SMiLE Sessions box set!

[shmenge7372]

Question for you folks.  Aside from the GV set, most of my familiarity with SMiLE music comes from the 3 disc UM set - and there was a VERY lo-fi CD I purchased in the early 90s as well (as an aside, I recall that when I first heard that music, I did get a VERY creepy vibe - in part from the lack of audio quality of the source material.  It's kinda like when I was a kid, and would watch old Universal, AIP, and Hammer horror films on TV, the scratched, washed-out, generally crummy prints of those films added a level of creepiness to them.  I also found stuff I viewed late at night, regardless of the content, as creepy.  I was a weird kid...but I digress.)
Anyway, using the UM SMiLE sessions as a reference point, would you reckon that the upcoming set will hold alot more unheard content than the general fan on this board?  If I recall correctly, and it has been awhile since I listened to said set, there seemed to be a good amount of overdub sessions included - especially on the vocals where you'd hear a lead singled, then doubled, then backgrounds singled, doubled, etc.  Using PSS as a template, I would suspect that there would be less of that so I suspect there will be alot of "new" music to me on this set.  Thoughts?

[Loaf]

Anyway, using the UM SMiLE sessions as a reference point, would you reckon that the upcoming set will hold alot more unheard content than the general fan on this board?

Overall, I find CDs and vinyl to hold a lot more content, both heard and unheard, than the general fan.

On a more serious note, i'd be happy with 4 or 5 things i'd never heard before, as long as it's all going to be in proper glorious sound.

[shmenge7372]

Anyway, using the UM SMiLE sessions as a reference point, would you reckon that the upcoming set will hold alot more unheard content than the general fan on this board?

Overall, I find CDs and vinyl to hold a lot more content, both heard and unheard, than the general fan.

Damn my grammatic ambiguity!   

[The Demon]

What do you all make of the "Surf's Up" stereo mix/tracking session excerpt piece on the vinyl?  Could it possibly be a fragment of the vocal attempt filmed for Inside Pop? 

Hugely unlikely - said vocal was just Brian: the rest of the band had left by then.

Thanks, I didn't realize that.  I was under the impression that they were all filmed for a vocal session.  Was the intention always to just capture Brian at work?  And any idea what this box set track might include?  It seems like the sessions we already have are represented on the box set CDs.

[hypehat]

The fact we have heard it doesn't matter so much when the set will present everything in wonderful sound quality.

As for stuff we haven't heard, off the top of my head....

I believe the Child mix on Disc 1 is new - sourced from an acetate previously unavailable to anyone.

We have Dennis' 'I Don't Know' and 'Teeter Totter Love' - The latter sourced from an acetate like Child

We have the mystery 'Dada' Rhodes and taped piano tracks.

We also have the 1967 Surf's Up. Which will melt all of our brains, probably.

It's probably likely Carl's 'Tones' will be presented in a complete fashion, as opposed to the three or four overdub/mixing sessions we have so far.

It's extremely likely we haven't heard portions of the Heroes & Villains disc and the Good Vibrations disc too, although we can't be sure at this point.

The Prayer sessions are probably new - we have 5 minutes of them, the disc runs to nearly 10!

We also have a 3rd version of Wonderful

Two versions of Cool, Cool Water - seeing as the WH version from the Good Vibes box runs to about a minute (I think, there's got to be something new)

6 Minutes of You're Welcome!

We have to wonder also what they've done with tracks like DYLW, Look, Heroes & Villains part 2, I'm In Great Shape, Barnyard, The Old Master Painter, and everything that hasn't been released officially before and on the first disc. As the H&V that leaked attests, there will be changes from BWPS because of the obvious lack of the modern segues. How they will resolve Dada on the single disc - The entire ending section is new on BWPS - is a mystery, for example.

And, 3 of the 4 tracks leaked so far have considerable musical differences to commonly booted/released versions. Yodelling, Hum-be-Hums, extended fades, so it's not really wise to say 'this will stay the same'.

