Thoughts on the "official" SMiLE?

[myonlysunshine]

So after 6 months of listening to the SMiLE Sessions, I'm curious to hear what everyone's thoughts are on the reconstructed version of the album featured on disc 1. Right when the SMiLE Sessions first came out there was a lot of shock and dislike about some of the editing choices that were used for the album.

Have you guys rethought your positions now that the changes have had so much time to sink in? Do you like the "official" Beach Boys submission of what might have been SMiLE or are there some things you would have rather seen altered? How much time do you spend listening to the album on disc 1 versus any fan edits you might like?

[joshferrell]

my only problem is that there are spaces between the songs,I wish they had the songs going into each other in medley form like BWPS..but other then that it's great..

[The Shift]

Six months… has it really been so long? Blimey, it seems fresh, very fresh.

[guitarfool2002]

I have to be honest and say I listen most to the sessions and not as much to the first disc. But I do that with similar sets like the Monkees' Headquarters Sessions, I'm a big fan of session tapes and studio chatter and all that.

I think the "reconstruction" done for this set was handled the right way. Basically we'll never know as Smile seemed to be in a constant state of flux, where one week Heroes had this and the next week it didn't. I think the individual parts add up to as much of an enjoyable and influential set of tracks as trying to recreate what could have been a "finished" Smile.

As I take it all in, I'm back to the opinion that the only truly finished Smile, viewing it as a composition, was done with BWPS. Both primary creators were directly involved and saw it through to completion. That, to me, is definitive. If it had just been Brian without Van Dyke, I would not feel that way about the project. As they were both directly involved, it stands as a completed project. The most sad part is that the voices of the Beach Boys were not able to be featured as they would have originally.

All that said, it's a neat mix and sequence that people not familiar with Smile can take in and listen as a whole, understanding it is more of a speculation mix than anything final.

The only thing I really wanted to hear was more "spoken word" material woven into the music. Brian was doing a lot of experimenting with spoken word elements, and there are several outtakes and sessions where he mentions having talking on the track or music under the talking (aren't there?  ). All the chants, skits, vocal effects...he was going for something that he never reached, and I wished if there had been a way that some of those unusual concepts could have been recreated somehow for this box set. As it stands, we have spoken-word separated from the music, and I'm pretty sure Brian was aiming for a way to combine them on the album...more than he did, that is.

[myonlysunshine]

my only problem is that there are spaces between the songs,I wish they had the songs going into each other in medley form like BWPS..but other then that it's great..

Yeah, the worst of the transitions comes between Gee and Heroes and Villains. I'm pretty sure there's not supposed to be a 2 second gap in between those songs, but there is. I've gotten used to most of the other transitions in the album, except that one.

[DonnyL]

After the initial rush, I have to say I still listen to Smiley Smile more often.  As far as the sessions go, they are great ... but there is some kind of darkness there that I have to be in the right mood for.  It's also kind of disturbing somehow.  Listening to the Pet Sounds Sessions is very triumphant, and the Smile Sessions just feels sad somehow.  I think Brian probably made the right decision in '67.  It's great to have the tapes, and the music is brilliant but sometimes things just don't work out the way we want them to.

[Cabinessenceking]

I hoped for an order very different to BWPS... The way Smile AD 4.0 was done was as perfect as this album could be. I didnt like smile being in mono, and i think young people would be a bit "meh" if they hear it. I was hammered for making a topic on it though 

Anyway:
Prayer - as expected and good
Gee - didnt want this hear AT ALL, i dont like it really, but some of the more upbeat chants derived from it are epic, maybe they shoulda used that?
H&V - I thought the mix was a little uninteresting and didnt stand out compared to the original single, the part 1&2 single shoulve been combined maybe?
DYLW - epic as always!
Great shape - good
Barnyard - not good, they coulda edited away the piano like it was done on SMILE AD. and other mixes, not good by Mark Linett
Sunshine, very good, disappointed they didnt have a good original source for barnshine
CE - epic, loud 'doings' fit well!
wonderful-look-CIFOTM was good, but maybe they coulda made CIFOTM more interesting and more an independent track?
SU, V-T epic epic epic
holidays - dont like this track apart from outro,  but fine enough. I still have no idea why this is with? its not an element and its not that good, WHY Brian?
WC, Fire - good
Dada - boring compared to the AD mix, but man did this track have potential. I didnt like they H&V reprise thing at the end...
GV - good  (flutes a bit to high compared to tannerin at the end? w/e doesnt matter its GV)

[SMiLE]

I personally would like a "finished" version with the BWPS vocals recorded by the Beach Boys I know that sounds like blasphemy to some of you but I personally would love that. It's why I still consider BWPS to be the "finished" SMiLE

[hypehat]

Six months… has it really been so long? Blimey, it seems fresh, very fresh.

