advanced" thing plays into him collapsing under his own ideas. I mean it's not just this that Brian gives short and simple answers to over the last 15-20 years, it's basically everything, so I don't think he's being intentionally evasive or "scripted" with the answer to why Smile didn't work out.

Absolutely the guy never gives much more than a single sentence answer to anything ever - I think he thinks that the "too advanced" answer plays well and that's what he sticks with.  Has Charley Rose ever interviewed Brian?

In no particular order:

a) Brian had no friggin' idea how to put this sh*t together - too open ended, couldn't decide which structures were best, etc.
b) Van Dyke jumping ship
c) Drugs
d) Varying degrees of opposition from Capitol, Murry, Mike, etc.
e) Worsening mental condition

But mostly A.

How's this still being argued about?

All the above is true - but Brian either can't or doesn't want to deal with the uncomfortable truths as noted above in a public setting, thus the single sentence explanation that the music was too advanced and they kept it under wraps for 40 years until the public at large could appreciate the music.  He likes simple, clean, and concise answers in these interviews because lunch is waiting.

1. Pick up set at music store.
2. Stop at drive through and get a large bucket of fried chicken.
3. Stop at "handy mart" and get a cheap 6-pack.
4. Pick up Baskin Robbins ice cream cake.
5. Roll a big one - light said big one.
6. Blast off.

Marcella from the "Concert" LP with Funky Pretty and Caroline No coming in right behind.  That LP is one of the best live albums ever released IMO.

Soiled my pants with those fabulous studio shots!  Come on 11/1/11!!!

I bet it's Brian posting under a pseudonym - sounds like something he's say or write.

All is right in the universe again - welcome back!

to us old-timers, bootlegs were the doorway to all things SMiLE.  Yes, the band didn't get paid. But without bootlegs, we would only know the tracks by what was officially released.  On that note, I've been thinking alot lately about how I WAYHAY prefer my experience with SMiLE than what new-comers have had.  My older brother was a surfer (Long Island) and so I was weaned on the BBs since maybe age 8 (I'm in my 50's).  There was no internet to check on facts -hell, there were barely any books to find on subjects as clandestine as the SMiLE tracks.  A mention here and there, and of course the legend that Brian went mad and burned all the tracks.

Then in the early 1980's, the first boot came out that scrambled my brain.  And it even had tracks that weren't BB tracks but none of us knew!   So the imagined SMiLE was WAY different than what Brian delivered a few years ago.  Then the double boot, then Dom's book, little by little, we found out clues.  Each time something surfaced, it was utterly thrilling - like a terrific mystery novel.  Then over the last ten years, SO MUCH DETAIL and all the Sea of Tunes stuff, Secret smile, etc.  To most of you, it all came in one huge hurl of mp3's.  To some of us, each little shard that found it's way out of the vault would change the course of our week.  And out of habit, even in the last few years, a new cd of stuff would still stop me in my tracks.  Maybe somewhat because of the wonderful memories of all that wondering.  It was like visiting an old friend of mystery.

Just wanted to say that given the option of having it all at once, like the Inet has made possible to lots of you, I'd still prefer the way I saw it gradually come out over the last 20-odd years.  The countless hours spent listening and theorizing are like an old friend that I'm going to miss.  And in some ways, I may prefer the sound of some of the boots - they add a whole layer of "reach-for-it-but-can't-quite-grab" that clean masters are going to lack - those pops and crackles made a sonic stage that will be lost.  I'm sure some of you won't understand what I mean, but I"m sure some do.

BRING IT ON !!!

Sounds like my story - I remember in 1982-3 coming across the first SMiLE vinyl release - Got a sense of what Worms was, Old Master Painter, etc.  Here Come Da Honeydew Man for good measure.  Never regret for a moment those purchases.  I remember trading cassettes in the late 70s with some BBFUN folks which isn't technically a bootleg is it?

You actually reported the page?  What a busybody thing to do.   Why not just not visit the page if you don't like it?   

Yeah, I kinda agree. If hundreds of people are enjoying it, what's the big deal?

