SMiLE Sessions box set!

[Micha]

If it can be determined (and I don't know how we'd go about doing this) that it was Brian Wilson who decided to add in the "Hum De Dum" vocal bit for BWPS which this new mix apparently is based off of then according to him that is how the song is supposed to sound.  The question then becomes was it always supposed to sound that way?  Did Brian excise that bit of music in 1966 in an effort to shorten the song's length?

In another thread it has been established that the length of that section in the 1966 single version is exactly as it was originally recorded. It was NOT shortened for the single. The "Hum De Dum"s weren't cut or excised, they were mixed out. The first longer version of that section seems to be an edit on the 1990 two-fer in order to present session highlights.

There is a version on the 1981 Rarities LP that features the Humdeedums on another backing track - which has the same length as the final version.

[Chris Moise]

That 66 'tracklisting' has never been confirmed as THE tracklisting - back covers were never printed up like the fronts - recording was done after it was written so its unlikely.

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.

2) Brian did not work outside said titles until the announcement Smile was scrapped (he didn't work outside these titles in the preceding 3 months either).

3) There *aren't* any other lists. This is the only one from the era. It came from Brian himself --why not at least use it as a blueprint?

This is primary source evidence. Again, I'm talking about the songs, not the sequence. My argument is they should stick to those titles for the disc one reconstruction. Obviously there is a question mark surrounding things like what music falls under the IIGS title so some concessions are necessary.

My fear (perhaps unfounded) with a BWPS template is we will loose some of the fades. Something the 1966 Brian was a master of.

[hypehat]

That list is spectacularly unhelpful for Mark and Alan in 2011. It mentions nothing of running orders, mixes, what differing sections belong in certain tracks, what to do with Prayer, or Barnyard, what each song, none of which were really 'finished' by late '66, consisted of.... It's just titles.

There is also doubt it came from Brian, although no-one knows at this stage. Carl or Diane Rovell are other possibilities

[Dan Lega]

You know, people (that is, the less obsessed and knowledgeable) will hear the sessions when this thing comes out, and they will hear just how many vocals were actually recorded for the unfinished/abandoned album that allegedly had a lot of dissent from within, and they might just start to see the story differently.

This way of thinking always gets to me.  Why couldn't they have recorded the lyrics AND heavily complained about them?  As far as I know it IS physically possible to SING a lyric, (with feeling, too!) even if you don't like it very much!  Throw in the fact that, hey, you're already in the studio AND you're already PAYING for the studio time and engineers.

Love and merci,   Dan Lega

... but what's the problem then if they did their job and sang the song?  Brian wasn't asking Mike to write on SMiLE.  Brian wasn't asking Dennis for help recording the album.  He was just asking them to sing.  Which they obviously did.  So whether or not they were happy campers is irrelevant.  We've got one legend of a story of Mike being crucified for 40 years for the mistake of asking what a phrase means.  It's also a fascinating thing that Mike always gets the blame for this, when he did all that was asked of him... and in the close years that followed Brian abandoned the band in a large way. 

I love Brian to death but all the hate the others (Mike especially) get over this album is getting old.  Not aimed at you Dan, I'm just talking about the common perception. 

And that's the other thing that gets to me, "Mike did all that was asked of him."  How do you know this?  And even if Mike did do all that was asked of him, that still doesn't preclude him from complaining about it so much that it scuttled the album.  In fact, that's what Van Dyke says happened, that there was a family dynamic that was being pushed to the limit because of the SMiLE sessions, because of his lyrics.  Therefore, Van Dyke thought he should leave the project, otherwise the scene might get really ugly and Brian might have to choose between Van Dyke and SMiLE, or the Beach Boys.  So Van Dyke left, sensing that Brian wasn't strong enough to bridge the gap and bring the Beach Boys into the new direction that he and Van Dyke were heading.

And, yes, we've got a lot of SMiLE vocals, but we've also got a lot of key parts missing.  Why are they missing?  Is it because Brian got so tired of hearing complaints about the lyrics that he no longer had the strength or will to get the Boys into studio for fear of repeat performances of harangues and complaints?

