Brian Wilson's Smile
Gary from Science Fiction Twin (great Elvis Costello song!) gives us the scoop on a leaked track from the looooooong anticipated SMiLE.
Brianistas are calling it "Heroes & Villains 2004," and as always, the Wondermints lend a hand.
Brian Wilson - "Heroes & Villains 2004"
Brian's taking Smile on the road this fall. I saw Pet Sounds live at Jones Beach a few summers ago and it was almost a religious experience, despite the fact that Brian barely moved any body parts during the show. He looked like a deer in the headlights. Didn't even stand up. Cut down on the meds, doc!
Posted at 3:07 PM
Tags: Brian Wilson | The Beach Boys
I don't know what it will sound like on Smile (I am a BB fan but admittedly know little about the whole Smile thing), but in the past, they've played it live by doing "Our Prayer" immediately beforehand, which is breathtaking.
This recording sounds excellent, and I love the middle interlude. The Wondermints sound even more Beach Boys than usual. (Their album "Mind If We Make Love To You" is nice glimmering power-pop.) I wasn't going to buy this release, but now I just might.
I won't go see Brian in concert again, though. Saw him at Jones Beach also (although it was on his tour with Paul Simon), and that was nice, but the next time I saw him - at BB King's - I paid way too much to watch him stare at a teleprompter. It's great that he's back touring and recording, and we have Melinda, his wife, to thank for that, but watching him dance around lucidity makes for an awkward evening.
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There's a transcript of an interview with Brian and his wife from Larry King Live the other night.
http://www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0408/20/lkl.00.html
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KING: We're back with Brian Wilson and Melinda Wilson, the saga of the Beach Boys and their new CD is "Getting in Over My Head." Featured on it, Elton John and Paul McCartney. We'll talk about that later on right now. Right now we're tracing the history. Did you surf? Were you a surfer?
B. WILSON: I couldn't surf. I never learned. No. Dennis surfed. I couldn't surf. I never learned how.
M. WILSON: He doesn't even like the ocean.
B. WILSON: I don't like the ocean.
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It's like talking to Rain Man!
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I'm pumped for this album. Although I must admit his voice sounds a little weathered at times but he is 61 so it's expected. The music is tight with overproduced schmaltz and that's a compliment. It's even more apparent that The Polyphonic Spree are hacks but i guess we all knew that now, didn't we.
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I can't wait for the album to come out .. I've had a bootleg of Smile (and Smiley Smile) for the longest time now, but this is going to be the real thing.
I'm also planning on seeing his stop in DC, which should be a great time. Hopefully he's "with it" enough ...
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As a Beach Boys purist who's been obsessed with SMiLE for years -- have all the bootlegs, have read all the books, etc. -- I've been dreading this release since I first heard that it would be an all-new recording with none of the Beach Boys vocals. But I have to admit that, at least on this track, Brian has managed, to an amazing degree, to duplicate the sound of the original tracks, and without any newfangled, cheesy "enhancements". This "H&V" sounds damned close to what it would have sounded like in 1967. Now if only Carl were around to sing on this version of SMiLE.
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Brian Wilson is a sound genius. With the exception of Van Dyke Parks, no one believed in Smile the way he did. That hurt Brian more than anything. In the new version, the genius is still heard but the mix and of course the harmonies aren't the same. Mike Love's nasal lead isn't there for Blue Hawaii or Barnyard. Carl's angelic lead isn't available for Surf's Up or Great Shape. I've heard some of the original tracks for Smile, and I have to agree they sound better than the new ones. In the same vein, what would Porgy and Bess sound like if Miles Davis didn't record it until the 1980's? What would Sgt. Peppers sound like if McCartney & Starr recorded it today with John Mayer and Dave Matthews. It wouldn't be the same.The ultimate torture is knowing how great Smile would have been in 1967 and knowing it can never reach that potential. It's not because of the quality of the music is not there. It's because the greatest vocal rock band in history no longer exists. Smile is great now, but imagine if the Beach Boys had given Brian Wilson the time he needed. I have come to the conclusion that the California sound as we know it was created from this album. Who knows what else this album would have created.
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