Sea Of Tunes Smile vs Smile Sessions Smile

[Summertime Blooz]

No way was Brian ever going to put himself through the private hell of trying once again to construct the perfect Smile. I think as far as he's concerned Brian Wilson Presents Smile IS the final product. If that's not the model for a reconstruction then you're back at square 1. Unfortunately the original Smile recordings totally blow away what was recorded for BWPS so that creates a bit of a pickle for a lot of us fans. I don't listen to the official Smile Sessions reconstruction because I prefer stereo, which I think is something that we will get from Capitol eventually with modern capabilities being what they are and still evolving. The Smile Sessions did give us a lot of really good quality stereo stuff to use in creating our own stereo Smile in the mean time. The bootlegs were fine for their time, but I remember what lousy sound I used to have to settle for back in the day and I'm glad those days are over. Of course some people actually dig that low-fi vibe but I am not one of them.

[Micha]

Personally I feel they ought to have just used the tracks listed on the original back cover (despite that list not being written in stone, it's still the best we had) and placed the additional tracks as bonus/extras.

This.

Nononono! No way! That list is absolutely meaningless, and it was used for designing the back cover - there was no "original" back cover, the back cover has never been printed. Never mind that a 1967 SMiLE would have been quite different from BWPS, it would undoubtedly lack some important musical parts that actually have been saved by the non-finishing.

The very best thing they could ever have done is stick with the BWPS track order and record the missing vocals, even the non-1960s lyrics, using the voices of Al, Mike, and Bruce - no Jeff, no autotune. I think everybody agrees that the old recordings beat the BWPS sessions.

[Quzi]

All I wanted from the reunion was Holidays with Al on lead, Mike on the pirate rap...

[leggo of my ego]

I would love an official Sea of Tunes Unsurpassed Masters Box Set!

Me too. All I managed to acquire so far is the Official Torrent.

[bgas]

I would love an official Sea of Tunes Unsurpassed Masters Box Set!

Me too. All I managed to acquire so far is the Official Torrent.

Careful, guys...

[The Shift]

"Official torrent"? Of a bootleg? You have to be kidding…

[Dudd]

The tweaks and vocal alterations do bug me a bit, so I do tend to stick with the fanedits.

Also, I'm perfectly fine with using BWPS as a template - it is superbly sequenced - but it certainly makes it altogether less authentic, so wouldn't it have made more sense to present a mix based on that tracklist in stereo, since a mono release in the 60s would have had a completely different tracklist anyway?

k i'm done bitching

[Micha]

All I wanted from the reunion was Holidays with Al on lead, Mike on the pirate rap...

Can I have Mike on lead?

[Disney Boy (1985)]

That's an interesting topic right there... Which Beach Boys would've sang which missing vocal parts?

To me, the line in IIGS "mornings tumble out of bed" has Alan Jardine written all over it.

[Phoenix]

Personally I feel they ought to have just used the tracks listed on the original back cover (despite that list not being written in stone, it's still the best we had) and placed the additional tracks as bonus/extras.

This.

They did.  Well, for the most part...  But as with BWPS, they listed some song SECTIONS as separate actual songs.  I just don't know why Brian chose to move "I'm In Great Shape".  More than likely it was Brian's twisted sense of humor; his version of messing with the fans, ala "Paul is dead."

[sandmountainslim]

Ok it is now 5 years since Smile Sessions was released so how do you feel now when comparing Disc 1 to the S.O.T. SMiLE?   
I have the European 1 CD Smile Sessions and as detailed in another thread there is a dodgy repackaging of S.O.T. for sale on Amazon under a different title. 
Would it be worth my money or is it best to just stick with the official product?    I have to admit I love the Capitol version I have and I already have S.O.T as a  music file.   Would the CD be all that much better with it being a boot?   I am assuming it doesn't touch the official CD in sound quality.

[Robbie Mac]

The 2004 release, to me, IS Smile. It is the only lineup that ever made sense to me. Not addressing it when it was the elephant in the room would have been strange.  Purple Chick and others have used the 1966 tracks to recreate the 2004 lineup to, IMHO, great effect.

[Bicyclerider]

If you have the SOT Smile as a music file, burn it to a CD and find the SOT 16 artwork on line and make your own CD.  Buying a gray area boot of a boot when you already have the music makes no sense to me.

