What if SMiLE is released in 1967? (My prediction of what might happen)

[elchriso]

Hello, long time lurker here. Being the Beach Boys obsessive I am, I've developed a hypothetical scenario over the past few months of what might have happened if the greatest album never made had come to fruition. After seeing the incredible knowledge displayed by some of the users here, I more or less expect to have to make some revisions when I find some of my facts to be wrong.

Well here it goes:

On December 13th, 1966,  a week after a particularly ugly dispute between himself and Van Dyke Parks regarding the song's lyrics during a session for "CabinEssence", Mike Love announces that he is leaving the Beach Boys in favor of a solo career. This is usually marked as the beginning of the end for Brian Wilson.

Finding a musical collaborator, Mike Love writes the lyrics for a feel-good single that sounds reminiscent of the group's "surf" phase, although lyrically somewhat more mature and with a bit more of a "rock" edge to it. Released in late February of 1967 with a cover for the B-side, the single peaks at #18 on the charts.

In the meanwhile, although emotionally crushed by his cousin's departure, Brian soldiers on with his project. While still maintaining his professionalism in the studio, his mental deterioration continues to progress at an alarming rate.

On (or possibly a day or two after) February 17th, Brian hears the new Beatles single "Strawberry Fields Forever" for the first time while driving his car. He is so taken aback bu what he hears that he pulls over his car to listen to it, remarking to his companion that The Beatles "Got there first."

Work on SMiLE abruptly shuts down for two weeks. At one point it seems that the entire album would never see the light of day. Fortunately, Brian, mentally hanging by a thread, is slowly coaxed back into the studio by the other Beach Boys, Van Dyke Parks and several of his close friends. Although recording resumes by mid-March, the sessions are much more infrequent and cover less ground. The "Heroes And Villains" single is released in July like it was in "real life", also like the musical world we know, it peaks at #12 on the charts.

The "SMiLE" finally released on August 24th, 1967, one year and four months after the first recording session, has the same track listing as the one Brian Wilson released in 2004. Although Bob Dylan released the double album "Blonde on Blonde" a year previous, Capitol is extremely reluctant to release two LPs of new Beach Boys material. As a compromise, the fourth side is used as sort of mini greatest hits compilation, featuring six of the Beach Boys' most successful previous singles to help ensure sales. This goes through despite Brian's heavy objections. Mike Love's voice can be heard on about half of the tracks on the album.

The album receives huge amounts of praise from critics, reaching #4 on the Billboard charts. Follow up singles "Wonderful" and "Wind Chimes" peak at #9 and #15 respectively.  Paul McCartney remarks in an interview his astonishment that Brian Wilson was actually able to top "Pet Sounds."

Despite all this, Brian still feels that the Beatles have won the musical war, the release of "Sargent Pepper's" in particular, leaving with barely enough wind in his sails to add the final few details to "SMiLE." He is completely and utterly defeated.

Much to surprise of everyone though, Brian begins work on a new song. "Can't Wait Too Long" is paired up SMiLE sessions reject "He Gives Speeches" for release as a single on December 4th, 1967. It reaches #19. In the meanwhile, the other Beach Boys have also been working on new songs as well as "Can't Wait Too Long"

On January 12th, 1968 the mental and emotional roller coaster Brian Wilson had been on for the past year comes to an abrupt and tragic end when he is found dead in his house. Investigators rule the cause of death as a suicide. The remaining Beach Boys are thrown into mourning and complete, utter chaos. Nobody knows what to do after this. The album that the group was working on, entitled "Wild Honey" (inspired by a comment Brian made once that it was a really good title for a song) is released in March. Obviously this album bears absolutely no resemblance to the "Wild Honey" we know, featuring 8 songs written by Al, Bruce, Carl and Dennis as well as "Can't Wait Too Long", "He Gives Speeches" and "Heroes And Villains" B-side "You're Welcome" to add some Brian songs and to fill out the album's length. It hits #28.

