New Beach Boys release will make you 'SMiLE'

[Blake Alan]

Jeremy, thanks for the interview and article. In all your years of Beach Boy fandom, did you think you'd be the person to finally break the news of Smile's release? A surreal experience, I'm sure. Again, thanks for the read... and for bringing a little excitement to the week.

Is there stuff that has been heard that has not appeared on the countless bootlegs over the years? Are the Durrie Parks acetates for real (been confirmed) or is that an urban myth? How about the Al Jardine "Heroes & Villains" acetate? Is that any different than what we've already heard?

The Durrie Parks acetates have been confirmed to exist, though their content and playability are big question marks. As for Al's supposed acetates, I think the fact that he doesn't have many (any?) details about this release would suggest he hasn't been very involved in looking for/providing material. That said, I suppose it's entirely possible he gave whatever he has to Mr. Boyd years ago and said have at it... We shall see.

[donald]

I'm not clear on this......is this whole smile release thing another bogus rumour?

[Runaways]

I'm not clear on this......is this whole smile release thing another bogus rumour?

nope, legit.  SMOKE EM IF YOU GOT EM

[Dunderhead]

I am pretty happy with any news, I imagine they'll make the official announcement of this in the near future considering "summer" is just a few months away. SMiLE coming out is like end of the world scares honestly, the reasonable man feels like he must discount any such claim.
I'm curious though what do you guys think is most likely?:
1. An "as close as we can get it to how it would have sounded" version of the album, perhaps following the sequence of BWPS ala Purple Chic.
2. An archive release that includes different mixes/session highlights/demos perhaps in chronological order.
3. A multidisc set with the first disc being option 1 and the rest being archives.

Option 1 is not something that I'd run out and get the first day it was out honestly, unless it was really especially choice. But I'd hop on something more comprehensive the day it comes out.  The question really is, who does Capital think the market is, do they think that option 1 could attract more casual fans with a cheaper pricetag? Or do they think they can make the most scratch on the collectors market who are willing to pay premium prices. That's a good Fermi question.

[bgas]

I am pretty happy with any news, I imagine they'll make the official announcement of this in the near future considering "summer" is just a few months away.
I'm curious though what do you guys think is most likely?:
1. An "as close as we can get it to how it would have sounded" version of the album, perhaps following the sequence of BWPS ala Purple Chic.
2. An archive release that includes different mixes/session highlights/demos perhaps in chronological order.
3. A multidisc set with the first disc being option 1 and the rest being archives.

Option 1 is not something that I'd run out and get the first day it was out honestly, unless it was really especially choice. But I'd hop on something more comprehensive the day it comes out.  

Brian has given his OK...   so maybe he'll add his input into what he really planned( if there was such a thing) Not counting BWPS

I lean towards a multi-disc, but not necessarily with 1 and archives.  
I think it's all up in the air, and there won't be any real announcements until they get it finalized and the promo campaign started working.

[Dunderhead]

I am pretty happy with any news, I imagine they'll make the official announcement of this in the near future considering "summer" is just a few months away.
I'm curious though what do you guys think is most likely?:
1. An "as close as we can get it to how it would have sounded" version of the album, perhaps following the sequence of BWPS ala Purple Chic.
2. An archive release that includes different mixes/session highlights/demos perhaps in chronological order.
3. A multidisc set with the first disc being option 1 and the rest being archives.

Option 1 is not something that I'd run out and get the first day it was out honestly, unless it was really especially choice. But I'd hop on something more comprehensive the day it comes out. 

Brian has given his OK...   so maybe he'll add his input into what he really planned( if there was such a thing) Not counting BWPS

I leasn towards a multi-disc, but not necessarily with 1 and archives. 
I think it's all up in the air, and there won't be any real announcements until they get it finalized and the promo campaign started working.

I think generally the larger the market the longer the marketing campaign. Bit ticket things like blockbuster movies can begin campaigns a year or more in advance of release, generally when a band releases an album within a month of its announcement it's considered a "surprise" and is usually targeted as a "special" release for collectors. Depends on who the market is.

[bgas]

It's only February and Capitol may have been/are planning a summer release; with promos to start?? 
Then Al squeaks....  So what does that do to their plans, if they even had any( this is Capitol after all)

[Mikie]

This may have been covered somewhere else already, but what do we know that exists that has NOT been included on bootlegs since 1978? A three minute version of "Child Is Father To The Man"? Or the same with vocals? Is there stuff that has been heard that has not appeared on the countless bootlegs over the years? Are the Durrie Parks acetates for real (been confirmed) or is that an urban myth? How about the Al Jardine "Heroes & Villains" acetate? Is that any different than what we've already heard?

