SMiLE Sessions box set!

[Boiled Egg]

The alt DaDa must qualify as one of the earliest recordings of a Rhodes, no?

I was thinking that as well, but the Rhodes piano had been on the market since 1965 when CBS bought out Leo Fender. Before that Rhodes was known for the smaller "Piano Bass" keyboard that Ray Manzarek used live with The Doors, then they did the full-size piano to compete with Wurlitzer's electric piano, which basically owned the market in the US until Rhodes caught on.

It was an early use of a relatively new instrument, but I'm guessing not as early as we might have thought. Offhand I don't know when the first hit record featuring a Rhodes piano was made.

Chapter and verse is hard to get on this, but ten minutes' websniffing suggests that the earliest recording featuring a Suitcase Rhodes (as opposed to the Rhodes Bass) may date from July 1966, when Joe Zawinul played one on Cannonball Adderley's recording of 'Mercy, Mercy, Mercy'. Which means Brian was only six months behind. Very much in the vanguard.

Correction: these guys

http://ep-forum.com/smf/index.php?PHPSESSID=e18fc92c66e009b152b1bc2da70bcd60&topic=520.30

(who seem to know what they're on about, in quite a big way) say Joe Zawinul recorded 'Mercy, Mercy, Mercy' on a Wurlitzer.  Leaving Miles Davis's 1968 recordings as the earliest on which the heads seem to be able to agree.  All of which pushes Da Da one place nearer the head of the queue in line for First Recorded Rhodes.  That'd be a pleasing (and fairly startling) side-effect of this colossal release, wouldn't it?

[Heysaboda]

BTW -

has there been any word about why VDP is not to be seen (as a commentator) in the box paraphernalia? I could think up several valid reasons myself why not. The man perhaps thought: now, I have a career of my own, do quite a bit of shows, just started a new label and do releases on that... and I did my fair share with BWPS already, and did not back down from interviews elsewhere, in which SMiLE was mentioned. I am fully entitled to return to my own work, instead of going through it all again.

Another: I have nothing to add of much news value any more. Everything's been said, I think.

Another: this is the shelved version of the project after all, and I wasn't treated that well at the time.

Just a note, when Brian and Band did SMiLE in Los Angeles at Disney Hall in 2004, Van Dyke received a long, well deserved and  THUNDEROUS standing ovation just for coming into the hall and taking his seat!  I know because I was one of the ones yelling my head off!

That moment was unreal.


 

[Andrew G. Doe]

BTW -

has there been any word about why VDP is not to be seen (as a commentator) in the box paraphernalia? I could think up several valid reasons myself why not. The man perhaps thought: now, I have a career of my own, do quite a bit of shows, just started a new label and do releases on that... and I did my fair share with BWPS already, and did not back down from interviews elsewhere, in which SMiLE was mentioned. I am fully entitled to return to my own work, instead of going through it all again.

Another: I have nothing to add of much news value any more. Everything's been said, I think.

Another: this is the shelved version of the project after all, and I wasn't treated that well at the time.

Just a note, when Brian and Band did SMiLE in Los Angeles at Disney Hall in 2004, Van Dyke received a long, well deserved and  THUNDEROUS standing ovation just for coming into the hall and taking his seat!  I know because I was one of the ones yelling my head off!

That moment was unreal.


 

Exact same thing happened in London, 2/20/04.

[FatherOfTheMan Sr101]

I'd go as far to say Van Dyke had more to do with SMiLE's Style then even Brian, of course, that's actually an opinion so... haha

[ghost]

I'd go as far to say Van Dyke had more to do with SMiLE's Style then even Brian, of course, that's actually an opinion so... haha

Part of Smile's style. There's a lot of pure Brian in there, like Vegatables, Child, Worms, Barnyard - I don't hear anything similar on Song Cycle which seems to be the best document of where VDP was at musically around that time. All the songs bear Brian's musical imprint greater than Van's but his spirit hovers over the cornfield nonetheless.

[Heysaboda]

Why is Capitol and the BB/BW camps not saying a word about this release..

The silence is deafening

Well, a certain AGD did post a nice message for the Azure-boarders......

But, if it were up to me, I would have the news about SMiLE shouted every hour, every minute from the roof of the Capitol Tower.  SHOUTED!

PEOPLE OF EARTH:

SMiLE IS COMING!
On Nov. 1, 2011
You.
Will.
Be.
Blown.
Away!

