Smile

Gear: Focal Clear (ZMFed) Artwork: die Prilblume passt zur Ära, in der das Album anscheinend ursprünglich konzeptioniert wurde - die Bordüre wirkt dazu etwas befremdlich Mix: beeindruckendes Spiel mit der Räumlichkeit. Klingt wie die authentische Aufnahme eines anscheinend fantastischen Konzert-Abends Musik: passender Name! 😊 für einen blutigen Beach Boys-Anfänger wie mich klingt es genau wie erwartet ("Good Vibrations" ist schließlich auch am Start) - großartig! Wertung: 😊😊😊(😊)/5

Я слышал этот альбом еще до того, как узнал, что это за чел. Это хороший альбом, но вот эта некоторая клоунскость в звуке некоторых песен, карнавал и вот это всё, отталкивают меня. Я не самый большой The Beach Boys фан на земле, надо признать, и это определенно влияет на мое восприятие и этого произведения тоже. Я не выбираю Good Vibrations как лучшую, потому что в моей книге это песня The Beach Boys. Лучшая песня - Cabin Essense.

I can see all the fuss, a vintage era Beach Boys album in all but name decades afterwards. Beautiful playing and singing. But not my cup of tea. There is some trail off by the end (Vegetables) as well. 2.5 but will round up to 3.

It's very strange to be two decades out from this second attempt at capturing Smile, and especially strange to be a decade out from the (imo) successful reconstruction of the first attempt via The Smile Sessions. I prefer the Sessions sound more than I like BWPS, but I also appreciate the sound of a man, much older and wiser and with his feet more securely under him, trying to recapture the feeling of play and creativity. Frankly it'd be awesome if Brian came back and did Smile again, one more time for the hellof it. But I'm glad we have this.

Fun, beachy hits (definitely has a Beach Boys aura) with some funky eclectic songs thrown in. Worth another listen.

Ei vittu mitä disney musikaali meemi musiikkia

i just don't like the beach boys. beatles are better.

First few songs were aight, but I cant stand a whole album of these songs parodying old rock and roll a cappella

I don't like it that much but I gotta give it credit for being really original and different.

Certainly still has that Beach Boys sound

Kinda slow

Never was a fan of his music but I certainly appreciate his genius. 2

A blast out of time. Feels modern and vintage at the same time. Almost saccharin sweet. I feel like the harmonies aren't quite as perfect as Beach Boys, but very close.

I really liked the variety of this album. At some points there was spook and others it was very happy which made me wondering what mood would come next. I really liked the last song and its eerie mood. Very good album and I could see a lot of simulators to the Beach Boys of course and I liked it.

Dense. Very dense. I'd never heard this when it came out, partly due to little kid distraction (redundant) and partly due to a lifelong aversion to most Beach Boys material. Which is weird because this kind of iconoclastic overtly melodic composition is fascinating to me and extremely appealing. Nothing in here is immediate single/radio material (outside the newly recorded version of "Food Vibrations" which honestly I like better than the original) which is great - full stop. But again that makes it a (good) challenge to delve into and oft-times feels longer than the 52 minute runtime. But damn if this isn't worth repeat listens - it *sounds* fantastic, there are multiple layers of melody running in and out of every song. I can't imagine how many writes / re-writes / edits this went through over the decades - and the end result is so lush and complex... the satisfaction on finishing must have been a true life goal. Compared to (more) modern artists I can hear strong elements of Jellyfish and Animal Collective running through the work (even tho much of this was finally compiled from music that was 30+ years old). Although a lot of the critical wanking is just too much to take seriously, i really do enjoy a good album creation story. It's hard to personally evaluate this in just one day and yeah, it's hard to find the quick big hooks but inevitably that's the hallmark (for me) of a great album. And I don't even like those old Beach Boys harmonies...but this feels better - a lot better. I'm gonna mark this as a 4 after two listens knowing I haven't really even tapped into this in any meaningful way yet. 8/10 4 stars

The charm of Beach Boys albums is gone, all we have left is the main guy and the same songs, just sang 40 years later. I'm not a big enough fan to appreciate it, so I'll just quietly move on.

A chill album that was very Beach Boys (duh), that Brian was able to have come to fruition as there had been numerous failed attempts previously. Despite the controversy surrounding him not defining it as a Beach Boys album it seems he did what he set out to do. Best: Heroes and Villains Worst: Child Is Father of the Man

I know the basics of the Brian Wilson/beach boys story so I get why this album is historically notable and I can definitely tell that it was made by a semi crazy person at points but I probably don’t have the full context. Either way, it was fun to hear 60s music that actually came out in 2004 and as far as the craziness goes, it was fascinating to hear some of these songs. Like Mrs o learys cow sounds completely different from everything else and could only come from one persons wild idea for a song. Good vibrations is still a banger and the intro is also a standout for me.

Buddy, I’m frowning.

Good Vibrations Heroes and Villains

CD

Gets pretty dark in places!

Just about all of this sounds like Beach Boys, which tracks. Fun stuff

Felt really dated and many of the songs were incomplete.

Phenomenal. Animal Collective owes him so much

This album obviously has the sounds and charm of a Beach Boys album, but the lyrics are something else. There are large religious themes through many of the songs, but also one of the songs is about organic vegetables. Its definitely a fun album with some interesting messages throughout.

Actually great

I struggle to see what the big deal is with Brian Wilson \ The Beach Boys. It wasn't bad, far from it, but it never really got me going either.

Unexpectedly good and good kind of weird Of course, "Good vibrations" is a classic

I knew of this album by reputation, but had never listened to it before. Insert Krusty the Clown "What the hell was that?" meme here. There's some decent songs, but most seem half baked with everything and the kitchen sink thrown at them to make them seem whole. This isn't a masterpiece, it's a mess.

*Listening note* If you can turn on a moderate amount of crossfading, this album warrants it. Harmonies! Brian Wilson!

Was not a fan of this music. Beach Boys were legendary and revolutionary but still doing the same thing but worse in 2004 was not what I was looking for

This is compositionally very interesting but I can’t say I enjoy listening to it. I feel like maybe it’s intended for small children?

Not a fan. This is the type of music your boomer uncle puts on when he tries to persuade you and your cousins that "music was so much better in my day." This was like an LSD trip at a haunted circus where the clowns are zombies chasing you for your brain. No bueno. There is no redeeming factor in this. At all.

I don't have any constructive criticism, just not into it.

I love the beach boys but never heard of this before. I hear a lot of the harmonizing goodness. This was enjoyable, with some tracks having the BB charm, but not as good as the OG. 3*.

This feels like a magnum opus for Brian. A swan song, if you will. First of all, a fun listen throughout and powerful where it needs to be. I’m a little foggy on the particulars of this album’s backstory. I tried finding a YouTube video on it, but they’re all so long. Apparently, some serious stuff went down. That might really be all you need to know for the album to work as an intense piece of art. The arrangement evokes something I can only describe as tangibly ethereal. This version of “You Are My Sunshine” is possibly my favorite that’s ever been made. For 1967, this isa truly incredible piece of music that would have, no doubt, changed the game and inspired countless artists. For 2004, it falls by the wayside and gets a lot of “if only” points. Though it isn’t offensive, Brian’s aged voice can’t keep up with the magic this album needs to provide in order for it to work. So therefore, it gets a perfect score for theory, but a point off for being too late and execution which is a TAD too sloppy. 4/5

... wow... I know some B-Boy fans may be ga-ga over this, but I thought it is a hot mess. The vocals and melodies are there, but man-o-man I can't un-hear this. Don't lump what Brian was trying to create here.... 2 only because he threw in a "Good Vibrations" redo,

Maybe the originally conceived album would have been great. I know Brian recorded what he considers the definitive version. There is some really great stuff on here, but also some half baked ideas. Ultimately, too many underdeveloped ideas. If all the songs ended up as good as Heroes and Villains and Good Vibrations, we would have a 5-star album on our hands. But Mrs. O'Leary's cow is not gonna get you into 5-star land.

