Customer Reviews

Smile

5 star:		(465)
4 star:		(64)
3 star:		(35)
2 star:		(37)
1 star:		(65)

 

 

In the "Tribute Concert to Brian Wilson" on DVD, released a couple of years ago, Sir George Martin took the stage and narrated a short film about how Brian Wilson was the biggest influence (and challenge) to The Beatles. How they were blown away when they heard "Pet Sounds." (Paul McCartney has called "God Only Knows" the greatest song ever written.. ) ..

He talked about how it took his own combined talents as their producer, the writing talents of Lennon and McCartney, and the instrumental virtuosity of all four Beatles to create their records, but Brian Wilson did ALL of that for the Beach Boys.. wrote the songs, arranged them, sang them, played instruments and ran the board during production and editing. What George Martin was saying was that it took him and all four Beatles to do what Brian could do alone.

Now who am I to argue with Sir George. As much as I love and adore The Beatles' music, he was right. I can almost picture John and Paul sitting slack jawed when they first heared "Pet Sounds." To which they answered with "Revolver" to which Brian was going to answer with "Smile" but then.. you know the rest.

The catch phrase going around about "Smile" is "Imagine if Sgt. Pepper had been shelved and released 37 years later." It is a very apt and fitting description of the feeling, the tears of joy, that any fan of Brian's will get when they play this album.

Of course, Carl and Dennis are deeply missed, and yes, Brian, now 62 years old, doesn't have that soaring falsetto he had forty years ago (on the same DVD I mentioned above, a must-buy if you are a true fan, Vince Gill performs "Warmth of the Sun" and the high falsettos in "Surf's Up" and he was chosen for that concert, specifically to sing those songs, because his crystalline pure falsetto can reach those notes that Brian can't any more..) ..

The Wondermints, Brian's new band, totally get it. I'm not sure if anyone totally gets Brian, but it's evident that he has a band of guys half his age who are totally devoted to him to the point of worship, and their goal was to do his songs justice. And that is what they've done.

Brian's wife, Melinda has described many times the inner demons that still haunt him, even on stage. The man has gone through some fundamentally sad, tragic, near-fatal periods of total suffering in his life, and for him to emerge from all that's happened to him, decide to revive "Smile" and release an album this beautiful is nothing less than unbelievable.

Sure I have various bootlegs of the 37 year old tapes. What true fan doesn't? And yes, it would be nice to have a companion piece to this new recording made from those original tapes. I wonder what the dolts at Capitol Records think of watching what might have been their album soar to #1 on a little Warners' house label like Nonesuch..

But let's not get bitter here.. the album is, afterall, "Smile" and that's what it will make you do. The music is not always easy. It might take a couple of listens, but it just goes to show again that a true artist is always ahead of his audience, not the other way around. A truly talented artist challenges his audience, whatever medium he works in. Think about it, it's 2004, and this is 1967 music that's still ahead of its audience :) ..

I can only chalk up some of the negative reviews of "Smile" found here to folks who simply are too young to know what 1967 was like. It was, IMO, simply the year of the best pop and rock music ever released. If you were there, if you were in High School or College back then and buying records, you know what I mean. One masterpiece after another came out that year. Maybe we Boomers wouldn't have understood Smile if it had been released in 1967. Sgt. Pepper's is much more accessible music. Smile pushes you to think. It's complex. Challenging. It's as revolutionarily brilliant as George Gershwin's music was in the 1920s. Eighty years later, people can still enjoy and revel in "Rhapsody in Blue" or "An American in Paris." They're still played and new recordings of them are still released.

"Smile" is like that. This is music that people will be listening to, enjoying, and talking about for many years.

Calling Brian a genius is doing him an injustice. We're plain lucky tha he's still around, and could give us "Smile".. it's joy, and leagues and light years ahead of most of what passes for music these days. If it doesn't click for you, put on some good headphones and listen to it seriously, block out distractions, and try to understand where this music came from, and who it came from.

On the last page of the booklet that accompanies the jewel case in the beautiful white textured slipcase, Brian dedicates "Smile" to all his fans who waited so many years for it.

Brian, it was worth the wait. It's beautiful. Thank you!

