Al Jardine: Everything You Wanted To Know About SMiLE interview.

[Rocker]

Al thinks "Heroes And Villains" flopped as a single. I don't get it. How is a number 12 single a flop?

For Beach Boys standards at that time everything not top ten was a failure. And after GV and the hype of H&V everyone expected another no.1

He's always felt that way about Heroes & Villains. In this interview (like others) he's said that it sounds too muddled.

I don't understand what's wrong with the Smiley version of Heroes and Villains. It's essentially the "Smile" version of the track minus the cantina section...

Edit:
No wait. The Smile version is essentially the Smiley version plus the cantina section.

No, the organ was added during the Smiley Smile sessions plus Brian's lead. I'm not sure about maybe some other parts. I can see what Al means. The sound of Smiley Smile (and Wild Honey) are miles away from the sounds they would've gotten with the same recordings done in a proper studio like Goldstar or whatever

[Nicko1234]

I still think that Brian considered (and still considers) "Heroes And Villains" to be one of his top pieces and when he brought it to that radio station he was hoping it would be a huge hit. I know a few people (like Al for instance) feel like he purposely underproduced it, but I don't. I think he got it the way he wanted it after all that time, and the fact that it "only" got to number 12 really got to him. Apparently Jack Rieley even wrote something about how much the  perceived "failure" of "Heroes" bothered Brian. I think that's a shame. Because I'm pretty sure "Wouldn't It Be Nice" got to number 8, I don't think that's a failure. Or "Do It Again" at number 20. They seemed (and still seem) pretty happy with that. Start of their concerts with it. I understand that "Heroes" followed up "Good Vibrations", but still, it's a great, super artistic, musically and lyrically amazing piece. And it got to number 12. Not bad at all.

Context is everything. Do It Again got to number 20 (and number 1 in the U.K. btw!) at a time when the previous single didn't even make the top 40.

Heroes and Villains got to number 12 when it was the follow-up to a transatlantic number one. In the U.K. it performed worse than Then I Kissed Her...

[?]

This interview is a good example of why sitting the Beach Boys down to talk about Smile one more time will never give us anything useful.

Also, I assure you all that recording tape can definitely be burned.

[Cabinessenceking]

This interview is a good example of why sitting the Beach Boys down to talk about Smile one more time will never give us anything useful.

Also, I assure you all that recording tape can definitely be burned.

downer comment of the month?

[?]

Which one?

[Gertie J.]

whole lotta thingie

[Mikie]

This interview is a good example of why sitting the Beach Boys down to talk about Smile one more time will never give us anything useful.

Also, I assure you all that recording tape can definitely be burned.

downer comment of the month?

What "downer comment".  AvanTodd's right!

[bossaroo]

when you roll a rock over, there are usually worms underneath.

and the conquest of the north american continent is a real can of worms.

and yes, i like them.

[Iron Horse-Apples]

And what do we make of the claim that McCartney was at the Smiley session. This is surely mis-remembered. Aren't there newspaper reports that date this?

[Peter Reum]

What do you often find when you roll over a rock?   Worms.

[Iron Horse-Apples]

What do you often find when you roll over a rock?   Worms.

That's what I always got from it as well. Doesn't the Frank Holmes illustration has the sandwich isles and the worms also? (I could be wrong, I don't have the book to hand)

[Mikie]

What do you often find when you roll over a rock?   Worms.

Yeah, especially Plymouth rocks.  There's lotsa worms under those.

[Puggal]

No, the organ was added during the Smiley Smile sessions plus Brian's lead. I'm not sure about maybe some other parts. I can see what Al means. The sound of Smiley Smile (and Wild Honey) are miles away from the sounds they would've gotten with the same recordings done in a proper studio like Goldstar or whatever

Yeah, but there never really was a finished Smile version of Heroes and Villains in 1966/1967, besides the "cantina mix"... I wonder what Al expected Heroes and Villains to be, the "cantina" version???

[Bill Tobelman]

Some have suggested that the Plymouth Rock is a type of chicken that feeds on worms.

The shapes in Lava Lamps can look like worms. I like the idea of the Lava Lamp LSD experience in Brian's totally irresponsible and unreliable bio. When you start such a lamp up the mass eventually rolls over & becomes more like worms. On a Beach Boys LP these things might better be made into something one could relate to their all American image.

