The Story
Much has been written over the years about Smile, the "teenage symphony to
god", the legendary lost masterpiece of Brian Wilson. And more and more infos
over the last couple of years are bringing light into the dark. But will
this riddle ever be solved? Maybe.....
Brian had in 1966 an idea of a song cycle which he titled Dumb Angel and
soon was changed to Smile. Work begann if you don´t call Good Vibrations
early August 1966 allthough Brian already held up a session for Heroes &
Villains and a tune he called Inspiration.
Session after session, song after song was recorded - mostly in parts. But
Brian had more and more drug problems and he began to get into trouble finishing
the puzzle he craeted even in time. The December 1966 deadline was cancelled
also the mid January one. And after Brian´s collaborateur Van Dyke Parks
left the Smile project Brian shortly thereafter cancelled the release of
Smile.
The Beach Boys now hastingly took control over their next album, now called
Smiley Smile. In less than 50 days they put together old and new songs -
all recorded in June and July 1967 except one more session in August for
Heroes & Villains.
The mystery about the 10-track-Smile-album
The only physical proof that a 10-track SMILE album was even contemplated is a July 25,1967 Capitol memo regarding the SMILE booklet (Capitol was sitting on 419,200 of them at the time). In it, Capitol A&R director Karl Engemann says that he had talked with Brian and "agreed with Brian that the best course of action would be to NOT include this booklet with the SMILEY SMILE package, but rather to hold it for the next album which will include the aforementioned 10 selections."
The problems:
"Heroes and Villains" and "Vegetables" weren't the only songs on the SMILE
track list that were included on SMILEY SMILE. So were "Good Vibrations,
"Wind Chimes" and "Wonderful."
It's difficult to make sense out of the contradictions. Maybe "Good Vibrations,"
"Wind Chimes" and "Wonderful" initially were not planned for inclusion. There
are, after all, four unreleased tracks from the SMILEY SMILE sessions: "Good
News," "Hawaiian Song," "Good Time Mama" and a recording logged as "Untitled
#2." Maybe three of those were going to be included in lieu of the three
SMILE leftovers, which would have been held for the 10-track SMII,E album.
But, if that's the case, then should the assumption be that the concept of
the 10-track SMILE album died even before SMILEY SMILE was released in September?
That certainly would explain the inclusion of the three additional SMILE
leftovers. But that leads to another question: If the I0-track SMILE album
was dead by September and Capitol didn't formally assign the Brother 9003
designation to WILD HONEY until Oct.13 (according to another Capitol memo),
then what WAS Brother 9002? Maybe it was LEI'D IN HAWAII ... but that was
to come out after WILD HONEY, according to the unreleased liner notes.
As for #9002, perhaps it WAS originally reserved for the Hawaii live album. Then, in September while the live tapes were being worked on, they (Brian and/or the group) decided that there wasn't enough material that they were comfortable with to fill a complete album. So, Wild Honey was hastily born - originally with the idea to include one Hawaii track as a "teaser" for a forthcoming live album. (Note that the original WH notes said that the live album would contain "highlights from a variety of live shows".) Given that the Wild Honey single began to climb the charts fairly quickly (before stalling out), the group may have decided that the pseudo-R&B sound was the best way to go - and that meant jettisoning anything that had anything to do with SMiLE (except, curiously, "Mama Says"). Thus, "Cool Cool Water" was out, and "How She Boogalooed It" was in. Also, "The Letter" was pulled because the release of a live album was no longer certain. So, could all of this transpired because Brian and the group panicked in September when (a) the H&V single began to sink, (b) Smiley Smile bombed, and (c) they didn't like the tapes they brought back from Hawaii? It almost makes sense.
Art Work
Capitol printed front and back covers based on Brian´s list and prepared an inside sleeve booklet that featured photos of the BB in Boston.
Artwork relating to the tracks were done by Frank Holmes.
(2) The booklet that was printed to accompany the album included Frank Holmes
drawings for seven tracks or lyrical fragments:
"My Vegetables" The Elements
"Two-step to lamps light" SurFs Up
"Diamond necklace play the pawn" (from Surf s Up)
"The rain of bullets eventually brought her down" Heroes & Villains
Do You Like Worms
"Lost and found you still remain there" (from Cabinessence)
"Uncover the cornfield" Home on the Range
All notations except those in parentheses are printed in the booklet.
A July 25,1967 memo from Capitol A&R director Karl Engemann, with a subject
of "BEACH BOYS' BOOKLET" says in full:
"The booklet which was originally prepared for the SMILE album contains cartoon
illustration of 10 selection that will not be included in the SMILEY SMILE
album. "After discussing a number of alternatives with Schwartz, Polley and
Brian Wilson, I agreed with Brain that the best course of action would to
NOT include this booklet with the SMILEY SMILE package, but rather to hold
it for the next album which will include the aforementioned 10 selections.
The second album which would be packaged with the booklet would not include
the selections'Heroes and Villains' and'Vegetables.' However, inasmuch as
these two selections would have already been released, I believe the consumer
would be quick to pick up the connection between the cartoons and these tracks.