Hard to judge this album — it’s the most notorious lost album of all time, but based off the sessions we have it seems really inconsistent. Great beautiful stuff like Our Prayer/Gee, Heroes and Villians, cabinessence, and Surf’s Up. You can hear most of that on other albums. But then you have a song about eating vegetables. Also, good vibrations doesn’t fit on here (it would’ve also been out of place on Pet Sounds). Still, Brian is an all-time genius and melody writer

I enjoyed this.

Brian Wilson Presents Smile is an album I don't really know how to evaluate. I get the story behind it and appreciate the incredible sentimental value it holds to fans of one of the most talented and accomplished groups ever, and there are places of real quality throughout as you'd expect of anything Beach Boys related, but it doesn't quite get me the way I think it gets people who were and are far more into them than I am. The entire production is meticulous and impressive, the layering of instruments and tones and textures, the voices themselves being as much an instrument as anything else, it all comes together into a magnificent sound that has atmosphere you can almost reach out and touch. I just think it's unnecessarily long and weird in places; it does whimsical well at times and entirely unnecessarily at others, like I could do without Barnyard, Vega-Tables and Mrs O'Leary's Cow right off my head. Again, I can forgive that as part of the project and the importance of it to Wilson, but if I don't care about the story and only the music then it doesn't fulfil me, and that's a flaw of this entire exercise we've pointed out before, that the true resonance of many reverential albums lies in the moment in time and the narrative/journey it took to get there and what came next. I'll sum this up by saying In Blue Hawaii was incredible, and I'll give the whole thing a 3 overall.

Really nicely put together, it all flows beautifully, but the individual tracks just don't do it for me, Clive. Heroes & Villains is quite catchy, then you have Good Vibrations/Surfs Up (and probably others?) from the Beach Boys back catalogue by the time this was released. Beyond that, not a lot. The whole is more than the sum of its parts, unfortunately the parts are (mostly) really not good. 3/5.

cha cha cha very nice

Listened to the Smile Sessions.

One gets ultra-theatrical, like Wonka-esque or Pleasuredome vibes on this. It's rich and lush and absurdly melodic and intermittently wondrous, but also tending to the wackily baroque to an extent far out of one's comfort zone. The opening prayer sets the tone, and there are gems throughout – "A Song for Children" and "Surf's Up" and of course "H & B" and "Good Vibes." Overall, this is hugely indulgent, but one indulges BW here because of Pet Sounds, which this isn’t, however smile-inducing and fun it is. Belongs on the list because of its historical import.

I enjoyed this quite a bit.

i hold mr wilson in very high esteem but this record is fkn annoying

The fact that this was released in 2004 makes me like it better

I didn’t know the story of this album, but I had heard a few songs from Fantastic Mr Fox. I’m interested in hearing the Smile sessions they released.

Purple Chick Smile > Smile Sessions > Brian Wilson's Smile

I wanted this to be great, but it isn't. It's mostly pretty good and some of it is fantastic, but a lot of it just washes over. 'Heroes and villains' has always been one of my favourites, but there isn't another single other tune on the album I can remember, despite playing it on repeat all day.

Does not suit my "type" of listening. But a good album, anyway, always thankful for your suggestions ;-)

I thought I was gonna like this one a lot more. Normally I’m into kid music but this was kind of frantic and a little too weird to fully enjoy. I found myself waiting for the album to just be over.

Wonderful harmonies but also eccentric and strange.

Bizarre to say the least. But good in its own right. Love the Brian Wilson sound.

Not too shabby. Like The Beach Boys but just not as good.

very fun!

Beach Boys, Charlie Manson, there’s something there

He’s a genius

I would recommend everyone to take a deeper look into this project, if you're not already familiar with it. Beautiful piece of art.

The missing Beach Boys album and it wonderfully scratches that itch. I would have loved to hear this as produced at the time but the modern production suits fine. Brian Wilson, as always, is a sneaky great song writer and lyricist. Tracks that become ear worms that also floor you with content. Really great listen.

Beach Boys down half an octive? Sure, I'm in!

Album 328 of 1001 Brian Wilson - Smile Rating : 5 / 5 Favorite Track : Heroes and Villains / Good Vibrations I did smile when I saw this pop up as my album of the day. This is another cd I bought right after it was released back in 2004. I listened to a song or two and then put it back in the case and there it sat for almost 20 years. I pulled it out a year or so ago and it has become one of my favorites. There is a video of the live performance on youtube that should be checked out. Many panned this hard, but I love it. One of those special releases that come along once in a blue moon...even if it takes 20 years to figure it out.

Un disco raro. A veces alegre, a veces con llamados de pájaros al fondo. Me gustaron algunas canciones, pero muchas otras no fueron de mi agrado. Estoy comenzando a ver un patrón en los discos que salen en ésta lista, para ser escogidos: han de tener ruidos raros mezclados con musica.

Brilliant. Love the beach boys, love Brian Wilson.

This album shows just how much Brian Wilson was responsible for the sound of the Beach Boys. A strange album - partly it feels like a concept album and partly it feels like a musical stage show celebrating the Beach Boys.

I *think* I like the Beach Boys. I hear snippets on the radio or whatever and often note "I should listen to more Beach Boys". Then I listen to more Beach Boys and realise that I actually find their sound deeply irritating. I don't know why, it's objectively pleasant. So this is 51 minutes of music that, for some reason, irritated the life out of me.

I've been in this town so long that back in the city I've been taken for lost and gone And unknown for a long, long time Fell in love years ago with an innocent girl From the Spanish and Indian home Of the Heroes and Villains Once at night, cotillion squared the fight And she was right in the rain of the bullets That eventually brought her down But she's still dancing in the night Unafraid of what a dude'll do In a town full of Heroes and Villains Weird album full of antique vibrations and history of mental illness. Its pretty good, though. 4/5

This album felt like it was trying to recapture it's Beach Boys era, but it felt so hopelessly antiquated. Even for 2004 (almost *forty* years after the Beach Boys heyday at the time of release) that era was *long* gone. If this released in the 60's or 70's I would just find it boring like the rest of the Beach Boys catalogue. But to come out with that style in 2004 with no evolution to make it fresh, makes this such a dud and so obsolete that it makes you realize the original material wasn't even that great to begin with and doesn't have that much holding it up, aside from nostalgia This would be like if Curtis Blow decided to make a sequel to "The Breaks" in 2024 using the same rhyming ability, beat selection, flow patterns, and writing structure. Unless you do something to make it feel like it's building off of that style or doing something different to make it feel new, that genre and music as a whole has progressed so far beyond that style, that doing now is just aggravating.