Feeling enormously guilty for not making amends with Brian before his death, Mike* does so with the other Beach Boys. The five of them decide to record the album "Friends" as a tribute in Brian's memory.  Released at the tail end of 1968, the album is by far the saddest and most emotionally intense collection of songs in the Beach Boys catalog, even if it's somewhat uneven. It peaks at #64.

Afterwards, the Beach Boys continue to release albums with a couple fan favorites each release, but worse and worse sales figures. The group eventually disbands in 1973 with their final album "Holland." All the Beach Boys except Al hae sporadic solo careers afterwards. In 2003, Rolling Stone names SMiLE #1 on it's list of Greatest Albums of all time. "Pet Sounds" is #3 and "Today!" is #91.

Holy crap I spent too much time writing this.


*by the way, his solo career didn't go very far after that first hit. Maybe a couple more singles barely hit the top 40 and an album that goes nowhere.

**Blondie Chaplain and Ricky Faatar still appear on the last two albums if you were wondering.

[Don_Zabu]

Well that was depressing.

[Andrew G. Doe]

Gee... that's got my day off to a great start. 

[Don_Zabu]

If you want a really good alternate history story, read "Tales Of An Alternative History".

http://cabinessence.net/essays/talesalt.html

[Jason]

This post made me want to put on a few layers of emoliner, paint my nails with emopolish, and rub myself with emoblades to numb the pain.

[Exapno Mapcase]

What really happens is that world is a better place.

[A Million Units In Jan!]

I think the story would have been a little bit better if, a few years after SMiLE came out, Brian quit the BB's and Mike rejoined them. Brian makes a bunch of really, really sad albums in the 70's, and starts to wear a lot of black makeup and dress in all black. He is then known as the Godfather of Goth, inspiring bands such as The Cure, Siouxsie and The Banshees and Bauhaus.

[buddhahat]

Greetings Elchriso!!

Whoah, unique, yet strangely entertaining first post - Think you've broken new ground with the BriWi suicide fantasy!

[Jonas]

You write Buffy fan fic, dont you?

[elchriso]

Well, Brain's often been quoted as saying he killed SMiLE "because it was killing him." Maybe he didn't mean it as literally as I took it. 

[Mr. Cohen]

Interesting alternate history if just for its zaniness. I doubt, however, that the BBs release albums after Brian commits suicide (wow, I hate that image) that have the exact same names as what they released in our real history.

[The Shift]

I think the story would have been a little bit better if, a few years after SMiLE came out, Brian quit the BB's and Mike rejoined them. Brian makes a bunch of really, really sad albums in the 70's, and starts to wear a lot of black makeup and dress in all black. He is then known as the Godfather of Goth, inspiring bands such as The Cure, Siouxsie and The Banshees and Bauhaus.

I'd rather he took to smiling, and inspired Take That,, Bananarama and the Wombles!

[Mr. Cohen]

My alternate history.

1967: Brian releases Smile, finishing it in a mammoth 72 hour session fueled by amphetamines. In the U.S., it takes awhile for the album to catch on, being so different. But, the sales continue to build like a wave until it's a tsunami. The album is an instant hit in the UK, and Sgt. Pepper's is looked at as not serious enough to compete with it. The band tours the album and Brian takes a vacation. He goes to Hawaii and has to be hospitalized after he badly scrapes his knee diving from a waterfall.

1968: Overwhelmed, Paul McCartney and John Lennon retreat to India.  They only stay a few weeks, rushing back to the studio to try and beat Brian. Paul loses it in the studio, and the resulting album, a 1 hour psychedelic mishmash of "Wild Honey Pie/Revolution 9/Carnival of Light" with "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" as a bookend, is critically panned. Brian laughs at the Beatles fortunes in an interview.

