Smile (The Beach Boys album)
Encyclopedia
Smile is a previously unreleased album by The Beach Boys
recorded throughout 1966 and 1967. The project was intended by its creator Brian Wilson
as the follow-up to Pet Sounds
, but was never completed in its original form. During the years Smile remained unavailable, it had come to be regarded as the most famous unreleased album of all time.
The project was resurrected in 2003, and a critically acclaimed newly recorded version
was released by Wilson in 2004. During the 37 years from its cancellation to the release of Wilson's version, Smile acquired considerable mystique, and bootlegged tracks from the album circulated widely among Beach Boys collectors
. Many of the tracks which were originally recorded for Smile eventually found their way onto subsequent Beach Boys albums.
In 2011 a box set, known as The Smile Sessions, was released, featuring a version of the album reconstructed from the original recordings, along with many session highlights and outtakes; it received universal critical acclaim.
to God". His plan was to take his work on Pet Sounds to a new level, with an album-length suite of specially-written songs which were both thematically and musically linked, and would be recorded using the unusual sounds and innovative production techniques which had made their recent hit "Good Vibrations
" so successful.
The genesis of Smile lay during the recording of Pet Sounds. On February 17, 1966, during the sessions for Pet Sounds, Brian Wilson started work on a new single, "Good Vibrations
". The most expensive — at a cost of more than $50,000 — and complex pop recording at the time. "Good Vibrations" was created by an unprecedented recording technique: nearly 30 minutes of barely-related musical sections were recorded, then painstakingly spliced together and reduced into a three-minute pop song. Many within the Beach Boys' camp were skeptical, but the song quickly became the band's biggest hit yet, which went to #1 in both Britain
and the USA. Smile was intended to be an entire album produced in the same fashion.
Crucial to the inception and creation of Smile was Wilson's meeting with singer, musician, composer and lyricist Van Dyke Parks
. Wilson invited Parks to write lyrics for the new album in the Spring of 1966, when the project was provisionally being called Dumb Angel. The two quickly formed a close and fruitful working relationship, and between April and September 1966 they co-wrote a number of major songs, including "Surf's Up", "Heroes and Villains", "Wonderful", "Cabin Essence" and "Wind Chimes", all of which were written in the famous sandbox that Brian had installed in his home. Their first collaboration was "Heroes and Villains". Wilson has recalled that when he played the song's descending melody line to him, Parks devised the opening line on the spot. Their most acclaimed song, "Surf's Up", was written in the course of a single night.
Pet Sounds lyricist Tony Asher
wrote the original lyrics for "Good Vibrations", but the hit version released in October 1966 featured a new set of lyrics co-written by Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys' Mike Love
. Wilson had in fact asked Parks to write new lyrics for "Good Vibrations", but Parks declined, preferring not to enter a project which was already underway.
Although the precise nature of its original conception is still hotly debated, several key features of Smile are generally acknowledged: both musically and lyrically, Wilson and Parks intended Smile to be explicitly American in style and subject, a direct reaction to the British dominance of popular music at the time. It was supposedly conceived as a musical journey across America from east to west, beginning at Plymouth Rock
and ending in Hawaii
, as well as traversing some of the great themes of modern American history and culture, including the impact of white settlement on native Americans, the influence of the Spanish, the Wild West, and the opening up of the country by railroad and highway.
As the name implies, humor was a key ingredient, and the Smile songs are replete with word play
, pun
s and multiple meanings. A good example is "Vega-Tables", which includes the lines "I'm gonna do well, my vegetables, cart off and sell my vegetables"; the phrase "...cart off and..." is a bilingual pun on the word Kartoffeln, which is German
for potatoes. At one stage, Wilson apparently toyed with the idea of expanding Smile to include an additional "humor" record, and a number of recordings were made in this vein, although they were apparently unsuccessful, so the idea was dropped. Another likely remnant of this facet of the project is the Smiley Smile
track "She's Goin' Bald", a reworking of an earlier Smile track known as "He Gives Speeches".
Wilson is known to have been deeply influenced by the music of George Gershwin
at an early age (especially "Rhapsody in Blue
"), and Smile emulates both Gershwin's emphatic American-ness, and the episodic and programmatic characteristics of the composer's works. A short scene featuring Brian at the piano in the DVD documentary on the making of Smile 2003 suggests that Brian may have directly based the main riff of "Heroes and Villains" on a variation or inversion of a fragment of "Rhapsody in Blue".
Smile also drew heavily on American popular music of the past; Wilson's innovative original compositions were interwoven with snippets of significant songs of yesteryear, including "The Old Master Painter" (made famous by Peggy Lee
), the perennial "You Are My Sunshine
", Johnny Mercer
's jazz
standard "I Wanna Be Around
" (recorded by Tony Bennett
), the song "Gee" by noted '50s doo-wop
group The Crows
, as well as quotations from other pop-culture reference points, such as the Woody Woodpecker
theme.
Many of these smaller tracks, and many other short instrumental and vocal pieces were evidently intended to serve as bridging sections that would have been edited in to provide links between the major songs. The cut-up
structure and heavily edited production style of Smile was certainly unique for its time in mainstream popular music, and it suggests that Brian was aware of the techniques of musique concrète
and the usage of chance operations in making art—an approach which, according to musicologist Ian MacDonald
, was also exerting a strong influence on the Beatles at this point.
Wilson's experiments with LSD were undoubtedly a significant influence on the texture and structure of the work, and one of the strongest intellectual influences on his thinking at this time was his friend Loren Schwartz, who is said to have introduced Brian to both marijuana and LSD.
Writer Bill Tobelman suggests that Smile is filled with coded references to Brian's life and his recent LSD experiences (a presumed Lake Arrowhead, California
'trip' being the most important). He also argues it was heavily influenced by Wilson's interest in Zen
philosophy — notably the Zen technique of using absurd humor and paradoxical riddles (the koan) to liberate the mind from preconceptions — and that Smile as a whole can be interpreted as an extended Zen koan. Tobelman modified his theory upon discovering the construction of the Smile riddle was based upon Arthur Koestler's book, The Act of Creation
.
Wilson perfected his "classic" production technique with the recording of Pet Sounds during 1965 and 1966. He produced the tracks for Pet Sounds in two major blocks — while the rest of the group were away on tour, he recorded the elaborate instrumental backing tracks using an informal "band" of first-call Los Angeles session players (now often referred to as "The Wrecking Crew
"); the basic tracks were typically recorded live in a single take onto a 4-track recorder, and these tapes were used to create a full set of finished backing tracks from the various 4-track work parts, which were assembled onto an 8-track tape and then mixed down in mono onto one track of a second 8-track tape. When the rest of the group returned from touring, Wilson then recorded the group vocals, using the then-novel technique of assigning each backing voice onto its own track on a second 8-track tape, with the remaining eighth track left 'open' for additional "sweetening" vocal or instrumental overdubs.
Unfortunately, especially in the case of "Good Vibrations
", this second 8-track tape containing all the discrete vocal overdubs has gone missing since early 1967, so even though the original instrumental work parts can be re-assembled re-synched and remixed into true Stereophonic Sound instead of mono or Duophonic
, there are unfortunately no other sources for the vocals. Although numerous people have had varying amounts of success re-synching the instrumental versions from box sets to the mono single mixes and then extracting out a close approximation of the vocal track, exactly-correct results will never be possible until and unless the second 8-track is discovered.
With "Good Vibrations
", Wilson took this modular approach to recording even further, experimenting with compiling the finished track by editing together the numerous sections from multiple versions recorded at the lengthy tracking sessions. Instead of taping each backing track as a more-or-less complete performance (as had been the model for previous Beach Boys recordings) he split the arrangement into sections, recording multiple takes of each section and developing and changing the arrangements and the production as the sessions proceeded. He sometimes recorded the same section at several different studios, to exploit the unique sonic characteristics or special effects available in each. Then, he selected the best performances of each section and edited these together to create a composite which combined the best features of production and performance. The resulting final mix broke new ground in popular recording, since each section of the song was presented in its own distinct sonic 'envelope', rather than the homogeneous production sound of a conventional "one take" studio recording.
Wilson took this technical exploration even further with the songs on Smile. Working mainly at United Western Recorders
in the same small recording studio (No.3) where the backing tracks for Pet Sounds were mainly recorded (so he could work with his favorite engineer, Chuck Britz
) and sometimes Gold Star Studios
in Los Angeles
(Phil Spector
's favorite studio), he began a long and complex series of sessions (approximately 50 overall, not including the 17 sessions needed for Good Vibrations) in late 1966 that continued until early 1967. He also used Sunset Sound Studios and Columbia Studios on Sunset Boulevard. Columbia Studios had the only 8-track audio recorder available amongst the major recording studios at the time, so as was the case for Pet Sounds, the vocal sessions for Smile were usually done at Columbia.
Much of Smile was recorded in this 'modular' manner - the finished tracks are edited composite recordings, assembled from multiple versions of the various parts of the final arrangement. Many (officially) unreleased Smile fragments are either alternate versions of the various instrumental or vocal segments of each song, or alternates of the passages intended to provide transitions between the main songs. There are also many unreleased alternate mixes of the same songs and passages, containing incomplete or experimental 'draft' mixes of the various songs and links.
Although stereo
recording was increasingly popular, Wilson always made his final mixes in mono
, as did rival producer Phil Spector
. Wilson did so for several reasons—he personally felt that mono mixing provided more sonic control over what the listener heard, minimizing the vagaries of speaker placement and sound system quality. It was also motivated by the knowledge that pop radio broadcast in mono, and most domestic and car radios and record players were monophonic. Another more personal reason for Wilson's preference was deafness in his right ear.
In early December, Capitol Records
was given a handwritten list of twelve tracks planned for Smile, for use on the LP back cover. This list was long considered crucial evidence of Wilson's intentions for the piece, but since the track listing (as printed by Capitol on the never-used album covers) carried the standard advisory "see label for correct playing order", it can only be taken as confirming Brian's apparent choice of songs at that time, and not their exact sequence. However, in 2006 it was realized that the handwriting on the list was not Brian's, but someone else's; furthermore, when shown a copy of the list, Brian himself stated that he had never seen it before. A comparison of the handwriting indicates that it may have been written by Carl Wilson, or possibly Brian's sister-in-law, Diane Rovell.
Capitol began production on a lavish gatefold cover with a 12-page booklet. Cover artwork was commissioned from Frank Holmes, a friend of Van Dyke Parks, and color photographs of the group were taken by Guy Webster. 466,000 covers and 419,000 booklets were printed by early January 1967; promotional materials were sent to record distributors and dealers, and ads were placed in Billboard and teenage magazines including Teen Set.
