The Preiss Tape

[Letsgoawayforawhile]

I came across this while searching for Stack-o-vocals stuff. I can't seem to find much about it. Has anyone heard of this?

The track listing is:
 01) Heroes And Villains - Fade (1:09)
02) Who Ran The Iron Horse? (:29)
03) Bicycle Rider #1 (:25)
04) Bicycle Rider #2 (:25)
05) Heroes And Villains - 1st Verse (:46)
06) Let The Wind Blow - Amy Vocal (2:11)
07) I'm So Young (2:11)
08) Barbara - Piano (1:07)
09) I Don't Know (2:27)
10) Lazy Lizzie (3:45)
11) H.E.L.P. (2:09)
12) Sherry She Needs Me (2:32)
13) New Orleans (2:33)
14) You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling (3:33)
15) Baseball (2:02)
16) Life Is For The Living (1:46)
17) "Mike Love" (2:23)
18) Almost Summer (2:06)
19) Still I Dream Of It (3:15)
20) Games Two Can Play (1:54)
21) It's Over Now (2:41)
22) Lines (1:34)

[Andrew G. Doe]

Nothing new or previously unknown there.

[guitarfool2002]

Note that almost all of those songs are described or mentioned as "unreleased" in the Byron Preiss book which came out in '78. It would appear to be a compilation which was given to those working on the book for research purposes. The more obvious one is the "Smile" compilation also called "The Preiss Tape".

[Letsgoawayforawhile]

Okay, cool.
I guess I was hoping that these were alternate versions. Thanks!

[Banana]

Kind of a nifty item.  Correct me if I'm wrong...but when this was leaked it was the first leak of Smile related recordings, right?  Someone within the organization leaked the tape to Preiss while he was researching his book...though exactly who has never been made clear.  I've heard names ranging from Diane Rovell to Dennis Wilson to Brad Elliott.

[Jason]

01) Heroes And Villains - Fade (1:09)
02) Who Ran The Iron Horse? (:29)
03) Bicycle Rider #1 (:25)
04) Bicycle Rider #2 (:25)
05) Heroes And Villains - 1st Verse (:46)
06) Let The Wind Blow - Amy Vocal (2:11) - apparently from a 1970 session for Brother Records.
07) I'm So Young (2:11) - acetate of the alternate version on the Today/Summer Days two-fer.
08) Barbara - Piano (1:07) - same as the version on Get the Boot, in lesser quality.
09) I Don't Know (2:27) - mislabeled; backing track for Don't Run Away by Bruce and Terry.
10) Lazy Lizzie (3:45)
11) H.E.L.P. (2:09)
12) Sherry She Needs Me (2:32)
13) New Orleans (2:33) - mislabeled, this is New England Waltz.
14) You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling (3:33)
15) Baseball (2:02) - features part of the count-off.
16) Life Is For The Living (1:46)
17) "Mike Love" (2:23) - the fake David Leaf "promo".
18) Almost Summer (2:06) - the Brian demo.
19) Still I Dream Of It (3:15) - different vocals.
20) Games Two Can Play (1:54)
21) It's Over Now (2:41)
22) Lines (1:34) - different vocals.

[Letsgoawayforawhile]

Wonderful.
Thanks a million.

[guitarfool2002]

Kind of a nifty item.  Correct me if I'm wrong...but when this was leaked it was the first leak of Smile related recordings, right?  Someone within the organization leaked the tape to Preiss while he was researching his book...though exactly who has never been made clear.  I've heard names ranging from Diane Rovell to Dennis Wilson to Brad Elliott.

I don't think anyone originally "leaked" it to the Preiss people, correct? I thought it was just part of the official research process where BB's archive materials were made available to help those compiling all of this info for the book.

And there is another "Preiss Tape" with only Smile material, although some of the songs/fragments which appeared on that were misidentified as Smile recordings simply because they were on that tape.

[Banana]

You might be right.  Maybe I was thinking about how it got from Preiss to general circulation??

[Andrew G. Doe]

Kind of a nifty item.  Correct me if I'm wrong...but when this was leaked it was the first leak of Smile related recordings, right?  Someone within the organization leaked the tape to Preiss while he was researching his book...though exactly who has never been made clear.  I've heard names ranging from Diane Rovell to Dennis Wilson to Brad Elliott.

I don't think anyone originally "leaked" it to the Preiss people, correct?

Incorrect.    The first Smile tape that made general circulation was indeed handed to Preiss by a member of Brian's household in 1978, who also happened to be a relation. Same person who was sitting in the black & white the night Derek Bill got busted.

[Banana]

If we're thinking about the same person...that's who I always thought handed the tape to Priess.

[Andrew G. Doe]

If we're thinking about the same person...that's who I always thought handed the tape to Priess.

If we're thinking of the same person, you're right.

[Banana]

Good enough for me! 

[guitarfool2002]

Kind of a nifty item.  Correct me if I'm wrong...but when this was leaked it was the first leak of Smile related recordings, right?  Someone within the organization leaked the tape to Preiss while he was researching his book...though exactly who has never been made clear.  I've heard names ranging from Diane Rovell to Dennis Wilson to Brad Elliott.

