Vocal segment on Been Way Too Long "Japanese Smile CD" 1989

[Mooger Fooger]

I know we've had a thread on this before, but I dont recall any clear resolution to the question, so hopefully new information has come to light:

The Been Way Too Long track on the 1989 "Japanese" Smile CD features a never before heard 1 minute section which sounds very much like a Smile era studio recording (ie not Bellagio). It also sounds reminiscent of Vege-tables and Child Is Father Of The Man, and could easily fit in there somewhere.

Does anyone have any idea what it is? Is it indeed an earlier section of Been Way To Long? Or is it a case of a "sounds-similar" track edited to the BWTL track as per the H&V intro being added to the Fire track?

Thanks,
dwight

[Andrew G. Doe]

If you mean the bit that starts off acapella, there's a very obvious edit before the 'known' "BWTL" comes in at 0.36 (and another even more evident one at 0.58). The time on my CD is 1.49.

That intro is very familiar... and if I could recall where I heard it before, I'd be happy to tell you.

[Mooger Fooger]

That's exactly the bit I'm talking about. There is a strong resemblance to the Child is father vocals, and the edit where BTWL proper starts sounds like the "I know that you'll feel better" vocals would sit there quite happily.

[LostArt]

That's exactly the bit I'm talking about. There is a strong resemblance to the Child is father vocals, and the edit where BTWL proper starts sounds like the "I know that you'll feel better" vocals would sit there quite happily.

Hmm.  I've never heard this version.  I *cough* sure would like to hear it.

[Andrew G. Doe]

It's on the 1989 Smile boot (T 2580-2), 2nd ever CD boot and of surpassing quality. I have no ida how accurate the tales is, but allegedly when Jeff Lynne was working with Brian in 1988, he kept bugging everyone for Smile material, so to shut him up thay made up a tape for him. He copied it for a friend, who copied it for a friend...  That said, the track timings and general groupings are suspiciously close to those of a reference cassette that Mark Linett compiled for Capitol in order to give then a rough idea of what might be possible, so maybe someone in the Tower leaked it.

[LostArt]

Is it on the Project Smile CD-ROM?

[c-man]

It's on the 1989 Smile boot (T 2580-2), 2nd ever CD boot and of surpassing quality. I have no ida how accurate the tales is, but allegedly when Jeff Lynne was working with Brian in 1988, he kept bugging everyone for Smile material, so to shut him up thay made up a tape for him. He copied it for a friend, who copied it for a friend...  That said, the track timings and general groupings are suspiciously close to those of a reference cassette that Mark Linett compiled for Capitol in order to give then a rough idea of what might be possible, so maybe someone in the Tower leaked it.

Didn't Andy Dean (former Landy employee) also leak a copy out?

[PMcC]

I also think I heard this on the Smile millennium boot.

[buddhahat]

This accapella intro to BWTL is amongst my favourite BW bits! I first heard it on a Smile comp and have always felt it must be a Smile outtake although many maintain that it's definitely from the Wild Honey sessions.

If it is from Smile what could it be related to though? Surely the most likely candidate is Wind Chimes. That part 2 of WC after all is what BWTL grew out of.

Has any one asked Mark Linnett about it?

[Mark H.]

The whole Been Way Too Long/Can't Wait Too Long bit is tragic in that it deserved to be completed and released.  IMO as much as anything on Smile.   Some of the best vocals the group ever did IMO.

[pmugghc]

I can't find it on the Vigotone 2CD set.  But it's on the Odeon Smile, track 25.

[chris.metcalfe]

It's on the 1989 Smile boot (T 2580-2), 2nd ever CD boot and of surpassing quality. I have no ida how accurate the tales is, but allegedly when Jeff Lynne was working with Brian in 1988, he kept bugging everyone for Smile material, so to shut him up thay made up a tape for him. He copied it for a friend, who copied it for a friend...  That said, the track timings and general groupings are suspiciously close to those of a reference cassette that Mark Linett compiled for Capitol in order to give then a rough idea of what might be possible, so maybe someone in the Tower leaked it.

I've got a copy and always assumed it was from the Linett tape since they came out about the same time - I think I read the Linett tape was compiled in 1988.

[Mark H.]

I have said version on a Linnett compilation as well.

[Andrew G. Doe]

Just to make something crystal clear - Mark compiled the tape, but in no way was he responsible for the leaking of it..

[Mark H.]

Just to make something crystal clear - Mark compiled the tape, but in no way was he responsible for the leaking of it..

Absolutely correct....I was referring to the title only of the "illicit" compilation.

[matt-zeus]

It's all Jeff Lynnes fault!

[Boiled Egg]

once, during a fervid spot of DIY, i laid this over the piano section (the verse bit, with the lone offstage trumpeter) of CIFOTM, which worked rather well.   

surely this is some sort of link?  the way it's stitched together - the a capella section (0.00) followed by the twanging and clapping and oohing (0.14) form a transition to the chorus section (0.36).  the vocal arrangement is very SMiLE in its complexity, but the organ sure as sh*t sounds like the one in brian's home studio.  what it links from i've no idea.  (something that ends on a c minor chord, or a single c note, possibly, since that's where it starts.  and there are plenty of those: cabin essence, you are my sunshine, wind chimes, do you like worms, etc, etc.)

CWTL/BWTL is a micro-SMiLE, really - lots of bits that don't obviously piece together one way or another.  has anyone tried constructing a 45-minute version of it?

[eden]

Just listened to this for the first time, I didn't realise there was a bit of SMiLE I hadn't heard before but d/loaded odeon track 25 and there it is.

My impression is that the first section reminds me a little of Water chant (the backing vox) and the second sections backing vox remind me of the 'rock, rock roll' section of DYLW.

I've never 'got' CWTL and it's potential relevance to SMiLE. All the sections circulating were recorded post SMiLE, right? At one point I had a theory that it was part of Brian's continuation of work on the original SMiLE concept (remember it was still supposed to be released post SS at one point) but then abandoned as Brian actually gave up hope of ever finishing SMiLE. The H&V content in the BWTL/CWTL segments make no sense post SMiLE.

Imho, it's one of the bigger mysteries left regarding SMiLE.

[LostArt]

I agree 100%.  Brian says that the angels left him during the Smile sessions, but the angels must have come back just long enough for Brian to write that incredibly beautiful opening section (the slow section, the one that's now a part of TLOS).  Or maybe he had this thing in his mind much earlier than it was recorded.