Brian Wilson Presents SMiLE

[Sheriff John Stone]

And frankly, I think there is an unpleasable (yes, that is a made-up word) audience out there for whom the only satisfaction possible would be a completed 1967 Smile with the Beach Boys ... which happens to include the songs they like best and in the running order they prefer.

Completed? I think that audience is very small in number; they are more realistic than you give them credit for. Now, if you're talking about an audience who prefers to hear the original SMiLE songs on a well-done sessions CD or boxed set - as opposed to the re-recorded songs on BWPS - I would agree with you.

[Wilsonista]

Did Luther hit a sore spot, Sheriff?

[the captain]

My dear SJS (   ), I think both audiences exist, and the one you mention is enormous. But it isn't the one I'm talking about. Frankly, that audience would (at least I hope) tend not to disparage things like BWPS quite so much, because they see things as they are: if Wilson was to release some sort of "completed" Smile, it would have to be what we got, which was about as cool as such a thing could be. It's the people whose complaints are just that this band isn't that band that I'm talking about.

[the captain]

Did Luther hit a sore spot, Sheriff?

I've got a gift.

[Wilsonista]

You certainly do, you Buzz Killington!

[Sheriff John Stone]

It's the people whose complaints are just that this band isn't that band that I'm talking about.

Nah, that's a small number, also. The band "chosen" to re-record the songs just did what they were employed to do, and did an outstanding job, about as well as could be expected. I'm not sure the dislike even got to the band (yes, there was comparison, but not resentment). People might think their displeasure lies with "the new band", but it runs deeper than that. It was the DECISION man, the decision to do it in the first place....

[the captain]

I love the decision even though I wholeheartedly believe a 1967 BBs Smile would have been better. I think it has been great to hear some incomplete things fleshed out regardless of whether they were the original ideas. And I think it was good for Brian, if not in the immediate and entirely transformational way it has been marketed.

As for that 'Mints-hating audience (more than them, but I'm simplifying and overgeneralizing here), I didn't mean to say it's huge. Just that it's there (and annoying).

[Andrew G. Doe]

I'm not saying Taylor Mills doesn't have "talent". But she seems out of place on BWPS.

My reference to Ben Vaughn's "Mike Love" song was a joke. I've actually never heard the song, but I met Ben in '87 and he described the lyrics to me. A friend of mine supposedly has a tape of the Folk City BW tribute where Ben performed that song, but I've never heard it.

It's hysterical... very funny.

[PaulHippensteel]

>>'Mints-hating audience
When the next meeting? I'll bring a pizza, a 2 liter Cherry Coke and a Taylor Mills dartboard! After dinner we can form a Wondermints tribute called The Tuneless Formalists!

>>It's hysterical... very funny.
As far as I can tell, Ben Vaughn has never commercially released the "Mike Love" song (supposedly it even appears on a Smile bootleg!). So I will have to get the Folk City tape my friend has. When I saw Ben in concert in '87 he didn't do the song, but at one point the PA system or guitar amps or something broke down so Ben said "know for the 3D holographic part of the show"; Ben and his Combo strolled through the audience performing "She's About A Mover" on acoustic instruments!

>>I wouldn't call that a documentary. Feature-length commercial is probably a better term.
That's also a good way to describe last week's Neil Diamond TV special on CBS. I was looking forward to it even though Neil's voice isn't as "Sweet Caroline" as it was in the '60s. But the excerpts of "Cherry Cherry" and "I'm A Believer" sounded good in the commercials. But the special was just an infomercial for a Walmart-only DVD, which you have to buy to get "I'm A Believer", which wasn't even in the broadcast (false advertising?!).

