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Between 1967 and 2004, the SMILE sessions were pretty much the Dead Sea Scrolls of pop music. Well documented as head Beach Boy Brian Wilson's answer to the Beatles' masterpiece SGT. PEPPER'S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND (which was itself largely an answer to the Beach Boys' PET SOUNDS), the tracks laid down in '67 for the projected SMILE album were the furthest afield anyone nominally operating under the pop/rock umbrella had ever ventured. Notoriously, intraband conflict (Mike Love, in particular, found the Wilson/Van Dyke Parks-penned conceptual work too far out) kept the record from being released. With several oceans' worth of water under the bridge, Wilson finally decided to finish the aborted project three-and-a-half decades later, adhering closely to the original blueprints. The results are as timelessly breathtaking as the original version must have been to the lucky few who first heard the initial tapes.
With sterling support from his backing band the Wondermints, Wilson meticulously pieced together the conceptual, orchestral puzzle of SMILE into a rewarding, cohesive whole. Even decades down the line, it still sounds miles away from anything else in the world of popular music. A series of extended vignettes tied together with seamlessly arranged melodic latticework, SMILE is a masterpiece that incorporates the influences of gospel, ancient hymns, Charles Ives-style avant-garde experimentalism, barbershop-quartet harmony, Stephen Foster, and more, in a churning cauldron of lush Americana. Strings, harpsichord, and a wide palette of orchestral percussion are just as important as drums and guitars, though traces of the PET SOUNDS sonic stew can be heard here as well. A triumph of the will for Wilson and a victory for art and humanity, SMILE bears--among many other things--an extremely appropriate title.
Long Awaited Rel.Of Follow-Up To "Pet Sounds" Album.
Liner Note Author: David Leaf.
Recording information: Sunset Sound, Hollywood, CA (04/13/2004-04/17/2004).
Photographers: Melinda Jean Wilson; Guy Webster; Jasper Dailey.
Unknown Contributor Roles: Jeffrey Foskett; Probyn Gregory.
Arranger: Brian Wilson .
Personnel: Brian Wilson (vocals, keyboards); Brian Wilson ; Probyn Gregory (vocals, whistling, guitar, whistle, brass); Nelson Bragg (vocals, whistling, whistle, percussion); Jeffrey Foskett (vocals, guitar, hammer dulcimer); Scott Bennett (vocals, guitar, keyboards, percussion); Scott Bennett (vocals, guitar, keyboards); Darian Sahanaja (vocals, keyboards, percussion); Andreas Forsman (violin); Eric Holm (viola); Anna Landberg, Markus Sandlund (cello); Stockholm Strings 'N' Horns (strings, horns); Viktor Sand (flute, clarinet, saxophone); Björn Samuelsson (trombone); Staffan Findin (bass trombone); Dave Stone (acoustic bass, acoustic bass guitar); Jim Hines (drums, percussion, sound effects, musical saw); Nick Walusko (vocals, guitar); Taylor Mills (vocals, sound effects); Paul Mertens (harmonica, woodwinds, saxophone, electronics); Bob Lizik (bass guitar).
Audio Mixer: Mark Linett.
Rolling Stone (p.94) - 5 stars out of 5 - "[With] brief bridge melodies, youthful harmonies more precise and uplifting now...and an enthralling profusion of instrumental colors. Trombone, timpani, theremin and tenor sax brush by and disappear; a banjo shows its head; strings vibe around..." Rolling Stone (p.153) - Included in Rolling Stone's Top 50 Records Of 2004 - "[It] ranks in symphonic beauty, goofy humor and spiritual loveliness with the Beach Boys' greatest achievements." Spin (p.67) - Ranked #10 in Spin's "40 Best Albums of the Year" - "The meaty songs you know and the link tracks you don't give simple humanity the complex orchestrations humans deserve." Entertainment Weekly (p.73) - "With a new melodic idea occurring every 45 seconds on average, it's a gorgeous trip back to a time when anything seemed possible..." - Grade: A Uncut (p.98) - 5 stars out of 5 - "[M]uch of it harks back, both lyrically and musically, to the past....SMILE is likely to remain a unique and unlikely moment of retrieval, restoration and renaissance." Uncut (p.74) - Ranked #1 in Uncut's "Best New Albums of 2004" - "SMILE combines arcane and obtuse lyrical imagery, complex harmonising and densely compacted layers of instrumentation to quite awesome effect." Mojo (Publisher) (p.62) - Ranked #37 in Mojo's "100 Modern Classics" -- "SMILE now exists in tangible form, beautifully played, sung and produced." Mojo (Publisher) (p.98) - 4 stars out of 5 - "[T]here is a remarkable consistency about SMILE's complex tapestry of delights....This legendarily fragmented work now possesses a unity to rival that of PET SOUNDS."
