Brian "blown away" by Smile Sessions

[juggler]

New Brian interview...  Talks about recording some new songs in Illinois (Joe Thomas revisited?)... also mentions possible BB reunion...

But the money quote, of course, concerns the Smile Sessions, and it sounds like he may have heard the final product a couple days ago...

Elsewhere in the demon-confronting department, Wilson said he’s excited about finally releasing the recording sessions from “Smile,” his “teenage symphony to God,” which he attempted in the late 1960s only to be derailed by drug abuse and mental illness, among other factors.

Wilson rerecorded the album with his new band and released it to critical acclaim in 2004, but he said he still hears magic in those old sessions, too.

“I just listened to the reissue of the ‘Smile’ tapes a couple nights ago, and I was so blown away. I mean, I was blown away. It really took my mind away,” he said. “Fantastic music, it really is.”

http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20110727/entlife/707279991/

[brother john]

I wonder if some of the back catalogue might be Still I Dream Of It or It's Over Now, both of which are two of the best songs he ever wrote, and have never been done justice to? I'd love hear Brian tackle these, they are the perfect songs for him to sing right now, and I'm sure he and the band could really do them justice.

And I'm glad he likes Smile!

[Andrew G. Doe]

That's a helluva weird piece... stack it up against the tour schedule and you have to assume he's going back to St. Charles in mid-August:

7/29 - Grand Rapids, MI
7/30 - St. Charles, IL
7/31 - Clear Lake, IA

8/2 - Lexington, KY
8/3 - Atlanta, GA
8/5 - Hollywood, FL
8/6 - Clearwater, FL
8/24 - Saratoga, CA
8/25 - Napa, CA
8/27 - Cerritos, CA
8/29 - Agoura, CA

... assuming that something wasn't lost in the translation.

And of course he won't be recording at his old place - even if you assume all the gear was sold with the house, it's been sitting there unused for over a decade, so I'd shudder to think what state the electrics are in.

[Rocker]

I wonder if some of the back catalogue might be Still I Dream Of It or It's Over Now, both of which are two of the best songs he ever wrote, and have never been done justice to? I'd love hear Brian tackle these, they are the perfect songs for him to sing right now, and I'm sure he and the band could really do them justice.

Hopefully something for a new Beach Boys-album. Well, at least I hope so

[Pretty Funky]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/21/beachboy-brian-wilsons-fo_n_905690.html#s312947

Studio picture number 6.

[Boiled Egg]

"more than six baths"?

this implies that either they stopped counting at that point, or that some areas that aren't technically bathrooms have been used for bathroomic purposes.  perhaps there are a couple of sandboxes lying around...

[rab2591]

Disney album, Smile Sessions, new recordings, a biopic backed by some incredible people - what a fantastic year to be a fan!

[hypehat]

Does that mean it's finalised? I guess what Brian's told us is that he listened to 4-5 hours of tapes, then Mark & Alan have gone and whittled that down to at least the single disc's running order and possibly the sessions sequence, and now Brian's heard that? Which, as he's signed off (well, he likes it, so a reasonable assumption), I guess the less vocal members of BRI have too or are about to, and a tracklist is imminent........


Right?  

[Andrew G. Doe]

Does that mean it's finalised? I guess what Brian's told us is that he listened to 4-5 hours of tapes, then Mark & Alan have gone and whittled that down to at least the single disc's running order and possibly the sessions sequence, and now Brian's heard that? Which, as he's signed off (well, he likes it, so a reasonable assumption), I guess the less vocal members of BRI have too or are about to, and a tracklist is imminent........


Right?  

Everyone signed off on the project a considerable time ago. That was when Capitol switched into high gear (but don't tell Phil, he'll pitch a fit).

[buddhahat]

Does that mean it's finalised? I guess what Brian's told us is that he listened to 4-5 hours of tapes, then Mark & Alan have gone and whittled that down to at least the single disc's running order and possibly the sessions sequence, and now Brian's heard that? Which, as he's signed off (well, he likes it, so a reasonable assumption), I guess the less vocal members of BRI have too or are about to, and a tracklist is imminent........


