A Ten-episodes official web series on the SMiLE Sessions is now on YouTube

[Tristero]

I think the role of drugs and mental health as a cause are a red herring, they are issues that may have been significant later but get mistakenly accredited as significant back to this period. When he is making the music, he is mentally organized and disciplined and decisive and on task. Sure he is also superstitious and getting high in his spare time but he is in full control of himself and everyone and thing around him. Nothing kept him from finishing it, he didn't want it finished, it was a Muse and commerciality issue for Brian and not a drug and mental health issue. Imo.

Agree with most of that Cam, but I think the drug use would have started to bring on a sense of paranoia. That wouldn't necessarily affect the quality of Brain's work but he would be becoming more and more anxious to finish it, more and more meticulous about minutia and less able to see the bigger picture.

The commerciality concerns would only add to the pressure.

Eventually he'd perceive it all as a mishmash of brilliantly executed snippets that he couldn't weave together without adding more snippets, and more confusion, to the pile.

Stress, anxiety and paranoia. In extremis, hard to come back from.

I absolutely agree.  The impact of Brian's mental imbalance/drug usage can be seen both in his ADHD whimsy for starting experiments without completing them (i.e. the Elements) and his obsessive tinkering and growing indecisiveness (most notably in the H&V sessions).  Yes, he's still sharp and on top of his game in the studio, but it was clear that by early '67, he couldn't see the forest for the trees anymore.  Why else would he waste valuable studio time re-recording a track like Wonderful, which was already essentially finished?  Add to this tales like the Fire paranoia and cancelling sessions due to bad vibes and even if these were just elaborate rationalizations from an artist who was losing confidence in his vision, it's hard not to conclude that his psychological problems were getting in the way. 

And yet, Brian's creative 'madness' was also what helped to fuel his extraordinary ideas, so it was clearly a double edged sword.

[JohnMill]

I think the role of drugs and mental health as a cause are a red herring, they are issues that may have been significant later but get mistakenly accredited as significant back to this period. When he is making the music, he is mentally organized and disciplined and decisive and on task. Sure he is also superstitious and getting high in his spare time but he is in full control of himself and everyone and thing around him. Nothing kept him from finishing it, he didn't want it finished, it was a Muse and commerciality issue for Brian and not a drug and mental health issue. Imo.

Agree with most of that Cam, but I think the drug use would have started to bring on a sense of paranoia. That wouldn't necessarily affect the quality of Brain's work but he would be becoming more and more anxious to finish it, more and more meticulous about minutia and less able to see the bigger picture.

The commerciality concerns would only add to the pressure.

Eventually he'd perceive it all as a mishmash of brilliantly executed snippets that he couldn't weave together without adding more snippets, and more confusion, to the pile.

Stress, anxiety and paranoia. In extremis, hard to come back from.

I absolutely agree.  The impact of Brian's mental imbalance/drug usage can be seen both in his ADHD whimsy for starting experiments without completing them (i.e. the Elements) and his obsessive tinkering and growing indecisiveness (most notably in the H&V sessions).  Yes, he's still sharp and on top of his game in the studio, but it was clear that by early '67, he couldn't see the forest for the trees anymore.  Why else would he waste valuable studio time re-recording a track like Wonderful, which was already essentially finished?  Add to this tales like the Fire paranoia and cancelling sessions due to bad vibes and even if these were just elaborate rationalizations from an artist who was losing confidence in his vision, it's hard not to conclude that his psychological problems were getting in the way.  

And yet, Brian's creative 'madness' was also what helped to fuel his extraordinary ideas, so it was clearly a double edged sword.

I think you may have nailed it there.  While I agree with Cam Mott that Brian was for the most part able to keep his extracurricular activities from affecting the work he created in the studio, they did affect how he approached the project in a broader sense.  Paranoia, canceling sessions at whim and OC behavior in the strive for perfection.  Now Brian Wilson was always by nature a perfectionist to begin with but with SMiLE he didn't seem to know when to or where to draw the line.  

My personal opinion on the situation always has been that at some point Brian realized that despite recording all this fantastic music he had somehow lost the plot in being able to have a marketable product to turn into Capitol Records.  I honestly think by the time he was knee deep into SMiLE  he didn't have any idea how to sequence the thing.  I think losing the plot and the possibility of failure wrecked him.  Add to that the drugs, in-fighting, lawsuits, the feeling of being solely responsibility to everyone else and their mother and you'll get an idea about what kind of pressure Brian was under during this time.