Mike says he didn't like the lyrics.  Mike doesn't think his complaints scuttled the album.  Van Dyke thinks they did.  Brian has said the band's complaints were a major, major bummer.  That's two against one, the way I see it.  Oh, and then there is Anderle's accounts of the Boys giving Brian a hard time.  I'm still not seeing the "story differently" from where I sit.


Love and merci,    Dan Lega

Love and Merci to you too Dan.  I don't want to offend you so first I'd like to say I respectfully disagree with you.  Van Dyke was such a weak person he walked away from confrontation.  Asking about lyrics.  I mean?  Come on!  Brian was mentally challenged and is today, you can't get a fair shake on what's 'depressing' from Brian Wilson, god bless him but everything depresses him and has for years. 

If vocals weren't recorded; couldn't Brian have recorded them?  Of course he could!  The reason the album didnt' come out has nothing to do with Mike Love.  At all.  If Brian gets the glory (rightfully!) for the album, then he also gets the blame for why it wasn't released. 

We just disagreed, I don't expect you to never post again.  Of course you will.  You'll probably tell me why I'm wrong... that's what adults do!  Van Dyke left the sessions, then later Brian left the group every chance he got and couldn't be goaded into doing anything hardly.  I' not saying Mike is a saint or even a gentleman but saying you dropped an album because somebody asked you what something meant and didn't like your art?  I'm sure glad Mike Love never met Picasso! 

And there's another thing that really gets in my craw, " Van Dyke was such a weak person he walked away from confrontation.  Asking about lyrics.  I mean?  Come on!"   So it's Van Dyke's fault that SMiLE didn't come out?  Even though "he did everything that Brian asked him to?"  (A little sarcasm there, in case you don't detect it.)

Put yourself in Van Dyke's shoes.  Imagine yourself a struggling musician/songwriter in California.  Every once in awhile you're meeting and working with some fairly famous musicians, but you're not making much money.  Heck, you don't even have enough money to own a car!  And then what happens?  Wow, the most famous pop musician in the United States asks you to be his lyric writer!!!  But it's a little more complicated than that, this guy used to write songs with his bandmate, but he's now decided on his own(*!*) that he's going to take the group into a totally different direction with more literate and even psychedelic lyrics, and, you know what, it's OK if they're a little obtuse.  Then imagine you work together extremely well.  The chemistry between the two of you is tremendous.  And after many months, imagine you've done almost enough songwriting to finish an album!  But what happens next?  Well, the band, especially the ex-songwriting partner, begins to hear what you two have been working on, and begins to be called in for vocal sessions, and what does he do, he complains about your lyrics!  (I'll now switch to using Brian's and Mike's name for ease and clarity of the writing.)  Now imagine Brian begins to feel beaten down and not appreciated.  He ultimately doesn't have the wherewithal to bring his bandmates on board.  He's getting bombarded with complaints every time they have to record some lyrics.  It gets so bad that the ex-songwriting partner, Mike, has demanded you come down and explain your lyrics.  With trepidation you come to the meeting.  You SEE that Brian looks defeated.  You SEE that Mike is not happy about Brian's new direction.  Mike asks you to explain yourself and your lyrics.  You look at Mike, and you figure, even if I explain all the different ways these lyrics can be interpreted he is still not going to like them.  So instead of trying to explain yourself you say, "Hey, they're just lyrics.  If they don't work for you, then throw them away."  You say this because you see that Brian is not going to stand up for you.  He's been beaten down by Mike.  And you feel the heat, too.  Mike is an intimidating guy.  It looks like your presence is causing a very, VERY big strain on the band.  Is it you're right to try and drive a wedge between them?  If you think about it, I think that most likely you'll come to the conclusion that, no, it's not your right to drive a wedge between the bandmates of the most popular band in America.  A band where most members are very, VERY closely related.  So you know what you do, you excuse yourself from the situation, because, who are you?  Some piddling little musician who is just barely scrounging enough money to live on.  The people you are dealing with are the most powerful pop musicians in all of America!  Heck, they are in a direct battle for supremacy with the Beatles!  They are huge!  Who are you?  Brian tried to so something different, and the band didn't like the direction.  You think it's time for you to go on your own separate way.  Goodbye, Brian.  It was great while it lasted.  It's a shame we couldn't have finished what we started.  Hopefully it will all be for the best.  And then, sure, you're going to kick yourself over and over for the rest of your life saying, should I have done more?  Maybe.  But that was the situation, and that's how you acted.  You can't change it now.