Some time in December, Brian informed Capitol that Smile would not be ready that month, but he advised that he would deliver it "prior to January 15". Wilson's conception of the work evidently changed around this time, probably as a result of disagreements within the band. Early in 1967, work was halted on all the Smile tracks except for "Heroes and Villains" and "Vega-Tables".
The considerable time and effort that Wilson devoted to "Heroes and Villains" is indicative of its importance, both as a single and as part of Smile — sessions for the various versions and sections extended over more than a year, from May 1966 to July 1967, and there are dozens of takes of each section of the song and multiple versions of both the variant sections and the various attempted final mixes.
Most tracks on Smile, including "Do You Like Worms", "I'm In Great Shape", "Vega-Tables", and "My Only Sunshine" were originally considered as sections for "Heroes and Villains". Dialogue from the "Our Prayer" sessions suggest that it was also meant for inclusion as part of "Heroes and Villains", rather than being its own independent track.
The centerpiece of Smile—"Surf's Up"—was written in one night and was certainly fully composed by November 1966, when Brian Wilson was filmed performing the song on piano for a CBS
news special on popular music Inside Pop: The Rock Revolution, hosted by Leonard Bernstein
and David Oppenheim aired on April 26, 1967. "Surf's Up" was featured on Oppenheim's portion of the show. Wilson also made a studio demo with double-tracked solo vocal and piano around this time, which was eventually released on the Beach Boys' 30th anniversary boxed set.
A nearly or fully completed backing track for the first (2:20) section was recorded and mixed in November 1966, but vocals and other overdubs were still to be added, and work on the middle and closing sections was either never undertaken or never finished. It is notable that the flourishes played on muted trumpet in the verses of "Surf's Up" are almost identical to the familiar 'laughing' refrain of the Woody Woodpecker
theme song. This musical reference recurs in the instrumental piece "Fall Breaks And Back To Winter" on the album Smiley Smile
(which was in fact subtitled "W. Woodpecker Symphony").
A full-length version of "Surf's Up" was eventually assembled by Carl Wilson and released on the 1971 Beach Boys album Surf's Up. The 1971 track was edited together from the two major basic tracks; Carl and the group recorded new vocals over the original 1966 "Part 1" backing track, which was edited together with the 1966 studio demo of Brian performing the second half solo on a piano, with new group vocals and additional instrumental overdubs in the closing section.
in December 1966. It was given to Capitol in order for the track titles to be included on the album cover; however, the original cover states "see record for running order". It has not been conclusively proven whose handwriting is actually on the note.
All the evidence, including interviews with Brian himself, state that a final definitive running order was never decided upon until the release of the 2004 Smile.
Of these tracks, "Good Vibrations" was completed by Brian Wilson before the original recording sessions and released in October just as the sessions were getting underway. All of the other tracks were either not recorded or only exist in part-completed form (although versions of "Heroes and Villains", "Cabin Essence", "Wonderful", "Vega-Tables" and "Surf's Up" were released by the Beach Boys in later years). "The Elements" was a reputed 'suite' which encompassed the four classical elements: Air, Fire, Earth, and Water. However, only Part One of the Elements suite (Fire) is known to exist as a recording. Bootleg versions of the recording sessions have also labelled this track "Mrs O'Leary's Cow". It has been speculated that other tracks made during the Smile era (such as "Cool Cool Water") might form part of the Elements suite but this is unconfirmed. "I'm in Great Shape" and "The Old Master Painter" only exist as a small fragments of tracks and it is not possible to determine their overall structure. Nearly all Smile-era recordings lack their full vocal arrangements, lyrics and melodies.
The likely length, track listing and track order of the proposed album remains a subject of debate, particularly because Wilson obviously recorded far more music than could possibly have fitted on one LP. The 2011 release of the SMiLE Sessions compilation proved conclusively that virtually all the musical "components" used to create Wilson's 2004 version of SMiLE are present in one form or another among the original 1967 recordings, but the possible track order and the arrangement of the various songs, segments and link pieces remains an open question.
Given the technical limitations of LP production in 1967 and the sheer bulk of material that was being recorded, one of the most salient questions is the likely running time of the album. The SMiLE Sessions liner notes and recent interviews with project compiler Mark Linnett indicate that, at the time, the album was only ever envisaged as being a single LP. Although it might have been possible in 1967 to achieve a running time similar to that of the 2004 CD version (which clocks in at 46 minutes), this is unlikely, since such a duration was at the outer limit of what was technically achievable with the record-cutting techniques of the day. It is most likely that the running-time would have fallen somewhere between that of Pet Sounds
(36 mins) and The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
(40 minutes). Notwithstanding these physical limitations, it now seems probable that, had it been completed in 1967, SMiLE would have been quite similar in shape and length to Wilson's 2004 version. Brian is known to have opposed the inclusion "Good Vibrations" on the album, since it had already been issued as a single, so if one subtracts its running time (3'39") from that of the 2004 version, this gives a duration of around 42 minutes. With some minor "trimming" of songs and link sections, it is entirely feasible that a 35-40 minute version of SMiLE, with a running order that approximated the 2004 version, could have been produced and pressed in 1967.
and paranoia
), but it is now evident that there was vehement opposition to the project from within the band.
It is reported that, during the recording session for the "Fire" section of the "Elements Suite" at Gold Star Studios
on November 28, Brian became irrationally concerned that the music had been responsible for starting several fires in the neighborhood of the studio.
For many years, it was rumored that Wilson had tried to burn the tapes of this session, but that was not the case, although he did abandon the "Fire" piece for good. No recording of anything but the introduction to the original "Fire" tapes has been released, though most of the song was heard on the 1985 Beach Boys television special (and subsequent VHS and DVD release), The Beach Boys: An American Band. It has also been noted, in several accounts, that Parks deliberately stayed away from the session (during which Wilson encouraged the musicians to wear toy firemen hats), and that he later described Wilson's behavior as "regressive".
In addition to Brian's possible mental health problems, and his many personal, family and creative pressures, there were other significant business and legal pressures surrounding the Beach Boys during the recording of Smile. These included Carl Wilson's call-up notice for the draft
(which he was to fight as a conscientious objector
), plus the commencement of the group's contractual dispute with Capitol over royalty payments. In addition, there was the band's attempt to terminate their then-present contract, which was a legacy of Murry's management, and establish their own label, Brother Records
.
During early 1967, Brian's behavior became increasingly erratic, and his use of drugs
escalated, but while this was a concern for some of his friends, he was still completely functional in the studio. Although stories of his sometimes bizarre "off-duty" behavior became the stuff of legend, the session musicians who worked with him during this period have stated that he was totally professional in the studio.
In retrospect, arguably the most significant reason why Smile was repeatedly postponed, and finally scrapped, was conflict within the group, particularly the increasing antagonism between Mike Love and the Wilson/Parks partnership, although Bruce Johnston has also indicated in a web forum discussion that there was also opposition to the project from Capitol Records and from Murry Wilson.
Love later stated that he was suspicious of the new friends with whom Brian was associating — and that his opposition to these people whom he regarded as hangers-on, who were exploiting Brian and supplying him with "hard" drugs — was another major source of conflict. Love has suggested that some of those who have since been critical of him did so because he had told them to "take a hike". Love also denied disliking Pet Sounds, and claimed that he liked the Smile music and only disliked the lyrics. However, this is strongly disputed by several other participants, most notably Van Dyke Parks. Responding to Love's claims in a letter to the editor of UK music magazine Mojo, Parks was strongly critical of Love's comments — which he described as "revisionism" — and he was unequivocal in citing Love's hostility to Smile as one of the major factors in Brian's decision to abandon the project. On the DVD that accompanied the 2004 Smile release, Brian himself also makes it clear that Love's antagonism was one of the major deciding factors in the cancellation of the album, stating "he hated it."
The growing conflict within the Beach Boys about Smile came to a head during December 1966. The December 6, 1966 session for "Cabin Essence" was apparently the scene of a climactic argument between Van Dyke Parks and Mike Love about the song's lyrics, and the situation evidently worsened during the December 15 vocal sessions for "Surf's Up" and "Wonderful". The group was filmed by CBS during this session which, according to Jules Siegel
, went "very badly". Later the same day, Wilson recorded his now-legendary solo piano demo of "Surf's Up". Although there were more Smile sessions (on December 23, January 9, and January 23), work on the major tracks effectively stopped after December 15.
Another significant event, cited in the Beautiful Dreamer documentary, was Brian's first hearing of The Beatles
' new single "Strawberry Fields Forever
". He heard the song while driving his car, and was so struck by it that he had to pull over and listen; he then commented to Michael Vosse, his passenger, that The Beatles had "got there first". Although he apparently later laughed about that comment, the stunning new Beatles production had affected him deeply.
After the episode, Wilson vehemently continued work mostly on "Heroes and Villains". Throughout the first half of 1967, the album's release date was repeatedly postponed as Wilson tinkered with the recordings, experimenting with different takes and mixes, unable or unwilling to supply a completed version of the album. In early March 1967, after gradually distancing himself from Wilson and the group and frustrated by the lack of progress, Van Dyke Parks finally quit the project.
Capitol evidently still hoped to the last that Smile might eventually appear, but on 6 May, only a few weeks before the release of The Beatles' groundbreaking Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
album, The Beach Boys' press officer Derek Taylor
announced to the British press that the Smile project had been shelved, and that the album would not be released.
Jack Rieley
revealed during a 1996 online Q&A that the commercial failure of "Heroes and Villains" was the final cataclysmic blow to the Smile project and Wilson's self-confidence as a musician.
(which Carl Wilson described as "a bunt instead of a grand-slam").
Released that September, the new LP included new recordings of several key Smile tracks, including an alternate edit of "Heroes and Villains", and new versions of "Wonderful", "Vege-tables" and "Wind Chimes", along with a drastically-scaled down re-arrangement of "Mrs O'Leary's Cow" - retitled as "Fall Breaks and Back to Winter (Woody Woodpecker Symphony)" - plus several 'new' tracks which were somewhat still linked to Smile; "Little Pad" bears a thematic similarity to Smile "Love To Say Da Da", and "She's Going Bald" was a rearrangement (with altered lyrics) of the Smile track "He Gives Speeches". The album was poorly received by critics and was the group's poorest-selling LP to date in the USA, although it fared considerably better in Britain, where it reached #9 on the album chart.
