No way. It already blew my mind that Van Dyke was the guy on the Fairytale Theatre I watched as a kid, but to also learn he was on the Honeymooners I watched as a kid… what?
This is the best analysis of Smile and what was going on with Brian in this period that I have ever come across. Congratulations on this thorough work.
I have to second that. I have been familiar with the Smile story for 56 years now, researching it like crazy since about '77, and as much as I've researched, read, talked to participants and a number of well versed journalists (Tom Nolan, Steven Gaines, David Leaf), you still opened my eyes to a number of things.
I think one thing to remember is the abuse Brian suffered at the hands of his father growing up. Brian was the oldest and was constantly receiving the wrath of Murray Wilson. Carl was lost in the shuffle and was probably ignored, while Dennis was the most rebellious and one who gave it right back to Murray. Had Brian gained some coping skills from counseling he could have dealt with the pressure he had in his career. Throw in the high expectations he put on himself, the pressure for writing hits for the band, drug use and his PTSD and you have a perfect recipe for disaster. The Beach Boys only went on due to Mike Love and Carl Wilson’s efforts; who kept the band touring and pushed the band to continue making music. I just bought some of the post-Pet Sounds albums to listen. Surfs-Up, Holland, Sunflower are good listens so far. Not all the tracks are perfect, but you could tell that The Beach Boys weren’t done as a band yet. There was still something there. Thanks Matt! This video made my Sunday!
Counseling in the 50's? Not going to happen, his dad seemed almost as bad as Joe Jackson.....Almost. Murray saw Brian's talent at a early age and was very envious of his talent.
@@Lance37a you’re right, but I’m talking about what could have made a difference had it been available to Brian in the 1950s. He did eventually get treatment and was able to overcome all his demons.
Remember that Brian told Howard Stern, in a 1998 in studio interview, that Murray’s own father nearly severed Murray’s ear from his head with a hammer, when Murray was a child
That very dramatic piano sequence at the end of Child Is Father of the Man, which is then accompanied by strings, and which comes just before Surf's Up on the Smile album is IMO the greatest musical moment of the Smile album and one of the greatest musical moments of all time.
Great video Matt. I’m 72 years old and followed The Beach Boys as they were happening in the sixties. Because of your in-depth analysis, I never realized all that really went on with this group behind the scenes. Sure, everyone knew Brian was having some problems. However, I was so into the music of that time the Beatles, Stones, I never gave it a second thought. Thank you, Matt for all your great analysis on these iconic artists. All the best…….Philip C.
you are a year older then myself sadly after the drugs took over I have read that Mike got so mad at Denny he sent a couple of guys over to his house and had him beat up things got really sad among the brothers for a while
This is a very complex moment in rock'n'roll music history. That's why this video is a masterpiece in conciseness, touching all the keys and never losing oneself in them.
Hello Pedro. Thank you for the kind words. This took a long time to lay out because of all the drama! But Smile is a story without an ending, so you'll stay tuned for part 4!
I love the Smile album. I bought a bootleg CD a long time ago- probably in the mid-late nineties. I saw Brian Wilson play Smile on tour in 2004 and bought his solo version of Smile that I have listened to many times- and will take it out soon for another listen. The harmonies are fantastic. (Of course!) I bought the Smiley Smile album when it was released in 1967. I like that one too! Great series, as usual.
Yes Paul Weller was in high spirits the night he saw Brian WILSon I London 2004 smile in full (apart from worried and getting a bit mad over his change from round of drinks his m8 Paulio Hewitt ( oasis ,Steve Marriott Paul Weller books) got with Weller s cash
I found your version of what could have been the Smile album a very concise and enjoyable listen. Bonus points for adding the reverb-heavy 'dum dee dum oh ho' vocal harmonies that weren't included on the offically released version of 'Good Vibrations'. It makes a stellar tune even better. I feel they belong in there. Fine work, Matt.
And the longer fade out with the woodwind horn motif. Always wanted a longer ending as a resolution after such a build up. Very cool mix with the other tunes as well, at least I noticed in Heroes In Villains a difference.
Great stuff, Matt! I first heard a version of Smile back in the days of tape trading…mid 1980s. Wasn’t really a Beach Boys fan apart from some of the hits, but Smile knocked me out with its richness and complexity. I got to see Brian Wilson & band perform his 2004 version live at the Michigan Theater in Ann Arbor. Wasn’t altogether sure how it might turn out but it was a fantastic show. There are parts of that 2004 album I prefer to the Beach Boys recordings too.
You always are the best, fair minded, objectively analytical and thorough in your covering of history and context. No one is better than you at these pieces!
Thank you, I appreciate that. I do try to give these myths a close look and generally I find them to be baseless. The minority that controls the narratives need to be taken to task, which my viewers seem to appreciate.
We all know how Mike Love could be a thorn in Brian’s side. But to his defense about the “ Cabinessence “ lyrics, Mike wanted to understand the lyrics for not only the studio, but also singing them live in concert. Understanding the lyrics he could potentially tell an audience the meaning behind them. The Smile songs definitely would’ve been challenging to perform live within the group setting of that time. Anyways, great overview of the album. PLAY LOUD
Yep, definitely with Mike on this one. Image is one thing, but you need at least some clarity. Even Al Jardine was sick of all this stuff. He missed the days of the simple genre of girls, cars and surfing.
@ministerofdarkness The lyric example Matt gave (which I've also seen given in books about the Beach Boys) is "Over and Over, the Crow Cries uncover the Cornfield (s)" from the song Cabinessence. Since the song is about the building of the Transcontinental Railroad, I take the line about the crow cries/train whistles civilizing "uncivilized" lands/displacing Indian tribes who occupied the land the railroad tracks/civilization was being placed on. Cabinessence has always reminded me of Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody, which Brian also liked when he first heard it.
Had Smile been released at the time, I think it'll tank. Lost in the dominance of Sgt. Pepper but would be regardless as an underrated masterpiece years later and far superior musically, lyrically and technically. Great video! Hoping you tackle Love - Forever Changes next.
I have to agree. I think it may have been too sophisticated musically, and possibly the subject matter would've gone over people's heads at the time. I'm glad I finally got to hear it when I did...the restored version with the new band. I saw them perform the album along with a few Beach Boys chestnuts that I wasn't expecting ("Please Let Me Wonder") A very special event. 😻
I've heard the argument of "SMiLE" being unsuccessful if it was released in 1966/1967. Where this argument loses credibility with me is that albums at the time were still be largely sold off the back of successful singles and "Good Vibrations" was about as big of a hit as the pop/rock world had seen at the time. The fact that Capitol allegedly insisted that "Good Vibrations" be plastered all over the cover of Frank Holmes artwork tells me that a major selling point of "SMiLE" would've been "Good Vibrations" alongside ostensibly "Heroes And Villains". In the end it all comes down to timing. As Matt mentioned in the video if The Beach Boys had managed to get "SMiLE" out of the gate prior to the summer of love, it's fortunes would've been much better than it's eventually successor ("Smiley Smile"). The album would have sold and coasted on the strength of "Good Vibrations" alone which would have prevented it from tanking regardless of the rest of the music contained within.
@@jldraw I do think it would have sold well and as you said, Good Vibrations would have helped promote it. It's really too bad they couldn't get it together.
@@jldraw I agree. Brian was "it" with the "it" crowd until the disasters of mid-67. First cancelling Smile, then pulling out of Monterrey, it put them so deep in the rear view mirror of the audiences of that era. Another thing too, members of the Wrecking Crew were there to perform for performers who didn't have bands, so they surely could have augmented the Beach Boys stage delivery of Pet Sounds and Smile material. They definitely were familiar with it! Actually I take something back - I think the first mistake was the Leonard Bernstein special. It was supposed to be about Brian initially, an incredible opportunity, but not being able to give a good interview killed that. But when Surf's Up did air, it also created a bigger buzz about all of this great music everyone had been reporting on. The lie about it all being destroyed was something I never believed or how would pieces of it start emerging on subsequent albums? One thread throughout their career - bad decisions and bad luck over and over again. Decisions that cost them millions and millions of dollars and numerous opportunities to be the pinnacle.
