"Workshop"

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A few weeks ago, I mentioned the sawing cello in "Workshop" and how I thought it might be a sort of a joke.  Listening to the 1966 version last week, I noticed that - along with the cello and the vibes - it has drums played with a brush.  Even if the inclusion of a cello isn't a joke based on the phrase "sawing cello," each instrument provides a sound that's related to workshops: the cello sort of resembles sawing; the vibes mimic hammering; and the drums played with a brush sound like sanding.

I went back to see if the 2004 version has that drum part, and it's either not there or so faint as to be virtually inaudible.

"Workshop"

Backdated, archival post

[link to original on tumblr]

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A pretty minor thing I noticed when I listened to SMiLE about a week ago is that (aside from some vibes, which - as a percussion instrument - sort of blend in with the hammering) the only instrument present among the cacophony of power tools in "Workshop" is a cello.  I'm wondering if this might be something of a joke because playing a cello is sometimes described as "sawing."  With that description, the cello would fit in with the other power tools present on the track.

Some of the books I've read (I think they were Domenic Priore's SMILE: The Story of Brian Wilson's Lost Masterpiece and Keith Badman's The Beach Boys) mention that around the time of SMiLE, Brian Wilson was also interested in comedy records.  So the sawing cello in the workshop might be a musical indication of that.