I don't think anyone originally "leaked" it to the Preiss people, correct?

Incorrect.    The first Smile tape that made general circulation was indeed handed to Preiss by a member of Brian's household in 1978, who also happened to be a relation. Same person who was sitting in the black & white the night Derek Bill got busted.

Sounds good! I'm confused by something, though: I'd say some of those Smile track descriptions were a standout of that book considering these tunes were nothing but song titles on paper for most people/fans of the late 70's. Not just the Smile Preiss tape but also the tracklist above, almost all of those unheard/unreleased songs on the Preiss Tape(s) received written descriptions in Preiss' book.

Was it a case of Preiss and his team maybe getting a listening access granted to them officially, and that's where the write-ups in the book originated, or was it a case of someone underhandedly and "unofficially" giving out a copy after the book had already come out? I assumed since the book was official, the author(s) would not have been able to write about unreleased vault music which had in effect been given to them by an insider without permission.

[urbanite]

Who is Derek Bill?

[Andrew G. Doe]

Who is Derek Bill?

Mega-fan and collector in the early days of serious BB fandom. Put out the legendary BB Collectors Series in the late 70s, was forcibly retired from the loop when he was busted a few days before Christmas, as noted below.

BB Collectors Series was:

1 - "Surfer Moon/Humpty Dumpty" (limited edition of 1000, numbered, blue vinyl)
2 - Honeys boxed album (limited edition of 150, not numbered)
3 - Hawthorne Hotshots double EP (limited edition of 500, hand-numbered)
4 - Smile front slick (uncropped, produced from the original separations, limited edition of 1000, not numbered)
5 - Smile back slick (uncropped, produced from the sole surviving art dept paste up, limited edition of 200, hand-numbered - maybe 20 survive)
6 - Radio KPUK presents The Borscht Boys EP (limited edition of 500, only the unnumbered sleeves survive)

The KPUK EP lineup was:

We Got Love (studio)
Toys for Tots commercial (on Ultimate Christmas)
Rock & Roll Music (hot mix w/extra verse)
Pamela Jean
Auld Lang Syne (w/o Dennis)

[The Shift]

Who is Derek Bill?

Mega-fan and collector in the early days of serious BB fandom. Put out the legendary BB Collectors Series in the late 70s, was forcibly retired from the loop when he was busted a few days before Christmas, as noted below.

BB Collectors Series was:

1 - "Surfer Moon/Humpty Dumpty" (limited edition of 1000, numbered, blue vinyl)
2 - Honeys boxed album (limited edition of 150, not numbered)
3 - Hawthorne Hotshots double EP (limited edition of 500, hand-numbered)
4 - Smile front slick (uncropped, produced from the original separations, limited edition of 1000, not numbered)
5 - Smile back slick (uncropped, produced from the sole surviving art dept paste up, limited edition of 200, hand-numbered - maybe 20 survive)
6 - Radio KPUK presents The Borscht Boys EP (limited edition of 500, only the unnumbered sleeves survive)

The KPUK EP lineup was:

We Got Love (studio)
Toys for Tots commercial (on Ultimate Christmas)
Rock & Roll Music (hot mix w/extra verse)
Pamela Jean
Auld Lang Syne (w/o Dennis)

http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php/topic,8581.0.html

[bgas]

Who is Derek Bill?

Mega-fan and collector in the early days of serious BB fandom. Put out the legendary BB Collectors Series in the late 70s, was forcibly retired from the loop when he was busted a few days before Christmas, as noted below.

BB Collectors Series was:

1 - "Surfer Moon/Humpty Dumpty" (limited edition of 1000, numbered, blue vinyl)
2 - Honeys boxed album (limited edition of 150, not numbered)
3 - Hawthorne Hotshots double EP (limited edition of 500, hand-numbered)
4 - Smile front slick (uncropped, produced from the original separations, limited edition of 1000, not numbered)
5 - Smile back slick (uncropped, produced from the sole surviving art dept paste up, limited edition of 200, hand-numbered - maybe 20 survive)
6 - Radio KPUK presents The Borscht Boys EP (limited edition of 500, only the unnumbered sleeves survive)

The KPUK EP lineup was:

We Got Love (studio)
Toys for Tots commercial (on Ultimate Christmas)
Rock & Roll Music (hot mix w/extra verse)
Pamela Jean
Auld Lang Syne (w/o Dennis)

Of course Derek didn't operate in a vacuum; his wasn't the sole interest in those releases....

[Mikie]

Who is Derek Bill?

Mega-fan and collector in the early days of serious BB fandom. Put out the legendary BB Collectors Series in the late 70s, was forcibly retired from the loop when he was busted a few days before Christmas, as noted below.

Good man.  And the source of many collector's items for sale back in the 70's (many not listed above).

[guitarfool2002]

I'll rephrase and shorten the question, maybe what I'm asking got lost in the wording  .