In fact, some word of explanation could be included in the liner notes of
the second album. "Unless anyone on this distribution has strong objections,
we will then omit the Beach Boys' booklet from the SMILEY SMILE album and
will include it in the next album."
There weren't 10 illustrations in the SMILE booklet as Karl Engemann´s memo from July 25, 1967 is saying.. Seven was all Frank Holmes drew in 1966 (and he's pretty definite about that).
While the booklet contains seven cartoons, it references only 5 songs: "Surf´s Up" and "Cabinessence" spawned 2 illustrations each. Two of these five were already included on Smiley Smile, so only 3 additional songs (the aforementioned plus "Worms") would have been needed to "justify" the booklet!
You make a good point about only three songs needing to be included on the next Beach Boys album to make inclusion of the SMILE booklet worthwhile. If the number " 10" in the memo is a typo and was supposed to be "3," then it makes a lot more sense. In which case, you may be right that a fiull-fiedged revised SMILE release was never planned, that those three songs could have been the only SMILE tracks set for the next album. But those three songs (along with the previously "Heroes & Villains") can't be seen as anything but the CORE of the SMILE album. If Brian had gone on and finished the three songs in question, then included them on the next album, how could that album be seen as anything but SMILE?!
People & Studios
Van Dyke Parks
Brian met Van Dyke Parks at Terry Melcher´s home during the Good Vibrations sessions.
David Anderle
formed Brother Records for the Beach Boys.
Mike Vosse
was assigned sound recordist for the effects needed for a number of tracks.
Steven Desper
was hired by Brian during the SMILE era to make a bunch of water sound recordings
out in "the wild," which he did.
Steve was not involved in the studio recordings for SMILE.
Steve then was absent from the Beach Boys scene for about a year. He was
brought back in during the final stages of the recording of the FRIENDS album.
His first responsibility was to mix that record into stereo. He then stayed
with the Beach Boys through the fall of 1971. He returned again in the fall
of 1979 to work with them on the KEEPIN' THE SUMMER ALIVE album.
The Studios
Smile was mostly done at the following studios: Gold Star, Western and Columbia.
The original track line-up
A hand written track line-up was submitted to Capitol in 1966 for the Smile
album. The track lineup as Capitol printed on the SMILE covers was:
Do You Like Worms
Wind Chimes
Heroes and Villains
Surfs Up
Good Vibrations
Cabin Essence
Wonderful
I'm In Great Shape
Child is Father of the Man
The Elements
Vega-Tables
The Old Master Painter
The lineup is notated "See label for correct playing sequence".
Tracks, Songs, Parts, and more...
Teeter-Totter-Love
written for and recorded by Jasper Dailey, the photographer who was at many of the Smile sessions. Brian didn´t even make Daileys´ acquaintance until October 1966 (through Murry). The song was rec. in Feb. 1967.
Tones
not even a song, rather a section of „Holidays“
George Fell Into His French Horn
is neither a track, a song or an experimental piece. It´s just a piece of tape of a recording session or two
Trombone Dixie
was a working title for the cantina version of H & V
Bicycle Rider
The "Bicycle Rider" theme was originally recorded for "Do You Like Worms,"
but first heard as part of "Heroes and Villains".
The "Bicycle Rider" theme would have been part of "Do You Like Worms" in
Brian's original conception of things. It was only later (when reworking
"Heroes and Villains" at his house) that he incorporated it into H&V.
Teeter-Totter Love / When I Get Mad I Just Play My Drums / Crack The Whip
These are not SMILE tracks at all. Rather they are Jasper Dailey recordings, intended for something else entirely (a Dailey album?).
Inspiration
To the best of my knowledge (and contrary to what Domenic Priore has claimed), this has not surfaced.
Cool Cool Water/ Been Way Too Long
"Cool Cool Water" and "Been Way Too Long" (as it's titled on the session sheets) definitely are WILD HONEY recordings.
Look
The track identified on Vol. 5 of Journals as "Holidays" actually is titled "Look", according to the actual tape reels in the BB tape library. However, this recording matches the rec. session data for the track identified in session sheets as "I Ran" (rec. 12.8.1966).
Some More Stuff
72 recording sessions were held for the Smile album.
18 sessions were held for Good Vibrations.
Smile was originally planned for a release in December. On Dec. 16, 1966 Brian changed the release date for the album and the first single H & V till Jan. 15, 1967.
Also, it's become increasingly obvious over the years that some sessions were not logged as part of the SMILE project. For example, the early version of "She's Goin' Bald" (aka "He Gives Speeches") was recorded during the SMILE period, but we have no session data for it -- because it was not logged as a SMILE session.
Because the fragments of "With Me Tonight" that are heard on the SMILE boots come from among the many "Heroes & Villains" sessions held for the SMILE album. So, just as "Mama Say" on WILD HONEY began life as a piece of "Vegetables," so did "With Me Tonight" begin life as a one of the many "feels" Brian recorded for "Heroes & Villains."
