SMiLE Sessions box set!

[drbeachboy]

Of course, in hindsight we know that the drugs were not good for Brian's health, but it doesn't mean it wasn't an influence (good or bad) with his song writing.

[Catbirdman]

Was daydreaming tonight about some of the non-musical elements of this upcoming release, namely packaging and presentation, as well as informational content. In random order then, this is my wish list:

• The outer box will be insanely sturdy and resistant to wear
• The various elements inside the box will be nested in red velvet sections
• The LP will feature front and back covers painstakingly matched to the vintage slicks down to the minutest detail (except, naturally for the song listing itself)
• The LP will include a facsimile of the original booklet, exactly as it would have appeared
• No colored vinyl, and the labels should look like the ones used for Wild Honey
• One of the two 45s will be Heroes And Villains, with the sleeve that features the Guy Webster photographs
• The second 45 will be for Vega-Tables, with the picture of Brian at the farmers' market
• The hardcover book will feature a detailed sessionography and the most comprehensive list of facts about each recording ever assembled
• Every piece of music on the CDs and records will be documented clearly and comprehensively in the liner notes
• No sodding hidden tracks (my pet peeve) - everything will be listed and clearly documented and properly indexed
• Domenic's essay will be short and will not venture into opinion-as-fact territory
• Brian and Van Dyke will be interviewed and asked pointedly about the FACTS of the recordings and compostiions
• They won't chicken out and will press Brian and Van Dyke relentlessly on what lyrics were written, where each piece was intended to go, etc.
• All known copies of vintage lyrics documentation will be scanned and included in the book
• ALL the Jasper Dailey studio photos will appear in the booklet in full color, easily scannable, uncropped
• There will be loads of other photos, both known and "new," with as many captions documenting time and place as possible
• There will be a solid if not overwhelming selection of press clippings, all scannable and uncropped
• Each of Frank Holmes' drawings (including the new ones) will be included on separate LP-sized cards in the highest quality
• David Anderle's painting of Brian will be included on a separate LP-sized card in the highest quality
• They will include an address that fans can write to with the names of their favorite vegetable
• They won't dumb down the trainspotting factor and will unabashedly document down to the smallest detail every known fact and speculative possibility regarding SMiLE theory
• They won't mention the Beatles every other paragraph, and readers will walk away with an impression that it is OK to revere the SMiLE music for reasons other than because George Martin said so
• They will give Mike, Al, and Bruce ample room to reflect on the time and the sessions and will present their contributions in a positive light
• They will interview session players as well and will take care to present the best of their recollections, prioritizing that which is "new" and contributing in some way toward shoring up the facts and theories of SMiLE
• They will include links to purchase further audio downloads that didn't make it on the box (additional uncut session tapes, newly record vocals, other curiosities)

I realize a lot of that is wishful thinking, but that's how it would all pan out if I could call the shots. What would everyone else like to see?

[Shady]

Fantastic post, I too have been dreaming about how the box will be presented. I've also been wondering where is the safest place I can put it in room, I've started making space.

I also love what you said about the Beatles and George Martin, I find George rather annoying, especially the speech he gave at the tribute to Brian.

[Mahalo]

...love the idea about the address for Vegatables.

I would like there to be some photos of the piano in the sandbox.

Oh, and ditto about the Beatles. I don't want to hear about them.

[OBLiO]

Is it necessarily a bad thing that LSD might rewire your brain?

Yes. Especially if it is slipped into your drink without your knowledge, i.e. Lennon and Harrison.
Or given to kids or animals... these examples actually piss me off.
Plus, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. LSD or any drug doesn't make you creative.
They just force you into different perspectives where you could end up losing yourself.
Other than that I don't have any problem with re-wiring brains... as a hobby   (without the use of drugs)

[OBLiO]

...love the idea about the address for Vegatables.

I would like there to be some photos of the piano in the sandbox.

