Trying to SMiLE - Understanding a Weird Beach Boys Album 

I was only a casual Beach Boys fan until I discovered Smile, that's what made me a diehard. The album changed me and I don't know why but it resonates with me on a level I could never dream of articulating why.

God, I haven't even finished watching this video yet and it's giving me chills, it's gonna be a good one. I believe the loss of Smile back in 1967 was probably one of the biggest tragedies in music history. We can only imagine what that world would've been like, had it came out as planned...

I think the biggest tragedy was that the Beatles fans were willing to jump on their creativity but The Beach Boys fans were not on board. I think this was a big contribution to SMiLEs downfall. Which could have been a historic landmark.

i think the theme of this album is "madness" in a way. it almost has the same vibe to me as the scene in willy wonka and the chocolate factory where they're going over the chocolate river. at times it feels uncomfortable, sometimes melancholy, sometimes deliriously silly. it's my favourite beach boys album and i think if you listen carefully you can hear the same feelings through some of the earlier beach boys works, Smile is like Brian finally coming into his own creatively. Brian has a real knack for capturing melancholy in music, but also for capturing happiness in music, I think this speaks a lot to his character and his soul.

The only thing I would add is that “Brian Wilson Presents Smile” is definitely worth listening to as well. Everything’s re-recorded, but very much in the spirit of the original, and you get to hear how a more mature Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks finally finished what they started so long ago.

Pro musician and lifelong BB fan here. This is excellent. You did this difficult topic great justice. Thank you.

"Smile" sounds as if Brian Wilson, in a manic phase of his bi-polarism, was answering The Beatles "Sgt Pepper", like Jack Nicholson's Joker character: "OK, Beatles, u wanna get nuts!!???..let's get nuts!!!!"

The folks that collected the bootleg Smiles modules and assembled them in the myriad of possible compilations make up one of the greatest artistic cults to ever surf the underground. Much as it was a great joy to witness Brian’s live show when he finally got the moxie and support to complete A version of it, I don’t think it was better than some of the CDs distributed by some hard core fans. To me, THEIR pursuit of the lost masterwork was its greatest testimony.

Or... there is a third path: an album released before May 67, abandoning the SMiLE concept, called Surf's Up (not the 70's one) or Wonderful or whatever, containing the main songs recorded and more or less completed from the SMiLE sessions and new ones. It would have still be a better record than Smiley Smile and preceded Sgt Pepper in groundbreaking production. By the way, I listened recently to the BW Presents SMiLE and I finally understood it. It's all about how America lost it's way and Nature is the ultimate answer. A view very much of those times.

As a Beach Boys super-fan, I LOVE this, thank you!

The original “Smile” album is the epitome of genius. The Beatles (and Stones and everyone else, for that matter) had producers and others writers to work with. Brian did it all; better than anyone else. He was the last man standing after the British Invasion. If it weren’t for his mental health issues, there’s no telling what might have been. As it is his legacy is cemented. “Surfs Up”, “A Day In The Life Of A Tree”, “Til I Die” and “Sail On Sailor” (to name a few), show that even as debilitated as he became, he was always a master craftsman. I don’t believe that there’s ever been anyone else in pop music before or since who could hold a candle to him. Produce, write, arrange, sing and play. There was nothing musically that he couldn’t do.

Smile is one of my top 3 favorite albums of all time.

I honestly keep coming back to this again and again, one of my favorite’s of yours

It's not a theramin on "Good Vibrations". It's an "electro-Theramin", which was created to sound as much like a Theramin as possible, but be easier to play. Instead of being controlled exclusively by waving your hands around its antennas, it had a ribbon keyboard, which made it easy to slide up and down and hit the notes. You can see Mike Love playing it in the GV TV performance.

I consider this, probably their greatest album

Smile is Brian"s masterpiece. I listen to Smile more than Pet Sounds. If you listen carefully, it has 3 themes americana, the elements and Water movement. It is Brian at at his peak. I never get tired of hearing Smile.

Love the SMiLE album. This is what happens when you make a record 50 years before as time. I am so glad though that Brian got to live to see the Love that people give this music. I also love the fact that he was able to release it as a solo record first and then made even more money when the Beach boys released it. I bought both. Congratulations Brian I’m being the genius that you are and always have been.