[Runaways]

i'd say the only reason for no van dyke parks writing was him not wanting to write one. 

[Wrightfan]

How ironic, I mention this morning that Amazon should bump the SMiLE Sessions from page 2 to 1...and low and behold they did.

You're welcome  

Edit: Also, the 2CD set went up about $10

[The Shift]

It's up for sale on Amazon.com..........release date 1 November 2011

http://www.amazon.com/Smile-Sessions-Box-Set/dp/B004RFYEEC/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1314389813&sr=1-1

Read it and weep........

Woo HOOOOOOOO

Many thanks for this post.  With a lot of perseverance I managed to pre-order at the original low price from a field in nearly-Wales on a phone with a crap interweb-thingie connection.

Very grateful.  And absorbed reading all the posts since I went on my wee trip. Why do balloons always go up when I'm away from home? In 2004 some guy released an album called SMiLE while I was several thousand miles away…

[joshferrell]

I'd go as far to say Van Dyke had more to do with SMiLE's Style then even Brian, of course, that's actually an opinion so... haha

Part of Smile's style. There's a lot of pure Brian in there, like Vegatables, Child, Worms, Barnyard - I don't hear anything similar on Song Cycle which seems to be the best document of where VDP was at musically around that time. All the songs bear Brian's musical imprint greater than Van's but his spirit hovers over the cornfield nonetheless.

I've always wondered if when they were done with the songs and added all the vocals and effects/sounds/echoes, symphonic music etc to it how much they would have sounded like "song cycle"

[OneEar/OneEye]

Changed my pre-prder today and nixed the stand alone vinyl set (since I'm already getting that with the box and don't even have a turntable).  This way I was able to increase my shipping from the free 5 - 8 business days to 2 day and still come out $10 below my previous cost.     I retained the 2 CD set though as I really want that stupid button for some reason, but did not go as far as Ghost and have it gift wrapped with a loving "note to self"  
Anyway, this post is relevant to nothing and no one really except myself, so thank you for the indulgence.  Please carry on.

[Ron]

BTW -

has there been any word about why VDP is not to be seen (as a commentator) in the box paraphernalia? I could think up several valid reasons myself why not. The man perhaps thought: now, I have a career of my own, do quite a bit of shows, just started a new label and do releases on that... and I did my fair share with BWPS already, and did not back down from interviews elsewhere, in which SMiLE was mentioned. I am fully entitled to return to my own work, instead of going through it all again.

Another: I have nothing to add of much news value any more. Everything's been said, I think.

Another: this is the shelved version of the project after all, and I wasn't treated that well at the time.

All fair, IMHO.

I was under the impression that Brian and Van Dyke weren't completely on the best of terms.  Can't remember why, or if anybody said why.  So that could have something to do with it. 

[grillo]

Why is Capitol and the BB/BW camps not saying a word about this release..

The silence is deafening

... and the amazon pre-sales are mounting.

"Bad news. The fog is getting thicker."

"And Leon is getting LARRRRRRRRRRRRGER!"

"Looks like I picked the wrong week to stop sniffing glue"

[Runaways]

i ordered the boxset.  I'll order the 2cd eventually.  I want that button too!

[Shady]

i ordered the boxset.  I'll order the 2cd eventually.  I want that button too!

I've ordered the box set and vinyl off Amazon but I'm holding off on the 2CD.

I'm lookin to pick that one up in Tower. It's gonna be so special 

[Jonas]

I'm still kicking myself on paying an extra $60 on this!

[Runaways]

i ordered the boxset.  I'll order the 2cd eventually.  I want that button too!

I've ordered the box set and vinyl off Amazon but I'm holding off on the 2CD.

I'm lookin to pick that one up in Tower. It's gonna be so special 

yah that's probably what i'll be doing too.  I wanna buy it in a store.  just seeing it on the shelf will be a thrill

[monicker]

Correction: these guys

http://ep-forum.com/smf/index.php?PHPSESSID=e18fc92c66e009b152b1bc2da70bcd60&topic=520.30

(who seem to know what they're on about, in quite a big way) say Joe Zawinul recorded 'Mercy, Mercy, Mercy' on a Wurlitzer.  Leaving Miles Davis's 1968 recordings as the earliest on which the heads seem to be able to agree.  All of which pushes Da Da one place nearer the head of the queue in line for First Recorded Rhodes.  That'd be a pleasing (and fairly startling) side-effect of this colossal release, wouldn't it?