Oh, and ditto about the Beatles. I don't want to hear about them.

yeah those are great ... photos of the piano in the sandbox, especially.
that's a great wish list there.

[18thofMay]

Is it necessarily a bad thing that LSD might rewire your brain?

Yes. Especially if it is slipped into your drink without your knowledge, i.e. Lennon and Harrison.
Or given to kids or animals... these examples actually piss me off.
Plus, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. LSD or any drug doesn't make you creative.
They just force you into different perspectives where you could end up losing yourself.
Other than that I don't have any problem with re-wiring brains... as a hobby 

I concur. er.. agree

[Andrew G. Doe]

But what does that even mean? He doesn't owe his greatness to his influences? Without his influences who knows what would have happened. What if Brian's dad never beat him? What if Brian never heard Rhapsody in Blue? What if he never turned on the radio and caught Be My Baby? What if he had never smoked that first joint or did that first hit of LSD?

I might grant you that Brian had some innate talent that existed independently of everything else (even that's questionable though depending on what side of the nurture v nature argument you side with), but ultimately Brian used his influences as tools to shape that talent into the form of Pet Sounds or SMiLE. Once you start subtracting influences you're subtracting experiences, you're taking away the things that made Brian Brian.

My observation, based on some 35 years or reading about, researching and talking to The Beach Boys and their milieu, is that even before having his first toke in 1964, Brian was already Brian as the likes of us understand it. The drugs merely amplified what was already there: as has been said many many people, some much closer to the centre than any of us, Brian was the last person in the world who should have taken or been offered LSD.

[18thofMay]

But what does that even mean? He doesn't owe his greatness to his influences? Without his influences who knows what would have happened. What if Brian's dad never beat him? What if Brian never heard Rhapsody in Blue? What if he never turned on the radio and caught Be My Baby? What if he had never smoked that first joint or did that first hit of LSD?

I might grant you that Brian had some innate talent that existed independently of everything else (even that's questionable though depending on what side of the nurture v nature argument you side with), but ultimately Brian used his influences as tools to shape that talent into the form of Pet Sounds or SMiLE. Once you start subtracting influences you're subtracting experiences, you're taking away the things that made Brian Brian.

My observation, based on some 35 years or reading about, researching and talking to The Beach Boys and their milieu, is that even before having his first toke in 1964, Brian was already Brian as the likes of us understand it. The drugs merely amplified what was already there: as has been said many many people, some much closer to the centre than any of us, Brian was the last person in the world who should have taken or been offered LSD.

Yes. Yes . Yes

[Andrew G. Doe]

But what does that even mean? He doesn't owe his greatness to his influences? Without his influences who knows what would have happened.

Missed this one.

No, he owes his greatness to his own talent in assimilating and using those influences to his own ends. Acid or pot didn't suddenly make Brian Wilson a great composer or producer: he'd written the odd passable choon before that. Speaking personally, my writing style is based on an amalgam of Willard Price, Bill Bryson, John Tobler, Nick Kent (sorry, Debbie !) and - don't laugh - Hemingway. Do I write as well as any of them ? Well, sh*t no, or I wouldn't be wasting my time here trying to give rational, measured replies to people who plain don't want to hear something.  Have they influenced, or informed my innate writing ability ? Hell yes. When I started writing, at grade school, I didn't want to emulate anyone, I just enjoyed stringing words together in forms that pleased me. Later on, at highschool and college, I learned how to do it with more style and technical proficiency, but all these extra frills didn't add anything to my basic ability.

[chris.metcalfe]

Sounds similar to the Layla box, which goes for a 100 bones...(ouch!)
Derek & The Dominos --Layla Super Deluxe 4CD, 2LP, DVD

Actually you can get all you need musically on the 2-CD version of the Layla set, by far the best version of the album soundwise and with excellent bonus tracks as you will hear.

Back to the main event - looks like my decision to take 6 months out from treading this board (something to do with major surgery! ) has paid dividends.

