This listing is very much a personal opinion. My main source of information was Look Listen Vibrate Smile by Domenic Priore, though other books, articles and discussions have lead to my comments. Anyone interested in Smile should obtain a copy of LLVS.
As Beach Boy fans will know, Smile was never finished and probably only the Brian Wilson of 1966/7 really knows what the finished product would have consisted of. Brian was writing music in a modular fashion, hence the numerous versions of H&Vs and recurr ing themes (eg Bicycle Rider) so there is more than one way to put the available material together.
It is clear that whilst parts of this album are finished, these possibly include; Prayer, H&V, Wonderful, Cabinessence, Good Vibrations, VegaTables, Wind Chimes, Love to Say Da Da and Well You're Welcome, others are not. Brian has said that some instrume ntal and vocal parts were never done, and it has been pointed out to me, 'Why does VDP get a credit for Worms when there are very few lyrics ?' I wonder if someone has the missing VDP lyric sheets for this and other tracks ?
Although some will disagree with the premise, I like Domenic Priore's suggestion that Smile consists of two sides each with a main theme, ie Americana and Elemental. The track listing below is based upon my own Smile Set constructed prior to this article. I have changed it before and I may change it again. Like other fans I will await each new release of Smile material in the hope that it may clear up a few more questions. Perhaps the new Vigotone Set due in April will change our minds again ?
SIDE ONE - AMERICANA
PRAYER; released on the GV box set. This was the opening track, as can be heard from Brian's comments on one of the session tapes. A different version (with more overdubs) appeared as Our Prayer on 20/20.
HEROES & VILLAINS; there are 3 main versions of this song ie Part 1, Part 2 and the 45 single released in July 67. H&V Part1 is the 'in the cantina' version which appears on the GV box set and the SS/WH two-fer, and this is the track that was intended for Smile.
H&V Part 2 was Brian's intended B side to Part 1, which would have been the H&V single release in Feb 67. Part 2 appears on bootlegs and on the GV box set from H&V Sections (2.23 - 5.41). Mark Linnet added the 'my children were raised' ending from the 45 on as well when he constructed Part 2 in 1988, and which then appeared on bootleg.
Note: Much has been written about H&V, and the alleged long versions, which was Brian's follow up to Good Vibrations and was the centrepiece of the Smile project, it is left to the reader to investigate this further in books such as LLVS.
BARNYARD; unreleased, this track is available on bootlegs and is mainly instrumental with farm animal noises. Lyrics are known to exist but Brian is believed to have never recorded them, though he did sing them over the music, to guests at a dinner party in 66.
DO YOU LIKE WORMS; also known as Do You Dig Worms, there is a version on the GV box set though the definitive? version can be found on some bootlegs. This track is detailed in LLVS and can be briefly described thus;
A steel guitar and kettle drum opening followed by the 'Rock, Rock, Plymouth Rock Roll Overrr' chorus (twice) and a music box version of H&Vs, then two chants; the first 'umacah buh umma gah' and the second 'wahala loo la, kini wakapoola'. These chants ar e sung five times, each with more instrumental and vocal aahs added until on the sixth time Brian just sings wahala. The music box version of H&Vs begins again, stops and then is repeated to a fade out.
BICYCLE RIDER; a recurring theme, this appears as the opening 58 seconds of H&V sections on the GV box set. It appears in Worms, however in my opinion this section fits in so well between Worms (musically and in meaning) and OMP (check out the Horn outro into the cello of OMP). Others have put Bicycle Rider, with or without lyrics into Worms, onto Cabinessence and as a link between other tracks.
OLD MASTER PAINTER/YOU ARE MY SUNSHINE; unreleased, this track is available on bootlegs. A medley of two tracks with Dennis Wilson singing on You are my Sunshine, followed by a fade with the Beach Boys singing a 'you are my sunshine' chorus over a melody similar to the fade of H&V part1. Note, not all bootlegs have this fade.
SHE'S GOIN BALD; unreleased, this track is available on bootlegs. There is disagreement as to whether this track was intended for Smile. Different to the Smiley Smile version, I agree with Domenic that this fits in with Wonderful especially with its child like lyrics.
WONDERFUL; released on the GV box set. A different version exists on Smiley Smile.
CHILD IS FATHER TO THE MAN; unreleased, this track is available on bootlegs. It consists of a heavy bass instrumental track with 2 sections of Child is the Father lyrics.
CABINESSENCE; released on 20/20 in 1969 and available on the GV box set. It consists of the sections Home On The Range, Who Ran the Iron Horse and The Grand Coolie Dam. Although not realised at the time (ie in 69) the 20/20 version was later found to be a s Brian conceived it (see LLVS).
SIDE TWO - ELEMENTAL
GOOD VIBRATIONS; widely available, the original 45 version was to be included as the opener to Side Two of Smile. Some fans feel that GV is not a Smile track and should be considered as a link between Pet Sounds and Smile. Whatever, Capitol insisted it sh ould appear here and Brian went along with it.