And some here have heard the SMiLE “Linett mixes” from around 1988, I presume?  Of course we have even better technology today; possibly even better than 24 bit, though I think Mark probably scrapped those mixes and started over. Maybe the mixing/mastering has already been undertaken for this new project. So what did you guys think of Linett’s Smile mixes that were circulating for awhile?

[bgas]

This may have been covered somewhere else already, but what do we know that exists that has NOT been included on bootlegs since 1978? A three minute version of "Child Is Father To The Man"? Or the same with vocals? Is there stuff that has been heard that has not appeared on the countless bootlegs over the years? Are the Durrie Parks acetates for real (been confirmed) or is that an urban myth? How about the Al Jardine "Heroes & Villains" acetate? Is that any different than what we've already heard?

And some here have heard the SMiLE “Linett mixes” from around 1988, I presume?  Of course we have even better technology today; possibly even better than 24 bit, though I think Mark probably scrapped those mixes and started over. Maybe the mixing/mastering has already been undertaken for this new project. So what did you guys think of Linett’s Smile mixes that were circulating for awhile?

wait a minute...  is this deja-vu all over again?

[Mikie]

Do you have any answers to my questions, Bgas?  Or just comments.  Are you one o' them SMiLE experts or just a collector? Seems like there's a few refugees from the Smile Shop here who could provide legit answers......

[Dunderhead]

So far I think the only conclusive answer we've had is, no, nobody really knows of anything new. There' been no confirmation on any of the rumored stuff. I don't know about the citfotm one though, is there something different then the mixes that are already out there?

[Camus]

I read on the Steve Hoffman board that Alan Boyd had said that acetate(s) of missing Smile material did exist.  Is this someone putting 2 and 2 together and getting 5?  Or possibly thinking of the Durrie Parks acetates?

Am I the only one who can't believe the Durrie Parks acetates haven't been cataloged and transferred?

I hope this release happens.  When I did my own Smile mix I found that extended Abbey Rd type medleys seemed to be the best way to present a lot of the material.

[Chris Moise]

Alan posted that here. See below..

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
How complete was Surf's Up in 1967?

I've heard about the existence of a tape of a full arrangement on that second section of SURF'S UP. It's been described to me, third-hand. Supposedly it's pretty weird, lots of strange horn and string parts. But I haven't heard it. We don't have it in the Beach Boys' tape library. And it's not among Brian's tapes either.

There is an enormous amount of SMILE material that's missing. I recently saw a photograph on Ed Roach's site of a tape shelf at Brother Studio, late 1970s. Right there, along with safety 1/4" masters of all the group's albums, is a tape labeled "BRIAN - DUMB ANGEL." Probably a 1/4" or 1/2". I nearly had a stroke when I saw that, and I immediately called anyone and everyone who ever had access to tapes at Brother, and asked what they knew about it. No one knew. What was on that reel? Where is it now? It certainly wasn't listed in the 1985 inventory of the group's tapes.

What WAS listed in that inventory are the many empty tape boxes from the SMILE era, on titles like "Heroes and Villains," "Cabinessence," "Surf's Up," "Vegetables," etc... they were empty in 1985, they're empty today. I'm certain, however, that excerpts from at least one of them (overdubs onto the last verse of "Vegetables") showed up on one of the SOT discs. They're almost all 1/4" mixdowns. Other SMILE tracks were assembled onto some of the 1/2" STACK-O-TRACKS assembly reels, and those SMILE songs are also....missing.

Never did find the multitrack of CABINESSENCE with Carl's lead vocal on it, by the way.

And "Heroes and Villains" is heartbreaking... there's almost NOTHING of any pre-1967 work on that song. I went through every tape on that title while scrounging up parts for the "Hawthorne" remix.... There are no multi-tracks on any of the verses from the early 1967 "alternate" version... nothing at all on the 3rd verse as found in the single (which is why the stereo spread goes a little, um...funky at that point in the Hawthorne mix), "Barnyard" exists only as a (not very good) dub onto an 8 track worktape, and I wouldn't be surprised if we're missing some significant work on "I'm In Great Shape" as well. We did find the first two verses for the single, but they seem to have been re-recorded by Brian specifically for the single. But there's no "3 score and five I'm very much alive" anywhere except on that partially mangled safety copy dated 2/10/67.