@@popgoesthe60s52 You're welcome Matt, I've got a story about some soon to be Beach Boys playing in my house, I'm saving it for the right moment to include (Carl and the Passions ) : )
Great job, Matt. Part four and each around half an hour. That's quite a commitment, and it's at least as good as your other histories of 60s bands, if not better. Great work, and all the details and minutiae is really appreciated.
The trouble with the so-called 'enlightened' is they lack the self-discipline to see projects through. They needed someone 'unenlightened' like George Martin to pull all the threads together and get some product out.
The Van Dyke Parks song you exerpted is based on Beethoven's 9th Symphony. A song probably best remembered by pop culture fans as the one sung by the woman in the milk bar in the opening scene of A Clockwork Orange.
A great deep dive into Smile, thanks very much. The sequencing of the timeline in context with other outside influences really explains why the world never received the album when it should have.
Just to note the vital work Darian Sahanaja of the Wondermints and Brian Wilson 's live backing band did helping to put the 2004 version of Smile together alongside Brian and Van Dyke Parks This owes something to the mixes and research he and his friend Domenic Priore (who kept the legend of Smile alive with his work. 'Look listen, vibrate, smile') . Also to note the Smile Sessions box set was released in 2011, several years after 'Brian Wilson presents Smile' and it used this as the template for the 'completed' version of the original session. It's fascinating that the Smile Sessions and bootlegs of the sessions would be enormously influencial on 1990s indie rock with The Elephant 6 collective and bands like the High Llamas a d others in particular exploring what Brian was doin
I suspect, like many on here, back in the pre-internet 90s I once compiled my own shabby 'Smile' album on cassette and had to make do. Brian Wilson's solo version 20 years ago was wonderful, though it's great to hear the Beach Boys originals in a proper mix - one which I downloaded and then burned onto CD (always got to have it physical). Thanks for that mix, Matt, and for another engrossing episode in a fascinating story up there with the best of your band histories.
Always good to hear another sequencing of Smile... I made many of them myself over about 15 years back in the day, and yours is as good as any I've heard. Anymore I mainly listen to Brian's 2004 version, because after such a long journey it was nice to arrive at a destination. Listening to Strawberry Fields, it's easy to hear why Brian thought the Beatles had "gotten there first"... considering the way he was working with brass instruments in the Heroes & Villains and Surf's Up sessions ("George Fell into His French Horn," etc.), cellos doing glissandos and staccato figures ("The Old Master Painter," "Mrs. O'Leary's Cow"), and way-out lyrics by Van Dyke Parks.
Thank you. Yeah, the Beatles certainly had the drive and ambition to keep cranking songs out, which the Beach Boys lost because all control was with a guy who was losing his mind.
One of the things seemingly no one has mentioned is that Strawberry Fields utilized a Mellotron. Most folks immediately think of the Moody Blues, but Mike Pinder (R.I.P.) actually introduced it to the Beatles before the Moodies incorporated it into "In Search of the Lost Chord" and beyond. Its sound may have been part of what staggered BW.
Brilliantly done, Matt! I’ve been obsessed with the SMiLE sessions for years and got to see Brian perform it live for the first ever time at the Royal Festival Hall in London.
Thank you very much, Matt - excellent work! A truly complex time period in Beach Boys history that you've distilled to become understandable. Listening to your mix of SMiLE right now! MikeE
Excellent video! I had the Smile 5 CD box set when it came out, but I could never get into it and ended up selling it. I LOVE Pet Sounds, but that took me years to totally appreciate. I now consider it one of the best albums ever.
Amazing job Matt. Look forward to the next one!!! I learned something new about Van Dyke Parks today, that he was working with Alec Guinness (Obi Wan Kenobi) and Grace Kelly many moons ago!!!
That's why Heroes and Villains was a perfect title for the book written about them. Lots of heroes and lots of villains. But regardless the music lives on.@@popgoesthe60s52
Loved every minute of this. It's a dark story and that chapter certainly did not end well. Who could compete with Billy Shears and the gang, after all? George Martin was the fifth Beatle and really helped them realize their project. Brian didn't have that semi-fatherly figure who could arrange, perform, advise, and ultimately produce. Love your version of Smile with the alternate mixes and that wonderful Surf's Up to close it out. There was a noticeable lack of strong drumming in this era of Brian's output that, to me, acts a a bit of a commercial poison. Vegetables comes to mind. Still, I like it.
Great video Matt on this chapter of The smile Album👍-When talking about The Beach Boys Smile Album and Brian Wilson's meltdown, I cant help but think of the movie Walk Hard-The Dewey Cox Story, in particular the scene that I remember about the bubbles being blown into the microphone Not sounding right 😅🤣😂
Please forgive the misspellings. Well, another great installment by our friend Matt. As a musician myself, I cannot imagine the torture Brian Wilson went through when competing with the beatles. What a curse! This episode also took me back to me as a 13-year-old in the summer of 1967 as a caddy at the Everett Golf and Country Club. Possibly the best summer of my life. Just look at what was on the charts back then. Magical! Thanks again, matt.
This is a truly stunning series Matt with so much detail and insight, stuff I never knew. Roll on Part Five 👍 And thanks for all the work you put into this 🙏
About a year ago, the Beach Boys had played in Syracuse New York, and I was waiting to get some autographs. I asked Bruce Johnson to sign my Smile album and he refused, saying loudly “ I hated that goddamn album!”
I think Smiley Smile is a complete mess. It sounds like a tired muffled pile of garbage, which is weird since it's actually not far removed from the original album. @@hejla4524
As you discuss Brian, you get the sense of someone who is drowning in an expectation of creativity, which is guaranteed to sabotage creativity. One has to wonder how things may have played out had Brian not removed himself from his primary support system.
I think Brian could have achieved what he wanted with Parks and the rest of the Beach boys minus the rest of the hangers on. Too many cooks in the kitchen.
Hey Matt, patiently waiting for part 5. So far this is excellent. You make such high quality videos & I enjoy all of your content. Long live The Beatles (oops wrong group) I love The Beach Boys too! Rock on Matt
just caught up with these today all four parts to date compelling viewing great band thankfully got to see them live very good in depth review matt looking forward to the next 1. great videos.
Thank you I loved pt 4 as well, I had forgot about the song Heros and Villains, great song. I had always heard Brian was a bit different but the fire house thing was pretty out there.
A colleague of mine at our music school in Hallstahammar, Sweden, a young female cello player, played on Smile 2004. She's in the video. I think her name was Anna, but it's more then 20 years, so. Maby no one else cares, but for me it's a bit fun.
By the time Brian Wilson worried that he'd mystically started a fire with his recording sessions, he'd already suffered his first psychotic break, as his schizo-affective disorder emerged.
Excellent and deep look into this period of the Beach Boys, Matt. It seems that the Boys were hesitant to leave the "formula" that gave them their earlier success with Brian as the main writer... but it seems that Brian had too much pressure. It is as since the writing process was on his shoulders, it was a lot as opposed to the Beatles (in spite the Lennon/McCartney push, George and Ringo still had part of the process.
Matt, I really enjoyed watching this video and your expertise and research on 60s bands is always top-notch, and I am looking forward to watching the rest of your Beach Boys videos!👍
I own and have read a ton of books on BW and the BBs but your concise hit-list graphic of Brian's enlightened friends was impressive. Also, I had never actually thought much more about the one-off & handshake deal with Mike, post PS and GV... You make a compelling argument that Mike was a bit less of a snake then previously thought, although ML may have been creatively blank about going in any future direction LYRICALLY other than back to the beach, dragstrip, or the ladies. THAT, as far as I know, has never been discussed by anyone. Your comments about the "Fire" sessions were especially good. It was amazing to see VDP's quote as well. This is well-considered, really solid discussion. It's a tough period for any longstanding BBs fan to have to dissect, and then when you think it's in the rearview, along comes Wenner's comment like a gut punch, and the "Beatles Are Greatest Ever & Forever" crowd does their endless "I Told You so's." This is some of your best work ever. Thanks.
