Recent Posts

My take:

Heroes and Villains (Smile Sessions): mainly, but not only, for the Cantina section

Vega-Tables (Smile Sessions): in Smiley it starts great but it's a bit truncated, instead in Smile there's that dazzling outro

Elements (Fire) vs. Fall Breaks and Back to Winter: love both, it's a draw

She's Goin Bald (Smiley Smile): love it, not so much HGS

Little Pad (Smiley Smile): love LTSDD too, but Little Pad a bit more

Good Vibrations (Smile Sessions)  vs. Good Vibrations (Smiley Smile): how can I... it's a draw, perfect is perfect

Wonderful (Smiley Smile): weird and almost creepy... love it!

Wind Chimes (Smiley Smile): weird and TOTALLY creepy... maybe my favourite song ever?

Yes, we lost a completed 1967 Smile, but we have Smiley, BWPS, the Smile Sessions and infinite fanmixes... not bad after all.  

P.S.
The Vega-Tables outro, by the way, reappears in the middle section of the Smiley Wonderful (Hey, Baba Ruba...)

Lest we forget:



http://www.memorialmapping.com/memorials/donadea-9-11-memorial/

Just Little Pad over Tones (I've heard there's a connection and seen them overlaid to reveal a shared melody). That's literally it and I love Smiley.

Ok here's another one--what's Life Raft, which both AGD and Badman list as recorded Oct 25 66? I used to see this in passing and think "oh, Lifeboat aka Dick (on Psychedelic Sounds)" but apparently that's "Brian's Smile Party" recorded Oct 18 in both sessionographies. So what's Life Raft and is it available anywhere? Is it part of Psychedelic Sounds--maybe "Bob Gordon's Real Trip" or "Basketball Sounds" for example? Did Brian revisit the Lifeboat game setup idea at a second date, implying the game was not Jules Siegel's idea as I'd always assumed? Was this another recording with the Posse or the Wrecking Crew?

In my wildest dreams right now, I'm imagining another Veggie Fight but it's Brian, Vosse and Hal pretending they're stuck on a raft deciding who to eat or something. And now I'm wondering if/how it fits into SMiLE... What if, you had the veggie fight as an Earth comedy skit, falling into a horn as an Air comedy skit, staying alive stranded in the ocean as a Water comedy skit...and then Fire is fire. (Not a very balanced or "fitness-y" elements but damn that's wild...)

This is “Big Apple", with a brief explanation of the new Limahl-less Kajagoogoo by bassist (now also lead singer) Nick Beggs:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6bGSTbXhFk  

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Apple_(song)

I dont think it was a disaster per se, but it is unfortunate.

I do hope with AI and more advanced audio tools, an official stereo mix could be made--honestly if that isn't what this upcoming SMiLE re-release is, I'll be disappointed. (I want the stuff from the vaults that wasnt on TSS too--a better take of CIFOTM version 1's chorus, the one you hear on Odeon, more Psychedelic Sounds, any new acetates, other takes, etc) We have fanmixers who were able to do it even pre-AI, plus it's not like "preserving the music as recorded" was a problem with all TSS Disc 1's excessive fly-ins, pitch-shifting and hamfisted edits to make the BWPS sequence "work." If they're willing to mangle the material like that, I don't see why a digitally attained stereo cut should be out of the question.

If it sounded good, didn't significantly alter the track pool from 66-67 material (no time to get alone or country air for me, no Cant Wait Too Long as a replacement for WC, keep Heroes on even if it was already released, etc) and more or less followed Brian's wishes with his approval, I would. There'd probably be some "Carl-isms" and "Reilly-isms" that rub me the wrong way, like Im not the biggest fan of '71 Surf's Up especially the fade, but it wouldn't be a deal breaker if the "polishing" didn't call attention to itself.

The reason I don't hold BWPS in the same regard is because the production and vocals are SO different it just doesn't have the same vibe. It's the equivalent of a remake or reboot. Even by the same director with the same script and storyboards, it's gonna look and therefore feel different. It's not the same. I think 1973 or so was their last chance to do it right, so none but the uber-fans would even notice it'd been worked on in two different time frames. By 1988 it was already too late, much less anytime after that.

yes

No I mean use the instrumental tracks and existing vocals from TSS and overlay the missing vocal parts from BWPS onto them? In other words "Finished" versions of DYLW, Look, CIFOTM, I wanna Be around, Holidays and Dada/Blue Hawaii.

To my knowledge no. I was trying to say, unless Im mistaken the raw materials to do so aren't there unless you're a virtuoso at isolating vocals. Now with the advent of AI allowing us to just use recreations of the BBs at their peak, I think there's probably less interest as well since that's not only easier but (I think many would say) preferable.

Weakest on Pet Sounds: Pet Sounds. It's not Sloop John B that doesn't belong, it's this. I dont dislike it, it's still a solid A, A- song but it's more like a traditionally "beach-y" almost Jimmy Buffet esque song, not really befitting the vibe of the rest of the tracks. People are gonna jump down my throat and say of course it is, because it's there, but if you tossed a bunch of Brian's songs from late '65 to summer '66 in a pile to an uninformed person and said "the greatest and arguably first concept album in rock history is among these songs--pick 13" I doubt PS would get chosen very often. Probably you'd have the album we got plus GV or LGIOK in its place.

Weakest on SMiLE: If we're including unfinished and/or speculative fragments, I say the so-called Barnyard suite. The vague collage of Barnyard, IIGS, IWBA/FN(WS). I think there's a reason this song was never finished in particular, despite the pieces all being right there. Like, yeah it kinda works but nobody would ever call it a highlight. If we're talking "on the Dec tracklist and we absolutely know what it is" I say OMP--which is related to the same concept and by Vosse's account originally part of it. Really, this whole pastoral farm life thing on SMiLE is by far its weakest link.