Since the 1st of September, when I ordered the box, I'm on a self-imposed ban for Smile music until it arrives. Feeling the strain.

[Cliff1000uk]

Yes-don't the BB's/record company have a history of sending the wrong masters or even tracks for pressing?

Yes, Capitol sent out Summer in Paradise.

Good Man!

[Andrew G. Doe]

Yes-don't the BB's/record company have a history of sending the wrong masters or even tracks for pressing?

Yes, Capitol sent out Summer in Paradise.

You got SIP on Capitol, all your financial worries are over. 

[homeontherange]

We have the mystery 'Dada' Rhodes and taped piano tracks.

I've been thinking that this might be what was called "Air Dada" by Brian. A short piano instrumental?

[Andrew G. Doe]

We have Dennis' 'I Don't Know' and 'Teeter Totter Love' - The latter is the same as Child

Think you'll find it's an entirely different song, actually. 

[hypehat]

I meant in terms of being the only other song from an acetate.... that's not clear is it   Should be better now. Not that we haven't gone over what isn't new on the box a bajillion times already 

[runnersdialzero]

Wasn't the mastering for TLOS and BWPS UK albums different to the US albums, hence there was a noticeable difference in quality?

My EC pressing of TLOS was utterly unlistenable until I ripped it to my iPod (seriously). My US version was, and is, just fine.

That's highly weird.  Surely -- because mastering is SO expensive -- the album wouldn't have been mastered twice?  There's no good reason for that.  Presumably, though, the pressings are different.  In which case, could something in the pressing process have compromised the sound?  Plenty a cheap polymer has krunked a disc along the way.  (I'm looking at you, PDO.)

My only explanation (and it's not a good one) is they sent over the download master by mistake.

I don't think records are ever mastered for download differently than CD. I don't think mastering is as painfully expensive as the original poster said when compared to other aspects of a record being finished, thus it's not unlikely that two masters were done or that the UK version was an incorrect master.

[desmondo]

We have to wonder also what they've done with tracks like DYLW, Look, Heroes & Villains part 2, I'm In Great Shape, Barnyard, The Old Master Painter, and everything that hasn't been released officially before and on the first disc. As the H&V that leaked attests, there will be changes from BWPS because of the obvious lack of the modern segues. How they will resolve Dada on the single disc - The entire ending section is new on BWPS - is a mystery, for example.

Listening back to it I don't think that will be too much of a problem apart from the string interlude part - the musical base is still there

[hypehat]

No, it is different - the bits just before that string break, with the horn swells and stuff aren't vintage '66/67, as Purple Chick use it in their mix.

[desmondo]

No, it is different - the bits just before that string break, with the horn swells and stuff aren't vintage '66/67, as Purple Chick use it in their mix.

True sir - I think I was making the point that the basis of the 1966 track is very much intacto in 2004 - if it ends as per UM I don't think that's too much of an issue - I DON'T want them to add in 2011 recordings - strings, horns etc

I don't think ML and BOYD would do that so I'll be fine - KEEP IT VINTAGE

[hypehat]

Which is what makes it intriguing! How will they get around it.... Eeeeeeeee, can't wait for this box!

[desmondo]

Which is what makes it intriguing! How will they get around it.... Eeeeeeeee, can't wait for this box!

I am just a drummer so I expect they will perform some musical wizardry from the tapes to get into Prayer (reprise) - I haven't got a Scooby DOOO

[runnersdialzero]

Which is what makes it intriguing! How will they get around it.... Eeeeeeeee, can't wait for this box!

I am just a drummer so I expect they will perform some musical wizardry from the tapes to get into Prayer (reprise) - I haven't got a Scooby DOOO

Please, no.