Thank you, Bill. I am proud of this series and I felt that Smile cried out for its own video. I spent about 2 years collecting information, researching and outlining the story, so it was daunting but very satisfying to do. I appreciate the warm comments.
Thank you for a considerate and intelligent perspective of VanDyke. He'd been diminished and maligned in recent bio-pics, and this is refreshing and honest.
Yeah, Park is occasionally razzed - some deserved, some not. I will be continuing some more discussion on Smile that will speak more about the reasons Smile didn't happen and also to review the project.
Splendid job as usual, Matt. a big thumbs up! The 1966-67 story of Smile and its sad demise is one of the most crucial chapters in the history of the development of pop music.
Wonderful analysis as usual Matt, thats a lot of homework to invest in. So nicely presented. And I'm with you when you say too many cooks in the kitchen without a doubt. What a mess.
SMiLE is an incredible album, but needs to be digested over time, years it has taken me to fully embrace it, and am still exploring it. It has to be heard through headphones and preferably in the dark (wink to Brian). A great example of the complexity of the music is 13:32 where Mike’s ”… field” perfectly harmonizes with the sitar (?) and I actually just discovered that perfection via this video (different version than on Spotify?), must have taken countless hours to get that right.
Agreed. I spent a couple years digesting this material and then I created the album so I could listen to it that way in an effort to get as close as I could to some semblance of an album. Now I’m taking a break from it and I think the distance with help me appreciate it even more when I decide to come back to it.
Great video Matt! I been a Smile fan since the mid 80’s I like your knowledge of The Beach Boys! Smile was Brian trying to Keep up with The Beatles! Too bad in 67 Brian couldn’t trim the album to 12 tunes. Plus he revisited Heroes and Villains too much. Take care Matt!
Another great recap and review. Being seen as cool was/is everything in Pop Music. Maybe not everything, but so very important and not to be underestimated. Being seen as a California surf band was not helping in this regard in 1967. Pet Sounds and Good Vibrations was their way out of that stereotype, but they had to keep it going. Monterey- and the way they presented themselves at Monterey was half the battle. If their performance had fallen into the barber shop quartet zone- they were screwed. Good Vibrations had to be front and center, with some of the cooler tracks from Pet Sounds and their earlier records mixed in. If they had trotted out their early surf and car hits it would not have gone down well. The second piece of the puzzle was Smile. Why Brian was pushing for Heroes and Villains and not Surf Up is beyond me. Surf's Up was the perfect song for this moment. It's a great song, references the past and mocks it at the same time. Make sure Good Vibrations is on that album and make the rest album tracks and get that thing out by March at the latest. Because the truth is, the album is unique, but it's not that great. It's quirky and interesting, but far from brilliant and a step down after Pet Sounds. Smile would have ranked with Pink Floyds first album (also done by someone going insane) or Satanic Majesties. A unique sound, but nothing brilliant beyond that. Certainly better than the common pop garbage which is always released in every era. But no one is going to be humming those tunes walking down the street. Your quote of Brian nails it, " I Feel like I am losing my talent ". He was, and it showed. Even worse , he was losing his mind. I listened to bootlegs of these songs for years and they are scary. because it always seemed to me that he had created a musical puzzle that he could not solve. Listening to these tracks is so eerie for me as I feel like I can hear him slowly losing his mind and his grasp on reality. Making the leap from teenage oriented material to adult oriented material and doing it successfully , is a hard hard leap to make. With Pet Sounds and Good Vibrations, The Beach Boys had pulled it off, but then they broke and the couldn't sustain it. Or more accurately, Brian broke and no one else in the band had enough vision to carry them through. It is such a tantalizing moment in their history- they were so close. Wild Honey was interesting, but they would never reach those heights again.
Nice overview. I think the point to remember is that after PS, you could never predict what they'd do next. Brian's domination never fully returned, but look around! The music kept changing, and they changed with it. The individual members stepped up and started contributing solidly. Personally, I love "Sunflower," and only wish Dennis could've lived longer so we could be treated to more "Slip On Through"s and "Forever"s.
28:50 I got into SMiLE a few years before the SMiLE Sessions release of 2012 (which I have on vinyl as well), so I got the best of the last of the big bootleg era (and being all on the interwebs at that point, it was easy to download and compare/contrast). At the time, after Brian's "completion" and before the long-belated official release, it seemed to make perfect sense to have SMiLE be a double album with these three movements (as Brian completed it in the early-2000s). With time and reflection, it's very clear now that unless you were Bob Dylan or Frank Zappa in '66/'67, you weren't gonna be able to pull off a double album... So, for fun, here's my personal mix of SMiLE's tracklisting: Side One Our Prayer Heroes And Villains Roll Plymouth Rock Cabin Essence Wonderful Child Is The Father Of The Man Surf's Up Side Two (The Elements Suite) Earth (I'm In Great Shape/I Wanna Be Around/Vega-Tables) Wind (Holiday/Wind Chimes) Fire (Mrs O'Leary's Cow) Water (Cool Water/Water Chant/I Love To Say Dada) Aether (Good Vibrations/You're Welcome) The sides come out to about 22 minutes each, which would've made Capitol balk, but they were trying to escape them anyways. Is this particularly accurate apart from running time to what would've appeared in 1967? Probably not. Am I a huge dork for The Elements Suite, to the expense of other pieces of the album? You bet. The tracklisting would almost certainly not be this, for example, Surf's Up would've most likely been album closer with Good Vibrations included only at the behest of Capitol and closing side one. You're Welcome would've remained Heroes And Villains' B-side. I suppose I make up for it because in my imaginary re-listing of the Beach Boys' discography, I have a SMiLEY SMiLE which is a combination of everything left off of this variation of SMiLE and what was left off Smiley Smile that it didn't share with SMiLE.
Thanks for your track listing. I think a double album would have watered down the finest material so I think that would be a stretch. I do plan to talk about Smile in future videos so stay tuned!
Been waiting for this one, and you did not disappoint. Thanks Personally, I think "Smile" is head and shoulders more sophisticated and generally more adventerous musically and lyrically than "Pepper." But had it been released at that time...I think it may have gone over people's heads, who knows...🤷♂️✌
Thank you, Jeff. I do find Smile more sophisticated than Pepper, but as history shows, by 1967 guitar rock trumped symphonic sophistication, so I think Smile would have given way to Pepper based on that trend alone.
Very good video as usual. When I listened to "Smile" I just couldn't believe how good it was. And yes, it was like 95% finished but Brian felt he needed Parks to finish it. You described all the issues affecting the project but the reason for Parks leaving the project (according to Parks himself) was the confrontation with Mike over the lyrics (ironically, one of his best vocals). Or maybe Brian's collapse was inevitable. If the album came out, things could've been much different for the group although they would still have a couple of problems: no new big hit single and what to play at Monterey
Thanks for sharing Mike Love's perspective so sensitively. I feel like sometimes it's easy to make a villain in a story of ordinary people. I can understand his actions better now :)
Smiles compositions paint such a rich and vivid picture that i do wonder what it would have all been like if it was all properly sequenced and laid out in a concise release for lets say June of July of 67 But the songs that where complete Heroes and villains and in particular the incredible Surfs up show that Brian had taken another step forward even further past the point of Good Vibrations I dont think anyone else could have made those worlds, Surfs Up in particular is a universe unto itself
Smiley Smile was used at a clinic in Fort Worth to help people get off bad acid trips. I think it helps out in stressful situations and brings relaxation.
Great job, Matt. Smile, even in its fragmented state, is incredible. I'm equally looking forward to your post-Smile coverage. As a hardcore BB fan, I know how many underappreciated (by the general public) gems are scattered across albums like Wild Honey, 20/20, Sunflower, Surf's Up, and Holland. The late 60s through the early 70s was a fertile period for the band creatively despite their faltering commercial success and Brian Wilson's greatly reduced role as producer and primary songwriter.
