Smile!
- Thread starter ChrisJ
- Start date
suzywong
Wot, no electrons?
By coincidence, I was playing Pet Sounds on the system tonight.
So trolled on over to amazon to have a look. 18 tracks? I don't remember the "original" being billed as a double LP? I thought there was supposed to be a 10 minute version of "Heros & Villains", and a song called "Fire" (the one that BW was convinced was causing a spate of fires in LA).....
so without wishing to be negative (hey, we're talking about one of my all-time favourite bands here - very first rock concert ever was the BB, Southampton, 1971) is it really worth getting hold of a copy....with.....
Heros & Villains turning up on Smiley Smile
Cabinessence on 20/20
Surf's Up on Surf's Up
Vega-tables (sic) on Smiley Smile
Wind Chimes on Smiley Smile
Good Vibrations on Smiley Smile
Our Prayer on 20/20
Wonderful on Smiley Smile
as performed by the real BB as opposed to BW and a bunch of session musicians?
Please convince me that I'm wrong!
So trolled on over to amazon to have a look. 18 tracks? I don't remember the "original" being billed as a double LP? I thought there was supposed to be a 10 minute version of "Heros & Villains", and a song called "Fire" (the one that BW was convinced was causing a spate of fires in LA).....
so without wishing to be negative (hey, we're talking about one of my all-time favourite bands here - very first rock concert ever was the BB, Southampton, 1971) is it really worth getting hold of a copy....with.....
Heros & Villains turning up on Smiley Smile
Cabinessence on 20/20
Surf's Up on Surf's Up
Vega-tables (sic) on Smiley Smile
Wind Chimes on Smiley Smile
Good Vibrations on Smiley Smile
Our Prayer on 20/20
Wonderful on Smiley Smile
as performed by the real BB as opposed to BW and a bunch of session musicians?
Please convince me that I'm wrong!
Ron The Mon
Location: Detroit
Chris,
I picked up my "pre-ordered" vinyl copy yesterday.
It is overly indulgent. Four and five part harmonies where two or even one voice would have worked. It is set up in three sections in which the songs in each section run together. Except they don't. None of the songs really has anything to do with any other. There is a song about vegatables (In Brian's autobiography, he says he had a sandbox and vegatables brought into his home studio to inspire him?!). The record is way, WAY, WAY over the top. Too much production. Too many instuments. Too many different types of instruments. Except the first song, which is acapella and you keep waiting for the instruments to kick in. But they don't. I have no idea how anyone would give him the OK to put this out. But I'm glad they did. I love it!!
My favorite part of the record is during the "dearly beloved" section of Good Vibrations. When just the organ is playing, the sleigh bells sound amazing; perfect timing, perfect tone, with a very eerie and scary reverb on them. I kept playing this over and over again.
The production and recording are good, but the mix is truly fantasic. If it was released in the mid-60s, it would have either been mono or the crazy stereo that the earlier 'Boys records had. Smile is definitely not a record you'd want to hear in mono.
Ron The Mon
I picked up my "pre-ordered" vinyl copy yesterday.
It is overly indulgent. Four and five part harmonies where two or even one voice would have worked. It is set up in three sections in which the songs in each section run together. Except they don't. None of the songs really has anything to do with any other. There is a song about vegatables (In Brian's autobiography, he says he had a sandbox and vegatables brought into his home studio to inspire him?!). The record is way, WAY, WAY over the top. Too much production. Too many instuments. Too many different types of instruments. Except the first song, which is acapella and you keep waiting for the instruments to kick in. But they don't. I have no idea how anyone would give him the OK to put this out. But I'm glad they did. I love it!!
My favorite part of the record is during the "dearly beloved" section of Good Vibrations. When just the organ is playing, the sleigh bells sound amazing; perfect timing, perfect tone, with a very eerie and scary reverb on them. I kept playing this over and over again.
The production and recording are good, but the mix is truly fantasic. If it was released in the mid-60s, it would have either been mono or the crazy stereo that the earlier 'Boys records had. Smile is definitely not a record you'd want to hear in mono.