When the original SMiLE sessions were taking place, it was whispered that the material was far too bizarre to be released. The audience just wouldn't get it. In retrospect, the album that was (and now the album that is) was light-years ahead of its time. With so many artists having been influenced by the bits and pieces of the original SMiLE that have been lovingly put back together in true humpty-dumpty fashion, it turns out that the album that never was actually was a watershed moment in music history. Just take a listen to bands such as The Fiery Furnaces, The Olivia Tremor Control, The Flaming Lips, Dungen, The Shins, All Night Radio...the list goes on. Those bits and pieces of SMiLE gestated and gave birth to these bands, and without SMiLE and its predecessor Pet Sounds, these bands would arguably not even exist.

However, The Beach Boys' SMiLE is a fragile document of what could have been. Until now. When I first heard that Brian Wilson was going to RE-RECORD the album, I almost lost it. I thought "How could he? This will be an embarrassment and will ruin what little we have of the original, sung through post-millennia filter that will cloud Brian Wilson's vision!" Boy, was I wrong. This is not a reproduction. It is a pure and unadulterated channeling of those original sessions as if they were directly tapped through some break in the space/time continuum. This is not SMiLE redux, this IS SMiLE. Arguably, Brian's Voice lost a touch or two in the intervening decades (!), but still sounds terrific. And the backup band The Wondermints recreate the sound of "what could have been" flawlessly. Although it isn't Mike Love and Carl Wilson singing harmonies, that does not matter much. This is Brian and Van Dyke's album. It always was.

So, when all is said and done, the album that could have been is the album that is. It is the album of a career, and one of the best albums of our lifetime. For this effort at least, Humpty Dumpty truly has been put back together again.

Though no youngster, I've come to the music of Brian Wilson very lately; only really aware of the Beach Boys bigger hits. Word of a fabulous 'lost' album had barely filtered through other late 20th century distractions;
'Pet Sounds' (I'm ashamed to say) was one of those classic list-topping records that I still hadn't gotten round to buying. A SMiLE-addicted friend and a semi-drunken conversation ignited this latent spark, and so last Friday I bought both SMiLE and Pet Sounds, and taking advantage of an empty household over the weekend, have gorged myself on these aural banquets. I look forward to feasting on them for many years to come.
I think I have an advantage over a lot of the other reviewers here, in that both albums are brand new to me and don't come with the historical baggage that seems to mire a lot of devoted Beach Boys/Brian Wilson fans; who on reading quite a lot of the reviews here seem to have invested too much emotion and time into the SMiLE myth. I hear these songs as the simply heart-stoppingly gorgeous creations they are.
Brian's voice is still a beautiful instrument, I disagree that it has been slightly dulled by the years and the songs just make me ache. I'm going to buy all my friends SMiLE this Christmas and myself the rest of the Brian Wilson/Beach Boys back catalogue. Everybody deserves SMiLE!!