Well first off nice video on Brian Wilson’s /Beach Boys “Smile” album that never came to be. I first became aware of this unreleased Lp back in the mid 1990’s (pretty late on hearing of it) caught my full attention after reading about it & immersed myself in the Smile tracks from the 30 Years of Beach Boys box set & then went out & bought a 2 cd bootleg deluxe set and was hooked ever since. I found the sessions fascinating- unusual ( I will leave out weird)complex w/beautiful harmonies. Putting aside Brians’s drug & mental state/ the tensions in the studio & the lyrics which weren’t all that complex (but artful/Americana/earth elements/health/spiritual) and quoting Brian a teenage symphony to God. The crusher was that Brian knew where music was going in late 66-67 especially the Beatles & knew he had to top it or at least stack up to it & could have. Good Vibrations/ Heroes & Villains was Brian’s Strawberry Fields/Penny lane which preceded the Beatles Sgt.Peppers album. The Beatles released no other singles from SPLHCB & had Brian been able to stay focused(and more time given)would not have had to release anything else to promote Smile. Had things gone right Brian’s master piece would have been released first before Pepper/Surrealistic Pillow/ The Doors 1st Lp ect. And that was the killer to Brian -my opinion of course. Smile would have lead the pack, with more encouragement & less pressure which I’m sure would have helped but wasn’t to be. So Brian hit a wall & shelved it all and had to stew about it for all these years!

This is a remarkably well put together video. Thanks.

Psychedelic masterpiece. If you know, you know.

Genuinely one of the best videos I've seen on the topic

TO WHOEVER MADE THIS VIDEO. You did a wonderful job explaining smile which happens to be my favorite album. Thank you

Here's the deal. At that time every Beach Boys album was different with its own personality, pretty much starting with Today and continuing through about Love You. After Love You the artistry faded away with periodic exceptions.

Great video. Smile if released would've fitted in with the summer of love. Promoted properly it could've been a hit with the hippies and creative side of music. Even if it hadn't it would've been a success in Europe. Either way it was a great loss for music and it's great that it does exist in an original form. It's rock and roll with brains. A classic.

I agree with Brian's brothers. I think SMiLE is every bit as good as, if not better than, PET SOUNDS. Complex, quirky, poetic, haunting, beautiful. It's a masterpiece.

Your comment about the balance between artistic growth and commercialism, I found to be quite interesting. "Good Vibrations" alone achieved both in spades! Commercially, I think "Smile" would have done well on the strength of "Good Vibrations" alone, just as two albums prior, "California Girls" did for "Summer Days and Summer Nights". For the simple fact that GV served as a "teaser" preceding the album, would have made people curious to buy the album to hear the rest of the stuff on there

As a 7 year old kid hearing my mum play I Get Around for the first time = this is great As a teenager hearing Pet Sounds for the first time = this is amazing As an adult hearing SMiLE Sessions for the first time = holy shit this might just be the greatest album never made

This answered every question I had on the album in question. Well done. Excellent job.

If Brian Wilson completed Smile, the album would have been a critical acclaim from music critics!

This was very informative as someone who is very knew to this band. I actually became interested in them after hearing some of their more avante garde works and learning about Paul McCartney's respect for them. I'm very much interested in these Smile sessions, and I would have never known the nuances unless I watched this video. Thank you for this!

The album is about change and what happens when you get lost on the way. It's a reference to the american dream told through some personal experiences of Brian growing up, with a touch of spirituality, ie the elements suite. The getting healthy aspects are just referencing this. It's Americana (which we know because Brian has said it as such), but also how the world is changing very fast and the problems coming along with this. And the thing is, Brian was wanting a new audience. So no the typical american surf rock fan probably wouldn't be into it, but fans of the beatles would.

23:25 this is a time stamp just for me to continue

"How could you take my sunshine away?" I'm not really sure how to say this, but I feel legitimate pain when I think about how this record was prevented from being released. No other event in contemporary music history makes me angry; this one does though. The loss of Smile's artistic influence upon the world is difficult to measure, but the loss is significant. The music is so wondrously beautiful that I think it's fair to say that Brian's achievement is a legitimate exemplar of the extraordinary things that human beings are capable of achieving when in their finest moments. It is truly sad to me that Brian never got to hear the accolades that he would have received for making this, and I very much hope that in his heart, that loss does not cause him too much pain. Thank you for existing, Mr. Wilson, and for giving us the gift of your finest moments; you truly are a genius, and I never use that word lightly. Also, I politely disagree with the author about the album lacking a concept or theme. In fact, I bet it could be argued that it is the tightest concept album of all time. The concept is felt, though; it is not necessarily a literal idea that can be discussed concretely. (Although I am perfectly open to the idea that there is a literal concept, too.)

Man, this is a great video. Congratulations!