Kinda same old same old

I listened to this a bunch when it was new, hoping for Pet Sounds 2.0. It isn’t that. It’s more just a nostalgia trip about what might have been.

i did NOT like this 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

Sometimes an album is waiting for you and you aren't ready for it. I feel like SMiLE has been waiting for me for 20 years and I've never been ready for it. My guitar teacher told me about it when I was 15. I think I've given it a few goes in the time since. Today is the closest I've been to being ready for it. When I put it on this morning, it sounded better than it ever had, any hangups I felt before seemed to have disappeared. I'd always preferred this version of Good Vibrations, the version on this record is probably one of my favourite songs of all time. But everything on this record hits. Its all of a similar standard. The ideas and musicianship are incredible. It feels like a wonderful childlike dream. I wish I had got deep into it when I was first told about it. I have such a soft spot for the Beach Boys album Holland and Pet Soinds is Pet Sounds. This album goes right up there today. I think its a 5, and if it isn't a 5, it's a future 5 because its fantastic

this album opened as a 5, but soon became a bit too beach boysey and experimental to stay that way. but still a very good album

I know it’s sacriligious to say but: I am massively annoyed.

What did I just listen to?

Fun Album. Love the Beach Boys. Love Good Vibrations!

Actual children music

founding member of the beach boys. A solo recreation of an old album that was never finished by the band. cool album. Amazing alternate lyrics for good vibrations. 3

Como disco conceptual tiene un pasaje buenísimo. Pero no me alcanza, separados los temas son flojos como para playlist. Parece música de circo.

Exceptionally produced but hard to listen to after a certain point. A bit too much sugar for my taste.

Oh, Brian Wilson. What can we say? Parts are genius, parts are weird. It's everything you would expect from an album that took Wilson like 3 decades to compose. Some of the harmonies are fire.

"Let's get braces!" Based on the album art I would've thought Brian Wilson was an orthodontist rather than a Beach Boy. It seems to offer the promise of happiness and elation. In reality, I think the marketing machine got ahold of this one. Smile is an overhyped comeback from a 'band' whose drama, at times overshadowed the music it preformed. The history of this album is only mildly interesting but was the main driver for why Smile got the praise it did. The original performance, album and documentary behind the album ignited sales and found an audience who was energized by little more than sweet nostalgia surrounding the Beach Boys. it may have been a passion project to someone, but more obviously was a money grab. According to Brian Wilson, himself he refers to the audience as a 'market.' When asked what completing Smile had meant to him he says "it means reaching people in a market that's so dead, so out of it. Breathing some new life into an old market is what this music is about." Smile sounds like it's halfway between a Broadway musical, and a barbershop quartet resting on an outsized narrative created by a record label.

I didn’t quite “get” the brilliance of “Pet Sounds,” so I was probably unlikely to get the long-lost follow-up that saw Brian Wilson collapsing under the pressure to live up to the label of “genius.” It is kind of amazing that Wilson came back to this music decades after his mental health deteriorated during the original recording sessions. That had to dig up some trauma. I feel like most of this music would benefit from more simplicity, but instead Wilson adds layers upon layers - of backing vocals, or unconventional instruments. And sometimes he really just lets the weirdness flow. Is it music intended for children? Hippies on a trip? Or just a statement of challenge to those calling Wilson a genius? Sometimes I think artists who receive that label test the critics (and the public) to see just how far they can take things, just what they can get away with and have people fawn over this oh-so-very deep art. We could analyze the art all day, but in the end, the album rarely made me smile, instead just leaving me quizzically curious. Wilson might have come back to the material after decades, but it’s not something I would return to.

Lost me at the barnyard animals

Strange like a Warhol. Sometimes bordering on bizarre. He made major changes, whether it be instrument, tempo, key, or a combination, like every 4 bars, which did not allow a groove to set in. Unsettling.

This shit was awful. I feel bad about all the other 1 stars I've made because this clearly deserves a score much lower.

Always like listening to cool projects like these. 3.5

Overall this was a fine album and I definitely respect him as an artist. Nothing really stood out to me as exceptional enjoyable however I would still give this a 3.5.

Een prima easy listening albumpje, lekker stemgeluid van meneer Wilson van The Beach Boys. Na een tijdje wel een beetje eentonig en die middeleeuwse klavecimbel en goofy ahh sounds hoeven van mij ook niet per se

Je kan zeggen wat je wil over Brian Wilson, maar ik vond dit helemaal niks

Geinige muziek, maar niet mijn smaak en ga er ook niet nog eens naar luisteren denk ik zo

Ja er kann es und zitiert sich eifrig selbst. Leider ist es nicht meine Musik.

eins og eitthvað sem kom ut aður en goð tonlist var fundin upp

I’m sure if I liked The Beach Boys, I would really like this album. Unfortunately, I don’t care for the Beach Boy, and thus I don’t care for this album. Definitely had that distinct sound.

Oof. No thank you. I prefer rhythm over harmony though.

It’s a beautiful sound, but I find the album too long and uneventful.

Ich mag die alten Beach Boys Klassiker. Die stehen für sich und gut ist. Warum so eine Reanimation? Es komponiert heute doch auch keiner mehr Barockmusik.

Yeah, sure…

I mean it's basically just a Beach Boys album recorded a couple decades too late and it sounds just like that. Not great not bad, just ok.

Holy Grail for harmonies. Nice.

This is a quirky, cute and somewhat interesting 60s record, made in 2004.

Probably a 3.5 star album i saw him live and was awesome

Voice front and center. This is a flawed album in my opinion as I think the tools that Brian Wilson wanted/needed were not available to really build what he wanted. It would be very cool for someone to rebuild this album using the latest software. Still, this is an amazing album in how it spins off into its own world. It is like the birth of ballet by making special rules for how one stands and moves. The music builds on known methods but asserts its own rules. The layers are amazing. The lyrics are almost throw-away in terms of any meaning as it is more about the flow, cadence, melody, sound and not a specific meaning of language. A very cool album that opened a door for many people.

Very melodic and not for me at all.

cool to hear a re-cut of good vibrations!

Wild

What a joyously perfect record - intertwining harmonies and beautiful songs. This was already a favourite and I remember it took a couple of listens before I really saw its genius - but now I kind of see it as a slightly better brother of Sgt Pepper.

Can’t really beat Wilson’s harmonies. Pretty close to church music — good and bad.

If only the rest of the Boys could have opened their mind and allowed this to be. Brian's genius at work.

2 stars only, because 1 star wouldn't be considered Good Vibrations

Geht so

Deze muziek was zo oppervlakkig dat ik me afvraag of ik het überhaupt geluisterd heb.

Ja zit wel vet in elkaar ofzo maar had er echt ff geen zin in

Yeah, that's not the best showcase of Brian's skill. I understand that this was a bit of a cathartic release for him but I'm not sure anyone buy him needed for it to be released, honestly. It's really disjointed with each track taking multiple left-turns within the song. The lyrics are, by and large, nonsensical. And the production, while unsurprisingly high-quality, makes a lot of... strange choices. This is far from his best work and it's not a particularly enjoyable listen. Stars for skill, though.

Had some brilliant moments of harmony and melody only he can think up

Hard to hear this album without thinking of the story of it. Clearly not Pet Sounds and way past prime but there is still quality here. It almost sounds a bit zanier and like a circus at times. Vega-tables shows what happens after a mind is damaged. I can't give this album a one but isn't the best.

The productions just sounds uncomfortable. The timing seems off. Sounds a little like when a movie distorts the audio when a character is on depressants. The layers feel like they don't mesh. Probably should have just stayed existing in hearts and minds Someone should make a horror movie based on this album with it as the soundtrack.

Decent album with a lot of varying sounds and instruments. I like how it would transition suddenly into new sections or songs. But I always feel underwhelmed by Brian Wilson/Beach Boys, to me the hype around them always make it seem like it's going to be way more experimental or varied than it actually is. At the end of the day I'm left very underwhelmed, but it was a pleasant listen.

