The Beatles role in SMiLE's demise

[Adult Child]

I've read everything I could find, and have seen a few documentaries about Brian & SMiLE (my favorite spelling of it) but I've never been exactly sure where his competitiveness with The Beatles and his feelings about 'Strawberry Fields Forever'/Sgt. Pepper fit into the ranking of things that led to SMiLE being shelved. Some people (quite a few) have said that it was a major factor in the whole saga but I never really felt it was that important in the grand scheme of things. I was just curious on other people's views on The Beatles place in the whole SMiLE demise story.

[SMiLE Brian]

More pressure on a mentally destabilizing BW...

[Adult Child]

More pressure on a mentally destabilizing BW...

That's what I think, and what I've thought, but was it just pressure?

[Bicyclerider]

Upon hearing Strawberry Fields on the radio Brian freaked out and said something to the effect "they got there first" implying they had achieved what he was trying to do with Smile.  This is February 67 when he was deep into finishing Heroes & Villains which incorporated unusual sounds like the tape explosion and whistles and French horns - and of course SF had unusual sounds mellotron Indian instruments cellos varispeed vocals backwards tapes.  Really they were both getting more experimental but when you get to the specifics there isn't anything in SF that would somehow co-opt Smile or make anything in Smile sound like copying the Beatles, but Brian was apparently shaken by what he heard.

He heard She's Going Home in April - nothing Smiley about that track.  Pepper came out in June Brian was working on the minimalist Smiley Vegetables.  Smile had already been abandoned however he was still recording at Western and Columbia, the home studio wasn't ready until June 11th or so for the final Heroes sessions.  So I don't see how Pepper, time wise, had any effect on the abandonment of Smile

[Lee Marshall]

A scape-goat.   They really had little or nothing to do with why the project ground to a halt.  That was internal.  That was Murry.  That was that 'love' guy.  That was the result of those 2 'triggers' spiking Brian's mental disorder.  As there was, then, nothing with which Brian could apply the brakes...the whole thing became a maze rather than amazing.  Them's the breaks.

[Magic Transistor Radio]

I think Brian was getting paranoid due to drugs mixed with his already fragile psychological problems. He starts hearing voices in his head. I think he came to a point where he started interpreting everything in a negative light. For example the feelings of his band mates. I believe the other Beach Boys were blown away by a lot of the music from Smile. But like anything else they worked on before or since, they had opinions or suggestions. They had a few minor disagreements. In Brian's mind that meant they hated it. The law suit with the record company at the time, Mrs O'Leary's Cow and a real fire down the street, and he is convinced of the worst! He thought his house was bugged by Phil Spector or Murray (actually, from what we know about those 2 maybe they were!!!!

Anyway, did the Beatles play a role in Smile's demise? Yes! Just like everything else because it was Brian's state of mind at the time.

[peerke]

He heard She's Going Home in April - nothing Smiley about that track. 

I think you're referring to 'She's Leaving Home'. ;-)

[JK]

It's all Ringo's fault.

[Bicyclerider]

He heard She's Going Home in April - nothing Smiley about that track. 

I think you're referring to 'She's Leaving Home'. ;-)

Yes of course.  In Bizarro World the song would be titled "He's Going Home."

[AllIWannaDo]

I'm sure i heard or read sopmewhere about Brian being played an acetate of 'A Day in The Life' before anything from Sgt Pepper had come out, and that it was this & the SFields single stealing in ahead of him - something along the lines of first is first and second is nowhere maybe?