The Country Air \

[Amazing Larry]

Dunno, but it doesn't sound like an organ.
Here's a link
http://www.planetmellotron.com/revb2.htm#beachboys

[Andrew G. Doe]

Interesting... but hardly convincing. For one thing, the band never owned a Chamberlain - Desper had to borrow one to construct Brian's 'water machine'.

[Amazing Larry]

Damn, you're right, again.

[adamghost]

Organs can sound like an amazing range of things.  They really were designed as the first synthesizers.

[Amazing Larry]

Interesting... but hardly convincing. For one thing, the band never owned a Chamberlain - Desper had to borrow one to construct Brian's 'water machine'.

 What was this "Water Machine"?

[Runaways]

i dig that "edit" in i'd love just once to see you.  I never considered it a mistake.

[Andrew G. Doe]

Interesting... but hardly convincing. For one thing, the band never owned a Chamberlain - Desper had to borrow one to construct Brian's 'water machine'.

 What was this "Water Machine"?

Brian decided, during the Smile sessions, that he wanted a keyboard that played water sounds - drips, streams, taps, waterfalls - so Steve Desper was commissioned to do just that. He borrowed a friends Chamberlain (or however you spell it), then hiked up to the mountains for a few days recording natural water. Back in LA he further recorded taps and the like, then transferred the sounds (by then pitch-shifted) to the Chamberlain. There were something like three sets of tapes. Anyway, it's set up, Brian comes in, plays it for maybe ten minutes, says "that's nice", and never touched it again.

Steve recalled that when they were recording "Cool, Cool Water", they wanted to use those tapes again - but they'd been wiped. Enter Bernie Krause...

[chris.metcalfe]

Nothing to do with this then:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/video/2009/nov/22/fluid-piano-classical-music

[Amazing Larry]

Interesting... but hardly convincing. For one thing, the band never owned a Chamberlain - Desper had to borrow one to construct Brian's 'water machine'.

 What was this "Water Machine"?

Brian decided, during the Smile sessions, that he wanted a keyboard that played water sounds - drips, streams, taps, waterfalls - so Steve Desper was commissioned to do just that. He borrowed a friends Chamberlain (or however you spell it), then hiked up to the mountains for a few days recording natural water. Back in LA he further recorded taps and the like, then transferred the sounds (by then pitch-shifted) to the Chamberlain. There were something like three sets of tapes. Anyway, it's set up, Brian comes in, plays it for maybe ten minutes, says "that's nice", and never touched it again.

Steve recalled that when they were recording "Cool, Cool Water", they wanted to use those tapes again - but they'd been wiped. Enter Bernie Krause...

I wonder what he was going to do with it.

[rogerlancelot]

Interesting... but hardly convincing. For one thing, the band never owned a Chamberlain - Desper had to borrow one to construct Brian's 'water machine'.

 What was this "Water Machine"?

Brian decided, during the Smile sessions, that he wanted a keyboard that played water sounds - drips, streams, taps, waterfalls - so Steve Desper was commissioned to do just that. He borrowed a friends Chamberlain (or however you spell it), then hiked up to the mountains for a few days recording natural water. Back in LA he further recorded taps and the like, then transferred the sounds (by then pitch-shifted) to the Chamberlain. There were something like three sets of tapes. Anyway, it's set up, Brian comes in, plays it for maybe ten minutes, says "that's nice", and never touched it again.

Steve recalled that when they were recording "Cool, Cool Water", they wanted to use those tapes again - but they'd been wiped. Enter Bernie Krause...

Now this is the most interesting post I have read on here yet. Early sampling? Damn, Bri, you never stop amazing me! Except when you did those Xmas albums ('64, '77 & '05). Stop with that already!

[Jason]

Brian was HARDLY an innovator with the Chamberlain/Mellotron. The Chamberlain had been around since the 1950s.

[Dove Nested Towers]

I've always assumed it's supposed to be there, bit like that 'edge-of-hearing' guitar on one fragment of "BWTL".

The "Country Air" buzz reminds me of a muted trumpeter's swan, so I dig it.

Uhhthankyouverymuch suh.....

[DonnyL]

the group most certainly did use a Chamberlin (later on "add some music" for instance), not 100% sure if "country air" has it or not though.  sounds like it could be a brass and/or strings tape.  the distortion sounds like the microphone was clipping, not the amp or the instrument itself.  i've noticed this happening when recording high pitched sounds (such as organ, etc) with certain old electro voice microphones.

couldn't find a chamberlin clip, but this is in the ball park

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8qU3LckK7k

[imike24]

thanks for the website link.

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[Andrew G. Doe]

the group most certainly did use a Chamberlin (later on "add some music" for instance)

Not saying they didn't - just that they never owned one.

[TheLazenby]

I dunno why that bootleg "Smiley Smile/Wild Honey" in stereo hasn't been given proper release...

The stereo mix of "I Was Made To Love Her" is MUCH better than the album version.  The 'Rarities' bit is in its proper place instead of tacked onto the end, and there's a lost intro as well.  Along with other little elements that didn't make it.

[TheLazenby]

And yes, I'd also like to know where this "edge of hearing" guitar is on BWTL!

I listened to it (the 2fer version) and couldn't spot that...

[Jay]

The stereo mix of "I Was Made To Love Her" is MUCH better than the album version.  The 'Rarities' bit is in its proper place instead of tacked onto the end, and there's a lost intro as well.  Along with other little elements that didn't make it.

Now this sounds very interesting....

[runnersdialzero]

I dunno why that bootleg "Smiley Smile/Wild Honey" in stereo hasn't been given proper release...

Probably because an official mix of these sessions from the masters would be a hundred times better?

Not trying to sound like an ass, there, just saying - I'd much rather hear an official remix.

[TheLazenby]

Well, now you do sound like an ass, because the bootleg CD was sourced from official mixes.... :-P

[Jason]

Well, now you do sound like an ass, because the bootleg CD was sourced from official mixes.... :-P

Nope. The CD did use what was officially released in stereo from the two albums at the time (around 2002), but the rest of the stereo mixes are either from the SOTs (meaning, basically, the most "completed" version on the set), or, in the case of several other Smiley Smile and Wild Honey songs, rechanneled to sound like stereo. Pretty much all you have there is a glorified duophonic release with a few binaural and even fewer true stereo mixes. It's a Frankenstein's monster on the level of 20/20!

And is it not worth mentioning that the official stereo mix of Heroes and Villains is technically not "true" stereo, due to missing a few overdubs here and there?

[TheLazenby]

Well, okay, I'm the ass then. :-)

[Jason]

Don't take it personally, bud. There are far bigger culos on this forum.

But yeah, that bootleg is basically a few of the official stereo mixes (Heroes and Villains, Vegetables, Let The Wind Blow), 8 full (She's Goin' Bald, Wind Chimes, Wonderful, Wild Honey, I Was Made To Love Her, A Thing Or Two, Darlin', Here Comes The Night) and 2 partial (With Me Tonight, Gettin' Hungry) SOT-derived binaural stereo mixes, and a few other rechanneled mixes (everything else). There is an official unreleased stereo mix of Country Air, made sometime around 2002.

Besides, anyone who actually reads the slightly more scholarly posts on this forum would know that a full stereo remix of Smiley Smile is impossible due to the lack of vocal multitracks for Good Vibrations, Heroes and Villains was also missing a few overdubs in its stereo mix, and the tag to Vegetables is also missing a few overdubs in the stereo version.