Wow. Insane. And amazing. Yet another first credited to the Beach Boys?

[juggler]

BTW -

has there been any word about why VDP is not to be seen (as a commentator) in the box paraphernalia? I could think up several valid reasons myself why not. The man perhaps thought: now, I have a career of my own, do quite a bit of shows, just started a new label and do releases on that... and I did my fair share with BWPS already, and did not back down from interviews elsewhere, in which SMiLE was mentioned. I am fully entitled to return to my own work, instead of going through it all again.

Another: I have nothing to add of much news value any more. Everything's been said, I think.

Another: this is the shelved version of the project after all, and I wasn't treated that well at the time.

All fair, IMHO.

I was under the impression that Brian and Van Dyke weren't completely on the best of terms.  Can't remember why, or if anybody said why.  So that could have something to do with it.  

I still think that VDP's comments will be in there, and you guys are jumping to conclusions on minimal evidence.  However, suppose that you're right and VDP declined to supply any comments for the book/liner notes/whatever.  Will that reduce my enjoyment of my Smile box and 2CD set in any significant way?  Frankly, no.   Though his perspective would have been interesting, it's not as if we haven't heard him say anything about Smile before.  He's been interviewed many times both in print and on film.   In fact, some of those interviews were just a couple months ago when he was on tour.  He didn't seem at all upset about any aspect of the Smile box (in fact, he talked about having an appointment to preview the tracks and he compared the packaging to a Faberge egg).  Let's not forget that the dude will get songwriting royalties on most of the tracks in this release.  He might be just about to receive some of the biggest royalty checks of his life.

[monicker]

I was under the impression that Brian and Van Dyke weren't completely on the best of terms.  Can't remember why, or if anybody said why.  So that could have something to do with it. 

It's probably because Van Dyke is a butthole. 

Song Cycle is a crystal, a canyon, a mountain, a planet. What an amazing record. What in the world truly sounds like Song Cycle? This is like all of the 1960s LA pop records and film & TV scores mashed together into a surreal, joyous, ironic, auditory hallucination. So dense, so obtuse, so ambitious, so epic in scope. Sprawling, verbose, rich, light and heavy, cartoonish, over the top. Americana, Disney, western expansion. Is is one of those albums that really shouldn't be described, so i don't know why i am. But when people cluelessly ramble on and on about The Beatles and "sophisticated" music, they should immediately be silenced with Song Cycle. This is probably the pop record in all history that is closest to not being pop music at all. It alone is enough to validate Van Dyke Parks for the rest of his career, even if he never wrote another note of music after that. He could have just retired in '68.

I think Smile and Song Cycle have loose similarities. They're definitely more like each other than other albums from the time, but they're both planets in a solar system of two, with puny little stars scattered about them.

[AllIWannaDo]

Damn it!!

I go away for a weekend recording and comeback to find 40+ new pages on here, I miss the chanceto post on page 200, aaaaaand worst of all, i missed when this baby popped
tried on Amazon - and if i get express order to UK the boxset (with Tax) price comes to over $200,
yes that's $200

and it was got by some lucky people for $110

booo....................................................

when is it in the UK!!!!

[Shady]

Damn it!!

I go away for a weekend recording and comeback to find 40+ new pages on here, I miss the chanceto post on page 200, aaaaaand worst of all, i missed when this baby popped
tried on Amazon - and if i get express order to UK the boxset (with Tax) price comes to over $200,
yes that's $200

and it was got by some lucky people for $110

booo....................................................

when is it in the UK!!!!

We have no idea..

The thing is up for pre-order yet a lot of things are still confusing as hell

[bsten]

Why is Capitol and the BB/BW camps not saying a word about this release..

The silence is deafening

... and the amazon pre-sales are mounting.

And what about this - is it the full box???



http://www.bol.it/cd/The-smile-sessions-box-set/The-Beach-Boys/ea509990276582/


/b

[pixletwin]

It's the only box set being released, so I would say that's it. 

[Shady]

CONSPIRACY THEORY ALERT

I've been thinking the Box set picture was never meant to get out when it did so out of panic Capitol gave the go ahead to Amazon to put up the pre orders.

I find it crazy that the box set would be up on amazon with no comment from anyone..

Capitol probably had a plan for all of this but it's started a little early for them