Brian Wilson gradually retreated from the public eye and over the ensuing years became increasingly disabled by his mental health problems. As his legend grew, the Smile period came to be seen as the pivotal episode in his decline and became tagged as one of the most notorious celebrity drug casualties of the rock era.
makers and collectors. A 1988 proposed sequencing of the album by engineer Mark Linett
eventually leaked to the public. In 1993, fans were treated to a goldmine of official archival Smile material that was included in the 5CD boxed set Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of The Beach Boys
. The second disc of the set included almost thirty minutes of original Smile recordings, including versions of "Our Prayer
", "Wonderful", "Cabin Essence", "Wind Chimes", "Do You Like Worms", "Vege-Tables", "I Love to Say Da-Da", an alternate version of "Heroes and Villains" and numerous linking segments featuring the "Heroes and Villains" theme, plus Brian's fabled demo recording of "Surf's Up", which Elvis Costello
compared to discovering an original recording of Mozart in performance.
These recordings, sequenced by David Leaf
, made it clear that Smile had been much closer to completion than had previously been thought, and this prompted much excitement by fans over what additional songs might exist, and debate about how the songs fitted into the Smile running order. There was hope that the box set would be followed by an official Smile release, but failed to materialize.
With the emerging popularity of the Internet in the mid 1990s, the bootlegged Smile recordings became more widely available through a series of websites and "tape trees". A few websites actually offered full downloads of the tracks, and fan edits and arrangements started to appear. Beginning in 1997, the bootleg label Sea of Tunes (named after The Beach Boys original publishing company) began releasing a series of CDs featuring high quality outtakes, session tracks and alternate recordings that ranged across the group's entire career; these reportedly drew on official session recordings that had been copied onto digital videotape fourteen years earlier, during the making of The Beach Boys: An American Band documentary in 1984. Among these was a 3-CD set featuring over three hours of sessions for "Good Vibrations", and several multi-CD sets containing a significant number of the tracking, overdubbing and mixing sessions for Smile.
chart, and later earned 3 Grammy nominations, winning Brian Wilson his first solo Grammy award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance ("Mrs. O'Leary's Cow"). In 2005, the album won graphic artist Mark London and Nonesuch/Elektra Records the 2005 ALEX award for Best Vinyl Package.
After these reports, speculation concerning an official release of Smile started mounting in fan circuits, only to be confirmed on March 11 by Capitol Records that an official release would emerge sometime during 2011. It was also reported that the record would feature a main track list in mono (as was the case with other contemporary Beach Boys records of the time), but also include recording segments in stereo. The album was released online via iTunes on October 31, 2011, and the next day on CD, vinyl, and via other online services in digital download, in a 2-CD package under the title The Smile Sessions. It is available in a standard 2-CD package, as well as a limited edition box set comprising 5 CDs, 2 LPs, 2 45rpm singles and a 60 page booklet. The 5-CD version is also available online via Spotify
's digital streaming service. The album originally had a tentative July 12 release date, but this was later pushed back to August 9, 2011, to give the producers enough time to finish the missing pieces of the album. As that date approached, the release was again pushed back to a tentative date of October 4, 2011, but was ultimately released during the period of October 31 and November 1 of 2011.
1. Part of "Our Prayer" on previous versions
2. Track 11 (following "Surf's Up") on previous versions
Bonus tracks
Source: brianwilson.com
Side 2
Side 2
Source: brianwilson.com
Bonus tracks
"Heroes and Villains" session (10/20/66)
"Heroes and Villains" session (1/3/67)
"Heroes and Villains" session (1/27/67)
"Heroes and Villains" session (2/15/67)
"Heroes and Villains" session (2/20/67)
"Heroes and Villains" session (3/1/67)
"Heroes and Villains" session (6/14/67)
Bonus tracks
"The Old Master Painter / You Are My Sunshine"
"Cabin Essence" session (10/3/66)
"Wonderful"
"Wonderful" (Version 2 "Rock With Me, Henry") session (1/9/67)
"Look" ("Song for Children")
"Child is Father of the Man"
"Surf's Up"
"I Wanna Be Around / Workshop (Friday Night)"
"Vegetables" sessions (4/4/67–4/11/67)
"Holidays"
"Wind Chimes"
"Wind Chimes" (Version 2) session (10/5/66)
"The Elements: Fire (Mrs. O’Leary’s Cow)"
"Da Da" session (12/22/66)
"Love to Say Dada" sessions (5/16/67–5/18/67)
"Cool, Cool Water"
Smile additional sessions
Bonus tracks
Side 2
Side 2
The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys are an American rock band, formed in 1961 in Hawthorne, California. The group was initially composed of brothers Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Managed by the Wilsons' father Murry, The Beach Boys signed to Capitol Records in 1962...
recorded throughout 1966 and 1967. The project was intended by its creator Brian Wilson
Brian Wilson
Brian Douglas Wilson is an American musician, best known as the leader and chief songwriter of the group The Beach Boys. Within the band, Wilson played bass and keyboards, also providing part-time lead vocals and, more often, backing vocals, harmonizing in falsetto with the group...
as the follow-up to Pet Sounds
Pet Sounds
Pet Sounds is the eleventh studio album by the American rock band The Beach Boys, released May 16, 1966, on Capitol Records. It has since been recognized as one of the most influential records in the history of popular music and one of the best albums of the 1960s, including songs such as "Wouldn't...
, but was never completed in its original form. During the years Smile remained unavailable, it had come to be regarded as the most famous unreleased album of all time.
The project was resurrected in 2003, and a critically acclaimed newly recorded version
Smile (Brian Wilson album)
Smile, sometimes typeset with the idiosyncratic partial capitalization SMiLE, or referred to as Brian Wilson Presents Smile is a solo album by Brian Wilson, with lyrics by Van Dyke Parks released on September 28, 2004 on CD and two-disc vinyl LP...
was released by Wilson in 2004. During the 37 years from its cancellation to the release of Wilson's version, Smile acquired considerable mystique, and bootlegged tracks from the album circulated widely among Beach Boys collectors
Record collecting
Record collecting is the hobby of collecting music. Although the main focus is on vinyl records, all formats of recorded music are collected.-History:Record collecting has been around probably nearly as long as recorded sound...
. Many of the tracks which were originally recorded for Smile eventually found their way onto subsequent Beach Boys albums.
In 2011 a box set, known as The Smile Sessions, was released, featuring a version of the album reconstructed from the original recordings, along with many session highlights and outtakes; it received universal critical acclaim.
Conception
In an October 1966 interview, Brian Wilson quipped that the Beach Boys' next project was "a teenage symphonySymphony
A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, scored almost always for orchestra. A symphony usually contains at least one movement or episode composed according to the sonata principle...
to God". His plan was to take his work on Pet Sounds to a new level, with an album-length suite of specially-written songs which were both thematically and musically linked, and would be recorded using the unusual sounds and innovative production techniques which had made their recent hit "Good Vibrations
Good Vibrations
"Good Vibrations" is a song by American rock band The Beach Boys. Composed and produced by Brian Wilson, the song's lyrics were written by Wilson and Mike Love....
" so successful.
The genesis of Smile lay during the recording of Pet Sounds. On February 17, 1966, during the sessions for Pet Sounds, Brian Wilson started work on a new single, "Good Vibrations
Good Vibrations
"Good Vibrations" is a song by American rock band The Beach Boys. Composed and produced by Brian Wilson, the song's lyrics were written by Wilson and Mike Love....
". The most expensive — at a cost of more than $50,000 — and complex pop recording at the time. "Good Vibrations" was created by an unprecedented recording technique: nearly 30 minutes of barely-related musical sections were recorded, then painstakingly spliced together and reduced into a three-minute pop song. Many within the Beach Boys' camp were skeptical, but the song quickly became the band's biggest hit yet, which went to #1 in both Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and the USA. Smile was intended to be an entire album produced in the same fashion.
Crucial to the inception and creation of Smile was Wilson's meeting with singer, musician, composer and lyricist Van Dyke Parks
Van Dyke Parks
Van Dyke Parks is an American composer, arranger, producer, musician, singer, author and actor. Parks is perhaps best known for his contributions as a lyricist on the Beach Boys album Smile....
. Wilson invited Parks to write lyrics for the new album in the Spring of 1966, when the project was provisionally being called Dumb Angel. The two quickly formed a close and fruitful working relationship, and between April and September 1966 they co-wrote a number of major songs, including "Surf's Up", "Heroes and Villains", "Wonderful", "Cabin Essence" and "Wind Chimes", all of which were written in the famous sandbox that Brian had installed in his home. Their first collaboration was "Heroes and Villains". Wilson has recalled that when he played the song's descending melody line to him, Parks devised the opening line on the spot. Their most acclaimed song, "Surf's Up", was written in the course of a single night.
Pet Sounds lyricist Tony Asher
Tony Asher
Tony Asher is an American lyricist who co-wrote much of The Beach Boys 1966 album Pet Sounds in conjunction with front man Brian Wilson, including such classic songs as "God Only Knows" and "Wouldn't It Be Nice"...
wrote the original lyrics for "Good Vibrations", but the hit version released in October 1966 featured a new set of lyrics co-written by Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys' Mike Love
Mike Love
Michael Edward "Mike" Love is an American singer/songwriter and musician with The Beach Boys. He was a founding member of the band along with his cousins Brian, Carl, and Dennis Wilson, and their friend Al Jardine, and continues to perform with the band to the present day...
. Wilson had in fact asked Parks to write new lyrics for "Good Vibrations", but Parks declined, preferring not to enter a project which was already underway.
Although the precise nature of its original conception is still hotly debated, several key features of Smile are generally acknowledged: both musically and lyrically, Wilson and Parks intended Smile to be explicitly American in style and subject, a direct reaction to the British dominance of popular music at the time. It was supposedly conceived as a musical journey across America from east to west, beginning at Plymouth Rock
Plymouth Rock
Plymouth Rock is the traditional site of disembarkation of William Bradford and the Mayflower Pilgrims who founded Plymouth Colony in 1620. It is an important symbol in American history...
and ending in Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, as well as traversing some of the great themes of modern American history and culture, including the impact of white settlement on native Americans, the influence of the Spanish, the Wild West, and the opening up of the country by railroad and highway.
As the name implies, humor was a key ingredient, and the Smile songs are replete with word play
Word play
Word play or wordplay is a literary technique in which the words that are used become the main subject of the work, primarily for the purpose of intended effect or amusement...
, pun
Pun
The pun, also called paronomasia, is a form of word play which suggests two or more meanings, by exploiting multiple meanings of words, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use and abuse of homophonic,...
s and multiple meanings. A good example is "Vega-Tables", which includes the lines "I'm gonna do well, my vegetables, cart off and sell my vegetables"; the phrase "...cart off and..." is a bilingual pun on the word Kartoffeln, which is German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
for potatoes. At one stage, Wilson apparently toyed with the idea of expanding Smile to include an additional "humor" record, and a number of recordings were made in this vein, although they were apparently unsuccessful, so the idea was dropped. Another likely remnant of this facet of the project is the Smiley Smile
Smiley Smile
Smiley Smile is the twelfth studio album by The Beach Boys, issued in 1967. Released in the place of the much-touted Smile, Smiley Smile is widely considered to be under-produced, and it was received with indifference and confusion upon its unveiling...
track "She's Goin' Bald", a reworking of an earlier Smile track known as "He Gives Speeches".
