Are There Members Here Who...

[The Heartical Don]

...were around 16 years of age when 'Smile' was due to be released originally? The thread containing 'Holland 1973' inspired me to ask this. I myself was 7 - 8 when Smile was 'in the air', too young to be interested then (to my embarrassment, I was a huge fan of German 'Schlager' music, and the James Last Orchestra way back then - which prolly robs me of half of my credibility points...).

For those who were 16 then: were you a BBs fan already? Had you heard Pet Sounds and Today? Were you as eager to hear Brian's new art as reports have it? And how did you react when finally it became undeniable that the project was shelved for a long time, and other BBs LPs saw the light of day? What about the proposed 1971 resurrection?

[SmileySam]

Gee I would've been -24 years old so...can't really remember    When SMiLE was actually released, I would've been 13, but at that time I wasn't into The Beach Boys, I was into Ozzy Osbourne. Funny how my tastes went from Pop to Metal and back to Pop again

[Emdeeh]

I was in the ballpark agewise. Here's my story:

Yes, I was a Beach Boys fan already, got hooked on "Surfin' U.S.A." and the Surfer Girl album when they were new.

I loved Today but didn't like Pet Sounds (felt PS was music for an older demographic than myself, which means I was too young for it).

The Beach Boys were never only about Brian for me. I loved the whole band and was always interested in hearing what they had to offer, regardless to my reaction to individual tracks.

I loved "Good Vibrations" and "Heroes & Villains." However, I got sick of the media hype surrounding Smile. The hype had reached what I considered to be obnoxious levels, and I didn't trust the hype in the first place. That impacted how I felt on hearing that Smile was canceled and pretty much ended any curiosity I had about the music at the time.

I was puzzled by Smiley Smile and fell head over heels for Wild Honey (which I still consider the best BB album).

After hearing Carl's take on "Surf's Up," I certainly hoped they would succeed in resurrecting Smile, but didn't really put any expectations on it happening.

When the majority of the Smile music finally saw the light of day in the BB's GV box set, I discovered that I really liked the music. I think Brian's 2004 version of Smile sounded best as a live performance. I'd still like to have a Smile sessions CD or box set see official release.

[The Heartical Don]

I was in the ballpark agewise. Here's my story:

Yes, I was a Beach Boys fan already, got hooked on "Surfin' U.S.A." and the Surfer Girl album when they were new.

I loved Today but didn't like Pet Sounds (felt PS was music for an older demographic than myself, which means I was too young for it).

The Beach Boys were never only about Brian for me. I loved the whole band and was always interested in hearing what they had to offer, regardless to my reaction to individual tracks.

I loved "Good Vibrations" and "Heroes & Villains." However, I got sick of the media hype surrounding Smile. The hype had reached what I considered to be obnoxious levels, and I didn't trust the hype in the first place. That impacted how I felt on hearing that Smile was canceled and pretty much ended any curiosity I had about the music at the time.

I was puzzled by Smiley Smile and fell head over heels for Wild Honey (which I still consider the best BB album).

After hearing Carl's take on "Surf's Up," I certainly hoped they would succeed in resurrecting Smile, but didn't really put any expectations on it happening.

When the majority of the Smile music finally saw the light of day in the BB's GV box set, I discovered that I really liked the music. I think Brian's 2004 version of Smile sounded best as a live performance. I'd still like to have a Smile sessions CD or box set see official release.

Great call and thank you ma'am! It actually feels like 'having been there at the time', precisely because it's how I believe those things happen... with you then having reservations towards Pet Sounds, loving GV and H&V, and mistrusting the Smile thing, and then falling in love with WH.

[Jon Stebbins]

FYI...Emdeeh's a woman.

[Mike's Beard]

As much as a part of me wishes I'd been around in the mid 60's when all this amazing stuff was taking place in a way I'm grateful that I can approach all these old groups devoid of hype and just listen to the music without prejudice and decide what I like and don't on my own terms. Was Smile constantly being referred to in the music press from late '66 to mid '67? 'Cos if it was and then I'd bought SmileySmile I think I'd have handed in my BB membership badge there and then. As it was my BB's journey went from Smiley to Holland in the space of approx one day three years ago and so it never was a problem.

[Quincy]

I was 17 in 67 living in a suburb of Boston..liked the singles on the radio..but never really heard any talk of Smile..my friends at the time liked Today..but put there nose up at Pet Sounds..Brian was just another member of the band at that time, as far as we were concerned.

[The Heartical Don]

FYI...Emdeeh's a woman.

Thanks ma... sir!

[oldsurferdude]

As much as a part of me wishes I'd been around in the mid 60's when all this amazing stuff was taking place in a way I'm grateful that I can approach all these old groups devoid of hype and just listen to the music without prejudice and decide what I like and don't on my own terms. Was Smile constantly being referred to in the music press from late '66 to mid '67? 'Cos if it was and then I'd bought SmileySmile I think I'd have handed in my BB membership badge there and then. As it was my BB's journey went from Smiley to Holland in the space of approx one day three years ago and so it never was a problem.

