How did people get the Smile tapes back in the day for bootlegs?

[Plantplant]

I have a few older bootleg Smile albums from the mid - late 80s and some from the early 90s. I'm curious, How did people get this wealth of Smile material that was at a point unheard for decades? I've read the story about the guy exchanging a Phil Spector christmas record (for brian) to Brian's associates for a few Smile songs, but how did people get all the other material?

[jeffh]

And with no internet !

[Vale]

This is very interesting!!
I suppose that the sources of the best quality were taken directly from the original reels or exact copies, we are talking about tapes that are in the hands of high-high-level collectors since the late 60s, maybe friends of friends of friends... I think TBB did not have complete control of their material at some point in their career and maybe someone could have stolen the missing smile tapes and copied the other original tapes with professional equipment. This is just my opinion, but who knows, I like this kind of mystery.

[Tony S]

I used to find alot of bootlegs at Record Shows throughout the state. Also, there was a great record shop on Main Street in Freehold that sold TONS of bootleg materials. I remember back in 1997, I was at a Beach Boys convention near Princeton New Jersey at a hotel, and I won the bootleg Pet Sounds sessions, unreleased at that time. Oh for the good old days!

[Bicyclerider]

First leakage was of the "Fire" tapes - Byron Preiss researchers were given a Smile tape in return for a copy of Phil Spector's "This Must Be the Night" - a favorite of Brian's and a song he subsequently covered.

The next big escape from the vaults was around 88 when Brian's solo album came out - Eugene Landy was floating the idea of a Smile recordings release and it was even announced in the press.  Mark Linett went through the tapes and complied a cassette of Smile sessions for consideration for release - this was circulated within Capitol and eventually passed into collector's hands, some say from Eugene himself (so he did do one good thing during his time treating Brian).

The third big vault raid was when someone with access to the Brother tape library made stereo copies of the 2, 3, and 4 track sessions tapes of all the Capitol albums, up to 20/20.  This was released as the Unsurpassed Masters series on Sea of Tunes.  It's unclear who did the copying - it was rumored that someone working on the American Band documentary who was putting together the soundtrack and therefor had access had done it, but Mark and Alan deny that - so it's kind of a mystery who engineered this particular, and massive, leak of tapes.  But there were three Cd's of Good Vibrations sessions and four CD's of Smile tapes under the Sea of Tunes banner.

[Bicyclerider]

The Preiss tape:

The Preiss tape:
Do You Like Worms
Fire (no sound effects)
Fire (sound effects)
Can’t Wait Too Long (3 pieces)
Old Master Painter (instrumental)
Barnyard (actually “false Barnyard”)

The Linett tape:

Heroes and Villains (alt. version)
Heroes and Villains (sections)
Do You Dig Worms*
Barnyard? (actually “false” Barnyard)
Wind Chimes
Fire Intro (actually Heroes and Villains intro)
Fire
George Fell . . .
Surf’s Up trax
Surf’s Up vox (the Brian solo piano version)
Child is Father
My Only Sunshine
Love Too Say Da Da (sic)
Look
Vegetables
Wonderful (track with backing vocals only)
Cabin Essence
The Prayer
Holidays
Well You Welcome (sic)
She’s Goin’ Bald (actually He Gives Speeches)
I Wanna Be Around
Been Way Too Long
 

[mikeddonn]

Was there not something about Dennis Wilson giving someone a tape of SMiLE stuff.  Diane Rovell was also mentioned I'm sure.

[c-man]

Was there not something about Dennis Wilson giving someone a tape of SMiLE stuff.  Diane Rovell was also mentioned I'm sure.

Actually, I reat that Mike gave Preiss a cassette...but Dennis is on record saying he found the "Fire" tapes.

[JK]

The Preiss tape:
Can’t Wait Too Long (3 pieces)

The Linett tape:
Been Way Too Long

Makes you wonder if these tapes were the reason why "CWTL/BWTL" was long thought to be a Smile track...

