The Beach Boys - SMiLE (authentic Mix)
** The concept of this SMiLE sequence is to present what SMiLE would have actually sounded like in 1967
if Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys had finished it. **
SIDE A SIDE B:
1. Our Prayer 8. Good Vibrations
2. Heroes and Villains (part 1) 9. Vege-Tables
3. Heroes and Villains (part 2) 10. Wind Chimes
4. Do You Like Worms? 11. The Elements
5. Wonderful 12. Surf's Up
6. Look
7. Cabinessence
CD --> EAC (log & cue included) --> V0 VBR mp3s (Lame 3.98.2)
Yes, there are plenty of SMiLE mixes out there already; Mok and Purple Chick's mixes seem to get more
attention now-a-days. And of course there's Brian Wilson Presents SMiLE. So why bother with ANOTHER
SMiLE mix? The SMiLE (Authentic Mix) attempts to correct the inherent flaws in the aforementioned mixes
as well as the numerous ones that have been constructed over the years: to present what SMiLE more-or-less
would have actually sounded like in 1967. In effect, this mix is more concise and "bare bones" but is
more unified and cohesive as a whole.
I know what you're thinking: "Didn't Brian give us what SMiLE was supposed to be?" Well, not exactly.
Brian Wilson Presents SMiLE was the studio embodiment of the SMiLE Tour in 2004. It's sequence was
assembled by Darian Sahanaja of The Wondermints for the purpose of presenting a live-performance of
the SMiLE material--NOT to finish the unfinished album. Thus, Brian Wilson Presents SMiLE is NOT what
SMiLE would have been in 1967; any SMiLE mixes overly imitating BWPS's sequence would be inherently
flawed, especially the aforementioned Purple Chick version (actually USING Sahanaja's orchestral link
tracks with the original Beach Boys recordings is heresy!).
The following guidelines were followed in the construction of the SMiLE (Authentic Mix)...
1) An attempt to create a FINISHED album, sometimes editing pieces together to create a more
complete-sounding song. Thus some songs that were honestly more fragments than songs were excluded.
The edits that were used were heavily influenced by Ryan's SMiLE Mix, available as mp3s online nearly
ten years ago.
2) Rather than the "Three Suite" concept found on Brian Wilson's SMiLE, The SMiLE Authentic Mix is
presented in the TYPICAL ALBUM FORMAT: 12-songs split over two 19-minute sides of an LP. I believe that
this is how SMiLE probably would have been released as in 1967 as the follow-up to Pet Sounds. Thus
certain songs were excluded to allow this SMiLE to be simply 12 pop songs on an album.
Note that all "link tracks" were excluded. One of the ideals of this mix is that less is more.
3) I attempted to present a SMiLE with the HIGHEST POSSIBLE SOUNDQUALITY. I included nothing from the
Vigotone boots because, honestly, the sound is inferior. Thus, certain SMiLE staples like "Child is
Father of the Man" and "Barnyard" are excluded to fit this goal. Sorry, deal with it. Also, only lossless
audio sources were used; thus "I'm In Great Shape" was excluded, as there seems to be only an mp3-source
available. Also note that there was no attempt to create a unified stereophonic or monophonic album;
whatever the format of the recording was, it was used (although I tried to include stereo recordings if
possible, but often the mono versions were of the best soundquality).
My tracklisting is as follows:
SIDE A [19:13]
1. Our Prayer [mono]
Taken from the Good Vibrations boxset.
2. Heroes and Villains (part 1) [mono]
Taken from the Sea of Tunes vol 16 bootleg. This track is meant to be
the side A of the illusive two-part 7". I feel that the Cantina Version of H&V was what was meant to be
included on SMiLE, as the Bicycle Rider Theme began to appear in the song after work ceased on everything
else, a last-ditch attempt to include the musical theme.
3. Heroes and Villains (part 2) [mono]
Constructed from edits of "Heroes and Villains Sections" found on the Good Vibrations boxset. This track
is meant to be the B-side of the Heroes and Villains single. Evidence shows that Mark Linett's “Sections”
were mimicking mixes Brian created in 1966 for this exact purpose. Hard edit into:
4. Do You Like Worms? [mono]
Constructed to create a finished song with the "Bicycle Rider" chorus edited in (it belongs here, not in
H&V!), taken from the Good Vibrations boxset.
5. Wonderful [mono]
Taken from the Good Vibrations boxset. One of the few sequencing agreements from Brian Wilson Presents
SMiLE, Wonderful is segued straight into...
6. Look [stereo]
Side A's token instrumental, taken from Sea of Tunes vol 17 bootleg.
7. Cabbinessence [stereo]
Dynamically, the only possible choice for the Side A closer; taken from the Good Vibrations boxset.
SIDE B [19:49]
8. Good Vibrations [mono]
It would have been unlikely Good Vibrations would have closed the album. Instead, it would have been
more likely that the precursor hit single began Side B, just as “Sloop John B” began Side B of Pet Sounds
(both songs ushered a new era of recording for Brian, although neither were officially part of their
albums' recording sessions). Single version, taken from the Good Vibrations boxset.
9. Vege-Tables [mono]
Trying to improve on Mark Linett’s mix, this was constructed from bits and pieces from Smiley Smile,
Good Vibrations boxset and the Sea of Tunes vol 17 bootleg.
10. Wind Chimes [mono]
One of the very few songs that were completed in 1967, taken from the Good Vibrations boxset.
11. The Elements [stereo]
Reconstructing Brian's original concept, this is a six-minute suite of instrumental Elemental sections,
containing: "Fire Intro" from Good Vibrations boxset; "Mrs O'Leary's Cow" from Sea of Tunes vol 17;
"Workshop Song" from Sea of Tunes v16; "I Love To Say Dada" from Good Vibrations box set.
12. Surf's Up [stereo]
Surf's Up is the climax of SMiLE and quite possibly the greatest pop song ever written; why would it be
sequenced anywhere other than as the album-closer? Much like Anne Wallace's unique mix, this was
constructed with the Brian Wilson piano/vocal demo superimposed on top of the instrumental orchestration
to create a version with Brian's lead vocal (both found on the Good Vibrations boxset). The second movement
is simply the piano/vocal version with a hard edit into the outro from the Surf's Up album version.
* created by soniclovenoize using SAW+, SONAR and Goldwave.
Fall 2003 - version 1
May 2005 - version 2
June 2010 - version 3 *FINAL*
EOF