The "music press" back in those days consisted of a few teen idol mags-Rolling Stone was just a twinkle in the eye, there was no internet of course and most of my information 'bout the boys was through my buds at the local record shops. GV and HV were released, we had read very little about Smile and before you knew it, Smiley was released-you kind of felt you had dropped your soap in the shower and someone came up behind you and ...you know the rest. I'm sure that that was "it" for alot of fans-I kept my badge because I knew there  would be better things coming along. The letdown, at the time, was major.

[The Heartical Don]

As much as a part of me wishes I'd been around in the mid 60's when all this amazing stuff was taking place in a way I'm grateful that I can approach all these old groups devoid of hype and just listen to the music without prejudice and decide what I like and don't on my own terms. Was Smile constantly being referred to in the music press from late '66 to mid '67? 'Cos if it was and then I'd bought SmileySmile I think I'd have handed in my BB membership badge there and then. As it was my BB's journey went from Smiley to Holland in the space of approx one day three years ago and so it never was a problem.

The "music press" back in those days consisted of a few teen idol mags-Rolling Stone was just a twinkle in the eye, there was no internet of course and most of my information 'bout the boys was through my buds at the local record shops. GV and HV were released, we had read very little about Smile and before you knew it, Smiley was released-you kind of felt you had dropped your soap in the shower and someone came up behind you and ...you know the rest. I'm sure that that was "it" for alot of fans-I kept my badge because I knew there  would be better things coming along. The letdown, at the time, was major.

Intriguing... was there any rumour doing the rounds about more SS songs being 'distant cousins' of the real Smile material? BTW, nice that you explain the music press of those days. When I seriously got into rock and pop, there were some fine mags already (RS, Let It Rock, and Dutch 'Oor'). And Holland had some pretty fine serious rock radio programmes way back in 1973.

[Runaways]

i feel lucky to not really get into the beach boys until post- BWPS.  though i loved my greatest hits as a kid.  just glad i skipped all that depressing stuff

[GoinBald]

I was 16 at the time. The day I heard I Get Around, in 1964,  I was hooked. For always as it turned out. I did not have a record-player back then, so I just had to listen to them on the radio. When I had enough money to buy a record-player, Pet Sounds was the first album I bought and played it all day long.

In Holland The Beach Boys were quite popular during the Pet Sounds period. Sloop John B had stayed four weeks on the # 1 spot, and eventually turned out to be # 1 of 1966. I think I bought quite a lot of Beach Boys albums that year. I remember that in those days the Dutch prominent music press were writing quite a bit about Smile. I remember a music paper called Hitweek which wrote a lot about the Beach Boys Smile. I went crazy about Good Vibrations and when Heroes And Villains was released I was quite thrilled. It's still one of my favorite songs, especially in stereo. As a matter of fact, every version of Heroes And Villains is a favorite.

I was a bit disappointed when I read in music papers that Smile wouldn't happen and instead we got Smiley Smile. Remember, it was 1967 and the SS music was not what was expected, but in line with the psychedelic times. I quite liked the album, still do, although I still like to hear the whole album in real stereo. That must be thrilling, especially Wind Chimes. Somewhere I must have read that that song was a Smile song, not knowing it was a different version, as was Wonderful. I knew Vegetables was from Smile, because in earlier articles that title was mentioned as being a Smile title and even considered being their next single.

With 20/20 I finally heard what Smile could have been in Cabinessence. Loved it instantly, still do. Even Cool, Cool Water was mentioned to be a Smile track back then, and when I heard Surf's Up I knew we had missed on something special. The first time I heard the original Vege-Tables I was surprised to hear that Mama Says was part of that song.

I can remember from those days that there was talk about Smile being released in 1971. I don't think I believed it because Brian already had stated that tapes were destroyed and never to be heard.
Through the years I have read and collected a lot about Smile and knew what was on that record, but it was not until some 15 years ago I got all the songs. Of course some people have made their own Smile and some are quite good. 

[Mike's Beard]

As much as a part of me wishes I'd been around in the mid 60's when all this amazing stuff was taking place in a way I'm grateful that I can approach all these old groups devoid of hype and just listen to the music without prejudice and decide what I like and don't on my own terms. Was Smile constantly being referred to in the music press from late '66 to mid '67? 'Cos if it was and then I'd bought SmileySmile I think I'd have handed in my BB membership badge there and then. As it was my BB's journey went from Smiley to Holland in the space of approx one day three years ago and so it never was a problem.