Wilson is known to have been deeply influenced by the music of George Gershwin
George Gershwin
George Gershwin was an American composer and pianist. Gershwin's compositions spanned both popular and classical genres, and his most popular melodies are widely known...
at an early age (especially "Rhapsody in Blue
Rhapsody in Blue
Rhapsody in Blue is a musical composition by George Gershwin for solo piano and jazz band written in 1924, which combines elements of classical music with jazz-influenced effects....
"), and Smile emulates both Gershwin's emphatic American-ness, and the episodic and programmatic characteristics of the composer's works. A short scene featuring Brian at the piano in the DVD documentary on the making of Smile 2003 suggests that Brian may have directly based the main riff of "Heroes and Villains" on a variation or inversion of a fragment of "Rhapsody in Blue".
Smile also drew heavily on American popular music of the past; Wilson's innovative original compositions were interwoven with snippets of significant songs of yesteryear, including "The Old Master Painter" (made famous by Peggy Lee
Peggy Lee
Peggy Lee was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, composer, and actress in a career spanning six decades. From her beginning as a vocalist on local radio to singing with Benny Goodman's big band, she forged a sophisticated persona, evolving into a multi-faceted artist and...
), the perennial "You Are My Sunshine
You Are My Sunshine
"You Are My Sunshine" is a popular song first recorded in 1939. It has been declared one of the state songs of Louisiana as a result of its association with former state governor and country music singer Jimmie Davis. The song is copyright 1940 Peer International Corporation, words and music by...
", Johnny Mercer
Johnny Mercer
John Herndon "Johnny" Mercer was an American lyricist, songwriter and singer. He is best known as a lyricist, but he also composed music. He was also a popular singer who recorded his own songs as well as those written by others...
's jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
standard "I Wanna Be Around
I Wanna Be Around
"I Wanna Be Around" is a popular song. In the lyrics, the singer declares that he "wants to be around" when the woman who spurned him inevitably gets her heart broken....
" (recorded by Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett is an American singer of popular music, standards, show tunes, and jazz....
), the song "Gee" by noted '50s doo-wop
Doo-wop
The name Doo-wop is given to a style of vocal-based rhythm and blues music that developed in African American communities in the 1940s and achieved mainstream popularity in the 1950s and early 1960s. It emerged from New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Baltimore, Newark, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and...
group The Crows
The Crows
The Crows were an American R & B singing group who achieved commercial success in the 1950s. The group's first single and only major hit, "Gee", released in June 1953, has been credited with being the first Rock n’ Roll hit by a rock and roll group...
, as well as quotations from other pop-culture reference points, such as the Woody Woodpecker
Woody Woodpecker
Woody Woodpecker is an animated cartoon character, an anthropomorphic acorn woodpecker who appeared in theatrical short films produced by the Walter Lantz animation studio and distributed by Universal Pictures...
theme.
Many of these smaller tracks, and many other short instrumental and vocal pieces were evidently intended to serve as bridging sections that would have been edited in to provide links between the major songs. The cut-up
Cut-up technique
The cut-up technique is an aleatory literary technique in which a text is cut up and rearranged to create a new text. Most commonly, cut-ups are used to offer a non-linear alternative to traditional reading and writing....
structure and heavily edited production style of Smile was certainly unique for its time in mainstream popular music, and it suggests that Brian was aware of the techniques of musique concrète
Musique concrète
Musique concrète is a form of electroacoustic music that utilises acousmatic sound as a compositional resource. The compositional material is not restricted to the inclusion of sounds derived from musical instruments or voices, nor to elements traditionally thought of as "musical"...
and the usage of chance operations in making art—an approach which, according to musicologist Ian MacDonald
Ian MacDonald
Ian MacCormick was a British music critic and author, best known for Revolution in the Head, his forensic history of The Beatles which borrowed techniques from art historians, and The New Shostakovich, a controversial study of the Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich...
, was also exerting a strong influence on the Beatles at this point.
Wilson's experiments with LSD were undoubtedly a significant influence on the texture and structure of the work, and one of the strongest intellectual influences on his thinking at this time was his friend Loren Schwartz, who is said to have introduced Brian to both marijuana and LSD.
Writer Bill Tobelman suggests that Smile is filled with coded references to Brian's life and his recent LSD experiences (a presumed Lake Arrowhead, California
Lake Arrowhead, California
Lake Arrowhead is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place in the San Bernardino Mountains of San Bernardino County, California, within the San Bernardino National Forest, adjacent to Lake Arrowhead Reservoir...
'trip' being the most important). He also argues it was heavily influenced by Wilson's interest in Zen
Zen
Zen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism founded by the Buddhist monk Bodhidharma. The word Zen is from the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese word Chán , which in turn is derived from the Sanskrit word dhyāna, which can be approximately translated as "meditation" or "meditative state."Zen...
philosophy — notably the Zen technique of using absurd humor and paradoxical riddles (the koan) to liberate the mind from preconceptions — and that Smile as a whole can be interpreted as an extended Zen koan. Tobelman modified his theory upon discovering the construction of the Smile riddle was based upon Arthur Koestler's book, The Act of Creation
The Act of Creation
The Act of Creation is a 1964 book by Arthur Koestler. It is a study of the processes of discovery, invention, imagination and creativity in humor, science, and the arts...
.
Studio techniques
Brian Wilson developed his innovative production methods over several years. In this period it was still common for mainstream pop recordings to be recorded live in the studio in a single take, but Wilson quickly developed a more modular approach that relied on recent advances in recording technology, using both 4-track and the newer 8-track audio recorders. As well as using multitrack tape to build up layers of elaborate overdubs, from 1964 Wilson also began to use tape editing to craft his master recordings. Initially this was done in order to splice short, hard-to-sing vocal sections into the beginnings or endings of previously recorded songs, but by the time of the Summer Days album in 1965 he was becoming more adventurous in his use of splicing - an example is the short a cappella album track "And Your Dreams Come True", which was in fact recorded in several sections, each a few bars long, which were then carefully edited together to create the final composite master.Wilson perfected his "classic" production technique with the recording of Pet Sounds during 1965 and 1966. He produced the tracks for Pet Sounds in two major blocks — while the rest of the group were away on tour, he recorded the elaborate instrumental backing tracks using an informal "band" of first-call Los Angeles session players (now often referred to as "The Wrecking Crew
The Wrecking Crew (music)
The Wrecking Crew was a nickname coined by the drummer Hal Blaine after the fact for a group of session musicians in Los Angeles, California, who earned wide acclaim in the 1960s. They backed dozens of popular singers, and were one of the most successful "groups" of studio musicians in music history...
"); the basic tracks were typically recorded live in a single take onto a 4-track recorder, and these tapes were used to create a full set of finished backing tracks from the various 4-track work parts, which were assembled onto an 8-track tape and then mixed down in mono onto one track of a second 8-track tape. When the rest of the group returned from touring, Wilson then recorded the group vocals, using the then-novel technique of assigning each backing voice onto its own track on a second 8-track tape, with the remaining eighth track left 'open' for additional "sweetening" vocal or instrumental overdubs.
Unfortunately, especially in the case of "Good Vibrations
Good Vibrations
"Good Vibrations" is a song by American rock band The Beach Boys. Composed and produced by Brian Wilson, the song's lyrics were written by Wilson and Mike Love....
", this second 8-track tape containing all the discrete vocal overdubs has gone missing since early 1967, so even though the original instrumental work parts can be re-assembled re-synched and remixed into true Stereophonic Sound instead of mono or Duophonic
Duophonic
*In synthesizers, capable of sounding two voices, or notes, at a time. Compare: monophonic, polyphonic.*Duophonic is also a term used to refer to a sound process by which a monaural recording is turned into a kind of "fake stereo" by splitting the signal into two channels, delaying the left and the...
, there are unfortunately no other sources for the vocals. Although numerous people have had varying amounts of success re-synching the instrumental versions from box sets to the mono single mixes and then extracting out a close approximation of the vocal track, exactly-correct results will never be possible until and unless the second 8-track is discovered.
With "Good Vibrations
Good Vibrations
"Good Vibrations" is a song by American rock band The Beach Boys. Composed and produced by Brian Wilson, the song's lyrics were written by Wilson and Mike Love....
", Wilson took this modular approach to recording even further, experimenting with compiling the finished track by editing together the numerous sections from multiple versions recorded at the lengthy tracking sessions. Instead of taping each backing track as a more-or-less complete performance (as had been the model for previous Beach Boys recordings) he split the arrangement into sections, recording multiple takes of each section and developing and changing the arrangements and the production as the sessions proceeded. He sometimes recorded the same section at several different studios, to exploit the unique sonic characteristics or special effects available in each. Then, he selected the best performances of each section and edited these together to create a composite which combined the best features of production and performance. The resulting final mix broke new ground in popular recording, since each section of the song was presented in its own distinct sonic 'envelope', rather than the homogeneous production sound of a conventional "one take" studio recording.
Wilson took this technical exploration even further with the songs on Smile. Working mainly at United Western Recorders
United Western Recorders
United Western Recorders, often abbreviated to UWR, was a renowned recording studio complex in Hollywood, California, which became one of the most successful independent recording studios in the world in the late 1950s and 1960s....
in the same small recording studio (No.3) where the backing tracks for Pet Sounds were mainly recorded (so he could work with his favorite engineer, Chuck Britz
Chuck Britz
Charles "Chuck" Dean Britz was a recording engineer who most famously worked with Jan and Dean, Brian Wilson, and The Beach Boys on numerous albums between 1962 and 1967....
) and sometimes Gold Star Studios
Gold Star Studios
Gold Star Studios was a major independent recording studio located in Los Angeles, California, United States. For more than thirty years, from 1950 to 1984, Gold Star was one of the most influential and successful commercial recording studios in the world....
in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
(Phil Spector
Phil Spector
Phillip Harvey "Phil" Spector is an American record producer and songwriter, later known for his conviction in the murder of actress Lana Clarkson....
's favorite studio), he began a long and complex series of sessions (approximately 50 overall, not including the 17 sessions needed for Good Vibrations) in late 1966 that continued until early 1967. He also used Sunset Sound Studios and Columbia Studios on Sunset Boulevard. Columbia Studios had the only 8-track audio recorder available amongst the major recording studios at the time, so as was the case for Pet Sounds, the vocal sessions for Smile were usually done at Columbia.