Was there indeed a completely diffferent version of the song (as Bruce has claimed) that may have included some sort of a Barnyard Suite (featuring Billy, who loved his chickens) and maybe even a barroom brawl? Did Brian have some sort of crisis in December 1966 that moved him to scrap everything he'd done before on that song and start again? Listening to some of those January 1967 tapes where he's almost obsessively tinkering with different chants of the song's title, it kinda sounds like he's fishing for inspiration.

And speaking of that early alternate mix, we have the tape box (which has a sort of "edit-list" written on it) for the master, but the song itself has been spliced out of the reel. I actually think the count-in may still be there.

Here's what's written on that tape box, dated 1/31/67:
_____________________________

HEROS AND VILLAINS - 1ST PART

1 - 1st version of PT-1
2 - 2nd version of PT-1 with more echo
3 - 1st version of PT-2

4 Bridge to 3rd verses [or versions] (start with “My Children”)
5 Bridge To PT Two (whistle Part)

[note - EDITED, indicating all above parts]

6 - 3rd verses
7 BRIDGE [Last item crossed out]

NOTE:
THIS REEL HAS HAD ALL OF THE ABOVE REMOVED TO AN UNKNOWN REEL 12/31/85 J. PETERS
___________________________________

Here's what's written on the tape box for the SAFETY copy of "heroes and Villains"
_______________________________

“Heroes & Villains” as of 2/10/67 master
1st verse
2nd verse
3rd verse (all edited together)

1 - bridge to 3rd verse
2 - bridge to fade
3 - cantina
4 - 2nd verse
5 - fade

(The above crossed out sort of...)

2:57 MASTER

PROT COPY
_______________________________

I can't even tell for sure if they're referring to the same edit. There's no way to know any of this for sure, because so much is missing. And I'll admit I sometimes think it's kinda pointless for anyone to say "It was THIS way" or "That song was supposed to be constructed like THIS" when there are so many huge gaps among the tapes themselves. especially when it comes to discussing "Heroes."

-Did Brian actually destroy some tapes back in the day? I think he just might have...

-Are there one-of-a-kind tapes that have been stolen and are now in the hands of collectors? Yes...

-Were there tapes that Brian somehow left behind at a studio after working on them that have since found their way into the hands of collectors? Probably...

-Are there acetates of missing material in the hands of collectors and/or people who were around at the time? Absolutely...

[Andrew G. Doe]

I also sent him & his team the transcribed interview as a courtesy, so they knew what was going to be said, except for my introduction.  Alan Boyd also read it before it went to press; unfortunately, as you know, Capitol didn't want him to divulge any details.  

No one said I shouldn't publish the news about SMILE.  Just wanted to get that out there.  Maybe they thought I shouldn't, but they didn't say no.  Who knows, maybe the BB are asking Al about that interview as we speak.

Good call. The technical term is "covering one's ass". 

Last night I published a stand-alone article on SMILE.  I'm surprised no one hasn't noticed the opening promo tag line, as well as the person I thank at the end.  You could say he was a special editor, but more importantly, he made sure everything was correct, and if I left out an important detail, he steered me in the correct direction.  So thanks, Andrew.

http://www.examiner.com/pop-culture-in-national/the-beach-boys-set-to-release-smile-the-greatest-lost-masterpiece-of-all-time

Nah, I'm just a hard-workin' guy.

[bgas]

Do you have any answers to my questions, Bgas?  Or just comments.  Are you one o' them SMiLE experts or just a collector? Seems like there's a few refugees from the Smile Shop here who could provide legit answers......

I wouldn't classify myself as a Smile "Expert", by any stretch. That was Coach.
Smile Collector , for sure.
Having read the quoted Alan Boyd/Hoffman message, I'd say there are either some big stone cold liars out there, or "everyone" didn't get asked.
Be interesting to know whether all the BBs are/were part of everyone, because of all the possible sources, I'd venture the best possibilities are there.

[Andrew G. Doe]

Having read the quoted Alan Boyd/Hoffman message, I'd say there are either some big stone cold liars out there, or "everyone" didn't get asked.

Asking "everyone" would first require knowing who "everyone" was. I'm willing to bet there are folk out there with names we've never heard of in possession of tapes/acetates that they don't realise are important, or indeed in any way interesting.

[bgas]

Having read the quoted Alan Boyd/Hoffman message, I'd say there are either some big stone cold liars out there, or "everyone" didn't get asked.

Asking "everyone" would first require knowing who "everyone" was. I'm willing to bet there are folk out there with names we've never heard of in possession of tapes/acetates that they don't realise are important, or indeed in any way interesting.