I am giving this album five stars because in its musical ingenuity, its melodic beauty, its moments of emotional power, its originality, its unique structure, its sonic choices, and its good cheer, it is the best album to be released in 2004. I must confess that I am among the world's many "Smile" geeks; I have heard all the bootlegs of the 1966-67 Beach Boys recordings that were to have been the original "Smile," and speculated about how they were supposed to fit together, etc. (For those who would like to hear some of that breathtaking original work, I heartily recommend the Beach Boys Box set "Good Vibrations" which is well worth the money, and contains many of the "Smile" recordings that were made in the sixties with great sound quality.) The myth surrounding "Smile" is so large that one has to admire the artistic courage it took for Brian Wilson to do this now, knowing there was no way on earth he could satisfy everyone or live up to enormous expectations - the same people who pestered him for years to finish the album will now perhaps turn around and complain about it. But Brian Wilson has no axe to grind, he is simply a man who genuinely wants to spread love and mercy and good vibrations to all and sundry through music. That said, let's look at what we have here. We open a CD package that is tastefully done; the liner notes by David Leaf touch on the "Smile" project's tortured history but they are dignified and succinct, without overmuch ado. The old timey Americana illustrations in the booklet set the proper mood of humor and fun (indeed, there is something uniquely American about "Smile" with its frontier and Hawaiian themes, in the same intangible way that there is something uniquely English about the Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper" with its music hall mood.)The CD itself has a slightly exotic look, which is also fitting given the exotic nature of the music herein. Brian has divided the album into three suites, the first featuring the American pioneer invocations of "Heroes and Villains" and "Cabinessence." From the opening vocal "prayer," we hear that Brian's current backup band, the Wondermints, has done a fine job of recreating the sounds and harmonies of the original recordings, note for note. It sounds good, it feels good, and for those new fans unfamiliar with any of it, you are in for a treat because of the sheer musicality of it all. Moods are evoked through unusual combinations of instruments, the same superb way Brain Wilson has always done things. The next suite, about childhood, is perhaps the most poignant and beautiful, ending with the classic "Surf's Up," that brings chills to the spine with its combination of innocence, joy, hope, and sadness. The final suite, loosely about the four elements (earth, air, fire, water), is perhaps the weakest of the three in its assembly and coherent logic, although the band acquits themselves mightily with terrifying version of "Mrs. O'Leary's Cow," which conjures up the sounds of a towering inferno with musical instruments alone - fantastic. The album ends with a new version of the well-known "Good Vibrations," this time incorporating lyrics that had originally been part of the songwriting process but had been discarded. This version can hardly come up to the original, but it's a fun song any way you slice it. Overall the album doesn't seem to make a hell of a lot of sense as it veers from theme to theme, due to the abstract ramblings of clever lyricist Van Dyke Parks. But there is an ambitious vision here and a desire to explore different ways of songwriting, arranging, and recording that is amazingly fresh after all these years. This album was made for love, not for money, and that is a much rarer thing today than it was in the sixties, sad to say. My one reservation about these recordings overall (here goes the geek's quibbling) is that the modern recording studio cannot quite equal the warm, rich sounds of the all-analog 1960s and the Beach Boys. This may also be due to the fact that "Smile" was finished as a piece to be performed live in 2004 before it was ever recorded. By contrast, the 60s "Smile" was originally not meant to be performed live but in the fine Beatles and "Pet Sounds" tradition, it was a recording that was unique as such, a work of art like a painting, a cinematic *recording* above and beyond simply the songs themselves and any given performance of those songs, however well done. Thus we have the 2004 version using synthesized keypboards for the sound of a harpsichord or a tack piano, rather than using the real things as would have been done in the sixties. We have less outlandish reverb, and listening to these recordings on headphones does not give me the same overwhelming spiritual thrill that the originals do. It is as if Leonardo went back in his old age and decided to paint another copy of the Mona Lisa; it would be a fine painting in the master's own hand, but it wouldn't be the first Mona Lisa. This is inevitable and unavoidable, and I am still grateful that Brian has finished this work and given us the best idea possible of how it was supposed to all fit together. Most of all I recommend this album not to "Smile" geeks like myself but to new fans who have never heard anything like it. It reminds us that anything is possible, and that we don't have to write or think within the narrow confines of commercial record companies and radio. I know of no other album quite like "Smile" and I can count on my fingers the number of truly unique albums that have appeared since the 1960s. This album offers prayers and good vibes, which will be answered if other artists heed the inspiring call and seek to do things in new and different ways and have some real fun with music and with recording, or in whatever field of endeavor you choose, with sincere good will.

I don't usually write reviews, but having waited so long to hear this album, I thought I had better give it a shot. What we have here is nothing short of a masterpiece, a tour de force of what can happen when sophisticated, esoteric, impressionistic lyrics are combined with unassaliable melody,inspired production, and wit. The whole thing is inspired charm of breathtaking beauty. A teeneage symphony to God indeed, as we know that Wilson himself once put it-- key and chord shifts to make your head spin, lyric sophisitication grand enough to cry out and demand for repeated listenings; a melange of instrumentation so bold, yet so subtle, that the approprateness of the production is not to be questioned. A banjo here, a theremin there; a new melody rising and dipping, coming and going so rapidly that by the time the whole thing is finished, you are not quite sure where it is that you have come from.

Our Prayer is exactly that-- an underscoring of the whole spritulty that seeps from this music throughout; a prayer for an insite into the soul that sophisticated music often provides. Afterward, let the "First Movement" begin; America as seen through a kalaidascope of stereotypes, charactatures, and cartoons. Heroes and Villains starts us off into this world of Americana; perhaps there is good and bad in people no matter where you end up. Ominous and exciting at turns, its as if the world of Bonanza and Gunsmoke have come to life. Roll plymouth Rock is perhaps one of the more "experimental" pieces on the album; again, a fitting end to our heroes and villians story is to remind us a bit about the Aemrica we come from. Look at the frontiersman, the cattleman in "Barnyard." How many melody lines can a person combine into one song yet have each remain distinct? The desolation of past loves lost in YOu are my Sunshine reminds us all that through it all we are all subject to regret and lost hope. Smell the campfire burning? You can almost see it in front of you in Cabinessence; it is the essence of the frontiersman pushing westward, taming the wild, building the railroads and bringing "civilization" westward (are these people heroes or are they villians?).

