Posted on 06/12/2015 3:11:23 AM PDT by z taxman
I love the Beach Boys (not the way I love the Beatles, but still), so why can’t I wholeheartedly love Smile? I ask this question sincerely. I think Brian Wilson is a songwriter, singer, and bassist worthy of great praise. I understand why Paul McCartney was so blown away by Pet Sounds that he dreamed up the idea for Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. I’m glad Smile has finally seen the official light of day, and I’m intrigued by the what-if game of wondering about what might have happened if Smile had been released in 1967, as originally intended. But when it comes to the reality of listening to Smile, I’m underwhelmed—both by Brian Wilson’s 2004 album and the 2011 reconstruction The Smile Sessions.
(Excerpt) Read more at heydullblog.com ...
Neither exists in a vacuum.
The Beatles openly and repeatedly admitted that Pet Sounds impressed them greatly and that Sgt Pepper was their response.
What if Pet Sounds i.e. a landmark album had been wrapped in all the secrecy and mystery? I suspect the lore would be even more hyperbolic but this time with good reason.
Given what was going on in Brian Wilson’s head it’s no wonder that Smile was and is a mess.
As for ‘revolutionary,’ it’s an overused/misapplied term. The 60s featured incredible, rapid musical change from many, many sources, not least because postwar prosperity combined with R&D directed at peacetime innovation meant rapid improvements in recording technology. Expanded track counts, improved tape machines, mixing desks, etc. To be fair, the Beatles/George Martin still had to rely on 4-track and their wits. Wilson was famously deaf in one ear and opted for mono mixes in many cases.
In short, experimentation was hardly unique to the two bands (to use the term generously) but having the best pop songwriters on either side of the Atlantic certainly didn’t hurt their chances.
To be heretical, I think Pepper is overrated among the Beatles’ catalog - there are some clunkers on it despite the mindless praise they get - and Smile, as before, could never be the finished article due to the state of mind of its creator.
I have not heard Smile, but I like Pet Sounds more than anything the Beatles ever did - and I like most of the Beatles’ music.
For me, Pet Sounds has many moments of what I call “sonic perfection” - the confluence of perfect vocal & instrumental harmony/unity/timing/etc.
I’m not a ‘musicologist’, or whatever music/audio experts are called, so I can’t come up with a better way to describe the phenomenon. All I know is I didn’t (and don’t) hear it on Sgt Peppers.
relevant to your interests, m’friend
Brian released a solo version of Smile in 2004. In 2011 he released a pretty darned near finished mix of the original recordings. Surfs Up is one of the most beautiful songs of all time.
I agree about Sgt. peppers being overrated.
You should check out the 2011 release of the Smile Session.. pricey but worth it.
I think the Beach Boys did a very few worthwhile songs. The vast bulk of what they recorded is a mash up of virtually indistinguishable adolescent moaning about cars, surfboards and sunshine it’s very forgettable dreck.
That’s a myth though, Today, Pet Sounds, Smile all showcase a maturity and intellectual strain not often attributed to them. They pigeonholed themselves with their early persona.
I will do that.
When you listen to music from your past it includes your memories feelings from that time. I associate my experiences and emotions of the time. Smile is out of context compared to Pepper in that sense.
I like Holland by the Beach Boys a lot.
I always liked Pet Sounds & still play it often. For my money Abbey Road was a superior record to Sgt. Peppers!
In my estimation, they’re both sophomoric tripe, and arguing over which is better is like discussing the advantages of bull flop over dog feces.
I don’t know if SMiLE would’ve established as “the” landmark concept album (and others were at work on them at the same time). Since Pet Sounds wasn’t so recognized as a ‘full album’ (apart from some singles, some covers, and some filler tracks as was usual for albums in the 60s) who knows if SMiLE would’ve been.
There was tension in the band. Mike Love wouldn’t have wanted to perform the songs. Capitol Records was behind both SMiLE and Sgt. Pepper’s in America, guess which record was going to get the marketing push.
I do think Good Vibrations is better than any single from Sgt. Pepper’s.
When I saw Brian Wilson and Jeff Beck a few years ago, Jeff played the lyric of Surfs Up (from SMiLE) on his guitar.
Chuck Berry wrote songs about cars and schools too to appeal the white adolescent market. It worked.
And Berry was an influence on the Beach Boys and the Beatles...
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