So, yeah, Van Dyke was fucking weak wimp who couldn't even explain his lyrics.  Do you think you could explain Van Dyke's lyrics to Mike Love in a way that would change his mind about them?  I don't think I could.


Love and merci,   Dan Lega

[Wirestone]

At a certain level, not much of this makes any difference. I mean, the BWPS template is good in that it uses nearly all of the best, most complete music recorded in the sessions. So that makes a one-disc version a much easier project for the compilers.

But yeah, there's no way a Brian of 66-67 would have done a three movement work, with one of those movements _split in two_. Would not have happened. And the whole issue of the fades is telling. There was a lot of research and writing here a few years ago (Cam Mott played a big role) that convinced me that a 60s-era Smile would have been 12 tracks, with fades, and with space between songs.

Nothing from the time suggests Brian had any other intentions with the material. Various weird things inside the songs, sure. But nothing like the segue-filled BWPS reconstruction.

And it may seem that I'm arguing two things at various times. On one hand, I defend BWPS totally and completely. On the other, I gripe about the first CD's sequencing and reconstruction. To me, it has to do with respecting both things. I think it's important that people realize that the 66-67 Smile _was not_ finished, despite attempts to fly in vocals and edit takes. And I think its also important that people respect BWPS as being a contemporary take on the material, with a different attitude, new lyrics and a wildly different vocal approach.

I'll say now what I said when I saw the original press release -- to combine those two things just feels off. I would have preferred a first disc with the tracks simply presented in the order in which they were recorded, with any completed mixes being based on BW work from the 60s, if available. Anything else is sequencing in hindsight. (You could also do it based on the memo, but you end up leaving off some important stuff, or making certain big judgment calls.)

Edit --

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, and that Brian wouldn't participate unless it was presented in that form. It's a political power play, pure and simple. And while that kind of nonsense might be okay for a reunion show or hits compilation, it's pretty frustrating to see it being done to the original Smile sessions.


Edit II --

And yes, I understand how much less satisfying, from a listener's point of view, my disc 1 sequence would be. "It's a bunch of fragments and instrumentals with a couple of nice songs," they would say. But that's the point. The Brian Wilson of 1966 and 1967, the creative force behind these sessions, did not create a clear and thought-through running order so that listeners of 2011 could have their hands held. He didn't. It sucks, but it's the truth.

Edit III --

It kind of surprises me how passionately I seem to feel on this subject. I am grateful for the box, and thrilled to see it. Everything else, however passionately argued, is beside the point.

[c-man]

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.

[ghost]

my smile mix will be amazing because i don't consider using and reusing interesting session material not appropriate. since smile is a living entity now, it doesn't have to be LP length unless you want it to. i don't care for my main masterpiece mix which is going to include a LOT but in a very satisfying way. it will be like if Van Dyke Parks completed Smile from the  tapes available..... while he was speeding.

[monicker]

What i find really weird is that they didn't make this for the hardcore fans who are the very ones who have sustained interest in this music over the decades and made it the myth that it is today, which is what allows it to even be released now (let's not forget how much Brian shyed away from even talking about the music anytime it would come up throughout the decades. Would we have a 2004 BWPS without the persistent hardcore fan base?)...but instead for the casual fan. What is up with that? That seems totally illogical. And from a business standpoint, targeting the hardcore fan base could be feasible if they'd just press a lot less copies, no? It seems they could have easily gauged an estimate of how many copies Smile fanatics would buy and press accordingly. And then if more people unexpectedly show interest and start buying it (which would obviously happen), well then, look at that, even more money for Capitol, and press more. It seems that there's an idea at work here that anything other than a BWPS recreation would confuse the casual fan and leave them thinking less of the music than they would with a BWPS recreation. And Brian's people obviously have his best interest as an esteemed artist in mind. It could do damage to his artistic reputation if a majority of casual fans and even people who know nothing about Smile were to pick up a copy and think, "What's the big deal? This isn't really good."

