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Smile
Studio album by Brian Wilson
Released	28 September 2004
Recorded	April 13–April 17, 2004 Overdubs: May–June 2004
Genre	Pop rock, Rock and roll
Length	46:59
Label	Nonesuch Records
Producer	Brian Wilson
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link The Music Box link Pitchfork (9.0/10) link Rolling Stone link Robert Christgau (A+) link
Brian Wilson chronology
Gettin' in Over My Head (2004) Smile (2004) What I Really Want for Christmas (2005)

Smile is a solo album by Brian Wilson, with lyrics by Van Dyke Parks. Wilson, Parks and Darian Sahanaja completed the legendary unfinished album project, started in 1966 for Wilson's former band, The Beach Boys. It was released in the fall of 2004 with back-up from members of his touring band, Wondermints.

Contents 1 History 2 Resurrection 3 Track listing 4 Further reading 5 External links

Main article: Smile (Beach Boys album)

Work on the original Beach Boys version of Smile (what Brian Wilson called 'a teenage symphony to God') began in 1966, following the release of their album Pet Sounds, and based on the recording mode of their single "Good Vibrations". But a combination of tensions within the band, recording difficulties, and Brian Wilson's eventual mental breakdown led to the collapse of its sessions. Remnant recordings from the 1966-67 sessions have since surfaced on bootleg recordings and official Beach Boys greatest hits compilations.

The 2004 Brian Wilson Presents Smile album is in 3 suites. The first section deals with early Americana, from Plymouth Rock to the Old West, farmlands, the building of the railroad and new housing. The album, appropriately for a 'teenage symphony to God' begins with 'Our Prayer/Gee' which segues into 'Heroes and Villains' which was conceived as the cornerstone of the entire Smile album. The 'Heroes and Villains' lyric 'My children were raised, you know they suddenly rise. They started slow long ago, head to toe; healthy, wealthy and wise.' seems to tie in with the childhood/fatherhood theme of the second suite. 'Roll Plymouth Rock' partly reprises the Heroes and villains theme. The easy-going 'Barnyard' features band members mimicking farmyard animals. The clanging sound of metal evident on 'Cabin Essence' is echoed in 'Workshop' in the third suite.

The second suite deals with childhood and fatherhood. With its music box melodies, it has a specifically Victorian feel (Victoriana is echoed in the style of the packaging and lyric book too), which is chronologically in keeping with where the previous suite leaves off. 'Surf's Up', which Leonard Bernstein praised, continues the Victorian feel, with arcane, mysterious lyrics and considerable wordplay.

The third suite is regarded, at least mostly, as 'The Elements Suite' that Brian Wilson had talked about. It initially continues the Victoriana feel again with the waltz-like 'I'm in great shape', which gradually grows darker and then becomes reminiscent of the kind of score that would be used at moments of growing tension or drama in cartoons, such as those by Disney. Indeed, lyricist Van Dyke Parks has said that Brian Wilson has a 'cartoon consciousness'. 'I wanna be around' suggests the literal physical repair of a broken heart, fitting in with the 'Workshop' theme. Like 'I'm in great shape', 'Vega-Tables', epitomises the interest in health and fitness that Brian Wilson was said to have at the time. The song, like several on the album, has a carefree, humorous quality. 'Vega-Tables' also represents the 'Earth' theme of the 'Elements' which is either all or part of the third suite. 'On a holiday', originally an instrumental, has a reprise of the 'Roll Plymouth Rock' lyric and a distinctly jaunty pirate theme with some nursery rhyme-style lyrics, e.g. 'And isn't that a moon for a milky way?' The song segues into 'Wind Chimes', the 'Wind' part of the 'Elements' with the line 'Whisperin' winds send my wind chimes a-tinklin'. This song has a new age music feel. This is followed by the 'Fire' element, the Grammy-award winning 'Mrs O'Leary's cow', which has a helter skelter, ghost train/fun house kind of sound. The song is regarded as something of an expression of Brian Wilson's use of psychedelic drugs at the time and the title refers to the suspected cause of the Great Chicago Fire, a cow that knocked over a lantern. The following song, 'In Blue Hawaii' (the 'Water' element) also makes reference to a cow: ('Wholly Holy Cow!'). The song acts as a soothing solution to the intense heat of the previous song: 'I could really use a drop to drink. Somewhere in a placid pool and sink.' The album ends on 'Good Vibrations' (which has been described as a 'pocket symphony'), undoubtedly the best known song on the album yet not originally intended for it. 'Good Vibrations' broadly goes through 3 distinct phases (as Smile does) and makes use of theremin-like sounds from an Electro-Theremin, which had previously been used mainly in horror films. There is an indication that 'Good Vibrations' is meant to be regarded as separate from or perhaps an encapsulation of the spirit of the rest of 'Smile'. This is strongly suggested by the last line of the penultimate song 'In Blue Hawaii', 'Aloha nui means goodbye', and the reprise of the harmonies from the first song 'Our Prayer' before 'Good Vibrations' begins. Nevertheless, the tone and the choice of instrumentation in the song seems to bear more similarity to the rest of 'Smile' than to 'Pet Sounds' that some, including several Beach Boys, would have liked to have seen 'Good Vibrations' feature on.