"Well, I think maybe the Beatles are doing comedy records. Yeah, that's it, the Beatles are doing comedy records. I laughed, I had to laugh. Didn't you? Comedy records are cosmic, man. When I scrapped my knee up real bad in Hawaii, laughing was what got me through. And ice cream... ice cream...."

In early-68, the Beach Boys release Flowers, a comedy album (with skits like Brian falling into his piano) mixed with bizarre sound experiments, including a track made entirely out of the various sounds of water and a track of Brian's friends jamming at the kitchen table with their utensils, cups, and plates, chanting "we want a cake, not a belly-itcher!" Sales are modest, and the album is looked at more as a curiosity than anything else.

1969: The Beatles release Abbey Road, motivating Brian to make a good album.

"Hey, I guess those Beatles are still OK, huh?," Brian jokes with an interviewer. "I thought Paul lost his marbles, personally."

Recording stops halfway through, when Brian falls from the rooftop studio constructed on his house and breaks a leg. A few weeks later, with Brian's leg still in a cast, the sessions continue. The resulting album, Wild Honey (a nod to "Wild Honey Pie") has 3 singles: "Time to Get Alone", "Can't Wait Too Long", and "Darlin'". It goes neck and neck with Abbey Road in the sales chart both in the US and overseas during the Christmas season. Brian is still more interested in recording lighter material after the headaches associated with Smile.

"Listening to Flowers helped when I broke my leg. It reminded me of good times. It's far out, y'know, to really break something. They just kind of fix it in place and it heals itself. Amazing! I think the vitamins I ate helped a lot."

People are still marveling at Smile, as its cult following grows.

"Yeah, I'd like to record another Smile. Recording music that spiritual, though, takes a heck of a lot out of you. You really have to dig deep within yourself to make music like that. Still, I think I'm gonna record another Smile. I will record another Smile, actually," Brian says, and so 1969 concludes.


1970: In collaboration with Van Dyke Parks (whose album Song Cycle was a modest success) and Stephen Kalinich, Brian records A World Of Peace Must Come. The avant-garde backing tracks, performed by 20-30 musicians each, are hailed as works of genius. With songs from the perspectives of trees, songs about peace, songs about marijuana, songs about love, and songs about food, the album is a perfect end to the 60s. As a result of the title track, "A World Of Peace Must Come", peace on Earth breaks out. The U.S. and Soviet Union dismantle their instruments of war and disband their armies, ringing in the change. The banking system, viewed as nothing but trouble, is suspended. With world peace achieved, Brian no longer sees the need to record commercial records.

"I'm just glad I could bring peace to the world. It's a good feeling," Brian says modestly, as he ceremoniously cuts a ribbon in downtown L.A. to usher in a new national holiday, Brian Wilson Day.

[Fall Breaks]

Haha, love the BW 'quotes'! Spot on. But what's up with all the 'Brian falls from heights' stuff?

[elchriso]

Interesting alternate history if just for its zaniness. I doubt, however, that the BBs release albums after Brian commits suicide (wow, I hate that image) that have the exact same names as what they released in our real history.

Well probably not, but it's impossible to tell exactly what would be released in some alternate universe with a 1967 SMilE in it, so I just used the real life album titles as "placeholders" or whatever.

[18thofMay]

My alternate history.

1967: Brian releases Smile, finishing it in a mammoth 72 hour session fueled by amphetamines. In the U.S., it takes awhile for the album to catch on, being so different. But, the sales continue to build like a wave until it's a tsunami. The album is an instant hit in the UK, and Sgt. Pepper's is looked at as not serious enough to compete with it. The band tours the album and Brian takes a vacation. He goes to Hawaii and has to be hospitalized after he badly scrapes his knee diving from a waterfall.

1968: Overwhelmed, Paul McCartney and John Lennon retreat to India.  They only stay a few weeks, rushing back to the studio to try and beat Brian. Paul loses it in the studio, and the resulting album, a 1 hour psychedelic mishmash of "Wild Honey Pie/Revolution 9/Carnival of Light" with "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" as a bookend, is critically panned. Brian laughs at the Beatles fortunes in an interview.