Consumer culture breeds this weird mentality that everything has to be desirable and marketable to everyone, or at least the majority, the masses. What happened with the idea of a 'cult' audience?

EDIT: though it may seem like i'm complaining, i'm simply addressing the talk about disc 1 being for Joe Public. vs. a alternative like releasing only sessions or original mixes/edits, and organizing them in chronological order.

I actually am not affected much by the whole disc 1 "album" because i can allow myself to take it for what it is and nothing more. Obviously to people like us, it's the sessions and the high fidelity that are the real treasure here. 

[Jeff]

And most importantly (IMO), they're not eliminating the fades to allow for the unnatural merging of the tracks.

I'm not so sure about this. Look at the time for Barnyard: 48 seconds. That's short. It's usually a minute. If you listen to Barnyard, exactly at the 48 second mark is where you WOULD cut it to transition into Old Master Painter IF you were wanting to recreate the BWPS transition. Because after 48 seconds, the track starts fading out. And Barnyard always came from an acetate, right? So that's locked into the way it was mixed and faded then. So, at least with Barnyard--going solely off of the running time--it could be surmised that it will not have a fade and instead have a BWPS transition. UNLESS something was found (which could be the case if you take the record store day 78 etchings in the run out grooves as "clues") which would throw out the acetate that we've always heard as the definite version. In that case, who knows what's going on in those 48 seconds of Barnyard.

Well, yeah, I think you're absolutely right that Barnyard will be butt-ended into OMP.  I would be shocked if it was any other way.  What I really should have said is that they're not eliminating the tags.  Specifically, the Barnshone tag, which almost certainly is in OMP, and the Fade to Vegetables, which is very likely to be in Veggies given that track's length.

[ghost]

it's a "best of both worlds" probably in "their" eyes. a crude mock up of an album for the average consumer, and the session material for us.

[drbeachboy]

That 66 'tracklisting' has never been confirmed as THE tracklisting - back covers were never printed up like the fronts - recording was done after it was written so its unlikely.

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.

2) Brian did not work outside said titles until the announcement Smile was scrapped (he didn't work outside these titles in the preceding 3 months either).

3) There *aren't* any other lists. This is the only one from the era. It came from Brian himself --why not at least use it as a blueprint?

This is primary source evidence. Again, I'm talking about the songs, not the sequence. My argument is they should stick to those titles for the disc one reconstruction. Obviously there is a question mark surrounding things like what music falls under the IIGS title so some concessions are necessary.

My fear (perhaps unfounded) with a BWPS template is we will loose some of the fades. Something the 1966 Brian was a master of.

Hi Chris, please remember that it is the same Producer who is totally happy with 3 Movements as of 2003. Now if this album had actually been put together and then pulled, I could understand your position, but the fact is Smile was never a real releasable album in 1967. Therefore, Smile as an album is a 21st Century creation.

[JohnMill]

What i find really weird is that they didn't make this for the hardcore fans who are the very ones who have sustained interest in this music over the decades and made it the myth that it is today, which is what allows it to even be released now (let's not forget how much Brian shyed away from even talking about the music anytime it would come up throughout the decades. Would we have a 2004 BWPS without the persistent hardcore fan base?)...but instead for the casual fan. What is up with that? That seems totally illogical. And from a business standpoint, targeting the hardcore fan base could be feasible if they'd just press a lot less copies, no? It seems they could have easily gauged an estimate of how many copies Smile fanatics would buy and press accordingly. And then if more people unexpectedly show interest and start buying it (which would obviously happen), well then, look at that, even more money for Capitol, and press more. It seems that there's an idea at work here that anything other than a BWPS recreation would confuse the casual fan and leave them thinking less of the music than they would with a BWPS recreation. And Brian's people obviously have his best interest as an esteemed artist in mind. It could do damage to his artistic reputation if a majority of casual fans and even people who know nothing about Smile were to pick up a copy and think, "What's the big deal? This isn't really good."

