Truth stranger than fiction: Brian Wilson to release "Smile" 9/28/04

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

http://www.icemagazine.com/stories/209/wilson.shtm



If waiting is the hardest part, things are about to get easier for fans of Brian Wilson’s long lost Smile album. On September 28, Nonesuch Records issues a freshly recorded version of Smile, some 37 years after the original (Beach Boys) album was planned for release.

Intended as the ambitious follow-up to Pet Sounds and "Good Vibrations," Smile was widely announced throughout 1966 and early ’67 as a record that would likely alter the course of pop music. But Wilson decided to scrap the project before it could be completed. In September of ’67, the scaled-back Smiley Smile was issued, to less than enthusiastic response. Although such original Smile tracks as "Surf’s Up," "Heroes and Villains" and "Cabinessence" found their way onto subsequent Beach Boys albums, Wilson’s masterwork remained somewhat of a mystery until this spring, when he performed the album program, in its entirety, in a series of London concerts.

The complete tune-stack is as follows. Part One: "Our Prayer," "Heroes and Villains," "Roll Plymouth Rock," "Barnyard," "Old Master Painter/You Are My Sunshine" and "Cabinessence." Part Two: "Wonderful," "Song for Children," "Child Is Father of the Man" and "Surf’s Up." Part Three: "I’m in Great Shape," "Workshop," "Vega-Tables," "On a Holiday," "Wind Chimes," "Mrs. O’Leary’s Cow," "I Love to Say Dada/In Blue Hawaii" and "Good Vibrations."

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

1. And I'll be the first on my block to have it

Can't wait to hear it the way he wanted to do it...Wilson is a harmonic genius

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

4. I bought "Live At The Roxy Theatre" yesterday and was shocked...

...especially the performance of "Do It Again"...it sounds like The Beach Boys on the best night of their lives. Much of his solo stuff can be hit or miss, but the "hit" stuff is definitely worth enduring the "miss" (The duet with his late brother Carl, "Soul Searchin'" (from the new CD) is worth the price of admission all by itself, IMHO...)

The Mike Love franchise calling itself "The Beach Boys" (with Bruce Johnston in tow) is performing at the Saratoga Mountain Winery this Thursday...tickets are $65.25/50.25/40.25.

Other than Brian, Al Jardine has gotten decent reviews with his live performances. The word on the street re: the Love / Johnston mess is that Love sometimes forgets the words to the songs, and the set list pales in comparison with the songs Brian chose for the Roxy performance.

Also, the "Good Timin'" live at Knebworth 1980 DVD is pretty essential...it may not be a "career best" performance from the band, but it's the REAL band...all three Wilson brothers...and "very good," if not "great."

:toast:

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

5. Don't have that version of Good Timing but Love and Mercy is one

of my favorites...would love to see Brian work with Blondie Chaplain(?) again (vocalist from Holland)

Where can I get the 1980 disc? Do you know?

[emulatorloo]

8. Get your Beach Boys Live at Knebworth right here ---

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00008HCB8/qid=1091478020/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl74/104-6030303-9561519?v=glance&s=dvd&n=507846

NSMA, if you are a fan you might consider getting Brian's new studio album, "Gettin In Over My Head" too. . .check out the preview w 4 tracks at

http://www.brianwilson.com/

Click on "album preview"

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

10. "Fairy Tale" from "Gettin' In Over My Head" is particularly sweet

It was the one song, other than (of course) "Soul Searchin'" that had the most traditional Beach Boys feel...the famous Brian bittersweet melancholy melody, layered vocals, etc. The sort of child-like (as opposed to "childish") lyrics about dragons and knights in shining armor plays nicely against Brian's somewhat ragged vocal.

I hope that all of the recent interest in the Beach Boys results in the CD releases of Carl's two solo albums and "Pacific Ocean Blue" from Dennis. I guess if the fans buy the products and make enough noise, we'll see them someday.

:toast:

[emulatorloo]

13. "You've Touched Me" could be from "The Beach Boys Today" or "Summer Days"

Fairy Tale, Gettin', You've Touched Me all have that classic Brian ballad feel to them. And while even the good reviews of the album have dismissed "Desert Drive," it is nice to have a new car song to sing!

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

12. I have that..and LOVE IT

but thanks for the links

[The_Casual_Observer]

2. There have been bootleg versions of this tune-stack

for years using the original material. Brian's voice isn't what it used to be, so I wonder what all this will sound like now.

[emulatorloo]

7. He sounds pretty good on his new studio album "Gettin' in over my Head'

and I bet the wondermints are helping out w vocals for Smile.

[XNASA]

It will be interesting to see what is old and what is new.

I love albums that develope from stage to studio and not vice versa. Zooropa comes to mind.

But I dislike old albums that have been sweetened or have had parts rerecorded....FZ's "We're only in it for the Money" comes to mind.

Still, Wilson's a real genius. I'm sure it'll be interesting either way.

[jpgray]

3. Can't wait!

His voice is shot comapred to '66, but it will be great to hear it strung together.

[MadHound]

6. This will be most interesting!

I've got the albumn that was kind of the pick up after Smile did a header. The Beach Boys came out with Smiley Smile, which had many of the songs originally intended for Smile. It will be interesting to compare the two, then and now.

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

9. The liner notes to the remastered "Smiley Smile" are pretty enlightening

...the "Smiley Smile / Wild Honey" 2-for-1 CD, that is:



"Heroes and Villains" was intended to be the centerpiece of the album, as is evidenced by the plethora of alternate takes and fragments that exist.

Here's an excerpt from the CD booklet:

"At Brian's insistence, "Heroes and Villains" was re-recorded for Smiley Smile at a hastily set up "studio" at his new Bel Air home. Because there was no echo chamber, microphones and speakers were placed in the emptied out swimming pool.

As Al Jardine recalls, "We recorded a pale facsimile of "Heroes and Villains," replete with discordant transitions...Brian re-invented the song for this record...He purposefully under-produced the song."

As Al Jardine points out, "it was lost because Brian wanted it to be last. He was no longer interested in pursuing number one...Nobody felt it more painfully than us."

[Mike Daniels]

11. My guess is that it will sound incredibly dated -

Which of course it is, being based circa 1966-67.

Outside of Rolling Stone and a few other music mags, it'll get lukewarm reviews for the most part and another "sacred cow" will be shown to be just "hype" that already had the strongest material (Good Vibrations, H&V, Surf's Up and Cabinessence) released during the band's lifetime.

And I say this as someone who loves their Pet Sounds through Holland material better than any of the surf and sun stuff and I will buy the album just to see how it stands up to the insane expectations that will come with it.