“Fixing Brian’s Smile” – Thoughts On “Smile”

Posted on 04 November 2011

FIXING BRIAN’S SMILE

by Mike Baron

 

Capitol announces “The long awaited release of the Brian Wilson and Beach Boys masterpiece, Smile Sessions. With the full participation of original Beach Boys Al Jardine, Mike Love, and Brian Wilson, Capitol/EMI has, for the first time, collected and compiled the band’s legendary 1966-’67 sessions for the never-completed SMiLE album. Rolling Stone magazine recently called SMiLE “the most famous unfinished album in rock & roll history.”

The $170.74 boxed set comes with 5 CDs, 2 LPs, and 2 seven inch singles.  It comes with a “three-dimensional shadow box lid featuring the original artwork of Frank Holmes” and a 60 page case-bound book with liner notes from Mike Love and Dean Torrance, to name a few.  But why no Van Dyke Parks?  Van Dyke’s still kickin’ and he did co-write the songs.  And isn’t it ironic that Brian should be the only surviving Beach Boy?  Dennis used to lay out a gram of pharmaceutical coke on the Steinway to get Brian to write a song.

 

“The box set delves much deeper into the sessions, adding early song drafts, alternate takes, instrumental and vocals-only mixes, and studio chatter. SMiLE Sessions invites the listener into the studio to experience the album’s creation, with producer, singer and bassist Brian Wilson’s vision leading the way as he guides his fellow Beach Boys, singer Mike Love, drummer Dennis Wilson, lead guitarist Carl Wilson, rhythm guitarist Al Jardine, and newest member Bruce Johnston (who’d replaced Brian Wilson in
the touring group during 1965), through the legendary sessions.”

 

Producer, singer and bassist?  How’d that get past the editor?  As everyone knows, the piano is Brian’s main ax and he had a sand box installed in his Malibu pad so he could rub his toes in the sand while he composed.  “We see Brian’s living room, where he installed a huge sandbox so he could write lyrics inspired by life at the beach.  The sandbox is later replaced, inexplicably, by a large tent, which did not last long since Brian forgot to allow for ventilation in it.  A Steinway grand piano in a sandbox!  Childish self-indulgence of the rock star life set forth in bold relief.”

 

( http://www.epinions.com/content_4128022660.  Unfortunately there is no byline.  )

 

Some completists and fans will welcome this late addition to the oeuvre.  There’s only one problem.  The reissue overlooks the 2004 Nonesuch/Warner Bros. brand spanking new recording of Smile by Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks.

 

God only knows Brian’s state of mind when he made the original recordings in 1966/67.  Smile was to be the follow-up to Pet Sounds, which Brian conceived as his reply to Sgt. Pepper.  He saw the Beach Boys in competition with the Beatles.  Pet Sounds was, and remains a timeless break-through album showcasing Brian’s increasingly sophisticated song-writing.  Over the years the Smile sessions have accrued legend like a rolling ball of wet snow–one night in a fit of paranoia Brian was alleged to have set fire to the studio and burned all the masters.  Obviously this was not the case.

 

Bits and pieces have come out over the years, most notably “Heroes and Villains” and “Good Vibrations,” the latter their last number one hit until the wretched “Kokomo” in 1988, by which time Brian had long since left the group.  Now the massive boxed set with bells and whistles.  The question is, why all of a sudden?  No doubt Capitol smells a buck but I don’t see how these early sessions can match Brian’s complete reworking of the project with top of the line production and studio musicians.  Because the Nonesuch Smile is awesome.

David Leaf’s liner notes delve into Brian’s fascination with George Gershwin which came to fruition in 2010’s Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin, (a Walt Disney production!)  More than Gershwin, Brian’s work reflects the influences of Aaron Copland and Ferde Grofe, whose Grand Canyon Suite is the inspiration for Brian’s 1988 masterpiece “Rio Grande.”  There is a broad strand of Americana running through his work which is all over Brian Wilson, Smile (2004) and Reimagines Gershwin.

 

The recreated Smile is devoid of the ambient noise and noodling that plagued later Beach Boys recordings.  In other words, “Cabin Essence” turns out to be a real song.  Smile consists of three movements, the first anchored at the front by “Heroes and Villains,” the second anchored at the back by “Surf’s Up,” and the third anchored at the back by “Good Vibrations.”

 

“Our Prayer” offers a little slice of doo-wop heaven before the thrilling bombast of “Heroes and Villains” which sounds sharper than the original and differs in that Brian introduces a dreamy dance hall passage that ends with Brian singing a train whistle followed by the spoken interlude, “You’re under arrest.”  In addition to constant shifts in rhythm, pitch and instrumentation the songs run together a la Sloan ratcheting the dynamic even more if possible.  The handsome booklet prints all the lyrics.

 

“Roll Plymouth Rock” combines doo-wop, delicate minor-key piano, surf drums and Hawaiian instrumentation reprising some of Heroes’ themes.  Elegant cello introduces “Old Master Painter/You Are My Sunshine,” a reminder that while Brian’s feet may rest on sand, the sand rests in the heartland.  There’s that vocal train whistle again followed by cello leading into “Sunshine.”   Brian sounds strong here, voice unfrayed.  “Cabin Essence” Alternates banjo-based folk with a swirling arpeggio of voices and drums.  Banjo appears time after time in Brian’s later work, particularly those having to do with the landscape.  There is something very Mark Twain-ish about his music, especially “Rio Grande.”

