Thursday, May 6, 2010

SMiLE - The New Master Painter Mix

Hello again everyone,

I'm actually very excited to share this new and different mix of SMiLE. I really enjoyed listening to this one, and I'm pretty sure you will too. Read the description and download below.



SMiLE - The New Master Painter Mix

My initial goal with this mix was to present the closest possible version to a 1967 album line up of SMiLE. Nothing more. Nothing less. It's all mono because it's a safe bet that Brian would have mixed the album in mono had it been finished back then. I did quite a bit of research and reading on every possible subject relating to the music and the time period to put me in the right frame of mind (quick plug for Domenic Priore's amazing "Story of Brian Wilson's Masterpiece SMILE"). That said, I didn't want to make a mix that anybody else had already done so more often than not, I took the road less traveled. Is it perfect? Hell no. Complete? Not by a long shot. But I hope listening to this wonderful music in this sequence will somehow move you in a positive way. - NMP

Our Prayer/Gee
Taken from the GV box set with a little touch from the Vigotone. I think the laughter towards the end of "Prayer" really lightens up the mood from the get go. It also helps the transition from the 'serious' choral type music to more fun 50's style doo-wop. The album is called SMiLE after all... you have to have laughter.

Heroes & Villains
Essentially the Smiley Smile version with the 'Cantina' section edited in from the GV box and SOT 17. Followed the 2004 edit for the most part with a few exceptions towards the end. I decided to skip the repeat of the chorus. This was slightly inspired by one of Brian's "edit attempts" heard on the Vigotone set. There's an extra "mmm" after the "ahh" before the conclusion. This, as well as the strings and whistle ending are from the original sessions. This section leads us into the barnyard suite.

I'm In Great Shape
I could be wrong, but I believe this is from Jason Penick's wonderful mix of Smile. This is the only time I used anything that was digitally manipulated in my mix. Jason was able to do it rather smoothly which is not easy by any means. If I didn't have this, one of the instrumental versions from Secret Smile would probably appear in its place.

Barnyard
A re-edit of the Vigotone mix. Not exactly the same structure as the 2004 version but close.

The Old Master Painter/My Only Sunshine
Someone's clever mix of SOT 17 and Vigotone. I found it amidst all my Smile stuff that I have piled up. I neglected to label the CD it was on so apologies to whomever deserves the credit for it. The fade is actually an edit of three different versions/mixes. The intro is my own creation taken from the Heroes & Villains sessions boot while the main body of the song is from the GV box and Secret Smile. There's a noticeable jump (to me at least) in audio quality from one mix to the other. Sometimes you have sacrifice quality for quantity. As far as I know, Secret Smile is the only place one can find a mix of this with Mike Love's faint lead vocal in tact. My guess is that his vocal was probably wiped somewhere along the interim.

Do You Like Worms
The 2004 arrangement of this was top notch. Compare my edit to your BWPS CD's and you'll notice that I followed it almost to the letter (taking several civil liberties, of course). Note how the "natives" come in before the second chorus. Left Brian's extra "Mahalo" in towards the end because it made me chuckle.

Cabinessence
I'm quite proud of this one. Most folks tend to use the 20/20 version as is but the ADT on Carl's lead vocal made it sound rather weird when I folded the track down to mono. It was then that I decided to make this song sound more mid 60s authentic. I used whatever original rough mixes from the time period I could dig up from various sources. They have that nice punchy quality that really make the song pop out of the radio (most noticeably on the chorus). I personally think this sounds more appropriate to the era it was created in than the mix appearing on 20/20 does. I hope you agree.

He Gives Speeches
From the SOT boot, speed corrected. I added a fade section following a three note bass line that I ripped off from Ryan Guidry's amazing fan mix. However I added some 60's style slapback echo to these bass notes to make it sound more like a true solo.