The track identified on Vol. 5 as "Tones" (aka "Pixies") actually is titled
"Holidays", according to the tape reels. Part of this track was rec. Sept.
8, 1966, under that title. However, the session that completed the track
were rec. in March and April 1967 under the titles "Tones" and "Tune X" (Tones).
The session tapes included on Vol. 6 of Journals under the title "Tones"
are from March 31 session logged as "Tune X" (Tones).
Smile was first scheduled for a pre-Christmas release with the catalogue
number T-2580.
Smile reels are sitting on a shelf somewhere (in the Beach Boys tape vault) Linett labeled it for "Brian Wilson" rather than "The Beach Boys" because he was working under the auspices of Brains & Genius at the time, rather than Brother Records. So, for Linett, the project was a Brian Wilson one, not a Beach Boys one.
Do the Smile multi-tracks exist?
A tough question to answer. My personal belief is that they probably all do exist, but unfortunately not in the Beach Boys' tape vault. I think all (or nearly all) of the multi-tracks for the instrumental tracks for the SMILE recordings are in the Beach Boys' tape vault. In almost all cases, those are four-track tapes recorded at Gold Star or Western. What isn't in the vault are many of the 8-tracks from vocal sessions done at Columbia. But that's really not surprising. In the mid-Sixties, the practice was to store master tapes at the studio in which they were recorded until they were needed again. But when a studio closed its doors, what happened to the tapes that were stored there? In the case of Columbia, they went into storage at CBS warehouses. Until several years ago, the 8-tracks from the vocal sessions done at Columbia for the SUMMER DAYS album were missing. Then they were found in storage at a CBS warehouse and returned to the Beach Boys. Their return allowed the creation of the "vocals only" mix of "California Girls" on the GV boxed set, as well as the mixing of a stereo version of that song for ENDLESS HARMONY. I think it is likely that the 8-tracks from the SMILE vocal sessions are in storage somewhere within CBS and simply have not been found or returned. In any event, if Brian was going to destroy multi-track master tapes, I would think the prime candidate for such treatment would have been the "Fire" multi-track, but that one definitely still exists. So I tend to discount the possibility that Brian destroyed any multi-tracks. Brad
You know, that used to be my thought, too, but not any longer. About a year
ago, I had what some might call a revelation, and I no longer think that
we can say precisely what tracks would have appeared on SMILE. Yes, the 12
tracks that appear on the known back cover of SMILE originated in a list
of tracks handwritten by Brian and turned over to Capitol. However, I'm not
convinced that the list of tracks was final. The reason is that I've seen
what few people have -- the original SMILE back cover slick from which every
reproduction or picture stems. People are familiar with the back cover of
SMILE because of a limited print of it that was done in the late 1970s. That
black-and-white image features a list of 12 tracks, a bunch of zodiac signs
and a very fuzzy photo of the touring Beach Boys. But the actual slick itself
is quite different -- it's covered in red markings indicating changes that
were to be made! In other words, it was a preliminary proof and not
representative of the final cover design! When the collector who did the
prints had the slick reproduced, it was shot with a filter that knocked out
all of the red markings. In fact, the use of that filter resulted in the
photo of the touring group losing sharpness. On the actual slick, the photo
is as sharp as any other photo that has ever graced the back cover of a Beach
Boys album, but filtering out the red took out much of the detail. (When
reproduced in black and white, red shows up as black. It takes a very strong
filter to filter out red; a side effect is it also filters certain shades
of gray -- which were necessary for the detail and sharpness of the photo.)
So here's the point: If the layout of the back cover was preliminary and
was changed before final printing, then why couldn't the same situation apply
to the track listing?!
I think the back cover slick gives us a reasonable approximation of what
might have appeared on the final version of SMILE, but I no longer think
it is definitive. I think it's very possible that the lineup might have been
changed prior to the actual printing and production of the actual jackets.
Such last minute changes are not unusual -- look at HOLLAND (where the initial
back cover layout lists "We Got Love" instead of "Sail On Sailor"). I don't
think we will ever be able to say with certainty what was going to be on
SMILE until somebody turns up one of the 400,000 jackets that were manufactured
for the album and sat in Capitol warehouses for years before finally being
destroyed. Sadly, no one has stepped up and said they have one. Brad
SMiLE tapes destroyed ?
If true at all, two possible interpretations could be that he destroyed: a) the finished master tape for the album, or b) the 1/4 inch mixdown tapes for each track.
Only three 1/4 inch mixdown tapes for SMiLE from 1966-67, and at least one of them was without vocals (Child Is Father Of The Man). So there are definitely mixdown tapes missing. There are several cases where there are acetates known of certain SMILE tracks, but no corresponding mixdown tapes. Since you have to do a mixdown before you can cut an acetate, that certainly means something is missing. So, is it possible that Brian destroyed the mixdown tapes? Yes. But Brian surely had to know that really wouldn't prevent the material from being released, because it's always possible to do another mixdown as long as the multi-tracks exist. As for Brian having possibly destroyed the finished master tape for the album, it's fairly obvious that such a tape never existed. There are no records (or even anybody's recollection) to indicate that final mixdown sessions for the album were ever held.