Maybe because I was listening in the dark in Reykjavík in the depths of winter but I couldn’t get this album to stick at all. It’s unquestionably an incredible piece of musicianship, and the lore behind it only adds to the allure. But while I love Pet Sounds, Smile feels like it just went too hard into the musical, theatrical vibes for me. Still though, very impressive. I’ll try re-listen in summer and see if it does anything different for me.

I didn't realize Brian Wilson was a beach boy and immediately got whiplash from heroes and villains

A wonderful album. On the whole, I really dislike “quirky” or “goofy” music but I really enjoy bands/artists that think outside the box. In this case the “outside the box” music outweighs the silliness of the album

That album cover looks like a Veggie Tales logo. Music sounds like the soundtrack for a clown on a surfboard. Super tight harmonies and minors, but too many twiddly-dinks, boinks, and wabba-wabbas to take too seriously.

Listened to this while playing the ship maintenance phase of ISS Vanguard. I liked this album when it came out, but we were all young and stupid once. Seriously...whoever was responsible for putting this on the list deserves to listen to "Vega-tables" on a loop for eternity. I honestly would die more happy if I never have to listen to this again.

Wtf was this

The only fun thing about this album was its name. Kinda just drug in and to me sounded off pitch. Don’t see myself returning for this band again.

It's like they pulled the fun out of the Beach Boys. There were definitely some creative parts, but that didn't make them good. I don't see myself returning to this. 2/5

I found it all over the place. Not bad but strange, I guess the legacy of something unfinished and the earlier context. The Wikipedia entries were useful backstory. Mrs o'learys cow was very strange.

While I didn’t love this - I did like the gentle menace, like the train bit at the beginning of Dumbo. I know it’s harmless but there’s something underlying there.

An old man recording an album he wrote in his 20s which caused him to have a nervous breakdown is always going to give off quite specific vibes. I thought it was fine. Some well known tracks like Good Vibrations had less of an impact because he obviously went on to record them anyway with the Beach Boys. Happy for him he got to make this. I found it inessential and with too many comedy whistles

The beach boy sound became older

nice sunny music, doesn't make me want to re-listen or find out more 3

Pet Sounds is the better album, and Smile was best off shelved. A convoluted album that lacks clarity.

Beautiful

not impressed sorry

Well at least we know who was responsible for the harmonies in the beach boys

Don't really get it.

Godlike, beautiful songwriting. Wonderfully pleasing My only problem is that you can tell it was recorded in the 2000s and not the 1960s, it sometimes sounds too modernly polished in a bad way. Guess I need to check out that Smile Sessions album.

Sounds like the Beach Boys. If you like the Beach Boys, you will like this.

Nicht meins.

Terrible. Nothing sadder than a boomer who just can’t let go. You’re 50 years too late dude.

That was definitely interesting thanks Brian!

Too weird and orchestral. Nothing worse than having an orchestra for orchestras sake

01) Our Prayer/Gee - 4,0 02) Heroes and Villains - 6,0 03) Roll Plymouth Rock - 5,0 04) Barnyard - 3,0 05) Old Master Painter/You Are My Sunshine - 3,0 06) Cabin Essence - 7,0 07) Wonderful - 6,0 08) Song For Children - 5,0 09) Child Is Father of the Man - 5,0 10) Surf's Up - 5,0 11) I'm in Great Shape/I Wanna Be Around/Workshop - 3,0 12) Vega-Tables - 4,0 13) On a Holiday - 5,0 14) Wind Chimes - 5,0 15) Mrs. O'Leary's Cow - 5,0 16) In Blue Hawaii - 5,0 17) Good Vibrations - 8,0 TOTAL: 4,94 (49/100) Maybe I'm just too tired, but I don't get this. It's like snippets of the songs, repeating all over again. "Cabin Essence" is the only song I hear, the rest are all 30 seconds snippets. Is this like a children's album? My favorite vegetables? WTF? Oh, I'm too tired, it's been a long day...

I remember this coming out and it was such a big deal. It’s just retread Beach Boys harmonies. Not good.

I absolutely hate any version of You Are My Sunshine which doesn't help my rating of this album.

I like the classic beach boys sound, but the album is a bit strange.... Like if the beach boys were a fall festival carnival attraction, this would be their lineup? Overall, not bad.

Sure it was the lost Brian Wilson album... that he eventually recreated. I was happy to hear the recreation in the early 2000's but this album fell way short of the hype.

Alright but I would not listen again

Watched the film and enjoyed this album

If Brian Wilson intended this to be some opus of a rock opera, he missed the mark. It's more like a bury it under a rock and never listen to it again opera. The Beach Boys at least had life in their music. This is DOA from the get

Some parts were ok, some parallels to revolver, overall very self indulgent

An amazing album. Brian Wilson has crafted an amazing sound and not a hair out of place.

Smiley smile is better. This is good, even great, but it wasn’t going to push McCartney and Lennon to higher achievements. It occurred to me while listening to this that while most of the comparison goes McCartney-Wilson, Lennon and Brian had one major thing in common. They never move on from the music of their youth, even embracing it in their later days. Both men are capable of many styles, but 50s rock and roll remains their bedrock. This album includes doo-wop harmonies, eighth-note piano, walking bass lines, etc. I prefer the versions of the songs on Smiley Smile, and none of the new songs grabbled in the way a great Brian Wilson song can. As far as 20th century American composers, he ranks with Scott Joplin, Gershwin, Dylan, Hank Williams, Willie Dixon, Ellington, Jimmy Webb, Cole Porter, Frank Zappa, Joni Mitchell, Aaron Copeland, Thelonius Monk and Burt Bacharach. You can add your personal favourites. I know I'm forgetting some. But that list should suffice in showing where Brian Wilson sits in the US music pantheon. (It's in no real order, just written as they came to mind). Having said that, this is not his best work. Go back to Smiley smile, or even the over-rated Pet Sounds, or Cabinessence, or 20/20 or Surf's Up, or Love You. Listen to the glory of Good Vibrations - the original I mean. Listen to I Get Around, or Wouldn't it be nice... https://www.toppermost.co.uk/beach-boys/ I wrote the first bit, and it's as good a list as any to show Brian's greatness. Smile is great. No question. But not Brian Wilson great. 3.5/5 rounded up.

My apologies fellow travellers, the nostalgia is so lost on me, even after reading of the emotional journey needed to do this work. Suitable listening alongside a Brian Wilson biography perhaps?

We never heard Smile in the 60’s. It was trashed & its bastard son, Smiley Smile (1967) was released instead. Only 5 of the songs on Smiley Smile, which I picked up in the early 70’s, are included on this 2004 Brian Wilson release - Heroes And Villains, Good Vibrations, Wonderful, Wind Chimes & Vegetables (re-titled Vega-Tables for the 2004 release). Cabin Essence & Our Prayer turned up on The Beachboys’ 20/20 LP(1969) and Surf’s Up was the title track of a 1971 Beachboys LP. Listening to the 2004 CD, I’m reminded of what seeing Wilson twice in the early 2000’s was like - he had put together a band that sounded so much like The Beachboys & that you knew would sound better than the original Beachboys if they magically reformed before your very eyes. So this CD is just a pleasure to listen to. I love the inclusion of bits of 3 old standards that obviously meant something to Wilson - Gee (the 1953 Crows doo-wop classic), You Are My Sunshine (written in 1940 by Jimmie Davis, who went on to be the Governor of Louisiana) & Johnny Mercer’s I Wanna Be Around (first recorded by Tony Bennett in 1962). Cabin Essence & Surf’s Up are the standouts for me.

