centaurus3200
10-23-2004, 06:00 PM
hi all,
i actually still need to buy the cd, but my friend brought it over for a preview. it was lots of fun to compare brian and van dyke's take on the project in 2004 compared to my bootleg of the smile recordings circa 1966.
we both had no idea what to expect. brian has never been one to discuss hardships of his past, let alone immerse himself purposely in it for a year. it does seem he has put his demons to rest and revisited smile with the goal of vindicating the project as visionary and not the rambling of a depressed drug addict. no, i am not saying this about him, just paraphrasing some old criticism of his smile sessions.
the most exciting part was comparing certain "experimental" pieces on the bootleg such as fire, wind, etc. to the finished piece, mrs. oleary's cow and blue hawaii. for 38 years people have either thought these songs were sounds of a lost soul or really advanced. don't know if what we hear today would have been brian's intention all that while ago, but i bet it's not far off. point being many were hypothesizing about NOTHING. these "odd sounds" were no more than "modular" recordings intended for the finished oleary's cow and blue hawaii. so, of course they sounded wierd by themselves and not together.
on the down side, brain's voice is obviously not what it once was. rolling stone magazine called the recording a classic (5 stars), but questioned whether brian should have left the vocal duties to darian and crew and just produced it instead. i disagree. sure, there are lots of people who can evoke a young brian better than himself, but this was something he HAD to do to lay the pain of smile to rest. besides, he still sings beautifully and can hit the notes, allbeit with a little more grain.
one can only imagine how the finished smile orchestration would have sounded with the original beachboys, but this SMiLE is still a gift to us all.
which brings me to the most important aspect. smile was always intended to be a fun pop record recorded in a disjunct modular sort of way to create a roller coaster of sound. meaning there are so many different musical verses within each piece that it's like a aural coaster ride! beyond anything else, smile was supposed to make you smile! whereas the bootleg of piecemeal images almost created a tortured and saddened experience, brian wilson presents SMiLE is pure joy!
what do you all think?
see ya,
Robby
i actually still need to buy the cd, but my friend brought it over for a preview. it was lots of fun to compare brian and van dyke's take on the project in 2004 compared to my bootleg of the smile recordings circa 1966.
we both had no idea what to expect. brian has never been one to discuss hardships of his past, let alone immerse himself purposely in it for a year. it does seem he has put his demons to rest and revisited smile with the goal of vindicating the project as visionary and not the rambling of a depressed drug addict. no, i am not saying this about him, just paraphrasing some old criticism of his smile sessions.
the most exciting part was comparing certain "experimental" pieces on the bootleg such as fire, wind, etc. to the finished piece, mrs. oleary's cow and blue hawaii. for 38 years people have either thought these songs were sounds of a lost soul or really advanced. don't know if what we hear today would have been brian's intention all that while ago, but i bet it's not far off. point being many were hypothesizing about NOTHING. these "odd sounds" were no more than "modular" recordings intended for the finished oleary's cow and blue hawaii. so, of course they sounded wierd by themselves and not together.
on the down side, brain's voice is obviously not what it once was. rolling stone magazine called the recording a classic (5 stars), but questioned whether brian should have left the vocal duties to darian and crew and just produced it instead. i disagree. sure, there are lots of people who can evoke a young brian better than himself, but this was something he HAD to do to lay the pain of smile to rest. besides, he still sings beautifully and can hit the notes, allbeit with a little more grain.
one can only imagine how the finished smile orchestration would have sounded with the original beachboys, but this SMiLE is still a gift to us all.
which brings me to the most important aspect. smile was always intended to be a fun pop record recorded in a disjunct modular sort of way to create a roller coaster of sound. meaning there are so many different musical verses within each piece that it's like a aural coaster ride! beyond anything else, smile was supposed to make you smile! whereas the bootleg of piecemeal images almost created a tortured and saddened experience, brian wilson presents SMiLE is pure joy!
what do you all think?
see ya,
Robby