[Tristero]

My personal opinion on the situation always has been that at some point Brian realized that despite recording all this fantastic music he had somehow lost the plot in being able to have a marketable product to turn into Capitol Records.  I honestly think by the time he was knee deep into SMiLE  he didn't have any idea how to sequence the thing.  I think losing the plot and the possibility of failure wrecked him.  Add to that the drugs, in-fighting, lawsuits, the feeling of being solely responsibility to everyone else and their mother and you'll get an idea about what kind of pressure Brian was under during this time.

Right.  I used to dismiss some of Brian's comments about Smile's demise back in the "it was inappropriate" days, but looking back now, they start to make more sense.  I wish I had the quote handy, but at one point he explained that he just didn't have a strong commercial feel for the Smile material and sometimes you just write a song for yourself, like a little feel you want to explore but maybe it's not right for the general public.  Of course, I absolutely love this stuff and wish that he'd been in a position to let his muse run wild, but I can see how he might have reached this conclusion back then.

[JohnMill]

My personal opinion on the situation always has been that at some point Brian realized that despite recording all this fantastic music he had somehow lost the plot in being able to have a marketable product to turn into Capitol Records.  I honestly think by the time he was knee deep into SMiLE  he didn't have any idea how to sequence the thing.  I think losing the plot and the possibility of failure wrecked him.  Add to that the drugs, in-fighting, lawsuits, the feeling of being solely responsibility to everyone else and their mother and you'll get an idea about what kind of pressure Brian was under during this time.

Right.  I used to dismiss some of Brian's comments about Smile's demise back in the "it was inappropriate" days, but looking back now, they start to make more sense.  I wish I had the quote handy, but at one point he explained that he just didn't have a strong commercial feel for the Smile material and sometimes you just write a song for yourself, like a little feel you want to explore but maybe it's not right for the general public.  Of course, I absolutely love this stuff and wish that he'd been in a position to let his muse run wild, but I can see how he might have reached this conclusion back then.

Well see the paranoia could play into that too in making him gun-shy.  I mean if he really did a number on himself worrying about the commercial aspect of the album is it possible that some of that indecision could be attributed to some of the factors already mentioned?  Did some of these factors facilitate planting the seeds of doubt in Brian's mind concerning the merits of his music both commercial and otherwise?

[guitarfool2002]

My personal opinion on the situation always has been that at some point Brian realized that despite recording all this fantastic music he had somehow lost the plot in being able to have a marketable product to turn into Capitol Records.  I honestly think by the time he was knee deep into SMiLE  he didn't have any idea how to sequence the thing.  I think losing the plot and the possibility of failure wrecked him.  Add to that the drugs, in-fighting, lawsuits, the feeling of being solely responsibility to everyone else and their mother and you'll get an idea about what kind of pressure Brian was under during this time.

Right.  I used to dismiss some of Brian's comments about Smile's demise back in the "it was inappropriate" days, but looking back now, they start to make more sense.  I wish I had the quote handy, but at one point he explained that he just didn't have a strong commercial feel for the Smile material and sometimes you just write a song for yourself, like a little feel you want to explore but maybe it's not right for the general public.  Of course, I absolutely love this stuff and wish that he'd been in a position to let his muse run wild, but I can see how he might have reached this conclusion back then.

Well see the paranoia could play into that too in making him gun-shy.  I mean if he really did a number on himself worrying about the commercial aspect of the album is it possible that some of that indecision could be attributed to some of the factors already mentioned?  Did some of these factors facilitate planting the seeds of doubt in Brian's mind concerning the merits of his music both commercial and otherwise?

The only thing which keeps me from agreeing with more of that sentiment is the fact that Brian was sitting on the #1 record at the end of 1966, his band was at the top of the polls singing and playing his "new sound", and the general public and the music community was waiting to hear what he would come up with next. I think commercial success wasn't all that much of a concern because he had it at the end of '66 into '67, and was riding the wave. When you have that kind of success with that radical of a new sound, which the public accepts, you have greater freedom to explore and experiment even further.