The album was supposedly conceived as a musical journey across America from east to west, beginning at Plymouth Rock and ending in Hawaii, as well as traversing some of the great themes of American history and culture, including the impact of white settlement on native Americans, the influence of the Spanish, the Wild West, and the opening up of the country by railroad and motorway. It seems chronological, moving from early America through the Victorian era and ending with the 1960s drug culture (eg. Mrs O'Leary's Cow) and the Hawaii of 'In blue Hawaii' which, in terms of American statehood (since 1959), was very recent when the album was first conceived.

In interviews to promote Smile, Brian Wilson has concentrated on the happy, humorous qualities of the music, which are evident. However, there is also a clear and beautiful melancholy in Brian Wilson's voice and throughout the album eg. on 'Old Master Painter/You Are My Sunshine' and 'Surf's Up'. The lyrics to 'You Are My Sunshine' have been altered to past tense, adding a reflective somberness. The intensity of the chorus on 'Cabin Essence' and of 'Mrs O'Leary's Cow', for just two obvious examples, show that the humour became entwined with dark, powerful, intensity as evidenced by the famous stories surrounding Smile. As Brian Wilson long referred to the innovative Smile as 'inappropriate music', though, it is understandable that he would wish to concentrate on the unambiguously happy aspects of the project.

On February 20, 2004, 37 years after it was conceived, a complete version of Smile was performed by Wilson along with his backing band, which includes former Beach Boys guitarist Jeff Foskett, members of The Wondermints and percussionist Nelson Bragg, in a live performance at the Royal Festival Hall in London. This performance was made whole by the addition of either lost or newly-composed lyrics that filled the gaps left open by the original 1966-67 Beach Boys sessions. This show was followed by subsequent performances elsewhere in Britain.

Recording of the new version of Smile began in April 2004 with his ten-piece touring band, augmented by a ten-piece string section and an acoustic bassist. The basic tracks were taped at Sunset Sound in just four days, with overdubbing and mixing continuing through April, May, and June.

On September 28, 2004, Brian Wilson released his newly recorded studio version of Smile, to critical praise. Brian Wilson Presents Smile is the greatest scoring album of at least the last 7 years based on Metacritic's estimations of various critics reviews. For the new version, Wilson, Wondermints leader Darian Sahanaja, woodwind player/string arranger Paul Mertens, and lyricist Van Dyke Parks based their arrangements on the original, unreleased Beach Boys tapes to give Brian Wilson Presents Smile a coherent and fresh, updated sound.

Interestingly, although Brian was reported to have only included "Good Vibrations" in the original Smile track listing at Capitol's insistence, a new version of the song—featuring Wilson's Pet Sounds collaborator Tony Asher's original lyrics, rather than the later Mike Love lyrics—was included as the closing track of the album. Careful listening, though, shows that a reprisal of the 'Our Prayer' harmonies and the line 'Aloha nui means goodbye' effectively puts a full stop, or at least a semi-colon, on Smile after 'In Blue Hawaii' with Good Vibrations seeming more an encapsulation of the rest of the album's spirit or, indeed, a stand alone statement, just as the The Beatles 'Paperback Writer' or 'We Can Work It Out' were.

