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Rickenbacker · 10-04-2009, 11:47 AM

Moving on.

The Beach Boys - Smiley Smile

(Released 1967)

So... is this it?

Is it too much to say that this could have been the best album ever? Depends on who you ask. One can view this album in two distinct ways, so let's look at both. Looking at Smiley Smile in historical context, it is easy to hate it for being the "SMiLE" that never was... that is, Brian Wilson's magnum opus never to be released until 2004... nearly forty years after it was conceived. It is so easy to dismiss this album as studio dickery... citing things like the sped up tape in She's Going Bald as totally useless. It's even easier still to say that had the Beach Boys put less effort into experimentation and more effort into creating the perfect pop album that everyone knew "SMiLE" was going to be, it would have been released on time and crowned the greatest album ever. By the time the Beach Boys got around to releasing Smiley Smile, "SMiLE's" replacement, The Beatles Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band had already been out for a few months, and had effectively taken the place that Brian Wilson sought to claim with "SMiLE". Had he given up hope? Had he cared so much about this that his last ditch effort was to release THIS? This under-produced, overly experimental, effectively unedited piece of ****? THIS wasn't the album that was going to come back and win the popular music war for America!

But is it that bad? Of course not. Viewed out of context, as just another album, Smiley Smile is nearly perfect. Yes, the production is awful. Someone was too lazy to edit out everybody laughing at the beginning of Little Pad. Someone else, probably Brian, says "good!" after they hit a good harmony on With Me Tonight. The drums everywhere sound absolutely terrible. But we don't criticize Bob Dylan for having crappy vocals (He does), because he writes great songs, just as we don't criticize Daft Punk for auto-tuning the hell out of singer Romanthony's voice on One More Time, yet as soon as we hear T Pain's voice raped by the same software on the radio we whine and complain to no end. It's justified, that's all. But even looking at this objectively it's not the best album ever. Even with better production it would probably only graze my top 100, far behind the 2004 SMiLE, which despite taking forty years, definitely paid off. Still, it's a great album. The Beach Boys harmonies are better on Heroes and Villains than anything ever, no kidding. I try not to view this album or the 2004 SMiLE in historical context, because while the production on the latter is top notch, Brian's voice isn't what it used to be. A mix of the two albums simply would be the best album ever, if that makes sense, but again, it's not really right to think like that.

So it goes. Since its release in 1967, despite initial confusion and critical negativity, Smiley Smile has risen to some sort of a cult album. I would recommend listening to this, but don't go in expecting what you've heard said of SMiLE.

10-04-2009, 11:47 AM	#16 (permalink)
Rickenbacker / Join Date: May 2009 Location: The Conn Posts: 1,338	Moving on. The Beach Boys - Smiley Smile (Released 1967) So... is this it? Is it too much to say that this could have been the best album ever? Depends on who you ask. One can view this album in two distinct ways, so let's look at both. Looking at Smiley Smile in historical context, it is easy to hate it for being the "SMiLE" that never was... that is, Brian Wilson's magnum opus never to be released until 2004... nearly forty years after it was conceived. It is so easy to dismiss this album as studio dickery... citing things like the sped up tape in She's Going Bald as totally useless. It's even easier still to say that had the Beach Boys put less effort into experimentation and more effort into creating the perfect pop album that everyone knew "SMiLE" was going to be, it would have been released on time and crowned the greatest album ever. By the time the Beach Boys got around to releasing Smiley Smile, "SMiLE's" replacement, The Beatles Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band had already been out for a few months, and had effectively taken the place that Brian Wilson sought to claim with "SMiLE". Had he given up hope? Had he cared so much about this that his last ditch effort was to release THIS? This under-produced, overly experimental, effectively unedited piece of **? THIS wasn't the album that was going to come back and win the popular music war for America! But is it that bad? Of course not. Viewed out of context, as just another album, Smiley Smile is nearly perfect. Yes, the production is awful. Someone was too lazy to edit out everybody laughing at the beginning of Little Pad. Someone else, probably Brian, says "good!" after they hit a good harmony on With Me Tonight. The drums everywhere sound absolutely terrible. But we don't criticize Bob Dylan for having crappy vocals (He does), because he writes great songs, just as we don't criticize Daft Punk for auto-tuning the hell out of singer Romanthony's voice on One More Time, yet as soon as we hear T Pain's voice raped by the same software on the radio we whine and complain to no end. It's justified, that's all. But even looking at this objectively it's not the best album ever. Even with better production it would probably only graze my top 100, far behind the 2004 SMiLE, which despite taking forty years, definitely paid off. Still, it's a great album. The Beach Boys harmonies are better on Heroes and Villains than anything ever, no kidding. I try not to view this album or the 2004 SMiLE in historical context, because while the production on the latter is top notch, Brian's voice isn't what it used to be. A mix of the two albums simply would be the best album ever, if that makes sense, but again, it's not really right to think like that. So it goes. Since its release in 1967, despite initial confusion and critical negativity, Smiley Smile has risen to some sort of a cult album. I would recommend listening to this, but don't go in expecting what you've heard said of SMiLE. __________________ last.fm rym Talk About the Passion - R.E.M.'s Discography Reviewed** Last edited by Rickenbacker; 10-05-2009 at 08:52 PM.