Smiley Smile (Mono & Stereo Remasters) [Original recording remastered]

The Beach Boys | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 9, 2012)
• Original Release Date: 1967
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Label: Capitol
• ASIN: B008LA7RI4
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Music
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #42,954 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

2012 digital remaster of this classic 1967 studio album from the beloved '60s Pop band featuring both the mono and stereo mix of the album. Digitally remastered by Mark Linett.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous in stereo... the harmonies shine! October 9, 2012

By Daniel Muhs

Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase

I bought this album in 1967, when it first came out. Although I loved it from day one (despite being one of the strangest of their albums, as everyone agrees...!), I always wished it could have been released in stereo. It is really a minimalist effort for instrumentation, so the vocals really come to the forefront (as they should with the Beach Boys). Finally, after all these years, Mark Linett, an incredible audio engineer, has done a magnificent job of remixing Brian's tracks into glorious, wide stereo. The harmonies come sailing through like voices from heaven. Listen to the harmonies on "Vegetables," "Little Pad," "With Me Tonight," and "Whistle In" and you'll see what I mean. There are subtle touches in the vocals I never detected before, something I did not expect for an album I've been listening to since 1967! Brian's genius at not only composing but for devising harmonies is beautifully shown on this album. Best of all, of course, is "Heroes and Villains," Brian and Van Dyke Parks' masterpiece of SMILE and this album, too. Thanks again to the Beach Boys, who have been providing beautiful music for us for 50 years now.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Finally, "Good Vibrations" in STEREO!! October 16, 2012

By steve_manassas

Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase

Released in the fall of 1967, SMILEY SMILE was the first and only Beach Boys album issued on the original Capitol-distributed Brother Records label ((S)T-9001). The Beach Boys returned to the regular Capitol label for their next LP, WILD HONEY; the Brother label was not revived until they recorded their first album for the Warner Brothers/Reprise imprint, SUNFLOWER, in 1970. The album was a cobbled-together, last-minute replacement for the scrapped SM!LE album. Originally issued on CD as a "two-fer" (Smiley Smile / Wild Honey) in 1990, 1997 (as a Canadian import) and again in 2001 (a single CD replaced the "two-fer" for a brief time in the mid-'90s), the album is not as bad as some critics have said; it contains such Beach Boys classics as "Good Vibrations," "Heroes And Villains," and "Vege-Tables," but pales in comparison to The Smile Sessions, which were finally released in 2011. This new version of the album contains both the original mono and a brand-new stereo mix, and the most compelling reason to purchase this new CD is the first-ever true stereo mix of "Good Vibrations." The stereo backing track has been issued before, as have various rehearsals and vocal and instrumental outtakes, but this is the first time that we get the complete version of "Vibrations" in full stereophonic glory.

Like all the 2012 Beach Boys reissues, the packaging is very basic, with the front cover art, the back cover on the left inside flap, photos of The Boys on the right inside flap, and another picture of the band on the back cover, with the mono and stereo track listings below. The booklet has only the front and back cover art, with the track listing inside.

While SMILEY SMILE is not The Beach Boys' best album by a long shot, this release is recommended because it's the only place to find the stereo "Good Vibrations." The new greatest-hits collections (Greatest Hits and Greatest Hits: 50 Big Ones) have the original mono mix. I would also recommended the aforementioned "two-fer" for WILD HONEY and the bonus material.

17 of 21 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Smiley Smile a little Smile for me May 15, 2000

By Chip Dunhill

After the one-two artistic triumph of Pet Sounds and "Good Vibrations," expectations ran high for the next projected Beach Boys album, Smile. That mythical record never happened, and its legend cast a long shadow over every subsequent Beach Boys recording, unfortunately obscuring the merits of a string of rewarding, esoteric works, Smiley Smile being the first of these. Though many have lamented that this album's interpretations of the Smile material are but pale facsimiles of that opus' full-blown productions, these criticisms are one-sided and unfair, Smiley Smile being quite remarkable in its own right. In many ways, it's even more challenging and avant garde than what had been planned for Smile; Smiley Smile is easily the single weirdest thing the Beach Boys have ever released. And Smiley Smile is not just anamolous in the Beach Boys' catalog -- nobody else has made a record that sounds anything like it, either. The barely-there production makes it sound like a collection of demos, often featuring just vocals, keyboards and incidental production, lending a creepy edge particularly to the re-recorded Smile material, which was pretty ghoulish to begin with. Some of the remakes, like the bizarre "She's Goin' Bald," even improve upon the originals, and the included spectral doo-wop take on "Wonderful" is as immortal as the long-lost Smile version. "Heroes and Villains" says more about the whole Smile era in three minutes than the several books that have covered the subject since. In addition to these cuts and the million-selling "Good Vibrations" (which is best programmed out for consistency), there's also a dissonant, impressionistic instrumental ("Fall Breaks and Back to Winter"), and "Gettin' Hungry," a released single (oddly credited to "Brian and Mike") that revolves around swirling organ drones rivalling anything conjured up by the Velvet Underground's John Cale, also featuring a great Brian Wilson a capella vocal break. Wilson cultists pining for an official Smile release should give a(nother) listen to this underrated disc; it's a small gem, but is shines brightly nonetheless.