Smiley Smile/Wild Honey [EXTRA TRACKS] [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED]

The Beach Boys

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 10, 2001)
• Original Release Date: September 1990
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Extra tracks, Original recording remastered
• Label: Capitol
• ASIN: B00005ABX0
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (54 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #13,580 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

These albums mark nothing less than a watershed in the Beach Boys' and Brian Wilson's careers. Fresh from the artistic triumph of Pet Sounds and the landmark single "Good Vibrations," Wilson began work on Smile, a project that would become a music fan's Rashomon: pop's most (in)famous unreleased album; artistic Waterloo for Wilson; near career-ruination for the band. Smile seemed an attempt to expand on the jigsaw session methodology Wilson had applied to "Vibrations." What went wrong has been debated for decades, but Smiley Smile was the album that followed in the summer of '67--a "bunt instead of a home run," as Carl Wilson admitted. Bookended by the glories of the "Vibrations" single and its truncated follow-up, "Heroes and Villains," Smiley can seem an exercise in creative schizophrenia. There's an earthy quality to remakes of Smile tracks "Wind Chimes," "Vegetables," and "Wonderful," while Wilson's "Fall Breaks," "Little Pad," and "Whistle In" underscore his playful, off-center instincts. But this album also anticipated the roots-conscious retrenchment that the Beatles and Bob Dylan would undertake at the end of the '60s.

Wild Honey has taken its place as a cult fave among fans, and rightly so. Its surprising R&B influences (epitomized by the buoyant title track, "Darlin'," and "Here Comes the Night") were not only a brave turn for a band just then at a low ebb, but a prescient pointer to the black music explosion of the early '70s. This great twofer edition includes some of the series' best tracks: a near seven-minute "in progress" suite of "Good Vibrations" outtakes as well as a complete early version; the odd, Smile-era B-side "You're Welcome"; a beautiful live rehearsal rendition of the a cappella showcase "Their Hearts Were Full of Spring"; and another suite of edited session takes for the unreleased standout "Can't Wait Too Long." -Jerry McCulley

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars See what you've done, June 20, 2004

By	Johnny Heering "trivia buff" (Bethel, CT United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Here we have two Beach Boys albums from 1967. Many people already know the history of Smiley Smile, but I will go over it briefly. Brian Wilson was working on Smile, an album that was being hyped as a masterpiece before it was even finished. For whatever reason, Brian abandoned Smile before it was completed. Instead, Smiley Smile was released in it's place. Most of the songs on Smiley Smile were originally meant for Smile, but they were rerecorded in much less intricate versions. The songs on Smiley Smile are all right for what they are, but they fall pretty flat compared to the Smile versions. Still, they are not bad judged on their own merits. "Good Vibrations", which is the same version that would have been on Smile, is my personal favorite Beach Boys song. Now, as for Wild Honey, it has often been called the Beach Boys "soul" album. It does have more of an "r&b" feel to it than other Beach Boys albums. It's an enjoyable album, with the highlights being "Wild Honey", "Darlin'" and "Let the Wind Blow". The CD also includes six bonus tracks. "Heroes and Villains" is an interesting alternate take. There are several minutes of fascinating instrumental session outtakes from the "Good Vibrations" recording sessions, plus a complete early take with different lyrics. "You're Welcome" is the b-side of "Heroes and Villains". "Their Hearts Were Full of Spring" is, of all things, a song from a rehearsal for a Hawaiian concert. "Can't Wait Too Long" is an incredible piece of music made up of several different takes of the same song. While not everything on this CD is good, it still has some great moments. Recommended to Beach Boys fans.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wild Smile, April 11, 2001

By	Thomas Magnum (NJ, USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

Smile was supposed to be Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys' magnum opus, their masterpiece. The album was to be an absolute groundbreaking collection of music on the par with the greatest music ever released. Unfortunately the sessions for the album broke Brian Wilson and its full genius was never realized. Bits and pieces of the sessions did see the light of day and they are fabulous. "Good Vibrations" was recorded prior to the Smile sessions and at the time was the most expensive single ever made costing in the range of $100,000. to produce. The money was well spent as the song is a mini-symphony that employs strange and unheard of instruments and sounded like nothing before and really nothing since. "Heroes & Villains" is the best known song from the Smile sessions and it kicks off Smiley Smile, which is the remains of the aborted sessions. It is done in a "Good Vibrations" vein and a good song. Other Smile leftovers include, among others, "Vegetables", "Wind Chimes" "Gettin' Hungary". There are some other solid songs like "With Me Tonight" and "Wonderful" and the album is well above average, but it has a what could have been feeling hanging over it. Wild Honey on the other hand is an unexpected surprise. The album has a loose feel to it without all the heavy production of the previous release. The songs are straightforward and have a R&B flavor to them. The title track is a marvelous song and one of their more underrated numbers. "Country Air", "I Just Once Love To See Her" and "A Thing Or Two" are good as well. "Darlin'" is a pretty song and one of their most enduring. This collection is great to listen to as you get two sides of the Beach Boys. Smiley Smile shows the tortured genius of Brian Wilson and Wild Honey shows the simpler side of the band after Brian Wilson's input waned.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not Smile...But Get Over It, June 26, 2001

By	"marleyscott" (Long Island, NY) - See all my reviews

OK, so Smile was supposed to be the Rosetta Stone, The Golden Fleece, the Holy Grail. Get over it...We all know the sordid tales of substance abuse and manic depresssion that nearly distroyed Brian. And with his self distruction, so too were the Smile sessions obliterated. Well it's been more than thirty years and endless speculation over what Smile may have been. Never the less, Smiley Smile, which followed on the heels of Pet Sounds was as Carl Wilson so aptly put it, "more of bunt than a grand slam". So the world, myself included, was under-whelmed by Smiley Smile. But, the years have been kind and Smiley Smile stands on it's own as one of the Beach Boys more satisfying efforts. Not only did they score two top-40 hits with Good Vibrations and Heroes & Vilains, but Vegatables, Wind Chimes and With Me Tonight all qualify as minor masterpieces.

Wild Honey released in 1967 was a real departure for the BB. Not only was Brian's hand at production down-played to the extent where he really takes a back seat to brother Carl and cousin Mike, but the biggest change was the R&B influence. Here the boys jump into Stevie Wonder's I Was Made To Love Her with blue-eyed soulful abandoment. While it's true most of the BB albums of this period are spotty and somewhat uneven, Wild Honey holds together rather well. In fact I do believe the bulk of these two albums sound a whole lot less dated than much of what was permeating the air-waves at that time. Do I dare say "Along Comes Mary", It's A Sign Of The Times", I've Got A Brand New Set Of Roller Skates"....I could go on and on.