If you're someone who enjoys great singing and instrumentation Smile is absolutely recommended. Not a knock on their other stuff (which I adore), but this and Pet Sounds are the best stuff they ever made and their other songs might feel a bit diminished if you come to know them after listening to Smile Sessions.

awesome! This is a nice informative video! You should make a Beach Boys iceberg!

If Smile came out on January 15 1967 like Brian promised Capital Records, music of the 60s might have been different. Weird album? More like brilliant album

with me when i hear smile it feels like the songs are coming from a person with a personality disorder. weird, crazy but happy all at the same time. i have adhd when i listen to Theis's songs i feel connected to it in some way. i don't know how to explain it but i feel like that's where the songs are coming from. and its asome. edit: i just realized who the person with the disorder is. it's Brian what if Brian wanted to make smile to show us how he sees the world, how chaotic his mind is. smile is a doorway into Brian's Mind.

Great vid, nice work, thanks!

This makes me want to tell you my favorite vegetable.

Brian, himself, has expressed that it was an Americana, "railroading across America" kind of album. Thought it was worth a mention 🤷

it hurts me that we’ll never hear smile as it was originally intended to be released

this was such an informative video thank you!

I am a huge Beatles fan, but when I first heard Smile, it was like going thorugh a time capsule. If it had come out in 67 it would have been considered one of the greatest albums of all time, right up with Srgt. Pepper. It is even more beautiful then Pet Sounds, so sophisticated, so musically complex, yet very listenable and fun. It is just a magic peace of work. It would have shook the world, that´s what I think, at least in Europe. It is a mystery that Pet Sounds never made it huge in US, but time has certainly redeemed it as a classic. Smile is another perfect work, and Mr. Wilson is a true magician and genius. You don´t find to many of those. Thank you for this wonderful film!

Smile was the Boys trying to top Revolver. The fact that it didn't come out is part of the reason why Sgt. Pepper's seemed so revoluntionary.

Most amazing "album" ever. In a class by itself, even in its bits and pieces.

If Brian was allowed to finish SMiLE in 1967 we would be calling The Beach Boys a major influence to music along side the Beatles but Micheal Love was a big reason for it not being finished as well as LSD and mental health issues sparked again by Love.

You should do a video on the other cancelled beach boys album, Adult/ Child 1978

One of the more fascinating theories about SMiLE is that it functions as a zen koan, or a type of riddle. There's a website dedicated to explaining the theory but I don't know if RU-vid will let me send it.

Well, the beach boys released alot if weird tracks before the smile recordings were done. Brian wilson is an odd ball with a delightfully bizarre sense of humor.

Your vid is so good it almost makes me want to weep...but I'll SMiLE instead.

Brian could have absolutely put it out in 1967. It’s weirdness is fairly tame compared to some stuff from the time, Frank Zappa Freak Out, Beefheart etc. The music scene was getting far out and they could have been part of that. Besides, they put out Smiley Smile anyway which was weirder than Smile imo.

Funny thing about Capitol records is nearly all my favourite bands were on that label--but they were hard, "old school" taskmasters that never changed their ways, even in the 70s and the advent of FM radio. This is the label that forced bands to put out THREE ALBUMS a year! Okay--as soon you get off this tour, you WILL go back into the studio and record another album. And as Brian so famously once said--"Creativity cannot be forced".

Love this as a super-huge Brian Wilson fan, & to a slightly lesser degree, Beach Boys fan, as well! I'd love to have an album of SMiLE, templated after BWPS, consisting of the SMiLE sessions in every place possible, only filling in w/BWPS when absolutely necessary! I'd absolutely love that! But as for the theme, it was Americana, travelling from Plymouth Rock all the way to Hawaii, & many stops in between. Parks & Wilson have said that. And as for Mike killing SMiLE, Brian Wilson, himself, has said that Mike hated the record & helped kill it, so....

Thank you for this💗

NIce post! Enjoyed it. IMHO the way to hear SMiLE is to realize what it is. It is a "Beat Opera". The Beach Boys were ALWAYS reflecting, or maybe inspired by the art of the Beat Literary Movement. I Get Around to me sounds like it came from someone who read On the Road, same holds true for California Girls. God Only Knows is somewhat of a tribute to Kerouac's upbringing in the Catholic Church and the time he spent at the Grotto in Lowell Mass. Van Dyke Parks knew all the Beats work and reflected back to others really well. SMILE is a combo of novels from Kerouac, Maggie Cassidy, Big Sur and On The Road mostly. The Beatles did were doing the same thing. Creating art that reflected the Beat Movement. As far as the music goes it is widely accepted that Brian was a genus. The Beach Boys weren't the only band who were channelling the ideals written about by Kerouac and others. Their entire musical career has depended on reflecting back to us the idea's in Kerouac's art. Again IMHO. I am aware that art is in the eye, or ear of the beholder.

