Disco de Brian Wilson: “Smile”

When the original SMiLE sessions were taking place, it was whispered that the material was far too bizarre to be released. The audience just wouldn't get it. In retrospect, the album that was (and now the album that is) was light-years ahead of its time. With so many artists having been influenced by the bits and pieces of the original SMiLE that have been lovingly put back together in true humpty-dumpty fashion, it turns out that the album that never was actually was a watershed moment in music history. Just take a listen to bands such as The Fiery Furnaces, The Olivia Tremor Control, The Flaming Lips, Dungen, The Shins, All Night Radio...the list goes on. Those bits and pieces of SMiLE gestated and gave birth to these bands, and without SMiLE and its predecessor Pet Sounds, these bands would arguably not even exist.

However, The Beach Boys' SMiLE is a fragile document of what could have been. Until now. When I first heard that Brian Wilson was going to RE-RECORD the album, I almost lost it. I thought "How could he? This will be an embarrassment and will ruin what little we have of the original, sung through post-millennia filter that will cloud Brian Wilson's vision!" Boy, was I wrong. This is not a reproduction. It is a pure and unadulterated channeling of those original sessions as if they were directly tapped through some break in the space/time continuum. This is not SMiLE redux, this IS SMiLE. Arguably, Brian's Voice lost a touch or two in the intervening decades (!), but still sounds terrific. And the backup band The Wondermints recreate the sound of "what could have been" flawlessly. Although it isn't Mike Love and Carl Wilson singing harmonies, that does not matter much. This is Brian and Van Dyke's album. It always was.

So, when all is said and done, the album that could have been is the album that is. It is the album of a career, and one of the best albums of our lifetime. For this effort at least, Humpty Dumpty truly has been put back together again.

I don't usually write reviews, but having waited so long to hear this album, I thought I had better give it a shot. What we have here is nothing short of a masterpiece, a tour de force of what can happen when sophisticated, esoteric, impressionistic lyrics are combined with unassaliable melody,inspired production, and wit. The whole thing is inspired charm of breathtaking beauty. A teeneage symphony to God indeed, as we know that Wilson himself once put it-- key and chord shifts to make your head spin, lyric sophisitication grand enough to cry out and demand for repeated listenings; a melange of instrumentation so bold, yet so subtle, that the approprateness of the production is not to be questioned. A banjo here, a theremin there; a new melody rising and dipping, coming and going so rapidly that by the time the whole thing is finished, you are not quite sure where it is that you have come from.

Our Prayer is exactly that-- an underscoring of the whole spritulty that seeps from this music throughout; a prayer for an insite into the soul that sophisticated music often provides. Afterward, let the "First Movement" begin; America as seen through a kalaidascope of stereotypes, charactatures, and cartoons. Heroes and Villains starts us off into this world of Americana; perhaps there is good and bad in people no matter where you end up. Ominous and exciting at turns, its as if the world of Bonanza and Gunsmoke have come to life. Roll plymouth Rock is perhaps one of the more "experimental" pieces on the album; again, a fitting end to our heroes and villians story is to remind us a bit about the Aemrica we come from. Look at the frontiersman, the cattleman in "Barnyard." How many melody lines can a person combine into one song yet have each remain distinct? The desolation of past loves lost in YOu are my Sunshine reminds us all that through it all we are all subject to regret and lost hope. Smell the campfire burning? You can almost see it in front of you in Cabinessence; it is the essence of the frontiersman pushing westward, taming the wild, building the railroads and bringing "civilization" westward (are these people heroes or are they villians?).

Now, movement two in this symphony begins. Wonderful is one of the most sublime melodies that Wilson ever wrote, subtle, beautiful and powerful. I have always taken this piece as a the story of a girl as she enters young womanhood, and leaves her childhood behind. There is hopw, but also a bittersweet sadness, as well, felt in not only the lyrics, but especially the music. Song for children and Child is the Father of the Man is a perfect coda for this thought; again, the idea of growing up and reflecting on our childhood that we all do. By the way, "Child" is a piece that I beleive that in anyone else's hands, with anyone else's production than Brian Wilson, it would become tired and wearysome quickly, but somehow never does. Surf's up is a baroque song of 19th century society that is so cataclysmic in scope, I still shiver when I hear it. An excellent counterpart to the cartoony west painted in the first movement; this is reminder of upper class society in the West and is an excellent juxtaposition of the songs of intraspection that have immediately preceeded it. Is this the life we want our children to grow up and lead? Back to what life is really about with I'm in Great Shape; getting out of bed, eating breakfast, a little communion with nature; that's what starts the Third Movement. Workshop tells us about the need to fix someone's heart, complete with sound effects of the repairs going on. If you are not smiling by this time, perhaps you never will. Or maybe being told to eat your vegetables will do it in the next song, Vegetables. My guess is that this starts the Suite "The Elements" planned for the original 1967 release. On a Holiday is a great sea chanty come to life (is that VAn Dyke Parks on the voice-over? Sure sounds like him!). If we had Earth, now let's have Air: Wind Chimes. This is perhaps one of the greatest additions to the collection not heard before-- in it's finnished state, the second half of this song, beginning with the brass coming bursting down the door, I think this may be the coolest piece of instrumentation that Wilson ever wrote. Cool, indeed! Here come's the Fire, the first half of the song being a cartoony instrumental of a fire, perhaps a barn in some western town-- very Keystone Cops-ish, as another reviewer pointed out. The second part of this instrumental, beginning with the drums, continuing with the earie cello's and other strings, continues to scare the hell out of me. Listening to this, I can now understand why conducting it in 1967 freaked Wilson out at the time! To put out the fire, we need Water-- which we get In Blue Hawaii-- reminding us that America extends from Sea to Shining Sea, when all is said and done. Good Vibrations, the alternate version, with alternate, 1967 lyrics penned by Tony Asher of Pet Sounds fame, closes this set in breathtaking fasion.

Well, what can be said as general observations? First, Wilson's vocals, though not as good as they were 30 years ago, I think that if you never heard the man sing at all, these would be considered top-notch. It's only in comparison with his voice from over three decades ago that they seem to suffer in comparison. And just a bit, too. The Wondermints do a dynamite job throughout, too. I think that the blend of the Beach Boys' voices was unique, though-- I think that there is just Something about those voices that made the whole much, much greater than the some of their parts. Particuarly missed is Carl Wilson, who gave Wind Chimes and Cabinessence a subtle, breathy quality that the the songs do miss. That being said, how can anyone not like this music? Deep, emotional, thematic, melodic, and above all else, fun! It makes me yearn for another album from VAn Dyke Parks and Brian Wilson, a la "Orange Crate ARt" or Smile. So put the CD in, sit back, and Smile.....!

I am giving this album five stars because in its musical ingenuity, its melodic beauty, its moments of emotional power, its originality, its unique structure, its sonic choices, and its good cheer, it is the best album to be released in 2004. I must confess that I am among the world's many "Smile" geeks; I have heard all the bootlegs of the 1966-67 Beach Boys recordings that were to have been the original "Smile," and speculated about how they were supposed to fit together, etc. (For those who would like to hear some of that breathtaking original work, I heartily recommend the Beach Boys Box set "Good Vibrations" which is well worth the money, and contains many of the "Smile" recordings that were made in the sixties with great sound quality.) The myth surrounding "Smile" is so large that one has to admire the artistic courage it took for Brian Wilson to do this now, knowing there was no way on earth he could satisfy everyone or live up to enormous expectations - the same people who pestered him for years to finish the album will now perhaps turn around and complain about it. But Brian Wilson has no axe to grind, he is simply a man who genuinely wants to spread love and mercy and good vibrations to all and sundry through music. That said, let's look at what we have here. We open a CD package that is tastefully done; the liner notes by David Leaf touch on the "Smile" project's tortured history but they are dignified and succinct, without overmuch ado. The old timey Americana illustrations in the booklet set the proper mood of humor and fun (indeed, there is something uniquely American about "Smile" with its frontier and Hawaiian themes, in the same intangible way that there is something uniquely English about the Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper" with its music hall mood.)The CD itself has a slightly exotic look, which is also fitting given the exotic nature of the music herein. Brian has divided the album into three suites, the first featuring the American pioneer invocations of "Heroes and Villains" and "Cabinessence." From the opening vocal "prayer," we hear that Brian's current backup band, the Wondermints, has done a fine job of recreating the sounds and harmonies of the original recordings, note for note. It sounds good, it feels good, and for those new fans unfamiliar with any of it, you are in for a treat because of the sheer musicality of it all. Moods are evoked through unusual combinations of instruments, the same superb way Brain Wilson has always done things. The next suite, about childhood, is perhaps the most poignant and beautiful, ending with the classic "Surf's Up," that brings chills to the spine with its combination of innocence, joy, hope, and sadness. The final suite, loosely about the four elements (earth, air, fire, water), is perhaps the weakest of the three in its assembly and coherent logic, although the band acquits themselves mightily with terrifying version of "Mrs. O'Leary's Cow," which conjures up the sounds of a towering inferno with musical instruments alone - fantastic. The album ends with a new version of the well-known "Good Vibrations," this time incorporating lyrics that had originally been part of the songwriting process but had been discarded. This version can hardly come up to the original, but it's a fun song any way you slice it. Overall the album doesn't seem to make a hell of a lot of sense as it veers from theme to theme, due to the abstract ramblings of clever lyricist Van Dyke Parks. But there is an ambitious vision here and a desire to explore different ways of songwriting, arranging, and recording that is amazingly fresh after all these years. This album was made for love, not for money, and that is a much rarer thing today than it was in the sixties, sad to say. My one reservation about these recordings overall (here goes the geek's quibbling) is that the modern recording studio cannot quite equal the warm, rich sounds of the all-analog 1960s and the Beach Boys. This may also be due to the fact that "Smile" was finished as a piece to be performed live in 2004 before it was ever recorded. By contrast, the 60s "Smile" was originally not meant to be performed live but in the fine Beatles and "Pet Sounds" tradition, it was a recording that was unique as such, a work of art like a painting, a cinematic *recording* above and beyond simply the songs themselves and any given performance of those songs, however well done. Thus we have the 2004 version using synthesized keypboards for the sound of a harpsichord or a tack piano, rather than using the real things as would have been done in the sixties. We have less outlandish reverb, and listening to these recordings on headphones does not give me the same overwhelming spiritual thrill that the originals do. It is as if Leonardo went back in his old age and decided to paint another copy of the Mona Lisa; it would be a fine painting in the master's own hand, but it wouldn't be the first Mona Lisa. This is inevitable and unavoidable, and I am still grateful that Brian has finished this work and given us the best idea possible of how it was supposed to all fit together. Most of all I recommend this album not to "Smile" geeks like myself but to new fans who have never heard anything like it. It reminds us that anything is possible, and that we don't have to write or think within the narrow confines of commercial record companies and radio. I know of no other album quite like "Smile" and I can count on my fingers the number of truly unique albums that have appeared since the 1960s. This album offers prayers and good vibes, which will be answered if other artists heed the inspiring call and seek to do things in new and different ways and have some real fun with music and with recording, or in whatever field of endeavor you choose, with sincere good will.

Cutting to the chase: SMILE (2004) delivers. The new versions of songs like "Vegetables" and "Wonderful" are actually improvements over the originals, and, placed in their proper sequence, songs that were dealt out piecemeal over a period of several years now make sense as part of an organic whole. Brian's voice is not what it was in 1966 but that lends an added poignancy to many songs. Masterpiece? Well, it represents some of the best work from one of pop's most brilliantly original talents. This CUTS TO RIBBONS most music released this year. Pop music has reached a sorry state when the best albums of this year were either conceived (SMILE) or recorded (LONDON CALLING) decades ago.

I am listening to "Smile" as I type this, and have seen a number of the reviews here, the varying opinions that run from pure adoration of this work to total loathing. I thought I'd add my two cents.

Music, more than any other artform, is totally personal. It only truly works for us if it moves us in some way. If it doesn't, it's merely noise. And what is going to move us is a combination of our own experiences, our associations of events with melodies, rhythms, memories and so on. So one person's genius is another person's bore. That's how it's always been and how it will always be.

That having been said, I was attending an Arts College when first introduced to "Brian Wilson's lost masterpiece", in the form of the remnant album that was released as a kind of consolation. That album was called "Smiley Smile". Many at the school (from the music department) proclaimed it either "thwarted genius" or "psycho music". Neither is surprising as at that time Brian was undergoing the deepest stages of his mental breakdown.

But listening to Smile at this moment, I'm surprised and rather delighted to hear the final realization of the fragments and bits and pieces that I originally heard on the Smiley Smile album. Some of the melodies and tunes from that earlier incarnation find their way here, but having transmuted to different keys, different tempos, different arrangements. Some have disappeared entirely. I personally would urge everyone to try and obtain a copy of Smiley Smile and listen to the two of them back to back. It's the difference between a raw manuscript and a published volume. In Smiley Smile you'll find Vega-Tables and Wind Chimes as well as Heroes and Villians and Good Vibrations. However with the exception of H & V and Good Vibrations, the others seemed, on that earlier incarnation, to be mere fragments, jotted down and preserved as if in a desperate effort that they not be lost should they never receive a completing make-over. The differences are quite striking.

In terms of the quality of the music on Smile, I can only say this... in an age when "music" consists primarily of nothing but repetitive, banging rhythms topped by staccato, monotone rambling words (as in rap) or flat, jarring, dischordant electrified guitar noise and distorted, tuneless screaming (as in most other contemporary musical forms like metal, punk, grunge, etc. etc. etc.) then it is refreshing to find something that uses a wide range of melodic themes, instrumentations, witty lyrics, harmonics and, dare I say it... feelings.

I'm sure I will be listening to Smile frequently in the coming days. And I'm equally sure I will be smiling when I do.