Absolutely fantastic doc Matt. Very well done. I like "Smile" from the various versions i've listened to, but i don't think it matches the genius of "Pet Sounds" Keep up the great work Matt.
Couple comments: (1) In line with what you said, I've always felt that Mike was seeing his entire role in the band diminish by 1966 and I think that accounts for a lot of the tension. Track his lead vocals, etc. over a span beginning with the "All Summer Long" album and watch what's happening by "Pet Sounds". (2) I've always rated the album as 80% complete, with missing vocals for "Look"/"Child Is Father", "Great Shape", "Worms" etc.; missing tracks for the Elements, and much sweetening, as well as sequencing, which was changing quickly and erratically as Brian's state of mind devolved and his impulsivity was unravelling him. Interestingly, a tracking session for "Surf's Up Pt. 2" was done and is lost. This is presumed to be strings for the "Dove-nested towers" sequence. That's why the 2004 version has a string arrangement. I think vocals for "Look" once existed, too. (3) In regard to the tracks with no vocals sounding o.k. as-are, my view is colored by having been a bootleg fanatic since the eighties: we got dribs and drabs of incomplete stuff that sounded great, but when another leak provided a more complete version, it was always stunning and unexpected. Like Danny Hutton said about hearing a Brian track in that era, you were never prepared for where it was going next and that's never more true than with this album.
I just listened to your mix/sequencing of SMiLE - I love it! Damn, there’s SO MUCH substance in those 39 minutes, it’s hard to think of it as unfinished- of course it is, but you sequenced it in a cohesive and masterful way. Thank You !! 😘
A wonderful continuation of the story, Matt (and Im glad this didnt get into the Sgt Pepper vs Smile nonsence. They are two different albums by two different bands). I always thought there was more to the simple answer of the "Smile Meltdown", than just the story that Brian got stoned, had a meltdown and absconded with the tapes. and to me, the bonus of the fact that the album was never finished (at least until the 90s), is that we ended up with the Surf's Up album, which to this day remains one of my favourite albums of all time, specifically side two. 😊
Thank you, wonsworld. I may approach the Pepper vs Pet Sounds/Smile topic if only to put it in perspective and save the discussion from the hands of rabid 'Brian is a Genius' cultists.
The "Fire" segment from Smile pre-dated "Helter Skelter" by more than a year. Still, to this day, one of the most disturbing pieces of music I've ever heard. I'm not surprised Brian was freaked out about it.
Heroes and Villains was a very unusual single release, the flip side (You're Welcome) and was only :23 seconds long and was a waste of good vinyl with side A being a masterpiece work and side B leaving you wonder where the Smile album was going where there were so many better choices to land there. You're so right to share the band began to fall back to old standards and more beach type beat releases that made Pop radio-play but set them back in a progressive direction.
An excellent look at these troubles. At what point does a sane man stop and think about this notion of competing with other artists? You make the best music you can and release it when it's ready.
Just when I think I know all there is to know about the groups you highlight, I always learn something new . That's what I like best about your videos: I'm always learning something new. I appreciate your research and insight. Thank you!
A friend of mine much older went to Capitol and asked for a copy of the cover prior to - cancellation.I was unaware Van Dykes Park did all those recordings. Saw " The Swan" film. ( wonder how VDP was ablevto claim songwriting credit for Number Nine? Its a classical piece) I became interested in " Smile" around the same time it was released on bootleg- May 1984. I was hooked. A couple things about the Lp- "Barnyard" and " I Love to Say DaDa" are listed and NOT included. " Holidays" is NOT the BBs - it's GERSHWIN!( something from Porgy and Bess I think?). Our Prayer, Wonderful, Heroes, Cabin Essence and Surfs Up are all studio LP LATER recordings. George Fell into His French Horn is NOT A Smile song. My source you ask? Bbs fanzine at the time expert enlightened us. I wrote the info down at the time. Anyone remember " Sunkist" soda commercial using Good Vibrations music in the US??? Thanks Matt. Dominic Priorie wrote the best book on Smile😊
Excellent presentation - what comes across in your portrait is that of a supremely talented young man who had absolutely no control over his appetites. Add to the mix the enshrinement of every '60s nut job looking to make a name for himself by their association with him, and it comes as no surprise that a gentle, sensitive soul like Brian Wilson (so accustomed to praise as to have become incapable of any sense of discernment whatsoever) might be a complete fish out of water beyond anything outside of the world in which he excelled. And while I'm well aware of the man's excesses (and possible unresolved jealousies regarding his gifted son), it makes one wonder about the weaknesses his dad Murry may well have already foreseen in his talented sons. As a dad myself, I shudder at what Murry would have been going through to protect his kids, notwithstanding the media's largely successful campaign to utterly villainize him. It's enough to make any man who truly loves his kids weep at his complete inability to alter the course of events for those he loved most. Thanks, Matt - as usual. great job!
No way. It already blew my mind that Van Dyke was the guy on the Fairytale Theatre I watched as a kid, but to also learn he was on the Honeymooners I watched as a kid… what?
I fell in love with Smile in 1999 when I was 21 and to learn he was involved in 2 different things I loved as a kid is mind-blowing.
This is the best analysis of Smile and what was going on with Brian in this period that I have ever come across. Congratulations on this thorough work.
Thank you, that is very flattering.
I have to second that. I have been familiar with the Smile story for 56 years now, researching it like crazy since about '77, and as much as I've researched, read, talked to participants and a number of well versed journalists (Tom Nolan, Steven Gaines, David Leaf), you still opened my eyes to a number of things.
@@ms8596 Yes he did.
Your Beach Boy history is a stellar piece of work, easily your best yet. Thank you for your commitment to the 1960's.
I appreciate that ric!
I think one thing to remember is the abuse Brian suffered at the hands of his father growing up. Brian was the oldest and was constantly receiving the wrath of Murray Wilson. Carl was lost in the shuffle and was probably ignored, while Dennis was the most rebellious and one who gave it right back to Murray. Had Brian gained some coping skills from counseling he could have dealt with the pressure he had in his career. Throw in the high expectations he put on himself, the pressure for writing hits for the band, drug use and his PTSD and you have a perfect recipe for disaster. The Beach Boys only went on due to Mike Love and Carl Wilson’s efforts; who kept the band touring and pushed the band to continue making music. I just bought some of the post-Pet Sounds albums to listen. Surfs-Up, Holland, Sunflower are good listens so far. Not all the tracks are perfect, but you could tell that The Beach Boys weren’t done as a band yet. There was still something there. Thanks Matt! This video made my Sunday!
Counseling in the 50's? Not going to happen, his dad seemed almost as bad as Joe Jackson.....Almost. Murray saw Brian's talent at a early age and was very envious of his talent.
@@Lance37a you’re right, but I’m talking about what could have made a difference had it been available to Brian in the 1950s. He did eventually get treatment and was able to overcome all his demons.
Remember that Brian told Howard Stern, in a 1998 in studio interview, that Murray’s own father nearly severed Murray’s ear from his head with a hammer, when Murray was a child
That very dramatic piano sequence at the end of Child Is Father of the Man, which is then accompanied by strings, and which comes just before Surf's Up on the Smile album is IMO the greatest musical moment of the Smile album and one of the greatest musical moments of all time.
Great video Matt. I’m 72 years old and followed The Beach Boys as they were happening in the sixties. Because of your in-depth analysis, I never realized all that really went on with this group behind the scenes. Sure, everyone knew Brian was having some problems. However, I was so into the music of that time the Beatles, Stones, I never gave it a second thought. Thank you, Matt for all your great analysis on these iconic artists. All the best…….Philip C.
you are a year older then myself sadly after the drugs took over I have read that Mike got so mad at Denny he sent a couple of guys over to his house and had him beat up things got really sad among the brothers for a while
My pleasure, Phil. Thanks for watching!
This is a very complex moment in rock'n'roll music history. That's why this video is a masterpiece in conciseness, touching all the keys and never losing oneself in them.
