This is my first post and I thought what better to start with than one of the most fan mixed/bootlegged albums never made. My aim with this was to structure an album that could have feasibly been released by Capitol Records on a two-sided LP in 1967. While in the 2004 and 2011 releases Smile was represented in a three-suite format, this would not have been possible due to the time constraints of the record format. In terms of my sequencing, I have aimed to give both sides a uniform theme. Side One collects the 'Americana' songs and Side Two contains the more introspective ones.
The album starts with a song that was one of the main sticking points for Brian Wilson: Heroes and Villains. One of the main problems with this song was whether it would be a sprawling, esoteric suite or the follow-up single to the massively commercial Good Vibrations. I have chosen to create two different versions of the song, one as a potential single release (included in the description), and a longer version that book-ends side 1. Part 1 begins with Our Prayer, followed by the opening verses, the wordless verse and the cantina section. We then have the 'children were raised/three score and five' section, before the 'stand or fall' verse. The song ends with a fade-out. The next song is Do You Like Worms which is heavily based on the Soniclovenoize mix restoring a verse and chorus structure to the song, this is followed by an edit of Vega-Tables that removes the last verse to maintain the flow of the song, we then have Cabin Essence, followed by the second part of Heroes and Villains which ends Side One. This is built around the Gee, Barnyard and I'm In Great Shape elements. We then have the 'sunny down snuff' section before ending with the 'prelude to fade' section.
Side Two begins with the single version of Good Vibrations. While many versions of SMiLE opt for the version containing the chanting section, I believe this slows down the momentum of the song and I have therefore opted to leave it out. The next track of the album is my version of the Elements. I have opted to see this as a single song rather than a multi-song suite like in the versions of the album from 2004 and 2011. I have used the firetruck intro of Heroes and Villains to represent air, Mrs O'Leary's cow to represent fire, I wanna be around/workshop as earth and cool, cool water as water. These elements lead us nicely to my edit of Wind Chimes which starts with the whispering wind chimes section that was a part of holidays in the 2011 release. This is followed by Wonderful and then my edit of Child is the Father of the Man. The album ends with Surfs Up which, in my opinion, perfectly closes the album.
I have been working on this for some time as a bit of fun, and I hope everyone watching gets some enjoyment from it. The track listing is as follows:
Side One:
Heroes And Villains Part 1
Do You Like Worms?
Vega-Tables
My Only Sunshine
Cabin Essence
Heroes And Villains Part 2
Side Two:
Good Vibrations
The Elements
Wind Chimes
Wonderful
Child Is The Father Of The Man
Surf's Up
Sources Used:
Smiley Smile (1967)
20/20 (1969)
Good Vibrations: Thirty Years Of The Beach boys (1993)
Brian Wilson Presents: SMiLE (2004)
The Smile Sessions (2011)
Made In California (2013)
1967- Sunshine Tomorrow (2017)
Wake The World: The Friends Sessions (2018)
Soniclovenoize SMiLE (2018)
