Smile: stereo or mono?

I've gone all in on mono for '60s albums, after hearing the Beatles boxed set and the Sundazed mono reissues of the John Mayall's Bluesbreakers albums. I like the rich sound. So it's mono for me.

 

I voted for mono (a no brainer reall) but I think that, since they were already taking "liberties" with the mixes as near as possible of a complete sequence should have been presented in stereo.

 

Apologies to all you traditionalists out there, but I... can't... stand... M O N O.... Not to say that there's not the occasional 'better' mono mix, but given a choice, I'll take stereo every time.

 

So which tracks would not be able to have a Stereo mix done?

I only have the single Cd version so I'm not aware of the box sets contents

 

WOW!
Stereo all the way!

 

45s MONO records were designed for AM radio. Makes sense albums were also mono. Also no stereo record players till the late sixties early seventies, not for the average joe anyway. I like the stereo mix. I love the MONO mix, history in a plastic platter.

 

In general, I often prefer mono for classic 60s bands, but not so much with the Beach Boys (despite the fact that Brian is mainly deaf in one ear). I just love hearing all of the little arrangement details in a mix that stereo brings out better. My customized Smile mix goes with stereo wherever possible, but I do use my preferred mono versions on tracks like "Heroes & Villains (Cantina)", "Old Master Painter"/"You Are My Sunshine", "Mrs. O'Leary's Cow" and "Child is the Father of the Man". The 2011 stereo mixes for "Vega-Tables" and "Wind Chimes" are da bomb.

 

I only want it in stereo if it's New Improved Full Dimensional Stereo -- Sounds better than stereo has ever sounded before!!!! New "bite" to the brass etc.etc.

If they had just remixed it to just plain old "Full Dimensional Stereo" it would have sucked big time.

THE STEREO MIX MUST BE IN NEW IMPROVED FULL DIMENSIONAL STEREO TO PLEASE THIS POTENTIAL CUSTOMER!!! (sorry for the all-caps, but I feel that it matches the emotional state of Capitol's marketing department in the 60's)....

 

Has anyone figured out what % the Wonderful stereo session backing track needs to be slowed down to match the vocals? I still dream of a pseudo-stereo Wonderful.

 

Mono, because that's how Brian was doing it in 66/67.

Nothing essentially wrong with true stereo, but most 1960's pop/rock sounds better in mono, per my experience.

 

I voted mono, but would prefer both.

 

Stereo. Mono sounds drab and muddy, which is obvious with GV, Surf's Up etc.. A lot of the complexity, subtlety and clarity is lost and buried in the mono mix, as also seen with the beautiful stereo Pet Sounds.

Also, the argument that Brian Wilson intended it to be mono is nonsense, he's deaf in his right ear; and it was to be released in Duophonic fake stereo initially. Reissue is in stereo (where possible) please.

 

I would have liked a Stereo mix but the Mono mix is so good, it's hard to complain.

 

Still I dream of aligning the stereo backing track with the backing vocals from the vocal showcase track. I NEED Wonderful in stereo!

 

I agree, this needs to be in stereo, as I love the performance and vocals on this. Sounds a little harsh and very compressed in mono. Full stereo "Wonderful" would be sonic nirvana.

 

The purist in me wants mono, but the realist knows that stereo is an option because much of the contemporary Smile is not vintage mixes anyway. So, best of both worlds: Duophonic, of course!

 

As next year could be considered the 50th Anniversary, I'd bet - with the need for "new" Beach Boys product - a Stereo mix will appear.

 

Holy crap, that's nice.

I voted stereo, but would push for the next level: 5.1 surround. No, I don't know how feasible it is.

I'm reticent to use the word "psychedelic" but Smile is certainly Imaginative Music that would be jaw-dropping in 5.1. It would easily fit in with the other classic vintage titles that have gone this route. Post-Help Beatles should be in line for surround as well.

Mono? Well, sure, the Beatles conspicuously sport tracks that are better in mono. But that doesn't automatically make mono The Grail. Every time I've chased down mono, it's been a bust; same tinny production as the stereo (I'm lookin' at YOU, Lovin Spoonful). Yes, there are superior mono mixes, and they should be preserved and identified as such. But just because AM radio existed, or Brian was deaf in one ear, it doesn't mean that something better isn't available in the multis.

 

It's psychedelic in the same way Les Baxter and Joe Meek are psychedelic-- music that takes you on a trip somewhere. Technical definitions aside, I never bought into the fact that "real" psychedelic music could only be made by people blasted out of their minds on acid. Not that I don't enjoy some of that stuff as well, but I digress...

Anyway, regarding the OP: mono all the way. Though compiling Brian's 1967 version of Smile is an impossible task, I still thought the people in charge should have strived (striven? strove?) to deliver the most authentic version possible, and mono mixes are a big part of that. This authenticity issue is still the main thing that bugs me about all the wacky editing they ultimately employed. If the version on the box set is going to go down in history as most peoples' go-to version of Smile as I suspect it will, then I don't want any goofy sounding pitch-shifted overdubs, or cross-fading where Brian would have used butt edits and so on. Just give me an assemblage of the basic tracks with a minimum of tinkering, and save the studio gimmicks for fan mixes.

And speaking of gimmicky fan mixes, maybe I should shamelessly plug my last Smile attempt here for anyone who is interested?

 

Interesting-- I've got a file on this computer labelled "Wonderful (2015 stereo mix)". I'll have to listen to it through headphones to see if it really is what it says it is, or if it was simply just mislabeled. I had no idea that stereo mixes of the Smile version of Wonderful were hard to come by (assuming you mean the standard version and not the bizarro alternate one).

 

I haven't heard a convincing one yet. I tried so hard to slow the stereo backing track down so it would align with the backing vocals but just couldn't figure it out. I'm not gifted when it comes to these sort of things.

 

I just had a listen to the file on my computer, and it's essentially the mono track and lead vocal, with the backing vocals coming in in full stereo later in the song. Is that what you were going for, or are there isolated lead vocal and backing tracks out there that you're trying to sync up, along with the backing vox?

 

I was trying to sync up the stereo session track with the stereo backing vocals from the montage track. The session backing track needs to be slowed down considerably to align with the vocals, both in speed and pitch. I dont think an isolated lead exists but I was hoping someone could work some hokus pokus on it.

My personal Smile stereo disc is 90% stereo...the only mono parts are the H&V verses (cantina version), Wonderful and Child... choruses.

 

Are there any stereo versions of H&V where the backing vocals on the verses arent ridiculously loud?

I tend to go with mono for my own versions of Smile as its the only way to get close to a cohesive album, I just only wish the mono version of Cabin Essence on the 2011 set didnt sound so incredibly ****ty.