I'm not over Murry humor yet.  Ratting the poor guy out?   

Yes Ive seen that 69 concert and Bruce does a excellent job there.. Sometimes stands to far away from mike when playing bass and his falsetto is hard to hear..His bass playing had improved also since the SOT box set  Michigan shows 1966..

When did Bruce last play bass?  Early 70s?

I also consider Bruce a full member of the band from 1980 on - I think he sort of saved a sinking ship.

An interesting clip - towards the end Brian brings up SMiLE of his own accord and tells us how it went down!

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

I've only been waiting for this since 1977/78 - what will I do with my life now that many if not most of my questions will be answered?  Buying new underwear will be high on the list I'm sure.

Seems I saw in the trades that there are legal issues holding up completion of the box-set.  Seems that a Mr. Love is claiming that the whole project was his idea - that it was "fun, fun, fun" until a twisted little man by the name of Van Dyke Parks drugged his cousin, took credit for Mr. Love's brilliant lyrics, and then took all the tapes and acetates and hid them in his ex-wife's garage.  Mr. Positivity responding by canceling the whole project but let his cousin claim the credit out of sympathy for a tortured childhood.  The court case could drag on for months as lawyers attempt to determine who wrote what in a tune called "Swedish Frog".

Ding Dang

Salt Lake City has a great backing track.

Just got in from the Lexington show and I have to say I'm jazzed.  I last saw Brian on the SMiLE tour in 2004 and I'm impressed with the fact that his voice sounds so much better to me.  He's demonstrating a really nice ability to sing with more finesse than I saw previously - in 2004 there was a tendency to "shout" his way through some songs.  Towards the end of the show he was clearly becoming fatigued but he appeared to be having a good time - the goofy hand thing seems less obvious as well.  Brian also had his keyboard up a bit in the mix as it was clearly audible on some songs.

The Lexington Opera House is a small intimate venue with sublime acoustics - the band sounded utterly stunning with a great mix.  I sat near the front directly facing Jeff and he was in top form as well.  Missed Taylor as well.

The show was mostly early hits with 3 or 4 Gershwin tunes after the intermission.  Scott Bennett sang Sail on Sailer which was a highlight as Jeff played all the subtle guitar licks you hear in the original recording.  The song that choked me up was Add Some Music - brilliant.  I teared up at this point - very poignant moment for me given that I became a life long fan of Brian and the BBs when I first obtained a copy of Sunflower in the early 70s.  Least favorite song of the night - You're So Good to Me - just sounded off and it's not a favorite of mine anyway.

As I sat there I was stunned by the fact that I was sitting 10 feet away watching a guy play the songs of his life that had so altered mine over the years.  Walking out I felt like I'd found "religion" all over again.

Does it come with the organ as a matched set?   

I thought I'd read somewhere that it was a gift from Murry.

Sort reminds me of a 4 string banjo.

If they had released those shows as a live album in the fall of 1967 - their star would have only fallen that much faster in the wake of Monterey.  The Heider tapes are interesting now - but a fake live album of that material would have sealed their fate as irrelevant.

Brian should have finished SMiLE and the band should have performed the magnum opus at Monterey Pop.  Ohh well.

Penny's Place?  Isn't that a "cat house" south of Santa Cruz?

Brian's been hired as the official greeter in the Capitol lobby.  He'll be giving directions, holding the door, and putting on a warm smile for visitors.

I think I became aware of Smile with the release of Surf's Up and there was a bit of talk at that time.  I think Tom Nolan's multipart piece in Rolling Stone sort of  tweaked my interest.  The Leaf book blew the doors wide open in terms of interest. 

Don't give a crap about the sequence - back in the day I didn't always listen "in sequence" anyway.   Just get it out - in good quality with some "new" things.

Bought tickets for Atlanta last night.  See the promotional hype of retirement got me to buy tickets that I may not have otherwise purchased.  If Brian calls it a day - good for him.  I gave up on the guy right after Dennis died - everything since then has been a bonus as far as I'm concerned.