[desmondo]

But what does that even mean? He doesn't owe his greatness to his influences? Without his influences who knows what would have happened.

Missed this one.

No, he owes his greatness to his own talent in assimilating and using those influences to his own ends. Acid or pot didn't suddenly make Brian Wilson a great composer or producer: he'd written the odd passable choon before that. Speaking personally, my writing style is based on an amalgam of Willard Price, Bill Bryson, John Tobler, Nick Kent (sorry, Debbie !) and - don't laugh - Hemingway. Do I write as well as any of them ? Well, merda no, or I wouldn't be wasting my time here trying to give rational, measured replies to people who plain don't want to hear something.  Have they influenced, or informed my innate writing ability ? Hell yes. When I started writing, at grade school, I didn't want to emulate anyone, I just enjoyed stringing words together in forms that pleased me. Later on, at highschool and college, I learned how to do it with more style and technical proficiency, but all these extra frills didn't add anything to my basic ability.

Spot on AGD

[tansen]

But what does that even mean? He doesn't owe his greatness to his influences? Without his influences who knows what would have happened.

Missed this one.

No, he owes his greatness to his own talent in assimilating and using those influences to his own ends. Acid or pot didn't suddenly make Brian Wilson a great composer or producer: he'd written the odd passable choon before that. Speaking personally, my writing style is based on an amalgam of Willard Price, Bill Bryson, John Tobler, Nick Kent (sorry, Debbie !) and - don't laugh - Hemingway. Do I write as well as any of them ? Well, merda no, or I wouldn't be wasting my time here trying to give rational, measured replies to people who plain don't want to hear something.  Have they influenced, or informed my innate writing ability ? Hell yes. When I started writing, at grade school, I didn't want to emulate anyone, I just enjoyed stringing words together in forms that pleased me. Later on, at highschool and college, I learned how to do it with more style and technical proficiency, but all these extra frills didn't add anything to my basic ability.

Andrew, there's no arguing that Brian had the talent and the basic abilities, but what some of us are trying to get across is that recreational drugs like marihuana and LSD will give you a completely different perspective - a perspective you most likely wouldn't get without it. Nobody is saying hard drugs were good for Brian, but some of the drugs I believe was a necessity for some of his creative output, that's all.  It's like Ken Kesey, don't you think he's way of writing, his style was influenced by the intake of LSD? Well, the same goes for Brian.

I think the drugs opened up Brian's mind, both in his writing, but also in his listening experience. In my opinion music is perhaps the greatest influence for a songwriter, and it is what forms an artist. So if Brian's drug use enhanced his listening experience, then that also ultimately enhanced is writing.

[Dunderhead]

But what does that even mean? He doesn't owe his greatness to his influences? Without his influences who knows what would have happened.

Missed this one.

No, he owes his greatness to his own talent in assimilating and using those influences to his own ends. Acid or pot didn't suddenly make Brian Wilson a great composer or producer: he'd written the odd passable choon before that. Speaking personally, my writing style is based on an amalgam of Willard Price, Bill Bryson, John Tobler, Nick Kent (sorry, Debbie !) and - don't laugh - Hemingway. Do I write as well as any of them ? Well, merda no, or I wouldn't be wasting my time here trying to give rational, measured replies to people who plain don't want to hear something.  Have they influenced, or informed my innate writing ability ? Hell yes. When I started writing, at grade school, I didn't want to emulate anyone, I just enjoyed stringing words together in forms that pleased me. Later on, at highschool and college, I learned how to do it with more style and technical proficiency, but all these extra frills didn't add anything to my basic ability.

This is much too black and white. You think I'm saying LSD made Brian's music "better" somehow, in your own analogy you admit that your influences changed how you wrote, but this suggests a change in how you thought as well. Many philosophers, dating back von Herder in the 18th century have suggested that thought and language are inexorably connected. As your vocabulary expanded, as you refined your understanding of grammar, as you learned about writing from other writers, what was possible for you changed, the way that you thought and understood the world changed. Did you become a better writer? It sounds like you did, I would hope that you improved between 5th grade and college, and if you're suggesting that you in fact didn't than that explains why you're unable to get your point across doesn't it? I think what you're trying to say is that your influences didn't teach you to write, which in one sense is true, and in another is not. But regardless noone is saying that LSD taught Brian musical scales.

