New Beach Boys release will make you 'SMiLE'

[gsmile]

yeah of montreal is pretty great.    Just gotta be careful what album you choose.  Sometimes they go overboard with songs in segments, can't really follow.  BUT that album is a good one.  it's called "satanic panic in the attic".  they've gotten more dance and crazy lately, but that album was their breakthrough.  "sunlandic twins" is good, as is "hissing fauna".  hissing fauna is pretty dance.  Sunlandic twins is like david bowie.  cept more poppy.

actually their album "the gay parade" is like smiley smile piano stuff the whole time.  sounds like it too, lo fi but charming. of course, this is probably because they weren't popular yet and had no budget.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxoOU0U63mY

anyway. they're good.  a good example of beach boy influence.  Satanic Panic in the attic is probably a good place to start.

*thumbs up* Yup, Of Montreal are great.  My favorite album of theirs is "Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?"; lyrics, production, vibe...everything just seemed to come together perfectly on that record.

[Runaways]

yeah i caught them on their tour for that record. SOOOOO much fun. 

[Custom Machine]

Getting back to the forthcoming release of Smile - gotta agree that Al had spoken too soon, and thus issued his rather vague backtracking statement.
I'm still looking forward to enjoying an official release of The Smile Sessions later this year.



 

[buddhahat]

I doubt that 'Magical Mystery Tour' would have helped leave Brian behind in the dust.

Despite the fact that "Magical Mystery Tour" is (technically speaking) a compilation, it had lots of innovative sounds. Groups like Electric Light Orchestra wouldn't have been possible without the influence of "Magical Mystery Tour". Jeff Lynne & Roy Wood admit that that they were heavily influenced by "I Am The Walrus". There's nothing on "Smile" that would have been influential on other artists, and the nature of Smile's songs would have made them (for several reasons) unsuitable or too inaccessable to be covered by other artists.

lol this is ridiculous.  

Yeah.  Even unreleased, Smile was and continues to be a huge influence on other artists.

An influence on whom, other than Darian Sahanaja? Much of Smile's vocal complexity & lyrical abstraction would have precluded anyone covering these tracks. Admittedly, Brian was never particularly interested in recording studio technological "tricks" to the extent that The Beatles were, but The Beatles' use of those "tricks" proved to be quite influential. I'm a fan of both The Beatles & The Beach Boys(having lived in that era, and experienced their music in the context of its' time, the 1960's).
                                  The Beach Boys publicists & friends did their share of hyping "Smile"(both in 1966/67, then later in 1972 in an attempt to rebuild the group's popularity via an article in Rolling Stone magazine). The question that I'm posing, is have we fans talked ourselves into thinking "Smile"(as a whole, as opposed to its' 5 best songs heard a la carte) is something better than it really is? It is a question that we should be asking after the recent raising and crushing of the fans' hopes.  Is there valid reason to continue this "Smile" obsession?

I share your skepticism that Smile might not have been the 'grand slam' that we often assume it would be. I think the genius of Pepper was that it simultaneously pushed the envelope, and was universally accessible to young and old fans alike - that's no mean feat. I can't imagine your average gran bopping away to Do You Like Worms or 90% of Smile tracks, but With A Little Help From My Friends, When I'm 64, She's Leaving Home etc. are a different story. However I don't know for a fact that it wouldn't have been critically acclaimed for it's musical adventurousness. Who knows what would have gone down had it been released and the impact it would've had on other bands at the time - creative people get excited by Brian's boldest musical statements. Just see how much Paul McCartney gushes about Pet Sounds.

An influence on whom, other than Darian Sahanaja?

Also I think Brian got it right when when he said the public weren't ready for Smile in 67. I think 40 years later, its influence is unquestionable. Just look at the slew of young bands at the moment that are really pushing things forward in very exciting ways: The Flaming Lips, Animal Collective, Fleet Foxes, Grizzly Bear, Deerhunter and more recently Therapies Son, Idiot Glee. Smile, in all it's tropical, tribal grooviness, sound very now to my ears. I don't think these bands would be possible without Brian Wilson and Smile, so I don't agree with your above question, or your certainty that Smile would have been a critical failure in 67. We just don't know.

