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 Brian
Wilson
Smile (2004)
Review
by: David Brown
Date: 12/1/04
By
now you know the story of Brian Wilson’s unfinished
masterpiece from 1966. Smile has been completed,
reworked, re-recorded and finally released to the predictably
effusive reviews of drooling music critics who have been
sniffing around the original releases and bootleg versions
of these songs for decades.
But
what about those of us who don’t remember Brian
Wilson, the pre-insanity years? Can we really appreciate
this album without the proper historical context, which
can really only be earned by having lived through the
1960s? The answer is a resounding maybe. But
to improve your odds, following these simple steps:
Brian Wilson's Smile Listening Guide
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1. |
Listen
to the original Beach Boys recording of “Good
Vibrations” one hour before starting Smile. |
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2. |
Put
in Smile, and turn it up loud. It’s
a lot easier to appreciate the dynamic range and textured
harmonies if it’s played loud through a quality
stereo (although this pretty much goes for any music,
doesn’t it?). |
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3. |
Have
a drink, or smoke a joint, or do whatever it is you
do when you like to absorb yourself in music. At the
very least, I recommend cradling a cold beer. |
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4. |
Remember
– Brian Wilson was completely insane for the
better part of 30 years. |
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5. |
Ignore
the lyrics. Throw away the libretto after you read
the historical background. Trying to figure out what
the hell this album is about will only make it harder
to like. Want proof? “Jump in the pig pen
— next time I’ll take my shoes off. Hit
the dirt, do a two-and-a-half, next time I’ll
leave my hat off.” ‘Nuff said. |
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6. |
Don’t
look at the track numbers and don’t try to figure
out how much is left as you are listening. In fact,
listen in the dark so you’re not tempted to
look. |
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7. |
Allow
yourself to be amazed at how Wilson has recreated
the original Beach Boys sound almost 40 years later.
He used the same studio and some of the original equipment
from the original Smile sessions. This guy
knew what he was doing. |
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8. |
Try
to get past the animal sounds on track four (pet sounds,
if you will). They’ll go away shortly. |
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9. |
Take
note of how Wilson’s voice still sounds much
better than you might think it would after more than
three decades of misery, pain and pharmacology. |
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10. |
Appreciate
the instrumentation, the production values, the musicianship.
Think George Gershwin meets the Mothers of Invention. |
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11. |
Try
to sing along with the vocal harmonies from time to
time. Notice it’s hard to hit a wrong note (unless
you’re completely tone deaf in the first place,
in which case you might want to turn off the album
and go for a walk). Your voice automatically bends
to fit into the chord. That’s good songwriting. |
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12. |
Don’t
hurt yourself trying to put this album in historical
context. But every 10 minutes or so, try to play a
snippet of Sgt. Pepper in your head. |
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13. |
Remember,
Brian Wilson was completely out of his mind. For decades! |
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14. |
Think
about Mike Love still touring as “The Beach
Boys,” wearing those stupid Hawaiian shirts
and playing concerts for a bunch of lame 50-something
Jimmy Buffet fans. |
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15. |
Listen
to the band and the vocal harmonies and appreciate
how Wilson has replaced the rest of the Beach Boys
with BETTER MUSICIANS! |
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16. |
Don’t
doze off while listening. It will all run together
and you won’t be impressed (trust me). |
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17. |
Notice
how the whole album runs together like a symphony.
Cool. |
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18. |
Realize
that Wilson and his band are performing this entire
album live on the road right now. |
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19. |
Remember,
it’s AMERICAN music from the 1960s, not British
invasion or psychedelic crap. |
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20. |
Keep
in mind, this is the project that originally drove
Brian Wilson crazy. It must be good. |
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21. |
Go
ahead, have another beer. |
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22. |
Note
that it starts to remind you of Tommy as the album
starts to wind down. That’s a good sign. |
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23. |
When
you hear "Good Vibrations," the album’s
final track, enjoy the familiarity, enjoy how much
better it sounds than the original in the context
of the whole album. It’s all starting to make
sense, isn’t it? Maybe not, but at least it
sounds good. |
If
this doesn’t work and you still find yourself unconvinced
of Smile’s genius, wait a week, then repeat the
whole process. After three listens, if you can’t
at least appreciate the first three tracks, then you’re
crazier than Brian Wilson.
Review
by: Michael Walls
Date: 2/1/05
I’m
in the thick of Brian Wilson’s Smile –
as per David Brown’s review and listening guide
suggestions. I’ve listened to it several times now,
but only once in it’s entirety in one sitting. And
Dave is right – this needs to be listened to in
one complete sitting, in a controlled environment with
the lights down low, a good sound system and a stiff drink.
I’ve had several reactions to Smile in
this order: fun, weird, silly, amazing, and brilliant.
I’m currently searching for an adjective to supersede
“brilliant.”
I’ve come to the conclusion that in order to enjoy
Smile to its fullest, you have to acknowledge
and recognize that this isn’t an album or collection
of songs or even a pure musical experience. It’s
a piece of “art” that uses vocal textures,
instrumental sounds, and on some level – poetic
lyrics.
Yeah, I know that sounds like a really ostentatious description
– after all, isn’t all music vocal textures,
instrumental sounds and poetic lyrics? Well, no –
sometimes music is just a kickin’ bass line and
a couple of clever hooks.
Smile
is more along the lines of a symphony or entire Broadway
musical. There’s no way you can come into it halfway
and know what’s going on. (I’ve tried, and
believe me, I always go back to the beginning and start
over.) There’s a deliberate and distinct purpose
for each song and each segue, and just like a movie or
novel, there are setup moments and climatic moments, and
without reaching one moment, the next one won’t
make sense.
This
probably comes across as too heavy for some, or perhaps
too Gershwin. But truthfully, if you’re familiar
with the Beach Boys and enjoy the a cappella and barbershop
harmonization style (“Good Vibrations” is
also the last track on this CD) then you should have no
problem letting this CD roll in the background of a quiet
evening.
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