[Lee Marshall]

I used to host weekly interviews with a host of different 'oldies artists' who our radio station would then subsequently 'present' for the rest of the week at the Imperial Room at the Royal York Hotel in Toronto.  2 such artists...Peter Noone  [Herman' Hermits] and Danny Hutton [3 Dog Night] were a part of it.  This would have been something in the vicinity of 1986-87ish.  We did a noon-hour show called 'The Legendary Lunch' where the 'headliner' would come in 'live' for an hour, sit, eat, talk and we'd augment the chat with hit songs the artist or group had turned into 'gold' along the way.

Well Danny, obviously, had a copy of SMiLE on tape.  So too did Peter.  I don't know how the conversation turned to Brian with Peter.  We were just part of Brian's mutual admiration society I guess.  With Danny...the Redwood tie-in was obvious.  These conversations took place OFF the air as it was rather hush/hush.  Both of these guys were sworn to secrecy in terms of sharing the material and they didn't and wouldn't.  I always respected their loyalty to Brian and regretted it simultaneously as I too wanted desperately to hear the promise fulfilled.  The Good Vibrations Box Set would fill in SOME of the blanks [as did 20/20, Surf's Up and other inclusions on various releases] and I, like many here, constructed my 'take' on SMiLE from the few available pieces I imagined to at least be represented, in part, in the master plan.

Other friends of Brian and industry insiders with 'connections' would have access to the tape(s).  Some of them weren't as loyal as Peter or Danny.  Pretty sure Mark and Howard [Turtles] had a copy too.  I didn't even bother to ask them.  I'm positive they wouldn't have let me hear 'it' either.  And really...that's all I wanted.  JUST TO HEAR IT!!!

Some recipients weren't as loyal I guess.  I'll not forget those who were.  Good guys all.

[Bicyclerider]

Was there not something about Dennis Wilson giving someone a tape of SMiLE stuff.  Diane Rovell was also mentioned I'm sure.

Actually, I reat that Mike gave Preiss a cassette...but Dennis is on record saying he found the "Fire" tapes.

Diane was the go-between but I also remember Dennis being the one to get the tapes.  Maybe Dennis gave the cassette tape to Mike to give to the Preiss people?

[HeyJude]

Not to turn this into a treatise on the ethics of sharing the stuff and getting it "out there", but it's difficult for anyone who *did* consume such tapes  (however they came across them, whether on vinyl or tapes or whatever) to also criticize those who did "leak" the stuff (knowingly or unknowingly).

And certainly, when it comes to "Smile", Brian and the band saw a huge *benefit* from the hype/praise/free PR that stuff provided. I'm not so certain the 1993 bits on the GV box or the 2011 big "Smile" box would have so easily happened had *zero* Smile stuff leaked up to those points.

As for how the stuff got out there, we'll probably never know for sure. I heard one story from, in retrospect, a rather 50/50 source years ago that the circa '88 "Smile" compilation stuff that eventually made it "out there" may have come from a relatively well-known name in the music world.

I think the problem with that particular story/allegation as well as those of a similar sort is that people try to deduce who may have "leaked" what based on timeframes. As in, so-and-so had access to such tapes during the window of time when they probably leaked. This has then led to some outright provably false accusations. Poor Mark Lewisohn, who did his "Recording Sessions" book on the Beatles right around the time all of those epic, pristine Beatles session tapes started leaking on "Ultra Rare Trax" and all of that. It took another decade or more before the story of how those tapes *actually* leaked surfaced (which is retold in an extremely interesting and fascinating fashion in John C. Winn's "Lifting Latches.")

With the story of the Beatles recordings, it took until years after the main names involved were deceased (Roger Scott, John Barrett) for those stories to be told in more or less complete fashion.

So I guess it's possible we'll hear tales of BB tapes years from now when people involved are no longer around.

[Lee Marshall]

Reasonable point re: the leaks.