Right?  

Sounds like running order must be finalised otherwise why would he be listening to it again (oh right, of course, he probably has a leaked version which he spins just for kicks and a trip down memory lane!)

Great to hear him so effusive about it though.

[hypehat]

Does that mean it's finalised? I guess what Brian's told us is that he listened to 4-5 hours of tapes, then Mark & Alan have gone and whittled that down to at least the single disc's running order and possibly the sessions sequence, and now Brian's heard that? Which, as he's signed off (well, he likes it, so a reasonable assumption), I guess the less vocal members of BRI have too or are about to, and a tracklist is imminent........


Right?  

Everyone signed off on the project a considerable time ago. That was when Capitol switched into high gear (but don't tell Phil, he'll pitch a fit).

I meant 'That's good, don't change it, lets get that sh*t in stores' rather than 'let's do the project'. Even I know they did that months ago.... probably just before Al spilled the beans....

[Andrew G. Doe]

Does that mean it's finalised? I guess what Brian's told us is that he listened to 4-5 hours of tapes, then Mark & Alan have gone and whittled that down to at least the single disc's running order and possibly the sessions sequence, and now Brian's heard that? Which, as he's signed off (well, he likes it, so a reasonable assumption), I guess the less vocal members of BRI have too or are about to, and a tracklist is imminent........


Right?  

Everyone signed off on the project a considerable time ago. That was when Capitol switched into high gear (but don't tell Phil, he'll pitch a fit).

I meant 'That's good, don't change it, lets get that sh*t in stores' rather than 'let's do the project'. Even I know they did that months ago.... probably just before Al spilled the beans....

Maybe.

[juggler]

Does that mean it's finalised? I guess what Brian's told us is that he listened to 4-5 hours of tapes, then Mark & Alan have gone and whittled that down to at least the single disc's running order and possibly the sessions sequence, and now Brian's heard that? Which, as he's signed off (well, he likes it, so a reasonable assumption), I guess the less vocal members of BRI have too or are about to, and a tracklist is imminent........


Right?  

I suspect that Brian's key language here is "I just listened to THE REISSUE of the ‘Smile’ tapes..."

'THE reissue' sounds like a final product.  Now, of course, we know that because a Beach Boys 'Smile' package (a legit one, anyway) hasn't been previously released, this isn't technically a 'reissue.'   However, Brian is probably used to thinking of new releases of his old Beach Boys recordings as "reissues," (which they generally are) so his choice of words isn't all that surprising.

In any case, Messrs. Linett and Boyd should be very proud of having put together a package that has "blown away" the man himself.  If they are not ecstatic about Brian's comments here, they should be.  BW is the ultimate critic and isn't afraid of giving mediocre reviews to his own work.  Declaring himself "so blown away" by this thing is a far cry from a my-wife-and-managers-think-it-should-come-out-so-what-can-I-say sort of review that I think we can all imagine Brian giving to something about which he's less than enthusiastic.   Kudos to Mark and Alan and their team.  Job well done!   This may just be the most positive thing that Brian has said about Smile since 'Our next album will be better than "Pet Sounds". It will be as much an improvement over "Sounds" as that was over "Summer Days."'

[desmondo]

That all sounds great - but PLEASE PLEASE give us some hard facts somebody

[Magic Transistor Radio]

 "Smile will never come out. The tapes are destroyed."

Brian Wilson in the Endless Harmony doc  

[The Shift]

"Smile will never come out. The tapes are destroyed."

