Smiley Smile / Wild Honey [Extra tracks, Original recording remastered]

The Beach Boys | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 10, 2001)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Extra tracks, Original recording remastered
• Label: Capitol
• ASIN: B00005ABX0
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (84 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #21,775 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #68 in Music > Pop > Oldies > Baroque Pop

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

Product Description

Digitally remastered two-on-one reissue with this pair ofalbums that Capitol first released in 1967, the latter ofwhich reached #24 that year. Features a 24 page booklet withpreviously unreleased photos & extended liner notes,original cover art and a total of 28 cuts, including sixbonus tracks: 'Heroes & Villains' (Alternate Take), twoversions of 'Good Vibrations' (Various Sessions & EarlyTake), 'You're Welcome', 'Their Hearts Were Full Of Spring'& 'Can't Wait Too Long'. 1998 Capitol release. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 34 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
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Smiley Smile / Wild Honey (Audio CD)

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.

15 of 15 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
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Smiley Smile / Wild Honey (Audio CD)

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.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Be Prepared, July 14, 2000

By 

[e-mail] (Las Vegas, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Smiley Smile & Wild Honey (Audio CD)

The reaction you will have to these albums will depend on the type of Beach Boys music you prefer. Smiley Smile, the substitute for Smile (many say Smile would have been the greatest album ever) is....interesting. Songs like "She's Goin' Bald" and "Little Pad" demonstrate what happens to the human mind when drugs are introduced to it. "Good Vibrations" and "Heroes and Villains" demonstrate what happens when a musical genius is introduced to a recording studio and allowed complete artistic freedom.

Wild Honey is a great, although quite short album. It appears that Brian Wilson gave up trying to produce great songs, and instead the group made decent songs. The difference is clear if you compare Wild Honey with Pet Sounds. On Pet Sounds, Wilson used a lot of studio musicians to capture the sounds he heard in his head. On the other hand, on Wild Honey, it appears the band just tried to do the best they could - on their own. The results are good, but not excellent.

I recommend this album because it symbolizes the musical fork in the road that the Beach Boys faced in the late '60's. Did they choose the right path? I don't know.