Ron The Mon
Ron The Mon
Location: Detroit
Suzy,
I'm guessing you haven't seen Brian live ever? The "Beach Boys" today is less bona fide than Brian with a bunch of "session" guys. When Brian played here a few years back, he had radio DJ Steve Dahl in the band singing, playing guitar, and theramin. I think he was in the band only because he owned a theramin! Not just session guys, but friends who play well together. There's no way you can get the quality and feeling in the vocals heard on Smile just pulling a session guy out of the woodwork.
Speaking of "Friends", Brian says that's his favorite album by the Beach Boys and Smile has a lot of that flavor; ie. really intimate voices.
Ron The Mon
I'm guessing you haven't seen Brian live ever? The "Beach Boys" today is less bona fide than Brian with a bunch of "session" guys. When Brian played here a few years back, he had radio DJ Steve Dahl in the band singing, playing guitar, and theramin. I think he was in the band only because he owned a theramin! Not just session guys, but friends who play well together. There's no way you can get the quality and feeling in the vocals heard on Smile just pulling a session guy out of the woodwork.
Speaking of "Friends", Brian says that's his favorite album by the Beach Boys and Smile has a lot of that flavor; ie. really intimate voices.
Ron The Mon
suzywong
Wot, no electrons?
Are you saying, he wasn't on the 1971 UK tour?..You may well be right, it was a long time ago and maybe Carl was the front man......be gentle with me, it was thirty-plus years ago and beer & s_x * has killed a lot of brain cells since then.
Certainly I haven't seen Brian in recent years, and I read positive reviews of his gigs.
Don't get me wrong here, I'm a believer! I was the only guy in the sixth form ('71-'72) into the BB......
* Shame on you for naughty thoughts!
that's "sax" as in Coltrane!
And the remastered Pet Sounds does sound good on the triamped Briks...
Suzy,
You are rather missing the point here. Yes , many of the Smile songs apeared on Smiley Smile, mostly in watered down, shadow-of-their-former-selves forms. Others showed up as the highlights of other BB albums. But Smile was supposed to be a whole!
Granted, BW's Smile is ot the Beach Boys. But the backing band are not a bunch of session musicians. They are basically the Wondermints, a sublimely good band in their own right, who have been backing BW live for about the last 5 or 6 years. They are affectionately known as "god's backing band"! If you don't believe me, check out any of their albums, especially Bali. In any event, they needn't make any apologies for the way they have performed on this CD.
But I digress. The way the Smile songs complement each other in the 3 "suites" is jaw dropping. The whole is very definitely greater than the sum of the parts!
Look, it's only 12 quid. Go out & buy it. Have a listen to how these songs were supposed to be heard. If you don't like it, I'll buy it off you!
If Smile had been released at Xmas '66 as originally intended, I absolutely guarantee that it would have been in every discerning music lovers top 10 of all time. In many ways, it makes Sgt. Pepper sound distinctly ordinary!.
Chris
You are rather missing the point here. Yes , many of the Smile songs apeared on Smiley Smile, mostly in watered down, shadow-of-their-former-selves forms. Others showed up as the highlights of other BB albums. But Smile was supposed to be a whole!
Granted, BW's Smile is ot the Beach Boys. But the backing band are not a bunch of session musicians. They are basically the Wondermints, a sublimely good band in their own right, who have been backing BW live for about the last 5 or 6 years. They are affectionately known as "god's backing band"! If you don't believe me, check out any of their albums, especially Bali. In any event, they needn't make any apologies for the way they have performed on this CD.
But I digress. The way the Smile songs complement each other in the 3 "suites" is jaw dropping. The whole is very definitely greater than the sum of the parts!
Look, it's only 12 quid. Go out & buy it. Have a listen to how these songs were supposed to be heard. If you don't like it, I'll buy it off you!
If Smile had been released at Xmas '66 as originally intended, I absolutely guarantee that it would have been in every discerning music lovers top 10 of all time. In many ways, it makes Sgt. Pepper sound distinctly ordinary!.
Chris
suzywong
Wot, no electrons?
Oh all right....I surrender <big grin>
I've just ordered it from Amazon!
