Post by Pete70s on Oct 22, 2004 22:34:23 GMT -5
Well, I've been wanting to do this review for several days, but I had to finish my Media Crit paper first. BUT, This is a LONG review, my longest one yet. SO long, I had to split it in two parts: YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!
Four weeks ago, the greatest "album that never was" finally got released, after 37 years! The most famous unreleased album of all time.. The only thing is that the album was entirely re-recorded, and nothing from the original sessions was used. What I'd like to do is a little "comparitive shopping" if I may.. I'm going to compare the new version with a compilation I made several years ago.
So here we go....
Brian Wilson presents "Smile" (2004)
vs.
The Beach Boys - Smile (1967)
First, here is the track listing on my Beach Boys compilation, largely based on the suggested line-up in Dominic Priore's book "Look, Listen, Vibrate, Smile!" (Priore is a Smile historian who has studied the album immensely, this is mostly what HE believed Smile's track line-up would have been, with a couple of adjustments by yours truly)..
Side 1
Our Prayer
Heroes & Villians (Part 1)
Heroes & Villians (Part 2)
Do You Like Worms?
Barnyard
The Old Master Painter/You Are My Sunshine
She's Goin Bald
Wonderful
Child Is Father Of The Man
Bicycle Rider (Link track)
Cabin Essence
Heroes & Villians (Link track)
Side 2
Good Vibrations
Look
Vega-Tables
Holidays
Wind Chimes
Mrs O'Leary's Cow
I Love To Say Da Da
I'm In Great Shape
Surf's Up
Now, here's a look at the official 2004 line-up of Brian's Smile, which is broken into 3 sections.
-Section 1-
Our Prayer/Gee
Heroes & Villians
Roll Plymouth Rock (a.k.a "Do You Like Worms")
Barnyard
The Old Master Painter/You Are My Sunshine
Cabin Essence
-Section 2-
Wonderful
Song For Children (a.k.a "Look")
Child Is Father Of The Man
Surf's Up
-Section 3-
I'm In Great Shape/I Wanna Be Around/Workshop
Vega-Tables
On A Holiday (a.k.a "Holidays")
Wind Chimes
Mrs. O'Leary's Cow
In Blue Hawaii (a.k.a "I Love To Say Da Da")
Good Vibrations
As you can see, there are a lot of similarities between the two, but a couple of major differences.
Now for the story behind the Smile legacy:
In 1966, Brian had produced the Beach Boys masterpiece, "Pet Sounds", trying to compete with the Beatles, who's "Rubber Soul" had a tremendous influence on what Brian wanted to do musically. Keep in mind that up until that point, the "album" format was not the main vehicle in popular music, the "hit single" was. Brian wanted to make an emotional album that was great from beginning to end. So he made "Pet Sounds", which in turn influenced the Beatles "Revolver", (and later, "Sgt. Pepper".)
The album was not the blockbuster success that Brian had hoped for, though. He responded by recording a "pocket symphony", a song that would utilize over 90 hours of tape and astronomical studio fees. A song called "Good Vibrations". It shot to #1 in late 1966. Then he set out to create his magnum opus, which he dubbed "A teenage symphony to God". Originally called "Dumb Angel", the title was later changed to "Smile". He chose Van Dyke Parks, a session musician, to write lyrics for the album. Parks was a wordsmith who wrote very abstract lyrics, dealing with topics such as the founding of America and the old west.
Sessions in late '66-early '67 produced hours of tape, but nobody really knew the exact vision that Brian had. It's been speculated that even Brian himself did not know what he was going to do with the material. (Of course, now we know that is not true). But in 1967, Brian was taking psychedelic drugs, and partaking in some bizarre behavior. He built a giant sandbox in his living room. He held important buisness meetings in his swimming pool (for fear that his house was being bugged). He talked about opening a 24-hour telescope store. He even concieved an idea where his wife would sell vegetables from their kitchen window to passing motorists (?). One night at dinner, he recorded everyone clanging their glasses and silverware together, thinking he would use it on the album. He became paranoid of Phil Spector after seeing a movie called "Seconds", in which the first line of dialogue was "Hello, Mr. Wilson.."(Apparently, Spector recorded for the same company that made the movie).
Smile was originally slated for release in Jan '67. It was pushed back to June as Brian became more and more unpredictable. Pushing to get the album ready, Capitol printed up several thousand album covers, having Brian write up a list of songs for the album. The original cover listed ten songs, with a disclaimer ("See label for correct playing order"). Among the titles listed were "I'm In Great Shape", "Do You Like Worms", "Vega-Tables", "The Elements", "Heroes & Villians", "Child Is Father Of The Man", "Surf's Up", "Wonderful", and "Cabin Essence". Of course, this list would be the object of MUCH dispute among Smile historians. How WOULD Smile had been structured if he'd finished it?
On May 19th, 1967 (Yes, I know the exact date!), Brian abandoned the Smile project. Several reasons were behind his decision. The main three, however, were these:
1) He heard an advance copy of "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band". Feeling that the Beatles had beat him to the punch, he thought there was NO way Smile could compete with it.