[Andrew G. Doe]

I think that for many of us, after a day of spending so much time in front of our computer screens venting our anguish & disappointment over the cancelled(or perhaps never-planned/non-existant) "Smile" CD project...

S'cuse me ? I've not read about anyone cancelling anything. Here's what happened:

Alan is interviewed. Right at the end of the sessions he announces - without prompting - that Capitol will be releasing Smile this summer.

The interviewer contacts Capitol and the usual suspects for clarification. He is told they don't want to give out any further information. No-one says "no, it's not happening".

Alan then announces, most unconvincingly, that there probably won't be any such release as there aren't enough 'bits'.  Alan does not work for Capitol Records, who have still said nothing.

My take is Alan jumped the gun, got his ass chewed for so doing and was told to backtrack.  My strong impression is that it will happen.

[pavlos brenos]

Quote from PhilCohen:
I openly asked one of the Hoffman board censors why a post of mine had been deleted. I find great vindication and validation that people continue to participate in Hoffman board threads that I created, and/or that the forum's present-day members to continue to "import" (into the Hoffman forum) quotes from my participation on other forums(such as IMWAN). It confirms that I still have useful information, that I still have something to say that is worth saying.
That wasn't a thread about Jimmy Page by any chance? We were talking about him and I mentioned how Jimmy seemed to have nicked The Kinks track "Revenge" and turned it into "She Just Satisfies" (Jimmy's first single). I remember the thread got destroyed for some reason and I wondered at the time what had happened. (I thought a "gort" became afraid of a Jimmy Page law-suit or something!!).

At any rate, good to see you here, PhilCohen. The rumoured "SMiLE" release has rekindled my interest in this board.

[Boiled Egg]

With fewer and fewer record stores in existence, and today's teenagers having no interest in buying music on a manufactured disc, the music industry is headed downhill towards extinction like a runaway locomotive. Those who are hoarding classic rock outtakes don't have much time left to market them. When even the notoriously anti-outtakes "Pink Floyd" are working on an outtakes project(and they are, according to drummer Nick Mason), the music industry's days are obviously numbered. The time to make money on 1960's & 1970's outtakes is now or never.

Hang about, Eeyore.  CD sales might be down, but overall music consumption (at least, in the UK) is up.  We bought 120 million albums last year, and overall revenues were up 5% to £3.9 billion.  All is not lost.

[Fun Is In]

I saw in a Grammy aftermath article that there were 11 million-selling albums in the US in 2010 compared to 22 million sellers in 2009.   I would be more informative to have the decade's worth of figures, but these two consecutitve years paint a stark picture for the industry.

[Roger Ryan]

And yet, the downturn in the recording industry may actually be the impetus to get the SMiLE sessions released! There is a huge paradigm shift going on, but it doesn't mean that people are going to stop making music...or finding ways to sell it.

I'm not quite sure why the idea of beating the Beatles at their own game back in '67 is seen as so momentous in the career of the Beach Boys. There are many, many performers who did not come close to the record sales or influence of the Beatles who went on to create wonderful music that we all love. Brian Wilson's genius wasn't crushed because "Strawberry Fields Forever" came out; band dynamics, drugs and mental illness derailed him from the path we thought he should take. In the end, the non-release of SMiLE for 37 years added an appealing myth to the band and the best material the band managed to release proves that they lived up to a great potential. When Brian finally did complete SMiLE as BWPS, it was a huge critical success and works great as an album, more fun than "Magical Mystery Tour" anyway. No career or life runs perfectly all the way through, even John Lennon passed away a good 30 - 40 years too early. But the music we have is pretty darn good...

...although those original SMiLE sessions would make a nice cherry on top!