Anyone who challenged him, let's say in December 1966 as Murry Wilson apparently did also throughout the fall, about his new sound being too far out, Brian could pick up an issue of Billboard, slam it on the table, and say "here!". Case closed, his wild non-commercial ideas were at the top of the pop charts. Validation.

[JohnMill]

My personal opinion on the situation always has been that at some point Brian realized that despite recording all this fantastic music he had somehow lost the plot in being able to have a marketable product to turn into Capitol Records.  I honestly think by the time he was knee deep into SMiLE  he didn't have any idea how to sequence the thing.  I think losing the plot and the possibility of failure wrecked him.  Add to that the drugs, in-fighting, lawsuits, the feeling of being solely responsibility to everyone else and their mother and you'll get an idea about what kind of pressure Brian was under during this time.

Right.  I used to dismiss some of Brian's comments about Smile's demise back in the "it was inappropriate" days, but looking back now, they start to make more sense.  I wish I had the quote handy, but at one point he explained that he just didn't have a strong commercial feel for the Smile material and sometimes you just write a song for yourself, like a little feel you want to explore but maybe it's not right for the general public.  Of course, I absolutely love this stuff and wish that he'd been in a position to let his muse run wild, but I can see how he might have reached this conclusion back then.

Well see the paranoia could play into that too in making him gun-shy.  I mean if he really did a number on himself worrying about the commercial aspect of the album is it possible that some of that indecision could be attributed to some of the factors already mentioned?  Did some of these factors facilitate planting the seeds of doubt in Brian's mind concerning the merits of his music both commercial and otherwise?

Anyone who challenged him, let's say in December 1966 as Murry Wilson apparently did also throughout the fall, about his new sound being too far out, Brian could pick up an issue of Billboard, slam it on the table, and say "here!". Case closed, his wild non-commercial ideas were at the top of the pop charts. Validation.

Yeah but was it's Brian's nature ever to be confrontational enough to do such a thing?  There are so many times when reading stories about Brian and how shabbily at times he was treated (or it was alleged he was treated) by different parties that I feel like shaking him and saying "Brian stand up for yourself, don't let these people treat you the way they are treating you".  But my gauge of the situation was that more times than not  from a business perspective Brian attempted to please people rather than force his own agenda on them .

[Cam Mott]

I don't know about his personal life but in his professional life he just did as he pleased regardless of how much you disagreed. He might consdier your point of view but if he did not agree he just said "naw, we don't want to do that". He didn't have to confront people because people bowed to his will and not the other way around. Velvet Steamroller, baby.

[JohnMill]

I don't know about his personal life but in his professional life he just did as he pleased regardless of how much you disagreed. He might consdier your point of view but if he did not agree he just said "naw, we don't want to do that". He didn't have to confront people because people bowed to his will and not the other way around. Velvet Steamroller, baby.

True but in regards to this issue it's his dealings in his personal life which I'm actually wondering about.  Obviously from a professional sense Brian was in complete control in the studio as far as how his music was produced, arranged and performed.  But being that the topic of in-fighting comes up so much in the discussion of the downfall of this album, I wonder if issues from his personal life didn't begin to bleed over into his professional life?  I guess it's something we'll never really know the answer to. 

[guitarfool2002]

One question that bugs the hell out of me, and which may or may not shed more light on the bigger picture, is that of the Wrecking Crew in effect being shunned. Why did Brian suddenly, almost stop-on-a-dime sudden, decide to radically change everything about the way he was making records and recording his music? Why would he decide to no longer use the Wrecking Crew as abruptly and as definitely as he did? There is no precedent for this. It wasn't even a case of calling some of the guys but not others, it was one day he was Brian in the studio and the next time he recorded everything had changed.

[juggler]

One question that bugs the hell out of me, and which may or may not shed more light on the bigger picture, is that of the Wrecking Crew in effect being shunned. Why did Brian suddenly, almost stop-on-a-dime sudden, decide to radically change everything about the way he was making records and recording his music? Why would he decide to no longer use the Wrecking Crew as abruptly and as definitely as he did? There is no precedent for this. It wasn't even a case of calling some of the guys but not others, it was one day he was Brian in the studio and the next time he recorded everything had changed.