Oh, and ChrisJ......you can forget any thoughts of getting it cheap from me <grin>, no way Jose! I can never bear to part with the stuff I buy, much to the annoyance of SWMBO; that's why we have two pairs of Briks...
........"Yes, Dear, I promise I'll put them up on Ebay next week!"
cheers
Chris
I've just ordered it from Amazon!
Oh, and ChrisJ......you can forget any thoughts of getting it cheap from me <grin>, no way Jose! I can never bear to part with the stuff I buy, much to the annoyance of SWMBO; that's why we have two pairs of Briks...
........"Yes, Dear, I promise I'll put them up on Ebay next week!"
cheers
Chris
"If its anything like the pile of crap Smiley Smile "
Don't worry, it's nothing like Smiley Smile. It's far, far superior (even the tracks where they share a title are much superior to their Smiley, Smile versions - which as was said pale shadows of their smile version). It's worth the money.
Don't worry, it's nothing like Smiley Smile. It's far, far superior (even the tracks where they share a title are much superior to their Smiley, Smile versions - which as was said pale shadows of their smile version). It's worth the money.
Like most of you I was not over enamoured with "Smiley Smile". Nor was I happy with Brian Wilson's last offering "Gettin' In Over My Head", released earlier this year. A terribly pressed, fairly mediocre double album, on yucky coloured vinyl. But the "Smile" concert which I saw at The Royal Festival Hall in February is a different kettle of fish and was absolutely fabulous.
The so called "session musicians" were unbelievably good, certainly some of the best I've heard in 37 years of listening to live performances. These were real musicians often expert on three or four different instruments. There were 4 or 5 different guitarists able to play blistering solos and each with a totally different style. All the musicians were in this same league. I can only feel sorry for those of you that missed it.
I am very grateful to Ron for alerting me to the fact that the album is now available on vinyl. I shall rush hot foot........I want a copy!
Regards,
Tony.B
The so called "session musicians" were unbelievably good, certainly some of the best I've heard in 37 years of listening to live performances. These were real musicians often expert on three or four different instruments. There were 4 or 5 different guitarists able to play blistering solos and each with a totally different style. All the musicians were in this same league. I can only feel sorry for those of you that missed it.
I am very grateful to Ron for alerting me to the fact that the album is now available on vinyl. I shall rush hot foot........I want a copy!
Regards,
Tony.B
David.Ohiggins
pfm Member
Like most of you, I was very sceptical of Smile. I am very glad that I went against my best instincts and bought it. This is really good music making and 'Good Vibrations' is a total revelation. I could not believe how these musicians had captured the essence of the original and then multiplied it by ***?. Brian Wilson is a genious!
Patrick Dixon
Imagineer
For those that are interested:
Imagine: Smile
Wednesday 1 Dec 2004, BBC1, 10.35pm
Imagine: Smile
Wednesday 1 Dec 2004, BBC1, 10.35pm
Ron The Mon
Location: Detroit
I had a friend over last night and he was freaking out when he saw my copy of SMILE, because it has four extra tracks on it. I don't own the CD, so I didn't know this.
He was also utterly amazed at how majestic the LP sounds compared to the CD.
The vinyl is on two 200-gram, perfectly flat, dead-silent, discs. Side one is section one, side two is section two, side three is section three, and side four is instrumental versions of "Heroes And Villains", "Cabin Essence", and "On A Holiday/Wind Chimes".
I got my copy for $21, so I can't imagine why you'd buy the CD since the LP costs less (taking into account the extra songs). The vinyl also has better liner notes as the record jacket opens as a gatefold as well as having a booklet. Us older folk like large-print much better than the lame-ass micro-print on CDs.
According to my friend, the vinyl is much better for listening too, as it makes a much better transition between the suites by getting up to change sides.
The more I listen to SMILE, the more I like it. Also, catch him live if you can. I saw the latest show fourth-row/left in front of the B-3; the organ sounded fabulous along with the unamplified percussion off the stage. Brian seemed so happy to be there; he was "smiling" the whole show!
