Crispin Glover could probably play a decent Brian, circa 1988.

I wonder if Brian Wilson has ever heard voices when he and his wife were having sex? Imagine being just about to cum, when you suddenly hear "THIS IS PHIL SPECTOR!!!! I'M COMING TO KILL YOU!!!!". 

I just found this and am kind of floored: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSFAR_f_xXQ

"Breakaway" may be the best song nobody knows by them.

I never realised how complicated and complex those backing vocals were. Listen to the final "life turns around" lyric. That was just INSANE! 

Here's an off the wall thought. Maybe the 5th Element is God?

Might be cool to assemble an alternate-SMiLE-type album, just using pieces that sound like SMiLE or influenced it...!

try this       (I'm sure BigGrin won't mind quoting this great list)

http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php/topic,6144.0.html

I made this tracklist with songs from my iTunes Library and infos I collected on the web, specially from Van Dyke Parks web site;
All the songs had had a big influence in the begining of SMiLE.


- "Gee" by The Crows/Jan & Dean
- "El Paso" by Marty Robbins
- "Peace In The Valley" by The Patuxent Partners
- "Roll Columbia Roll (Gran Coulee Dam)" by Woody Guthrie
- "Old Mc Donald" various versions
- "Barnyard Blues" by Original Dixieland Jazz Band
- "The Old Master Painter" by Dick Haymes
- "You Are My Sunshine" by Jimmie Davis
- "Waiting for a train" by Jimmie Rodgers
- "I've been working on the railroad" by The Tinseltown Players
- "Home on the range" by Gene Autry/Roy Rodgers
- "Frere Jacques/Brother John" by Fred Koch
- "Long Ago Tomorrow" by Burt Bacharach
- "I Wanna Be Around" by Julie London
- "In Old Chicago" (the story of Mrs O Leary's Cow) 1937 MOVIE by Henry King *
- "Cool Water" by The Sons Of The Pioneers
- "Blue Hawaii" by Henri Mancini/Elvis Presley
- "Ukulele Lady" by Duke Kamoku
- "The Pirates Of Penzance: I'm A Pirate King" by D'Oyly Carte Opera Company And Orchestra
- "Long Long Ago" by Jerry Gray And His Orchestra/Ellen & John Wright

* During the scene of the great fire, you can hear bells and whistles, really close to "Fire intro"!

Thanks a bunch for that list.  What about literature? Is there anything specific to look out for?

Thanks everybody for all the posts and info. Andrew mentioned Dick Haymes and The Crows. Are there any specific songs? What about specific books and poems? Or is it just the overall "feel" of certain authors?

[Smile]

I started to wonder about the recordings that may have influenced Smile, in one way or another... to contemporary music like "My World Fell Down". 

Given that "MWFD" was initially recorded January 1967, I'd have to say any influence on Smile would be minimal. 

I wouldn't be surprised if Brian heard a test pressing or something like that. Some of the similarities between that song and Smile are eerie. You yourself mentioned that it spooked Brian.

Steve, I'm really sorry to hear about this. The important thing is that you and your family are ok and safe. I'm sorry to hear about you losing your collection. Surfer Joe has a good idea with us all pitching in. I think we all could help you out when you need it.  Hopefully the moderators won't censor us to much considering the circumstances.

There has been a lot of talk lately about Smile and how innovative and influencial it was, and is. A lot of people are talking about The Beatles being influenced by it,  among other groups back then. I started to wonder about the recordings that may have influenced Smile, in one way or another. In this thread, I'd like us all to come up with a list of groups and/or songs that somehow inspired or contributed to the creativity that lead to the creation of Smile. Either old blues recordings(C.C. Rider and Easy Rider by LeadBelly somewhat resemble the Bycicle Rider theme), to contemporary music like "My World Fell Down".  I'd also like to talk about whatever literature that may have inspired Brian and/or Van Dyke in their song writing.

Best example of a screwed up Catch A Wave was in Washington DC in '81 on July 4. Count-off, Al sings the line, drum beat, then the group joins in along with Al. Totally screwed it up.