 

The second movement begins with “Wonderful,” a bittersweet coming-of-age ballad accompanied by a lonely trumpet seguing seamlessly into “Child Is Father of the Man” which slyly introduces a theme from “Good Vibrations” and adumbrates the style and mood of “Surf’s Up.”  Brian adds an orchestral coda that quotes “Surf’s Up” leading into the song.

 

“Surf’s Up” may be the greatest Beach Boys song you’ve never heard.  If this doesn’t send chills up your spine see a doctor.  “A diamond necklace played the pawn/Hand in hand some drummed along/to a handsome mannered baton…”  What does it mean?  I doubt Van Dyke himself could tell us.  The rest of the lyrics are just as mysterious and yet they are poetry and Brian sings them with effortless emotion.  He is a master of that inchoate longing which lies at the heart of all great pop and dominates Pet Sounds.

 

The third movement begins with a two minute medley of “I’m In Great Shape,” “I Wanna Be Around” (which Brian sings with Taylor Mills in his best sleazy lounge style,) and “Workshop,” which consists of a lot of hammering and sawing.  I was prepared to dislike “Vega-Tables.”  Brian’s holistic/vegetarian shtick always seemed so Hollywood egocentric–look at me!  I’m virtuous because I’m a vegan and drive a Prius!  However it’s a real song, the weakest on the album.  “On a Holiday” alternates vibes with a stomping orchestral and slide whistle interlude.  “Wind Chimes” is Brian at his most vocally pure.  “Mrs. O’Leary’s Cow” aims to create the orchestral equivalent of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 with a furious storm of kettle drums and rampaging orchestra.  This must be where the rumors of Brian driving himself mad trying to recreate the sounds of nature and the supposed fire come from.  Brian succeeds in his evocation but really, it’s not much of a song, and he did the nature thing better in “Rio Grande.”

 

“In Blue Hawaii,” which was previewed in “Roll Plymouth Rock,” starts out like the calm before the storm, splashes into surf do-wop and orchestral strings that lead into “Good Vibrations” which sounds remarkably like the original.  Brian adds the exhortation, “I’m pickin’ up” right before the classic chorus.

 

So where does this leave the boxed set?  We’ll have to wait and see although at this point all the worthwhile Beach Boys material has been pretty much picked over.  The Capitol press release fails to mention Brian’s 2004 Smile because the latter is on Warner Brothers, and Capitol does not acknowledge Warner Brothers.  Because Van Dykes co-wrote Smile, this only makes them look petty.  So go the dinosaurs engaged in their silly feuds even as they wander further into the wasteland.

 

Brian achieved his dream of creating a song cycle that reflected nature’s fury.  He did in 1988 with Brian Wilson, the controversial record he produced with the help of his shrink Dr. Eugene Landy.

“Using unorthodox 24-hour therapy, involving control of ‘every aspect of [his] physical, personal, social and sexual environments’, Landy was successful in limiting Wilson’s drug abuse and improving his physical appearance and overall health.  In the process, however, he was accused of brainwashing, drugging and isolating his patient, then benefiting from an improper business relationship with him.  These charges ultimately cost Landy his professional license and reputation.”

(http://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/Story?id=132356&page=2)

 

Landy grabbed co-writing credits for half the songs.  But if Landy forced Brian to record this album, God bless him, for this is one of Brian’s greatest achievements, particularly the final four songs which compare favorably to the second half of Abbey Road.  “Night Time” is as inventive and irresistible as anything by the Beach Boys.  “Let It Shine,” co-written and produced by Jeff Lynne, combines Beach Boys chords with ELO grandiloquence.  “Meet Me In My Dreams Tonight,” co-written and produced by Andy Paley, ranks with “Good Vibrations.”

 

Finally, there is the eleven minute “Rio Grande,” the work which owes something to Grofe’s Grand Canyon Suite and Copland’s Rodeo.  Here are the banjos from Mark Twain’s Mississippi which is as much a part of the narrative as the title river.  The song follows the rough-hewn contours of the West incorporating Indian beat and chants, bluegrass and the fury of nature as when the orchestra builds to a crescendo and breaks into the sound of rain.  The song changes mood in a heartbeat going from cozy campfire to cold and ominous.  As with most of Brian’s work, hope wins out in the end which will echo in your imagination like the end of “A Day In the Life.”

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Check out SMILE on Amazon

2 CD set – here

The Big ‘ole Box Set – here

“Smile” on vinyl – here

“Smile On Itunes – here

Official “Introduction To Smile” video

 

“Starting a SMiLE” – The first of a ten part web series discussing The Beach Boys legendary SMiLE Sessions – Video

3 Responses to ““Fixing Brian’s Smile” – Thoughts On “Smile””

  1. Aaron Kupferberg says:

    Mike,

    You have a good chronicle of why Brian’s 1988 solo album and 2004’s SMiLE was so good and the comparisons of sections on “Cabinessence” and “Rio Grand” make sense. I think the biggest disappointment of the box set is that nothing here is nothing “new” in terms of music. Everything has been released before and even the remastering isn’t that noticeable. In 1993 when the 30 year box set came out it was a big deal to hear “Wonderful” and “Wind Chimes” in full stereo with all the amazing vocal composition. The SMiLE Sessions breaks down the process well, but in the end it’s just like watching another “improved” version of Star Wars on Bluray – cause we all know that it’s “better” than the original theatrical version, or Home video version, or directors cut version, etc.

  2. Mike Baron says:

    Mark the airline pilot pointed out that Brian played bass on the early records which I should have noted. Mark also pointed out how Brian revolutionized the bass by playing fifths.


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