The front of the cd-booklet/cover
A personal message from former SMILE-bandmember: Tim Staffel:
SMILE is a Ghost that has haunted me for nearly thrity years; but it's been a benevolent spook, and I've tried to behave with some dignity, after all, we were twenty, and now we're fifty, and the world looks a very different place these days. I would have liked to have been a succesful musician, although I'm not entirely certain that I could have handled the life: God bless Freddie, he was a fine singer, a fine writer, and the world is a poorer place for his passing. He was, unfortunately, a victim of circumstance, and but for those deadly circumstances would have been delighting us still. However you look at it, I was lucky to have been part of those times. The was a lot of hope in the air (most of it Bob Hope), and the delicious mix of glamour and insecurity was, (and still is, I should imagine), just as much of a narcotic.
I am not, by nature, a nostalgic person, but when I listen to these tracks, I am transported back to that time, and I can feel the person I once was, deep beneath the surface. I am reminded of old friends from that time to the present day, with whom I have lost touch, especially musicians. On behalf of them all, I salute Freddie, and Brian, Roger and John, for the enormous contribution they have made to Music, and Popular Culture. Way to go!
TIM STAFFEL
TRACK LISTING:
1 - EARTH (T.Staffel) 4.00
2 - STEP ON ME (T.Staffel/B.May) 3.10
3 - DOIN' ALRIGHT (T.Staffel/B.May) 3.48 STEREO
4 - APRIL LADY (S.Lucas) 2.43
5 - BLAG (R.Taylor) 3.12
6 - POLAR BEAR (B.May) 3.56
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Bonus Tracks:
EDDIE HOWELL (featuring Brian May & Freddie Mercury)
7 - The Man From Manhattan (E.Howell) 3.20 (original) STEREO
8 - The Man From Manhattan (E.Howell) 4.56 (back again) STEREO
All tracks mono unless stated otherwise
Tracks 1-3 recorded in June 1969 at the Trident Studios, Soho, England
Produced by John Anthony, executive producer Lou Reizner
Tracks 3-6 recorded in September 1969 at the De Lane Lea Studios, Holborn, London, England
Produced by Fritz Freyer
Tracks 7-8 recorded in August 1975 at the Sarm East Studios, London, England
Produced by Freddie Mercury
Logo and drawing by Tim Staffel
Title "Gost Of A Smile" by Tim Staffel
Re-mastered at the Sound Factory, Soest, Holland
SMILE DISCOGRAPHY
1969 7" Earth/Step On Me USA MERCURY 72977/1-45118
August 1969, promo only
1982 LP Gettin' Smile JAPAN MERCURY 18pp-1(M)
23rd September 1982, mini LP
1997 CD Ghost Of A Smile DUTCH PSEUDONYM CDP-1049-DD
18th November 1997