Let's not forget that it was a minor 'scandal' in 1967 when stories started appearing questioning the Monkees' legitimacy on the basis that the Crew was playing the instruments on their tracks.  Brian and the group had to be aware of that controversy.  Not saying this was the only reason for the shift, but it may have been a factor.

Backing up a bit to the hypothesis that Brian's unrelenting tinkering and re-recording of H&V (and other tracks) signified his declining mental state.  That argument has some merit, but I was struck recently by Brian's comments in the expanded 'Humble Harv' demo on the box.   Talking about the success of Good Vibrations, Brian tells Harv:

"... about half a year of emotions alone went into the record...  I think it has a lot to do with repetition.  I don't know. When something's around for a long time, it gets really emblazoned in your mind.  And it becomes so visual that it starts to happen."

That's a pretty important insight to what he was thinking at the time.  Whether it was the method of his madness or the madness of his method, I don't know.  But he was essentially attributing the success of GV to this method of tinkering and re-recording over months.   Just keep working on it until it gets emblazoned in your mind and then it will happen.

[guitarfool2002]

One question that bugs the hell out of me, and which may or may not shed more light on the bigger picture, is that of the Wrecking Crew in effect being shunned. Why did Brian suddenly, almost stop-on-a-dime sudden, decide to radically change everything about the way he was making records and recording his music? Why would he decide to no longer use the Wrecking Crew as abruptly and as definitely as he did? There is no precedent for this. It wasn't even a case of calling some of the guys but not others, it was one day he was Brian in the studio and the next time he recorded everything had changed.

Let's not forget that it was a minor 'scandal' in 1967 when stories started appearing questioning the Monkees' legitimacy on the basis that the Crew was playing the instruments on their tracks.  Brian and the group had to be aware of that controversy.  Not saying this was the only reason for the shift, but it may have been a factor.

Backing up a bit to the hypothesis that Brian's unrelenting tinkering and re-recording of H&V (and other tracks) signified his declining mental state.  That argument has some merit, but I was struck recently by Brian's comments in the expanded 'Humble Harv' demo on the box.   Talking about the success of Good Vibrations, Brian tells Harv:

"... about half a year of emotions alone went into the record...  I think has a lot to do with repetition.  I don't know. When something's around for a long time, it gets really emblazoned in your mind.  And it becomes so visual that it starts to happen."

That's a pretty important insight to what he was thinking at the time.  Whether it was the method of his madness or the madness of his method, I don't know.  But he was essentially attributing the success of GV to this method of tinkering and re-recording over months.   Just keep working on it until it gets emblazoned in your mind and then it will happen.

Very, very interesting take on this. I think another important part of the story can be found in the Good Vibrations story, and that is how Brian perhaps needed a boost of confidence and validation in those cases where he may have had doubts. In the case of Good Vibrations, if Brian had his way while the tune was "on the shelf", he either would have sold it or farmed it out for others to record, among them wanting a shot at it was his pal Danny Hutton. It was Hutton's manager David Anderle who was among those telling Brian how good the song was as Brian had his doubts. I'd say that validation was also important in Brian holding onto his visions for the song, and seeing it through to the end.

Frustrating to think that he had similar validation with Heroes from Anderle, Vosse, etc, who liked what they heard and told Brian they liked it. Yet whatever was different with Heroes at critical times versus Good Vibrations earlier that same year could be one of the "x factors" we're searching for as an answer.

[Mr. Cohen]

I think it's almost important to note that it took Brian that half year to make "Good Vibrations". He was reaching as far out as he could, & because of that, you couldn't always expect as fast of a turnout with the material. Some songs, like "Cabinessence", seem to have come together right away. But others, like "Vegetables", "Heroes & Villains",  and "Surf's Up", just weren't happening for Brian at the time. And none of the Smile songs were coming together in a way that had definite hit potential. Brian said, later, that he would've needed another year or two to actually finish Smile. I believe it. After all, look at "Good Vibrations".

Think of the pressure he had to deal with, also. I'm sure Capitol was all over Brian, trying to get him to release Smile in time to capitalize off the success of "Good Vibrations". They tried to strong arm him into releasing Smile in December! All the while the group was hassling him - questioning some of the artistic directions he was taking - and there was that lingering feeling that some of Brian's "friends" were just sponging off of him and were entirely dependent on his vision. Eventually, Brian had to feel like he was fighting for the project all alone, with no help from anyone. When Van Dyke bailed, that had to be a major blow.