The casual fan will pick up the two disc set.  The hardcore fan will shell out for the box.  Essentially they covered both markets here.  I'm of the opinion that very few fans unfamiliar with SMiLE will shell out for the boxset given both it's price and the fact that casual fans usually don't have the affinity we do for backing tracks, outtakes, rehearsals, jams and studio banter. 

Look at it this way: The 2 disc set is their word on what SMiLE is.  But they've also given the hardcore fan four discs (and then some) of bits 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.

[monicker]

Yeah, sorry if i wasn't clear. I didn't mean to suggest that the box wasn't for the hardcore fans--it obviously is. I was referring only to the as-close-as-we-can-get "album." Trust me, i am very grateful for what we are getting and realize how special it is that this is coming out.

[drbeachboy]

What i find really weird is that they didn't make this for the hardcore fans who are the very ones who have sustained interest in this music over the decades and made it the myth that it is today, which is what allows it to even be released now (let's not forget how much Brian shyed away from even talking about the music anytime it would come up throughout the decades. Would we have a 2004 BWPS without the persistent hardcore fan base?)...but instead for the casual fan. What is up with that? That seems totally illogical. And from a business standpoint, targeting the hardcore fan base could be feasible if they'd just press a lot less copies, no? It seems they could have easily gauged an estimate of how many copies Smile fanatics would buy and press accordingly. And then if more people unexpectedly show interest and start buying it (which would obviously happen), well then, look at that, even more money for Capitol, and press more. It seems that there's an idea at work here that anything other than a BWPS recreation would confuse the casual fan and leave them thinking less of the music than they would with a BWPS recreation. And Brian's people obviously have his best interest as an esteemed artist in mind. It could do damage to his artistic reputation if a majority of casual fans and even people who know nothing about Smile were to pick up a copy and think, "What's the big deal? This isn't really good."

Consumer culture breeds this weird mentality that everything has to be desirable and marketable to everyone, or at least the majority, the masses. What happened with the idea of a 'cult' audience?

EDIT: though it may seem like i'm complaining, i'm simply addressing the talk about disc 1 being for Joe Public. vs. a alternative like releasing only sessions or original mixes/edits, and organizing them in chronological order.

I actually am not affected much by the whole disc 1 "album" because i can allow myself to take it for what it is and nothing more. Obviously to people like us, it's the sessions and the high fidelity that are the real treasure here.  

I have been a fan since 1964 and from what I know so far, I am happy with what they are doing with Smile. I will confess that I am not hung up with all these issues that bother some of you. I understand the limitations and Brian's wish to change from the original plan. 45 years later he has that opportunity and he's doing it.

[JohnMill]

Yeah, sorry if i wasn't clear. I didn't mean to suggest that the box wasn't for the hardcore fans--it obviously is. I was referring only to the as-close-as-we-can-get "album." Trust me, i am very grateful for what we are getting and realize how special it is that this is coming out.

See I understand to a degree why a lot of people are up in arms about BWPS (and this upcoming release) deviating from what might have been released in the sixties but I think those who feel that way may be missing a bigger issue.  One of the reasons I always wanted SMiLE to gain an official release is so the rest of the world could know what we've known for years and that is how good this music is.  If the music was presented in a lopsided fashion or in a way that wasn't commercial I think it would run the risk of doing the music a bit of a disservice.  The sequencing for BWPS has already proven to be a commercially acceptable product so why not use it as the blueprint for the part of the set that you are going to market to the general public?

The thing I would hate to see is for the release to get a slipshod treatment just for the sake of satisfying the whims of fans who although are SMiLE's most ardent supporters probably have spent more time thinking about this one record than most people do music in general.  I think what is most important at this stage in the game is to put a product out there that can stand tall next to all the other Beach Boys albums (and the albums of their contemporaries for that matter) and I think by using this sequencing they are going to accomplish that.