Hello Pedro. Thank you for the kind words. This took a long time to lay out because of all the drama! But Smile is a story without an ending, so you'll stay tuned for part 4!
Excellently-put !
I love the Smile album. I bought a bootleg CD a long time ago- probably in the mid-late nineties. I saw Brian Wilson play Smile on tour in 2004 and bought his solo version of Smile that I have listened to many times- and will take it out soon for another listen. The harmonies are fantastic. (Of course!) I bought the Smiley Smile album when it was released in 1967. I like that one too! Great series, as usual.
Yes Paul Weller was in high spirits the night he saw Brian WILSon I London 2004 smile in full (apart from worried and getting a bit mad over his change from round of drinks his m8 Paulio Hewitt ( oasis ,Steve Marriott Paul Weller books) got with Weller s cash
I found your version of what could have been the Smile album a very concise and enjoyable listen. Bonus points for adding the reverb-heavy 'dum dee dum oh ho' vocal harmonies that weren't included on the offically released version of 'Good Vibrations'. It makes a stellar tune even better.
I feel they belong in there. Fine work, Matt.
And the longer fade out with the woodwind horn motif. Always wanted a longer ending as a resolution after such a build up. Very cool mix with the other tunes as well, at least I noticed in Heroes In Villains a difference.
Thank you! I'm sure some purists would cringe at my mix, but like I said, I hit the highlights!
Pretty epic deep dive!
Great stuff, Matt!
I first heard a version of Smile back in the days of tape trading…mid 1980s. Wasn’t really a Beach Boys fan apart from some of the hits, but Smile knocked me out with its richness and complexity.
I got to see Brian Wilson & band perform his 2004 version live at the Michigan Theater in Ann Arbor. Wasn’t altogether sure how it might turn out but it was a fantastic show. There are parts of that 2004 album I prefer to the Beach Boys recordings too.
You always are the best, fair minded, objectively analytical and thorough in your covering of history and context. No one is better than you at these pieces!
Thank you, I appreciate that. I do try to give these myths a close look and generally I find them to be baseless. The minority that controls the narratives need to be taken to task, which my viewers seem to appreciate.
We all know how Mike Love could be a thorn in Brian’s side. But to his defense about the “ Cabinessence “ lyrics, Mike wanted to understand the lyrics for not only the studio, but also singing them live in concert. Understanding the lyrics he could potentially tell an audience the meaning behind them. The Smile songs definitely would’ve been challenging to perform live within the group setting of that time. Anyways, great overview of the album. PLAY LOUD
Yep, definitely with Mike on this one. Image is one thing, but you need at least some clarity. Even Al Jardine was sick of all this stuff. He missed the days of the simple genre of girls, cars and surfing.
@ministerofdarkness The lyric example Matt gave (which I've also seen given in books about the Beach Boys) is "Over and Over, the Crow Cries uncover the Cornfield (s)" from the song Cabinessence. Since the song is about the building of the Transcontinental Railroad, I take the line about the crow cries/train whistles civilizing "uncivilized" lands/displacing Indian tribes who occupied the land the railroad tracks/civilization was being placed on. Cabinessence has always reminded me of Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody, which Brian also liked when he first heard it.
@@robertzastrow4648 Also took umbrage w/the 'Surf's Up' lyric "columnated ruins domino...." How did that NOT paint a picture in Mike's mind??!!🤦
@@matthewrider5906 Mike's mind was filled with constant banality. It's like taking a thug to the ballet.
@@ms8596 Aye... You're right.
Had Smile been released at the time, I think it'll tank. Lost in the dominance of Sgt. Pepper but would be regardless as an underrated masterpiece years later and far superior musically, lyrically and technically.
Great video! Hoping you tackle Love - Forever Changes next.
I have to agree. I think it may have been too sophisticated musically, and possibly the subject matter would've gone over people's heads at the time.
I'm glad I finally got to hear it when I did...the restored version with the new band. I saw them perform the album along with a few Beach Boys chestnuts that I wasn't expecting ("Please Let Me Wonder") A very special event. 😻
I do have Love on my radar so do stay tuned!
I've heard the argument of "SMiLE" being unsuccessful if it was released in 1966/1967. Where this argument loses credibility with me is that albums at the time were still be largely sold off the back of successful singles and "Good Vibrations" was about as big of a hit as the pop/rock world had seen at the time. The fact that Capitol allegedly insisted that "Good Vibrations" be plastered all over the cover of Frank Holmes artwork tells me that a major selling point of "SMiLE" would've been "Good Vibrations" alongside ostensibly "Heroes And Villains". In the end it all comes down to timing. As Matt mentioned in the video if The Beach Boys had managed to get "SMiLE" out of the gate prior to the summer of love, it's fortunes would've been much better than it's eventually successor ("Smiley Smile"). The album would have sold and coasted on the strength of "Good Vibrations" alone which would have prevented it from tanking regardless of the rest of the music contained within.
@@jldraw I do think it would have sold well and as you said, Good Vibrations would have helped promote it. It's really too bad they couldn't get it together.
@@jldraw I agree. Brian was "it" with the "it" crowd until the disasters of mid-67. First cancelling Smile, then pulling out of Monterrey, it put them so deep in the rear view mirror of the audiences of that era. Another thing too, members of the Wrecking Crew were there to perform for performers who didn't have bands, so they surely could have augmented the Beach Boys stage delivery of Pet Sounds and Smile material. They definitely were familiar with it!
Actually I take something back - I think the first mistake was the Leonard Bernstein special. It was supposed to be about Brian initially, an incredible opportunity, but not being able to give a good interview killed that. But when Surf's Up did air, it also created a bigger buzz about all of this great music everyone had been reporting on. The lie about it all being destroyed was something I never believed or how would pieces of it start emerging on subsequent albums?
One thread throughout their career - bad decisions and bad luck over and over again. Decisions that cost them millions and millions of dollars and numerous opportunities to be the pinnacle.
I'm not a Beach Boys fan but have found this series informative and entertaining . Thanks again for all the work you put in Matt .
Thank you, Brix.
@@popgoesthe60s52 You're welcome Matt, I've got a story about some soon to be Beach Boys playing in my house, I'm saving it for the right moment to include (Carl and the Passions ) : )
Great job, Matt. Part four and each around half an hour. That's quite a commitment, and it's at least as good as your other histories of 60s bands, if not better. Great work, and all the details and minutiae is really appreciated.
Thank you, Augustus!
The trouble with the so-called 'enlightened' is they lack the self-discipline to see projects through. They needed someone 'unenlightened' like George Martin to pull all the threads together and get some product out.
Exactly. They needed someone who wasn't loaded to steer the ship when someone got seasick!
😂Brilliant
Exactly what I was thinking. (And it couldn't be Murry or Mikey.) They needed Jack Rieley 5 years before he showed up.
They needed a manager who understood Brian's creativity and encouraged him to see it through to the end.
The Van Dyke Parks song you exerpted is based on Beethoven's 9th Symphony. A song probably best remembered by pop culture fans as the one sung by the woman in the milk bar in the opening scene of A Clockwork Orange.
The greatest pop music work of all the times.
Excellent job Matt! You even covered some things I didn't even know about.
Glad to hear! I appreciate the comment, Johny.
A great deep dive into Smile, thanks very much. The sequencing of the timeline in context with other outside influences really explains why the world never received the album when it should have.
Just to note the vital work Darian Sahanaja of the Wondermints and Brian Wilson 's live backing band did helping to put the 2004 version of Smile together alongside Brian and Van Dyke Parks This owes something to the mixes and research he and his friend Domenic Priore (who kept the legend of Smile alive with his work. 'Look listen, vibrate, smile') . Also to note the Smile Sessions box set was released in 2011, several years after 'Brian Wilson presents Smile' and it used this as the template for the 'completed' version of the original session.
It's fascinating that the Smile Sessions and bootlegs of the sessions would be enormously influencial on 1990s indie rock with The Elephant 6 collective and bands like the High Llamas a d others in particular exploring what Brian was doin
Word on that-the Wondermint's stalwart support of Brian Wilson is directly akin to the Arthur Lee & Baby Lemonade musical collaboration!:)
Great episode. This makes me want to dig out my 1993 Beach Boys box set and listen to all those cool Smile outtakes. Thanks!
