SMiLE Sessions box set!

[PhilCohen]

Actually, what I'm doing is not so much beating a dead horse, as it is the symbolic equivalent of hurling a smoke bomb or tear gas cannister into the Capitol tower, to get their executives to emerge from the tower, and tell us fans what the situation presently is. Is the project proceding smoothly towards completion? Is the project troubled? Or is it likely to be cancelled? No one on this forum really knows one way or another. Not me, not Mr.Doe, not Mr.Reum.

[PhilCohen]

Hey Phil... if you could invent a 'SMiLE Pizza' what would you put on it? Now there's a 12" (or 16") box I'd like to see!

Olive to say Da Da
Our Prawns
Vegetables
Pineapple (In Blue Hawaii)
Do You Like Mushrooms
Sunny Down Sausage
Mrs O'Leary's Beef
The Old Mozzarella Painter
He Gives Cheeses
Salami's Up
Dance Margarita

Hey, that's funny. I do enjoy a good joke, and I do have a sense of humor.

[willy]

Hey maybe some LA pizza chain might pick up on it when the time comes  

Oh I forgot to list Van Dyke Pork as another topping!

[vintagemusic]

That's not true Phil.

Beatle engineer Ken Scott, may indeed have been electronically
banished from Steve Hoffman forum.

But only after, he told them to go jump in a lake
they were dummies and he was never for the rest
of his life ever , under any circumstances going
to that board ever again.. and he quit, never to come back.

Then after that... He was electronically banned.

Do you see the difference?

Actually they begged him to come back, saying it was a misunderstanding
and that the Selfless heroic Gorts (moderators) of the Steve Hoffman board
were saintly, clever, human beings, and that Ken Scott needed to submit to
their will...

thats more like what happened. I read the posts.

[PhilCohen]

That's not true Phil.

Beatle engineer Ken Scott, may indeed have been electronically
banished from Steve Hoffman forum.

But only after, he told them to go jump in a lake
they were dummies and he was never for the rest
of his life ever , under any circumstances going
to that board ever again.. and he quit, never to come back.

Then after that... He was electronically banned.

Do you see the difference?

Actually they begged him to come back, saying it was a misunderstanding
and that the Selfless heroic Gorts (moderators) of the Steve Hoffman board
were saintly, clever, human beings, and that Ken Scott needed to submit to
their will...

thats more like what happened. I read the posts.

But, no doubt, Hoffman's "Gorts"(censors) ARE dummies, or at least they worship Steve Hoffman, giving Hoffman the yesmen he craves.

[doinnothin]

Is the project proceding smoothly towards completion? Is the project troubled? Or is it likely to be cancelled? No one on this forum really knows one way or another. Not me, not Mr.Doe, not Mr.Reum.

Well based on what the only guy on this board who's officially involved in the project says, the answer is "proceeding smoothly towards completion". I just don't get how you hang your hat on Brian's "maybe" from a Kentucky newspaper, but when the guy who's putting together the liner notes for said project comes on the board and says that it's going great and getting better everyday, you ignore it.

[PhilCohen]

Is the project proceding smoothly towards completion? Is the project troubled? Or is it likely to be cancelled? No one on this forum really knows one way or another. Not me, not Mr.Doe, not Mr.Reum.

Well based on what the only guy on this board who's officially involved in the project says, the answer is "proceeding smoothly towards completion". I just don't get how you hang your hat on Brian's "maybe" from a Kentucky newspaper, but when the guy who's putting together the liner notes for said project comes on the board and says that it's going great and getting better everyday, you ignore it.

What all of you have overlooked, is that I DO want the box set to be released(and this year; not in 2012 or 2013). I'm  just not convinced that such a box is coming as soon as many of you think(or wish). Is all this secrecy really neccessary?

[Andreas]

Finally in terms of the Hoffman forum. That could have been a great place, [...]