The new Brian Wilson Presents Smile album was followed by two U.S. tours, with its featured stop in New York's Carnegie Hall (this concert was broadcast on radio's NPR network). Wilson and company also took the show to Australia and New Zealand, as well as many countries throughout Europe.

The Showtime cable network released a documentary film about the making of Brian Wilson Presents Smile known as "Beautiful Dreamer: Brian Wilson and the Story of Smile." in the fall of 2004. And a DVD of a live version of the new Smile (shot in an L.A. studio) was released in May 2005, along with the Showtime/"Beautiful Dreamer" documentary.

Brian Wilson Presents Smile received multiple 2004 Grammy award nominations, including Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical (for Mark Linett). The album won one Grammy, in the category of Best Rock Instrumental Performance (for "Mrs. O'Leary's Cow," the same track which had caused Wilson such mental anguish at the end of the original recording sessions).

In 2005, Brian Wilson Presents Smile won graphic artist Mark London and Rhino Records the 2005 ALEX award for Best Vinyl Package.

All songs by Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks, except where noted.

1. "Our Prayer/Gee" (Brian Wilson/William Davis/Morris Levy) - 2:09
2. "Heroes and Villains" - 4:53
3. "Roll Plymouth Rock" - 3:48
4. "Barnyard" - 0:58
5. "The Old Master Painter/You Are My Sunshine" (Haven Gillespie/Beasley Smith) - 1:04
6. "Cabin Essence" - 3:27
7. "Wonderful" - 2:07
8. "Song for Children" - 2:16
9. "Child Is Father of the Man" - 2:18
10. "Surf's Up" - 4:07
11. "I'm in Great Shape/I Wanna Be Around/Workshop" (Brian Wilson/Van Dyke Parks/Johnny Mercer/Sadie Vimmerstedt) - 1:56
12. "Vega-Tables" - 2:19
13. "On a Holiday" - 2:36
14. "Wind Chimes" - 2:54
15. "Mrs. O'Leary's Cow" (Brian Wilson) - 2:27
16. "In Blue Hawaii" - 3:00
17. "Good Vibrations" (Brian Wilson/Tony Asher/Mike Love) - 4:36
18. "Heroes and Villains" (Instrumental)" 4:46. This version only appeared on the second edition of SMiLE.

Smile (Brimel/Nonesuch 79846) hit #13 in the US during a chart stay of 17 weeks. It reached #7 in the UK.

On the second edition of SMiLE, "Heroes and Villains" (Instrumental)" appeared after "Good Vibrations"

One of the principal sources of original information on Smile, and the basis for much of its legendary status, was Jules Siegel's article "Goodbye Surfing, Hello God!" which appeared in the first issue of Cheetah Magazine in October 1967. Almost equally influential was Domenic Priore's 1987 book Look, Listen, Vibrate, Smile.

In Lewis Shiner's novel Glimpses, the time-traveling protagonist meets and befriends Brian Wilson, and encourages Wilson to complete Smile over the objections of his bandmates. Glimpses won the 1994 World Fantasy Award for Best Novel.

• Album prerelease prevue
• Brian Wilson on Smile: the making of
• Rockument-Beach Boy's Smile Sessions with commentary and links to music
• http://www.theSmileshop.net
• http://dumbangel.comicgenesis.com
• Brian Wilson's official site
• Van Dyke Parks' official site
• Smile live at Carnegie Hall, presented by NPR
• http://theelements.ca/hnv/heroesandvillains.htm
• Stylus Magazine article
• Wilson explains Smile

v • d • e Brian Wilson
Studio albums	Brian Wilson · I Just Wasn't Made for These Times · Orange Crate Art (with Van Dyke Parks) · Imagination · Gettin' in Over My Head · Smile
Other albums	Live at the Roxy Theatre · Pet Sounds Live · What I Really Want for Christmas
Related articles	The Beach Boys · Sweet Insanity · Carnie Wilson