[Bill Tobelman]

Brian said "I cannot teach you or tell you what I learned from taking it" to Tom Nolan. This is in keeping with the typical ineffability of the spiritual LSD experience.

So when the SMilE creators speak of 'visual' references it is because there is no accurate verbal reference available for the ineffable spiritual experience professed by Brian Wilson to be the basis of SMiLE.

Al Jardine approaches the project from the opposite angle (as do most "experts") by giving tantamount importance to the verbal aspects of the work.

[Mike's Beard]

Some have suggested that the Plymouth Rock is a type of chicken that feeds on worms.

This may be the dumbest thing I have ever read.

[Paulos]

Some have suggested that the Plymouth Rock is a type of chicken that feeds on worms.

The shapes in Lava Lamps can look like worms. I like the idea of the Lava Lamp LSD experience in Brian's totally irresponsible and unreliable bio. When you start such a lamp up the mass eventually rolls over & becomes more like worms. On a Beach Boys LP these things might better be made into something one could relate to their all American image.

Um, what? Time to put down the bong mate...

[The Shift]

Plymouth rock is a breed of chicken.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plymouth_Rock_(chicken)

[Mike's Beard]

True but I'm going to go out on a limb and say I'm pretty sure Van Dyke was thinking of The Mayflower Pilgrims landing in New England when he wrote the lyrics.

[MarcellaHasDirtyFeet]

True but I'm going to go out on a limb and say I'm pretty sure Van Dyke was thinking of The Mayflower Pilgrims landing in New England when he wrote the lyrics.

And it's not plausible that he was writing about something with multiple levels of meaning? Because Van was clearly into non-stop puns. I, for one, don't underestimate Mr. Parks.

[Cam Mott]

I think Brian was working on religion and humor and Van Dyke was was working on a history/political lesson. I think they were rarely on the same page and not all that confident in what the other was doing.  That's why Brian reset to Smiley mostly without Van Dyke's contributions.

The Boys were just waiting to be told when to jump and how high and that's why they didn't want Brian to dump their work on SMiLE but it happened anyway.

[Rocker]

Out in the barnyard the chickens do their number....

[Bill Tobelman]

One thing that's cool about SMiLE is that all 3 of the project's creators never have a single problem with any of the other creator's output. Brian has never spoken a bad word regarding Van Dyke's lyrics (tough I will give you that Van Dyke was a bit taken aback by at least one BWPS lyrical choice). Van Dyke never questioned Brian's music and neither Brian nor Van Dyke had any issue with Frank Holmes' art. Brian may question the scope or advanced nature of the project but never does he explain flawed thinking or thematic confusion or anything along these lines.

Basically all three creators have no qualms with the material that was created. SMiLE makes sense to the album's 3 artists.

Fans and basically all of those apart from the 3 creators, on the other hand, have loads of problems with SMiLE. What does this mean? What does that mean? How does this fit with that?

More often than not the fan perspective seems to disintegrate into Brian was doing this stuff that NOBODY understands. Van Dyke added his American viewpoint to the project and Frank was just somebody they found to illustrate Van Dyke's lyrics. Frank basically did his own thing. So it was just 3 guys doing their own thing and that's why Smile is the way it is.

Another fan favorite is to collect reference after reference disclosed by the 3 artists. Eventually they end up with a basket full of references that they cannot connect in any all encompassing sense. This seems to satisfy most fans likely because they believe the artists were all doing their own things.

But based upon the comments of the albums 3 main guys----SMiLE makes sense.

[bossaroo]

makes sense to me.

I will give you that Van Dyke was a bit taken aback by at least one BWPS lyrical choice

care to divulge which lyric that was?

[Puggal]

More often than not the fan perspective seems to disintegrate into Brian was doing this stuff that NOBODY understands. Van Dyke added his American viewpoint to the project and Frank was just somebody they found to illustrate Van Dyke's lyrics. Frank basically did his own thing. So it was just 3 guys doing their own thing and that's why Smile is the way it is.

Didn't Brian have something to do with the lyrics in Wind Chimes? It's interestingly credited only to Wilson on Smiley Smile. Maybe VDP just disowned the Smiley Smile version, haha.

I suspect Brian was always into the lyrics of his pieces, even if he didn't always write (all) of them. Maybe the nature of Tony Asher's writing relationship with Brian was different from that of VDP?