Maybe I can offer a better analogy. Artistic enterprises are like painting, and your influences are like your paints. A good painter knows how to mix his colors. A young artist may not have many colors at his disposal, but as he adds new paints (i.e. new influences) he gains the ability for greater sophistication. Without his paints the painter cannot work, and any good artist will be humble and grateful for his influences as a painter is grateful for his paints. In the case of Brian, drugs were just another paint. Did giving him new paints make him objectively a "better" artist? Nobody is saying that. Did they allow him to mix new colors and make paintings he couldn't have otherwise? Yes. If you remove drugs from SMiLE, is it really the same thing? If you sucked a single color out of a painting, would it still be the same painting? Maybe all the lines are the same, maybe what the picture is trying to depict is the same, maybe the painters intent and desire are the same, but is it the same painting if you suck out all the yellows or blues or purples or reds? No, I don't think so.
Was LSD a magic pill that Brian popped that turned him into a great artist over night and gave him all types of superpowers? Again, that's never been my point, but just because that isn't the case doesn't mean drugs aren't a fundamental part of Brian and the music he made.

[buddhahat]

I don't think it's possible to separate Brian Wilson from his influences, whether that be drugs, Phil Spector or whatever. As he assimilated those experiences he became a different Brian Wilson.

[Jay]

I know I'm going to get chewed out for this, but I think it would be kind of funny(in a dark way) if the SMiLE set came with some  carefully consealed "vintage" 1967 acid. 

[Andrew G. Doe]

But what does that even mean? He doesn't owe his greatness to his influences? Without his influences who knows what would have happened.

Missed this one.

No, he owes his greatness to his own talent in assimilating and using those influences to his own ends. Acid or pot didn't suddenly make Brian Wilson a great composer or producer: he'd written the odd passable choon before that. Speaking personally, my writing style is based on an amalgam of Willard Price, Bill Bryson, John Tobler, Nick Kent (sorry, Debbie !) and - don't laugh - Hemingway. Do I write as well as any of them ? Well, merda no, or I wouldn't be wasting my time here trying to give rational, measured replies to people who plain don't want to hear something.  Have they influenced, or informed my innate writing ability ? Hell yes. When I started writing, at grade school, I didn't want to emulate anyone, I just enjoyed stringing words together in forms that pleased me. Later on, at highschool and college, I learned how to do it with more style and technical proficiency, but all these extra frills didn't add anything to my basic ability.

This is much too black and white. You think I'm saying LSD made Brian's music "better" somehow, in your own analogy you admit that your influences changed how you wrote, but this suggests a change in how you thought as well. Many philosophers, dating back von Herder in the 18th century have suggested that thought and language are inexorably connected. As your vocabulary expanded, as you refined your understanding of grammar, as you learned about writing from other writers, what was possible for you changed, the way that you thought and understood the world changed. Did you become a better writer? It sounds like you did, I would hope that you improved between 5th grade and college, and if you're suggesting that you in fact didn't than that explains why you're unable to get your point across doesn't it? I think what you're trying to say is that your influences didn't teach you to write, which in one sense is true, and in another is not. But regardless noone is saying that LSD taught Brian musical scales.