Now, movement two in this symphony begins. Wonderful is one of the most sublime melodies that Wilson ever wrote, subtle, beautiful and powerful. I have always taken this piece as a the story of a girl as she enters young womanhood, and leaves her childhood behind. There is hopw, but also a bittersweet sadness, as well, felt in not only the lyrics, but especially the music. Song for children and Child is the Father of the Man is a perfect coda for this thought; again, the idea of growing up and reflecting on our childhood that we all do. By the way, "Child" is a piece that I beleive that in anyone else's hands, with anyone else's production than Brian Wilson, it would become tired and wearysome quickly, but somehow never does. Surf's up is a baroque song of 19th century society that is so cataclysmic in scope, I still shiver when I hear it. An excellent counterpart to the cartoony west painted in the first movement; this is reminder of upper class society in the West and is an excellent juxtaposition of the songs of intraspection that have immediately preceeded it. Is this the life we want our children to grow up and lead? Back to what life is really about with I'm in Great Shape; getting out of bed, eating breakfast, a little communion with nature; that's what starts the Third Movement. Workshop tells us about the need to fix someone's heart, complete with sound effects of the repairs going on. If you are not smiling by this time, perhaps you never will. Or maybe being told to eat your vegetables will do it in the next song, Vegetables. My guess is that this starts the Suite "The Elements" planned for the original 1967 release. On a Holiday is a great sea chanty come to life (is that VAn Dyke Parks on the voice-over? Sure sounds like him!). If we had Earth, now let's have Air: Wind Chimes. This is perhaps one of the greatest additions to the collection not heard before-- in it's finnished state, the second half of this song, beginning with the brass coming bursting down the door, I think this may be the coolest piece of instrumentation that Wilson ever wrote. Cool, indeed! Here come's the Fire, the first half of the song being a cartoony instrumental of a fire, perhaps a barn in some western town-- very Keystone Cops-ish, as another reviewer pointed out. The second part of this instrumental, beginning with the drums, continuing with the earie cello's and other strings, continues to scare the hell out of me. Listening to this, I can now understand why conducting it in 1967 freaked Wilson out at the time! To put out the fire, we need Water-- which we get In Blue Hawaii-- reminding us that America extends from Sea to Shining Sea, when all is said and done. Good Vibrations, the alternate version, with alternate, 1967 lyrics penned by Tony Asher of Pet Sounds fame, closes this set in breathtaking fasion.

Well, what can be said as general observations? First, Wilson's vocals, though not as good as they were 30 years ago, I think that if you never heard the man sing at all, these would be considered top-notch. It's only in comparison with his voice from over three decades ago that they seem to suffer in comparison. And just a bit, too. The Wondermints do a dynamite job throughout, too. I think that the blend of the Beach Boys' voices was unique, though-- I think that there is just Something about those voices that made the whole much, much greater than the some of their parts. Particuarly missed is Carl Wilson, who gave Wind Chimes and Cabinessence a subtle, breathy quality that the the songs do miss. That being said, how can anyone not like this music? Deep, emotional, thematic, melodic, and above all else, fun! It makes me yearn for another album from VAn Dyke Parks and Brian Wilson, a la "Orange Crate ARt" or Smile. So put the CD in, sit back, and Smile.....!

I wasn't sure what to expect when I purchased this CD. It was in a very plain jacket, with no liner notes although I did buy it overseas, so maybe the American version has some notes. I listened to it for the next week as it was the only CD I had in my pocession. The more I listened, the more I really appreciated this quilt work of music. At first I thought it a collection of disjointed sounds but as I listened more it all seem to come together to form some very beautiful sounds. The remakes of some of the songs from the first 'Smile' were even better than the originals. I strongly recommend this to any Beach Boys fan as well as anyone who enjoys well crafted pop music.

I have listened to "SMILE" three times now. I bought the CD not expecting high quality. Boy, was I fooled,and I am very glad. Brian's voice sounds fantastic, much younger and clearer than on recent albums. His band and vocalists also sound super. I would highly recommend this CD to anyone, especially those who appreciate Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys. I am sure I will enjoy this CD for years to come.