"Well, I think maybe the Beatles are doing comedy records. Yeah, that's it, the Beatles are doing comedy records. I laughed, I had to laugh. Didn't you? Comedy records are cosmic, man. When I scrapped my knee up real bad in Hawaii, laughing was what got me through. And ice cream... ice cream...."

In early-68, the Beach Boys release Flowers, a comedy album (with skits like Brian falling into his piano) mixed with bizarre sound experiments, including a track made entirely out of the various sounds of water and a track of Brian's friends jamming at the kitchen table with their utensils, cups, and plates, chanting "we want a cake, not a belly-itcher!" Sales are modest, and the album is looked at more as a curiosity than anything else.

1969: The Beatles release Abbey Road, motivating Brian to make a good album.

"Hey, I guess those Beatles are still OK, huh?," Brian jokes with an interviewer. "I thought Paul lost his marbles, personally."

Recording stops halfway through, when Brian falls from the rooftop studio constructed on his house and breaks a leg. A few weeks later, with Brian's leg still in a cast, the sessions continue. The resulting album, Wild Honey (a nod to "Wild Honey Pie") has 3 singles: "Time to Get Alone", "Can't Wait Too Long", and "Darlin'". It goes neck and neck with Abbey Road in the sales chart both in the US and overseas during the Christmas season. Brian is still more interested in recording lighter material after the headaches associated with Smile.

"Listening to Flowers helped when I broke my leg. It reminded me of good times. It's far out, y'know, to really break something. They just kind of fix it in place and it heals itself. Amazing! I think the vitamins I ate helped a lot."

People are still marveling at Smile, as its cult following grows.

"Yeah, I'd like to record another Smile. Recording music that spiritual, though, takes a heck of a lot out of you. You really have to dig deep within yourself to make music like that. Still, I think I'm gonna record another Smile. I will record another Smile, actually," Brian says, and so 1969 concludes.


1970: In collaboration with Van Dyke Parks (whose album Song Cycle was a modest success) and Stephen Kalinich, Brian records A World Of Peace Must Come. The avant-garde backing tracks, performed by 20-30 musicians each, are hailed as works of genius. With songs from the perspectives of trees, songs about peace, songs about marijuana, songs about love, and songs about food, the album is a perfect end to the 60s. As a result of the title track, "A World Of Peace Must Come", peace on Earth breaks out. The U.S. and Soviet Union dismantle their instruments of war and disband their armies, ringing in the change. The banking system, viewed as nothing but trouble, is suspended. With world peace achieved, Brian no longer sees the need to record commercial records.

"I'm just glad I could bring peace to the world. It's a good feeling," Brian says modestly, as he ceremoniously cuts a ribbon in downtown L.A. to usher in a new national holiday, Brian Wilson Day.

Love it..John Lennon releases Imagine produced by Brian Wilson..

[Daniel S.]

Hello, long time lurker here. Being the Beach Boys obsessive I am, I've developed a hypothetical scenario over the past few months of what might have happened if the greatest album never made had come to fruition. After seeing the incredible knowledge displayed by some of the users here, I more or less expect to have to make some revisions when I find some of my facts to be wrong.

Well here it goes:

On December 13th, 1966,  a week after a particularly ugly dispute between himself and Van Dyke Parks regarding the song's lyrics during a session for "CabinEssence", Mike Love announces that he is leaving the Beach Boys in favor of a solo career. This is usually marked as the beginning of the end for Brian Wilson.

Finding a musical collaborator, Mike Love writes the lyrics for a feel-good single that sounds reminiscent of the group's "surf" phase, although lyrically somewhat more mature and with a bit more of a "rock" edge to it. Released in late February of 1967 with a cover for the B-side, the single peaks at #18 on the charts.

