The rumblings over a potential unearthing of The Beach Boys' SMiLE was a big deal. How big? So big that when this author shared the news with friends that don't follow music catalogue affairs as closely, even those friends were excited. This legendary lost record is something that a lot of Beach Boys fans would be willing to check out, not just the bootleg hunters and classic rock enthusiasts who are likely reading this right now.
So it's a bitter pill to swallow upon reading new comments by band member Al Jardine, whose interview got the whole speculation train rolling in the first place.
"I don't know if we even have enough parts to put it together or not," Jardine most recently said. "May have to record some more."
Adding fuel to the flames, mastering engineer Steve Hoffman weighed in between two posts on his message board in a thread dedicated to the possibility of a SMiLE release:
As I said in this thread a million posts ago, this is not happening. You guys just like speculating, I understand that. But others really believed this was imminent and bombarded Capitol/EMI with calls, etc. The result? They clamped down on all rumors and made ol' All give another statement.
I'm sure Capitol/EMI would love to actually release this. The "problem" doesn't come from there, so they are not the bad dudes in this and don't be calling them up & bitching.
Look, I know the scoop but I can't tell ya, sorry. Let me say this:
For a project like this to actually be worked on, it doesn't take much. For a project like this to actually be released, it takes a lot. You know from past history with things like this how funky it can be. The "project" is always being diddled with in the studio. It's the signatures that count (to paraphrase "The Wild Bunch").
This is rather sad news for Beach Boys fans - but let's try to be optimistic for the time being (not a small feat for a reissue fan, this one included!) and hope that things might turn around before too long.
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Al Jardine similarly "confirmed" a 50th anniversary reunion tour for the Beach Boys when no such tour had been agreed upon. While I'm sure there were indeed rumblings of a tour and/or a SMiLE release within the various Beach Boys camps, Al shouldn't have "spilled the beans" so early. His doing so has most likely jeopardized whatever small chance these projects originally had of coming to fruition. Remember, nothing's official until the ink on the contract is dry, and that process takes even longer than usual where the BBs are concerned.
Yup. I can't remember whenever Al was an authority on anything related to the Beach Boys. After all, wasn't he touring recently while enduring a lawsuit from Mike Love?
That said, various people have been working on an official Smile release since 1988. It's stupid that it hasn't happened yet.
Oh, and if there is any new recording (translated: in this century)? It ain't Smile.
What does Steve Hoffman have to do with the Beach Boys, Capitol/EMI, or this "project"? It seems pretty easy to dismiss something that doesn't exist as fact.
"Look, I know the scoop but I can't tell ya, sorry.", but let me give you a few hints - it's one or more of the Beach Boys holding this up. Quite a shocker.
I'd be most happy seeing an official Smile sessions box set rather than an attempt at the completed album. I'm happy with Brian Wilson's 2004 version as the 'completed' version - sure it would be nice to have the voices of the 1966-67 Beach Boys on the disc, but that's of course not going to happen. Actually, Brian's gruffer voice does work well on some tracks like 'Cabinessence.' The musicianship on the 2004 version is top notch and authentic as well, although I'd certainly note that there is a ghostly psychedelic quality to the 1966-1967 sessions that is lacking in the newer version. So, the sessions appeal to me mainly for the prime Beach Boy voices and the trippy instrumental feel. I've got plenty of bootleg recordings for that along with the legit Smile tracks that trickled out in the late 60's and early 70's. Brian Wilson's version is great for the complete vision - plus, I no longer feel a tinge of disappointment when I listen to the 'great-in-its-own-way' "Smiley Smile."
I'd love to see a Smile box set from the sessions, but it would be good to see an official release of the Beach Boys version, though Brian Wilson's 2004 version is beyond amazing. Ultimately this seems like a continuation of the same problems that have dogged this project for decades, and its really time to just let it go. Fans want to see it released, in its original form (no updated/new recordings); the legacy of this project overshadows virtually everything else the Beach Boys did after 1966, and that interest is going to continue until it sees release - exemplified by the amount of interest generated in the last few days.
Its kind of sadly ironic that Mike Love is still trying to rehabilitate his standing in relation to the project by throwing others back under the bus. Yeah the scoop is largely that someone doesn't want it released; for my money, I'm pretty sure its not Al or Brian.
No smoke without Mrs O'Leary's Fire, I say!
I think Hoffman's comment tells you exactly how involved he is right now. The next few months will tell. 😉