Here are some people who post on the Hoffman board; do they sound familiar?
Andrew G. Doe
Jon Hunt
Peter Reum
Lou Shenk
Steve Espinola
Chris Moise
Ken Worthing
David Prokopy
Paul Carr
Andrew Sandoval

[drbeachboy]

Finally in terms of the Hoffman forum. That could have been a great place, [...]

Here are some people who post on the Hoffman board; do they sound familiar?
Andrew G. Doe
Jon Hunt
Peter Reum
Lou Shenk
Steve Espinola
Chris Moise
Ken Worthing
David Prokopy
Paul Carr
Andrew Sandoval

I post there too. There are some very knowledgeable people there, especially the people that you have listed. The problem is, is that it can be very controlling there. Threads can disappear in the blink of an eye. The original Smile thread that disappeared was soley due to the Hoff covering his ass after chewing us out, then claiming Smile would never be released, then back peddling after Capitol's announcement. He then played saviour by claiming that he single-handedly saved Smile from cancellation, while chastising us for talking about and contacting Capitol regarding the release. I admit that he is a very good mastering engineer, but he does exaggerate his own importance at times.

[bgas]

Is the project proceding smoothly towards completion? Is the project troubled? Or is it likely to be cancelled? No one on this forum really knows one way or another. Not me, not Mr.Doe, not Mr.Reum.

Well based on what the only guy on this board who's officially involved in the project says, the answer is "proceeding smoothly towards completion". I just don't get how you hang your hat on Brian's "maybe" from a Kentucky newspaper, but when the guy who's putting together the liner notes for said project comes on the board and says that it's going great and getting better everyday, you ignore it.

What all of you have overlooked, is that I DO want the box set to be released(and this year; not in 2012 or 2013). I'm  just not convinced that such a box is coming as soon as many of you think(or wish). Is all this secrecy really neccessary?

Two things, Phil: 
1; The secrecy, whether or not it's "necessary" is the choice of Capitol Records, and no-one else. It seems to me less secrecy, than simply not being forthcoming with progress announcements.  To your mind that's a huge problem, to most of us, much less so.

2; I get the sense that Peter Reum is part of the info stream( thru whatever source(s) he has) Still. he's been sworn to secrecy(and being an honorable person, has kept it) but has been allowed to make announcements that don't compromise the release.
You, on the other hand, don't know anything more about what is going on, than the rest of us, of course. AGD, may have some knowledge/sources, but is likely not a part of the BIG picture.

[c-man]

Finally in terms of the Hoffman forum. That could have been a great place, [...]

Here are some people who post on the Hoffman board; do they sound familiar?
Andrew G. Doe
Jon Hunt
Peter Reum
Lou Shenk
Steve Espinola
Chris Moise
Ken Worthing
David Prokopy
Paul Carr
Andrew Sandoval

I post there too. There are some very knowledgeable people there, especially the people that you have listed. The problem is, is that it can be very controlling there. Threads can disappear in the blink of an eye. The original Smile thread that disappeared was soley due to the Hoff covering his ass after chewing us out, then claiming Smile would never be released, then back peddling after Capitol's announcement. He then played saviour by claiming that he single-handedly saved Smile from cancellation, while chastising us for talking about and contacting Capitol regarding the release. I admit that he is a very good mastering engineer, but he does exaggerate his own importance at times.

To my knowledge, Steve Hoffman has had absolutely NOTHING to do with Capitol's 2011 SMiLE project.  

[hypehat]

Your last sentence is OTM, Dr. I don't get why Steve Hoffman considers himself any more of a 'bigshot' than any other working engineer dealing with reissues on a major labels payroll. I have heard no evidence to suggest it - asking about the best Beatles/Beach Boys sound quality points to a lot of sources he had nothing to do with and nowhere near his unneccesarily gold cds.

bgas also said what I wanted to say. There are people in the loop here who have given us nothing but encouraging news....