The "music press" back in those days consisted of a few teen idol mags-Rolling Stone was just a twinkle in the eye, there was no internet of course and most of my information 'bout the boys was through my buds at the local record shops. GV and HV were released, we had read very little about Smile and before you knew it, Smiley was released-you kind of felt you had dropped your soap in the shower and someone came up behind you and ...you know the rest. I'm sure that that was "it" for alot of fans-I kept my badge because I knew there  would be better things coming along. The letdown, at the time, was major.

I enjoy all 3 very much but I imagine the Smiley, Wild Honey and Friends period must have really been an endurance test for many a BB fan at the time.
It was only with 20/20 that the train really got rolling again but as we all know that was sort of a cheat as most of the best songs were a couple of years old. The fact that there was so much awesome stuff from others band coming out at the time could not have helped them.

[Custom Machine]

Well, I was 18 (not 16) at the time that Smile was supposed to be released, but I guess that's close enough.  I loved the BB stuff from day one, however when I heard Please Let Me Wonder and BB Today I was totally hooked!  But, the Pet Sounds cover looked so different to me that I actually delayed it's purchase for a few months, despite the fact that God Only Knows had bumped Please Let Me Wonder to number 2 on my all time favorite song list.  (Both were later eclipsed by Forever when Sunflower was released.)  

When I bought Pet Sounds in the summer of 66 it had such an unexpectedly intense effect on me that in December, when I visited an out of town friend, bringing Pet Sounds with me, I actually agreed to temporarily trade the Pet Sounds album for his GOK/WIBN single, with the understanding that I would get Pet Sounds back when he would be in town the following summer.  This may sound odd, but I had listened to Pet Sounds so much that I decided I needed an emotional break from the album, instead just concentrating on God Only Knows and Wouldn't It Be Nice.  But, within a couple of months I could hardly wait to get back into Pet Sounds.

So - back to Smile.  I had heard about it, and was definitely awaiting it's appearance.  In fact, the program for a BB concert I attended in Dec 66, when visiting my friend mentioned above, had an ad, "Watch for the release of the new Beach Boy album Smile, including Good Vibrations, coming in January."  But, as time went on, no Smile album appeared.  At some point, I read or heard from a friend that Smile had been scrapped.  Honestly, that didn't mean a hell of a lot to me at the time.  Despite having seen the Bernstein Guggenheim Inside Pop Special in late 66, where I found myself transfixed when Brian performed Surf's Up, I really didn't know what the fact that Smile had been scrapped meant in practical terms as far as what I might or might not hear on the Beach Boys next album.  I figured Good Vibes had to be on the next album for sure, and maybe Surf's Up too.  

When Smiley Smile was finally released in Oct of 67, I thought that Smile had, in fact, been released, but with a minor (if not rather bizarre) title change, and no Surf's Up.   Another friend, more into the BBs than I, advised me that that was not the case and played the new album for me.  I liked some of the stuff, but considered some of the songs rather bizarre.  I had the Good Vibes single anyway, so it wasn't until about 9 moths later that I got around to purchasing Smiley Smile.  

Like, Emdeeh, when Wild Honey come out I bought it instantly and played it constantly.  Whereas some of the stuff on Smiley Smile seemed rather bizarre to me, the stuff on Wild Honey was instantly accessible and enjoyable.  From that point forward, i bought every BB album the day it was released.  And, as oldsurferdude mentioned, if you weren't around in 66 and 67, it's hard to realize that there was very little in the way of a formal rock n roll press.  Most of the mainstream press still didn't take rock music very seriously, and didn't pay a whole lot of attention to it.  Yes, you had your teen mags (targeted to girls with info on rock stars height, hair color, eye color, fav food, etc), and Crawdaddy was in very limited circulation starting in 1966, but Rolling Stone didn't appear until after the release of Smiley Smile.  And, in general in its early years, Rolling Stone considered the BBs to be decidedly uncool.

[rab2591]

@the heartical Don,

This is probably the best thread I've read on this site....There is way too much myth/legend about SMiLE, it's so nice to hear what SMiLE was all about from the people who were around to [not] see it.

keep the posts coming!

[The Heartical Don]

@the heartical Don,

This is probably the best thread I've read on this site....There is way too much myth/legend about SMiLE, it's so nice to hear what SMiLE was all about from the people who were around to [not] see it.

keep the posts coming!

Thank you rab2591, I feel honoured! Yes, it worked out as I hoped, and it would be nice if more reports would flow in. Great to see the 'original perspective'.

[Custom Machine]

Well, I was 18 (not 16) at the time that Smile was supposed to be released, but I guess that's close enough.  I loved the BB stuff from day one, however when I heard Please Let Me Wonder and BB Today I was totally hooked!  But, the Pet Sounds cover looked so different to me that I actually delayed it's purchase for a few months, despite the fact that God Only Knows had bumped Please Let Me Wonder to number 2 on my all time favorite song list.  (Both were later eclipsed by Forever when Sunflower was released.)  