No wonder Brian got sick of the whole affair!

[Cam Mott]

One question that bugs the hell out of me, and which may or may not shed more light on the bigger picture, is that of the Wrecking Crew in effect being shunned. Why did Brian suddenly, almost stop-on-a-dime sudden, decide to radically change everything about the way he was making records and recording his music? Why would he decide to no longer use the Wrecking Crew as abruptly and as definitely as he did? There is no precedent for this. It wasn't even a case of calling some of the guys but not others, it was one day he was Brian in the studio and the next time he recorded everything had changed.

Could it be that they thought suddenly Brother Records was going to have to front the studio costs ?

[Tristero]

One question that bugs the hell out of me, and which may or may not shed more light on the bigger picture, is that of the Wrecking Crew in effect being shunned. Why did Brian suddenly, almost stop-on-a-dime sudden, decide to radically change everything about the way he was making records and recording his music? Why would he decide to no longer use the Wrecking Crew as abruptly and as definitely as he did? There is no precedent for this. It wasn't even a case of calling some of the guys but not others, it was one day he was Brian in the studio and the next time he recorded everything had changed.

I always thought that this had more to do with the installation of Brian's home studio.  I imagine he got used to more of a laid back, family & friends type of scene at that point, after the more labor intensive Smile sessions with the Wrecking Crew, but I could be totally wrong about that.

[Joshilyn Hoisington]

One question that bugs the hell out of me, and which may or may not shed more light on the bigger picture, is that of the Wrecking Crew in effect being shunned. Why did Brian suddenly, almost stop-on-a-dime sudden, decide to radically change everything about the way he was making records and recording his music? Why would he decide to no longer use the Wrecking Crew as abruptly and as definitely as he did? There is no precedent for this. It wasn't even a case of calling some of the guys but not others, it was one day he was Brian in the studio and the next time he recorded everything had changed.

I always thought that this had more to do with the installation of Brian's home studio.  I imagine he got used to more of a laid back, family & friends type of scene at that point, after the more labor intensive Smile sessions with the Wrecking Crew, but I could be totally wrong about that.

Well, it is quite a sudden drop off, and I don't think you can entirely chalk it up to moving to the house.  But, it is important to note that, if you graphed it, it would be this bottom falling out thing, and then a gradual line back up to substantial Wrecking Crew involvement again.  I think maybe Brian just looked at what he'd got himself into--He had spent hours and hours on GV, hours and hours on H&V, was dangerously close to going down that road with Vegetables, and you can even see touches of that for Dada--recording that twice and then all the "all day" variations and such--and appreciated that he could spend the rest of his life on this stuff.  With the Crew he had all the power to create whatever sound he wanted, too much power.

And so that had to go away for awhile, and be brought back in slowly, which it was.  He had a few guys come out to his house, then for WH brought a few more, then Friends, we get full Wrecking Crew lineups again.

[John Manning]

The only thing which keeps me from agreeing with more of that sentiment is the fact that Brian was sitting on the #1 record at the end of 1966, his band was at the top of the polls singing and playing his "new sound", and the general public and the music community was waiting to hear what he would come up with next. I think commercial success wasn't all that much of a concern because he had it at the end of '66 into '67, and was riding the wave. When you have that kind of success with that radical of a new sound, which the public accepts, you have greater freedom to explore and experiment even further.

Anyone who challenged him, let's say in December 1966 as Murry Wilson apparently did also throughout the fall, about his new sound being too far out, Brian could pick up an issue of Billboard, slam it on the table, and say "here!". Case closed, his wild non-commercial ideas were at the top of the pop charts. Validation.

Aye but doubts, even vague doubts, were being put into Brian's mind by his Dad, by band members' reactions.

While doubtless very aware and very satisfied with Vibes' success those expressed doubts had to had niggled at BW's confidence and perhaps made him doubt whether he could sustain the level of quality and meticulous craft that he was into at that time.

