SMiLE Sessions box set!

[Paulos]

Folks, I gotta say, all this debate on how Brian would've sequenced SMiLE in '66 or '67 is pointless, because there's a good chance that one of the major reasons he abandoned the work way back then is because he COULDN'T sequence it.  He had painted himself into a corner artistically, with no way out other than to shelve the whole thing and start over on a smaller scale, which he did with Smiley Smile (sure, there were other reasons for dropping the project, but I don't believe any one of them outweighed the others).  Even if he HAD completed it, there's an extremely good chance that he would've tinkered with the sequencing for goodness knows how long before finally settling on a running order.  Imagine the mindset he was in while trying to figure out the sequence of just one song, "Good Vibrations", and multiply that expotentially for an entire album (remember, as early as October he was beginning to second-guess himself and started redoing entire songs like "Wind Chimes", eventually doing "Wonderful" no less than FOUR different times), while adding in a shovel full of amphetimines, hash, acid, and whatever else he may have been indulging in, and you see my point.  Whatever sequence Brian may have envisioned (assuming he even did so) in December of '66 probably differed, if even slightly, from what he would've envisioned in January of '67, and that probably differed from what he would've envisioned in April or May of '67.   The best we can hope for in this day and age is something that sort of makes sense, while realizing there's a good half dozen or so sequences that make just as much sense, and we CAN'T say with certainty that any one of them would definitely be what Brian would've chosen himself back in the day.  SMiLE wasn't so much "unfinished" as it was "abandoned".  With Mozart's "Requeim", we can speculate on how the composer may have finished it, because he certainly would have if he hadn't died.  With SMiLE, it's a different story.

Preach it, brother.

For those of you who are already unhappy with Disc 1 (without the benefit of actually hearing it), and want something that conforms more closely to the 12 track list from December 1966, here's an idea:

1. Buy the box set
2. Using the box and your existing collection of Smile material, pick out your favorite version of each of the 12 tracks listed
3. Add whatever you want to Fire and pretend it's The Elements
4. BURN YOUR OWN FREAKIN' CD

Juggler, I totally agree - if people don't like the sequencing then simply do your own sequence and stop bitching!

Also, JohnMill, all your posts so far have been very good reading and a breath of fresh air.

[dmcguire70]

The casual fan will pick up the two disc set.  The hardcore fan will shell out for the box.  s and pieces in high sound quality that we can cobble together with bootlegs and whatever else to make our own version of the album.  The bottom line is the people who are putting these sets together know what they're doing period.

Besides casual/curious fans and hard core beach boys fans like us... there is also a whole world of general music nerds that will NEED to own the smile box. I have "music nerd" friends (all in their early 20s) that aren't massive Beach Boys fans BUT will be picking up the box set.

Smile coming out in Australia October 28?
Where did u here that , and do you have a link?

[FatherOfTheMan Sr101]

where do you see October 28th lol

[dmcguire70]

where do you see October 28th lol

WWDWD has it as his signature and another person on here mentioned October 28 release date in Australia.
Highly unlikely It would be released here before the US.

[FatherOfTheMan Sr101]

SMiLE - October 28 (Australia) - I will be listening to it whilst you northern hemisphere folk are waiting... waiting... waiting

oh, well... unless he's and "insider" I'd guess he's wrong, or misinformed

[Paulos]

where do you see October 28th lol

WWDWD has it as his signature and another person on here mentioned October 28 release date in Australia.
Highly unlikely It would be released here before the US.

Well technically it will be released here in Australia before the USA because of the time difference, i'll be in Adelaide which means TSS will be released 13.5 hours before the US release.

[FatherOfTheMan Sr101]

but it's technically still NOV 1st there so... HA

[37!ws]

I want to hear how BWPS sounds when played on AM radio.

In all seriousness, it sounds pretty freakin' amazing through an iPhone speaker. It definitely has some kind of magic to it...really cool!

[FatherOfTheMan Sr101]

I want to hear how BWPS sounds when played on AM radio.

In all seriousness, it sounds pretty freakin' amazing through an iPhone speaker. It definitely has some kind of magic to it...really cool!

Just showin' that MONO can be awesome!

[dmcguire70]

where do you see October 28th lol

WWDWD has it as his signature and another person on here mentioned October 28 release date in Australia.
Highly unlikely It would be released here before the US.

