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Post by The Cincinnati Kid on Jan 1, 2019 13:27:01 GMT -5
After a 44 year wait, fans finally got to hear one of the greatest lost albums of all time in 2011. Attachments:
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Post by Beach Boys Fan on Jan 2, 2019 8:42:28 GMT -5
I shall dare to say this - it's better than PS. 10, could be 15.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 5, 2019 14:53:48 GMT -5
If it weren't for this album I wouldn't have joined the forums (Tho Im sure some people see that as a negative ) I've written dozens of essays about it. Made half a dozen fanmixes trying to do the material justice. It changed my perspective on music as an artform and on life itself. It inspired me to check out other 60s counterculture musicians and eventually the Age of Aquarius. No other piece of media has had even close to the same impact on my life. The boxset, despite its problems, is the most precious thing I own. I think a whole CD of GV sessions was a waste. I would have preferred more Psychedelic Sounds recordings (at least give us Smog and Taxi Cabber in good quality!) I know that most people aren't interested in PS but there's no denying the Veggie Fight is related and we should have gotten enough of that to stitch together a whole conversation. Im just asking for thirty seconds, maybe a full minute with studio chatter. I dont think thats asking much. There are some takes found on Unsurpassed Masters 17 which are sorely lacking here. We dont get a single take of the CIFOTM fade/final section, which I find a terrible omission. I would have loved isolated "truck driving man" and "pretty baby wont you rock with me Henry" vocals if it were possible. I hate the Disc 1 track sequence. And of course its just the uber-completionist in me but I truly wanted the other two Jasper Daily tracks. ...but all these are minor quibbles considering how great the music is, how unlikely it was that it got released at all, and being able to (mostly) make your own mix in good quality. So I give it an easy 10
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dumbchops
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Post by dumbchops on Jan 5, 2019 20:32:44 GMT -5
In 2012, I drove my mother from Louisiana to Nevada through Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. I burned my 5 cds from the box set and found a vinyl rip for the double lp as I am not set up to do that. It was quite inspiring driving through the mountains and heading west while listening to this unfinished masterpiece of westward expansion. Great memories.
I gave it a 10 out of 10 overlooking disc 5 (Good Vibrations) which is unnecessary but the rest of the sessions are golden. Actually, it's the best and most played boxed set I own.
I first started hearing this material in the 1990's thanks to Anne Wallace wherever she is today. I had a 12 track compilation I used to listen to over and over and then I kept getting more bootlegs of the material and it became my favorite BB album even over Pet Sounds and Sunflower. I could go on and on about it but I'll just say that the song that first really grabbed my attention was the first version of "Wonderful" without the yodeling. I have a version from 2000 that I did all the instrumental and vocal parts. I added a drum part to it as well that had nothing at all to do with Version 2.
As much as I love the odd Smiley Smile, I heard the SMiLE versions first so to be honest I do not like the remakes as much as the originals, even "Wind Chimes".
I almost forgot, I voted 10 out of 10.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 6, 2019 9:58:36 GMT -5
10/10
What has been assembled for this album is, to me, a brilliant showcase of a masterpiece interrupted. I accept it as is. I would change nothing.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 6, 2019 12:42:21 GMT -5
A very strong triumphant 10! In fact this one goes to 11 (heh, heh!) I would have to say that TSS is the most rewarding vault release I have ever encountered. After chasing SMiLE for so many years, attempting to get my grubby hands on any bootleg or information that crossed my path (I was never fortunate enough to be in any collector or fan circle, but Bob Hanes helped me out quite a bit) I was as thrilled as a kid on Christmas to open up this precious box. Only it was Halloween..... Yeah, I told the story on PSF about how on Halloween, 2011 I turned off all the lights in my house to discourage any trick or treaters, made my way upstairs to my loft studio, and listened to this set with very minimal lighting around me. It was surreal!
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Post by kds on Jan 8, 2019 16:05:22 GMT -5
8/10
As I stated in the BWPS section, I do not think Smile is a masterpiece. Too many little filler pieces for my liking. But the high points are extremely high - Our Prayer, H&V (although I prefer the single version without the Cantina section), Cabinessence, Wonderful, Song for Children, Child is the Father of the Man, Surf's Up, and GV. Wind Chimes and Fire are very intriguing also. The rest.....eh, not so much. I find this somewhat incomplete version far superior than the BW version since it features the BB voices in their prime.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 11, 2019 18:56:35 GMT -5
Btw, shouldn't this be in the Box Set section?
