Digesting the legend
If you’re anything like me you’re counting down the seconds until The Beach Boys SMiLE Sessions are released on November 1 domestically (October 31, internationally). And, like me, you’ll probably disappear for weeks… This collection goes deeper into the sessions than any bootleg has ever gone before. These sessions explain away a lot of misconstrued ideas about what Brian intended, or was thinking at the time as hypothesized by historians through the years. Let each session speak for itself, and enjoy the multiple surprises in the “Heroes and Villains” sessions, and the sheer brilliance of each little musical minuet…no matter how short or unrealized.
The five disc set includes 6.5 hours of music, beginning with a “best guess” of a finished SMiLE album, due in large part to Brian Wilson releasing his take on the material in 2004 as Brian Wilson Presents SMiLE, which – in turn – created a template for compilers Alan Boyd and Mark Linett (to use as a guide). With only a slight adjustment in the lineup – moving “I’m In Great Shape” (from the 2004 version where it began the third suite) to the first suite between “Do You Like Worms” and “Barnyard.” It’s worth noting that during the 11/29/66 “I Wanna Be Around” recording session [CD three; Track 21], Carol Kaye is heard saying, “This is what happens after the fire…” It’s because of this statement that moving “I Wanna Be Around” to follow “The Elements: Fire (Mrs. O’Leary’s Cow)” sounds just right (as the rebuilding song after the fire), but that doesn’t mean it is. I’ll leave that up to you.
Before you go popping in CDs 1-5 in consecutive order, I suggest that you consider playing CD five (the “Good Vibrations” sessions) first. “Good Vibrations” took Brian Wilson six months to complete, and if you really pay attention to Wilson’s deliberate instrumentation and guidance, you really are a fly on the wall listening to Brian develop his craft…There’s nothing quite like it. It was on this track that he began using the classical form of Rondo (“meaning to return” to a theme). “Good Vibrations” was his pocket symphony (albeit, Rondo single), and SMiLE was to be his teenage symphony to God (a Rondo formatted album with returning themes). It’s hard to say whether or not Brian was aware of this clasical term or approach, but it is what he was doing.
Clocking in at 1.3 hours, the “Good Vibrations” sessions are literally the same process that Wilson continued to apply throughout the SMiLE sessions, particularly with “Heroes and Villains.” When dissecting these sessions half of the album could easily have ended up an entire side of “Heroes and Villains” (comprised of “Barnyard,” “Intro [Mrs. O’Leary’s Cow],” “Organ Waltz [Mrs. O’Leary’s Cow],” “Do A Lot [Mama Says]” and “I’m In Great Shape”).
This release also includes (what might be considered) a potential humor suite/section; consisting of the following tracks — “Psycodelic Sounds: Brian Falls Into A Microphone,” “Psycodelic Sounds: Moaning Laughing” (11/4/66), “Psycodelic Sounds: Brian Falls Into A Piano” (11/4/66), “Talking Horns” (aka “George Fell Into His French Horn”) [Surf’s Up session],” “Psycodelic Sounds: Underwater Chant” (11/4/66), “Bag Of Tricks [Heroes and Villains session (1/3/67)],” “SMiLE Backing Vocal Montage” and “He Gives Speeches.” Anyone who has studied this period knows that Brian was into humor, so it is feasible — with these sessions as evidence — that a humor suite may have been considered. Even the SMiLE cover art suggests the whimsical direction of these sessions.
When listening to these sessions SMiLE begins to expose itself as an non-finishable LP. The suite — because of Rondo classical format of returning themes — could have ended up a variable of ways. Perhaps that’s the deluxe edition’s best quality; the fact that we can subjectively listen to the sessions and decide for ourselves. SMiLE begins with “Our Prayer,” “Gee,” “Heroes and Villains,” but from there — using the Rondo format as your guide — you’ll hear so many different things. Listen to the minor and major key shifts, chromatic scales and subject matter. You might end up with several versions that srike your fancy…SMiLE is not exclusive; it’s all inclusive. There’s even the super rare recording of Jasper Dailey’s “Teeter Totter Love” (a clutsy and fun recording); Carl Wilson’s “Tune X” (an evocative instrumental); and brother Dennis’s “I Don’t Know” (showing early signs of Dennis’ soulful growth).
The SMiLE release is not to be missed, and to the unfamiliar listener, the SMiLE Sessions will – at the very least – provide a magnifying glass snapshot of where Brian was taking the Beach Boys next…uncharted territory…fire hats, vegetables, etc. This collection is not only light years beyond Pet Sounds; it’s light years beyond anything that I have ever heard. If you love Pet Sounds, if you love “Good Vibrations,” then this collection is something that will leave you motionless, stunned…and wanting more.
Recommended tracks: Everything…beginning with disc #5.
Look for Goldmine Magazine’s Beach Boys cover story [December 2011, issue #808] featuring interviews with Brian Wilson and Mike Love [street date: November 1]. Endless Summer Quarterly’s exclusive all-SMiLE edition [issue number 94] will feature the Wilson and Love interviews in their entirety, and exclusive one-of-a-kind goodies [street date; early December].
©2011 David M. Beard/All rights reserved
COPYRIGHT STATEMENT: This article is the original work of David M. Beard. Under no circumstance may any portion of this article be broadcast, copied, published, rewritten or used without the permission of the author. To purchase this or any other article by David M. Beard, please email esqeditor@esquarterly.com.
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