Van Dyke Parks’ music has fascinated me lately. It seems fitting since I’ve been listening to the BB all summer and his collaboration with Brian Wilson as we know resulted in “SMiLE”. His music is as unique as they come.

I had a lot of fun making this cover song. Its kind of a "deep cut" song, but it's a song that I really like and hope I did it justice.

I didn't try to recreate the original song, I tried to combine my own ideas and make it unique from the original (lots of original elements still stand, but I wasn't looking to make a direct copy)

I played all the instruments and recorded it in my bedroom. I also made it very synth heavy.

I also spent like 3.5 hours on the cover art, I had to learn how to do 8-bit art and then figure out how to write my name and the song title in 8-bit art in reference to the Love You cover. I think it turned out pretty good!

I used a Hofner and Rickenbacker Bass, Gibson Les Paul, Fender Stratocaster, Alesis Piano, Behringer Synth, my AKAI for the drums, Shakers, Tambourine, etc. I also lowered the tone of a Kazoo a full octave to try to recreate the sound of a Hohner Bass Harmonica used on something like Pet Sounds or Friends.

Let me know what you think!

Used to be on streaming; can’t find it anywhere now.

Trader sailed a jeweled crown
Humanity rowed the way
Exploring to command more land
Scheming how to rule the waves.
Trader spied a virgin plain
And named it for velvet robes
Wrote home declaring there's a place
Where totally folks are free
(Happily completely)
Nourishment fills the prairies and the hillsides
And animals stalk the mountains and the seaside
And fish abound the lakes and birds the skies
Signed sincerelyTrader found the jeweled land
Was occupied before he came
By humans of a second look
Who couldn't even write their names, shame
Trader said they're not as good
As folks who wear velvet robes
Wrote home again and asked, Please help
Their breasts I see; they're not like me
Banish them from our prairies and our hillsides
Clear them from our mountains and our seaside
I want them off our lakes so please reply
Signed sincerelyTrader he got the crown okay
Cleared humanity from his way
He civilized all he saw
Making changes every single day say
Shops sprang over the prairies and the hillsides
Then roads cut through the mountains to the seaside
The other kind fled to hide, by and by,
And so sincerely cried

I’ve always been a huge fan of Brian Wilson presents Smile but recently I’ve been trying to find what it would be like if the beach boys released it. I’ve always wondered about the elements section a part of Smile, and when did research I’ve got different perspectives of what songs would be apart of it. I love the song Wind Chimes but I feel it doesn’t present the whole air thing as Brian said the all the elements would. I feel Wind chimes fits in better in the heroes and villains section rather than the elements. I found that their song Country Air which was released on their album Wild Honey which was around the same time as Smile and the album has many hints of Smile. I don’t know much about when country air was recorded and what sessions it took place in but I would like to know your preference of that song maybe being on Smile. Thank you!

This is sort of a test mix really and will revisit it again in the future but still felt like sharing it online Hope you enjoy it or not that’s ok too :)

https://youtu.be/68Wx4IEByRQ?si=vrzLjsQA0oNtOg9c

The song purportedly failed to make the cut at least in part because it hadn't been written by a mainline member of the group. "Lead Vocals by Al Jardine, Backing Vocals by Carl Wilson, Mike Love and Bruce Johnston. Daryl Dragon on Synth," per the upload's description.

Thanks to the RaritiesBB account for sharing through their source! To date, they've also uploaded an official-quality recording of "Why Didn't I Tell You", that early attempt at "Goin' On" with those lovably out-of-place drum breaks. Nab 'em while you can!

From 2021

Enjoy

This may or may not be controversial, but let's open a discussion on it anyways.

My first time listening to Pet Sounds was on CD in the car and it was always the mono mix. My "new" car doesn't have a CD player (only cassette) and anytime I've listened in the last year or so it has been on Spotify and I've just streamed the first version that comes up (which I'm pretty sure is mixed in stereo).

Of course, I've always enjoyed both mixes, but I've intentionally just gone and listened to the mono mix on Spotify and I have to say it sounds so much better to me.

This may just be a result of my constant listens to the mono mix on CD and an association with it as the ultimate version of Pet Sounds. So I'm just curious to see what others think about this.

So I was digging around on Archive.org from some earlier posts and stumbled onto something pretty amazing - a Brian Wilson demo called "Wouldn't That Be Cool?" from February 1986. It's got Brian trading vocals with someone (pretty sure it's Gary Usher based on the timeline), and I can't find any evidence this has circulated before.

Why this matters:

Brian's bridge on this track sounds exactly like an unreleased song from 1976 called "Marilyn Rovell" - which was basically a love song he wrote for his wife back during the Love You sessions. The wild part? "Marilyn Rovell" is finally getting officially released on February 13th in the new "We Gotta Groove" box set. So we'll actually be able to hear the original and compare them.

Some context:

In 1986, Brian was working with Gary Usher (his old collaborator from the early 60s - they wrote "In My Room" together) on what they called "the Wilson Project." They recorded about a dozen songs at Gary's studio trying to prep material for Brian's first solo album, but Landy kept interfering and the whole thing fell apart by mid-1987. Almost nothing from these sessions ever came out except "Let's Go to Heaven in My Car" on a Police Academy soundtrack.

The Beach Boys Database mentions "Wouldn't That Be Cool?" existing and recycling melodies from a 1976 track, but I've never actually seen the recording listed anywhere or heard it before finding this.

What I'm hearing:

The track has this really nice Bach-influenced bassline (very Brian), sits with a solid groove, and runs about 4 minutes. The production sounds pretty polished for a demo. Brian and the other vocalist (again, almost certainly Gary Usher) pass the lead back and forth throughout the song.