Wonderful
Taken from the GV box set version. The repeated line at the end was inspired by the way Carl Wilson performed the song in concert during the 70s (when the group was planning on finishing the Smile album for release). I liked the way it made the ending slightly more climatic, happy yet in a sad way. Some more editing and cross fading leads us into...

Look
Edited down from Mok's mix of Smile.

Child Is Father of The Man
Taken from the Vigotone boot and re-edited to fit the 2004 arrangement. There's fan mixes that have added vocals but I like the bare bones sound of this track. It makes the following track seem even more climatic. It took me a while to come up with a decent transition to end it with before I stumbled upon the session for "Surf's Up" where the percussionist and Brian are trying to get the right sound and eureka! Similar to the transition that Brian and band used for "Child..." into "Surf's Up" when performing Smile live in 2004. The bass at the end of this track also adds a nice touch of R&B to the mosaic.

Surf's Up
From the Surf's Up album completely unaltered besides being folded down to mono. I may catch grief for not using Brian's vocal over the 60s backing track. Truth is, I have never heard a mix of the two that really convince me. My ears detect too much digital manipulation of Brian's vocal. He's obviously playing at a different tempo in spots and one has to digitally stretch his vocal to make it fit. Nobody can touch him singing this song, but Carl did a great job putting this track together in the 70s.

Holidays
A nice breather after the drama of "Surf's Up". This either came off Secret Smile or Vigotone. Only thing I added to it was the fade out.

Wind Chimes
Based upon Jason Penick's mix of this track but with some additions from me to make it slightly more cohesive. Mostly from GV box set and Archaeology.

Mrs. O'Leary's Cow
My own mix but based on Ryan Guidry's.

Love To Say Dada
My own mix created by following the 2004 arrangment until the ending where I added on a tag from the Heroes & Villains sessions boot (slightly sped down to match the pitch of "Dada").

I Wanna Be Around/Friday Night
Domenic Priore and others still claim this is the "rebuilding after the fire" in addition to being "the repairing of the broken heart". Thus, in the interest of accuracy, I have adjusted the sequence of songs as such. The workshop section is actually taken from the 2004 version of smile since it had the original sound effects (and sounded better than the original recording, mix wise, when folded down to mono). You might not have even noticed this if I didn't tell you. Another tricky transition (that I hopefully pulled off) into...

Vega-Tables
From GV box set, Smiley Smile, Wild Honey, Archeology, and Mok's mix. This one was the most tricky of them all. As usual, I followed the 2004 arrangement but added my own touches along the way (Listen closely for a little bit of "Mama Says" from the Wild Honey album). While I was creating this mix, I kept in mind that this track was planned to be a single and that it should be both commercial and yet completely out of left field (like "Good Vibrations"). I consider this a worthy 'single mix' if you will. Long slow fade out and then...

Good Vibrations
I doubt that anybody who listens to this mix hasn't heard "Good Vibrations". Therefore, I added one or two things to make my GV both familiar and new. The original lyrics (as well as Carl's wonderful lead vocal) are still left in tact. However, be prepared for one or two small surprises that hopefully won't ruin it for you and, more than anything, make you SMiLE.



Download Here

5 comments:

Ross said...

This is an amazing site. Until tonight I've only ever heard the BWPS version of Smile. Tonight I got a wild hare and went Smile crazy after listening to a few of the late 60's 70's era Beach Boys albums on Lala. I just heard the Purple Chick version and am now enjoying your new Master Painter Mix. It's lovely. Next up, the Ryan Marks SMiLE Reconstruction. Have you any other specific recommendations?

The Lexingtons said...

Hello Ross, I would recommend the Alternate Brian Wilson Smile. That is my favorite.

Jo said...

Below is the most boring and pedantic page ever written about the Beach Boys:

http://www.amiright.com/artists/beachboys.shtml

The Sunchymes said...

Great stuff guys!

Anonymous said...

each time i hear a new mix of smile, i wonder where is the air section( it's not wind chimes) and the fire section. looks like we 'll never hear them, but that is smile , isn't it?