VEGA-TABLES; released on the GV box set together with a 42 second ending added on, which I have edited off in my Smile set. A different version appeared on Smiley Smile, and part of the original track became Mama Says on Wild Honey.
WIND CHIMES; released on the GV box set. A different version appeared on Smiley Smile.
The ELEMENTS SUITE was definitely unfinished. There is divided opinion as to whether Vega-Tables was the 'Earth' and Wind Chimes the 'Air' parts of the Suite, though due to the tracks available below, I think that they were tracks in their own right.
LOOK; unreleased, the EARTH section of the Elements ?, this track is available on bootlegs and has been mistakenly called Holidays. It is assumed to be a working title.
Note: The discussions about whether Look is the EARTH section of the Elements are not very strong. Is Earth a lost piece waiting to be discovered, was it ever finished ?, could Woody Woodpecker from Smiley Smile be a derivative ? Nothing very satisfactory has come to light.
HOLIDAYS; unreleased, the AIR section of the Elements ?, this track is available on bootlegs and is also known as Tune X and Tones. As stated in LLVS, Holidays consists of a light, breezy orchestra, a penny whistle and an xylophone. It seems to have part of Wind Chimes and/or Trombone Dixie within it. Brian referred to Air as an instrumental and Holidays may well be the track with its airy feel. Certainly there is a stronger claim for Holidays to be Air, than for Look to be Earth.
MRS OLEARY'S COW; unreleased, this track is available on bootlegs. Also known as FIRE this is THE most infamous Smile track (see LLVS and others for the stories). Some fans think that the track starts with the H&V intro from the GV box set, as it seems to refer to a fire engine rushing to a fire. Most bootlegs consist of two versions of FIRE (though many more exist) and it is very much down to personal taste unless something more definitive arrives. I use the second version timed at 1.35 with crackling no ises overdubbed (the other version lasts c2.00).
LOVE TO SAY DA DA; released on the GV box set, this is the WATER section of the Elements (and was to become Cool Cool Water).
I'M IN GREAT SHAPE; unreleased, this track is available on bootlegs. Also known as I Wanna Be Around/Friday Night and mistakenly titled The Woodshop Song. It is meant to refer to the rebuilding after the fire, with the sounds of drills and carpenters work ing.
SURF'S UP; Like H&Vs this track is a saga in itself, so I will try to summarise. Surf's Up was not finished when Smile was abandoned. What existed at that time was Brian's solo (released on the GV box set) and an instrumental (also released on the GV box) followed by a different Brian solo vocal track. It is this latter version that had the intro removed, Carl's vocal added onto first part, and then the sublime Child is Father ending added on by the group for the Surf's Up album in 1971, and also availabl e on the GV box set.
Which is the finished version ? Well that is a matter of opinion. Reading from various sources, I feel that the second version above was as far as Brian had got and that he may well have not been happy with it at that time, in early 67. Certainly in 1971 he felt that the Child reprise should be added, but is that what he intended in 1967 ?
To me this is an example of how what was intended in 1966/7 both for this track and for the Smile album will always be lost, as time moves forward memories and ideas change.....
WELL, YOU'RE WELCOME; released as the B side to H&V in July 67, and appeared on the SS/WH two-fer. WYW was recorded in December 66 at the height of the Smile sessions and Brian historically did not write B sides, so it is the opinion of some fans, myself included, that this track is the Benediction of the album (whereas the Prayer is of course the Blessing).
OTHERS:
H&V INTRO; this is the label on a track that is discussed under Mrs OLeary's Cow. Opinion is divided as to whether this was the intro to Fire (ie sound of a fire engine rushing to a fire) or whether it was part of H&V itself (appearing after 'Your under a rrest' and referring to a Wild West steam train) or even both, making it another recurring theme. Perhaps this was a discarded segment of H&V not intended for use ? This piece is definitely another of Smile's mysteries.
GEORGE FELL INTO HIS FRENCH HORN; This is not a Smile track but the name of a Horn session that has appeared on bootlegs.
INSPIRATION and I RAN; are both titles appearing on session worksheets, though no recordings have ever been found, and hence they may be fictitious or ended up appearing as something else.
There are rumours that finished tapes exist for Inspiration and The Elements Suite, but so far they have not appeared, and remain just rumours, like many other aspects of the Smile legend.
SUMMARY
I hope that you the reader have found this useful and informative. It is intended purely as a guide to Smile tracks as I have no musical training or expertise, nor claims to be an 'expert'. I just enjoy the Smile music intensely and wish to share what I h ave discovered in putting together the pieces of Smile that I have found so far.
References:
Look Listen Vibrate Smile by Domenic Priore, and the wisdom of a Beach Boy historian.
Return to my Beach Boys page.