[PhilCohen]

Quote from PhilCohen:
I openly asked one of the Hoffman board censors why a post of mine had been deleted. I find great vindication and validation that people continue to participate in Hoffman board threads that I created, and/or that the forum's present-day members to continue to "import" (into the Hoffman forum) quotes from my participation on other forums(such as IMWAN). It confirms that I still have useful information, that I still have something to say that is worth saying.
That wasn't a thread about Jimmy Page by any chance? We were talking about him and I mentioned how Jimmy seemed to have nicked The Kinks track "Revenge" and turned it into "She Just Satisfies" (Jimmy's first single). I remember the thread got destroyed for some reason and I wondered at the time what had happened. (I thought a "gort" became afraid of a Jimmy Page law-suit or something!!).

At any rate, good to see you here, PhilCohen. The rumoured "SMiLE" release has rekindled my interest in this board.

The matter that got me banned from Hoffman's forum had nothing to do with Jimmy Page. I'm not sure that I recall what the discussion was about. It's possible that it may have been a discussion about whether music bootlegging(versus counterfeiting of released music) actually posed much of an economic threat to the music industry.

[Menace Wilson]

I'm not quite sure why the idea of beating the Beatles at their own game back in '67 is seen as so momentous in the career of the Beach Boys.

I'm not either.  Speaking as a music fan, never once have I rolled my eyes at an album by any group because someone else did something great first. 

"This is really creative and adventurous, but Sgt Pepper came out first, and I only have room on my shelf for one LP, so...."   

[The Heartical Don]

I'm not quite sure why the idea of beating the Beatles at their own game back in '67 is seen as so momentous in the career of the Beach Boys.

I'm not either.  Speaking as a music fan, never once have I rolled my eyes at an album by any group because someone else did something great first. 

"This is really creative and adventurous, but Sgt Pepper came out first, and I only have room on my shelf for one LP, so...."   

 

[Chris Brown]

I think AGD's thoughts on this are the most reasonable - of course, the whole thing still warrants a healthy degree of skepticism, but even excluding Al's statement and subsequent retraction, there is still evidence that something is in the works. 

[LostArt]

For those who don't visit the Hoffman board, this is from Steve Hoffman himself:

Originally Posted by Steve Hoffman  
"No, it's not being released. But when it shows up on the Capitol/EMI quarterly release schedule, I'll start to get excited."

"As I said in this thread a million posts ago, this is not happening. You guys just like speculating, I understand that. But others really believed this was imminent and bombarded Capitol/EMI with calls, etc. The result? They clamped down on all rumors and made ol' All give another statement."

"I'm sure Capitol/EMI would love to actually release this. The "problem" doesn't come from there, so they are not the bad dudes in this and don't be calling them up & bitching."

"Look, I know the scoop but I can't tell ya, sorry. Let me say this:
For a project like this to actually be worked on, it doesn't take much. For a project like this to actually be released, it takes a lot. You know from past history with things like this how funky it can be. The "project" is always being diddled with in the studio. It's the signatures that count (to paraphrase "The Wild Bunch")."

[Andrew G. Doe]

At the risk of angering folk here the way I did on the Bloo recently (to the extent that their reaction caused me to say, "well **** this, I'm done"), let me say this:

Mr. Hoffman says it's not being released: I'm confident it will be.  One of us will be proven wrong by the end of this year. 

Consider this: aside from Alan (and Steve pretty much agrees with me that he was told to get out there, change his mind and take the rap), no-one has backtracked on or denied the original statement. Not Capitol, not Brian's camp, not Mike's people, not BRI.

And yes, it is the signatures that count. 

[LostArt]

I surely do hope that you're right, Andrew.  I surely do.

[PhilCohen]

If the surviving Beach Boys members & Capitol hold out for too many more years with "Smile", eventually, the bootleggers will get hold of more material, or some insider will quietly give them quality sources for the 3 tracks that only circulate with low-fidelity. In other words, by the time Capitol obtains all of the permissions, it will be too little ,too late.