I'm really enjoying this series on the Beach Boys, keep up the great work.
Great series Matt. Saw them on November 8,1966 at Tooting, England - Good Vibrations was memorable.
Wow, very cool!
I suspect, like many on here, back in the pre-internet 90s I once compiled my own shabby 'Smile' album on cassette and had to make do. Brian Wilson's solo version 20 years ago was wonderful, though it's great to hear the Beach Boys originals in a proper mix - one which I downloaded and then burned onto CD (always got to have it physical). Thanks for that mix, Matt, and for another engrossing episode in a fascinating story up there with the best of your band histories.
Always good to hear another sequencing of Smile... I made many of them myself over about 15 years back in the day, and yours is as good as any I've heard.
Anymore I mainly listen to Brian's 2004 version, because after such a long journey it was nice to arrive at a destination.
Listening to Strawberry Fields, it's easy to hear why Brian thought the Beatles had "gotten there first"... considering the way he was working with brass instruments in the Heroes & Villains and Surf's Up sessions ("George Fell into His French Horn," etc.), cellos doing glissandos and staccato figures ("The Old Master Painter," "Mrs. O'Leary's Cow"), and way-out lyrics by Van Dyke Parks.
Thank you. Yeah, the Beatles certainly had the drive and ambition to keep cranking songs out, which the Beach Boys lost because all control was with a guy who was losing his mind.
One of the things seemingly no one has mentioned is that Strawberry Fields utilized a Mellotron. Most folks immediately think of the Moody Blues, but Mike Pinder (R.I.P.) actually introduced it to the Beatles before the Moodies incorporated it into "In Search of the Lost Chord" and beyond. Its sound may have been part of what staggered BW.
I'm really enjoying this series, thanks.
My pleasure, Harry.
Your attention to details goes to the next (or maybe several) level, thank you!
I appreciate that, Tom!
Won-won-won-wonderful job, Matt! The original “Smile” sounds complete to me too.
Definitely! Thanks David.
Brilliantly done, Matt! I’ve been obsessed with the SMiLE sessions for years and got to see Brian perform it live for the first ever time at the Royal Festival Hall in London.
Very cool!
Thank you very much, Matt - excellent work! A truly complex time period in Beach Boys history that you've distilled to become understandable. Listening to your mix of SMiLE right now! MikeE
Hey Mike! Thank you for checking out my mix!
Incredible.....I learn so much from your shows, and relive my youth considerably "enlightened" :)
Thank you for watching!
Excellent video! I had the Smile 5 CD box set when it came out, but I could never get into it and ended up selling it. I LOVE Pet Sounds, but that took me years to totally appreciate. I now consider it one of the best albums ever.
Thank you, Larry! I had to reduce Smile to a single album to really enjoy it and even then there are 2-3 tracks I could do without.
Amazing job Matt. Look forward to the next one!!! I learned something new about Van Dyke Parks today, that he was working with Alec Guinness (Obi Wan Kenobi) and Grace Kelly many moons ago!!!
Thank you, Mike!
Another master class in documentary-excellent work Matt.
Thank you, Jim! This was a tough one to do - more to come!
Great video once again. Really enjoying this series. The story of the Beach Boys is sometimes just as fascinating as their music.
Yes, I'm finding the drama at time overshadowing the actual music! Thanks for watching.
That's why Heroes and Villains was a perfect title for the book written about them. Lots of heroes and lots of villains. But regardless the music lives on.@@popgoesthe60s52
Loved every minute of this. It's a dark story and that chapter certainly did not end well. Who could compete with Billy Shears and the gang, after all? George Martin was the fifth Beatle and really helped them realize their project. Brian didn't have that semi-fatherly figure who could arrange, perform, advise, and ultimately produce. Love your version of Smile with the alternate mixes and that wonderful Surf's Up to close it out. There was a noticeable lack of strong drumming in this era of Brian's output that, to me, acts a a bit of a commercial poison. Vegetables comes to mind. Still, I like it.
This series if just great Matt.Lovin' it
Great video Matt on this chapter of The smile Album👍-When talking about The Beach Boys Smile Album and Brian Wilson's meltdown, I cant help but think of the movie Walk Hard-The Dewey Cox Story, in particular the scene that I remember about the bubbles being blown into the microphone Not sounding right 😅🤣😂
Fascinating viewing - well done! 👍
I love learning new things about BBs history.
Thank you for your efforts Matt.
You are welcome, Diggers5!
Great breakdown on the making or unmaking of SMiLE.
6:57 First time hearing this! Love this vocal melody but I believe this song is "Barnyard." Always enjoy hearing new music from these videos!
Please forgive the misspellings. Well, another great installment by our friend Matt. As a musician myself, I cannot imagine the torture Brian Wilson went through when competing with the beatles. What a curse! This episode also took me back to me as a 13-year-old in the summer of 1967 as a caddy at the Everett Golf and Country Club. Possibly the best summer of my life. Just look at what was on the charts back then. Magical! Thanks again, matt.
You are welcome, Keith!
This is a truly stunning series Matt with so much detail and insight, stuff I never knew. Roll on Part Five 👍
And thanks for all the work you put into this 🙏
My pleasure, Nick!
That brian Wilson painted reminds me of the style of Klimt.
About a year ago, the Beach Boys had played in Syracuse New York, and I was waiting to get some autographs. I asked Bruce Johnson to sign my Smile album and he refused, saying loudly “ I hated that goddamn album!”
He prefers Smiley Smile. The Smile album has too many bad memories.
He actually refused? Wow. I do have some quotes from him that I would like to use in my 10 Reasons Why Smile Didn't Happen video. Thank you, Michael!
I think Smiley Smile is a complete mess. It sounds like a tired muffled pile of garbage, which is weird since it's actually not far removed from the original album. @@hejla4524
@@popgoesthe60s52 I hopoe you will use them at some point. For me, Bruce has always been the quintessential nice-guy yes-man.
As you discuss Brian, you get the sense of someone who is drowning in an expectation of creativity, which is guaranteed to sabotage creativity. One has to wonder how things may have played out had Brian not removed himself from his primary support system.
I think Brian could have achieved what he wanted with Parks and the rest of the Beach boys minus the rest of the hangers on. Too many cooks in the kitchen.
Great video. Can't wait to hear about Friends, Sunflower and 20/20, and Smiley Smile
Hey Matt, patiently waiting for part 5. So far this is excellent. You make such high quality videos & I enjoy all of your content. Long live The Beatles (oops wrong group)
I love The Beach Boys too! Rock on Matt
I am still writing part 5 so I will have some Beatles videos in the mean time so stay tuned!
Awesome, Matt... keep them coming! I luv the image of the lads in front of the Strawberry Field gates too, lol.
just caught up with these today all four parts to date compelling viewing great band thankfully got to see them live very good in depth review matt looking forward to the next 1. great videos.
Thank you, Paul!
Thank you I loved pt 4 as well, I had forgot about the song Heros and Villains, great song. I had always heard Brian was a bit different but the fire house thing was pretty out there.
A colleague of mine at our music school in Hallstahammar, Sweden, a young female cello player, played on Smile 2004. She's in the video. I think her name was Anna, but it's more then 20 years, so. Maby no one else cares, but for me it's a bit fun.
By the time Brian Wilson worried that he'd mystically started a fire with his recording sessions, he'd already suffered his first psychotic break, as his schizo-affective disorder emerged.
Another great installment, can’t wait for the next one! 👍
Excellent and deep look into this period of the Beach Boys, Matt. It seems that the Boys were hesitant to leave the "formula" that gave them their earlier success with Brian as the main writer... but it seems that Brian had too much pressure. It is as since the writing process was on his shoulders, it was a lot as opposed to the Beatles (in spite the Lennon/McCartney push, George and Ringo still had part of the process.