Maybe I can offer a better analogy. Artistic enterprises are like painting, and your influences are like your paints. A good painter knows how to mix his colors. A young artist may not have many colors at his disposal, but as he adds new paints (i.e. new influences) he gains the ability for greater sophistication. Without his paints the painter cannot work, and any good artist will be humble and grateful for his influences as a painter is grateful for his paints. In the case of Brian, drugs were just another paint. Did giving him new paints make him objectively a "better" artist? Nobody is saying that. Did they allow him to mix new colors and make paintings he couldn't have otherwise? Yes. If you remove drugs from SMiLE, is it really the same thing? If you sucked a single color out of a painting, would it still be the same painting? Maybe all the lines are the same, maybe what the picture is trying to depict is the same, maybe the painters intent and desire are the same, but is it the same painting if you suck out all the yellows or blues or purples or reds? No, I don't think so.
Was LSD a magic pill that Brian popped that turned him into a great artist over night and gave him all types of superpowers? Again, that's never been my point, but just because that isn't the case doesn't mean drugs aren't a fundamental part of Brian and the music he made.

Granted, this was before the digital revolution in movie-making, but the premise holds true. A film historian and collector made the point that, however complex, a camera is simply a machine for forming an image on film. He stated, and proved, that he could load film into the camera used to shoot 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) and the camera used to shoot The Birth Of A Nation (1914), and you'd be hard pressed to tell the difference in the result. The modern camera makes it easier, that's all. Same with writing and music - once you assimilate the basics, anything else is just embellishment, but the basic ability has to be there.

Used to be it was all very simple - drugs killed Smile and nearly did for Brian in the process. Now, it's all much less clear-cut, but one thing is obvious: post Smile, Brian's escalating drug use robbed us of maybe ten years of his potential peak, just as Landy's tender ministrations robbed us of another decade or so. Whether or not drugs were good for Brian's creativity in the short term is questionable: the first song he wrote after his first trip was "California Girls", and there's no huge quantum leap in his composing or production techniques. A far better scribe than I once pointed out that there was a steady upwards curve from "Surfin USA" to "Good Vibrations", and that's true. No sudden steps.

[The Heartical Don]

But what does that even mean? He doesn't owe his greatness to his influences? Without his influences who knows what would have happened.

Missed this one.

No, he owes his greatness to his own talent in assimilating and using those influences to his own ends. Acid or pot didn't suddenly make Brian Wilson a great composer or producer: he'd written the odd passable choon before that. Speaking personally, my writing style is based on an amalgam of Willard Price, Bill Bryson, John Tobler, Nick Kent (sorry, Debbie !) and - don't laugh - Hemingway. Do I write as well as any of them ? Well, merda no, or I wouldn't be wasting my time here trying to give rational, measured replies to people who plain don't want to hear something.  Have they influenced, or informed my innate writing ability ? Hell yes. When I started writing, at grade school, I didn't want to emulate anyone, I just enjoyed stringing words together in forms that pleased me. Later on, at highschool and college, I learned how to do it with more style and technical proficiency, but all these extra frills didn't add anything to my basic ability.

This is much too black and white. You think I'm saying LSD made Brian's music "better" somehow, in your own analogy you admit that your influences changed how you wrote, but this suggests a change in how you thought as well. Many philosophers, dating back von Herder in the 18th century have suggested that thought and language are inexorably connected. As your vocabulary expanded, as you refined your understanding of grammar, as you learned about writing from other writers, what was possible for you changed, the way that you thought and understood the world changed. Did you become a better writer? It sounds like you did, I would hope that you improved between 5th grade and college, and if you're suggesting that you in fact didn't than that explains why you're unable to get your point across doesn't it? I think what you're trying to say is that your influences didn't teach you to write, which in one sense is true, and in another is not. But regardless noone is saying that LSD taught Brian musical scales.

