As much as I love "Cool Cool Water", in strictly commercial terms none of these songs saved Sunflower eventually.
Lenny Waronker's a big fan of Brian's more artsy, suite-y stuff...he wanted something modular, something akin to "Good Vibrations" for
Sunflower, so Brian and Mike came up with "Cool Cool Water". Later, he wanted something modular, akin to "Heroes And Villains" for
Brian Wilson '88, so Brian and Andy came up with "Rio Grande". I think this is a rare case of a label exec wanting something substantially arty, more than commercial.
Speaking of which I’ll never understand why the single version chopped off the first half of the song. To me it made it a bit disjointed
At 5:03, the album version was considered too long for AM radio play - the edited 3:23 timing would have been much more palatable for those radio stations. Still didn't make a difference, though, as the only airplay it could possible get was FM - especially considering how the single version started with a chant which undoubtedly was far too "weird" for AM!
On the same topic, someone just posted on the Steve Hoffman Forums board their thought that perhaps "This Whole World" would've failed as a single, even had it been the A-side, in part because it was too SHORT! Meaning, at under 2:00, potential buyers would've felt short-changed, as if they weren't getting enough value for their 50 cents, or however much 45s were selling for in 1970. Interesting thought that I'd never considered! Guess we'll never know.