Brian gets his "Smile" This album is 37 years in the making and was scheduled to be released in the fall of 1966. Following on the heels of the Beatles' "Revolver", this album was the start of a new era in music. The reasons for it's non-relase are well documented elsewhere, suffice to say this album is a radical departure from earlier Beach Boys music. This album responded to changes in culture in the 60's. Comparing "Smile" to "Shut Down Volume 2" is like comparing Norman Rockwell paintings to Picasso. Both are great but very different.
This album is absolutely fantastic! It is highly imaginative, innovative and contains amazing harmonies. Three of the songs were released as successful singles: "Heroes and Villans", "Surf's Up" and "Good Vibrations". All songs are re-done by Brian's current band, which is excellent! The original records had 6 voices on them. The new ones have something like 12 voices and a 22-piece orchestra and sound amazing. The final version of "SMiLE" has several new songs that peg the meter = "Song for Children" and "On a Holiday" are both fun, upbeat songs that leave you SMiLING!!! This album is fun, whimsical, reverent, honest, upbeat, friendly and just a real blast to listen to again over and over! Submitted by Bill 10-x (Bellevue, WA) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo 2 of 2 found this helpful.
Very bummed out..... Since the Beach Boys are my favorite band of all time, I decided to succumb to the hype of this recording. This version of SMILE comes about 35 years too late for me. Brian Wilson's voice has not improved with time, and most of the tunes I've heard done by the Beach Boys were far better than these. Corny, yes, but from Wilson's space perfectly appropriate. Own this only for the historical perspective, if you must. Submitted by dhull0 (New Britain, CT, USA) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo 2 of 3 found this helpful.
SMILE takes you back to what might've been Brian Wilson recreates the original very well, although I'm partial to the 1965-6 Beachboys renderings of some of the same songs that were on SMILEY SMILE and Wild Honey, fragmented as they were. Submitted by mellohawk (Dahlonega) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo 1 of 2 found this helpful.
Finally, the musical frown has become a SMiLE. What to say about the greatest album "never" released...37 years later? Except, it is the greatest, missing musical masterpiece, link of Rock. It conjured up so much of the, "could've would've should've", I don't know how the maestro Wilson did it, without breaking down all over again. It bridges the musical history gap from Good Vibrations to the Beatles release of Sgt.Pepper's. Mr. Martin and the Beatles, can say they had never heard SMiLE or were unaware of the music being created, but listening now, to what was then, it would seem impossible to refute. Submitted by nickatnite99 (Boyne City, MI, USA) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo
Legendary LP from 1967 Surfaces (Almost) SMiLE was the greatest Beach Boys album that there never was. This legendary record was been the source of speculation and conjecture for decades, with many portions of the album, such as "Good Vibrations", "Heroes and Villains", and "Surf's Up" being released on other releases, as well as many unauthorized 'bootleg' collections abound of the album pieces.
Brian's work was considered too avante garde by his fellow Beach Boys and this heartbreaking rejection helped cause Brian to shelve the album unfinished in 1967.
Years of mental health issues for Brian followed and his rejection of SMiLE material continued until late in 2003, when his friends, family and new bandmates encouraged him to nurture his new interest in the long rejected material to completion for concert performances and a new CD in 2004.
My one disappointment is that the original Beach Boys are no longer with us to complete the album as it should have been, with their incomparable vocal blend, but Brian's new band has shown their remarkable musical and vocal talent in the past by playing all of his "Pet Sounds" album, the landmark predesessor to SMiLE, in live concert, and they have shown they are more than up to the task to play what Brian once called his 'teenage symphony to God'- SMile.
Buy this CD. Sit down and play it uninterrupted end-to-end. It's sure to give you goose-bumps.
Surf's up mmmm-mmm! Submitted by bob (Northeast Massachusetts) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo
![Wilson, Brian [Pop] - Smile CD Cover Art](http://cover7.cduniverse.com/CDUCoverArt/Music/6771462.jpg)
Brian gets his "Smile"
Very bummed out.....
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