MIC modern reconstuction.

[Nicko1234]

I would agree that having over 10 minutes of Heroes and Villains on disc 2 is a bit much.

And this version of Wonderful wasn't a great choice imo.

[Mike's Beard]

Yes it was the H&V section that really dragged for me. Plus I dislike the Smile version of Windchimes. Smiley version all the way.

[Bubba Ho-Tep]

I hate hate hate whatever it is they did to Sail Plane Song.

[Micha]

Yes it was the H&V section that really dragged for me. Plus I dislike the Smile version of Windchimes. Smiley version all the way.

I prefer the SMiLE version of Wonderful and the Smiley versions of Wind Chiames and Vegetables. On MIC, of course, it's the other way round!

Oh, and I don't care about "H&V part 2" either. But there's lots of good stuff on MIC too.

[hardylane]

I'll tell you the problem with the audio technology they're using here: it didn't require any discipline to attain it. They heard what Anne Wallace had done, and they took the next step. They didn't earn the knowledge for themselves, so they don't take any responsibility for it. They stood on the shoulders of geniuses to accomplish something as fast as they could, and before they even knew what they had they've patented it, and packaged it, and slapped it in an illuminated pizza box, and they're selling it.

These audio engineers were so preoccupied with whether they could that they didn't stop to think if they should.

Someone mentioned to me that people still held my old 90's mixes in high regard, which is very flattering, so I came to have a look-see
But if I was to do the same remixing today, I could make SUCH a better job of it now, given my improved studio and skills

Annie

[STE]

Someone mentioned to me that people still held my old 90's mixes in high regard, which is very flattering, so I came to have a look-see
But if I was to do the same remixing today, I could make SUCH a better job of it now, given my improved studio and skills

Annie

Oh Annie, that's totally true!  Your Surf's Up is still my favorite mix.  Not to mention all the midis you made!  I'll take the chance now to thank you for your work in the 90's, I used it and appreciated it so much!

And if you want to do some remixing today we certainly won't stop you!

[Jonathan Blum]

Someone mentioned to me that people still held my old 90's mixes in high regard, which is very flattering, so I came to have a look-see
But if I was to do the same remixing today, I could make SUCH a better job of it now, given my improved studio and skills

Annie

Hey Annie -- your Surf's Up is still, for me, the definitive version of the song.  I'd love to hear what kind of better job you could do today.  :-)

Cheers,
Jon Blum

[hardylane]

Flatterers

[Phoenix]

Also, did they add echo to some of the live track vocals - are is that on the original recordings? Both Blondie on Sail On Sailor and Carl on I Can Hear Music sound really unnatural.

Both of those vocals (on the live MIC versions) are by Carl.  That "Sail On Sailor" recording is from 1995.

[orange22]

Anne Wallace is perhaps the one name that rivals Brian Wilson in the modern myth of SMiLE. All kidding aside, I think everyone would love to hear what you could come up with. Thanks for posting   

[37!ws]

After all, if they'd stuck to historical accuracy, Brian and Van Dyke would never have finished SMiLE.

They didn't. 

OK, I knew that bit would be controversial! I think there was a thread 100s of pages long on that very topic here a few years ago, wasn't there?

So, how about: "they completed a version of SMiLE that they considered finished"...?

That will do nicely... It's a Smile, but not the Smile. Same goes for the big box, disc 1.

I think Brian would say differently.  In almost every interview he's given, he's said it's finished.

FWIW, I once thanked Darian for helping Brian finish Smile. He did NOT "correct" me.   (He merely, not surprisingly, did not want credit for it and said that Brian was the one to be thanked, not him!)