Much of Smile was recorded in this 'modular' manner - the finished tracks are edited composite recordings, assembled from multiple versions of the various parts of the final arrangement. Many (officially) unreleased Smile fragments are either alternate versions of the various instrumental or vocal segments of each song, or alternates of the passages intended to provide transitions between the main songs. There are also many unreleased alternate mixes of the same songs and passages, containing incomplete or experimental 'draft' mixes of the various songs and links.
Although stereo
Stereophonic sound
The term Stereophonic, commonly called stereo, sound refers to any method of sound reproduction in which an attempt is made to create an illusion of directionality and audible perspective...
recording was increasingly popular, Wilson always made his final mixes in mono
Monaural
Monaural or monophonic sound reproduction is single-channel. Typically there is only one microphone, one loudspeaker, or channels are fed from a common signal path...
, as did rival producer Phil Spector
Phil Spector
Phillip Harvey "Phil" Spector is an American record producer and songwriter, later known for his conviction in the murder of actress Lana Clarkson....
. Wilson did so for several reasons—he personally felt that mono mixing provided more sonic control over what the listener heard, minimizing the vagaries of speaker placement and sound system quality. It was also motivated by the knowledge that pop radio broadcast in mono, and most domestic and car radios and record players were monophonic. Another more personal reason for Wilson's preference was deafness in his right ear.
Recordings
Recording for the new LP, now officially named Smile, began in August 1966 and continued in earnest until mid-December. Conflicts arose around this time, temporarily halting work on the album, although sessions resumed in January and continued through the first few months of 1967.In early December, Capitol Records
Capitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
was given a handwritten list of twelve tracks planned for Smile, for use on the LP back cover. This list was long considered crucial evidence of Wilson's intentions for the piece, but since the track listing (as printed by Capitol on the never-used album covers) carried the standard advisory "see label for correct playing order", it can only be taken as confirming Brian's apparent choice of songs at that time, and not their exact sequence. However, in 2006 it was realized that the handwriting on the list was not Brian's, but someone else's; furthermore, when shown a copy of the list, Brian himself stated that he had never seen it before. A comparison of the handwriting indicates that it may have been written by Carl Wilson, or possibly Brian's sister-in-law, Diane Rovell.
Capitol began production on a lavish gatefold cover with a 12-page booklet. Cover artwork was commissioned from Frank Holmes, a friend of Van Dyke Parks, and color photographs of the group were taken by Guy Webster. 466,000 covers and 419,000 booklets were printed by early January 1967; promotional materials were sent to record distributors and dealers, and ads were placed in Billboard and teenage magazines including Teen Set.
Some time in December, Brian informed Capitol that Smile would not be ready that month, but he advised that he would deliver it "prior to January 15". Wilson's conception of the work evidently changed around this time, probably as a result of disagreements within the band. Early in 1967, work was halted on all the Smile tracks except for "Heroes and Villains" and "Vega-Tables".
"Heroes and Villains"
"Heroes and Villains" was a semi-autobiographical piece, obliquely referencing the experiences of both Parks and Wilson, couched as a Wild West fantasy, and featuring some of Parks' most intriguing lyrics. It is also the keystone for the musical structure of the album, and like "Good Vibrations", it was edited together from many discrete sections. The complexity of Wilson's production at this time can be gauged by the sheer bulk of session material that has survived -- more than 60 tracks (most of the first two CDs) in the new 5-CD Capitol Smile boxed set are session recordings for "Heroes and Villains".The considerable time and effort that Wilson devoted to "Heroes and Villains" is indicative of its importance, both as a single and as part of Smile — sessions for the various versions and sections extended over more than a year, from May 1966 to July 1967, and there are dozens of takes of each section of the song and multiple versions of both the variant sections and the various attempted final mixes.
Most tracks on Smile, including "Do You Like Worms", "I'm In Great Shape", "Vega-Tables", and "My Only Sunshine" were originally considered as sections for "Heroes and Villains". Dialogue from the "Our Prayer" sessions suggest that it was also meant for inclusion as part of "Heroes and Villains", rather than being its own independent track.
"Surf's Up"
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
news special on popular music Inside Pop: The Rock Revolution, hosted by Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, author, music lecturer and pianist. He was among the first conductors born and educated in the United States of America to receive worldwide acclaim...
and David Oppenheim aired on April 26, 1967. "Surf's Up" was featured on Oppenheim's portion of the show. Wilson also made a studio demo with double-tracked solo vocal and piano around this time, which was eventually released on the Beach Boys' 30th anniversary boxed set.
A nearly or fully completed backing track for the first (2:20) section was recorded and mixed in November 1966, but vocals and other overdubs were still to be added, and work on the middle and closing sections was either never undertaken or never finished. It is notable that the flourishes played on muted trumpet in the verses of "Surf's Up" are almost identical to the familiar 'laughing' refrain of the Woody Woodpecker
Woody Woodpecker
Woody Woodpecker is an animated cartoon character, an anthropomorphic acorn woodpecker who appeared in theatrical short films produced by the Walter Lantz animation studio and distributed by Universal Pictures...
theme song. This musical reference recurs in the instrumental piece "Fall Breaks And Back To Winter" on the album Smiley Smile
Smiley Smile
Smiley Smile is the twelfth studio album by The Beach Boys, issued in 1967. Released in the place of the much-touted Smile, Smiley Smile is widely considered to be under-produced, and it was received with indifference and confusion upon its unveiling...
(which was in fact subtitled "W. Woodpecker Symphony").
A full-length version of "Surf's Up" was eventually assembled by Carl Wilson and released on the 1971 Beach Boys album Surf's Up. The 1971 track was edited together from the two major basic tracks; Carl and the group recorded new vocals over the original 1966 "Part 1" backing track, which was edited together with the 1966 studio demo of Brian performing the second half solo on a piano, with new group vocals and additional instrumental overdubs in the closing section.
Other songs
The following is based upon the handwritten note given to Capitol RecordsCapitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
in December 1966. It was given to Capitol in order for the track titles to be included on the album cover; however, the original cover states "see record for running order". It has not been conclusively proven whose handwriting is actually on the note.
All the evidence, including interviews with Brian himself, state that a final definitive running order was never decided upon until the release of the 2004 Smile.
- "Do You Like Worms?"
- "Wind Chimes"
- "Good VibrationsGood Vibrations"Good Vibrations" is a song by American rock band The Beach Boys. Composed and produced by Brian Wilson, the song's lyrics were written by Wilson and Mike Love....
" - "Cabin Essence"
- "Wonderful"
- "I'm in Great Shape"
- "Child Is Father of the Man"
- "The Elements"
- "Vega-TablesVegetables (song)"Vegetables" is a song written by Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks for the American rock band The Beach Boys. It was released on their 1967 album Smiley Smile with Al Jardine and Brian Wilson on lead vocals.- Information :...
" - "The Old Master Painter"
Of these tracks, "Good Vibrations" was completed by Brian Wilson before the original recording sessions and released in October just as the sessions were getting underway. All of the other tracks were either not recorded or only exist in part-completed form (although versions of "Heroes and Villains", "Cabin Essence", "Wonderful", "Vega-Tables" and "Surf's Up" were released by the Beach Boys in later years). "The Elements" was a reputed 'suite' which encompassed the four classical elements: Air, Fire, Earth, and Water. However, only Part One of the Elements suite (Fire) is known to exist as a recording. Bootleg versions of the recording sessions have also labelled this track "Mrs O'Leary's Cow". It has been speculated that other tracks made during the Smile era (such as "Cool Cool Water") might form part of the Elements suite but this is unconfirmed. "I'm in Great Shape" and "The Old Master Painter" only exist as a small fragments of tracks and it is not possible to determine their overall structure. Nearly all Smile-era recordings lack their full vocal arrangements, lyrics and melodies.
The likely length, track listing and track order of the proposed album remains a subject of debate, particularly because Wilson obviously recorded far more music than could possibly have fitted on one LP. The 2011 release of the SMiLE Sessions compilation proved conclusively that virtually all the musical "components" used to create Wilson's 2004 version of SMiLE are present in one form or another among the original 1967 recordings, but the possible track order and the arrangement of the various songs, segments and link pieces remains an open question.
Given the technical limitations of LP production in 1967 and the sheer bulk of material that was being recorded, one of the most salient questions is the likely running time of the album. The SMiLE Sessions liner notes and recent interviews with project compiler Mark Linnett indicate that, at the time, the album was only ever envisaged as being a single LP. Although it might have been possible in 1967 to achieve a running time similar to that of the 2004 CD version (which clocks in at 46 minutes), this is unlikely, since such a duration was at the outer limit of what was technically achievable with the record-cutting techniques of the day. It is most likely that the running-time would have fallen somewhere between that of Pet Sounds
Pet Sounds
Pet Sounds is the eleventh studio album by the American rock band The Beach Boys, released May 16, 1966, on Capitol Records. It has since been recognized as one of the most influential records in the history of popular music and one of the best albums of the 1960s, including songs such as "Wouldn't...
(36 mins) and The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is the eighth studio album by the English rock band The Beatles, released on 1 June 1967 on the Parlophone label and produced by George Martin...
(40 minutes). Notwithstanding these physical limitations, it now seems probable that, had it been completed in 1967, SMiLE would have been quite similar in shape and length to Wilson's 2004 version. Brian is known to have opposed the inclusion "Good Vibrations" on the album, since it had already been issued as a single, so if one subtracts its running time (3'39") from that of the 2004 version, this gives a duration of around 42 minutes. With some minor "trimming" of songs and link sections, it is entirely feasible that a 35-40 minute version of SMiLE, with a running order that approximated the 2004 version, could have been produced and pressed in 1967.
Project collapse
According to most sources, Brian Wilson began to encounter serious problems with Smile around late November 1966; some of this can be ascribed to his increasingly fragile mental state (by then, he was beginning to exhibit signs of depressionClinical depression
Major depressive disorder is a mental disorder characterized by an all-encompassing low mood accompanied by low self-esteem, and by loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities...
and paranoia
Paranoia
Paranoia [] is a thought process believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety or fear, often to the point of irrationality and delusion. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of conspiracy concerning a perceived threat towards oneself...
), but it is now evident that there was vehement opposition to the project from within the band.
It is reported that, during the recording session for the "Fire" section of the "Elements Suite" at Gold Star Studios
Gold Star Studios
Gold Star Studios was a major independent recording studio located in Los Angeles, California, United States. For more than thirty years, from 1950 to 1984, Gold Star was one of the most influential and successful commercial recording studios in the world....
on November 28, Brian became irrationally concerned that the music had been responsible for starting several fires in the neighborhood of the studio.