[Sam_BFC]

My strong impression is that it will happen.

Dawwwww don't be letting us all down now Mr Doe 

[Mike's Beard]

Actually the news that Pink Floyd are putting together a rarities/outtakes project has got me just as excited as a Smile Boxset.

Another major group that has never even remotely touched upon their archives and desperately need to do so are Queen.

[drbeachboy]

If the surviving Beach Boys members & Capitol hold out for too many more years with "Smile", eventually, the bootleggers will get hold of more material, or some insider will quietly give them quality sources for the 3 tracks that only circulate with low-fidelity. In other words, by the time Capitol obtains all of the permissions, it will be too little ,too late.

Content wise, I'm betting the sign offs have more to do with what gets released, rather than the release as a whole. This will be more of a Brian sign off, than with the rest of BRI. The packaging and notes etc. will be more with Mike, AL and Carl's Estate signing off on the approval. I think it will be released, as well, but not without delays, though.

[adamghost]

I think that for many of us, after a day of spending so much time in front of our computer screens venting our anguish & disappointment over the cancelled(or perhaps never-planned/non-existant) "Smile" CD project...

S'cuse me ? I've not read about anyone cancelling anything. Here's what happened:

Alan is interviewed. Right at the end of the sessions he announces - without prompting - that Capitol will be releasing Smile this summer.

The interviewer contacts Capitol and the usual suspects for clarification. He is told they don't want to give out any further information. No-one says "no, it's not happening".

Alan then announces, most unconvincingly, that there probably won't be any such release as there aren't enough 'bits'.  Alan does not work for Capitol Records, who have still said nothing.

My take is Alan jumped the gun, got his ass chewed for so doing and was told to backtrack.  My strong impression is that it will happen.

What AGD said.

[PhilCohen]

Actually the news that Pink Floyd are putting together a rarities/outtakes project has got me just as excited as a Smile Boxset.

Another major group that has never even remotely touched upon their archives and desperately need to do so are Queen.

Queen are going to be releasing vault material starting in April. For contractual reasons, the releases will be UK-only(on Universal Music). The group are releasing remastered 1-CD & expanded/remastered 2-CD editions of their first 5 albums. In the 2-CD editions, Disc One will be the remastered album, and Disc Two will be the vault material, usually 5 or 6 tracks; an assortment of backing tracks, demos & BBC Session performances. At least from this early phase of their career, there isn't a huge amount of vault material. The albums can be preordered at www.Amazon.co.uk

[Seaside Woman]

Who now has to sign off on SMiLE, I thought the band members had already done this prior to Brian's version coming out?

[Runaways]

Who now has to sign off on SMiLE, I thought the band members had already done this prior to Brian's version coming out?

brian did already. nobody needs to.

[buddhahat]

For those who don't visit the Hoffman board, this is from Steve Hoffman himself:

Originally Posted by Steve Hoffman  
"No, it's not being released. But when it shows up on the Capitol/EMI quarterly release schedule, I'll start to get excited."

"As I said in this thread a million posts ago, this is not happening. You guys just like speculating, I understand that. But others really believed this was imminent and bombarded Capitol/EMI with calls, etc. The result? They clamped down on all rumors and made ol' All give another statement."

"I'm sure Capitol/EMI would love to actually release this. The "problem" doesn't come from there, so they are not the bad dudes in this and don't be calling them up & bitching."

"Look, I know the scoop but I can't tell ya, sorry. Let me say this:
For a project like this to actually be worked on, it doesn't take much. For a project like this to actually be released, it takes a lot. You know from past history with things like this how funky it can be. The "project" is always being diddled with in the studio. It's the signatures that count (to paraphrase "The Wild Bunch")."

I dunno. I'd love to believe this is happening, but Hoffman's "I know the scoop but I can't tell ya" sounds pretty ominous to me.