Cutting to the chase: SMILE (2004) delivers. The new versions of songs like "Vegetables" and "Wonderful" are actually improvements over the originals, and, placed in their proper sequence, songs that were dealt out piecemeal over a period of several years now make sense as part of an organic whole. Brian's voice is not what it was in 1966 but that lends an added poignancy to many songs. Masterpiece? Well, it represents some of the best work from one of pop's most brilliantly original talents. This CUTS TO RIBBONS most music released this year. Pop music has reached a sorry state when the best albums of this year were either conceived (SMILE) or recorded (LONDON CALLING) decades ago.

Who would have thought after 40 years not only would this album be finished but that it would be almost as good as if it were released in 1966? Understand, first, that despite owning seven Beach Boys albums I am far from a hardcore fan. That's why I'm stunned when I think of the greatest rock and roll album (not my favorite, but the best) as being "Pet Sounds." It's weird. I listen to music all the time and I always find great stuff. I pick a few albums at a time and listen to them extensively, and those that I listen to most I consider my favorites. Oddly enough, when I put "Pet Sounds" in, I think "This is the best album there is. None of my favorites have better songwriting, better harmonies, better instrumentation. This is the best." That's why "SMiLE" not being released until now is a tragedy in one repect and a blessing for fans like me in another. On the one hand, I firmly believe (and tell anyone who talks music with me) that if this album was released at the time of its conception, "Smile" would be regarded as the best album of all-time. Not "Sgt. Pepper." Not "Exile." Not "Nevermind." Not even "Pet Sounds." I have no doubt in my mind. On the other hand, look what we get to celebrate 40 years later. It's amazing! This crazy, paranoid, depressive, egotistical genious finishes an album 40 years past his prime - not to mention in spite of 40 years of musical changes - and it still sounds this good??

Of course not everyone is as new to this conept as I am. If I were older I would have realized that songs from the failed album appeared on "Smiley Smile" and "Surf's Up," and that street demos have been passed around for ages, and that many of the sessions appeared on the box set, and that "Good Vibrations" went a very public #1 and was indeed intended to be released on "Smile...." But that's what "Smile" was to me: this guarded, rare, vaulted work that no one was ever intended to hear - The sounds so forward-thinking, revolutionary, and perfect that to mention the album's name could tarnish the magic. And now that it's been unearthed, it's like a huge ray of light, trampling forty years of crappy music in its wake! "On a Holiday," "Heroes and Villians," "Roll Plymouth Rock," "Surf's Up," "Vegetables," "Good Vibrations..." These are sounds of two generations ago for this generation and they haven't aged a bit. How is that possible? How is it Brian's voice sounds so good after 40 years of hard living? How is it Brian can compete with Phil Spector's production skills and win at 60-plus years of age? How can an album that's been leaked in every way, shape, and form by blood-thirsty fans still be this revelatory? Even if you hate music buy this album. You can listen to it for forty more years and then share it with your grandkids.

Overall: 10 out of 10.

I've enjoyed reading the listener reviews of Smile. Some show an absolute ignorance of what made the Beach Boys great (it wasn't the beach-pop dance tunes of their early career, it was Brian's more obscure but inspired work of the later years). Others indicate a blind devotion to Brian Wilson and his music (he CAN do wrong and in most respects Smile would have been better and more powerful 37 years ago). There are good reasons, though, to place Smile among the upper echelon of rock albums. It demonstrates an originality that is striking even today, when one might expect the material to sound dated. Many of the songs are beautifully written and exceptionally-well produced. True, Brian's 62 year old voice often sounds strained and tired, and I suspect that this is what disappoints many listeners. One can only imagine how this material would have shined with vocals by the Beach Boys in their prime. On the other hand, that tired voice lends his melodies a validity they may have lacked in 1966. What seemed like moping on Pet Sounds, seems on Smile to be the well-earned regret of a life roughly-lived.

What really sets Smile apart, though, is the construction of the album. This is no collection of songs - it's a single piece of art with common melodic and lyrical threads sewn throughout the album. You can't start this album in the middle, or listen to a single song alone without losing Smile's most powerful element. Smile comes from the same mold as Pet Sounds and Sgt. Peppers, and takes it to a whole new level. It's a marvel really, that someone whose life and mind were falling apart could create something so finely crafted and tightly woven. True, some of the lyrics seem a little contrived and a few of the changes (especially to Good Vibrations) left me disappointed. No, it's not a perfect album and it's not the greatest album of all time. It's damn good, though. If we can't appreciate it on that level, maybe it's because the legend got the better of us. Maybe we expected the impossible; maybe we should learn to appreciate it for what it is - a beautiful piece of work that stands head and shoulders above 90% of the garbage they're producing today.