18 songs were recorded during the Smile era.
Track by Track:
Do You Like Worms
Info:
Sessions held on:
October 18
December 21
Wind Chimes
August 3
October 5
October 10
July 10
July 11
Heroes & Villains
Info:
The Cantina version is a finished one.
About "H&V Part 2":
I'm not convinced that there ever really was supposed to be a double-sided
H&V single, with Part 1 on one side and Part 2 on the other. There is
nothing in Capitol's files Io indicate that. There is every indication that
H&V was to be the A-side of Capitol 5826, but nothing ' about the B-side.
As early as November 1966, Brian was describing H&V as "a three-minute
musical comedy," not a six- or seven- minute extended piece that could be
split over two sides of a single. A session already had been logged for "Heroes
& Villains - Part 2" on January 5. And yet, here's Brian a month later,
talking about having to come up with a B-side, which kind of puts the lie
to the idea that the single was to be H&V Part I b/w Part 2. So what
was H&V Part 2`1 Well, Brian often labeled physical sections of a single
song as numbered parts when he was recording them. For example, there's a
session logged for a "Part One" that apparently was part of "Surfs Up," and
there's a session logged for a "Part 3" of "Tones." But yet nobody makes
the claim that these tracks were multi-part suites. No, the answer is simply
that Brian's sessions for "H&V Part 2" were for a section of H&V
that was to be incorporated into the single-length musical entity that was
the song; it did not mean that there was going to be a separate recording
by that title.
In my opinion, there never was a Part 1 and Part 2 of "Heroes & Villains."
I base this on a number of facts:
1) Nowhere in Capitol's files is there any indication that such a pairing was to be released on 45. Some people point to the fact that the original "H&V" picture sleeve (Capitol 5826) says "Heroes and Villains" on both sides. However, that is simply an indication that at the time they printed the sleeves, they didn't know what the B-side was going to be. The "Good Vibrations" picture sleeve says "Good Vibrations" on both sides, but nobody uses that as an argument that Brian was planning a "Good Vibrations, Part 1" b/w "Good Vibrations, Part 2" 45.
2) The British music press of the mid-1960s covered the SMILE saga in great detail (as illustrated in all of the many clippings included in Domenic's "Look, Listen, Vibrate, Smile"). There is not a mention in any of the pieces that Brian was planning an "H&V Part 1" b/w "H&V Part 2" single. In fact, in a February 18, 1967 piece by Tracy Thomas, Brian makes reference to the problem he's having deciding what he's going to put on the B-side. Thomas reports that Brian told her, "I'm doing the final mix on the A-side tonight, but I can't decide what to do on the other side. The easiest thing would be to pull something off PET SOUNDS, but I feel that would be cheating the record-buyers. On the other hand, I want to keep as much of SMILE a surprise as possible. I may end up just recording me and a piano -- I tried it last night in the studio. It would be an interesting contrast, anyway!"
The likelihood is that the A-side final mix he's talking about is the alternate version of "H&V" that was released on the SS/WH two-fer and the GV boxed set. That version of "H&V" apparently was mixed down on Jan. 30, 1967 (the Feb. 10 date that was attached to the mix in the SS/WH two-fer was taken from a "protection master" -- in other words, a backup copy -- made on that date of the Jan. 30 mix). Given that it might have taken a couple of weeks in the 1960s for a Hollywood report to make its way (via overseas mail) back to England and then appear in print, the timetable seems to fit.
3) Similarly, much has been made of the fact that there are session sheets labeled "Heroes & Villains, Part Two." The first one is for a Jan. 5, 1967 session. The others are for consecutive sessions on Feb. 27 and 28 and March 1 and 2. Certainly, if Brian was planning a "Part 2" on January 5, he would not have been wondering at the end of the month (when he talked to Tracy Thomas) what he would put on the B-side of "H&V."
In my opinion, the "Part Two" sessions sheets simply reflect the fact that Brian was recording songs modularly. The "Part Two" designation doesn't mean that he intended to create a stand-along "Part 2" for the song, but rather that he was working on a part that would be integrated into "H&V" -- perhaps as an insert or a tag. There are session sheets labeled "Surf's Up (first movement)" and "Tones (part 3)," yet nobody is alleging that those songs were to have been broken up into separate tracks. Everybody understands that those reflect the fact that Brian was building songs in modules. There also are session sheets labeled "Home on the Range" and "Who Ran the Iron Horse," but again everybody understands that those reflect sections of "Cabinessence" being worked on, not completely separate tracks. So it should be for "Heroes and Villains, Part 2."