For many years, it was rumored that Wilson had tried to burn the tapes of this session, but that was not the case, although he did abandon the "Fire" piece for good. No recording of anything but the introduction to the original "Fire" tapes has been released, though most of the song was heard on the 1985 Beach Boys television special (and subsequent VHS and DVD release), The Beach Boys: An American Band. It has also been noted, in several accounts, that Parks deliberately stayed away from the session (during which Wilson encouraged the musicians to wear toy firemen hats), and that he later described Wilson's behavior as "regressive".
In addition to Brian's possible mental health problems, and his many personal, family and creative pressures, there were other significant business and legal pressures surrounding the Beach Boys during the recording of Smile. These included Carl Wilson's call-up notice for the draft
Conscription
Conscription is the compulsory enlistment of people in some sort of national service, most often military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and continues in some countries to the present day under various names...
(which he was to fight as a conscientious objector
Conscientious objector
A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, and/or religion....
), plus the commencement of the group's contractual dispute with Capitol over royalty payments. In addition, there was the band's attempt to terminate their then-present contract, which was a legacy of Murry's management, and establish their own label, Brother Records
Brother Records
Brother Records, Inc. is a record label and holding company formed in October 1966 that holds the intellectual property rights of the Beach Boys, including the "The Beach Boys" trademark....
.
During early 1967, Brian's behavior became increasingly erratic, and his use of drugs
Recreational drug use
Recreational drug use is the use of a drug, usually psychoactive, with the intention of creating or enhancing recreational experience. Such use is controversial, however, often being considered to be also drug abuse, and it is often illegal...
escalated, but while this was a concern for some of his friends, he was still completely functional in the studio. Although stories of his sometimes bizarre "off-duty" behavior became the stuff of legend, the session musicians who worked with him during this period have stated that he was totally professional in the studio.
In retrospect, arguably the most significant reason why Smile was repeatedly postponed, and finally scrapped, was conflict within the group, particularly the increasing antagonism between Mike Love and the Wilson/Parks partnership, although Bruce Johnston has also indicated in a web forum discussion that there was also opposition to the project from Capitol Records and from Murry Wilson.
Love later stated that he was suspicious of the new friends with whom Brian was associating — and that his opposition to these people whom he regarded as hangers-on, who were exploiting Brian and supplying him with "hard" drugs — was another major source of conflict. Love has suggested that some of those who have since been critical of him did so because he had told them to "take a hike". Love also denied disliking Pet Sounds, and claimed that he liked the Smile music and only disliked the lyrics. However, this is strongly disputed by several other participants, most notably Van Dyke Parks. Responding to Love's claims in a letter to the editor of UK music magazine Mojo, Parks was strongly critical of Love's comments — which he described as "revisionism" — and he was unequivocal in citing Love's hostility to Smile as one of the major factors in Brian's decision to abandon the project. On the DVD that accompanied the 2004 Smile release, Brian himself also makes it clear that Love's antagonism was one of the major deciding factors in the cancellation of the album, stating "he hated it."
The growing conflict within the Beach Boys about Smile came to a head during December 1966. The December 6, 1966 session for "Cabin Essence" was apparently the scene of a climactic argument between Van Dyke Parks and Mike Love about the song's lyrics, and the situation evidently worsened during the December 15 vocal sessions for "Surf's Up" and "Wonderful". The group was filmed by CBS during this session which, according to Jules Siegel
Jules Siegel
Jules Siegel is a writer and graphic designer whose work has appeared over the years in Playboy, Best American Short Stories, Library of America's Writing Los Angeles, and many other publications...
, went "very badly". Later the same day, Wilson recorded his now-legendary solo piano demo of "Surf's Up". Although there were more Smile sessions (on December 23, January 9, and January 23), work on the major tracks effectively stopped after December 15.
Another significant event, cited in the Beautiful Dreamer documentary, was Brian's first hearing of The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
' new single "Strawberry Fields Forever
Strawberry Fields Forever
"Strawberry Fields Forever" is a song by The Beatles, written by John Lennon and attributed to the Lennon–McCartney songwriting partnership. It was inspired by Lennon's memories of playing in the garden of a Salvation Army house named "Strawberry Field" near his childhood home."Strawberry Fields...
". He heard the song while driving his car, and was so struck by it that he had to pull over and listen; he then commented to Michael Vosse, his passenger, that The Beatles had "got there first". Although he apparently later laughed about that comment, the stunning new Beatles production had affected him deeply.
After the episode, Wilson vehemently continued work mostly on "Heroes and Villains". Throughout the first half of 1967, the album's release date was repeatedly postponed as Wilson tinkered with the recordings, experimenting with different takes and mixes, unable or unwilling to supply a completed version of the album. In early March 1967, after gradually distancing himself from Wilson and the group and frustrated by the lack of progress, Van Dyke Parks finally quit the project.
Capitol evidently still hoped to the last that Smile might eventually appear, but on 6 May, only a few weeks before the release of The Beatles' groundbreaking Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is the eighth studio album by the English rock band The Beatles, released on 1 June 1967 on the Parlophone label and produced by George Martin...
album, The Beach Boys' press officer Derek Taylor
Derek Taylor
Derek Taylor was an English journalist, writer and publicist, best known for his work as press officer for The Beatles...
announced to the British press that the Smile project had been shelved, and that the album would not be released.
Jack Rieley
Jack Rieley
Jack Rieley is an American record producer. He was the manager of the pop music group the Beach Boys during the early 1970s, and is credited with guiding them back to acclaim. He would also sometimes a co-songwriter with the rest of the band, usually penning lyrics.He also worked with Kool and the...
revealed during a 1996 online Q&A that the commercial failure of "Heroes and Villains" was the final cataclysmic blow to the Smile project and Wilson's self-confidence as a musician.
Brian blirted it out one evening at Bellagio, and later spoke about it several times in agonizing detail. He had expected that Heroes would be greeted by Capitol as the work which put the Beach Boys on a creative par with the Beatles. All the adoration and promotional backup Capitol was giving the Beatles would also flow to his music because of Heroes, he thought. And the public? It would greet Heroes with the same level of overwhelming enthusiasm that the Beatles got with record after record. As it was, Capitol execs were divided about Heroes. Some loved it but others castigated the track, longing instead for still more surfing/cars songs. The public bought the record in respectable but surely not wowy zowy numbers. For Brian, this was the ultimate failure. His surfing/car songs were the ones they loved the most. His musical growth, unlike that of Messrs. Lennon and McCartney, did not translate into commercial ascendancy or public glory.
Smiley Smile
The Beach Boys still needed to complete an album to fulfil their obligations to Capitol Records, so a replacement was hastily recorded. Following the stillbirth of Smile, Wilson retreated to his Beverly Hills house, and this became the venue for the recording of much of the Beach Boys' next album, Smiley SmileSmiley Smile
Smiley Smile is the twelfth studio album by The Beach Boys, issued in 1967. Released in the place of the much-touted Smile, Smiley Smile is widely considered to be under-produced, and it was received with indifference and confusion upon its unveiling...
(which Carl Wilson described as "a bunt instead of a grand-slam").
Released that September, the new LP included new recordings of several key Smile tracks, including an alternate edit of "Heroes and Villains", and new versions of "Wonderful", "Vege-tables" and "Wind Chimes", along with a drastically-scaled down re-arrangement of "Mrs O'Leary's Cow" - retitled as "Fall Breaks and Back to Winter (Woody Woodpecker Symphony)" - plus several 'new' tracks which were somewhat still linked to Smile; "Little Pad" bears a thematic similarity to Smile "Love To Say Da Da", and "She's Going Bald" was a rearrangement (with altered lyrics) of the Smile track "He Gives Speeches". The album was poorly received by critics and was the group's poorest-selling LP to date in the USA, although it fared considerably better in Britain, where it reached #9 on the album chart.
Brian Wilson gradually retreated from the public eye and over the ensuing years became increasingly disabled by his mental health problems. As his legend grew, the Smile period came to be seen as the pivotal episode in his decline and became tagged as one of the most notorious celebrity drug casualties of the rock era.
Fame and reception
By the beginning of the 1990s, Smile had earned its place as the most famous unreleased pop album, and was a focal point for bootleg recordingBootleg recording
A bootleg recording is an audio or video recording of a performance that was not officially released by the artist or under other legal authority. The process of making and distributing such recordings is known as bootlegging...
makers and collectors. A 1988 proposed sequencing of the album by engineer Mark Linett
Mark Linett
Mark Linett is a record producer and audio engineer. He has done significant work with The Beach Boys, including re-mastering their recordings that appear on the "two-for-one" album re-releases. He also produced and engineered the Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound version of Pet Sounds...
eventually leaked to the public. In 1993, fans were treated to a goldmine of official archival Smile material that was included in the 5CD boxed set Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of The Beach Boys
Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of The Beach Boys
Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of The Beach Boys is a 1993 boxed set released by Capitol Records which collects tracks spanning The Beach Boys' entire career to that point on four CDs. A fifth disc contains mostly studio session tracks, complete vocal and instrumental tracks, and rare live...
. The second disc of the set included almost thirty minutes of original Smile recordings, including versions of "Our Prayer
Our Prayer
"Our Prayer" is a song written by Brian Wilson for the American rock band The Beach Boys. It was released on their 1969 album 20/20 and was produced by The Beach Boys. The main vocals were recorded on October 4, 1966 with the additional vocals being recorded at Capitol Records Studios in Fall, 1968...
", "Wonderful", "Cabin Essence", "Wind Chimes", "Do You Like Worms", "Vege-Tables", "I Love to Say Da-Da", an alternate version of "Heroes and Villains" and numerous linking segments featuring the "Heroes and Villains" theme, plus Brian's fabled demo recording of "Surf's Up", which Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello , born Declan Patrick MacManus, is an English singer-songwriter. He came to prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-1970s and later became associated with the punk/New Wave genre. Steeped in word play, the vocabulary of Costello's lyrics is broader...
compared to discovering an original recording of Mozart in performance.
These recordings, sequenced by David Leaf
David Leaf
David Leaf is an American writer, producer and director known for documentaries, music programs and pop culture retrospectives. Among his best known documentaries are The Night James Brown Saved Boston , The U.S. vs. John Lennon and Beautiful Dreamer: Brian Wilson and the Story of SMiLE...
, made it clear that Smile had been much closer to completion than had previously been thought, and this prompted much excitement by fans over what additional songs might exist, and debate about how the songs fitted into the Smile running order. There was hope that the box set would be followed by an official Smile release, but failed to materialize.