This. It still sounds good to me. The thrill of an officially released Smile hasn't escaped me 

[?]

Is it just me or are more and more posters saying that they consider BWPS the definitive finished version of the album these days?  I agree with the sentiment, but it seemed like before TSS came out there were a lot of posts dismissing Brian's version.  Just found that interesting.

[Chris Brown]

I actually just listened to disc 1 yesterday all the way through for the first time in awhile.  The minor quibbles I had in November are still there and noticeable, but this time around they didn't bother me as much.  Since it had been so long, I was able to appreciate the work as a whole more than before.  It was a beautiful thing.  The (admittedly short) passage of time has only made me love it more.

[Runaways]

still love it!  BWPS was always great to me and always will be. Love hearing the beach boy voices though.

[LetHimRun]

I never got into BWPS. I have listened to it a few times and like it, but that was of course because the songs are great. Never liked the new "clean" sound of it. It missed that great original sound and production Brian had going in '66/'67. Also, I can't prefer BWPS over TSS for the simple fact the Beach Boys are actually in their prime singing on TSS. Brian's amazing voice all over the place, Carl's angelic leads and backgrounds, Mike's bass, the wrecking crew, etc. It is no where to be found on BWPS.

People wanted SMiLE out for years, they wanted some kind of official release, they get it and all they can do is whine, nitpick, and complain that it isn't proper to them when no one knows what the proper order or release was going to be in 1967 or there is a click here, or drop out there, or two second delay over there. BWPS is also incorrect even if BW and VDP were involved because it is not the order that would have come out in 1967.

Give me TSS any day over BWPS. You know, the Beach Boys over some grand backing vocal band (no slight to them, they did fantastic work) with a 60 year old man singing. Love ya, Brian, but 1966 BW is utterly amazing.

[Alan Smith]

I cannot get enough of the Smile Sessions (the big box).

I was blown away by the assembled "version" of Smile - for me, it provided an overall cohesiveness that had been lacking in the myriad bootlegs, sounded great and flowed beautifully.  Yeah, it was templated on BWPS and BW had to approve it, but I like to think Alan B and Mark L also drew upon assumptions made in other collections, as well as their own instincts and (highly informed) insights. 

(I wasn't overly satisfied by BWPS (hard to explain, kinda like the way I feel about the Pet Sounds Live CD), and found some of the links (especially the one between HV and Roll Plymouth Rock), lyrics (Holiday, I don't care if they're vintage) and other bits occasionally jarring.)

I shyed away from the rest of the Sessions initially, because I found the Pet Sounds sessions a bit of a drag and was over the Good Vibes sessions as per the Smiley twofer (that fox trot style trumpet, aye curumba!!).

When I finally took the time to indulge, haven't looked back - there is so much great stuff*, and, imo, Brian comes across as coherent, in the zone and in control of what he wanted.



*With the exception of "Teeter Totter Love", which baffles me to this day and beyond

[D409]

I find myself unable to listen to TSS without singing the "completed" vocal lines from BWPS

[Eireannach]

I find myself unable to listen to TSS without singing the "completed" vocal lines from BWPS

I'm glad I'm not the only one.  It almost can't be avoided on Do You Like Worms?/Roll Plymouth Rock and the Wonderful Suite.

[SMiLE]

I find myself unable to listen to TSS without singing the "completed" vocal lines from BWPS

Me as well. I really hope some fan mixer can create a version of TSS with the missing  BWPS vocals added and I mean the correct order in sequence with TSS as the template. Too many of the other attempts have been out of order and edited in different ways.