Whoever played drums on that version did a terrible job! I didn't think they'd make it all the way through without restarting it.

It's definitely I'M a gasman. It's also "I'm outta luck with a buck and a booth", not "in and out of luck".

Wow. He doesn't even look much like Carl in that picture.

Hey hypehat: I just wanted to mention that the "truck driving man" lyrics you posted seem to be slightly incorrect. It's actually "I'M a gas, man". Or is it "I'm a Gasman"?

Well Brian's book screwed that up to saying the guy's name was John Rogers. It's actually John-Roger. Carl stated in a 1979 interview he was following MSIA so I looked up some more info and confirmed it. Here is what I posted. 
http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php/topic,7194.0.html

Hmmm....he doesn't seem much better than Landy. At least this guy didn't keep Carl drugged up.

Two days?!?!? Brian has had 40 years, and he still can't figure it out!  Anyway, I have some thoughts for you:

I believe that Wonderful refers to a loss of innocence/coming of age. Child Is The Father Of The Man also deals with that, I believe. Although the "vintage" recording(s) have virtually no lyrics to go by. I have always looked at "Surf's Up" as a "modern day" reflection of the hero of the story. "Come about hard and join the young and often spring you gave"=Remembering how it used to be. Before the Westward expansion. Reflecting on a time that was simpler. Before it became nothing but "Heroes" versus "Villians"(perhaps meaning commercialization/corporate America, against the "free thinkers"?).

Brian's book mentioned something about Carl having a guru or "spiritual guider", but I didn't pay much attention to it.

That's probably the best version of the song he's ever done since 1991.

Funny you say that, because I felt that this performance had a real "Landy-era" vocal quality to it.  I know I'm in the minority, but regardless of the shady Landy treatment and the questionable songs/production, I felt that Brian had a really nice vocal sound cira "Sweet Insanity."  Very great video...glad it was posted or else I never would have seen it.  As previously mentioned, the moment when he mimics Taylor's percussion is priceless.  Seeing him groovin' to the song, bathed in a mysterious blue glow: magic.  It's moments like these that remind me why I'm still a Brian Wilson fan.

I know exactly what you mean. It's that slightly high pitch, almost "whisper" sound, like on The Warmth of The Sun from IJWMFTT. Another good example is the original Gettin' Over My Head from the Paley sessions.

I think somebody on here(c-man?) mentioned that Carl had some kind of operation, and was on pain meds. Was that back related?  That might explain why he seems a little "spaced out" in that interview.

I might be showing off my lack of knowledge here, but what is MSIA?

I've been meaning to make a thread about this. Somebody on here once mentioned that Carl had gout at one point in his life. Does anybody know the story on that? Was it at the time of his cancer? Somebody on this message board also mentioned that Carl wore a back brace in the 1990's. I read that he hurt his back, but that was in the 1970's. Did he have long term back problems since his injury? Did he have any operations or anything? My next question is about his "bad habits". It's pretty well known that in 1976-ish, Carl's personal life went downhill for a while. He started drinking and doing cocaine and heroin. It seems that the 1978 Australian Beach Boys tour was when it really got out of control. My question is, exactly how long was Carl's drug and alchohol addiction? Did it start in 1976, or was it even earlier? After the Australian debacle, was that pretty much the end of Carl's problems? Did it last much longer than that? In "Brian's autobiography", it kind of paints a modern day picture of Carl as a lonely, depressed alchoholic. I don't really put much, if any, faith in that book. But I was just curios if there is ANY truth at all when it comes to talking about Carl during that period in the 1980's-early 1990's.

He hurt his back in early 1976 moving a TV I think. Brian mentioned it in an interview conducted during the 15 Big Ones sessions. I think the pain from that started the heavier drug use. I think by the late summer of 1978 he was more or less clean.

When was the PM Magazine interview? He was fairly obviously high in that.