[drbeachboy]

Yeah, sorry if i wasn't clear. I didn't mean to suggest that the box wasn't for the hardcore fans--it obviously is. I was referring only to the as-close-as-we-can-get "album." Trust me, i am very grateful for what we are getting and realize how special it is that this is coming out.

See I understand to a degree why a lot of people are up in arms about BWPS (and this upcoming release) deviating from what might have been released in the sixties but I think those who feel that way may be missing a bigger issue.  One of the reasons I always wanted SMiLE to gain an official release is so the rest of the world could know what we've known for years and that is how good this music is.  If the music was presented in a lopsided fashion or in a way that wasn't commercial I think it would run the risk of doing the music a bit of a disservice.  The sequencing for BWPS has already proven to be a commercially acceptable product so why not use it as the blueprint for the part of the set that you are going to market to the general public?

The thing I would hate to see is for the release to get a slipshod treatment just for the sake of satisfying the whims of fans who although are SMiLE's most ardent supporters probably have spent more time thinking about this one record than most people do music in general.  I think what is most important at this stage in the game is to put a product out there that can stand tall next to all the other Beach Boys albums (and the albums of their contemporaries for that matter) and I think by using this sequencing they are going to accomplish that.

Well said, John. I agree wholly.

[guitarfool2002]

I will say that hearing mid-60's songs as they were broadcast on AM radio - which is essentially why they were mixed a certain way, EQ'ed a certain way, and mastered a certain way to sound good over AM - can be a revelation. Songs heard in the format they were mixed and mastered to sound best come alive. A remaster, remix, or digital reissue cannot touch the impact of hearing those originals on AM broadcasts.

Amen. I used to think that was a load of bull until I heard a version of "Get Off My Cloud" by the Stones at a museum that was played back on equipment that simulated/recreated the sound of '60s AM radio. Man, it blew my mind. It was just this insane wall of sound. It's much different than what you'd hear if you played it on modern equipment. NOW I get why a reviewer at the time called it a "cacophony". I just thought he was being stodgy. But on old AM radios, it truly was a glorious cacophony.

Now I wonder what Spector sounded like back then... I'd probably get as obsessed as Brian if I ever heard it.

Probyn mentioned something to this effect to me....that 60's singles were put through an additional tube pre-amp before broadcast on AM radios, which resulted in a really warm sound that we just don't have access to anymore. Something to be said about hearing Good Vibrations for the first time on the AM radio.........lets be honest Brian was a singles guy + on the AM radio his songs (along with Jan & Dean, Spector, Motown, etc etc) probably sounded the best they ever will, no matter how many times they're remastering/mixing them

I'd like to confirm this with specifics to back up Probyn's statement about AM radio in the mid to late 60's. I'll use Brian's "home station" of KHJ in Los Angeles as the example, because what they were doing from 65 to 69 as part of the "Boss Radio" format was copied across the USA, not only by stations in their own Drake-Chenault network but also the competition to the Drake stations, in all major markets.

The sound of an AM station was very much in the hands of the station engineers, who at that time had to have an extensive technical background, actually run the transmitters and maintain them, and carry various FCC licenses for various parts of their job, since they were actually "broadcasting" and not just sitting at a mic and a laptop for a podcast or satellite broadcast. Each station's broadcast signal could vary from weak, to average where only the immediate city and suburbs could receive the broadcast, to the "blowtorch" stations which on a good night could be heard hundreds of miles away. There are still AM news stations today which carry such strong signals, and consider back in the day picking up top-40 rock and pop from many states away. Very neat.

Getting back to engineering, KHJ would deliberately process records they'd play on the air a certain way. Their records would "cut through" the broadcast band and be louder and more present than the competition across the dial. Part of what they did was compress the living hell out of the records at the station.