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Post by Deleted on Jan 11, 2019 19:53:43 GMT -5
Btw, shouldn't this be in the Box Set section? There was also the bare bones 2 CD and 2 LP releases tho. Personally I think it's fine here. It's basically a vote on the SMiLE songs, and a person's opinion on them isn't likely to change much depending on whether they're voting for an album or an album plus session outtakes.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 12, 2019 1:45:06 GMT -5
Btw, shouldn't this be in the Box Set section? There was also the bare bones 2 CD and 2 LP releases tho. Personally I think it's fine here. It's basically a vote on the SMiLE songs, and a person's opinion on them isn't likely to change much depending on whether they're voting for an album or an album plus session outtakes. And the single CD release, which I have.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 12, 2019 4:32:00 GMT -5
Curiously, after posting the above I came downstairs and a version of this was playing on the radio. Gotta love Modern Times. I must confess to hardly ever playing my single CD. This may have had something to do with the running order you hate, @iluvleniloud . In fact it was only after reading your descriptions of your own mixes (and the one about the Psychedelic Sounds recordings) and hearing your "GV"-less Aquarian SMiLE that I knew which mix was the one for me (historically correct or not). So I fear I must refrain on voting--too many conflicting pros and cons for this simple brain. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smile_(Charlie_Chaplin_song)
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Post by Deleted on Jan 12, 2019 12:42:09 GMT -5
Btw, shouldn't this be in the Box Set section? There was also the bare bones 2 CD and 2 LP releases tho. Personally I think it's fine here. It's basically a vote on the SMiLE songs, and a person's opinion on them isn't likely to change much depending on whether they're voting for an album or an album plus session outtakes. Ohhhhhhh, right! But are the non-box releases called Smile Sessions also? I never bought those since I bought the box right off the press. I guess I'll hafta retract my vote then. I never listen to Disc 1 since I have much more enjoyable fan creations in stereo (sorry, Mark). My 10 was based on the Sessions.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 12, 2019 12:47:54 GMT -5
There was also the bare bones 2 CD and 2 LP releases tho. Personally I think it's fine here. It's basically a vote on the SMiLE songs, and a person's opinion on them isn't likely to change much depending on whether they're voting for an album or an album plus session outtakes. Ohhhhhhh, right! But are the non-box releases called Smile Sessions also? I never bought those since I bought the box right off the press. I guess I'll hafta retract my vote then. I never listen to Disc 1 since I have much more enjoyable fan creations in stereo (sorry, Mark). My 10 was based on the Sessions.I think so, since they all launched at the same time in '11 and as different iterations of the same release. I do agree that if I were voting on the Disc 1 sequence alone I would have rated it a 6 (the 7 I gave BWPS minus 1 for the choppiness of fitting the unfinished session takes over it.) My 10 is for the sessions and the collective enjoyment I've gotten out of all the dozens of fanmixes I've heard over the years.
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Post by kds on Jan 12, 2019 12:55:49 GMT -5
There was also the bare bones 2 CD and 2 LP releases tho. Personally I think it's fine here. It's basically a vote on the SMiLE songs, and a person's opinion on them isn't likely to change much depending on whether they're voting for an album or an album plus session outtakes. Ohhhhhhh, right! But are the non-box releases called Smile Sessions also? I never bought those since I bought the box right off the press. I guess I'll hafta retract my vote then. I never listen to Disc 1 since I have much more enjoyable fan creations in stereo (sorry, Mark). My 10 was based on the Sessions.Yes. I bought the two disc version. To be honest, much of Disc 2 was tough to listen to. I can't imagine four more.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 12, 2019 13:00:27 GMT -5
Ohhhhhhh, right! But are the non-box releases called Smile Sessions also? I never bought those since I bought the box right off the press. I guess I'll hafta retract my vote then. I never listen to Disc 1 since I have much more enjoyable fan creations in stereo (sorry, Mark). My 10 was based on the Sessions.I think so, since they all launched at the same time in '11 and as different iterations of the same release. I do agree that if I were voting on the Disc 1 sequence alone I would have rated it a 6 (the 7 I gave BWPS minus 1 for the choppiness of fitting the unfinished session takes over it.) My 10 is for the sessions and the collective enjoyment I've gotten out of all the dozens of fanmixes I've heard over the years. I can go along with this. I was just a bit confused over whether the focus of this thread was about the sessions, the 2011 assembly of the album, the songs themselves, or the whole ball o' wax. I would probably give Disc one a 5 or 6, but not because of the sequence; I don't have any major issues with that (although I am open minded on that). It's the sound that bothers me; most likely the mastering. It sounds a bit flat, lifeless. Probably mostly due to the mono mix.