With the emerging popularity of the Internet in the mid 1990s, the bootlegged Smile recordings became more widely available through a series of websites and "tape trees". A few websites actually offered full downloads of the tracks, and fan edits and arrangements started to appear. Beginning in 1997, the bootleg label Sea of Tunes (named after The Beach Boys original publishing company) began releasing a series of CDs featuring high quality outtakes, session tracks and alternate recordings that ranged across the group's entire career; these reportedly drew on official session recordings that had been copied onto digital videotape fourteen years earlier, during the making of The Beach Boys: An American Band documentary in 1984. Among these was a 3-CD set featuring over three hours of sessions for "Good Vibrations", and several multi-CD sets containing a significant number of the tracking, overdubbing and mixing sessions for Smile.
Brian Wilson's Smile
Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks would eventually revisit and complete the Smile project with Brian's touring musicians in 2004, 37 years after its conception. First, in a series of concerts (debuting at London's Royal Festival Hall on February 20, 2004), then as the solo album Brian Wilson Presents Smile, released in September 2004. The album debuted at number 13 on the Billboard 200Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
chart, and later earned 3 Grammy nominations, winning Brian Wilson his first solo Grammy award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance ("Mrs. O'Leary's Cow"). In 2005, the album won graphic artist Mark London and Nonesuch/Elektra Records the 2005 ALEX award for Best Vinyl Package.
Bootlegs and reconstructions
While bootlegs and fan reconstructions were no news to the band, the release of Brian Wilson's Smile brought new life to the scene, as fans now had a "blueprint" to work with, in addition to the already vast amount of sessions released both officially and unofficially, making it a lot easier to construct "correct" bootlegs of the album. It should however be noted that the original track listing and running order never was decided upon until 2004.The Smile Sessions
On February 3, 2011, Alan Jardine spoke to Examiner.com to inform them that "Capitol Records plans to issue a Beach Boys version of Smile sometime this summer to begin the celebration of The Beach Boys’ 50th anniversary. Smile is the Holy Grail for Beach Boys’ fans, so it will be good." Jardine also mentioned that The Beach Boys "didn't do any new recording. I'm happy to see it finally come out. Brian’s changed his mind about releasing the material, but it was inevitable, wasn’t it?"After these reports, speculation concerning an official release of Smile started mounting in fan circuits, only to be confirmed on March 11 by Capitol Records that an official release would emerge sometime during 2011. It was also reported that the record would feature a main track list in mono (as was the case with other contemporary Beach Boys records of the time), but also include recording segments in stereo. The album was released online via iTunes on October 31, 2011, and the next day on CD, vinyl, and via other online services in digital download, in a 2-CD package under the title The Smile Sessions. It is available in a standard 2-CD package, as well as a limited edition box set comprising 5 CDs, 2 LPs, 2 45rpm singles and a 60 page booklet. The 5-CD version is also available online via Spotify
Spotify
Spotify is a Swedish-founded, UK-headquartered DRM-based music streaming service offering streaming of selected music from a range of major and independent record labels, including Sony, EMI, Warner Music Group, and Universal. Launched in October 2008 by Swedish startup Spotify AB, the service had...
's digital streaming service. The album originally had a tentative July 12 release date, but this was later pushed back to August 9, 2011, to give the producers enough time to finish the missing pieces of the album. As that date approached, the release was again pushed back to a tentative date of October 4, 2011, but was ultimately released during the period of October 31 and November 1 of 2011.
Track listing
Although many believe that the track listing presented in The Smile Sessions is different than what it would have been on the original 1967 Smile album, interviews by Mark Linett and others say that they "will certainly...present the whole piece as close to it as was envisioned, or as is envisioned, as possible". Of course, no one can possibly ever know what exactly the album would have been like had it been released in 1967. Brian Wilson has stated that the exact running order was not decided upon until 2004, and that the original Smile would have been less "uplifting".1. Part of "Our Prayer" on previous versions
2. Track 11 (following "Surf's Up") on previous versions
CD 1
Smile- "Our Prayer" – 1:06
- "Gee" – 0:51
- "Heroes and Villains" – 4:53
- "Do You Like Worms (Roll Plymouth Rock)" – 3:36
- "I’m in Great Shape" – 0:29
- "Barnyard" – 0:48
- "My Only Sunshine (The Old Master Painter / You Are My Sunshine)" – 1:57
- "Cabin Essence" – 3:32
- "Wonderful" – 2:04
- "Look (Song for Children)" – 2:31
- "Child is Father of the Man" – 2:14
- "Surf’s Up" – 4:12
- "I Wanna Be Around / Workshop" – 1:23
- "Vega-Tables" – 3:49
- "Holidays" – 2:33
- "Wind Chimes" – 3:06
- "The Elements: Fire (Mrs. O’Leary’s Cow)" – 2:35
- "Love to Say Dada" – 2:32
- "Good Vibrations" – 4:13
Bonus tracks
- "You’re Welcome" – 1:08
- "Heroes and Villains (Stereo Mix)" – 4:53
- "Heroes and Villains Sections (Stereo Mix)" – 7:16
- "Vega-Tables Demo" – 1:46
- "He Gives Speeches" – 1:14
- "Smile Backing Vocals Montage" – 8:30
- "Surf’s Up 1967 (Solo Version)" – 4:09
- "Psycodelic Sounds: Brian Falls into a Piano" – 1:30
- "Smile Retail Promo Advertisement" (hidden track) - 1:02
CD 2
- "Our Prayer 'Dialog' (9/19/66)" – 3:02
- "Heroes and Villains: Part 1" – 3:08
- "Heroes and Villains: Part 2" – 4:18
- "Heroes and Villains: Children Were Raised (1/27/67)" – 2:07
- "Heroes and Villains: Prelude to Fade (2/15/67)" – 3:42
- "My Only Sunshine (11/14/66)" – 6:52
- "Cabin Essence (10/3/66)" – 5:19
- "Surf's Up: 1st Movement (11/4/66)" – 4:55
- "Surf's Up: Piano Demo (12/15/66)" – 3:53
- "Vega-Tables: Fade (4/12/67)" – 5:25
- "The Elements: Fire session (11/28/66)" – 8:27
- "Cool, Cool Water (Version 2) (10/26/67–10/29/67)" – 3:32
- "Good Vibrations Session Highlights" – 8:20
Source: brianwilson.com
LP 1
Side 1- "Our Prayer"
- "Gee"
- "Heroes and Villains"
- "Do You Like Worms (Roll Plymouth Rock)"
- "I’m in Great Shape"
- "Barnyard"
- "My Only Sunshine (The Old Master Painter / You Are My Sunshine)"
- "Cabin Essence"
Side 2
- "Wonderful"
- "Look (Song for Children)"
- "Child is Father of the Man"
- "Surf’s Up"
LP 2
Side 1- "I Wanna Be Around / Workshop"
- "Vega-Tables"
- "Holidays"
- "Wind Chimes"
- "The Elements: Fire (Mrs. O’Leary’s Cow)"
- "Love to Say Dada"
- "Good Vibrations"
Side 2
- "You’re Welcome (Stereo Mix)"
- "Vega-Tables (Stereo Mix)"
- "Wind Chimes (Stereo Mix)"
- "Cabin Essence (Session Highlights and Stereo Backing Track)"
- "Surf’s Up (Session Excerpt and Stereo Mix)"
Source: brianwilson.com
CD 1
Smile- "Our Prayer" – 1:06
- "Gee" – 0:51
- "Heroes and Villains" – 4:53
- "Do You Like Worms (Roll Plymouth Rock)" – 3:36
- "I’m in Great Shape" – 0:29
- "Barnyard" – 0:48
- "My Only Sunshine (The Old Master Painter / You Are My Sunshine)" – 1:57
- "Cabin Essence" – 3:32
- "Wonderful" – 2:04
- "Look (Song for Children)" – 2:31
- "Child is Father of the Man" – 2:14
- "Surf’s Up" – 4:12
- "I Wanna Be Around / Workshop" – 1:23
- "Vega-Tables" – 3:49
- "Holidays" – 2:33
- "Wind Chimes" – 3:06
- "The Elements: Fire (Mrs. O’Leary’s Cow)" – 2:35
- "Love to Say Dada" – 2:32
- "Good Vibrations" – 4:13
Bonus tracks
- "You’re Welcome" – 1:08
- "Heroes and Villains (Stereo Mix)" – 4:53
- "Heroes and Villains Sections (Stereo Mix)" – 7:16
- "Vega-Tables Demo" – 1:46
- "He Gives Speeches" – 1:14
- "Smile Backing Vocals Montage" – 8:30
- "Surf’s Up 1967 (Solo version)" – 4:09
- "Psycodelic Sounds: Brian Falls into a Piano" – 1:30
- "Smile Retail Promo Advertisement" (hidden track) - 1:02
CD 2
"Our Prayer"- "Our Prayer 'Dialog' (9/19/66)" – 3:01
- "Our Prayer (10/4/66)" – 6:37
"Heroes and Villains" session (10/20/66)
- "Heroes and Villains: Verse (Master Take)" – 0:57
- "Heroes and Villains: Barnyard (Master Take)" – 1:12
- "Heroes and Villains: I'm in Great Shape (10/27/66)" – 4:59
- "Heroes and Villains: Intro (Early Version) circa 12/66" – 0:35
"Heroes and Villains" session (1/3/67)
- "Heroes and Villains: Do a Lot" – 0:53
- "Heroes and Villains: Bag of Tricks" – 2:58
- "Heroes and Villains: Mission Pak" – 0:55
- "Heroes and Villains: Bridge to Indians" – 1:47
- "Heroes and Villains: Part 1 Tag" – 1:19
- "Heroes and Villains: Pickup to 3rd Verse" – 0:55
"Heroes and Villains" session (1/27/67)