I know that a lot of people are sensitive about Carl being sick. I once hung around on a message board that actually BANNED any pictures of him from the last year of his life. I don't want to know all the pain and heartache of his last few days. There are just a few things that I'm curios about. There seems to be so much that we don't know about Carl, at least compared to Brian or Dennis.

I've been meaning to make a thread about this. Somebody on here once mentioned that Carl had gout at one point in his life. Does anybody know the story on that? Was it at the time of his cancer? Somebody on this message board also mentioned that Carl wore a back brace in the 1990's. I read that he hurt his back, but that was in the 1970's. Did he have long term back problems since his injury? Did he have any operations or anything? My next question is about his "bad habits". It's pretty well known that in 1976-ish, Carl's personal life went downhill for a while. He started drinking and doing cocaine and heroin. It seems that the 1978 Australian Beach Boys tour was when it really got out of control. My question is, exactly how long was Carl's drug and alchohol addiction? Did it start in 1976, or was it even earlier? After the Australian debacle, was that pretty much the end of Carl's problems? Did it last much longer than that? In "Brian's autobiography", it kind of paints a modern day picture of Carl as a lonely, depressed alchoholic. I don't really put much, if any, faith in that book. But I was just curios if there is ANY truth at all when it comes to talking about Carl during that period in the 1980's-early 1990's.

I was just wondering, are there any known pictures taken of Carl after he stopped touring in August 1997? I suspect that if there were any, they are private family owned pictures.

There was a picture of Carl and Jerry Schilling that Jerry sent to Endless Summer Quarterly, and which we published in our Spring '98 issue, I believe.  We only had one-time permission to print it in the magazine so I can't reproduce it here, but I can't prevent one of our subscribers from scanning it and posting it...

Lee

How did Carl look?

Several of the actual song titles quoted, and lyrics listed in the chapter about Smile are wrong. That tells you about all you need to know about how accurate this book is. The thing that I'm curios about is, why didn't Brian sue Landy and Gold when this book came out? If I were Brian, I would have sued Landy for completely fucking up my life in every possible way. I mean, the poor guy got sued by HIS OWN MOTHER over this book.

This relatively unknown song played somewhat of a role in Smile:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qs-oGEhDP0E

Here is the thing about Dennis. He chose to do those things. Dennis choose to get into drugs and alcohol. Mike Love, Alan Jardine, or anyone else did not force him or cause so much stress that they HAD to do it. Dennis was a kickass guy. If he truly didn't like the way that Mike was taking the group, stand up and say enough! And not by punching Mike out at the Universal Amp, but by taking charge of the group along with Carl. Remember too, Jerry Schilling at this time was behind BOTH Mike and Carl and was trying to walk that tight rope. So to say that Mike and Al SO upset Dennis that he started his downward slide gives THEM too much power. Dennis did what Dennis did. As Melcher said, he was what rock and roll bullmerda was all about. And he was. Dennis throwing my PS LP across the lobby of the Hyatt to see if I would bring it back,  to "test" me, was just macho bullmerda. And that's ok. But he should have tried to save himself. He could have been such a great artist and producer away from the group. But he blew it. No body else. That makes me really sad too.

Well. Addiction is generally seen as an illness these days. Many stable people get in touch with substances a couple of times and then decide to end it before it is too late. I'd say that the Wilson family bears all the hallmarks of having been predestined to substance abuse, most likely genetically plus traumatic life events. So I am not really inclined to judge him and him only for it. Even if one tenth of all the stories is true (Murry beating him up, or scalding him with hot water), that is enough to create scars and a hidden panic that last a lifetime. Alcohol and cocaine is a typical combination for people who suffer from mood swings. And deep fears. As long as it works, it stabilizes and gives self-confidence. And of course the point in time will come when its efficacy is well and truly over. Basically that is what I think troubled him in his last days.

Why didn't Dennis show signs of mental illness though? The only example I really know of is the recently talked about "Get Down", or whatever it was called. I always thought of Dennis as more of a hell raiser, in regards to his drinking and drug abuse. Brian had more than his share of drugs and booze, but it seems to me that Brian's problems were much more  deeply rooted phsychological issues.