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 Music
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (85 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #30,077 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #89 in Music > Pop > Oldies > Baroque Pop

Track Listings

1. Heroes And Villains

2. Vegetables

3. Fall Breaks And Back To Winter (Woody Woodpecker Symphony)

4. She's Goin' Bald

5. Little Pad

6. Good Vibrations

7. With Me Tonight

8. Wind Chimes

9. Gettin' Hungry

10. Wonderful

11. Whistle In

12. Wild Honey

13. Aren't You Glad

14. I Was Made To Love Her

15. Country Air

16. A Thing Or Two

17. Darlin'

18. I'd Love Just Once To See You

19. Here Comes The Night

20. Let The Wind Blow

See all 28 tracks on this disc

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

Their two quirky 1967 albums, together with various sessions and an early take of Good Vibrations ; an alternate take of Heroes and Villains; You're Welcome; Their Hearts Were Full of Spring , and Can't Wait Too Long . 28 tracks!

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 36 people found the following review helpful

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

By Johnny Heering

Format: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.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Wild Smile April 11, 2001

By Thomas Magnum HALL OF FAMETOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format: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.

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Smiley Smile- 4 Stars Wild Honey- 5 Stars August 23, 2005

By allismile0

Format:Audio CD

Letting go of the "what could have beens" with Smile hasn't been easy for many Beach Boys fans- yet it tarnishes a lot of what they did afterwards. There have been many bands that have had aborted projects- some songs found life in other projects. In the progression of The Beach Boys circa 1966-67 there's Pet Sounds, the "Good Vibrations" single, Smiley Smile, and then Wild Honey. There was a time when I might I have thought that Smiley Smile and Wild Honey were steps back artistically; especially when I would put myself to wondering about the aborted Smile project; but in my maturity the steps back artistically have become steps forward humanly. The proceeding albums had less flair and "ambition"; the staple became more and more friendly and subtle- especially when you include the wonderful Friends album.

The enormous ambition that was so much the core of Brian Wilson's progress had turned into personal flights of fancy. The remnants of this, Smile, was rerecorded and turned into Smiley Smile. Parts spooky and haunting, parts comical and silly, the music is complex yet at times astonishingly simple- it was an exorcism and slow return to being the Beach Boys. One major change that started occurring during the recording of this album is that the Beach Boys started recording the music themselves without the assistance of the Wrecking Crew (a famous group of LA session musicians).

Although I have preferred the "Smile" versions of Wonderful, Vegetables, Wind Chimes they are not without plenty of charm. She's Going Bald and Little Pad are fun ditties that have some experimental elements. Although this is a personal estimation I think some of the songs could be very disregarded by the most serious fans such as Fall Breaks Back Into Winter and Getting' Hungry.

Within the same year they had switched tracks to a much more earthy less psychedelic sound. The result is the highly enjoyable Wild Honey. This is a truly great album by the Beach Boys- this was their back to basics album with a new found interest in R&B. It was a group effort on many levels- the song writing was very good and the performances had a passion and honesty that I have found on Pet Sounds without the self indulgence. Songs like Darlin', Wild Honey, Here Comes The Night and Aren't You Glad are on my list of top Beach Boys songs. The Stevie Wonder cover I Was Made To Love Her is actually a surprisingly good cover; Carl sounds quite soulful.

Finally I have to mention Let The Wind Blow- a touching reminder of the power of love- the deepest and most important thing in the world. The sentiment came during a time when many were writing protest songs about everything that was wrong with the world. The simplicity of the desire to give and feel love to one special person in his life resonates so strongly in contrast to the protests and criticisms of inhumanity. The song itself is so simple that it's easy to past right by it but with the feeling of the song hits you it is a sincere plea for more love.

The bonus tracks a cool- there is an amazing live recording from another aborted album; Their Hearts Were Full Of Spring is a cover of a Four Freshmen song that harkens back to Brian's youth. There's also a good version of Can't Wait Too Long once again from the Smile sessions.

I highly recommend these albums. They come as a twofer but both albums are remarkably short; many albums back then clocked in at 40 minutes long because of the time constraints of records-- Wild Honey is only 23 minutes long!)

Also check out Sunflower, Friends, Holland, and Dennis Wilson's Pacific Ocean Blues (if you can find it) all top notch albums.