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Post by Jason (The Real Beach Boy) on Mar 28, 2019 11:30:33 GMT -5
10. Sure, some regrettable stuff (Teeter Totter Love, yikes). This is also Smile, or at least the best we'll ever get of it, and it's a pearl. What ifs abound and always will, but at least we have this wonderful box set.
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Post by boogieboarder on Sept 10, 2021 19:31:00 GMT -5
In this universe, it went like this: Mike Love: "What does this mean? 'Over and over again, crow cries uncover the cornfield'?" Van Dyke Parks: "I don't know what it means. If you don't like the lyrics, throw them out." Van Dyke Parks leaves the Smile sessions, Brian Wilson abandons the whole project, the Beach Boys back out of Monterey Pop Festival, become irrelevant, Brian backs off from productions, the subsequent simplified Capitol albums don't sell, and Capitol doesn't renew their contract.
In another universe: Mike Love: "What does this mean? 'Over and over again, crow cries uncover the cornfield'?" Van Dyke Parks: "It means that a crow, flying below the cloud cover, locates a cornfield, and cries out to his fellow crows in the flock to tell them that there is food available. The repeated consonant 'c' makes the line an alliteration, a poetic construct." Mike Love: "That's brilliant. Brian, let's complete this project - I know we can do it!" Van Dyke Parks, vindicated, sees the band through the completion of the project. The Beach Boys complete and release the Smile LP, it goes to number one, knocking Sgt. Pepper out of the position, they have a triumphant appearance at Monterey Pop Festival, and are invited to perform at Woodstock. Capitol renews their contract. Brian is revered as a genius throughout the country.
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Post by jds on Sept 12, 2021 19:59:27 GMT -5
This is the part I have the hardest time with, in that I can't imagine the Smile material having overwhelming commercial success in 66/67 under any permutation. The official suppression of the material for half of a century is the real tragedy; I think the group find themselves in the same position commercially either way.
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Post by boogieboarder on Sept 12, 2021 23:05:15 GMT -5
This is the part I have the hardest time with, in that I can't imagine the Smile material having overwhelming commercial success in 66/67 under any permutation. The official suppression of the material for half of a century is the real tragedy; I think the group find themselves in the same position commercially either way. Well, the single “Good Vibrations” went to number one, and there was a lot of anticipation for the upcoming “Smile” album.
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Post by jds on Sept 13, 2021 1:24:05 GMT -5
This is the part I have the hardest time with, in that I can't imagine the Smile material having overwhelming commercial success in 66/67 under any permutation. The official suppression of the material for half of a century is the real tragedy; I think the group find themselves in the same position commercially either way. Well, the single “Good Vibrations” went to number one, and there was a lot of anticipation for the upcoming “Smile” album. I don't think anything else on the album approaches the immediate appeal of Good Vibrations. Apart from GV, I don't think there were any great new Beach Boys singles coming from the album project at any point of its development*, and probably the leading reason for the album dying on the vine is that Brian realizes this and spends months trying to bludgeon H&V into that next huge single. This isn't a criticism of the album, just a reflection of its commercial prospects -- I still think a (timely, Christmas of 1966) released Smile could have went a long way to reorienting the public's perception of the group at a critical juncture, which would have been a worthy goal in itself. Still, it was always going to be an oddball album. *okay, my weird belief is that I actually think Wind Chimes is a great follow-up to GV and should have been released as such but as far as I know it was never considered. it's got novelty appeal, it's atmospheric as heck, and the lyrics aren't highfalutin tongue twisters.
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Post by boogieboarder on Sept 13, 2021 2:38:55 GMT -5
Well, the single “Good Vibrations” went to number one, and there was a lot of anticipation for the upcoming “Smile” album. I don't think anything else on the album approaches the immediate appeal of Good Vibrations. Apart from GV, I don't think there were any great new Beach Boys singles coming from the album project at any point of its development*, and probably the leading reason for the album dying on the vine is that Brian realizes this and spends months trying to bludgeon H&V into that next huge single. This isn't a criticism of the album, just a reflection of its commercial prospects -- I still think a (timely, Christmas of 1966) released Smile could have went a long way to reorienting the public's perception of the group at a critical juncture, which would have been a worthy goal in itself. Still, it was always going to be an oddball album. *okay, my weird belief is that I actually think Wind Chimes is a great follow-up to GV and should have been released as such but as far as I know it was never considered. it's got novelty appeal, it's atmospheric as heck, and the lyrics aren't highfalutin tongue twisters. Hmmm… I guess the commercial potential of Smile in 1967 is something we’ll just never know. I do know that Sgt. Pepper was the second US Beatles album to be released without a single, it went instantly to number one and is now considered the original psychedelic music classic of all time. Given the advanced publicity, anticipation, “Good Vibrations” success, and public readiness for “albums as a work of art,“ I would have placed my money on the success of Smile.
