What Would Brian have Done After SMiLE?

[PhilSpectre]

Well, part of me fantasises about BW becoming the an LA pop/ rock combination of George Gershwin and Popol Vu, (German prog rock band with spiritual harmomies and instruments) 

But then, after Sgt Pepper and Mystery Tour, the Beatles went 'back to basics' more or less with the White Album and Let It Be. Once you've gone into the wild blue yonder of psychedelic abstraction, going back to basic rock and roll instrumentation and attitude makes all the sense in the world. Otherwise, you turn into Sun Ra or loose your fanbase.

Best to go from one extreme to the other, to contrast and show versatility.

[SMiLE Brian]

Well, part of me fantasises about BW becoming the an LA pop/ rock combination of George Gershwin and Popol Vu, (German prog rock band with spiritual harmomies and instruments) 

But then, after Sgt Pepper and Mystery Tour, the Beatles went 'back to basics' more or less with the White Album and Let It Be. Once you've gone into the wild blue yonder of psychedelic abstraction, going back to basic rock and roll instrumentation and attitude makes all the sense in the world. Otherwise, you turn into Sun Ra or loose your fanbase.

Best to go from one extreme to the other, to contrast and show versatility.

Your avatar, with the signature below, is hilarious.

[Bill Tobelman]

If SMiLE happened then Brian would have continued his subjective/personal artistic album thing.

The contents would have been determined by his life experiences & his instincts as to where things were heading.

[runnersdialzero]

Attempt to write an album with Banana.

[anazgnos]

Attempt to write an album with Banana.

Project breaks down when Mike takes issue with Banana's lyrics, and Banana refuses to explain them.

[Mike's Beard]

Mike asks Banana what a certain lyric means and Banana responds by taking a crap in the sandbox.

[Cam Mott]

He would have gone to Disneyland.

[Pinder's Gone To Kokomo And Back Again]

Any way I can imagine it, the story still ends with Summer In Paradise!

That said....

I agree with the common idea that Wild Honey would have followed. Perhaps a bit more "produced" Wild Honey, but still the same animal. Even if Smile had been completed, the toll of completing it would have resulted in the same situation (a burned out and depleted Brian) only with an album called Smile on the racks.

I'd love to assume that it would have been a smash, but I just dunno. Sgt. Pepper wasn't really in any way more advanced or earth shatteringly unique when compared to Smile (Smiley was actually more out there). Though it had it's twists and turns, it was still grounded in the basic Beatles 4x4 blues rock/ballad template (Within You Without You aside) which is what the kids dug. Therefore, no matter how SMILE Smile would have been, Pepper still would have steamrolled it.!

Think about it? Smiley was a victim of Smile hype and never had a fair chance. It is a whacked out, scary, freaky, and just plain wrong album, in all the best ways. Yet is sank like a stone! Wild Honey did better, but IT retains the basic 4x4 blues template, therefore it clicked. Most people are purists about rock and roll without likely even realizing it. Pet Sounds and Smile are VERY un rock and roll and this is the problem. I'm not condoning this at all, but kids in every day and age want something to bop their heads to.

[GuyOnTheBeach]

I've been thinking over the last couple of days; how different would Van Dyke's life of been with a successful release of SMiLE?

I think he'd of been much more popular with Song Cycle getting the classic status that it deserves, aside from that, things would probably of been pretty much the same, just with him being a much more popular name.

[Magic Transistor Radio]

Attempt to write an album with Banana.

LOL!!

[anazgnos]

I've been thinking over the last couple of days; how different would Van Dyke's life of been with a successful release of SMiLE?

I think he'd of been much more popular with Song Cycle getting the classic status that it deserves, aside from that, things would probably of been pretty much the same, just with him being a much more popular name.

I was under the impression that his solo deal, and Song Cycle itself, were things that he parlayed directly out of his involvement with Brian and Smile. 

[hypehat]

Well, Pet Sounds was a success, and has continued to be a success, and Tony Asher basically never wrote lyrics for major rock groups again. Neither did Roger Christian (I think, would love to be proved wrong), and Gary Usher took to producing.

Van Dyke would have carved his own path anyway, as he had to do when SMiLE didn't come out. He was involved in the Laurel Canyon scene much more than BW was, more in tune with the world around him. He's a smart and talented musician, no wonder he stayed around the scene. Brian if anything was one project of many that just happened not to work out - he went on in the next year to produce and arrange so much more.

[Reverend Rock]

I'd love to assume that it would have been a smash, but I just dunno. Sgt. Pepper wasn't really in any way more advanced or earth shatteringly unique when compared to Smile (Smiley was actually more out there). Though it had it's twists and turns, it was still grounded in the basic Beatles 4x4 blues rock/ballad template (Within You Without You aside) which is what the kids dug. Therefore, no matter how SMILE Smile would have been, Pepper still would have steamrolled it.!

I think you're probably right on that one.  What I think would have happened with SMiLE in '67 is that it would have gotten respectable reviews but sold a little less than Pet Sounds.  It was so far out of the mainstream, and such a leap away from anything the Beach Boys had ever done, including Pet Sounds, that the public at large would not have gotten it.  BUT--and it's a big "but"--a '67 SMiLE would have grown more and more respected with passing years, and by the early '70s would have probably already become as influential as the unreleased SMiLE became by, say, the mid-90s.  What would Brian have done if he had been able to keep himself mentally and emotionally healthy after a '67 SMiLE?  Now that's the million dollar question.  Again, God only knows...

[Roger Ryan]

He would have gone to Disneyland.

Speaking of this sort of thing, Brian was obviously influenced by Southern California's theme parks. The photograph in the TSS book showing him seated on the bench with the plaster Old West gals is taken at Knott's Berry Farm in Anaheim. I sat on that same bench for a photo about four years after Brian sat there. Much of the thematic Americana material on SMiLE can be found at these parks: Old West, farms, pirates, trains, Hawaiian floor shows, etc.