4) There is no finished mixdown for a "Heroes and Villains, Part 2" in either the Beach Boys' or Capitol's tape vault. Just about every other mixdown for any Beach Boys single is present in one of the vaults, but rather than seeing this as an indication that "Part 2" doesn't exist, certain people want to rationalize that the tape is missing. Yes, there are some tapes missing, but those primarily are multi-track session tapes, not 1/4-inch mixdowns. Heck, there's even a mixdown tape for "All Dressed Up for School" -- mono, done by Brian! So why would the "H&V Part 2" mix tape go missing? It just doesn't make sense. Far more reasonable is to doubt that it ever existed in the first place.
Q: If Brian had edited the "final master" version of "Heroes and Villains" by the end of January... why did he continue recording H&V sessions for more than a month after that?
For the same reason that he didn't release the "In the cantina" version of "Heroes & Villains" as a single -- he changed his mind. It's the same reason that he continued to work on "Good Vibrations" after he prepared the almost-finished version heard on the 1983 RARITIES album. Something about the version he'd mixed down didn't sit well with him the next day (or the day after, or whenever it was) when he listened to it.
Q: As for that one January "Pt. 2" session, I figure that could be something unconnected -- as you say, a notation of a part within the then-current song, before the idea of doing a separate B-side Pt. 2 came to mind.
Except that it's logged with the same master number as the later "Part 2" sessions. And just in case somebody says, "Wait a minute, if it has a separate master number, then it must be a separate track," please note that there were a total of 6 different master numbers assigned to "Heroes & Villains" -- 55999 (first used with the May 11, 1966 session), 56727 (assigned in connection with an Oct. 20 session), 56738 (assigned for an Oct. 27 session), 57020 (assigned for a Dec. 19 session), 57045 (assigned to "Part 2" in connection with the Jan. 5 session) and 57074 (assigned for an "experimental" Jan. 20 session).
Yes, it's not inconceivable that he meant to assembled six different versions of "Heroes & Villains," but that's highly unlikely. Similarly, there are 3 different master numbers assigned to pieces of "Cabinessence," and nobody argues that they were separate tracks. Hey, there's even three different master numbers for pieces of "Surf's Up"!
After mixing down the "In the cantina" version of "H&V," Brian did 13
more sessions over the next month before finally stopping work on "H&V"
and turning his attention to "Vegetables."
Sessions:
May 11
October 20
October 27
December 13
December 19
December 22
December 27
December 28
January 3
January 5
Session for Heroes & Villains Part 2
January 6
Session for Heroes & Villains Part 2
January 20
January 27
Februar 7
Februar 10
Februar 15
Februar 20
Februar 24
Februar 27
Session for Heroes & Villains Part 2
Februar 28
Session for Heroes & Villains Part 2
March 1
Session for Heroes & Villains Part 2
March 2
Session for Heroes & Villains Part 2
June 12
June 13
June 14
August 25
Surf´s Up
November 7
November 8
Session for Surf´s Up (1st movement)
December 15
January 23
January 25
Good Vibrations
May 27
June 2
June 16
June 18
August 24
September 1
Cabin Essence
October 11
October 12
December 6
Wonderful
August 25
October 6
December 15
December 27
January 9
July 12
I´m In Great Shape
Info:
"I Wanna Be Around/Friday Night" / " I'm In Great Shape."
"I Wanna Be Around/Friday Night" is an instrumental track that Brian recorded
Nov. 29, 1966 at Gold Star Studios. It's probably more commonly known as
the "woodshop" track. The master tape for the song, as found in the Beach
Boys' tape vault, is labeled "I Wanna Be Around/Friday Night." However, the
session sheet is labeled "Friday Night (I'm in Great Shape)." In my opinion,
the title on the session sheet is a mistake -- somebody got their "I" titles
mixed up and wrote down "I'm in Great Shape" instead of "I Wanna Be Around."
Because, other than the session sheet, there is no evidence of any connection
between the "Friday Night" track and "I'm in Great Shape."
"I'm in Great Shape" is an insert piece into "Heroes & Villains." You
can hear the basic form and lyrics of the piece in the "H&V" demo that
was included on ENDLESS HARMONY. There is no instrumental track logged as
being recorded for "I'm in Great Shape," probably because it was recorded
under the title of "Heroes & Villains." A vocal session for "I'm in Great
Shape" was recorded Oct. 17, 1966 at Columbia Studios. Yes, it's possible
that the piece was recorded acappella without an instrumental track. On the
other hand, I think it's highly unlikely that a track for the song would
have been recorded more than a month after the vocals, which is what you'd
have to be proposing if you believed that the Nov. 29 track was really for
"I'm in Great Shape". Besides I just don't hear the Nov. 29 track as a reasonable
accompaniment for the lyrics to "IIGS." I think they're too separate songs,
unconnected except for an error on the session sheet. (BTW, there are other
documented errors on session sheets, so it wouldn't be a situation without
precedent.)
Sessions held on:
October 17
November 29
Session for Friday Night (I´m In Great Shape)
Child Is Father Of The Man
October 7
October 12
December 2
December 6
The Elements
Info:
Both of those tracks 'I Love To Say Da-Da' and 'Mrs O'Leary's Cow (Fire)'
were part of the overall "Elements" suite.