The legend of the original Smile sessions cast a long shadow on the history of pop music. They reportedly destroyed Brian Wilson's mental health, and the tapes (oft bootlegged) became one of the great lost albums of rock and roll, and created this hypothetical question of "how would music be different if Brian Wilson had completed and released Smile?" And here we have the answer. Darian Sahanaja did a wonderful job of sensitively facilitating Brian and Van Dyke Parks to complete a version of the material. Is it exactly what Smile would have been in 1968? Probably not, but probably close. They have done a really great job of arranging and recording a terrific simulacrum of the Beach Boys studio sound c.1968, and the songs that have been previously released are pretty close in tone to what is presented here. Arguably, this is the best (and certainly most consistent) Beach Boys album released since the original sessions collapsed. But is it, you know, _that_ good? The best material had already been released on a variety of Beach Boys albums (Heroes and Villains, Good Vibrations, Cabin Essence, Surf's Up), and the material debuting here is not that world changing. I don't rate Parks' lyrics, and Vege-Tables is still my go-to example of how white-boy rock snobs over-rate the 'genius' of Brian Wilson. It's a joke (except that it isn't). So, it's a good sounding album, and interesting to hear how Smile might have sounded in a complete form, and answers once and for all the question of whether Smile would have changed musical history. That's a resounding 'no', nothing would have really changed. But it's great not to have to wonder about that anymore. In 2012 I was in New York City, and had the opportunity to see the Beach Boys, including Brian Wilson, performing in Central Park for GMA (https://youtu.be/ASfjoEadmow). They only performed about four songs (including soundcheck) and it was at 8am, but it was a chance to see Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys for free, so I dragged the family off to see the show. Between songs, Brian was super cranky, and admonished the (bored) crowd for bouncing around the beach balls that the production had provided. Most of the musical heavy lifting was done by Brian's band, but they were tight and upbeat and could still punch out a compelling rendition of their past glories. It was fascinating to hear them sound-check, and how well they could produce that Beach Boys sound.

Overall, I did not enjoy this album at all. I am not a fan of this type of music and it felt kinda boring sometimes. I did enjoy the newer rendition of "Good Vibrations", so thats something. Favorite Song(s): "Good Vibration"

ganz okay

It sounds like a nervous breakdown, in a good way.

far be it from me to disagree with Geoff Hoon, but the next generation has no need for the last one

no sir, i don't like it (besides good vibrations)

Brian Wilson's (and the Beach Boys for that matter) most adventurous project is a fascinating complex patchwork. A song cycle comprising of voices, instruments, tin pan alley, art-rock and theater. Whereas Pet Sounds was all about emotions and feelings of the heart, these are songs for the head with cryptic lyrics, displaying strong influences from early-mid 20th century Americana, along the lines of Gershwin etc. The Beach Boys finally released Smile in 2011, and that version just about gets the edge, but this is still excellent and at times, the music is breath-taking.

What was he trying to achieve. No idea didnt dig!

Beach boys were better

Finally! Another album I'd include in a Top Albums ... list.

I wasn't sure what to expect from the opening track, but as soon as Heroes and Villains kicks in, I knew it was going to be a great album.

Rating: 3/10 Hell no.

Bleh. Late career Brian Wilson not for me. Youthful and upbeat but just felt like unexciting pop overall.

An interesting listen with some beautiful moments, Wilson shows us what he was all about and testing to accomplish but I could do without the song.

Fantastisk roligt att höra. Trots att jag ser mig själv som ett Beach Boys-fan hade jag missat detta. Behövdes den? Nja. Men fick det mig att le? Absolut!

Smile is the long-awaited almost mythical follow-up to Pet Sounds. It showcases Brian Wilson's musical genius and emotional turmoil. The poor man suffered a mental breakdown during the recording process, which delayed the release for decades. Listening to this album is a way of honoring his artistic vision and personal struggle. Compared to Pet Sounds, Smile is less cohesive and more experimental, but also more ambitious and adventurous. It features some of the most beautiful and complex songs ever written, such as "Good Vibrations", "Surf's Up", and "Heroes and Villains". It is an artistic statement that deserves a place in the history of music, even if it is not as flawless as its predecessor. I give it 4 stars out of 5.

Here's a fun story. Brian Wilson was doing an autograph signing for this very album, when none other than Don Henley showed up wanting his very own copy of "Smile" signed by the former Beach Boy. Or maybe it wasn't an autograph signing at all. Maybe Henley saw Wilson backstage after a show and asked him to sign the album. Or Henley just happened to be in the neighborhood and did an unannounced pop in at Wilson's home with album and marker in tow. Whatever. So Henley hands the album to Wilson to sign, to which Brian writes, "To Don, Thank you for all the great music. Brian Wilson". But that wasn't all. Wilson then crossed out the word "great" and wrote the word "good" above it, so that it read "Thank you for all the g̶r̶e̶a̶t̶ good music". It made Henley laugh, and he enjoyed it so much he framed the album and proudly displayed it in his home. Now I have no idea if that story is true or not. I've heard it told by John Cusack of all people, and lately I wouldn't refer to Cusack as a reliable narrator of any sort. All I know for sure is that I prefer to live in a world where that story is true. And I enjoy that story a lot more than I enjoy listening to this album. The harmonies sound fake, like they were all computer generated. It's like the hangover album to Pet Sounds. I'm down grading from a 3 to a 2 as my way of crossing out the word "good" and replacing it with "fine".

Did not really enjoy

Suprised I went to high on this. Blew me away and listened to it 3 times. It’s not new to me, I remember going to the record store and buying the cd the day it came out and I’ve always liked it but not as much as my favorite Beach Boys records nor as much as the now 12-year old Smile Sessions. But this listen, my first in many years - and through lossless on Qobuz was truly eye opening. Yes, it’s an aged Brian, but it almost works better? It adds verses, it tightens the sketches, it sounds more like a fever dream (in a good way) with the extra strain on his voice. The sequencing is so smooth. Idk man, sometimes a record you are intimately familiar with just suddenly HITS DIFFERENT. Now I can’t imagine this not being one of my favorite records ever for the rest of my days.

I hate this album

Good, but not great.

Prefer the smile sessions release but glad this exists

An easy listen, but unremarkable. Nothing here really stands out and I was finished with the album before I knew it. I do get Temptations vibes from it though.

This would be considered too clownish to be a soundtrack to a toddler’s cartoon. If this is a masterpiece, then a toilet spewing the contents of a backed up septic is evidence of divine design of the universe. Nothing on this album is fun, listenable, or anything short of droning and irritating. Good Vibrations is on this for some reason, possibly to remind you what a weak song it is, despite its popularity. I suppose if you like the sound “ooooooh” a lot and really wish there was a more modern take on the barbershop quartet, this is probably for you. Otherwise, I highly recommend keeping functioning ears far away from this album which goes on so long, I’m fairly certain it exists to make sure it doesn’t end before you’ve forever lost the ability to smile. Wheeee, zzzzzip, pop pop pop, wheeeeeeeeeeee.

Loved this album! Brian Wilson is amazing!

Nice and decent

Love it for its historical relevance, but don’t particularly enjoy it. Lovely, though.

