Side Two is the traditional Innocence suite, plus Wind Chimes and Second Day/Dada.
You're Welcome-- Follows H&V as it did on the single release. As a fade-in, it's perfect as an opener for Side Two. Nothing to change here.
Wind Chimes-- Kept the "whispering winds" intro and piano exit.
Child is Father of the Man-- Not sure how the fade-in from Wind Chimes will go over with some people, but I wanted to do something different. Unlike...well, every other SMiLE I've ever seen, I don't use this track as a lead-in for Surf's Up. I want it to stand on its own, so I padded it out as much as possible. I finally smoothed over the abrupt switch to stereo in the middle section that plagued my earlier take on it.
Wonderful-- Tightened the transition from the song proper to the piano exit. I tried fitting in the "pretty baby won't you rock with me henry" chorus but it just wasn't feasible. Maybe someday...
Look (I Ran)-- Allowed it to flow in from Wonderful as I believe it was always supposed to. Kept it as a pure instrumental, as those flown-in "Child" lyrics really are nothing but a distraction and add nothing.
Cool, Cool Water/Second Day (Dada)-- I committed a sin here and removed the water chant. Without the Elements as a suite proper, it just served no purpose. The piano outtake from CCW was used to smooth the transition from Look. I used the flutes from the Second Day version of Dada. Maybe it's unnecessary, but it's something different.
Surf's Up-- Not sure why more people don't use this as the album closer. I refuse to use Good Vibrations in my SMiLE mixes (I see it as the precursor to SMiLE, not a genuine part of it. Kinda like the Strawberry Fields Forever/Penny Lane single to Sgt. Pepper) so without that as competition, using Surf's Up is a no-brainer. Nothing to change here, it's already as perfect as it could get.
Just a note about the artwork-- I wanted something a bit more "serious" looking to reflect the sad story of the album's shelving as well as the seriousness of the themes of the music itself. I'm pretty happy with the result--it's more "Revolver-esque" and, in my opinion, fitting of the avant-garde nature of the album. Frank Holmes' cover art is beautiful and wonderfully deceptive...but anyone listening to a fan mix knows the true nature of the music.
Hope you guys enjoyed my new SMiLE mix. If nothing else, I hope it gave some of you ideas for your own.