[hypehat]

To be fair, Mr Hippensteel, there was a fair amount of vintage equipment used in the recording of BWPS, bearing in mind quite a lot of that stuff isn't around anymore or easily accessible. I think Taylor fits in perfectly to 'I Wanna Be Around' - it's a drippy duet, right? - which, as others have pointed out, was originally 'on' Smile. And quite personally, the minor additions to the music (there's, at my rough count, 10 add-ons to the original material) are quite tasteful and respectfully done..... perhaps excluding the pirate rap  .
My viewpoint on BWPS is...it could have been so much worse. Just imagine Dr. Eugene Landy Presents Smile. I dare you. And, seeing as it was one of my formative 'Brian' experiences, i love it, sampled harpsichords and all. I didn't know they were samples until i read it here.
For what it's worth, The Wondermints don't even compose half of Brian Wilsons band, are the writers of some quite charming-if-lightweight pop songs, and are also talented, highly devotional fans of Brian and the Smile music. Who would you prefer back Brian up?

[Mahalo]

Sometimes I wish we never heard any of the original tapes so some can appreciate just how amazing this record is without the comparisons...listening to some of the instrumentals today has reminded me of just why this is my favorite music.

[the captain]

Sometimes I wish we never heard any of the original tapes so some can appreciate just how amazing this record is without the comparisons...listening to some of the instrumentals today has reminded me of just why this is my favorite music.

I understand how you feel, noname. I can't quite agree--only because those originals that are complete (or close enough) are so great it would be a shame to lose them--but BWPS is pretty fantastic when separated from those. And pretty damn good regardless.

[TdHabib]

I very rarely have talked about BWPS but it really changed my whole outlook on the music scene. When I first heard it, my mind was completely blown and it still is in a way. More than anything, it was seeing my son (now almost 18) enjoy it so much that made it reallly sink in with me. It's majestic, soulful and above all beautiful.

In defense of BWPS, I really do think it gives you a fuller picture of Smile than the boots ever could because of the additional things it has: "Roll Plymouth Rock" has the jaw-dropping verses that the boots don't, a well edited and executed version of "Vegetables" (I find all of the others good but not quite perfect), "Child is the Father of the Man" is just amazing when you listen to it loud. Yes, the original Smile tapes will provide great enjoyment and I do love them...but BWPS provides a little more for me. It's an emotional record, one that is complete and has all of the cards in the deck. The boots have many aces but in a very mishmash format. And even though Brian can't do the high stuff on "Surf's Up" anymore...the way he sings "The laughs come hard in auld lang syne" is just incredibly tender.

So an easy 5 for me.

[Mahalo]

Yes, an easy 5... totally.

Your analogy of the playing cards was accurate imo...

[KokoMoses]

Just got done listening to BWPS after living with the Purple Chick "Beach Boys Smile" for a few months: I can easily claim to love both, just not equally. BWPS has it's own clear identity and sense of purpose simply because it's a FINISHED work! Whereas the Purple Chick, no matter how seamless the repair job, still has those clouds of "unfinished business" hanging over it. However hearing the songs sung (and partially performed: Carl and Dennis both played on Smile sessions here and there) by the genuine Beach Boys has a magic and beauty all it's own. It might be unfair to compare/contrast Brian's band to The Beach Boys, but The Boys had such individually distinctive voices that we all know and love, so hearing these songs sung by mostly indistinct, bland and anonymous voices really does take a lot of the charm away. It's quite the thankless task though to be asked to recreate a vocal blend so supernatural as the Beach Boys (and I know some disagree with that description) It also doesn't help that Brian himself seems to pop up only sparingly. I think his leads though are gorgeous and the age in his voice lends quite a lot of portent that might not have been there in 1967. I also quite like Taylor's voice being there. She's a great singer and she does a lot to distract from the Beach Boys cover band vibe that rears it's ugly head whenever Brian wanders away from the mic.

[the captain]

I don't think the problem is that BW's band is anonymous, but that they aren't allowed to be, uh, nonymous. (No, that is not a word. But f***, a- means not, right? Flow with it.) We're not given the opportunity to get to know them. I've said it before (to disdain) and will again. Let them sing. Quit fudging the parts Brian can't hit by secret doubling. Use these people the way you used the Beach Boys. They can sing. Let them. I know, some people say they don't go to a show or buy an album to hear those people. But f*** those people. BWPS, and every other BW solo album, would have benefitted from some smart use of other vocalists. And he's got a band full of them.