Maybe I can offer a better analogy. Artistic enterprises are like painting, and your influences are like your paints. A good painter knows how to mix his colors. A young artist may not have many colors at his disposal, but as he adds new paints (i.e. new influences) he gains the ability for greater sophistication. Without his paints the painter cannot work, and any good artist will be humble and grateful for his influences as a painter is grateful for his paints. In the case of Brian, drugs were just another paint. Did giving him new paints make him objectively a "better" artist? Nobody is saying that. Did they allow him to mix new colors and make paintings he couldn't have otherwise? Yes. If you remove drugs from SMiLE, is it really the same thing? If you sucked a single color out of a painting, would it still be the same painting? Maybe all the lines are the same, maybe what the picture is trying to depict is the same, maybe the painters intent and desire are the same, but is it the same painting if you suck out all the yellows or blues or purples or reds? No, I don't think so.
Was LSD a magic pill that Brian popped that turned him into a great artist over night and gave him all types of superpowers? Again, that's never been my point, but just because that isn't the case doesn't mean drugs aren't a fundamental part of Brian and the music he made.

Granted, this was before the digital revolution in movie-making, but the premise holds true. A film historian and collector made the point that, however complex, a camera is simply a machine for forming an image on film. He stated, and proved, that he could load film into the camera used to shoot 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) and the camera used to shoot The Birth Of A Nation (1914), and you'd be hard pressed to tell the difference in the result. The modern camera makes it easier, that's all. Same with writing and music - once you assimilate the basics, anything else is just embellishment, but the basic ability has to be there.

Used to be it was all very simple - drugs killed Smile and nearly did for Brian in the process. Now, it's all much less clear-cut, but one thing is obvious: post Smile, Brian's escalating drug use robbed us of maybe ten years of his potential peak, just as Landy's tender ministrations robbed us of another decade or so. Whether or not drugs were good for Brian's creativity in the short term is questionable: the first song he wrote after his first trip was "California Girls", and there's no huge quantum leap in his composing or production techniques. A far better scribe than I once pointed out that there was a steady upwards curve from "Surfin USA" to "Good Vibrations", and that's true. No sudden steps.

Hear, hear!

[tansen]

Used to be it was all very simple - drugs killed Smile and nearly did for Brian in the process. Now, it's all much less clear-cut, but one thing is obvious: post Smile, Brian's escalating drug use robbed us of maybe ten years of his potential peak, just as Landy's tender ministrations robbed us of another decade or so. Whether or not drugs were good for Brian's creativity in the short term is questionable: the first song he wrote after his first trip was "California Girls", and there's no huge quantum leap in his composing or production techniques. A far better scribe than I once pointed out that there was a steady upwards curve from "Surfin USA" to "Good Vibrations", and that's true. No sudden steps.

That's where i think you are wrong. Drugs did not kill Smile - drugs made Smile possible. I think Brian needed these new influences in order to create Smile in the first place. Maybe there's no quantum leap after his first trip to "California Girls", but the song is sure more complex than his previous material.

[Andrew G. Doe]

Used to be it was all very simple - drugs killed Smile and nearly did for Brian in the process. Now, it's all much less clear-cut, but one thing is obvious: post Smile, Brian's escalating drug use robbed us of maybe ten years of his potential peak, just as Landy's tender ministrations robbed us of another decade or so. Whether or not drugs were good for Brian's creativity in the short term is questionable: the first song he wrote after his first trip was "California Girls", and there's no huge quantum leap in his composing or production techniques. A far better scribe than I once pointed out that there was a steady upwards curve from "Surfin USA" to "Good Vibrations", and that's true. No sudden steps.

That's where i think you are wrong. Drugs did not kill Smile - drugs made Smile possible. I think Brian needed these new influences in order to create Smile in the first place. Maybe there's no quantum leap after his first trip to "California Girls", but the song is sure more complex than his previous material.

Read what I wrote again, this time properly. No, I'll save you the effort: I said "Used to be it was all very simple", as in "once upon a time, this was what we thought". Please don't pick me up on something I've not actually said.

[hypehat]

That's where i think you are wrong. Drugs did not kill Smile - drugs made Smile possible. I think Brian needed these new influences in order to create Smile in the first place. Maybe there's no quantum leap after his first trip to "California Girls", but the song is sure more complex than his previous material.