[37!ws]

I dunno, maybe it's because I'm old enough to remember the mid-90s as a fan, when you couldn't get any of the post-1969 albums on CD unless you got really lucky at the cutout bin at a travel plaza, and when the 1960s twofers were yoinked out of print and replaced by single-CD liner notes-less reissues, and when a lot of projects that were announced ended up not happening (Brother rarities compilation, anybody?), to the point that a friend of mine, upon hearing about the eventually-released Reprise/Caribou twofers, asked one of the liner notes writers how he can believe it and said person actually sent him a photocopy of a paycheck stub for said liner notes....but...I have ZERO problem with Made In California's unorthodox mixes.

"Do It Again" -- to my ears, sounds just like the old fake stereo mix except it's in real stereo. EQ sounds the exact same to me, but the track sounds a tad livelier.

"You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" -- 1) still sounds better than on any bootleg I've heard, and 2) it's from 1976....1976 + Beach Boys != the most brilliant combination in the world....so wth do you expect???

"It's Over Now" -- again, to my ears, sounds no different from the GV box except it's sped up so that Marilyn actually sounds like a woman.

"Sail Plane Song" -- I'm one of the rare few who actually prefers "Loop De Loop." The version on Endless Harmony always bored me. I LOVE what they did to it for Made In California.

"You're Still A Mystery" -- Yeah, it really sticks out like a sore thumb with Brian's 1999 vocals, but...1) give me Brian's more mellow voice of late over Brian's super-harsh 1993-1995 voice ANY time, and 2) again, it sounds better than any bootleg version I've ever heard.

"California Saga: California (On My Way To Sunny Cal-I-For-Ni-A, On My Way To SPEND Another Sunny Day, Water, Water, Get Yourself In The Cool Clear Water)" -- okay, I always did wonder why the album version seems to be the go-to version (even the times I've heard the song on the radio, it was always the album version), and I was puzzled as to why the rarer single version wasn't used, since the only CDs it ever appeared on (legally) were the Euro release of Ten Years of Harmony and Best of the Brother Years. The point was brought up before that it doesn't sound very good (I agree -- on the aforementioned CDs and on my vinyl version of Ten Years of Harmony it sounds like it's being played under water), but hey, Shirley the original tapes exist....remix?

Blame Mark and Alan all you want, but I'm willing to bet that they weren't the only ones who had to listen to this stuff before it was released. There was undoubtedly a line of approvals that this set had to pass, just as with an editorial department, or any other situation that has any kind of creative process. And I imagine SOMEONE representing the Beach Boys -- if not the Beach Boys themselves -- had to listen to this stuff and give the OK to press it, and if they heard a mix they didn't like, it would have been nixed or Mark & Alan would have been told to go back and re-do it.

Not everybody is going to like everything. They're not going to call YOU and get your approval. Deal with it.

And those of you who are lamenting that it's the natural progression of modern technology that's "ruining" this stuff...this is something my wife loves to say: Do you honestly think that if Brian had access to this stuff back in the day (AutoTune, limitless tracks, fx, nonlinear editing, flying other elements in, etc.) that he would not have used it?

[c-man]

<<"You're Still A Mystery" -- Yeah, it really sticks out like a sore thumb with Brian's newer vocals (and we still don't have a definitive answer as to when that vocal was recorded)>>

Yes, we do - I provided it earlier, on a different thread I believe.

[Bicyclerider]

After all, if they'd stuck to historical accuracy, Brian and Van Dyke would never have finished SMiLE.

They didn't. 

OK, I knew that bit would be controversial! I think there was a thread 100s of pages long on that very topic here a few years ago, wasn't there?

So, how about: "they completed a version of SMiLE that they considered finished"...?

That will do nicely... It's a Smile, but not the Smile. Same goes for the big box, disc 1.

I think Brian would say differently.  In almost every interview he's given, he's said it's finished.

FWIW, I once thanked Darian for helping Brian finish Smile. He did NOT "correct" me.   (He merely, not surprisingly, did not want credit for it and said that Brian was the one to be thanked, not him!)

Me too.   Then I got him to sign my Smile cover poster along with Brian, Van Dyke, and Frank.