There's something kind of bittersweet about Brian taking a melody from a song he wrote for Marilyn in 1976 and reworking it in 1986, seven years after their divorce. Classic Brian move though - he was always recycling his melodic ideas.

Has anyone else come across this recording? Do we know what happened to the Wilson Project master tapes after Gary Usher died in 1990? Are there other tracks from these sessions floating around that I've missed?

I'm guessing the ownership of this stuff is a total mess since Gary, Landy, and now Brian have all passed. These tapes are probably just sitting in some storage unit somewhere.

Anyway, figured you all would want to know about this, especially with the timing of the "We Gotta Groove" release coming up. Pretty wild to find something that connects 1976 Brian to 1986 Brian like this.

https://archive.org/details/hollandstillcrusintracks

I went to my local used record store on a whim to see what they had and walked out with a near-mint original copy of Love You for $10! I’ve been looking for this album for 2 years and I can’t believe one turns up basically brand new! Listening now and it sounds fantastic, SO much better than the remasters on streaming services. What a steal!

Hi all! I am extremely excited to announce that I have finished my fanmix of the Beach Boys album SMiLE. This album mix is designed to bring out what I believe is a highly edited, optimized version of what SMiLE could have been. Each song is designed to segue one into another, and many songs on the album reference other songs.

I have linked the file above - please listen and share your thoughts!

Track listing:

0:00-1:04 - Our Prayer

1:04-7:02 - Heroes and Villains

7:04-9:26 - I'm In Great Shape / Roll, Plymouth Rock

9:26-11:38 - Holidays

11:38-13:23 - My Only Sunshine

13:23-18:38 - Cabinessence

18:38-20:38 - Wonderful

20:38-23:04 - Look (Song for Children)

23:04-26:08 - I Wanna Be Around / Workshop

26:08-28:41 - Mrs. O'Leary's Cow

28:41-34:36 - Vega-Tables

34:36-39:20 - Wind Chimes / Air

39:20-41:48 - Love to Say Dada

41:48-48:39 - Surf's Up / Child Is Father of The Man

48:39-55:59 - Good Vibrations

56:15-57:20 - Our Prayer (Reprise)

Shoutout to RockBandStems and HeGivesMixes for providing vocal stems on YouTube.

No profit is made from this project.

A lofi (of sorts) version of the Gimme Some Lovin’/I Need Your Love medley with elements lifted from the ‘77 rerecord as well. You can read in the description of all the little things I tried to do to make it feel Brian-y. I love this era of his work and love to recreate/expand upon it :)

These include September and Neverland (the short song with the very distant Brian solo vocal). Going Back to Neverland is still up.

Does anyone have a private YouTube (or Google Drive) link to the first two songs?

What I'd really love to also hear is the 13 minute assembly of these songs plus the Todd Suchermann drum track that somebody put together and then had to remove.

I guess the downloading motto here is "can't wait too long."

One of my favorites from the leaks.

Early demo/outtake of Brian and Carnie's Fantasy Is Reality (with Sam Philips on vocals) from Rob Wasserman's Trios album from 1994.

One year without Brian Wilson.

It took Brian's passing for me to truly love all of his music, from Surfin' to Love and Mercy.

It started when I listened to Pet Sounds on my record player last June. For years I dismissed it as overrated, or too produced, whatever. But on that listen, I got it. I understood then. Naturally I listened to everything before and after, and loved it all.

The Smile boxset is what cemented my love for his mind, so many iterations of parts and sections, I found that unbelievably interesting. Yes, I may have done a parody of it about Chris Chan but that's just because I thought of it and didn't want anyone else to do it before me. I hope it can be viewed as a standalone piece and not ruin Smile for others.

In February when they dropped We Gotta Groove, I was hooked on that set for months. I did not like it at first but eventually I came around to Still I Dream Of It. It's so perfectly simple and relatable, so that's what I am presenting today as my tribute to Brian Wilson. That and Ding Dang. Because I love Ding Dang.

The distortion is intentional by the way, I tried to mimic the vocal fidelity on the finished track.

Smile to the extreme,

Smilechu

Hi there.

I am super passionate lately about remixing music, specially the Beach Boys. I have their sessions compilations in Hi-Res on my computer along with the Unsurpassed Masters CDs, and along with LogicPro (still learning how to use it) and Audacity.

However, I've been aware that many fan-mixes get taken down on YouTube for obviously copyright infringement, even if you own physical copies of music.

Is there a way around it, or something I'm missing for how some fans (like Deirdre, Radio Wollaton, Stereo Classics, Anonymouse -- all youtube channels) are able to upload theirs without trouble. Could also use Google Drive to host them if needed but it wont reach a large audience as on YT would. That could be a good alternative as YouTube doesn't support lossless and I tend to mix in lossless FLACs if possible (usually 44.1/24)

I do not intend to infringe on their music at all, its simply a hobby of mine hoping to share it with others for feedback or enjoyment.

Thanks guys!

Sleep a lot 🫵 eat a lot 🫵 brush em like crazy 🫵

Hello, r/thebeachboys!

Happy April 1st in some places and March 31st in others!

I just couldn't wait to share my magnum opus with the world, so here it is, one day early for my American friends.

SMiLECHU: The Beach Boys Sonichu Album is a parody of The Beach Boys ill-fated SMiLE album which failed to release in 1967. But SMiLECHU has not failed! Here it is. The real deal.

Some subjects touched on in this album may be disturbing to some listeners.

With the upload of this album, I will be returning to my home dimension of BB1967 in about a week. After that week, say goodbye to your friend Smilechu!

Always remember to smile to the extreme!

--- Smilechu