Matt, I really enjoyed watching this video and your expertise and research on 60s bands is always top-notch, and I am looking forward to watching the rest of your Beach Boys videos!👍
Thanks Jeff!
@@popgoesthe60s52 You are welcome, Matt, and I always enjoy watching your videos👍
I own and have read a ton of books on BW and the BBs but your concise hit-list graphic of Brian's enlightened friends was impressive. Also, I had never actually thought much more about the one-off & handshake deal with Mike, post PS and GV... You make a compelling argument that Mike was a bit less of a snake then previously thought, although ML may have been creatively blank about going in any future direction LYRICALLY other than back to the beach, dragstrip, or the ladies. THAT, as far as I know, has never been discussed by anyone.
Your comments about the "Fire" sessions were especially good. It was amazing to see VDP's quote as well. This is well-considered, really solid discussion. It's a tough period for any longstanding BBs fan to have to dissect, and then when you think it's in the rearview, along comes Wenner's comment like a gut punch, and the "Beatles Are Greatest Ever & Forever" crowd does their endless "I Told You so's." This is some of your best work ever. Thanks.
Thank you, Bill. I am proud of this series and I felt that Smile cried out for its own video. I spent about 2 years collecting information, researching and outlining the story, so it was daunting but very satisfying to do. I appreciate the warm comments.
Really great series.
Thank you for a considerate and intelligent perspective of VanDyke. He'd been diminished and maligned in recent bio-pics, and this is refreshing and honest.
Yeah, Park is occasionally razzed - some deserved, some not. I will be continuing some more discussion on Smile that will speak more about the reasons Smile didn't happen and also to review the project.
Splendid job as usual, Matt. a big thumbs up! The 1966-67 story of Smile and its sad demise is one of the most crucial chapters in the history of the development of pop music.
Thank you, I appreciate that.
"It's perfect! Do it again." Brian Wilson was the Stanley Kubrick of the recording studio. Great review!
Long live the memories of Dennis & Carl Wilson. xoxo The Clarences
Wonderful analysis as usual Matt, thats a lot of homework to invest in. So nicely presented. And I'm with you when you say too many cooks in the kitchen without a doubt. What a mess.
Thank you, yes this part of their history is really a mess. It was satisfying to lay it out in a time line to make sense of it.
@@popgoesthe60s52 Yeah, I'm sure. It's almost like a musical investigation to some degree.
i like beach boys wonderful music. thanks.
The Smile show at the Warner theater in DC was great. BTW, the next album “Wild Honey” gave us “Darlin’” which was played in NY a lot.
SMiLE is an incredible album, but needs to be digested over time, years it has taken me to fully embrace it, and am still exploring it. It has to be heard through headphones and preferably in the dark (wink to Brian). A great example of the complexity of the music is 13:32 where Mike’s ”… field” perfectly harmonizes with the sitar (?) and I actually just discovered that perfection via this video (different version than on Spotify?), must have taken countless hours to get that right.
Agreed. I spent a couple years digesting this material and then I created the album so I could listen to it that way in an effort to get as close as I could to some semblance of an album. Now I’m taking a break from it and I think the distance with help me appreciate it even more when I decide to come back to it.
Great video Matt! I been a Smile fan since the mid 80’s I like your knowledge of The Beach Boys! Smile was Brian trying to Keep up with The Beatles! Too bad in 67 Brian couldn’t trim the album to 12 tunes. Plus he revisited Heroes and Villains too much. Take care Matt!
Thanks Matt - I appreciate the comment.
Another great recap and review. Being seen as cool was/is everything in Pop Music. Maybe not everything, but so very important and not to be underestimated. Being seen as a California surf band was not helping in this regard in 1967. Pet Sounds and Good Vibrations was their way out of that stereotype, but they had to keep it going. Monterey- and the way they presented themselves at Monterey was half the battle. If their performance had fallen into the barber shop quartet zone- they were screwed. Good Vibrations had to be front and center, with some of the cooler tracks from Pet Sounds and their earlier records mixed in. If they had trotted out their early surf and car hits it would not have gone down well. The second piece of the puzzle was Smile. Why Brian was pushing for Heroes and Villains and not Surf Up is beyond me. Surf's Up was the perfect song for this moment. It's a great song, references the past and mocks it at the same time. Make sure Good Vibrations is on that album and make the rest album tracks and get that thing out by March at the latest. Because the truth is, the album is unique, but it's not that great. It's quirky and interesting, but far from brilliant and a step down after Pet Sounds. Smile would have ranked with Pink Floyds first album (also done by someone going insane) or Satanic Majesties. A unique sound, but nothing brilliant beyond that. Certainly better than the common pop garbage which is always released in every era. But no one is going to be humming those tunes walking down the street. Your quote of Brian nails it, " I Feel like I am losing my talent ". He was, and it showed. Even worse , he was losing his mind. I listened to bootlegs of these songs for years and they are scary. because it always seemed to me that he had created a musical puzzle that he could not solve. Listening to these tracks is so eerie for me as I feel like I can hear him slowly losing his mind and his grasp on reality. Making the leap from teenage oriented material to adult oriented material and doing it successfully , is a hard hard leap to make. With Pet Sounds and Good Vibrations, The Beach Boys had pulled it off, but then they broke and the couldn't sustain it. Or more accurately, Brian broke and no one else in the band had enough vision to carry them through. It is such a tantalizing moment in their history- they were so close. Wild Honey was interesting, but they would never reach those heights again.
Nice overview. I think the point to remember is that after PS, you could never predict what they'd do next. Brian's domination never fully returned, but look around! The music kept changing, and they changed with it. The individual members stepped up and started contributing solidly. Personally, I love "Sunflower," and only wish Dennis could've lived longer so we could be treated to more "Slip On Through"s and "Forever"s.
28:50 I got into SMiLE a few years before the SMiLE Sessions release of 2012 (which I have on vinyl as well), so I got the best of the last of the big bootleg era (and being all on the interwebs at that point, it was easy to download and compare/contrast). At the time, after Brian's "completion" and before the long-belated official release, it seemed to make perfect sense to have SMiLE be a double album with these three movements (as Brian completed it in the early-2000s). With time and reflection, it's very clear now that unless you were Bob Dylan or Frank Zappa in '66/'67, you weren't gonna be able to pull off a double album...
So, for fun, here's my personal mix of SMiLE's tracklisting:
Side One
Our Prayer
Heroes And Villains
Roll Plymouth Rock
Cabin Essence
Wonderful
Child Is The Father Of The Man
Surf's Up
Side Two (The Elements Suite)
Earth (I'm In Great Shape/I Wanna Be Around/Vega-Tables)
Wind (Holiday/Wind Chimes)
Fire (Mrs O'Leary's Cow)
Water (Cool Water/Water Chant/I Love To Say Dada)
Aether (Good Vibrations/You're Welcome)
The sides come out to about 22 minutes each, which would've made Capitol balk, but they were trying to escape them anyways. Is this particularly accurate apart from running time to what would've appeared in 1967? Probably not. Am I a huge dork for The Elements Suite, to the expense of other pieces of the album? You bet. The tracklisting would almost certainly not be this, for example, Surf's Up would've most likely been album closer with Good Vibrations included only at the behest of Capitol and closing side one. You're Welcome would've remained Heroes And Villains' B-side.
I suppose I make up for it because in my imaginary re-listing of the Beach Boys' discography, I have a SMiLEY SMiLE which is a combination of everything left off of this variation of SMiLE and what was left off Smiley Smile that it didn't share with SMiLE.
Thanks for your track listing. I think a double album would have watered down the finest material so I think that would be a stretch. I do plan to talk about Smile in future videos so stay tuned!
Been waiting for this one, and you did not disappoint. Thanks
Personally, I think "Smile" is head and shoulders more sophisticated and generally more adventerous musically and lyrically than "Pepper."
But had it been released at that time...I think it may have gone over people's heads, who knows...🤷♂️✌
Thank you, Jeff. I do find Smile more sophisticated than Pepper, but as history shows, by 1967 guitar rock trumped symphonic sophistication, so I think Smile would have given way to Pepper based on that trend alone.