He had to be aware that the leap from 409 to Cabinessence via Pet Sounds and Vibes was incredible and that maybe sowed seeds of doubt within his own mind about his ability to maintain that degree of perfection across his work. Any slip and he'd be knocked by bands and critics alike.

Maybe that's where his sense that people weren't ready for the music yet came from, that he thought he might be better taking a step back and easing off the gas slightly until the rest of the world caught up,

[Blake Alan]

One question that bugs the hell out of me, and which may or may not shed more light on the bigger picture, is that of the Wrecking Crew in effect being shunned. Why did Brian suddenly, almost stop-on-a-dime sudden, decide to radically change everything about the way he was making records and recording his music? Why would he decide to no longer use the Wrecking Crew as abruptly and as definitely as he did? There is no precedent for this. It wasn't even a case of calling some of the guys but not others, it was one day he was Brian in the studio and the next time he recorded everything had changed.

I always thought that this had more to do with the installation of Brian's home studio.  I imagine he got used to more of a laid back, family & friends type of scene at that point, after the more labor intensive Smile sessions with the Wrecking Crew, but I could be totally wrong about that.

Well, it is quite a sudden drop off, and I don't think you can entirely chalk it up to moving to the house.  But, it is important to note that, if you graphed it, it would be this bottom falling out thing, and then a gradual line back up to substantial Wrecking Crew involvement again.  I think maybe Brian just looked at what he'd got himself into--He had spent hours and hours on GV, hours and hours on H&V, was dangerously close to going down that road with Vegetables, and you can even see touches of that for Dada--recording that twice and then all the "all day" variations and such--and appreciated that he could spend the rest of his life on this stuff.  With the Crew he had all the power to create whatever sound he wanted, too much power.

And so that had to go away for awhile, and be brought back in slowly, which it was.  He had a few guys come out to his house, then for WH brought a few more, then Friends, we get full Wrecking Crew lineups again.

It's likely Brian felt quite a bit of embarrassment after the whole SMiLE fiasco. I don't see that aspect discussed much, but here's a man who's been talking about using revolutionary recording techniques and making music that people would pray to (some pretty bold claims, if you ask me). Not to mention he's spent hundreds of hours and hundreds of thousands of dollars on this project that appeared to come to nothing. Zilch. And whatever doubters and detractors he may have had, whether perceived or real, well it looked like they had been right all along. I can't see him NOT feeling tremendously embarrassed by the whole thing.

Now I can't speak for Brian, but as a person who's experienced his share of embarrassments, I can say that my initial reaction has always been to stick my head in the sand and hide from everyone... friends, family and everything else. Which is pretty much what Brian did. The Vosse Posse, the big-time studios, the wrecking crew, the interviewers to whom he had made all these claims... he just kind of shuts them all out for a while. And as time and distance from the project grew, he was able to build some confidence back, which led to him bringing the crew back in little by little.

Ok, so that's a bit of an oversimplification, as I'm sure there were a multitude of contributing factors, but I still think shear embarrassment had to have played SOME role, even if a minor one, in Brian's behavior after SMiLE collapsed.

[Blake Alan]

P.S. Here's the link for episode 7: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChTMiAyTAvQ&feature=channel_video_title

[P.J.]

P.S. Here's the link for episode 7: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChTMiAyTAvQ&feature=channel_video_title

Whoa! Chil'!

[18thofMay]

Great series!!

[Wirestone]

Holy mackerel! Watching Brian do the part sorting on the piano -- that is a gift, right there. Amazing. He's almost sub-verbal when talking about it, but he can tease out the parts immediately.

[Griffmanr]

Looks like Brian got Al and Carl's parts switched...lol

[Wirestone]

Why do you say that? Carl generally sang below Al in the stack, I believe.

[Griffmanr]

Why do you say that? Carl generally sang below Al in the stack, I believe.

Well they did switch around quite a bit...

But in this case Brian's talking about the Heroes and Villains chorus, in which Al sings the melody (Heroes and Villains, just see what you've done).  However Carl DID sing that part live.  I'm not exactly sure who sang the other part he mentioned though.

[Wirestone]

Gotcha.

Cool to see BW rockin' out on CIFTM, too! Who would have thought we'd ever see that in promo video?

By the way -- Brian seems really cool in these. He's not at his most incredibly verbal, but he's nice and relaxed.