I fully intended to write about "Smile" in my next post. I really did.

I'm not going to write a capsule history of "Smile", the legendary "lost" album from 1967. Every review of "Smile" has a capsule history that explains various aspects of it. For anyone is curious, The Smile Shop has a good FAQ that hits the main points.

So, what I'm about to do is give my opinions about Smile an album released by Brian Wilson in 2004.

Instead of snippets of recordings from 1966-67, individually released songs taken out of context, and bootlegs, there is now an officially sanctioned "Smile" release, with all the songs, themes, snippets, and weird noises presented as a finished piece.

Quite frankly, I don't feel the way I wish I felt. I like it because its "Smile". I like the songs because they're by Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks. But there is something inauthentic about this finished Smile. If you look at the 2004 project on the surface, it has one main point in its favor: The songs were and still are good, if not great, if not the greatest pop songs every written. Not in its favor are: 1) The project as originally envisioned 37 years ago was abandoned and its execution now is in the hands of outsiders (one of whom might be Brian, himself), 2) Brian's voice just isn't what it was when he was 24, and I think much of the grandeur of Smile rested on his singing (the "cantina" section, the falsetto vocals on the original "Wonderful", and of course, "columnated ruins domino"), 3) All new recordings were made with new players and new technology (mostly), 4) These songs sounded better sung by the Beach Boys.

So, the end product is necessarily compromised. Given what it turned out to be in 2004, it would've been hailed as one of the greatest pop achievements ever in 1967, had it been completed. It might have been considered "better" than "Sgt. Pepper", even if it didn't sell as much or wasn't as commercial. It would not have been the major musical event that The Beatles' release seemed to be. But... it would've been recognized as a major work.

Okay, okay... so what ABOUT the Smile of 2004? Hey, it IS great. Its "Smile" for Chrissake! Some of it sounds inauthentic, but that makes sense since "Smile" had never been complete, so there is new stuff. The musical reproductions are virtual replications of the 66-67 arrangements. Some of the new lyrics are surprising and disorienting because so many of the "Smile" fragments were instrumentals. If I had never heard any of these songs in any other contexts (including releases on Beach Boys albums, bootlegs, and various "Smile" reconstructions), then I would probably be blown away. It would probably be similar to the feelings I had when I first heard Hawaii by The High Llamas, which of course, would not exist if there had been no incomplete "Smile".

Ideally, for me, Smile 2004 would've used what was available from the sixties, including the completed tracks and whatever vocals existed. Then the completed work could've been finished around what existed. Maybe some of the new Brian vocals would've been a bit incongruous with the 24 year old Brian vocals, but judging by what I hear on "2004", the newly added vocals would've sounded okay.

So in conclusion, had "Smile" been scrapped completely in 1967, with no bootlegs, and no snippets or pieces or songs coming out on Beach Boys albums, this 2004 "Smile" would be the crowning achievement of Brian Wilson's career; vindication of his original musical vision. As it is, it's brilliant. However, with so much history, time, and circumstances its a compromised piece of work. One which I'll enjoy immensely nonetheless.