Brian Wilson in the Endless Harmony doc   

"The earth is a flat disk centered at the North Pole and bounded along its southern edge by a wall of ice, with the sun, moon, planets, and stars only a few hundred miles above the surface of the earth" (paraphrased) – Samuel Birley Rowbotham (1816–1884)

[The Heartical Don]

That all sounds great - but PLEASE PLEASE give us some hard facts somebody

It is estimated that 2-3% of all people go through a phase of obsessive-compulsive disorder in their lifetime (the so-called prevalence rate). Now, OCD is underdiagnosed as well as invisible, in that most patients hide it from the outside world, and even from friends and relatives. In the disorder, the cortico-striatal-thalamo-cortical circuitry is out of balance. This causes the occurrence of obsessions (intrusive and very worrisome thoughts, and highly repetitive, hard to suppress) and compulsions (ritualistic behaviours that serve to diminish the impact of the obsessions). Neurotransmitters that have been shown to be involved in OCD are: serotonin, GABA, glutamate, and dopamine. Neural growth factors are also likely to play a part, e.g. brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF).


Typical OCD can present itself as an intense longing to obtain a desired object, such as the archival release of music of special interest to the person. The person will go to great (some doctors say: any) lengths to get hold of that item. They keep on ruminating about it, and lose sleep over it. They would be willing to risk a career in crime to get it. The most severe cases will purchase said release multiple times, to make sure there are sealed substitute copies at hand, should anything happen to the 'playing copy'. These people are known for their endless discussions on their single topic, and can't be distracted in any medically defensible manner.

These are hard facts.
My 'demonstration case' was, of course, chosen entirely at random.

[desmondo]

That all sounds great - but PLEASE PLEASE give us some hard facts somebody

It is estimated that 2-3% of all people go through a phase of obsessive-compulsive disorder in their lifetime (the so-called prevalence rate). Now, OCD is underdiagnosed as well as invisible, in that most patients hide it from the outside world, and even from friends and relatives. In the disorder, the cortico-striatal-thalamo-cortical circuitry is out of balance. This causes the occurrence of obsessions (intrusive and very worrisome thoughts, and highly repetitive, hard to suppress) and compulsions (ritualistic behaviours that serve to diminish the impact of the obsessions). Neurotransmitters that have been shown to be involved in OCD are: serotonin, GABA, glutamate, and dopamine. Neural growth factors are also likely to play a part, e.g. brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF).


Typical OCD can present itself as an intense longing to obtain a desired object, such as the archival release of music of special interest to the person. The person will go to great (some doctors say: any) lengths to get hold of that item. They keep on ruminating about it, and lose sleep over it. They would be willing to risk a career in crime to get it. The most severe cases will purchase said release multiple times, to make sure there are sealed substitute copies at hand, should anything happen to the 'playing copy'. These people are known for their endless discussions on their single topic, and can't be distracted in any medically defensible manner.

These are hard facts.
My 'demonstration case' was, of course, chosen entirely at random.

 

[Mikie]

It is estimated that 2-3% of all people go through a phase of obsessive-compulsive disorder in their lifetime (the so-called prevalence rate). Now, OCD is underdiagnosed as well as invisible, in that most patients hide it from the outside world, and even from friends and relatives. In the disorder, the cortico-striatal-thalamo-cortical circuitry is out of balance. This causes the occurrence of obsessions (intrusive and very worrisome thoughts, and highly repetitive, hard to suppress) and compulsions (ritualistic behaviours that serve to diminish the impact of the obsessions). Neurotransmitters that have been shown to be involved in OCD are: serotonin, GABA, glutamate, and dopamine. Neural growth factors are also likely to play a part, e.g. brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF).


Typical OCD can present itself as an intense longing to obtain a desired object, such as the archival release of music of special interest to the person. The person will go to great (some doctors say: any) lengths to get hold of that item. They keep on ruminating about it, and lose sleep over it. They would be willing to risk a career in crime to get it. The most severe cases will purchase said release multiple times, to make sure there are sealed substitute copies at hand, should anything happen to the 'playing copy'. These people are known for their endless discussions on their single topic, and can't be distracted in any medically defensible manner.

These are hard facts.
My 'demonstration case' was, of course, chosen entirely at random.

Would you mind if I copy this to the “Smile Sessions Box Set” thread? I think this applies to those guys who are posting almost every day in that thread.  Serious.

