I'm really surprised no one has mentioned this yet, considering all the hype around it. Has anyone here heard the new studio version? I'll admit I was a little skeptical after hearing Wilson was re-recording everything but after hearing 'Heroes and Villains' off it I'm pretty excited. What do you guys think

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Originally posted by jokerman:
I'm really surprised no one has mentioned this yet, considering all the hype around it. Has anyone here heard the new studio version? I'll admit I was a little skeptical after hearing Wilson was re-recording everything but after hearing 'Heroes and Villains' off it I'm pretty excited. What do you guys think

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I couldn't have said it better myself, jokerman. I've been especially dubious since Gettin' In Over My Head came out earlier this year, but what I've heard so far has me very, very excited.

It's worth noting, too, that a portion of the album is available streaming at the album's official website.

Now Playing: NPR's Morning Edition

I've been really excited about this one even after hearing about the re-done vox. I saw Brian and band (including the marvelous power pop superstars The Wondermints) on tour for the Pet Sounds Orchestral Tour a few years ago.

Brian's voice, live, is not what it once was, but his joy in performing this stuff is apparent. The selections from Smile on that tour were gorgeous.

Fast-forward to 2004: a friend, who was with me at Pet Sounds show, tells me that the Smile show was as good, if not better.

Prognosis: POSITIVE!!!!

I noticed that there is going to be a special like "making of" feature on this album on showtime soon.I am not the hugest brian wison fan...but i happend to notice this an thought i would pass it on.I am sure you could find more info on showtimes website.

He said he thinks pet sounds is a 7 and smile is a 10.Kind of interesting.

just to let you guys know, www.smilethealbum.com is streaming the whole album now.

it sounds great, i think. let me know what you think

For those who care about these things, the latest issue of Rolling Stone has both a 5 star review of SMiLE and a nice interview with Brian on the making of the record. The review is glowing, in a weird way, and the interview tells all sorts of cool stories. (Not being able to read a 38 year old lyric sheet written by Van Dyke Parks, Wilson dials him up, after not talking to him in years, to ask him what it said. Van Dyke shows up the next morning to work on the album)

even if Smile turned out to be horrible, im sure Rolling Stone would still give it 5 stars. (I do think it will be quite good though)

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Originally posted by robot:
even if Smile turned out to be horrible, im sure Rolling Stone would still give it 5 stars. (I do think it will be quite good though)

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That's a pretty good point, Robot. The interview is far more useful than the review...and the review feels like less than a five star review. Maybe the powers that be at RS forced the extra star on it...

There was also an excellent article about SMiLE (I believe this is the typography we're supposed to be using ) in the September 5th edition of The Oregonian.

Tomorrow is the day. Based on the excerpts available on the official web site, I'll be buying it on day one.

Now Playing: "Melissa" The Allman Brothers Band Eat A Peach (Capricorn)

I'm with you on the "day one" front, LT. I stopped before teaching my class today and picked up SMiLE snd I played it in my office all morning...WOW! It's a really beautiful, sunny, happy little gem of a record, and the re-recording of tracks like "Heroes and Villains" and "Good Vibrations" did not distract me like I thought they would. It's such a great summertime record...I wish I would have had it in May...

By the way, this serves as a recommendation springboard: Brian's substititute Beach Boys on this record include Probyn Gregory, Nick Walusko, and Darian Sahanja of the excellent power pop group The Wondermints. If you like the vocals on this one, check out almost anything by the Wondermints. You won't regret it...

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Originally posted by philosopherEric:
It's a really beautiful, sunny, happy little gem of a record, and the re-recording of tracks like "Heroes and Villains" and "Good Vibrations" did not distract me like I thought they would. It's such a great summertime record...I wish I would have had it in May...

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That is a really great, succinct description, pE. It's been years since I've listened to any of the bootleg tracks. What strikes me is what a happy, even playful album SMiLE has turned out to be. I think this evening I'm going to listen to Pet Sounds and SMiLE back-to-back. It should make for an intersting comparison, I think.

The big question in my mind as the release date approached was, can it possibly live up to the hype and expectations? Nothing creates legend like a "lost" work, especially one that fell apart on the heels of an artist's greatest work to date. In that respect SMiLE was already an important album before it existed. The fact that fans obsessively pieced their own versions together over the years (a process described in what I thought was a really excellent Pitchfork review) speaks to its influence. Nothing can detract from that.

