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| From | Michael Bennett <mrhonorama@ameritech.net> |
| Subject | Wilson/McCartney in 2005? |
| Date | Wed, 6 Oct 2004 21:49:18 -0700 (PDT) |
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From Pitchfork:
James Gregory reports:
So earlier this year, when you picked up a copy of
Brian Wilson's first 2004 release, Gettin' in Over My
Head and skipped over to "A Friend Like You", the
highly anticipated duet with Paul McCartney, what was
your first reaction? Yeah, that's about what we
thought. Well, you're not alone. The general consensus
among critics and fans (other than that the album has
the most God-awful cover art of the year) is that
while his duet with the ex-Beatle was noteworthy as a
historic musical event, the resulting track was
unfortunately a colossal misuse of both artist's
talents. Well, according to WhatGoesOn.com, the actual
sessions for the song reportedly went "so well" that
the pair have decided to take another crack at a
musical partnership sometime in 2005.
Details are sketchy as of yet, but the word from
Wilson himself is that the two legends will reconvene
next year to record a full-length album together.
Speaking of his future plans after wrapping up 2004's
critically acclaimed Smile tour, Wilson explained:
"I'll make a rock 'n' roll album with Paul. That's
going to happen next year. Paul is way out there. He's
a complete original."
But the proposed McCartney project isn't the only
rumored album activity for the former Beach Boy. As
fans may have noticed, recent Wilson interviews have
made it clear that his conquering of the
long-abandoned Smile has helped to reawaken the 62
year-old's confidence behind the recording console. In
an interview with Steve Taylor on XFM, Wilson alluded
to the possibility of another new release. When Taylor
asked about a possible follow-up to Smile, Wilson
responded, "Yeah, if it's successful, boom [snaps
fingers]... we'll make another one" As he appears to
have once again mastered the multi-sectioned recording
technique he once pioneered on tracks like "Good
Vibrations" and "Heroes and Villains", it'll be
interesting to see how this possible project develops
with current studio technology at his disposal.
And while you have Smile on the brain (as, admittedly,
we do), we have yet more news in our continuing
coverage of the recently resurrected album. While the
standard release of the disc debuted in stores on
September 28th, Amazon.co.uk is now making a exclusive
version of the album available on their website.
According to a product description on the site, the
special edition features deluxe packaging that
"comprises a white box with 3D shadowbox embedded in
the lid. This shadowbox is a recreation of the artwork
from the centre pages of the album booklet and
contains movable figures. The CD is housed in a custom
slipcase. One in four copies will be signed by Brian
Wilson; these will be randomly allocated." The set is
going for £52.99, which at the current exchange rate
roughly translates to about $94 USD-- a pricey
souvenir, considering there's no extra music included.
Unsurprisingly, the official release of SMiLE has also
drummed up fresh interest in the album's long, strange
history. Several file-sharing services have recently
seen a wealth of the original 1967 SMiLE sessions
being traded back and forth by curious users. Many of
the tracks are bootlegs of unfinished songs that have
never officially been issued on commercial albums or
compilations, and even include original session
rarities that weren't integrated into Wilson's 2004
version, such as "Earth Chant", "He Gives Speeches"
(which later became the Smiley Smile track "She's
Goin' Bald"), and the "Revolution 9"-esque "George
Fell into His French Horn".
While handwritten tracklists, session logs, and Wilson
interviews from the era have given longtime Smile
obsessives a basic idea as to how the original 1967
version would have played out if released, the 2004
version has seen many fans re-evaluating their
original thoughts on the sequencing, as they assemble
their precious bootlegged tracks according to the
alternate sequencing found on Wilson's recent
re-recording, in an attempt to craft a definitive
version of the original album.
While we may never truly know how Smile would have
turned out if Wilson had managed to complete it in
1967, the older tracks-- many of which can be found
legally on The Beach Boys' 1993 box set, Good
Vibrations: Thirty Years of the Beach Boys-- make for
some interesting comparisons to fans only familiar
with the recent Wilson release. They also underscore
just how tremendous an accomplishment the new version
is, as Wilson, with the help of The Wondermints, was
able to practically duplicate the original sessions
note-for-note, and in some cases improve upon them.
=====
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