I'm not in the picture, but could have been.
Brian's Grandpa, Buddy, worked in the oil fields visible to the left, and lived in a tent.
I didn't listen to The Beach Boys. I thought they were corny, but I remember hearing the AM radio DJ announce he was playing a new song by them called "Surf's Up" and being really impressed.
Even though it was slow, and didn't have drums, it caught my attention.
Years later I picked up a used copy of the album, which I liked quite a bit.
I moved to NYC in 1988. I lived for a time on East 7th, across the street from McSorely's, and around the corner from St Mark's Place where I bought all my first cd's.
I was in SMASH sometime in 1990, thumbing through the used cd's when I picked up a Japanese import of "Smiley Smile".
(Sal might have been working, but I didn't know him yet)
I remembered there was something about an unreleased album called "SMiLE", but couldn't recall details, when some guy said,
"Pssst. Don't buy that one, get the reissue."
"Why?" I asked.
"It's a twofer with "Wild Honey", he replied, "and there are bonus tracks".
Annoyed, I followed his advice anyway.
I bought it for "Good Vibrations", essentially.
"Smiley Smile" turned out to be an odd little album. "She's Goin' Bald". Really?
I read David Leaf's liner notes with great interest as they were mostly about "SMiLE", which is a fascinating tale. They did not say that "SMiLE" existed in any form. The implication being that it was indeed lost.
He wrote:
"This version of "Heroes And Villains" isn't the legendary "lost" version. It's also not the long hoped for seven minute version. And it's not the reported-upon but almost never heard 11-12 minute rendition. Those couldn't be found in the Beach Boys archives. It may be part of the track that Chuck Britz remembers editing into "Heroes And Villains" Parts 1 and 2" for the original (unreleased) Capitol 45. Then again maybe it isn't."
(As it turned out it was)
"Can't Wait too Long" really sent me over the edge and down a rabbit hole of obsession.
I discovered that a few songs, "Our Prayer", "Cabinessence", and "Surf's Up" had been sprinkled across their catalog. I bought all the albums released immediately afterward, looking for clues.
I found a lot of great music in the process.
By now it seems like "SMiLE" has been out forever.
Brian's Summer Retreat
Brian's Summer Retreat, too
I had more to say than usual, but I'm out of time. I'll have to save it for the book.
Enjoy!
-BBJ
5 comments:
Thank you for sharing, "Summer Retreat"...appreciated.
Thanks BBJ.
That little triple-play run of Feel Flows/'Til I Die/Surf's Up could be my three favorite BB songs.
Randy
Many thanks. Great mix to play alongside the standard label selection of hit singles & I'm rediscovering songs not heard in eons. Perfect for the summer heatwave us Euros are enjoying for a change & as usual your tasty cover art doubles up nicely as an eye test chart for astigmatism, achromatopsia, etc. Cheers!
BBJ -- thank you so much!
Have a great HOT weekend.
A gift! Thanks. Over the decades, I realized that with the Beach Boys, the deeper you dug, the more there was to dig.
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