- "Heroes and Villains: Children Were Raised" – 2:07
- "Heroes and Villains: Part 2 (Cantina track)" – 1:21
- "Heroes and Villains: Whistling Bridge" – 1:14
- "Heroes and Villains: Cantina" – 1:36
- "Heroes and Villains: All Day" – 2:19
- "Heroes and Villains: Verse Edit Experiment" – 0:48
"Heroes and Villains" session (2/15/67)
- "Heroes and Villains: Prelude to Fade" – 3:43
- "Heroes and Villains: Piano Theme" – 2:43
"Heroes and Villains" session (2/20/67)
- "Heroes and Villains: Part 2" – 2:31
- "Heroes and Villains: Part 2 (Gee) (Master Take)" – 2:36
- "Heroes and Villains: Part 2 Revised" – 1:54
- "Heroes and Villains: Part 2 Revised (Master Take)" – 0:48
- "Heroes and Villains: Part 3 (Animals) (Master Take)" – 1:18
- "Heroes and Villains: Part 4" – 2:36
- "Heroes and Villains: Part Two (Master Take) (2/27/67)" – 1:44
- "Heroes and Villains: Fade (2/28/67)" – 6:35
"Heroes and Villains" session (3/1/67)
- "Heroes and Villains: Verse Remake" – 4:16
- "Heroes and Villains: Organ Waltz / Intro" – 2:04
"Heroes and Villains" session (6/14/67)
- "Heroes and Villains: Chorus Vocals" – 0:48
- "Heroes and Villains: Barbershop" – 1:50
- "Heroes and Villains: Children Were Raised (Remake)" – 1:06
- "Heroes and Villains: Children Were Raised (Master Take Overdubs Mix 1)" – 0:26
- "Heroes and Villains: Children Were Raised (Master Take A Capella)" – 0:27
Bonus tracks
- "Heroes and Villains Piano Demo (incorporating 'I’m in Great Shape' and 'Barnyard') Brian with Van Dyke Parks and 'Humble Harve' Miller, KHJ Radio (11/4/66)" – 4:17
- "Psycodelic Sounds: Brian Falls into a Microphone (11/4/66)" – 1:10
- "Psycodelic Sounds: Moaning Laughing (11/4/66)" – 1:09
CD 3
"Do You Like Worms" session (10/18/66)- "Do You Like Worms: Part 1" – 5:21
- "Do You Like Worms: Part 2 (Bicycle Rider)" – 1:55
- "Do You Like Worms: Part 3" – 2:43
- "Do You Like Worms: Part 4 (Bicycle Rider)" – 1:10
- "Do You Like Worms: Bicycle Rider Overdubs (Heroes and Villains Part 2) (1/5/67)" – 0:22
"The Old Master Painter / You Are My Sunshine"
- "My Only Sunshine: Parts 1 & 2 (11/14/66)" – 6:51
- "My Only Sunshine: Part 2 (Master Take With Vocal Overdubs) (2/10/67)" – 0:45
"Cabin Essence" session (10/3/66)
- "Cabin Essence: Verse" – 2:14
- "Cabin Essence: Chorus" – 2:28
- "Cabin Essence: Tag" – 2:31
"Wonderful"
- "Wonderful (Version 1) (8/25/66)" – 2:59
"Wonderful" (Version 2 "Rock With Me, Henry") session (1/9/67)
- "Wonderful (Version 2)" – 3:25
- "Wonderful (Version 2 Tag)" – 2:54
- "Wonderful (Version 3) (4/10/67?)" – 2:41
"Look" ("Song for Children")
- "Look (8/12/66)" – 4:52
"Child is Father of the Man"
- "Child is Father of the Man (Version 1) (10/7/66)" – 4:57
- "Child is Father of the Man (Version 2) (10/11/66)" – 5:38
"Surf's Up"
- "Surf's Up: 1st Movement (11/4/66)" – 4:54
- "Surf's Up: Talking Horns (11/7/66)" – 3:42
- "Surf's Up: Piano Demo (Master Take) (12/15/66)" – 3:52
"I Wanna Be Around / Workshop (Friday Night)"
- "I Wanna Be Around (11/29/66)" – 3:08
"Vegetables" sessions (4/4/67–4/11/67)
- "Vegetables: Verse (Master Take Track) (4/4/67–4/11/67)" – 2:02
- "Vegetables: Sleep a Lot (Chorus)" – 2:34
- "Vegetables: Chorus 1 (Master Take)" – 1:05
- "Vegetables: 2nd Chorus (Master Take Track and Backing Vocals)" – 1:03
- "Vegetables: Insert (Part 4) (Master Take)" – 0:37
- "Vegetables: Crunching Session" (hidden track) - 1:02
- "Workshop Session" (hidden track) - 1:40
CD 4
"Vegetables" sessions (continued)- "Vegetables: Fade (4/12/67)" – 5:25
- "Vegetables: Ballad Insert (4/14/67)" – 1:03
"Holidays"
- "Holidays (9/8/66)" – 7:32
"Wind Chimes"
- "Wind Chimes (Version 1) (8/3/66)" – 6:46
"Wind Chimes" (Version 2) session (10/5/66)
- "Wind Chimes (Version 2)" – 5:00
- "Wind Chimes (Version 2 Tag)" – 2:51
"The Elements
- "The Elements (Fire) (11/28/66)" – 8:27
"Da Da" session (12/22/66)
- "Da Da (Taped Piano Strings)" – 1:00
- "Da Da (Fender Rhodes)" – 1:21
"Love to Say Dada" sessions (5/16/67–5/18/67)
- "Love to Say Dada: Part 1 (5/16/67)" – 1:22
- "Love to Say Dada: Part 2 (5/17/67)" – 1:57
- "Love to Say Dada: Part 2 (Master Take) (5/17/67)" – 1:21
- "Love to Say Dada: Part 2 (Second Day) (5/18/67)" – 2:00
"Cool, Cool Water"
- "Cool, Cool Water (Version 1) (6/7/67)" – 2:21
- "Cool, Cool Water (Version 2) (10/26/67 & 10/29/67)" – 3:31
Smile additional sessions
- "You're Welcome (12/15/66)" – 6:41
- "You're With Me Tonight (6/6/67–6/7/67)" – 2:46
- "Tune X (3/3/67–3/31/67)" – 2:18
- "I Don't Know (1/12/67)" – 3:03
- "Three Blind Mice (10/15/65)" – 2:11
- "Teeter Totter Love (Jasper Dailey) (1/25/67 & 2/9/67)" – 1:49
Bonus tracks
- "Psycodelic Sounds - Underwater Chant (11/4/66)" – 1:45
- "Hal Blaine Vega-Tables Promo Session (11/16/66)" – 1:28
- "Heroes and Villains: Early Version Outtake Sections (1/67–2/67)" – 5:04
- "The Elements: Fire (Mrs. O'Leary's Cow) (Burning Wood Session)" (hidden track) - 0:45
CD 5
"Good Vibrations" sessions- "Good Vibrations: Gold Star 2/18/66 (The Pet Sounds Session)" – 7:27
- "Good Vibrations: Gold Star 4/9/66" – 6:57
- "Good Vibrations: Western 5/4/66 (First Chorus)" – 2:24
- "Good Vibrations: Western 5/4/66 (Second Chorus & Fade)" – 3:28
- "Good Vibrations: Sunset Sound 5/24/66 (Part 1)" – 1:20
- "Good Vibrations: Sunset Sound 5/24/66 (Parts 2 & 3)" – 1:45
- "Good Vibrations: Sunset Sound 5/24/66 (Part 4)" – 0:47
- "Good Vibrations: Western 5/27/66 (Part C)" – 3:32
- "Good Vibrations: Western 5/27/66 (Chorus)" – 3:04
- "Good Vibrations: Western 5/27/66 (Fade Sequence)" – 1:56
- "Good Vibrations (Inspiration): Western 6/2/66 (Part 1)" – 2:44
- "Good Vibrations (Inspiration): Western 6/2/66 (Part 3)" – 0:57
- "Good Vibrations (Inspiration): Western 6/2/66 (Part 4)" – 0:49
- "Good Vibrations: Western 6/16/66 (Part 1)" – 6:24
- "Good Vibrations: Western 6/16/66 (Part 2 & Verse)" – 1:06
- "Good Vibrations: Western 6/16/66 (Part 2 Continued)" – 5:55
- "Good Vibrations: Western 6/18/66 (Part 1)" – 1:10
- "Good Vibrations: Western 6/18/66 (Part 2)" – 5:03
- "Good Vibrations (Persuasion): Western 9/1/66" – 1:49
- "Good Vibrations: Western 9/1/66 (New Bridge)" – 3:39
- "Good Vibrations: Session Masters" – 6:13
- "Good Vibrations: Single Version Stereo Track" – 3:49
- "Good Good Good Vibrations (First Version With Overdubs) 3/66" – 3:41
- "Good Vibrations: Alternate Edit 8/24/66" – 3:32
- "Good Vibrations: Tape Rewind" (hidden track) - 0:27
LP 1
Side 1- "Our Prayer"
- "Gee"
- "Heroes and Villains"
- "Do You Like Worms (Roll Plymouth Rock)"
- "I’m in Great Shape"
- "Barnyard"
- "My Only Sunshine (The Old Master Painter / You Are My Sunshine)"
- "Cabin Essence"
Side 2
- "Wonderful"
- "Look (Song for Children)"
- "Child is Father of the Man"
- "Surf’s Up"
LP 2
Side 1- "I Wanna Be Around / Workshop"
- "Vega-Tables"
- "Holidays"
- "Wind Chimes"
- "The Elements: Fire (Mrs. O’Leary’s Cow)"
- "Love to Say Dada"
- "Good Vibrations"
Side 2
- "You’re Welcome (Stereo Mix)"
- "Vega-Tables (Stereo Mix)"
- "Wind Chimes (Stereo Mix)"
- "Cabin Essence (Session Highlights and Stereo Backing Track)"
- "Surf’s Up (Session Excerpt and Stereo Mix)"
The Beach Boys Play Smile
As of 2011, iTunes is offering two playlists of tracks recorded by The Beach Boys during the Smile sessions.Main version
- "Our Prayer" (Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of the Beach Boys)
- "Heroes and Villains (Alternate Take)" (Smiley Smile / Wild Honey)
- "Do You Like Worms" (Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of the Beach Boys)
- "Cabinessence" (20/20)
- "Wonderful" (Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of the Beach Boys)
- "Surf's Up" (Surf's Up)
- "Vegetables" (Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of the Beach Boys)
- "Wind Chimes" (Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of the Beach Boys)
- "Heroes and Villains (Intro)" (Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of the Beach Boys)
- "I Love to Say Da Da" (Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of the Beach Boys)
- "Good Vibrations" (Smiley Smile)
Alternate version
- "Our Prayer" (20/20)
- "Heroes and Villains" (Smiley Smile)
- "Cabinessence" (Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of the Beach Boys)
- "Wonderful" (Smiley Smile)
- "Surf's Up" (Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of the Beach Boys)
- "Vegetables" (Smiley Smile)
- "Wind Chimes" (Smiley Smile)
- "Cool Cool Water" (Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of the Beach Boys)
- "Good Vibrations (Early Take)" (Smiley Smile / Wild Honey)
Sales chart positions
Albums| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | US Billboard Hot 200 Albums Chart | 27 |
| 2011 | UK Album Chart | 25 |
External links
- Rockument-Beach Boy's Smile Sessions with commentary and links to music
- "Heroes and Villains" video archive at the Internet Archive Wayback Machine.
- Stylus Magazine article
- The Smile Shop - The Smile Sessions Information Site
- Wilson explains SMiLE
- An interview with "Smile" historian Domenic Priore
- Background information and essays on the making of