I saw Love with The Zombies a few days later and there had to be about a hundred fans wearing "SMILE" T-shirts. I also recognized many fans from the SMILE show; it was unsurprisingly the same crowd.
If anyone would have told me twenty years ago that in 2004 I'd be seeing Brian Wilson playing SMILE, and Love reformed a few days later, I wouldn't have believed it! BTW, Arthur said a new Love album should be out soon. He said, "If you like Forever Changes, you'll like the new record, because it has orchestras and shit on it.".
The next thing you know the MC5 will be reformed. Oh, wait that happened last week too! Their recent DVDoctumentary is a must-have if you're a fan (and who isn't?). Put it on you Christmas wish list.
Ron The Mon
He was also utterly amazed at how majestic the LP sounds compared to the CD.
The vinyl is on two 200-gram, perfectly flat, dead-silent, discs. Side one is section one, side two is section two, side three is section three, and side four is instrumental versions of "Heroes And Villains", "Cabin Essence", and "On A Holiday/Wind Chimes".
I got my copy for $21, so I can't imagine why you'd buy the CD since the LP costs less (taking into account the extra songs). The vinyl also has better liner notes as the record jacket opens as a gatefold as well as having a booklet. Us older folk like large-print much better than the lame-ass micro-print on CDs.
According to my friend, the vinyl is much better for listening too, as it makes a much better transition between the suites by getting up to change sides.
The more I listen to SMILE, the more I like it. Also, catch him live if you can. I saw the latest show fourth-row/left in front of the B-3; the organ sounded fabulous along with the unamplified percussion off the stage. Brian seemed so happy to be there; he was "smiling" the whole show!
I saw Love with The Zombies a few days later and there had to be about a hundred fans wearing "SMILE" T-shirts. I also recognized many fans from the SMILE show; it was unsurprisingly the same crowd.
If anyone would have told me twenty years ago that in 2004 I'd be seeing Brian Wilson playing SMILE, and Love reformed a few days later, I wouldn't have believed it! BTW, Arthur said a new Love album should be out soon. He said, "If you like Forever Changes, you'll like the new record, because it has orchestras and shit on it.".
The next thing you know the MC5 will be reformed. Oh, wait that happened last week too! Their recent DVDoctumentary is a must-have if you're a fan (and who isn't?). Put it on you Christmas wish list.
Ron The Mon
DAVEDWACK
pfm Member
Hi Ron,
Good stuff......but to answer your Question....Dip Sticks like me buy the cd version rather than the vinyl!
I asked in my local record shop (Reveal Records-Derby/UK) some weeks ago how long before the vinyl version would be out,when they said it was weeks away and it'd only be out as a special edition costing upwards of £44.00 I went for the cd at £10.00.
The wife was in the shop last Saturday and spotted it there "special Edition Vinyl" at £15.99......What a bastard (the salesman in the shop).
Needless to say the cd's going into the car and I'm going in to the shop....let's hope that same salesman's not there ...eh!
Must go now Ron, to stick side 2 of "Very Greasy" onto the deck.
Cheers for now,
Dave
P.S.
Thanks also to Patrick, just watched the Documentry of "SMILE"....excellent stuff.
Good stuff......but to answer your Question....Dip Sticks like me buy the cd version rather than the vinyl!
I asked in my local record shop (Reveal Records-Derby/UK) some weeks ago how long before the vinyl version would be out,when they said it was weeks away and it'd only be out as a special edition costing upwards of £44.00 I went for the cd at £10.00.
The wife was in the shop last Saturday and spotted it there "special Edition Vinyl" at £15.99......What a bastard (the salesman in the shop).
Needless to say the cd's going into the car and I'm going in to the shop....let's hope that same salesman's not there ...eh!
Must go now Ron, to stick side 2 of "Very Greasy" onto the deck.
Cheers for now,
Dave
P.S.
Thanks also to Patrick, just watched the Documentry of "SMILE"....excellent stuff.
Patrick Dixon
Imagineer
Apparently the RFH concert is on in full on BBC4 at 11.00pm tonight - I only seem to have BBC1 & 2 on my tele though ...