No one (including Desper) has claimed that "The Elements" exists as a finished
suite, on either acetate or tape. Regarding "Vegetables" as the Earth section
... My personal belief is that "Vegetables" originally was intended as the
Earth section, thus the notation "My Vega-Tables THE ELEMENTS" under Frank
Holmes' artwork for the song in the SMILE booklet. But remember that Frank
did the drawings in October and November of 1966, long before the song was
ever recorded. I think Brian then chose to spin the song off as separate
from "The Elements," as evidenced by his listing it separately on the track
list he gave to Capitol shortly before the end of the year. Of course, if
Brian did separate "Vegetables" from "The Elements," he needed to replace
it with something else. My candidate is "Fall Breaks and Back to Winter"
from SMILEY SMILE -- or rather an earlier unrecorded version of that composition.
Looking at "Mrs. O'Leary's Cow" and "Love to Say Da Da," I think the other
two pieces of "The Elements" suite would be similar -- that is, either
instrumentals or wordless vocals. "Fall Breaks," whose structure is similar
to "Mrs. O'Leary's Cow," fits the pattern. The session sheets, however, are
definite that "Fall Breaks" was recorded during the sessions for SMILEY SMILE.
But, given that at least three SMILE-era tracks (She's Goin' Bald, Wind Chimes,
Wonderfiul) were completely re-recorded during the SS sessions, and another
track (With Me Tonight) was derived from a SMILE-era recording, I see no
reason not to believe that "Fall Breaks" either is the Earth section finally
recorded and, more likely (in the manner of "Da Da" and "Cool Cool Water"),
an expansion of the planned Earth section. But that isjust my OPIMON. (Someday,
I hope to be able to ask Brian.) Regarding the Air section ... "Wind Chimes"
often has been speculated for "Air," but there is NO evidence to support
that. "Tones" (or correctly "Holidays") being "Air" was an idea that Dom
fioated, but again there's no evidence for it. In fact, when asked about
"Air" some years ago, Brian said, "Yeah, there was a cut -- a piano piece,
an instrumental, no vocals -- we never finished that. Neither "Wind Chimes"
nor "Holidays" fits that definition, so I think we probably haven't heard
"Air," if indeed it was ever put down on tape.
Fire (Mrs. O'Leary's Cow):
The title "Mrs. O'Leary's Cow" or "Mrs. O'Leary's Fire" cannot be found on
either tape boxes, session logs, internal memos or any other written documents.
It would be interesting to learn the origin of that title. Was it something
Brian said? Or perhaps a title that was mentioned during the 1972 announcement
that SMILE finally was going to be released? Brad
Sessions:
November 20
November 28
Sessions for Fire (Mrs. O´Leary´s Cow)
December 5
Session for Fire
May 16
Session for Love To Say Da Da
May 17
Session for Love To Say Da Da
May 18
Session for Love To Say Da Da
Vegetables
April 4
April 5
April 6
April 7
April 10
April 11
April 12
April 13
April 14
June 3
June 5
June 6
June 7
June 15
The Old Master Painter
November 14
Session for The Old Master Painter / You Are My Sunshine
November 30
Session for The Old Master Painter / You Are My Sunshine
Holidays
September 8
I Ran
Info:
We haven't heard this, but it may be that nothing usable was recorded.
Sessions:
August 12
October 13
I Don´t Know
Info:
Since we don't know what this is, the results of this session might have
been heard.
