Smiley Smile

Bruce Beatlefan (May 15, 2008)

Everybody out of the pool! Everything that Brian Wilson and his mates had been so meticulously building for the past five years: the California Myth, the sonic perfection, the harmonies that aspired to divinity, the increasingly mature heart messages, all gone in one fell swoop!

Smiley Smile is what takes its place: low-tech, hastily assembled, breezy and spontaneous, the sound of teenagers in the back of a station wagon goofing off with a tape recorder. And, if you're willing to forego the former and give it a fair listen...guaranteed to put a smile on your face. I listen to this album with nearly the same pleasure as the Beach Boy's preceding albums, but find it impossible to give it an equal rating as too many of the tracks cannot be compared with the universality and magnificence of songs like "Wouldn't it Be Nice", "California Girls", or "Kiss Me Baby".

Of course, Smiley Smile does have perfection itself in the form of last summer's single "Good Vibrations", and ambition in the form of "Heroes and Villains", but those two tracks are total anomalies (in fact, my ears are shocked as the spaced-out "Little Pad" gives way to "Vibes").

Smiley Smile is worth many listens, and may be considered groundbreaking in its own way (many historians credit Smiley Smile as the precursor to the earthy projects of Dylan, McCartney, Grateful Dead, etc). Be prepared to be delighted in a new and unexpected way from enjoyable songs like "With Me Tonight", "Gettin' Hungry", "She's Going Bald", and "Whistling In". Additionally, this is your best pre-2003 chance to eavesdrop on some of the sounds of the abandoned Smile project in the tracks "Vegetables", "Wonderful", and "Wind Chimes".

Do you remember the classic episode of the Andy Griffith show when Aunt Bee and several of her lady friends inadvertantly get drunk from a health elixir? The Beach Boy's Smiley Smile will entertain you in much the same way!