What a compressor did was allow the maximum volume to be achieved without going into distortion, and the classic compressors would also allow certain frequencies to be boosted and heard much more up front than you'd hear playing it on a normal turntable. This made records literally pump or pulse out of the speaker depending on how much bass was in the original mix. It gave records on KHJ and similar stations a certain character, and it could sound friggin' awesome in the right situations. Motown, Stax, "Sloop John B", etc...anything with a present bass thump that would normally be lost would come alive after KHJ processed it and compressed it.

There was a great anecdote about driving down Sunset Strip in LA, mid to late 60's, and most car radios were tuned to KHJ. So you'd hear a pulsing effect going down the street as all the cars had the same song playing on their radios, with KHJ's bass pumping away. That would be beyond cool, and what a scene.

So...I can say without a doubt, as Probyn had said, we are not hearing these songs in 2011 as they were heard and meant to be heard by the original audiences. When the AM station was weak, that was a bad thing. When it was a blowtorch like KHJ or another big-city station, it was a different experience than what we know and accept about listening to music and experiencing it beyond hearing the song.

Thanks for posting this man!! Imagine cruising down the strip and hearing Mr Tambourine Man or Good Vibrations or something being played for the first time, and hearing it come from every car!!! Wow, what a trip

To have been there at that time, with all the music in the air especially in 66-67 - it must have been incredible.

One interesting point to consider: I think George Lucas was going for that similar effect in a few scenes in American Graffiti. Lucas as we found out actually did some editing on the Good Vibrations promo film, and was in and around Los Angeles at this very time. I'm sure he experienced that if and when he was on the Strip.

Check out the American Graffiti scenes where the characters are driving around the town at night, and all the radios are tuned to "Wolfman Jack" on the radio. There is a weird audio quality to some of those clips, like a booming echoing sound, and I'd like to think it was Lucas trying to capture the effect he may have heard of all the kids in their cars blasting the same station playing the same songs driving up and down the street. It must have been quite an experience.

[Shady]

SMiLE box number 1!!! in Canada as of right now

http://www.amazon.ca/Smile-Sessions-Box-Set-5CD/dp/B004RFYEEC/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1314890886&sr=8-3



What a money maker

[juggler]

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

[Chris Moise]

There is also doubt it came from Brian, although no-one knows at this stage. Carl or Diane Rovell are other possibilities.

So you think Diane Rovell wrote the list, brought it to the Capitol art dept and told them "use these titles in the LP art" behind Brian's back? Even if so do you think Capitol would get to work on it without Brian's approval?

It's not significant who wrote the list. It strains credibility to think that the producer of the LP would not be required to sign off on the track list before it was submitted to the art director. In fact, Cam Mott tracked down the art director at Capitol that did the Smile mockup, one George Osaka, and he said no artwork or printed material went without review and approval by the album's producer. This track list actually made it to the back cover mock up. No way that happens without Brian vetting it. Not in 1966.

[Pretty Funky]

SMiLE box number 1!!! in Canada as of right now

http://www.amazon.ca/Smile-Sessions-Box-Set-5CD/dp/B004RFYEEC/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1314890886&sr=8-3



What a money maker

WTF? $123 Canada is about $127 US. 

[Cam Mott]

I have a lot to say [have already said a lot] about my opinions on why SMiLE was abandoned, who was to blame if any, and the album form etc. but not again right now. It never goes well. I'm very much looking forward to the boxset and all the music and info in it and I wouldn't change a thing about it or who helped put it together. Maybeeee AGD....no....I'm cool with all of it. Congratulations to all involved. Yeah, I know, I haven't heard it yet but come on it is being put together by a Fan's Dream Team with the cooperation of the group. Sweet.

Let the excitement and celebration continue! Drinks all around! I'm buying! [not really]

[WWDWD?]

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.

[Pinder's Gone To Kokomo And Back Again]

This is nuts!

Smile Sessions box for $170!

Pink Floyd "Immersion" sets, Quadrophenia box set, Achtung Baby box set, all for around that same price each!

Kinks double CD sets for about $30 each!

Is the music business trying to make back ALL the money it's lost these past few years on us geeks alone???

[Mark H.]

An interesting clip - towards the end Brian brings up SMiLE of his own accord and tells us how it went down!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPYHNXXHUVg