Smile

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Editorial reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review
There should be fanfares. Every contributor to pop's legacy should respectfully bow down in silent thanks that Smile has finally been officially released. It may not be the original album (the tragic deaths of Carl and Dennis Wilson, and perpetual legal wrangles ensure The Beach Boys remain steadfastly estranged from this re-recording, and each other), but that won't matter to fans who devoured bootlegs, worshipped the recycled Smile songs that appeared on later albums and obsessed over literature such as "Look! Listen! Smile! Vibrate!" or Andrew Doe and John Tobler's Definitive Beach Boys guide.

Imagine waiting 37 years for a train to the best theme park in the world. Finally, there you are, and despite the paint job, it still doesn't fail to delight. Well, that's what it is to listen to Smile. The ideas may seem far-out initially, but they soon reveal themselves as pop-art at its absolute zenith. Who can argue with the sublime "Cabinessence"? The majesty of "Surf's Up"? And (least of all) the jewel in the crown of pop music "Good Vibrations"? Modern music may have caught up, but Smile's joyous trundle through Americana will leave mouths open wide in wonder. The gripes over the absence of Beach Boy vocals, (particularly Carl Wilson and Mike Love) may be valid, but Wilson's band are respectful imitators, and this is the best Brian's sounded in years--his world-weary, poignant voice conveys Van Dyke Parks' impressionistic lyrics more maturely than his younger self.

It's impossible to give a definitive opinion, because it's something that everyone needs to hear, history or no history, and though it may not quite satisfy 37 years worth of anticipation, or stand up to the original version (this version shows Brian was so, so close to originally finishing it), it's unquestionably the album of the decade. --Thom Allott

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Customer reviews

review by: Rachel Czajkowski date: 2008-05-26 rating:
Just Perfect
This Is my Fave album ever!
Everthing about it is perfect.
If you dont own it i swill tell you to buy it.
It's different and very very open minded.
Brian Wilson is a ledgend!
But this is the masterpiece of his life.
It's worth every year of waiting for this album to come out.
Personally Vegetables is my fave track!
It's the only album i own that i dont want to skip a track!
I just Love it.
10/10

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review by: croydon music date: 2007-11-20 rating:
Only 38 years to make and worth the wait, but the live DVD is even better!!!
When the original project was aborted in 1967, only 'Heroes and Villains' and 'Good Vibrations' really saw the light of day.

The completed album in 2004, was by Brian Wilson and his own band, which was appropriate in many ways, as the rest of the Beach Boys were unhappy with much of the material.

The key to all this is knowing what to expect. Those who do will not be disappointed. Live performances of this, to promote the album, were sold out for nearly 18 months. It is my opinion that fans are better off with the live SMILE DVD.

Experts rated the live DVD performance as the 5th greatest concert of all time, and the exact same material is covered.

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review by: date: 2007-10-10 rating:
Let it Be
I think this is the first review I've written on here for a piece of music. I am not sure really how valuable such reviews are because music is such a personal preference. I have seen some of the albums I adore absolutely dissed on these forums, proof that we're all different. And that's surely a good thing.

But the fact that I am writing a review despite these reservations is a reflection on how strongly I feel about this CD.

For me, a piece of music is the sum of many things: the singer; the song; the performance; and the era it encapsulates. I really don't think you can take a piece of 60s psychodelia, tart it up, and release it as performed by only one of the original line up, and expect it to stand up in the 00s. It bears as much resemblance to the original concept as those 'Top of the Pops' albums we used to get in the 70s (cover versions of chart hits done on the cheap by session musicians). It isn't the real thing anymore.

Imagine Paul McCartney releasing today a freshly recorded version of Abbey Road, with the other parts played by session artists. It would be of interest to die-hard fans, but that's about it.

I really like Smiley-Smile and Surf's Up, but I am going to be selling on my copy of this Smile CD - something I seldom do.

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review by: date: 2007-08-23 rating:
The smile that you send out returns to you
Brian Wilson went through countless personal crises for a third of a century after he abandoned the original Smile project. Finally, he recruited the Wondermints to help him complete the concept. The TV documentary about the making of the album shows that the Wondermints, in addition to their musical expertise, are blessed with the talents of diplomacy and persuasion essential to help Brian Wilson realise the dream.

First, the downside:
-This is not Pet Sounds
-On his own admission, Brian's voice was long ago blighted by his various physical excesses
-The Wondermints are wonderful singers, but you miss the voices of the other Beach Boys, particularly Carl

However, it is a considerable achievement that we ever got to hear an official version of Smile. Nearly half the tracks already exist as official Beach Boys recordings, mainly scattered across albums from Smiley Smile through to Surf's Up. Some of these songs, e.g. Good Vibrations, have almost identical arrangements in both versions, while others differ greatly.

On first listening, I was stunned but still bewildered. After listening a few times, it started to make sense. Themes such as "The child is father to the man" are here in full and in context. The second half is not as strong as the first - to my surprise, Good Vibrations feels like an anti-climax - but the concept works overall.

But back to Brian's voice: how did he deal with the songs which originally relied on his pure, high falsetto? The Wondermints and modern technology help him out. For example, during Surf's Up the octave leap in the phrase "columnated ruins domino" is achieved by a segue from Brian to a Wondermint, but you'd hardly know the difference.

Perhaps best of all, he sounds as if he's having fun. The young Brian was noted for a wicked sense of humour. We thought this was lost long ago, but it still shines through.

Carl would have loved this album. Not so sure about Murry, but he probably felt the group started to go downhill from "409" onwards ...



review by: Dr Simon to you date: 2007-05-20 rating:
Brian Wilson may have lost a battle in 1967, but he finally won the war 37 years later
"Smile" is a mythical Brian Wilson recording that originally began in 1966. The project came in the wake of Brian Wilson's finishing the recording of "Good Vibrations", the Beach Boy's innovative big hit single. After its success, Wilson began to build an album around it. As for "Good Vibrations", he used a very laborious process involving the recording of numerous fragments that he would later painstakingly edit and orchestrate.

Working very hard, already put off by his fellow band members negative reactions, the already fragile and instable Brian Wilson grew dispirited with the whole thing and subsequently "dropped out" in the spring of 1967.

Parts of the original "Smile" tracks appeared on subsequent Beach Boys LP's and on the 1993 "Good Vibrations" CD boxed set. Of course, the original sequence imagined by Brian was completely lost.

Decades passed by before Brian would resolve many personal problems. Having established an association with the Wondermints, Brian Wilson began toying with the idea of resurrecting "Smile" in concert. After the fantastic reception of the concerts, Wilson reconvened with Parks in order to resume work on their abandoned opus.

Rather than manipulating the material from the original sessions, however, Brian took his backing band into the studio to recreate his suite, sometimes employing equipment identical to that utilized by The Beach Boys throughout the 1960s.

The album sounds like a highly textured orchestral piece presented in three suites. Moreover, if these recordings are surely a stripped-down version of Wilson's original version, the results heard here are consistently powerful and breathtaking. These song cycles are melodically Infectious and hummable and make for a remarkably unified, irresistible piece of pop music.

Smile's strengths stem from Wilson's sweeping melodies and singular talent for arranging, most notably the voices. If the harmonies here are not those of the Beach Boys and if Brian's voice is now lower and more ragged, the vocals are, however, excellent.

Brian Wilson has also retained the variety of instruments originally layered into the production. Listen, for instance, to the banjo, harmonica and chimes perfectly blending with the vocal gymnastics on "Cabin Essence."

He has also reinstated Park's lyrics in the brilliant but short instrumentals featured in the unreleased (but heavily bootlegged) Smile recordings. Listen to "Barnyard"; "On a Holiday"; "Song for Children" (formerly "Look") and "I Love to Say Da-Da," now part of "In Blue Hawaii."

This album gives the impression that "Smile" was not far from completion at the time of its conception (reinforcing the importance of Brian's then current psychological problems.)

With the music and lyrics remaining easily abreast of current levels of creativity, the long-lost album has received a brand new life and can now take its long-rumoured, rightful place within the pantheon of music history.

As such, this album is a definite must for all Beach Boys fans.

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