Oh, for sure, there are people with acetates.  My sense was to this quote:
>>and I immediately called anyone and everyone who ever had access to tapes at Brother, and asked what they knew about it. No one knew << 
The question being, I suppose, was there some security feature involved with accessing the Brother tapes, and was that kept on a list?
were some of the tapes possibly kept at the Santa Monica studio, and thrown out in the trash with all the photos/memorabilia? ( most acquired by Hodads)

Would Carl have made copies, for home review,when he was working on Smile tracks, ( maybe they're still there) or would he being the private guy he was, have left work at work?

[Andrew G. Doe]

Speaking from the experience I had in March 1985, security at the Brother Studio tape store probably was very lax. Back in '85, I was able to walk - with Steve Desper, granted, but no-one checked anything going in or out - into the Capitol tape room in the Tower, and just pull boxes off the racks to look at. I had a shoulder bag, and could have walked out with pretty well anything.

And for those who may be wondering, yes, there was a box for T 2580... and yes, there was a master in it. Not by The Beach Boys, however.

[bgas]

Speaking from the experience I had in March 1985, security at the Brother Studio tape store probably was very lax. Back in '85, I was able to walk - with Steve Desper, granted, but no-one checked anything going in or out - into the Capitol tape room in the Tower, and just pull boxes off the racks to look at. I had a shoulder bag, and could have walked out with pretty well anything.

And for those who may be wondering, yes, there was a box for T 2580... and yes, there was a master in it. Not by The Beach Boys, however.

Curious.  What/who was n the T2580 box?

[Andrew G. Doe]

Can't recall right now - solo artist, I recall.

[The Shift]

Back in '85, I was able to walk … into the Capitol tape room in the Tower, and just pull boxes off the racks to look at. I had a shoulder bag, and could have walked out with pretty well anything.

Is there something you want to tell us, Andrew?

Edit:   

[A Million Units In Jan!]

And I'm sure that this question already exists somewhere in the depths of these forums; Did the people 'in charge' of putting the SOT box set together put everything they had on those cd's? I can't recall who or what 'SOT' really was in the first place, one person or a group of people. I swear that I heard somewhere that when SOT was busted (which I recall being not long after the SS SOT came out), it was pretty much just one guy who had all of these tapes. Of course, that could be internet legend for all I know.
Also; is there anyone else who thinks this 'Durrie Parks Acetate' thing is a bit overblown? It was mentioned once by Durrie years ago, and that was the first and last time we've heard of it, isn't it? I think people have this idea of a box full of acetates buried in her garage-what was it exactly that she said again? Was it 'I think I may have an acetate in my garage somewhere' or 'I have a bunch of them in the garage for sure'? I assume that by this point, it wasn't anything of importance, or in the end it didn't even exist/wasn't there anymore.

[Cam Mott]

Considering the fellas working on it, I'm sure we will get the best that is possible.

Would it be out of place for the musos and collectors on this board to mount a campaign on the other muso/collector boards they frequent to come forward or spread the word to those who do/might have some of this missing or unique material to come forward now because there might not be a another chance [not to be overly dramatic, still aware that it might not happen this time]? If the cat is out of the bag, I wonder if a regular news media campaign asking for the material has been considered? Something that could go viral and possibly reach the widest range of possible holders.

[Cam Mott]

And I'm sure that this question already exists somewhere in the depths of these forums; Did the people 'in charge' of putting the SOT box set together put everything they had on those cd's? I can't recall who or what 'SOT' really was in the first place, one person or a group of people. I swear that I heard somewhere that when SOT was busted (which I recall being not long after the SS SOT came out), it was pretty much just one guy who had all of these tapes. Of course, that could be internet legend for all I know.
Also; is there anyone else who thinks this 'Durrie Parks Acetate' thing is a bit overblown? It was mentioned once by Durrie years ago, and that was the first and last time we've heard of it, isn't it? I think people have this idea of a box full of acetates buried in her garage-what was it exactly that she said again? Was it 'I think I may have an acetate in my garage somewhere' or 'I have a bunch of them in the garage for sure'? I assume that by this point, it wasn't anything of importance, or in the end it didn't even exist/wasn't there anymore.

Wasn't there some doubt about what there might be or what condition it might be in? Was there something about a flood?

[The Shift]

Did the people 'in charge' of putting the SOT box set together put everything they had on those cd's?

Few of us can know for certain but I'd bet they edited out a lot of studio chatter and a few false starts to squeeze material on to as few discs as made sense.

More interesting might be the box that Vigotone had reportedly got ready to ship before they were busted. Far as I recall being mentioned, when that happened a lot of tapes were taken by the authorities.

Were they returned to their proper homes? HAve we heard any or all of that material?  Are we about to?