I still prefer listening to the SOT version more than the the 1st cd, of Smile Sessions.  It does sound too busy, it's over compressed with loss of dynamics, sections are used as "songs" with clumsy transitions that you know would be nothing like a Brian finished Smile, tracks are included that would never made it to a 1966/67 Smile.  SOT Smile has some air and openness and "breathes" in a way SS doesn't.

[mike moseley]

I think IIGS is a bunch or rejected H&V sections isn't it..?  part skit..? so IIGS, Do A Lot, BY or whatever

Personally I feel they ought to have just used the tracks listed on the original back cover (despite that list not being written in stone, it's still the best we had) and placed the additional tracks as bonus/extras.

I think that would have been a smart idea. However, there are a still a few issues, namely...

• What do you do for the title "I'm In Great Shape"? Do you just use the small snippet? Do you connect "Barnyard" to it? Or possibly "I Wanna Be Around"?
• And what about "The Elements"? Do you just use "Fire" or do you add in "Love To Say Dada"? Puts you in a tough spot there.

[Needleinthehay]

Sorry if this is a basic question but what, exactly wasn't finished about Smile? I mean, theres plenty of songs....was it just sequencing/putting them together/transitions between songs? Or was there talk of writing/recording more songs? Or were some of the songs just not quite finish, production wise?  like more overdubs,etc? Just wondered cuz, it sounds pretty goood sounding to me and to most people? Just wondering what exactly he was intending to keep working on? Or does no one know?

[Robbie Mac]

At the bare minimum,  it was sequencing. Not just tracks on the album, but sections within the songs.  That's an overly simplistic answer, I know,but it is iimportant to realize that there are no real easy answers when it comes to Smile.

[Jay]

I loved finally getting an excellent sounding version of Mrs. O'Leary's Cow on cd. But I was disappointed to hear that they "flew in" the backing vocals from Fall Breaks and Back To Winter. But my biggest issue is that they totally omitted my favorite part of Child Is The Father Of The Man.

[Rick5150]

Fall Breaks and Back To Winter over Mrs. O'Leary's Cow was a huge revelation for me. It was a piece of the puzzle that was right in front of us and it fit perfectly. Also made sense as many of the SMiLE songs were salvaged for other albums. I thought it was brilliant.

[JK]

I never listened to the boots as I became a fan in early 2011 and was able to wait until the official release with the 1993 box set's smile songs.

Same here, only it was 2003 when the sledgehammer hit home. In fact Purple Chick is still just a funny name to me.

I regard the magnificent BWPS as something so distinctive and complete that you can't compare it to the disparate assemblage of tracks on TSS, whose first CD suffers from being straitjacketed into the same order as BWPS. Ideally they should be heard on shuffle. (This may have been discussed on other occasions.)

[Jeff]

Overall, I think SMiLE as presented on The SMiLE Sessions is pretty great. You get all the key songs presented in versions that are pretty good. However, I still can't understand why they couldn't get rid of the piano for "Barnyard". Amateurs did a much better job of keeping the vocal yet losing the piano. Honestly, most of the attempts I've heard almost make it sound like the vocal was actually recording for the track. Which is pretty awesome. Shame that Alan and Mark couldn't get that right. I did think that "I'm In Great Shape" was done pretty nicely though. I also think that the "child, child" vocals on "Look" are kinda needless. Shoulda just kept it an instrumental.

My other beef is with with the sequencing and the songs used. First off, I think that the album was just too long. I really feel that Brian coulda gotten rid of "Look", "Holidays", "I Wanna Be Around / Workshop" and maybe even "Love To Say Dada".

Where are all of these fan mixes that cut out the piano from Barnyard?  I feel like I've heard several post-Smile Sessions fan mixes, without noticing any significant change in Barnyard.

[sandmountainslim]

If you have the SOT Smile as a music file, burn it to a CD and find the SOT 16 artwork on line and make your own CD.  Buying a gray area boot of a boot when you already have the music makes no sense to me.

Good point!  I took your advice and burned  CD's of Sea of Tunes and disc one of Vigotone SMiLE.   Home copies of bootlegs    I guess that is common enough in practice.   
I have always liked Smile Sessions disc 1 but S.O.T certainly does have a different feel and I like the feel of it.    Vigotone ain't bad either other than I would prefer it to start with Prayer instead of Part 2 Heroes and Villains.