[Cabinessenceking]

I find myself unable to listen to TSS without singing the "completed" vocal lines from BWPS

Me as well. I really hope some fan mixer can create a version of TSS with the missing  BWPS vocals added and I mean the correct order in sequence with TSS as the template. Too many of the other attempts have been out of order and edited in different ways.

One guy called Jacob Borshard did just that and called it 'The Completed Smile'
Its just like TSS layout + he put Tune X (boundless love) into the middle, but you can take it away..
His effort was epic and his mix has its own topic somewhere on this board.

[SMiLE]

I find myself unable to listen to TSS without singing the "completed" vocal lines from BWPS

Me as well. I really hope some fan mixer can create a version of TSS with the missing  BWPS vocals added and I mean the correct order in sequence with TSS as the template. Too many of the other attempts have been out of order and edited in different ways.

One guy called Jacob Borshard did just that and called it 'The Completed Smile'
Its just like TSS layout + he put Tune X (boundless love) into the middle, but you can take it away..
His effort was epic and his mix has its own topic somewhere on this board.

Listened to it, It's very impressive but I mean with the actual BWPS vocals and IIGS in between Worms and Barnyard In other words TSS with the missing  BWPS Vocals overlayed.

[Magic Transistor Radio]

IIGS is the only weakness to me. It doesn't seem to quite fit musically where it is located. It seems to fit better in BWPS. But also most of the tracks sound more polished and complete. The other thing is how Wonderful ends. I wish it would go straight through to Child. But that is nit picking. It is overall, very well mixed. I especially love the mixes of Vegatables and Wind Chimes. I love Surf's Up with Brian, but still prefer the 71 version.

I don't see how anyone can complain. The fact that it was released and done well is more then I could have ever thought possible. Even the box looks cool.

[UK_Surf]

Apart from a few disappointing mixes (Holidays) and a few disappointing (but distractingly prominent) bits in mixes (IIGS & SU), overall, I'm very impressed with the presentation. I think the philosophy was spot on, and they left enough latitude (in most cases) for fans to customise & re-sequence the material according to preference. Add to that the superlative packaging and sessionography, and I think it will stack up amongst the best of the archival releases.

[AllIWannaDo]

I find myself unable to listen to TSS without singing the "completed" vocal lines from BWPS

Me as well.
I really hope some fan mixer can create a version of TSS with the missing BWPS vocals added and I mean the correct order in sequence with TSS as the template.
Too many of the other attempts have been out of order and edited in different ways. Very very true, some have been great but yep

I do the same and i'd love this too!

[AllIWannaDo]

Apart from a few disappointing mixes (Holidays) and a few disappointing (but distractingly prominent) bits in mixes (IIGS & SU), overall, I'm very impressed with the presentation. I think the philosophy was spot on, and they left enough latitude (in most cases) for fans to customise & re-sequence the material according to preference. Add to that the superlative packaging and sessionography, and I think it will stack up amongst the best of the archival releases.

hard not to argue with this
although... i wish we'd heard what was gona be on the 'extra' cd that wasnt to be?

[buddhahat]

I love it and listen to it pretty much daily.

It's a relief to finally have an official version as I found my obsessive and constant reshuffling of the pieces within my own smile playlist an ultimately unrewarding and time consuming pursuit. It's great to have an actual album that I can play now without thinking too hard about what should go where. I guess I was kind of waiting for an official version for entirely this reason so maybe I was an easy customer to please but I really think they did a great job.

The plusses have been well discussed but for me the complete Old Master Painter with Barnshine and Vegetables with added fade sealed the deal. The way the western theme was integrated into H&V is a favourite bit too.

As for negatives, it's funny how things that sounded initially awkward like Great Shape and Barnyard, begin to sound natural on repeated listens. They just sound like THE versions of those songs to me now, for better or worse, and I've kind of grown to love the idiosyncrasies such as the slightly out of sync bass in GS and prominent piano in Barnyard.

[rab2591]

I've listened to it a few times through on MP3 - it truly is amazing. I love Vega-Tables, Do You Like Worms, Da Da, the life suite, IIGS. I've yet to truly listen to it on vinyl - can't wait for when I do though!

I've found that The Smile Sessions are like a collage FULL of beautiful pictures: when you step back it's not that great to look at and thus you really have to delve into the album to appreciate it.