If the majority of the unreleased/unheard song titles which were described in detail or listed in the Preiss book also showed up on the so-called "Preiss Tape(s)", and they did, and those recordings were given away by someone in the family, how did Preiss and his people have access to the tapes in order to write those descriptions? Or was the giving of the tapes less of an "unauthorized leak" of unreleased material and more of a research tool to write the book?

After reading the previous answers, I get the feeling the material was "leaked" by the family member after the book was finished, but I'm curious to see how it played out.

[Banana]

There was a compilation (the infamous "Fire Tape") put together by Dennis that was given to Priess for research purposes.  I do not know if this was authorized or just Dennis doing Byron a solid by slipping him the tape.  There was another tape that was given to Priess by another member of Brian's family.  I'm not sure if any of this was ever officially authorized (I doubt it) or just people "in the know" trying to help him with the book.  I've always tended to think it was a bit on the unauthorized side...but things were pretty "hazy" within the organization by that time so who knows.

[guitarfool2002]

There was a compilation (the infamous "Fire Tape") put together by Dennis that was given to Priess for research purposes.  I do not know if this was authorized or just Dennis doing Byron a solid by slipping him the tape.  There was another tape that was given to Priess by another member of Brian's family.  I'm not sure if any of this was ever officially authorized (I doubt it) or just people "in the know" trying to help him with the book.  I've always tended to think it was a bit on the unauthorized side...but things were pretty "hazy" within the organization by that time so who knows.

I'm aware of the history of the tapes, but the cover of the book does say "The Authorized Biography" right on the front, and I may be wrong but I got the impression that band members and families had a pretty strong veto power over how their story was told and what was told and offered up for use if the word "authorized" is connected to it. How about this for a theory:

Did Preiss and his team have access to the unreleased material in order to write descriptions for the book, and that was "official" and authorized, but the fact that someone at some point made them a personal copy which was eventually leaked was what wasn't official?

[Banana]

That sounds like a good possibility.  All I know is that at some point material was leaked...I've just never been sure whether or not "leaked" is the correct term.  Was the material given to Priess to use for his book with the authority of TBB organization or was certain info being withheld?  We all know Dennis provided the first tape and I've always been under the assumption that the second tape was given to Priess by a certain band member's sister-in-law...so the material came from sources within the inner circle.  It was just such a hazy time in their history...I'm not sure whether who knew what was happening or who had authorized what.  I have a hard time accepting that Brian would knowingly allow any of the Smile related stuff to be brought back into the light at this point...but how do you tell the story of the band without discussing Smile...and what juicier "teaser" could Priess have than info on Brian's long, lost masterpiece.  It's worth mentioning again that at this time really nobody had heard any of this stuff.  We know have a Smile boxed set...but in the late 70s...it was still very, very mysterious.  Great discussion, by the way!

[guitarfool2002]

Great points, and a main issue to bring out even more is that an overwhelming majority of people at that time had not heard much of anything about the actual Smile tracks or what they sounded like, apart from what dribbled out in various interviews and what became attached to other songs on other albums. The Preiss book spoke in glowing terms on those tapes, and even though there was actually very little of substance, the fact that Smile tapes did exist and were terrific and could be described in detail because they existed was a big part of building the mythology, at least IMO. If those closer to those times have a different view, I'd love to hear anything from "back in the day".

Maybe I'm over-crediting this Preiss book but if you have someone confirming and describing this music, it could only stoke the fire that made you want to hear and know more, and that's the same effect the first boots had on Smile. It went from curiosity to Mythology!

I'd go as far as to say the "leaking" of that first Preiss tape with Smile material (along with mislabeled ersatz Smile material...) did more to help build a certain non-touring image of Brian and the Beach Boys than any albums they would release in the years immediately following. It added a mysterious aura that gave them publicity and a certain credibility among musicians and...dare I say it...music geeks like myself who didn't get that from something like BB's 85 or Kokomo or even the live tours in the 80's.

The person(s) responsible for that Smile "Preiss Tape" should be given an award. They did more than the professional PR folks could do for the band's legacy in the 80's...IMO 

[Banana]

Definitely.  The myth of Smile kept a certain aura of mystery around the band long past the point where they were anything close to cutting edge.  The whole "Surf's Up" fiasco...where Carl was insistent that "Surf's Up" be completed and used to close out the LP had to have some promotional thought beyond the fact that it's an amazing song.  I can only imagine some of the "conversations" between Carl and Dennis concerning the track listing of that LP!  I think it's an honest statement to make that Carl and Company felt that adding one of the most mysterious Smile tracks to the LP would help boost their flagging sales and reputation.

I also completely agree about the cred it gave the band (long after they deserved it) with fellow musicians.  The mystery of just what magic Brian Wilson had created and was locked away...perhaps forever...was so, so powerful. 

I'll tell you, I'm thankful that Brian was able to "finish" Smile in 2004 (especially for his own inner peace) and I'm thankful for the release of the official Smile Sessions...but I do miss the days when the LP was a complete mystery...when dribs and drabs would leak out and we'd all spend countless hours compiling our version of what we thought Smile would have sounded like.  I used to spend a lot of time pouring through Look! Listen! Vibrate! Smile! trying to glean any info that might give a hint to what Brian had in mind!