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Post by ohm on Sept 17, 2021 11:03:13 GMT -5
I'd never bothered with the official 5CD SMiLE release, having overdosed on bootlegs for ten years before it came out, seen the live show, bought the Brian version of the album and so on, I'd kinda cooled on it all somewhat by 2011, but I was given a copy by a friend last week and checked it out on a long car journey on Wednesday. I have to say, I had really mixed feelings about it. I love that music, but it felt like I was listening to Brian's mind unravel as I worked through Discs 2-4. The endless going over and over things, restarting things, the over-perfectionism, and, most depressingly, the fact everybody around him - lots of very experienced musicians, engineers etc - kinda letting it get out of hand and watching the car wreck in slow motion, so to speak. There's a whole hour of H+V material alone on there, which is fascinating stuff, but there's no way that was ever going to be condensed into a useable single track. Every session just seemed to ask more questions and open more doors, Brian going way beyond the brief and going round and round chasing his tail, all the while becoming more and more agitated and fragmented. I found the whole thing kinda glum, all told. Slightly annoyed even by everybody involved taking the money but knowing full well they were watching what really started to look like a manifestation of some kind of repetitive, compulsive disorder in this 24 year old kid. Hmmmm.
I don't know if there are any Zappa fans here, but it made me think of Lumpy Gravy (ironically, a Nick Venet project, also 1967). If only somebody had said to Brian, we have two projects here, some lovely Beach Boys songs and then all of these wonderful musical fragments and movements, the experimental stuff and whatnot. Let's make two records. Sadly not.
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Post by boogieboarder on Sept 17, 2021 13:00:31 GMT -5
When The Beatles recorded their first album in one day, who knows how much rehearsal and arranging happened before they walked into the studio? Basically it took them years of gigging 7 days a week to perfect their repertoire. But Sgt. Pepper in 1966-1967 took five months to record. Fleetwood Mac took 12 and 13 months to record Rumours and Tusk. On the other hand, my wife recorded an album in three days using jazz musicians who could hear a song for the first time and develop an arrangement on the first take.
Although the initial take of “Good Vibrations” was releasable, after weeks of experimentation, the final edit was very special, indeed. The single version was much better than any one take could ever have been. Smile could have been assembled from bits and pieces and finished up, and been just as wonderful - given enough time.
I’m a big fan of Frank Zappa, and some of his best albums were cobbled together from bits and pieces that had been floating around for years, for example Uncle Meat.
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Post by jds on Sept 17, 2021 23:35:56 GMT -5
The endless going over and over things, restarting things, the over-perfectionism, and, most depressingly, the fact everybody around him - lots of very experienced musicians, engineers etc - kinda letting it get out of hand and watching the car wreck in slow motion, so to speak. There's a whole hour of H+V material alone on there, which is fascinating stuff, but there's no way that was ever going to be condensed into a useable single track. Every session just seemed to ask more questions and open more doors, Brian going way beyond the brief and going round and round chasing his tail, all the while becoming more and more agitated and fragmented. I found the whole thing kinda glum, all told. Slightly annoyed even by everybody involved taking the money but knowing full well they were watching what really started to look like a manifestation of some kind of repetitive, compulsive disorder in this 24 year old kid. Hmmmm. Exactly. I love the Smile material, but it essentially devolves into manic compositional behavior with no one to put the brakes on and get the album finished. The Smog tape being dated to May '67 clarifies a lot of this for me, as it's Brian communicating verbally a process that he's been living in the studio and in his head -- speedtalking, loosening associations, obsessiveness, generalized unease, a vague but panging sense of mission. It's surprises me that people find it funny.
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Post by jk on Sept 20, 2021 12:51:48 GMT -5
I don't know if there are any Zappa fans here, but it made me think of Lumpy Gravy (ironically, a Nick Venet project, also 1967). If only somebody had said to Brian, we have two projects here, some lovely Beach Boys songs and then all of these wonderful musical fragments and movements, the experimental stuff and whatnot. Let's make two records. Sadly not. Interesting thought there, ohm. And yes indeed! There he is at the centre, pointing at the credits: It and WOIIFTM (bought them both at the time) make a wonderful pairing.
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