Sessions:
January 12
Prayer
September 19
October 4
You´re Welcome
December 16
The Smile Sessions Day by Day
1966
February 17
Session for Good Vibrations
February 18
Track Session for Good Vibrations
April 9
Track Session for Good Vibrations
May 4
Session for Good Vibrations
May 11
Session for Heroes And Villains
May 16
Release of the album Pet Sounds
May 27
Session for Good Vibrations
June 2
Session for Inspiration
Session for Good Vibrations
June 16
Session for Good Vibrations
June 18
Session for Good Vibrations
July 5
Release of the album Best Of The Beach Boys by Capitol Records
August 3
Session for Wind Chimes
August 12
Session for I Ran
August 24
Session for Good Vibrations
August 25
Session for Session for Wonderful
September 1
Session for Good Vibrations
September 8
Session for Holidays
September 19
Session for Prayer
October 3
Session for Home On The Range
October 4
Session for Prayer
October 5
Session for Wind Chimes
October 6
Session for Wonderful
October 7
Session for Child Is Father Of The Man
October 10
Session for Wind Chimes
October 11
Session for Cabin Essence
Session for Home On The Range
October 12
Session for Child Is Father Of The Man
Session for Cabin Essence
October 13
Session for I Ran
October 17
Session for I´m In Great Shape
October 18
Session for Do You Like Worms
October 20
Session for Heroes & Villains
October 27
Session for Heroes & Villains
November 7
Session for Surf´s Up
Session for George Fell Into His French Horn
November 8
Session for Surf´s Up (1st movement)
November 14
Session for The Old Master Painter / You Are My Sunshine
November 28
Sessions for Fire (Mrs. O´Leary´s Cow)
November 29
Session for Friday Night (I´m In Great Shape)
November 30
Session for The Old Master Painter / You Are My Sunshine
December 2
Session for Child Is Father Of The Man
December 5
Session for Fire
December 6
Session for Cabin Essence
Session for Child Is Father Of The Man
December 13
Session for Heroes & Villains
December 15
Session for Wonderful
Session for Surf´s Up
December 16
Session for You´re Welcome
December 19
Session for Heroes & Villains
December 21
Session for Do You Like Worms
December 22
Session for Heroes & Villains
December 27
Session for Heroes & Villains
Session for Wonderful
Session for Who Ran The Iron Horse
December 28
Session for Heroes & Villains
1967
January 3
Session for Heroes & Villains
January 5
Session for Heroes & Villains Part 2
January 6
Session for Heroes & Villains Part 2
January 9
Session for Wonderful
January 12
Session for I Don´t Know
January 20
Session for Heroes & Villains
January 23
Session for Surf´s Up
January 25
Session for Surf´s Up
Session for Teeter Totter Love
January 27
Session for Heroes & Villains
Session for Whistle In
Februar 7
Session for Heroes & Villains
Februar 8
(Track title unknown)
Februar 9
Session for Teeter Totter Love
Februar 10
Session for Heroes & Villains
Februar 12
Session for Teeter Totter Love
Session for When I Get Mad I Just Play My Drums
Session for Crack The Wip
Februar 15
Session for Heroes & Villains
Februar 17
Session for Crack The Wip
Februar 20
Session for Heroes & Villains
Februar 24
Session for Heroes & Villains
Februar 27
Session for Heroes & Villains Part 2
Februar 28
Session for Heroes & Villains Part 2
March 1
Session for Heroes & Villains Part 2
March 2
Session for Heroes & Villains Part 2
Early March
Van Dyke Parks is leaving
March 13
Session for Tones
March 15
Session for Tones
March 31
Session for Tune X (Tones)
Late March
Van Dyke Parks return
April 4
Session for Vegetables
April 5
Session for Vegetables
April 6
Session for Vegetables
April 7
Session for Vegetables
April 10
Session for Vegetables
April 11
Session for Tones (Part 3)
Session for Vegetables
April 12
Session for Vegetables
April 13
Session for Vegetables
April 14
Session for Vegetables
Mid April
Van Dyke Parks is leaving again
May 16
Session for Love To Say Da Da
May 17
Session for Love To Say Da Da
May 18
Session for Love To Say Da Da
May 19
Cancel of the Session for Love To Say Da Da.
The end of the original Smile album?
June 3
Session for Vegetables
The return is without studio musicians but with the Beach Boys.
June 5
Session for Vegetables
June 6
Session for Vegetables
June 7
Session for Vegetables
June 11
Session for Good News
June 12
Session for Heroes & Villains
June 13
Session for Heroes & Villains
June 14
Session for Heroes & Villains
June 15
Session for Vegetables
June 19
Session for Hawaiian Song
June 20
Session for Hawaiian Song
June 21
Session for Hawaiian Song
June 25
Session for Good Time Mama
June 26
Session for Good Time Mama
June 28
Session for Little Pad
June 29
Session for Fall Breaks And Back To Winter
June 30
Session for With Me Tonight
July 5
Session for She´s Going Bald
July 6
(Untitled Track)
July 10
Session for Wind Chimes
July 11
Session for Wind Chimes
July 12
Session for Wonderful
July 13
Session for Whistle-In
July 14
Session for Gettin´ Hungry
July 31
Release of the album Best Of The Beach Boys, Vol. II by Capitol Records
August 25
Session for Heroes And Villains
September 1967
Session for Wild Honey
September 18
Release of the album Smiley Smile
The Smiley Smile Sessions Day by Day
1967
June 11
Session for Good News
June 19
Session for Hawaiian Song
June 20
Session for Hawaiian Song
June 21
Session for Hawaiian Song
June 25
Session for Good Time Mama
June 26
Session for Good Time Mama
June 28
Session for Little Pad
June 29
Session for Fall Breaks And Back To Winter
June 30
Session for With Me Tonight
July 5
Session for She´s Going Bald
July 6
(Untitled Track)
July 13
Session for Whistle-In
July 14
Session for Gettin´ Hungry
September 1967
Session for Wild Honey
LEFT-OVER
1966
June 2
Session for Inspiration
July 5
Release of the album Best Of The Beach Boys by Capitol Records
October 3
Session for Home On The Range
October 11
Session for Home On The Range
November 7
Session for George Fell Into His French Horn
December 27
Session for Who Ran The Iron Horse
1967
January 25
Session for Teeter Totter Love
January 27
Session for Whistle In
Februar 8
(Track title unknown)
Februar 9
Session for Teeter Totter Love
Februar 12
Session for Teeter Totter Love
Session for When I Get Mad I Just Play My Drums
Session for Crack The Wip
Februar 17
Session for Crack The Wip
March 13
Session for Tones
March 15
Session for Tones
March 31
Session for Tune X (Tones)
April 11
Session for Tones (Part 3)
As far as we know, Brian never completed a final mix for the April '67 version of "Vegetables." He did several test mixes which are only partial -- just the verses, or just the coda.
