Heroes and Villains
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| "Heroes and Villains" | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
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| Single by The Beach Boys | ||
| from the album Smiley Smile | ||
| Released | July 24, 1967 | |
| Format | Vinyl | |
| Recorded | Unknown | |
| Genre | Pop music | |
| Length | Unknown | |
| Label | Capitol Records | |
| Producer(s) | The Beach Boys | |
| Chart positions | ||
| The Beach Boys singles chronology | ||
| "Then I Kissed Her" (1967) |
"Heroes and Villains"/"You’re Welcome" (1967) |
"Gettin' Hungry"/"Devoted To You" (1967) |
- Heroes and Villains is also the title of an episode of Only Fools and Horses
"Heroes and Villains" is the title of a song co-written by Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys and Van Dyke Parks. Originally intended as the centerpiece of the fabled SMiLE album (which was not completed until 2004) the song was recorded in a number of versions by The Beach Boys during 1966-67.
Composed in early 1966, "Heroes and Villains" was the first collaboration between Wilson and Parks, and it is reported that when Wilson first played the melody to him, Parks devised the opening line on the spot. Various musical themes in the song recur in numerous other songs and musical fragments which Wilson recorded for SMiLE.
The lyrics for "Heroes and Villains" exemplify the allusive and playful nature of Parks writing for SMiLE, evidently combining the experiences, feelings and preoccupations of both Wilson and Parks. Along with "Surf's Up" and "Cabinessence" it is lyrically among the most complex and ambiguous of all The Beach Boys recordings. The "heroes and villains" concept has often been suggested as referring to the conflicts between Wilson and the other members of The Beach Boys, but there are clear references to Parks' experiences as well.
The song opens with a remarkably long sentence that is also rich in alliteration: "I've been in this town so long that back in the city I've been taken for lost and gone and unknown for a long, long time". This line might seems obscure at first, but "this town" probably means Los Angeles/Hollywood, and "the city" means New York. The opening line makes more sense in light of the fact that Parks grew up on the east coast (while Wilson grew up in Los Angeles) and the fact that New Yorkers, especially in the world of arts and letters, have always tended to look down on Hollywood.
"Heroes and Villains" is generally thought to have been the first song written specifically for SMiLE, although "Barnyard" and "I'm in Great Shape" might have been written at about the same time (Brian Wilson also sampled several songs into the album previously written). "Good Vibrations" had been written earlier but it was originally intended for Pet Sounds; however, under pressure from Capitol and the other Beach Boys, it was released as single in late 1966. Wilson also did not intend "Good Vibrations" to be included on SMiLE, but after it became a hit Capitol pressured him into adding it to the provisional track listing.
Despite its early genesis, the recording of the song was a difficult and protracted process. Wilson halted work on the other SMiLE tracks at the end of 1966 and concentrated on producing a version of "Heroes and Villains" for single release, but despite holding at least twenty recording sessions for the song of a period of several months and assembling several different edits of the track, he was apparently unable to complete the work to his satisfaction until after the May 1967 announcement that SMiLE had been shelved.
The song went through a number of transformations and at least one segment, the so-called "Cantina scene" was removed from the released versions. Carl Wilson often sang during live shows, a variation of "Do You Like Worms?" featured in the song the lyrics, "Bicycle rider, see, see what you've done" to give homage to some of the unreleased songs off SMiLE.
A number of different edits of the song exist; one was released as a single in July 1967, a similar edit appeared on their September 1967 LP Smiley Smile. A third and rather different version was eventually released on the Beach Boys 30th anniversary boxed set Good Vibrations, issued in 1993 -- this included the Cantina Scene and some additional lines ("At threescore and five, I'm very much alive, I've still got the jive to survive with the heroes and villains"). A different edit, possibly new, appears on the Hawthorne, CA album.
There have been persistent rumours of a far longer two-part edit, reputedly running for six, seven or even ten minutes, and that this edit was intended for single release, split across the two sides of a single. However it is possible that this rumoured long edit (if it exists) may in fact have been part of a trial assembly of the song and related fragments as part of the planned sequencing of the SMiLE tracks.
Al Jardine belives that Brian underproduced the song for the Smiley Smile album. As he explains "We recorded a pale facsimile of 'Heroes And Villains', replete with discordant transitions...Brian re-invented the song for this record...He purposefully under-produced the song."
While Brian was absent from the touring section of the group, Al Jardine sang lead on this song.
The song was re-recorded in 2004 as part of Brian Wilson's new version of SMiLE and included the cantina segment.
[edit] Details
- Written by: Brian Wilson/Van Dyke Parks
- Album: Smiley Smile
- Time: 3 min 37 sec
- Produced by: The Beach Boys
[edit] Performers
- Brian Wilson: Lead Vocals
[edit] See also
| Smiley Smile Track Listing |
|---|
| Heroes and Villains | Vegetables | Fall Breaks and Back to Winter (Woody Woodpecker Symphony) | She's Goin' Bald | Little Pad Good Vibrations | With Me Tonight | Wind Chimes | Gettin' Hungry | Wonderful | Whistle In |