That being said, this is a great album on its own merits. Brian sounds the best he has in years. The quality of songwriting is far superior to anything he has managed throughout his solo career. The production is just outright beautiful.

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Originally posted by philosopherEric:
By the way, this serves as a recommendation springboard: Brian's substititute Beach Boys on this record include Probyn Gregory, Nick Walusko, and Darian Sahanja of the excellent power pop group The Wondermints. If you like the vocals on this one, check out almost anything by the Wondermints. You won't regret it...

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And I don't. I've read a bit about The Wondermints before in relation to their work as Brian's backing band, but had never checked them out on their own. I happily rectified that mistake this week.

Now Playing: "Wind Chimes" Brian Wilson SMiLE (Nonesuch)

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Originally posted by LinnTate:

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Originally posted by philosopherEric:
By the way, this serves as a recommendation springboard: Brian's substititute Beach Boys on this record include Probyn Gregory, Nick Walusko, and Darian Sahanja of the excellent power pop group The Wondermints. If you like the vocals on this one, check out almost anything by the Wondermints. You won't regret it...

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And I don't. I've read a bit about The Wondermints before in relation to their work as Brian's backing band, but had never checked them out on their own. I happily rectified that mistake this week.

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A further Wondermints strand...

They have four full-length records out, and I'm not sure which are still available, but I think you can still get all of them fairly easily. Try www.notlame.com if other sources fail you.
A brief summary of the discography:

1996: The Wonderful World of Wondermints. Originally a Japanese-only record of covers, including "Porpoise Song," "Don't Go Breaking My Heart," "My Friend Jack," and "Ooh Child" among others. I think this got a domestic release...mine is from the Japanese Toy's Factory label.

1996: Wondermints. The "first" record, released on US label Big Deal. My introduction to the Wondermints...a great power pop/chamber pop record.

1998/2000: Bali. Originally released on Neosite Records in Japan in 1998, this came out on Varese Sarabande in the US in 2000. This is a fantastic record...maybe their best. It was around this time that they hooked up with Brian Wilson. "In and Around Greg Lake" was my favorite track of 1998. I've been told that two different mixes were used, one for the Japanese version and one for the US version. I can't detect any difference in my two copies, but who knows?

1999: Cellophane ep. A Japanese ep (on Neosite) with a remix of the title track and 3 new songs.

2002: Mind If We Make Love to You. A US release on Image Entertainment/Smile Records (see the connection?) Another excellent part of the canon...but I admit, this one hasn't gotten as much attention from me as it deserved. I've pulled it back out in the wake of SMiLE.

I highly recommend all of these, as well as seeing the 'mints live, either as headliners or as part of Brian's live show.

I don't know any stories about how or why "SMiLE" came to be right now, but having been exposed to the Wondermints, I'm sure that they DO have something to do with it. Yes, I greatly enjoy the album, although I can't actually tell you any SIMILAR album which I enjoy. I do sorta miss the Carl&Dennis Wilson/ Mike Love/ Al Jardine vocals plus Brian's younger "notes", but it doesn't take much to close you eyes and believe that you're cruisin' Pacific Coast Highway with the top down and the surfboards stickin' out the back. Plus the arrangements are probably better than they would have been on Brian's "lost" tapes (except for my fave, "Good Vibrations"...I guess he had to dump Mike Love's lyrics for legal reasons.)

Rumor has it Paul McCartney will collaborate with Brian Wilson on a new album next year. If this comes to fruition and they fulfill even one-tenth of the potential awesomeness this promises, I'll be ecstatic. Hopefully they get down to some serious mind-bending pop instead of succumbing to the commercial expectations that plague McCartney. It couldn't be worse than "The Girl is Mine", could it?

Ya know, it's always difficult when something reaches a "legendary lost" status for it to live up to expectations. This is an album that carries with it some heavy baggage (read "expectations") and I would have thought that it would have a hard time living up to its reputation. In a way, the story behind the making of the original album was so compelling, that I would have liked it to remain a part of rock folklore, but this is selfish. In the end, the new "version" carries itself well, and I would recommend it to anyone interested in the history if music.