Barnyard
From The Smile Shop
Contents |
Sessions
October 20, 1966
| Song title: Heroes And Villians | |
| Studio: | Western |
| Time of session: | 2 PM to 7:30 PM |
| Engineer: | Chuck Britz |
| Master Number: | 56727 |
| Length Of Song: | 2:25 |
| Musicians/vocalists: | Van Dyke Parks (unknown instrument), Gene Estes (timpani, percussion), James Gordon (drums, conga), George Hyde (french horn), Carol Kaye (bass guitar), Tommy Morgan (harmonica), William Pitman (guitar, Lyle Ritz (upright bass) |
For many years, it was assumed that "Barnyard" referred to the final section in the version of "Heroes And Villians" we just heard. However, with the release of the Vigotone SMILE bootleg (which includes many never-before heard SMILE pieces) in 1993, we have what is almost without a doubt the actual "Barnyard" segment, complete with the Beach Boys adding various barnyard animal noises (not unlike the effect Brian used for the song "Country Feelin'" on the For The Children benefit album in 1989). -- David Prokopy, The Prokopy Notes
Barnyard instrumental track likely recorded Oct 20, 1966 at Western.
One of the great mysteries of Smile was at least partially solved with the release of the Endless Harmony Heroes and Villains demo, where a section included the lyrics "eggs and grits and lickety split, I´m in the great shape of the open country" (or "agriculture" in Smile 2004) before leading into Barnyard. Brian confirmed in an interview that this was Great Shape. The Barnyard track was recorded Oct 20, 1966 at Western; the vocal session date is not known, but may have been recorded by Brian and friends on Oct 20 or by the Beach Boys on Dec 13, 1966. -- Lou Shenk, A SMiLE Primer
The Barnyard Suite, that was going to be four songs-In four short pieces-combined together, but we never finished that one. We got into something else. -- Brian Wilson, "The Beach Boys" by Byron Preiss. 1979
There is no evidence that I am aware of that there EVER was a Barnyard Suite... -- Peter Reum
"Barnyard" exists only as a (not very good) dub onto an 8 track worktape, and I wouldn't be surprised if we're missing some significant work on "I'm In Great Shape" as well. -- Alan Boyd
November 4, 1966
| Song title: Barnyard | |
| Studio: | Western |
| Time of session: | Sometime after 6 PM |
| Engineer: | |
| Master Number: | |
| Length Of Song: | |
| Musicians/vocalists: | Brian Wilson (piano, vocals) |
Van Dyke is there, and joins in on the animal sounds. -- Lou Shenk, The Smiley Smile Message Board
But what's on ENDLESS HARMONY is not a "demo" in the sense of a preliminary songwriting demo, rather it's simply Brian sitting at the piano and demonstrating for disc jockey "Humble Harv" Miller what he's been working on. Given that "IGS" was just recorded two weeks before, it would make sense that he would play it for Miller. -- Brad Elliott, PSML
In the fall of '66, Brian performed a solo piano version of "Heroes & Villains" for radio DJ Harmony Harv, as a rough demonstration of what the song would sound like. This is the recording that appeared as "Heroes & Villains demo" on Endless Harmony, finally revealing the identity of "Great Shape" and causing a huge stir among Smile fans. After the familiar first verse ("I've been in this town so long..."), there is a segment which has otherwise never been heard elsewhere. Featuring the lyrics "Freshenin' air around my head/ mornings tumble out of bed/ eggs and grits and lickety split/ look at my ???/ I'm in the great shape of the north country," this section (although no real studio recording of it has ever been heard) provides the crucial link between "I'm In Great Shape" and the barnyard suite. Brian followed this with a section featuring more lyrics about the farmyard backed by the appropriate animal noises, which he urged some unidentified others in Harv's studio to perform. This second part was probably a rare vocal performance of a piece which has been known simply as "Barnyard." The track for "Barnyard" that's appeared on bootlegs is based on the idea of the "out in the farmyard" section that Brian ran through on the Harmony Harv show following the "great shape" part. The actual studio version is much different from that demo, without the lyrics ("out in the barnyard, the chickens do their number/ out in the farmyard, the cook is chopping lumber/ jump in the pigpen, next time I'll take my shoes off/ hit the dirt, do two and a half/ next time I'll leave my hat on"), and with a vaguely Western-sounding clip-clop feel. The Beach Boys provide a lilting vocal harmony as various animal noises fill the background; it's a charming little track, and it's likely that once "Bicycle Rider" replaced it as the coda to "Heroes & Villains," "Barnyard" was moved into the similarly themed "I'm In Great Shape." Brian probably intended to record the "out in the farmyard" vocals to complete this part, but never got around to it. -- Ed Howard, Smile: The Definitive Lost Album
Available Session Recordings
Archaeology
| Disc # Track # | Track Title | Time | Session Date | Comments |
| 02/19 | Barnyard (Acoustic Demo) | 2:43 | November 4, 1966 | The end of “Heroes & Villains” piano demo, longer than “Endless Harmony”. Tape cuts and then whole thing is played again unedited. |
| 02/20 | Barnyard – Unknown Take – Mono Mix | 1:02 | No lead vocals, backing vocals and animal sounds. |
Unsurpassed Masters 16
| Disc # Track # | Track Title | Time | Session Date | Comments |
| 03 | Barnyard | 0:54 | As Archaeology but fake stereo. |
Vigotone SMiLE
| Disc # Track # | Track Title | Time | Session Date | Comments |
| 02/09 | Barnyard | 0:59 | As Archaeology |
Official Releases
Endless Harmony
| Disc # Track # | Track Title | Time | Session Date | Comments |
| 10 | Heroes & Villains – Demo | 2:24 | November 4, 1966 | Heroes & Villains Piano Demo. Fade in to Verse 1 / Verse 2 / I’m In Great Shape / Barnyard (Fade during). |
Brian Wilson Presents SMiLE
| Disc # Track # | Track Title | Time | Session Date | Comments |
| 4 | Barnyard |