Still not sure if this is the finished smile, but this is probably as close as we'll ever get. It's a bold, almost proggy record that is always light in atmosphere to avoid the heaviness of its format. The hooks (when you get one) are as lovely as anything else Brian's done and some of songs here (Heroes and Villains, Surf's Up, Good Vibrations) are at the absolute top of the beach boys catalogue. However, it's difficult to listen to this version of Smile and not see it as a kind of postscript, a plan B. Brian's vocals are obviously past their peak, and quite a few of the tunes have clearly not met their full potential. A lot of the album has a deeply fragmented, still-not-quite-there-yet tone. Its a huge relief to see Smile finally released, and it actually sounding somewhat finished, but you can't help but wonder when listening what could've been had the original project been completed.

Sounded like a carnival.

5 of 5… could listen any day- happy and light hearted and fun. Love me some Beach Boys music, especially when I’m in a bad mood.

This week of albums has been testing my willpower. Can I please get a good album?? Top Tracks: 1) Good Vibrations 2) Cabin Essence 3) Roll Plymouth Rock

Almost 40 Years after the first attempt, Brian Wilson finally published the Smile album, and it sound like a real Beach Boys record, albeit with some touches of the later Beatles here and there. It's a very good collection of songs that flows well. I like it. 3.5/5

It’s not for me. Mrs Leary’s cow is an awful song, sorry Brian

Really appreciated the attempt at making a continuous album. The album is indulgent, but not always in a good way. 3/5 Would listen again

My first impression was this was a poor man's "Sgt. Pepper's." While I'm not sure that's inaccurate, I gave it a second listen and enjoyed it more. It can be relentlessly cheerful, but hey, the album's called "Smile," so that tracks. Ultimately, I'm a sucker for harmonizing and this album's got it in spades, so I think I'll round up from 3.5 stars.

This felt like revisiting the best of Brian Wilson & The Beach Boys. Throughly enjoyed this. 4.5 stars

Listening to this makes me sad that it didn't get made back in the sixties, because this sounds so cool and I have to wonder how it would have been received. I'm just glad it got made eventually. It's a lovely album and I really like all the motifs that tie every song together. Everything flows together seamlessly and it's very pleasing. Plus, some songs have extra parts in these versions, which I assume were originally cut, so it's cool to see their inclusions. I'll have to listen to the original demos at some point. My favourite songs were probably Heroes and Villains and Surf's Up.

I have always admired the Beach Boy's complex harmonies. Having seen the movie Love and Mercy, and knowing the story behind this album, I am very glad that Brian Wilson got this opportunity to finally complete this album. But of course this album only leaves us to wonder what the original could've been like.

genuine question, why was this album created? bro was part of one of the biggest 60s bands and then 4 decades later he's like "yo, let's re-release most of the songs from that era cuz i mostly wrote and i need more money. Plus here's some filler songs to add to the album so it's not only Beach Boys songs" Does this album really need to be on this list?

It’s difficult to separate this album from the original tapes of the Smile from 1967, which I think is one of the greatest artworks of all time. For that reason, I will give this a 5, even if I think the original version is much better. Either way, the compostions remain almost intact so this thing still omits surges of intense beauty even in Brian’s elderly voice.

Can tell this would’ve been a beach boys record, liked the more intimate direction and style

Not bad, but I likely won't listen again.

Niin siis tämähän kuulostaa ihan Smiley Smile -levyltä, että enpä tiedä mikä tästä niin erikoisen tekee. Ihan hienoa Beach boys soundia että ei siinä mitään. Maailman kuuluisin ”julkaisematon” levy. Kyllä tämä kolmosen ansaitsee. 3/5

Onhan tää varsin hieno näinkin. Vaikka uudelleenäänitys ja 40 vuotta myöhästyminen syö tehoa. Jos julkaisu 1967 olisi onnistunut, niin olisi varmaan suosikkini beach boys -levyistä. Surf's Up ja GV on kyl kovia.

Kyllä se beach boys sieltä vielä kuuluu. En valtavasti innostunut tästä kokonaisuutena, 3/5

Saw the documentary on this when it came out (~2004). I mean it's Brian Wilson. What do you say?

Very much a feels good album. Definitely reminded me of the beach boys which makes sense since Brian Wilson was the lead singer.

For me, the value of Brian Wilson's Smile is simply from hearing the end product that took him decades to produce. However, I would prefer to go back to Smiley Smile for the original recordings and the time and place those represent. There is no way Brian Wilson could ever fully recreate where his mind was at the time he started the songs, and even if he was the primary songwriter, all the other Beach Boys influenced their records, the song structures, and, of course, the harmonies. Therefore, I'm glad this album exists, and I think that, simply due to the many amazing songs on it, it deserves a lot of praise. However, I prefer the Smiley Smile versions of every song that is present on both, and I can't help but listen to Smile and think about how it could have been so much greater if it would have just been finished in the couple years after he started it.

stand out track - In Blue Hawaii // Good Vibrations

I don't know the background to this album but it felt long and meandering and goofy at times with instruments like the kazoo, didn't like it

A blast from start to end.

недостаточно хорошо представляю бич бойз и все эти хиты, ну ничего такой вроде чувак

This alternated between Fun Weirdo Shit and Annoying Weirdo Shit but I’ve gotta respect a weirdo going fucking nuts so I’m not gonna ding it too hard for being annoying lmao

There are several good songs here and the story behind this album is fascinating, but much of its music bores me, especially in the first half. Thankfully things pick up later on. I still can't give this higher than a 3 due to wishing I was listening to something else for more than 20 minutes

Olipahan laimea kokemus.

Omaan makuun aika basic. Ei erityisesti huomiota herättävää, vaikka varmastikin aikansa huipputuote

It's just ok. It's like the Beach Boys without the greatness.

I genuinely struggled with this. I should love it as I do have real affection for Pet Sounds. But I couldn't get going with it. I'll try again on another day.

Production is amazing. Just not my jam

Love this album. Never would have found or looked for this if it wasn’t for this project!! Thank you!!

Good weird stuff

I saved Heroes and Villains because I know I have heard that in multiple movies, possibly Fantastic Mr Fox? Other than that, a lot of skips. I'm not a huge Brian Wilson fan, nor do I know why he remade songs like Good Vibrations when the original did just fine. I know that this is one of his best albums I think so it makes sense why it is on this list, but I wasn't a huge fan. UPDATE: I have checked and H&V is on Fantastic Mr. Fox...as The Beach Boys. So is this album just all covers? Further investigation into the wiki slot above states "It features all-new recordings of music that he had originally created for Smile, an unfinished album by the Beach Boys that he abandoned in 1967". I wonder what Brian thinks constitutes "all new recordings" when most of these are just the same songs. Not sure how this was "an intense emotional undertaking" for him, unless he felt so torn on whether to reuse his songs to an unsuspecting public. Maybe there is a more true version of this but I really don't care.

I've wanted to listen to this album for quite some time now, because it's notoriously listed as one of the most critically acclaimed releases ever (according to Metacritic). It's Brian Wilson, the mastermind Beach Boy, doing his own thing. There's a heap of lore here, it's a lost album that he never made and was scarred by having scrapped, and it materialized decades later after much coaxing. If you're me, the best description for the lore is a cross between Dr. Dre's "Detox" and Jai Paul's album. But rich lore does not a good album make. That's not to say the music is bad, it's certainly not. But it doesn't hit me as revolutionary or, for the most part, even exciting. Then again, I wasn't a backpacker Beach Boy fan from the '60s-'70s clamoring for Mr. Wilson to give the people what they want. Hearing this from a lens of impartiality (though I do like the Beach Boys) and decades removed, it's alright. Not at all worth the hype to me, save the hype for Pet Sounds. But it's okay. Favorite tracks: Our Prayer/Gee, Child is the Father of Man, Good Vibrations (this one's not a lost track, what?). Album art: Well, it's a sun, with some hippy-style fonts on top, and an ornate digital art frame. Pretty weak, especially given the lore. You had decades, and this is it? Bah humbug. 3/5

not better after a third listen...