You what? If anything, it's less complex! A simple boogie riff, a fairly ordinary progression. Fantastic production, obviously (The arrangement mirrors Brian's piano style a fair bit - pounding chords), but it's not on a compositional par to, say, Please Let Me Wonder, In The Back Of My Mind, Guess I'm Dumb, or When I Grow Up. And the chorus, the most complex bit with those descending chords, is a trick he used before on.... Don't Hurt My Little Sister. It's hardly stepping off into the void...

[The Heartical Don]

Used to be it was all very simple - drugs killed Smile and nearly did for Brian in the process. Now, it's all much less clear-cut, but one thing is obvious: post Smile, Brian's escalating drug use robbed us of maybe ten years of his potential peak, just as Landy's tender ministrations robbed us of another decade or so. Whether or not drugs were good for Brian's creativity in the short term is questionable: the first song he wrote after his first trip was "California Girls", and there's no huge quantum leap in his composing or production techniques. A far better scribe than I once pointed out that there was a steady upwards curve from "Surfin USA" to "Good Vibrations", and that's true. No sudden steps.

That's where i think you are wrong. Drugs did not kill Smile - drugs made Smile possible. I think Brian needed these new influences in order to create Smile in the first place. Maybe there's no quantum leap after his first trip to "California Girls", but the song is sure more complex than his previous material.

Allow me to disagree. I find 'All Summer Long' just as intricate and complex as 'California Girls'. And that is just one example. And whether drugs paved the way for SMiLE? Of course no mortal can provide a decisive answer here. But I'm so bold as to state that it was in Brian's very nature to explore new paths, and try to see new horizons, irrespective of his substance ingestion. He simply would not have been able to come up with 'Pet Sounds - The Sequel', in other words, nor with: 'More Simple Summer Songs By Brian Wilson'.

[18thofMay]

It is really not worth commenting anymore. You wanna justify your drug intake? Go find other non-squares that can see through bent back tulips..

[tansen]

Used to be it was all very simple - drugs killed Smile and nearly did for Brian in the process. Now, it's all much less clear-cut, but one thing is obvious: post Smile, Brian's escalating drug use robbed us of maybe ten years of his potential peak, just as Landy's tender ministrations robbed us of another decade or so. Whether or not drugs were good for Brian's creativity in the short term is questionable: the first song he wrote after his first trip was "California Girls", and there's no huge quantum leap in his composing or production techniques. A far better scribe than I once pointed out that there was a steady upwards curve from "Surfin USA" to "Good Vibrations", and that's true. No sudden steps.

That's where i think you are wrong. Drugs did not kill Smile - drugs made Smile possible. I think Brian needed these new influences in order to create Smile in the first place. Maybe there's no quantum leap after his first trip to "California Girls", but the song is sure more complex than his previous material.

Read what I wrote again, this time properly. No, I'll save you the effort: I said "Used to be it was all very simple", as in "once upon a time, this was what we thought". Please don't pick me up on something I've not actually said.

In that case I apologize, I misread your post Andrew.

[tansen]

That's where i think you are wrong. Drugs did not kill Smile - drugs made Smile possible. I think Brian needed these new influences in order to create Smile in the first place. Maybe there's no quantum leap after his first trip to "California Girls", but the song is sure more complex than his previous material.

You what? If anything, it's less complex! A simple boogie riff, a fairly ordinary progression. Fantastic production, obviously (The arrangement mirrors Brian's piano style a fair bit - pounding chords), but it's not on a compositional par to, say, Please Let Me Wonder, In The Back Of My Mind, Guess I'm Dumb, or When I Grow Up. And the chorus, the most complex bit with those descending chords, is a trick he used before on.... Don't Hurt My Little Sister. It's hardly stepping off into the void...

Hypehat, totally agree. Compositional it's fairly ordinary, but I was thinking more about the production, as well as the feel of the song (if that makes any sense). And I do believe production style was a product of the culture of the those times (e.g. drug use for one).

And 18thofMay, may I offer you a 'lol'.