[The Heartical Don]

It is estimated that 2-3% of all people go through a phase of obsessive-compulsive disorder in their lifetime (the so-called prevalence rate). Now, OCD is underdiagnosed as well as invisible, in that most patients hide it from the outside world, and even from friends and relatives. In the disorder, the cortico-striatal-thalamo-cortical circuitry is out of balance. This causes the occurrence of obsessions (intrusive and very worrisome thoughts, and highly repetitive, hard to suppress) and compulsions (ritualistic behaviours that serve to diminish the impact of the obsessions). Neurotransmitters that have been shown to be involved in OCD are: serotonin, GABA, glutamate, and dopamine. Neural growth factors are also likely to play a part, e.g. brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF).


Typical OCD can present itself as an intense longing to obtain a desired object, such as the archival release of music of special interest to the person. The person will go to great (some doctors say: any) lengths to get hold of that item. They keep on ruminating about it, and lose sleep over it. They would be willing to risk a career in crime to get it. The most severe cases will purchase said release multiple times, to make sure there are sealed substitute copies at hand, should anything happen to the 'playing copy'. These people are known for their endless discussions on their single topic, and can't be distracted in any medically defensible manner.

These are hard facts.
My 'demonstration case' was, of course, chosen entirely at random.

Would you mind if I copy this to the “Smile Sessions Box Set” thread? I think this applies to those guys who are posting almost every day in that thread.  Serious.

Of course not... do as you like...

[Chris Brown]

Exciting news all around - great year to be a fan indeed.  I'm definitely curious about which old gems Brian might be recording, and what else the new studio album might contain.  I was under the impression that Brian hadn't done much writing in the last 5 years (aside from the Gershwin "co-writes"), so does that mean he's overcome his writer's block?

[Dunderhead]

Everyone signed off on the project a considerable time ago. That was when Capitol switched into high gear (but don't tell Phil, he'll pitch a fit).

 
Phil Cohen, official smiley smile bogeyman.

Could this be the reason Brian was at capitol in those pictures last week? Hopefully this means the thing is done. If that's the case I hope that we could still see a September release.

[Pretty Funky]

I think Brian was searched on his way in for a recording device, locked in a room to listen to the final product, searched on his way out in case he lifted the demo, then released.

During this time security prowled the Capitol Tower on the look out in case Al showed up!

[hypehat]

Maybe.

Oh, you 

[Magic Transistor Radio]

It is estimated that 2-3% of all people go through a phase of obsessive-compulsive disorder in their lifetime (the so-called prevalence rate). Now, OCD is underdiagnosed as well as invisible, in that most patients hide it from the outside world, and even from friends and relatives. In the disorder, the cortico-striatal-thalamo-cortical circuitry is out of balance. This causes the occurrence of obsessions (intrusive and very worrisome thoughts, and highly repetitive, hard to suppress) and compulsions (ritualistic behaviours that serve to diminish the impact of the obsessions). Neurotransmitters that have been shown to be involved in OCD are: serotonin, GABA, glutamate, and dopamine. Neural growth factors are also likely to play a part, e.g. brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF).


Typical OCD can present itself as an intense longing to obtain a desired object, such as the archival release of music of special interest to the person. The person will go to great (some doctors say: any) lengths to get hold of that item. They keep on ruminating about it, and lose sleep over it. They would be willing to risk a career in crime to get it. The most severe cases will purchase said release multiple times, to make sure there are sealed substitute copies at hand, should anything happen to the 'playing copy'. These people are known for their endless discussions on their single topic, and can't be distracted in any medically defensible manner.

These are hard facts.
My 'demonstration case' was, of course, chosen entirely at random.

Would you mind if I copy this to the “Smile Sessions Box Set” thread? I think this applies to those guys who are posting almost every day in that thread.  Serious.

Of course not... do as you like...

I don't think The Heartical Don is like Mike Love. That he would sue you for using his posts. Although, I have never met Don.