[PhilCohen]

Here's an analogy, though an unusual one. For the 1960's Beach Boys albums where Brian delivered only a mono mix to Capitol, Capitol then created a fake stereo "Duophonic" version to market to stereo L.P. consumers. It is now obvious(and even The Beach Boys probably realized it at the time), that the duophonic mixes sounded worse than true stereo mixes would have sounded. Maybe it would have been better to offer true stereo versions from the very start.

Let's say, what if Capitol Records(instead of maintaining airtight secrecy around the "Smile" box project) had given the fans occasional updates about the project(even if these were disappointing updates informing us of release postponements, technical problems and/or permission hassles, or maybe good news about the discovery of additional source tapes), would the situation have been any worse(amongst the fans) than it presently is? I'd say that the situation would have been better, because at least we would know that Capitol, The Beach Boys, Alan Boyd and Mark Linett were still trying to complete the project, even if little progress was being made.

[drbeachboy]

Your last sentence is OTM, Dr. I don't get why Steve Hoffman considers himself any more of a 'bigshot' than any other working engineer dealing with reissues on a major labels payroll. I have heard no evidence to suggest it - asking about the best Beatles/Beach Boys sound quality points to a lot of sources he had nothing to do with and nowhere near his unneccesarily gold cds.

bgas also said what I wanted to say. There are people in the loop here who have given us nothing but encouraging news....

So, single-handedly saving Smile from cancellation isn't exaggerating his own importance? Especially, seeing that c-man says that Hoffman has nothing to do with the project.

[bgas]

Here's an analogy, though an unusual one. For the 1960's Beach Boys albums where Brian delivered only a mono mix to Capitol, Capitol then created a fake stereo "Duophonic" version to market to stereo L.P. consumers. It is now obvious(and even The Beach Boys probably realized it at the time), that the duophonic mixes sounded worse than true stereo mixes would have sounded. Maybe it would have been better to offer true stereo versions from the very start.

Let's say, what if Capitol Records(instead of maintaining airtight secrecy around the "Smile" box project) had given the fans occasional updates about the project(even if these were disappointing updates informing us of release postponements, technical problems and/or permission hassles, or maybe good news about the discovery of additional source tapes), would the situation have been any worse(amongst the fans) than it presently is? I'd say that the situation would have been better, because at least we would know that Capitol, The Beach Boys, Alan Boyd and Mark Linett were still trying to complete the project, even if little progress was being made.

But we do know that already, because they haven't made any announcements that it's being canceled, AND because Peter says it's coming.
I'll trust what he has to say before I entertain any of your doom and gloom.
Please, Please Please, stop it.

[Andrew G. Doe]

If the process of creating this box set wasn't beset by some sort of permission problems or hang-ups(and  I've mentioned several possibilities, and stated that it could be some, all or none of those reasons), then we'd either be listening to the box set now, or celebrating at the announcement of a release date, and preordering at our favorite record shop or online dealer. But none of those things are happening.

Here's a notion I've been considering. Couple, actually.

Firstly, nothing has been delayed because no official release date has been set beyond "this year" which, last time I looked, still has just over 147 days to run. The project was officially announced 139 days ago, so assuming that they started from scratch on 3/11 (they didn't, of course) we're not over the hump yet.

Secondly, of course there have been a few roadblocks, which have been alluded to here (you've not noticed ? try to keep up, please), but suppose - just for the sake of argument - the project has been 'beset' by the discovery of new material. Sometimes no news is good news. However, no room for any such serendipity in Phil's gameplan, sorry, it's been announced, can't stop to reconsider and see where we can integrate this windfall, got to get the damn thing out, the fans are on our backs.