Well technically it will be released here in Australia before the USA because of the time difference, i'll be in Adelaide which means TSS will be released 13.5 hours before the US release.

Actually we Aussies are quite lucky because the Aussie dollar lately has been at record highs against the US Greenback.
I managed to pre-order the Box-set when it was at $110 US, which works out to be approx $102 Aussie dollars.
Happy days!!

[doc smiley]

canceled my amazon.com order with was $184 to Canada ($140 +shipping and border fees extra) and went with Amazon.ca.. $124 + tax but free shipping  so $140 total...

nice   

[Tricycle Rider]

Uh Oh!

Someone over on the Hoffman forum had his $110.00 SMiLE Sessions Box Set canceled without so much as an email!

He called Amazon and they said it was due to "availability issues" and also said something about "not being able to give it to him for the original price because it is not the necessary price set by the manufacturer".

 

[FatherOfTheMan Sr101]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

I HAVEN'T ORDERED THAT!!! ONLY A 2CD SET! HOW LONG A WAIT WILL IT BE?!?!

[Paulos]

Uh Oh!

Someone over on the Hoffman forum had his $110.00 SMiLE Sessions Box Set canceled without so much as an email!

He called Amazon and they said it was due to "availability issues" and also said something about "not being able to give it to him for the original price because it is not the necessary price set by the manufacturer".

 

Sorry but this seems unlikely due to the price protection guarantee and the fact that it's someone on the Hoffman board.

[FatherOfTheMan Sr101]

oh... thank god

[dmcguire70]

Uh Oh!

Someone over on the Hoffman forum had his $110.00 SMiLE Sessions Box Set canceled without so much as an email!

He called Amazon and they said it was due to "availability issues" and also said something about "not being able to give it to him for the original price because it is not the necessary price set by the manufacturer".

 

OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If that happens to me I'm going to cancel and wait till It's in store.
If Amazon are going to be complete a** holes about this they won't be getting my cash!!!
 

[dmcguire70]

Uh Oh!

Someone over on the Hoffman forum had his $110.00 SMiLE Sessions Box Set canceled without so much as an email!

He called Amazon and they said it was due to "availability issues" and also said something about "not being able to give it to him for the original price because it is not the necessary price set by the manufacturer".

 

Hope you're right!

Sorry but this seems unlikely due to the price protection guarantee and the fact that it's someone on the Hoffman board.

[FatherOfTheMan Sr101]

Uh Oh!

Someone over on the Hoffman forum had his $110.00 SMiLE Sessions Box Set canceled without so much as an email!

He called Amazon and they said it was due to "availability issues" and also said something about "not being able to give it to him for the original price because it is not the necessary price set by the manufacturer".

 

TRUST ME.
I've used amazon to pre-order TONS of things before, they've NEVER changed a price higher, only even lower!

OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If that happens to me I'm going to cancel and wait till It's in store.
If Amazon are going to be complete a** holes about this they won't be getting my cash!!!
 

[Jay]

I wasn't sure whether to post this here or on one of the SMiLE threads. My question is, what were Brian's thoughts on SMiLE during the 1970's and early 80's, before Landy came into the picture? Did he ever speak of it? Or did he want no part of it whatsoever? What about during the immediate year or three after SMiLE failed? Say, the Smiley Smile sessions up to the 20/20 period? With the new information about Brian recording a version of Surf's Up during the Wild Honey sessions, I tend to think that the whole "SMiLE saga" just got even more confusing than it already was.

[FatherOfTheMan Sr101]

I believe he just avoided talking about it, especially when the "Surf's Up" album was being made.

Honestly, I'm more interested on why "Surf's Up" was his choice to play in 67' on WILD HONEY of all albums!?!?!

I mean I love it, and I can only imagine what "Let the wind" and "Surf's Up"'s baby will sound like!

[Jay]

Somebody on here once posted an interesting story about the group getting ready to do a show in the early 1980's, and Brian apperently freaked out and refused to play the show because he saw the SMiLE cover artwork. I don't really remember the details. Maybe somebody here remembers it and can post the original story.

 Brian doing a version of Surf's Up on Wild Honey makes no sense whatsoever. It doesn't fit in any way, shape or form. But that's our Brian, and we wouldn't have him any other way.   