The mix on the GV Box Set is indeed by Mark Linnett, and there's absolutely no guarantee he has the order of sections right, though he must have been going off of something.
Actually, it wasn't a SMILE track. Dean had been hanging around Brian and the BBs in the spring and summer of 1967 and had heard the song, at one point planned as a BB single. When plans changed and the group's single reverted to being "H&V," Dean asked Brian if he could record the "Vegetables" and release it as a single. Brian said he didn't mind, so Dean recorded his own version of the song, including the instrumental track -- he did not use an actual leftover SMILE track. The single, with Dean's lead vocal and NO Brian participation, was released as by Laughing Gravy in the fall of 1967.
Four years later, when Dean was compiling the JAN & DEAN ANTHOLOGY ALBUM for United Artists, he wanted to end the album with a "new" J&D song. He decided to use "Vegetables" as that song, since most people had never heard the Laughing Gravy version. He took the master tape for the track into the studio and brought Brian and Spring in to add backing vocals (which were pretty minimal in the L.G. version). Brian arranged and produced the vocals, which is why the Jan & Dean version (released as a single in early 1972) credits both Dean and Brian as producers.
Brad
There is an Oct. 17 vocal session for "I'm in Great Shape." There is a Nov. 29 track session that is logged as "Friday Night (I'm in Great Shape)." However, the actual tape box from that session shows no reference to "I'm in Great Shape," nor is there any mention of that title during the actual session. Instead, one of the two pieces recorded that night was titled "I Wanna Be Around." I think what happened is that somebody screwed up when logging the session, and it should have been "Friday Night (I Wanna Be Around)."
Anyway, I don't see speculation entirely out of place in this instance, because there is no proof that the "Endless Harmony" section was ever recorded. A demo is only a demo, and it's obvious by hearing Brian's comments that he hadn't finished the section with the "great shape" lyric by the time it (the H&V demo) was recorded, which was in early November, right? And since IGS was recorded on the 17th of October, before the H&V demo, how could he have recorded the demo's Great Shape section when it wasn't completely written? It's impossible, unless Brian could travel back and forth in time.
But what's on ENDLESS HARMONY is not a "demo" in the sense of a preliminary songwriting demo, rather it's simply Brian sitting at the piano and demonstrating for disc jockey "Humble Harv" Miller what he's been working on. Given that "IGS" was just recorded two weeks before, it would make sense that he would play it for Miller.
To release pre '69 bb material. was this somehow circumvented in '71 when that bw piece of "surf's up" was utilized?
Yes. At the time, the Beach Boys had leased the five late 1960s albums from Capitol (for a period of 10 years), and included in that deal was the right to release Smile on Warner Brothers. That allowed them to rework "Surf's Up" for inclusion on the album of the same name.
Parts of "cool cool water" would seem to be at issue also.
That's one the group snuck past Capitol. Technically, the middle section (the "water, water" chant) is a SMILE-era recording -- the rest was all-new recording -- and, if Capitol had caught on to that, they could have made a stink. However, the deal made the next year for the late 1960s albums rendered the whole issue moot.
Were there other sunflower cuts that predated the mid '69 cutoff date such as some of the songs that were to have been on "reverberation"?
Yes, there were four tracks recorded for the legendary "last Capitol album" that ended up on SUNFLOWER -- "Got To Know The Woman," "Forever," "Deirdre," and "All I Wanna Do." When the group's first submission to Warner Bros. (the ADD SOME MUSIC album) was rejected, they worked out a deal where they were able to cannibalize that planned Capitol album for tracks with which to rework ASM (turning it into SUNFLOWER). In return for giving up their rights to those tracks, Capitol got the LIVE IN LONDON album, which they judged would be a better catalog seller for them over the long haul. What I've never been able to figure out, though, is why the album didn't get released in the U.S. for another six years?!!
Brad
Which brings up a question, some of how we know when Van was "in" is based, I presume, on Dailey's photos and session records. Is Van shown on the Dec. 15 or Jan 5 studio records (if those are the correct dates)?
There are no Dailey photos from Dec. 15, and the session held that date was a vocal session, so there is no listing for Van. He may have been present, but he didn't play, so he's not listed.
Van is in the Dailey photos from Jan. 5 and he is listed on the session sheet for that session.
Van Dyke Parks´ solo contract is dated January 1967 (according to himself)
"WONDERFUL" IN the break it sounds like Brian says something REALLY crude.
I will delete the word but it goes something like this: "ah, don't lick your c***!"
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