You haven't gotten there yet, Matt, bu I've always enjoyed the post-SMiLE Warner Brothers albums. Looking forward to those segments.
I’ll be working on those next week!
Awesome work
Thank you, Wayne. This episode was very satisfying to do.
This story absolutely breaks my heart.
Very good video as usual. When I listened to "Smile" I just couldn't believe how good it was. And yes, it was like 95% finished but Brian felt he needed Parks to finish it. You described all the issues affecting the project but the reason for Parks leaving the project (according to Parks himself) was the confrontation with Mike over the lyrics (ironically, one of his best vocals). Or maybe Brian's collapse was inevitable. If the album came out, things could've been much different for the group although they would still have a couple of problems: no new big hit single and what to play at Monterey
Sounds like Brian let perfect be the enemy of good. A real shame
Magical album!
Thanks for sharing Mike Love's perspective so sensitively. I feel like sometimes it's easy to make a villain in a story of ordinary people. I can understand his actions better now :)
Yes, the 'Brian is a genius with a capital 'G' crowd' is so disparaging of Mike Love that it has become meme-like. Thanks for watching!
Matt your videos get better and better!!
This series has really taken it out of me! Thank you, Thomas.
Great work, Matt. Keep it up!
I've heard that same Capitol Smile promotion for Dec 1966. Same wording as this one for Jan '67 other than selling a million units for Christmas.
Smiles compositions paint such a rich and vivid picture that i do wonder what it would have all been like if it was all properly sequenced and laid out in a concise release for lets say June of July of 67
But the songs that where complete Heroes and villains and in particular the incredible Surfs up show that Brian had taken another step forward even further past the point of Good Vibrations
I dont think anyone else could have made those worlds, Surfs Up in particular is a universe unto itself
Outstanding job Matt. ❤❤❤
This is your best series yet.
Thank you, I really appreciate it.
Smiley Smile was used at a clinic in Fort Worth to help people get off bad acid trips. I think it helps out in stressful situations and brings relaxation.
Great job, Matt. Smile, even in its fragmented state, is incredible. I'm equally looking forward to your post-Smile coverage. As a hardcore BB fan, I know how many underappreciated (by the general public) gems are scattered across albums like Wild Honey, 20/20, Sunflower, Surf's Up, and Holland. The late 60s through the early 70s was a fertile period for the band creatively despite their faltering commercial success and Brian Wilson's greatly reduced role as producer and primary songwriter.
Absolutely!
Another great video Matt!
Absolutely fantastic doc Matt. Very well done. I like "Smile" from the various versions i've listened to, but i don't think it matches the genius of "Pet Sounds" Keep up the great work Matt.
This channel rocks.
Couple comments: (1) In line with what you said, I've always felt that Mike was seeing his entire role in the band diminish by 1966 and I think that accounts for a lot of the tension. Track his lead vocals, etc. over a span beginning with the "All Summer Long" album and watch what's happening by "Pet Sounds". (2) I've always rated the album as 80% complete, with missing vocals for "Look"/"Child Is Father", "Great Shape", "Worms" etc.; missing tracks for the Elements, and much sweetening, as well as sequencing, which was changing quickly and erratically as Brian's state of mind devolved and his impulsivity was unravelling him. Interestingly, a tracking session for "Surf's Up Pt. 2" was done and is lost. This is presumed to be strings for the "Dove-nested towers" sequence. That's why the 2004 version has a string arrangement. I think vocals for "Look" once existed, too. (3) In regard to the tracks with no vocals sounding o.k. as-are, my view is colored by having been a bootleg fanatic since the eighties: we got dribs and drabs of incomplete stuff that sounded great, but when another leak provided a more complete version, it was always stunning and unexpected. Like Danny Hutton said about hearing a Brian track in that era, you were never prepared for where it was going next and that's never more true than with this album.
FANTASTIC comments !
I just listened to your mix/sequencing of SMiLE -
I love it! Damn, there’s SO MUCH substance in those 39 minutes, it’s hard to think of it as unfinished- of course it is, but you sequenced it in a cohesive and masterful way.
Thank You !! 😘
My pleasure. Thank you for listening to my mix!
Fantastic stuff, dude!
Fascinating.
A wonderful continuation of the story, Matt (and Im glad this didnt get into the Sgt Pepper vs Smile nonsence. They are two different albums by two different bands).
I always thought there was more to the simple answer of the "Smile Meltdown", than just the story that Brian got stoned, had a meltdown and absconded with the tapes.
and to me, the bonus of the fact that the album was never finished (at least until the 90s), is that we ended up with the Surf's Up album, which to this day remains one of my favourite albums of all time, specifically side two. 😊
Thank you, wonsworld. I may approach the Pepper vs Pet Sounds/Smile topic if only to put it in perspective and save the discussion from the hands of rabid 'Brian is a Genius' cultists.
The "Fire" segment from Smile pre-dated "Helter Skelter" by more than a year. Still, to this day, one of the most disturbing pieces of music I've ever heard. I'm not surprised Brian was freaked out about it.
I totally agree. It certainly has disturbing qualities to it.
Heroes and Villains was a very unusual single release, the flip side (You're Welcome) and was only :23 seconds long and was a waste of good vinyl with side A being a masterpiece work and side B leaving you wonder where the Smile album was going where there were so many better choices to land there. You're so right to share the band began to fall back to old standards and more beach type beat releases that made Pop radio-play but set them back in a progressive direction.
Do you mean “You’re Welcome?” That was the original flip of the Heroes and Villains single.
That's It! do you remember it being only a few seconds long?
I'll make that correct. TY
An excellent look at these troubles. At what point does a sane man stop and think about this notion of competing with other artists? You make the best music you can and release it when it's ready.
Was he sane? He probably had all sorts of emotional damage from his father growing up. It seems like his father just wanted yo use him
Just when I think I know all there is to know about the groups you highlight, I always learn something new . That's what I like best about your videos: I'm always learning something new. I appreciate your research and insight. Thank you!
Coming from a person with the name "rockconnoisseur" that is great praise! Thank you for watching.
A friend of mine much older went to Capitol and asked for a copy of the cover prior to - cancellation.I was unaware Van Dykes Park did all those recordings. Saw " The Swan" film. ( wonder how VDP was ablevto claim songwriting credit for Number Nine? Its a classical piece) I became interested in " Smile" around the same time it was released on bootleg- May 1984. I was hooked. A couple things about the Lp- "Barnyard" and " I Love to Say DaDa" are listed and NOT included. " Holidays" is NOT the BBs - it's GERSHWIN!( something from Porgy and Bess I think?). Our Prayer, Wonderful, Heroes, Cabin Essence and Surfs Up are all studio LP LATER recordings. George Fell into His French Horn is NOT A Smile song. My source you ask? Bbs fanzine at the time expert enlightened us. I wrote the info down at the time. Anyone remember " Sunkist" soda commercial using Good Vibrations music in the US??? Thanks Matt. Dominic Priorie wrote the best book on Smile😊
Excellent presentation - what comes across in your portrait is that of a supremely talented young man who had absolutely no control over his appetites. Add to the mix the enshrinement of every '60s nut job looking to make a name for himself by their association with him, and it comes as no surprise that a gentle, sensitive soul like Brian Wilson (so accustomed to praise as to have become incapable of any sense of discernment whatsoever) might be a complete fish out of water beyond anything outside of the world in which he excelled. And while I'm well aware of the man's excesses (and possible unresolved jealousies regarding his gifted son), it makes one wonder about the weaknesses his dad Murry may well have already foreseen in his talented sons. As a dad myself, I shudder at what Murry would have been going through to protect his kids, notwithstanding the media's largely successful campaign to utterly villainize him. It's enough to make any man who truly loves his kids weep at his complete inability to alter the course of events for those he loved most. Thanks, Matt - as usual. great job!
Thank you, Henry!
Very intersting insights. I'm sure Murry suffered & wanted better for his sons...
SMiLE is a work of art!!