[JohnMill]

With all the tie ins I'm surprised there isn't a video game tie in with this new SMiLE boxset.  Check out the lead:

BLASHPHEMY! THE SMiLE MASTER TAPES HAVE BEEN STOLEN!!!
Now it's up to you to restore them by helping our heroes vanquish the villains in Brother Records New Video Game "Virtually SMiLING" - Have endless hours of fun completing the following tasks

- Help Al rediscover his childhood by traveling to the Land Of Misfit Toys and find out whether Child really is Father Of The Man

- Go Digging For Worms In The Barnyard with Van Dyke Parks

- Go Crusin With Fireman Mike Love as he attempts to put out a fire at the hamburger stand

- Help Brian liberate the tapes from Reggie Dunbar by tossing Vega-Tables in his mouth.

AND MUCH MORE!

[Micha]

Let's all accept that the only reason we're getting this sequence is that Brian's management wants to stake out the position that BWPS _is_ the completed Smile

This claim really annoys me. If that really was the reason, why were there subtle changes in the order? Do you really think some spooky guys with sunglasses with total control over Brian ordered that sequence because they fear the sales of BWPS drop if it was not like it? Quit putting it down, will you? Saying things like "it is done that way just for this or that reason, not because it would be the right thing to do" is devaluating the great stuff we are about to get. You're unnecessarily putting Brian down by saying "it's all his management pulling strings".

Sure, SMiLE would have been another way had it been released at any time back then, read what Jon Stebbins wrote. But that just isn't important! It crossed my mind recently that the cantina version which I prefer to the single version is a contemporate of the strange Rock Me Henry Wonderful. Terrible, if that would had been on the 1967 album. So good Brian shelved that one!

I think people forget that the titles on the handwritten list/back cover  on the back cover were submitted and approved by the LP producer,

1) The titles on the back cover mock up (not sequence, the titles) were approved by the LP producer, one Brian Wilson.

And the handwritten tracklist... One might just as well say it was just done because Capitol wanted one, not because it was the one. You can tell it was made up on the spot, for "The Old Master Painter" was being put in brackets, then that was rethought and the brackets crossed out. Had the producer, Brian, actually approved it, back covers would have been printed. I'm glad that list was disregarded and Look and Holidays were kept.

Personally, I'm just looking forward to the box and listening to all that stuff and happy that there is some closure again. The sequence is all right, no matter when it was thought up. I don't mind the movementwise editing.

And yes, from this new source I will make up a CD with my own sequence... 

[lance]

Folks, I gotta say, all this debate on how Brian would've sequenced SMiLE in '66 or '67 is pointless, because there's a good chance that one of the major reasons he abandoned the work way back then is because he COULDN'T sequence it.  He had painted himself into a corner artistically, with no way out other than to shelve the whole thing and start over on a smaller scale, which he did with Smiley Smile (sure, there were other reasons for dropping the project, but I don't believe any one of them outweighed the others).  Even if he HAD completed it, there's an extremely good chance that he would've tinkered with the sequencing for goodness knows how long before finally settling on a running order.  Imagine the mindset he was in while trying to figure out the sequence of just one song, "Good Vibrations", and multiply that expotentially for an entire album (remember, as early as October he was beginning to second-guess himself and started redoing entire songs like "Wind Chimes", eventually doing "Wonderful" no less than FOUR different times), while adding in a shovel full of amphetimines, hash, acid, and whatever else he may have been indulging in, and you see my point.  Whatever sequence Brian may have envisioned (assuming he even did so) in December of '66 probably differed, if even slightly, from what he would've envisioned in January of '67, and that probably differed from what he would've envisioned in April or May of '67.   The best we can hope for in this day and age is something that sort of makes sense, while realizing there's a good half dozen or so sequences that make just as much sense, and we CAN'T say with certainty that any one of them would definitely be what Brian would've chosen himself back in the day.  SMiLE wasn't so much "unfinished" as it was "abandoned".  With Mozart's "Requeim", we can speculate on how the composer may have finished it, because he certainly would have if he hadn't died.  With SMiLE, it's a different story.

Amen. I thinkk the debate about the real order of Smile is as nuts as, well, Brian Wilson.

[puni puni]

what were Brian's thoughts on SMiLE during the 1970's and early 80's

There is a video somewhere from 1977 where Brian talks about Fire and how it might have burned the buildings down