Wrong: that's a lie. With one very notable, vocal and frankly exceedingly irritating exception (I'm excluding Flash Harry as his views in this regard stem less from conviction and more a need to been seen as swimming against the tide), the fans aren't on anyone's backs: the attitude in the BB fanworld in general is "well, we've waited 44 years, another few months isn't going to make any difference".  Capitol have been salivating to put some form of Smile project out since the late 80s. They know what they've got, they know their market and they also know that they've had over 40 years of entirely free pre-publicity.  We're talking about it... every interview with Mike or Brian since March has mentioned the upcoming release... the buzz is there. They're biding their time. They're getting it right. Remember what I posted here a few weeks ago, as OK'd by someone who would know what they're talking about ? "It is to be". Don't listen to me, listen to Peter, or Craig.

As for the hypothetical problems with principals permissions and signing off, or personality clashes, I'll just say this - Phil is wrong. Not my opinion, or impression. Fact.

[hypehat]

Dr Beach Boy, I'm agreeing with you! His behaviour concerning the Smile box seems petulant, really. I just don't get what Steve Hoffman has done to deserve his inflated ego besides remaster a few records...

[Mike's Beard]

I don't think this thread should be locked up as others have suggested, but maybe Phil should be.

[hypehat]

Aw, no. I may disagree with what he has to say, but I shall to defend to the death his right to say it. And by gum, do i disagree 

[c-man]

Let's say, what if Capitol Records(instead of maintaining airtight secrecy around the "Smile" box project) had given the fans occasional updates about the project(even if these were disappointing updates informing us of release postponements, technical problems and/or permission hassles, or maybe good news about the discovery of additional source tapes), would the situation have been any worse(amongst the fans) than it presently is? I'd say that the situation would have been better, because at least we would know that Capitol, The Beach Boys, Alan Boyd and Mark Linett were still trying to complete the project, even if little progress was being made.

Well, trust me, they are, and it is.  Only, it's more than "trying", and the progress is not "little", any more than Brian's progress on "Good Vibrations" was over the course of those eight months in 1966.  This is not just based on my optimism, it is based on reality.  

[Mike's Beard]

Aw, no. I may disagree with what he has to say, but I shall to defend to the death his right to say it. And by gum, do i disagree 

I wasn't implying Phil should be locked out of this thread, more he should be locked up in a padded cell.

[hypehat]

I decline to comment 

[drbeachboy]

Dr Beach Boy, I'm agreeing with you! His behaviour concerning the Smile box seems petulant, really. I just don't get what Steve Hoffman has done to deserve his inflated ego besides remaster a few records...

My apologies to you. I misread your post. He is good and what he does. His Pet Sounds CDs are terrific. I guess those kind of accolades go to his head. Who knows?

[Andrew G. Doe]

Actually, what I'm doing is not so much beating a dead horse, as it is the symbolic equivalent of hurling a smoke bomb or tear gas cannister into the Capitol tower, to get their executives to emerge from the tower, and tell us fans what the situation presently is. Is the project proceding smoothly towards completion? Is the project troubled? Or is it likely to be cancelled? No one on this forum really knows one way or another. Not me, not Mr.Doe, not Mr.Reum.

1 - you're annoying people, and not just here. I've told you this in private more than once.

2 - were I Peter, I'd find that observation disrespectful in the extreme: he is, however, far more forgiving than I. As for how much I may or may not know, irrespective of the exact degree it's still more than you do, and so does everyone posting here who's taken time to actually read the original (and continuing) reports.

[Andrew G. Doe]

Here's an analogy, though an unusual one. For the 1960's Beach Boys albums where Brian delivered only a mono mix to Capitol, Capitol then created a fake stereo "Duophonic" version to market to stereo L.P. consumers. It is now obvious(and even The Beach Boys probably realized it at the time), that the duophonic mixes sounded worse than true stereo mixes would have sounded. Maybe it would have been better to offer true stereo versions from the very start.

You really don't know anything about The Beach Boys, do you ?  It's well-documented Brian handed in mono mixes 1965-67 because he retained control of the final product that way. Capitol were never going to get stereo mixes.

Also, totally spurious comparison.