[Wirestone]

Kudos, Luther. I think Brian letting Jeff sing some leads on tour is positive. And giving Taylor solo spots in the intro to Marcella. The band is wicked talented. And their voices are actually pretty distinctive, too -- you can pick out Darian and Jeff from a mile away on BWPS. But he's in a no-win situation. People here can't stand it when he multitracks himself. They can't stand hearing the band sing. They will only be content if Brian sings with the Beach Boys circa 1966.

[KokoMoses]

I couldn't agree more! Hell, let Taylor sing lead on Wind Chimes or Surf's Up! People got happily used to the fact that Brian used The Beach Boys as insturments in and or themselves. Let us get to know the seperate and distinct voices of his band and it would go a long way toward shutting up the "can't be pleased-ers"!

[Spencer]

I watched the DVD again last night- I was still as bowled over as when it came out in 2004- also I was watching them record the Mrs O' Leary's Cow bit and I realised that some of it is  the same as the 'Who Ran the Iron Horse?' section- I hadn't noticed that before but it seemed so obvious once I heard parts in isolation- maybe it's been pointed out in other bits on this forum (I'm new here, I feel like saying 'it's my first day' every time I post), I stilll marvel at Smile and find it a constant imspiration- hopefully one day we'll get the boxset of the beach boys versions too- with perhaps one disk of a complete or near complete album- surely the label and Mike Love must realise the monetry value in releasing it (aside from it's obvious artistic value)?

[Jason]

Oh, to be a wide-eyed newbie again...

Brian has the ball in his court as far as releasing the Smile recordings.

[Spencer]

ah ok- that makes sense I suppose. Maybe we'll have to wait a few years then, although seeing as Mr Sahanaja had them all on a lap top for the re-recordings, now would be a pretty good time to put everything together whilst their still fresh in memory and availability?

[Jason]

It's all good timin'...Brian won't tour forever, and God knows that's the last real golden egg, unless someone's been crying out for a 16 CD set of the Cocaine Sessions.

[Mahalo]

It's all good timin'...Brian won't tour forever, and God knows that's the last real golden egg, unless someone's been crying out for a 16 CD set of the Cocaine Sessions.

You mean there's a 16 CD set of Funky Pretty outtakes?

[Jason]

Clearly you're not well-read on your Beach Boys history, and while I won't chastise you for it, I will look down on you either way. 

The cocaine sessions were a sort of inspirational period for both Brian and Dennis throughout the better part of late 1980 well into 1982, before Brian was rehabilitated. Some stuff was recorded in studios, some at home on cheap recorders. Stevie was done in a studio in 1981. Brian recorded several demos in 1981, of which we've heard Sweetie, Reins, and Walking On Water. And there's the legendary tape from November 1982 where Brian and Dennis jammed at Garby Leon's house on his grand piano and Hammond B-3 organ, resulting in very fragmentary stuff, including Oh Lord (later "finished" for the '85 album), rudimentary versions of City Blues and This Isn't Love, a few other unknown songs (Why Don't You Tell Me Why You've Been Good To Me, I Feel So Fine, Yeahhh!), and a downright Satanic version of Heroes and Villains.

The charitable opinion is that a LOT more than what goes around on boots exists.

[Wirestone]

To be ultra precise about this, "City Blues" is pretty much complete in the tape from Garby's house. It has the verse, bridge and chorus. It's pretty much exactly the song you hear on GOIMH, with the exception of Scott's verse and a full-band arrangement.

"This Isn't Love" is far more fragmentary in the tape -- it's pretty much Brian just playing the first melodic phrase (which Tony Asher later set to "This isn't love / This is destiny") over and over, mumbling some lyrics along the lines of "I said a prayer."

And to call some of the other things they play "songs" is generous. Many are essentially jam sessions, and not especially inspired ones.

That being said, Stevie and NBJ are fantastic. And when Debbie Keil was here a few months ago, she also dated an early version of "Don't Let Her Know She's An Angel" as coming from around this time.