Not my thing

I hate acapella. My friends know this, and I'll even give unsolicited advice to undergrads to never do acapella. That being said, the compositions in this album are incredible, and innovative. The killer motif developed in "Heroes and Villains" introduces so much tension, and only resolves with a simple key (mode? chord?) change. Brian brings that motif right back in Plymouth Rock, but follows the resolution with blaring Bah's, which is such a cool way to interrupt the sense of calm from the resolution. Here are some other unorganized notes, I also like the pairing of Song For Children and Child is the Father of the Man. Our Prayer is absolutely beautiful, and a really nice call back to standard Beach Boys (or my idea of standard Beach Boys at least). Brian keeps pulling back that motif from Heros and Villains throughout the album, which would feel tired if it wasn't so goddamn compelling. My last applause from Brian comes from the fact that Smile has currently dethroned both Bat Out of Hell and Rage Against the Machine as the album I'm listening to this week, no mean feat given both my dislike of acapella, and my longstanding love of Meatloaf. 6/5 stars if I could.

I can only give this album a 3 seeing as it's a Beach Boy

Tchê um som bem diferenciado, orquestra e tals

Pretty good

Still can't figure out how a band who sounds like childrens and Christmas music were pop sensations.

3.5 var ikke dårlig

Spongebob music. I keep forgetting this is an actual genre of music and not just something you put in a movie opening to symbolize a happy day.

babe you left your legendary stamp on rock n roll no need to rehash old ideas. it’s fine Brian but really just play the hits , nobody cares about your post beach boys career. even you know it, because you rerecorded one of your biggest hits for this project. why? just hang it up man. you did your hard. legacy acts can’t create music that’s better than what they’re known for so why bother. what was that shit about the barnyard. what? heroes and villains? what about them brian ? what’s your fucking point? just looking for words to full the syllabus? jeeeesus man. shit is too long also.

Absolument ludique et joyeux. Instrumentation surprenante et bien utilisée. Harmonies font penser aux Beach Boys, mais beaucoup de variations de rythmes et d'univers

I know people love Brian Wilson but I just don’t get it, and I did try

I mean it has 2 of the best songs ever in H&V and Good Vibrations but I found much of this a bit of a slog

18th August 2023 Listened with a sleepy Dusty in the living room. Everything has changed. Maybe the timing or how I listened to it, but this album felt relaxing and a conversation between fathers and children. Both innocent and menacing.

yeah yeah, Brian Wilson's a genius and this is his magnum opus. Except Beach Boys style pop music just kind of falls flat for me. It's like poppy barbershop quartet.

Olfos, es que es el de los Beach Boys. De hecho, por eso le doy un 3, porque me ha parecido un poco tostón.

I'm torn on this one. I mean it's SMiLE! And it has Good Vibrations on it! But so much of the album just seems meandering and lost that I can't say I liked it overall.

This album should have been as great as Sgt pepers and a step further after the already masterpiece pets sounds, unfortunatly, Brian Wilson who was struggling with serious mental ilness and drugs addiction couln't complete the projet, but he finaly did decades later. I say that altough not all of the songs are wonderfull and exceptional, but as a whole, this album is pretty much a masterpiece, i'll say technicaly better than pet sounds, put pets sounds is more coherent, beautiful and as better songs. The vocal harmony are the best of all beachs boys album, the songs are complexe and ambicious. The best one is of course Good Vibrations wich is on of the best song of all times in terms of complexity and sounds. Wonderfull is very good, heros and vilains, vege-tables and Cabin Essence are my favorites.

Soooo it really is like children's music adapted to adult tastes, but unfortunately in that process it didn't mature too much. I like the lush instrumentation and more atmospheric songs, but it really was just too children/christmas music vibes for me. I think the story behind this record is better than the record itself. 4/10

This is a very impressive release that really looks like a personal effort of a very dedicated (maybe obsessive) person. It sounds like a continuation of the Beach Boys' work at the same time that includes many new pieces of music highly interesting for any music fan. A mixture of styles and lyrics, and instruments that compounds a masterpiece. Unfortunately, it sounds a bit old for 2004, but having in mind it was planned to be a BB album after Pet Sounds is enough to get all the geniality behind it.

I feel bad for asking, but is this a joke?

Had it been released in December 1966 as it was originally planned, it would have changed the course of popular music forever. It was ahead of its time by decades. I can be grateful this was released four decades later because it is a brilliant and genius work. The emotions throughout the record, the arrangements, the vocal harmonies, everything is top notch.

Didn't do much for me...

not big on beach boys

Ik was niet op de hoogte van het bestaan van dit solo album. En ik moet zeggen dat het goed klinkt hoor. Het had zo gewoon een Beach Boys album van eind jaren 60 kunnen zijn, behalve dat z'n stem wel duidelijk ouder is geworden. Ik mis voor nu wel een echt hoogtepunt, maar al met al denk ik dat het net voldoende is voor 4 sterren. De remake van Good Vibrations is ook wel een leuke toevoeging.

I watched the documentary around this on a plane, cool story great album Brian Wilson is the man

All of the worst things about the Beach Boys. Okay he harmonizes well and has a high voice. Why does everyone fall over themselves to worship this guy?

I don't know if my negative mood was affecting my opinion, but I didn't really like this. I love The Beach Boys but I just felt like this was long and cloying. I'm going to try listening again some day when I'm in a better mood.

I think I prefer the Smile Sessions version, but this still has a lot to offer.

Pretty cool. Would have been wild to have gotten this when it was originally intended. It's a lot but it's good.

So I had Pet Sounds a few weeks ago (which I had never heard before) and was completely bowled over. I have since been doing some Wikipedia dogging on Beach Boys and Brian Wilson and while I know the general strokes of their careers I thought now would be a great time for me to get into them. Especially since at the time my wife and I were planning a summer road trip in the US and I think Beach Boys are the quintessential American rock band. However I don’t think they hold as much mystique as any other rock act in the ensuing 50 years as the Boys still are musically active and at this point most of what millennials would know about them is through parody in Walk Hard and The Simpsons. I remember when Brian Wilson’s Smile came out

This album is just okay. The story behind it is more interesting.

There's a reason I don't like The Beach Boys.... and this album was a reminder of that. I'm sure there are those who really love this album. I am also sure I'm definitely not one of them.

Trop d’harmonie. Trop de sons differents. Overwhelmed 4.5/10

It's a brilliant example of symphonic pop, and there isn't really much that comes close to the exuberant highs on the album; but there is always a part of me (and so many fans) that wonders what could have been if this album was completed in 1967. The music itself is really beautiful, but there is a certain sadness listening to it. I think its best summed up by the different versions of "Good Vibrations" - while this version is fine and sounds so close to the original, the noticeable differences just make it feel off. I also listened to The Smile Sessions, which was released after this and is compiled from the original recordings but uses this album as a template. I think there are trade offs between the two, but think I prefer the original recordings.

I enjoyed this album. It was eccentric at parts but I liked it. It was only 45 minutes and that warranted listening to it again. A couple of songs were familiar. I will round up.

I was unsure whether this was a sprawling work of genius or a sprawling mess and I’ve definitely alighted on the latter.

Solid album with a few classics

After reading the reviews I’m gonna give this album another chance. 3 is a place holder

starts of as a standard beachboys album but the ending is remarkable as experimental music thats just fun

Estilo muy cercano al de la banda de la que formó parte, The Beach Boys. Canciones melódicas y tendencia surf. Escuchable, sin más.