When I bought Pet Sounds in the summer of 66 it had such an unexpectedly intense effect on me that in December, when I visited an out of town friend, bringing Pet Sounds with me, I actually agreed to temporarily trade the Pet Sounds album for his GOK/WIBN single, with the understanding that I would get Pet Sounds back when he would be in town the following summer.  This may sound odd, but I had listened to Pet Sounds so much that I decided I needed an emotional break from the album, instead just concentrating on God Only Knows and Wouldn't It Be Nice.  But, within a couple of months I could hardly wait to get back into Pet Sounds.

So - back to Smile.  I had heard about it, and was definitely awaiting it's appearance.  In fact, the program for a BB concert I attended in Dec 66, when visiting my friend mentioned above, had an ad, "Watch for the release of the new Beach Boy album Smile, including Good Vibrations, coming in January."  But, as time went on, no Smile album appeared.  At some point, I read or heard from a friend that Smile had been scrapped.  Honestly, that didn't mean a hell of a lot to me at the time.  Despite having seen the Bernstein Guggenheim Inside Pop Special in late 66, where I found myself transfixed when Brian performed Surf's Up, I really didn't know what the fact that Smile had been scrapped meant in practical terms as far as what I might or might not hear on the Beach Boys next album.  I figured Good Vibes had to be on the next album for sure, and maybe Surf's Up too.  

When Smiley Smile was finally released in Oct of 67, I thought that Smile had, in fact, been released, but with a minor (if not rather bizarre) title change, and no Surf's Up.   Another friend, more into the BBs than I, advised me that that was not the case and played the new album for me.  I liked some of the stuff, but considered some of the songs rather bizarre.  I had the Good Vibes single anyway, so it wasn't until about 9 months later that I got around to purchasing Smiley Smile.  

Like, Emdeeh, when Wild Honey come out I bought it instantly and played it constantly.  Whereas some of the stuff on Smiley Smile seemed rather bizarre to me, the stuff on Wild Honey was instantly accessible and enjoyable.  From that point forward, i bought every BB album the day it was released.  And, as oldsurferdude mentioned, if you weren't around in 66 and 67, it's hard to realize that there was very little in the way of a formal rock n roll press.  Most of the mainstream press still didn't take rock music very seriously, and didn't pay a whole lot of attention to it.  Yes, you had your teen mags (targeted to girls with info on rock stars height, hair color, eye color, fav food, etc), and Crawdaddy was in very limited circulation starting in 1966, but Rolling Stone didn't appear until after the release of Smiley Smile.  And, in general in its early years, Rolling Stone considered the BBs to be decidedly uncool.

[Quincy]

thinking a little bit more on the subject..where I went to school in the mid sixties..there wasn't any records stores around..if you wanted a record you went to a JM fields or a Zayre stores to get them..in my circle there was no big drama about Smile..we never heard about till after the fact.. there was very little imformation coming out ..I'm sure thats the way it was in most small towns..except in the major cities..LA..etc.

[mtaber]

I was 14 in '67, and not into the Beach Boys at that point.  Favorites then were the Lovin' Spoonful and Beatles.  My brother (3 years older) bought tons of records back then, and he had Smiley Smile when it came out.  I had not heard of Smile and knew little about it till getting into the Beach Boys around Sunflower.  Anyway, Smiley was viewed by my friends and I as decidedly strange and uncool.  I remember sitting around with friends when my brother offered to sell Smiley for $.25 to any of us.  No takers. 

After getting into the group a few years later, I finally bought Smiley and remembered all the songs from hearing my brother play it - this time, i loved it... in fact, Smiley is still one of my favorites of all time.

As others have said, back in '67 there was really no mass communication about things like Smile.  When the group started talking about finishing Smile in the '70's, the only news on it might be a line in Billboard one week, a paragraph in Rolling Stone's "random notes" a few weeks later, and some mention in an article on the group in Crawdaddy a few weeks later.  Besides, the Beach Boys were decidedly not a cool band, they received no FM airplay, and friends were not into them.  Hard to work up a frenzied conversation under those circumstances.

While in college from '71 to '75, I did have a couple of friends who were into the band.  One owned the town record store, so I'd hang out there and talk about the band with these two guys.  The topic of Smile came up to some degree, but not obsessively so.  We were more likely to be looking ahead to what might come next.  Back then, there was always someone like Jack Rieley throwing out tidbits about how Brian was going to be "all over the next album", so that was a big conversation starter.  We didn't know all the inside info at that point.

Access to more information started with things like David Leaf's Pet Sounds newsletter.  I started to network with fans all over the world and started to get more consistant news on the group by those contacts - Peter Reum, Derek Bill, David Leaf and others.  Those were the days...