In the meanwhile, although emotionally crushed by his cousin's departure, Brian soldiers on with his project. While still maintaining his professionalism in the studio, his mental deterioration continues to progress at an alarming rate.

On (or possibly a day or two after) February 17th, Brian hears the new Beatles single "Strawberry Fields Forever" for the first time while driving his car. He is so taken aback bu what he hears that he pulls over his car to listen to it, remarking to his companion that The Beatles "Got there first."

Work on SMiLE abruptly shuts down for two weeks. At one point it seems that the entire album would never see the light of day. Fortunately, Brian, mentally hanging by a thread, is slowly coaxed back into the studio by the other Beach Boys, Van Dyke Parks and several of his close friends. Although recording resumes by mid-March, the sessions are much more infrequent and cover less ground. The "Heroes And Villains" single is released in July like it was in "real life", also like the musical world we know, it peaks at #12 on the charts.

The "SMiLE" finally released on August 24th, 1967, one year and four months after the first recording session, has the same track listing as the one Brian Wilson released in 2004. Although Bob Dylan released the double album "Blonde on Blonde" a year previous, Capitol is extremely reluctant to release two LPs of new Beach Boys material. As a compromise, the fourth side is used as sort of mini greatest hits compilation, featuring six of the Beach Boys' most successful previous singles to help ensure sales. This goes through despite Brian's heavy objections. Mike Love's voice can be heard on about half of the tracks on the album.

The album receives huge amounts of praise from critics, reaching #4 on the Billboard charts. Follow up singles "Wonderful" and "Wind Chimes" peak at #9 and #15 respectively.  Paul McCartney remarks in an interview his astonishment that Brian Wilson was actually able to top "Pet Sounds."

Despite all this, Brian still feels that the Beatles have won the musical war, the release of "Sargent Pepper's" in particular, leaving with barely enough wind in his sails to add the final few details to "SMiLE." He is completely and utterly defeated.

Much to surprise of everyone though, Brian begins work on a new song. "Can't Wait Too Long" is paired up SMiLE sessions reject "He Gives Speeches" for release as a single on December 4th, 1967. It reaches #19. In the meanwhile, the other Beach Boys have also been working on new songs as well as "Can't Wait Too Long"

On January 12th, 1968 the mental and emotional roller coaster Brian Wilson had been on for the past year comes to an abrupt and tragic end when he is found dead in his house. Investigators rule the cause of death as a suicide. The remaining Beach Boys are thrown into mourning and complete, utter chaos. Nobody knows what to do after this. The album that the group was working on, entitled "Wild Honey" (inspired by a comment Brian made once that it was a really good title for a song) is released in March. Obviously this album bears absolutely no resemblance to the "Wild Honey" we know, featuring 8 songs written by Al, Bruce, Carl and Dennis as well as "Can't Wait Too Long", "He Gives Speeches" and "Heroes And Villains" B-side "You're Welcome" to add some Brian songs and to fill out the album's length. It hits #28.

Feeling enormously guilty for not making amends with Brian before his death, Mike* does so with the other Beach Boys. The five of them decide to record the album "Friends" as a tribute in Brian's memory.  Released at the tail end of 1968, the album is by far the saddest and most emotionally intense collection of songs in the Beach Boys catalog, even if it's somewhat uneven. It peaks at #64.

Afterwards, the Beach Boys continue to release albums with a couple fan favorites each release, but worse and worse sales figures. The group eventually disbands in 1973 with their final album "Holland." All the Beach Boys except Al hae sporadic solo careers afterwards. In 2003, Rolling Stone names SMiLE #1 on it's list of Greatest Albums of all time. "Pet Sounds" is #3 and "Today!" is #91.

Holy crap I spent too much time writing this.


*by the way, his solo career didn't go very far after that first hit. Maybe a couple more singles barely hit the top 40 and an album that goes nowhere.

**Blondie Chaplain and Ricky Faatar still appear on the last two albums if you were wondering.

Hey elchriso, I think that was pretty good.