[desmondo]

The UK pre-order is now open from the BB.com site

The only interesting thing I could see were the words All music drawn from the original masters at the bottom of the page

That indicates the following

1. No new recordings

2. No flyins

3. There is a whole lot more stuff in the vaults

4. Using 66/67 material to construct various vintage mixes/acetates/masters/notes etc

OR

It means

5. New recordings based on original tapes

6. Flyins to represent unheard masters, mixes and acetates

Oh SMiLE - how I love you so

Oh SMiLE how I hate you so (until November)

 

[desmondo]

Which is what makes it intriguing! How will they get around it.... Eeeeeeeee, can't wait for this box!

I am just a drummer so I expect they will perform some musical wizardry from the tapes to get into Prayer (reprise) - I haven't got a Scooby DOOO

Please, no.

Didn't mean new stuff - best example is the flutter horn with strings at the end of the new H&V to get to RPR -

[The Demon]

No, it is different - the bits just before that string break, with the horn swells and stuff aren't vintage '66/67, as Purple Chick use it in their mix.

True sir - I think I was making the point that the basis of the 1966 track is very much intacto in 2004 - if it ends as per UM I don't think that's too much of an issue - I DON'T want them to add in 2011 recordings - strings, horns etc

I don't think ML and BOYD would do that so I'll be fine - KEEP IT VINTAGE

Exactly.  We can't forget, the set is credited to the Beach Boys.

[rab2591]

No, it is different - the bits just before that string break, with the horn swells and stuff aren't vintage '66/67, as Purple Chick use it in their mix.

True sir - I think I was making the point that the basis of the 1966 track is very much intacto in 2004 - if it ends as per UM I don't think that's too much of an issue - I DON'T want them to add in 2011 recordings - strings, horns etc

I don't think ML and BOYD would do that so I'll be fine - KEEP IT VINTAGE

I think the lack of new string recordings in the new Heroes and Villains release suggests that there won't be any new recordings for this release.

[chris.metcalfe]

The UK pre-order is now open from the BB.com site

Oh SMiLE how I hate you so (until November)

OCTOBER!     

[juggler]

We have to wonder also what they've done with tracks like DYLW, Look, Heroes & Villains part 2, I'm In Great Shape, Barnyard, The Old Master Painter, and everything that hasn't been released officially before and on the first disc. As the H&V that leaked attests, there will be changes from BWPS because of the obvious lack of the modern segues. How they will resolve Dada on the single disc - The entire ending section is new on BWPS - is a mystery, for example.

Yes, it's going to be really interesting to see what's been done with a lot of the tracks on Disc 1. 

Based on the tapes known (to most of us, anyway), the BWPS versions of the following tracks really cannot be replicated:

4. Do You Like Worms (missing verse vocals)
5. I'm In Great Shape  (no vocals)
6. Barnyard (missing verse vocals)

10. Look (no vocals)
11. Child Is Father Of The Man  (no verse vocals)

13. I Wanna Be Around (no vocals)

15. Holidays (no vocals)

18. Love To Say Dada  (no verse vocals)


That's a lot. 

Of course, we can hold out a sliver of hope that some vintage lead vocals might have turned up for a few of these (Barnyard, Worms, etc).  And, of course, there's also the possibility of flying in demo vocals (e.g., from the Humble Harv tape).    Clearly, though, we can expect no new vocals on many of these tracks (Look, Holidays), as they never existed in the first place. 

Despite following a BWPS blueprint, Disc 1 is going to be substantially different from that album.  It has to be.

[Wrightfan]

5. I'm In Great Shape  (no vocals)
6. Barnyard (missing verse vocals)

Couldn't you just fly in the vocals from the Humble Harv demo?

[Dunderhead]

I'm still really curious about the Child acetate. I know I've seen others talk about it before the box set was announced, AGD has spoken of a Child mix that was to appear on Hawthorne. Was he talking about the same thing? It seems odd to me, if that acetate did include original lyrics, why weren't they used on BWPS? Is it possible that the acetate has "guide vocals" and no actual lyrics?