2) If there was one specific track that can most be connected with the demise of the Smile project, it was an instrumental called "Mrs. O'Leary's Cow". Slated to be a part of a mini-suite called "The Elements". There was to be an "earth" segment, an "air" segment, a "fire" segment, and a "water" segment. "Mrs. O'Leary's Cow" was going to be the "Fire" segment. In an extravagant recording session, Brian bought plastic toy fireman's helmets for the musicians to wear. He burned wood in a metal bucket in the middle of the studio so the musicians could smell smoke while they played. He found out later that a building near the studio burned down while they were recording the track. He believed that his music was responsible for it and immediately tried to destroy the tape. Eventually he just had the tape locked away. No longer were "the angels watching over his music", like they were on Pet Sounds, now he felt that he was tapping into some negative energy, and it scared him senseless.
But the final nail in the Smile coffin was:
3) The negative criticism of his bandmates, especially Mike Love, who hated Van Dyke Parks obscure lyrics immensely. He refused to sing lines like "Over and over the crow cries uncover the cornfield", and "Columnated ruins domino". (Of course, Mike Love still wanted to do songs about root beer stands and cheerleaders on the beach!). A heated confrontation between Love and Parks over the lyrical content resulted in Parks leaving the project in a huff. Brian was left alone to defend his work, and under pressure, with his own mental health declining, he gave up. Smile became history's biggest "cop out". The album that was supposed to revolutionize rock history, and change the entire course of popular music, was abandoned.
The Beach Boys quickly recorded and released a lackluster album called "Smiley Smile", which flopped. After the hype that had surrounded Smile, people looked at Smiley Smile as a complete joke. Their career would never be the same. Several Smile tracks would pop up on subsequent Beach Boys albums, as the legacy grew. Brian would be VERY superstitious regarding those songs, not wanting them released, but having no control over the decision. He insisted for 30+ years that the Smile album would NEVER come out.. (He asserted this even on his 1999 A&E Biography!)
Flash-forward to 2001. Brian announces on his website that he has a "Master Plan" for Smile. He doesn't indulge much information, but promises he will "do right by the material". On his summer tour that year, he shocks the world by performing "Our Prayer", "Heroes & Villains", and "Surf's Up", even introducing them by saying "Here's a few that'll make you Smile".
In the summer of 2003, at Brian's show in Boston, T-Shirts were sold at the merch stand that said "Brian Wilson presents Smile.. coming 2004.." Picture the collective jaws of a thousand Beach Boy fans hitting the ground at the same time!
September 28, 2004: History is made as Smile is finally released.
I was both excited and skeptical at the same time. After hearing the bootleg Smile for SO many years, and knowing the legend as well as I do, would the new Smile stand up? The answer is a resounding YES!!
(Continued in part 2)
Four weeks ago, the greatest "album that never was" finally got released, after 37 years! The most famous unreleased album of all time.. The only thing is that the album was entirely re-recorded, and nothing from the original sessions was used. What I'd like to do is a little "comparitive shopping" if I may.. I'm going to compare the new version with a compilation I made several years ago.
So here we go....
Brian Wilson presents "Smile" (2004)
vs.
The Beach Boys - Smile (1967)
First, here is the track listing on my Beach Boys compilation, largely based on the suggested line-up in Dominic Priore's book "Look, Listen, Vibrate, Smile!" (Priore is a Smile historian who has studied the album immensely, this is mostly what HE believed Smile's track line-up would have been, with a couple of adjustments by yours truly)..
Side 1
Our Prayer
Heroes & Villians (Part 1)
Heroes & Villians (Part 2)
Do You Like Worms?
Barnyard
The Old Master Painter/You Are My Sunshine
She's Goin Bald
Wonderful
Child Is Father Of The Man
Bicycle Rider (Link track)
Cabin Essence
Heroes & Villians (Link track)
Side 2
Good Vibrations
Look
Vega-Tables
Holidays
Wind Chimes
Mrs O'Leary's Cow
I Love To Say Da Da
I'm In Great Shape
Surf's Up
Now, here's a look at the official 2004 line-up of Brian's Smile, which is broken into 3 sections.
-Section 1-
Our Prayer/Gee
Heroes & Villians
Roll Plymouth Rock (a.k.a "Do You Like Worms")
Barnyard
The Old Master Painter/You Are My Sunshine
Cabin Essence
-Section 2-
Wonderful
Song For Children (a.k.a "Look")
Child Is Father Of The Man
Surf's Up
-Section 3-
I'm In Great Shape/I Wanna Be Around/Workshop
Vega-Tables
On A Holiday (a.k.a "Holidays")
Wind Chimes
Mrs. O'Leary's Cow
In Blue Hawaii (a.k.a "I Love To Say Da Da")
Good Vibrations
As you can see, there are a lot of similarities between the two, but a couple of major differences.
Now for the story behind the Smile legacy:
In 1966, Brian had produced the Beach Boys masterpiece, "Pet Sounds", trying to compete with the Beatles, who's "Rubber Soul" had a tremendous influence on what Brian wanted to do musically. Keep in mind that up until that point, the "album" format was not the main vehicle in popular music, the "hit single" was. Brian wanted to make an emotional album that was great from beginning to end. So he made "Pet Sounds", which in turn influenced the Beatles "Revolver", (and later, "Sgt. Pepper".)