Beach Boys are usually nails on a chalkboard to me, so of course this album ventures into that territory at times as well. But I appreciate the overall message of the album and the amount of effort that went into the arrangements--that much is very apparent. Favorite track: In Blue Hawaii

I agree with Noel Gallagher on this

Phenomenal. So complex and ahead of it’s time. Easy to understand why Brian Wilson drove himself to the edge with this in his head but never able to get it out to the world. Rating: 4.9

I’ll put it this way, the world would have been a better place if we just had the Beach Boys without this.

Some recycled Beach Boys music. Extremely well made, but also reminds me of all these horrible American indie bands Brian Wilson is single-hand responsible for..

How to evaluate this project of mythical proportions? Well, it has its moments - closer Good Vibrations is irresistable - but equally often the songs appear to have been composed in a complicated way just to show off.

Vocal harmonies are impressive, but only listenable personally when driven by other musical components. Like... you know, psychedelic surf rock-ish guitars and bass, or maybe some dumb pop beat... Folksy arrangements driving the signature Beach Boys harmonies are great and I can see why people would love it. But in my case, it gave me more earache than wows.

Excellent, of course Wilson is a genius composer and arranger, backed by a Cadre of very talented musicians. I have to fall in the camp though of feeling it hearkens too clearly to the Beach Boys without quite capturing that particular lightning in the bottle. It's nice to have a version of this according to the artists vision but seems like something of a contrived artefact.

Boring

My first thought when listening to this is the impressive layered sound. Then there's the familiar Beach Boys sound. The album is good and the songs are catchy. Nothing mindblowing but still a nice listen.

Very disappointing. Had higher expectations. It tries to be Sgt Pepper, Pet Sounds, early Genesis and even Tommy but not even close. Major dud.

3.75

Prehappy za moj ukus

Straining. For every blissfully perfect song on here there is another that doesn't feel finished. There is no questioning Brian Wilson's brilliance and this would have made an excellent addition to the Beach Boys catalogue and wish it was released in the 1960s

Beautiful music - reminds me of my grandparents. 4/5

I was happy to check out Smile by Brian Wilson. I think that the Beach Boys are okay but I knew that there was some extended history on the final production and release of this album, and that many praised the album on its release. There is some interesting, frequently odd music on Smile. I'm not quite sure what to do with a track like "Vega-Tables" which verges on silly, while composing some well written music. Most of the album seems to follow that pattern of weird but well-composed. There is an interesting cheerfulness to the whole album. I don't know if I could come back to a full album re-listen, but I've only heard this music once.

No Pet Sounds is it?

One for the mega fans I think. I just kept wanting to hear the hits. But still a great musician.

Long may he sandpit.

This was exhausting to listen to. I don't have the boomer history with the Beach Boys and their music is fine so I don't care about this mythical album. It's so tiring. I can't quite describe why, but it just feels so much worse than other Beach Boys stuff. Maybe because it was released 30 years later? No idea. Just tiring.

Smile is the album The Beach Boys never completed because Brian Wilson lost his way. It admire the fact he tried to complete it years later. A lot of songs were published earlier on other (Beach Boys) albums. In the end the question remains if something that was not finished really was the masterpiece or it was never there. I am convinced it was the latter. This is a good album, but I doubt if it would ever been better than Pet Sounds (or the Beatles albums it tried to compete with).

Surfs up its good stuff my dude

Love those harmonies. Good vibrations is one of the happiest sounds to my ears 3.75/5

This was quite fun! Reading the history of the album was also interesting: this was an unfinished follow up to Pet Sounds that wasn’t released until 2004. Only Good Vibrations was released as a single. Cool production and wonderful harmonies. You can see the influence of the production on bands like Animal Collective.

Nope

Tried to listen to the first two songs but couldn't get past them

A very pretty Beach Boysy album, and interesting to hear an isolated version of his influence on the Beach Boys. What a wild thing, to revisit and finish an album so many years later. I do question its place on the list a little bit for that reason, but it certainly turned out well.

Where do I begin with this most mythic album? I learned of the great lost masterpiece when I was in college in the early 2000s. We would download stem tracks of unknown origins, and people would compile their own hypothetical approximations. The narrative and mystique surrounding SMiLE is the stuff of legend - almost sacred in certain circles, including my own. It was a thing of perfect beauty when it existed only in these little glimmers, and the rest was left to your imagination. Which is why, when Brian Wilson decided to record this version in 2004, I was hesitant to listen to it at first. I was worried it would be too little, too late - afraid it would shatter that perfect vision I had. Boy was I wrong. In fact I'd have to say it far exceeded my expectations. This is one of the most singularly original pieces of music ever recorded, and I am jealous of all those who got to see it performed live around the time of its release. It is not only an incredibly rich musical experience, but the story behind it represents the triumph of the human spirit and creativity itself. The fact that Brian Wilson was able to finally confront, overcome, and ultimately embrace what he considered to be his life's greatest failure is nothing short of miraculous. This has to be the grandest, most beautiful catharsis ever recorded. Its complex structure is anchored by 4 absolute pillars of songwriting; "Heroes and Villains," "Cabin Essence," "Surf's Up," and "Good Vibrations," each of which is like a mini-epic of its own. Those crown jewels are situated in the surrounding material in such a way that they become almost inseparable from their context once you hear it as it was intended. When taken altogether, it truly sounds like a teenage symphony to God. All that being said, I do have a strong preference for the 2011 Smile Sessions version, which uses the original Beach Boys recordings. Although BWPS does contain some notable and interesting differences, I wish it was Smile Sessions which was in its place on this list. If you like what you hear on BWPS, I beg you to give Smile Sessions a listen on a good pair of headphones to experience these songs in their full glory. These 5 stars are for the idea of SMiLE in all its forms. May it live forever alongside the works of the greatest composers.

I really don't like Brian Wilson or the Beach Boys. However, I can recognize the mythos and interesting history behind this album. I'm glad he was able to finally overcome it and put it out, even though it's not for me.

It’s still The Beach Boys. Still.

Realizing I’m not a fan of The Beach Boys without the vocal harmonies - the songwriting here is good, just not a fan of the execution vocally or with some of the instrumentals.

The Beach Boys’ lost masterpiece is at last given the arrangement it has so long cried out for. Deeply emotional, satisfyingly complex, it represents the apex of Brian Wilson’s songwriting skill.

sounds too much like the Beach Boys - I don't 'get' the Beach Boys

This was a super interesting listen. Tentative rating at the moment, but I definitely dug it for the most part.

Another opportunity for the authors to sneak in psychedelica. Decades too late

I don’t know if it’s possible to be derivative of your past self. If you can, this would be the first album I’d add to that list. It’s so disappointing because Brian Wilson can be pure magic, but this just feels like flaccid covers of a past life. I’d have preferred 52 minutes of chorale arrangements like that first song. That song was beautiful.

i first listened to this right after watching love and mercy, and i was so excited because the soundtrack of that movie includes all my favorite beach boys songs. this album, however, was a massive letdown. it has a few good moments, but otherwise it feels like a parody of itself more than anything real. it’s a shame, because i feel like wilson had the ability to do something really great.

Love the beach boy's sounds

as with anything associated with brian wilson (being either solo material or beach boys), those amazing harmonies with his signature falsetto are there. many of the songs sort of bleed into one another. layered experimental sounds, as with the phenomenal “pet sounds” album, though not nearly as good. still a fascinating listen.