The album was not the blockbuster success that Brian had hoped for, though. He responded by recording a "pocket symphony", a song that would utilize over 90 hours of tape and astronomical studio fees. A song called "Good Vibrations". It shot to #1 in late 1966. Then he set out to create his magnum opus, which he dubbed "A teenage symphony to God". Originally called "Dumb Angel", the title was later changed to "Smile". He chose Van Dyke Parks, a session musician, to write lyrics for the album. Parks was a wordsmith who wrote very abstract lyrics, dealing with topics such as the founding of America and the old west.
Sessions in late '66-early '67 produced hours of tape, but nobody really knew the exact vision that Brian had. It's been speculated that even Brian himself did not know what he was going to do with the material. (Of course, now we know that is not true). But in 1967, Brian was taking psychedelic drugs, and partaking in some bizarre behavior. He built a giant sandbox in his living room. He held important buisness meetings in his swimming pool (for fear that his house was being bugged). He talked about opening a 24-hour telescope store. He even concieved an idea where his wife would sell vegetables from their kitchen window to passing motorists (?). One night at dinner, he recorded everyone clanging their glasses and silverware together, thinking he would use it on the album. He became paranoid of Phil Spector after seeing a movie called "Seconds", in which the first line of dialogue was "Hello, Mr. Wilson.."(Apparently, Spector recorded for the same company that made the movie).
Smile was originally slated for release in Jan '67. It was pushed back to June as Brian became more and more unpredictable. Pushing to get the album ready, Capitol printed up several thousand album covers, having Brian write up a list of songs for the album. The original cover listed ten songs, with a disclaimer ("See label for correct playing order"). Among the titles listed were "I'm In Great Shape", "Do You Like Worms", "Vega-Tables", "The Elements", "Heroes & Villians", "Child Is Father Of The Man", "Surf's Up", "Wonderful", and "Cabin Essence". Of course, this list would be the object of MUCH dispute among Smile historians. How WOULD Smile had been structured if he'd finished it?
On May 19th, 1967 (Yes, I know the exact date!), Brian abandoned the Smile project. Several reasons were behind his decision. The main three, however, were these:
1) He heard an advance copy of "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band". Feeling that the Beatles had beat him to the punch, he thought there was NO way Smile could compete with it.
2) If there was one specific track that can most be connected with the demise of the Smile project, it was an instrumental called "Mrs. O'Leary's Cow". Slated to be a part of a mini-suite called "The Elements". There was to be an "earth" segment, an "air" segment, a "fire" segment, and a "water" segment. "Mrs. O'Leary's Cow" was going to be the "Fire" segment. In an extravagant recording session, Brian bought plastic toy fireman's helmets for the musicians to wear. He burned wood in a metal bucket in the middle of the studio so the musicians could smell smoke while they played. He found out later that a building near the studio burned down while they were recording the track. He believed that his music was responsible for it and immediately tried to destroy the tape. Eventually he just had the tape locked away. No longer were "the angels watching over his music", like they were on Pet Sounds, now he felt that he was tapping into some negative energy, and it scared him senseless.
But the final nail in the Smile coffin was:
3) The negative criticism of his bandmates, especially Mike Love, who hated Van Dyke Parks obscure lyrics immensely. He refused to sing lines like "Over and over the crow cries uncover the cornfield", and "Columnated ruins domino". (Of course, Mike Love still wanted to do songs about root beer stands and cheerleaders on the beach!). A heated confrontation between Love and Parks over the lyrical content resulted in Parks leaving the project in a huff. Brian was left alone to defend his work, and under pressure, with his own mental health declining, he gave up. Smile became history's biggest "cop out". The album that was supposed to revolutionize rock history, and change the entire course of popular music, was abandoned.
The Beach Boys quickly recorded and released a lackluster album called "Smiley Smile", which flopped. After the hype that had surrounded Smile, people looked at Smiley Smile as a complete joke. Their career would never be the same. Several Smile tracks would pop up on subsequent Beach Boys albums, as the legacy grew. Brian would be VERY superstitious regarding those songs, not wanting them released, but having no control over the decision. He insisted for 30+ years that the Smile album would NEVER come out.. (He asserted this even on his 1999 A&E Biography!)
Flash-forward to 2001. Brian announces on his website that he has a "Master Plan" for Smile. He doesn't indulge much information, but promises he will "do right by the material". On his summer tour that year, he shocks the world by performing "Our Prayer", "Heroes & Villains", and "Surf's Up", even introducing them by saying "Here's a few that'll make you Smile".
In the summer of 2003, at Brian's show in Boston, T-Shirts were sold at the merch stand that said "Brian Wilson presents Smile.. coming 2004.." Picture the collective jaws of a thousand Beach Boy fans hitting the ground at the same time!
September 28, 2004: History is made as Smile is finally released.
I was both excited and skeptical at the same time. After hearing the bootleg Smile for SO many years, and knowing the legend as well as I do, would the new Smile stand up? The answer is a resounding YES!!
(Continued in part 2)