I've had Smile for years. Dont think I've ever listened to it properly. Must give it a spin.

your summary at the end kind of makes me feel, you kind of don't get Smile. It would have landed at the time with the general public had it had been completed. You only have to look at the mass success of Sgt. Peppers, Dark Side, psychedelic music in general at the time to see why. The abstract nature of the lyrics are also the appeal of Smile. And given how renown the album is now - it's pretty easy to see that it would have been a massive success and influence then, just as it is now after having finally been completed

“Smile” rules…period. xoxo The Clarences

Blaming his mental illness, anxiety and depression mostly on drugs is misplaced. He was mentally and physically abused by his father, bullied by Mike, and already unable to fly due to an anxiety induced nervous break down. He started using drugs to self medicate in a pressure filled environment absent any therapy to help him address these long standing issues. Absolutely his drug use made it worse, but it was not the cause.

Excellent review. I am a serious musical lowbrow so I must admit that what I enjoyed about the early Beach Boys catalog was the combination of harmony with melody and pacing. Unfortunately, I am in that lonely group of about 5 people on the earth who simply don't like the arrangements of Smile... made all the worse by Van Dyke Pak's lyrics that aspire to T.S. Eliot or Joyce but sadly fall far short. My unsophisticated opinion I know, but I never understand why people call this one of the greatest compilations ever. Better than Dark Side of the Moon? Really? Again, excellent recap!

To say the song surfs up is about nothing is super insulting to Van Dyke Parks and good songwriting in general. The words paint a picture and give a feeling. I don't understand why people don't get this. If you want to take them on a more literal level Van Dyke himself said that the first verse is about poverty and wealth. Also its about the loss of innocence (a big theme of the record). Thematically this collection of songs are super connected ... lyrically and musically (I would add, however, that BWPS does a much better job connecting the dots musically then the original record would have done...had it been released). I let the comment of vega-tables being just a song about good health slide (dude the song title gives it away that it is a play on words...vega tables are from Hinduism....also it fits with the theme of American history...think the chicago world's fair in 1893). But as soon as you said that you thought the lyrics of surfs up didnt mean anything you lost me.

I remember the day I that I became a beach boys diehard fan was I was listening to pet sounds a 3rd time in a row while working as a day-porter for bk.

Damn, I just looked up Desbutal and holy shit. The stuff that used to be legal lol.

I had a friend say, "Pet Sounds is the greatest album ever recorded. SMiLE is the greatest THING ever recorded". hahah

🌿❤️🌿 Brian Wilson is a creative masterpiece.

There is NO SUCH THING as an "urban legend" There are simply Legends or a Legend

Great job!

'To a handsome mannered baton...'

I'm lucky to say that I have scene Brian play both Pet Sounds and Smile . Amazing shows

Damn you sound like JP Sears!! Great video

The Music history nerd in me must say that Our Prayer is not Gregorian chant, it’s much more similar to baroque era chromatic harmony

This video was in my recommended after clicking on a meme video of the beach boys. This was amazing and I am super interested in diving into the Beach Boys discography now. Great Video!

Excellent Video

I love this album. Smile and Pet Sounds are what got me into progressive/baroque pop. Cabinessense is my favorite track from Smile, but I can understand that it's lyrics are way too abstract, it just don't make any sense even though it sounds good. I listened to Song Cycle and I still don't know if Van Dyke Parks is a genius, very conceited or I'm just way too dumb.

If this album came out music itself would be totally different today imo

weird in who's eyes? Mike Love no doubt !

2:24 look at how perfect Bruce’s hair is there

“Adobe pro tools” had me dying

Good job!

oh dear Lord......Mike Love arguing with the genius of Van Dyke Parks?? I wish Van would have slapped the s--- out of him....but of course, Van is so full of love and peace and patience to do something like that. so....all love to Van and thank you for sharing your genius....you're an inspiration to music and how to appreciate life.....love you

Fine video. Thanks.

It's a milestone.

Bryan Wilson and Van Dyke Parks should have sneaked into Mike Love's room in late 1966 and bound ,tied and gagged him and locked him up until Smle had been released in 1967 .

Heroes and Villains & Surfs Up are my 2 favorite BB songs😋😁

Smile is amazing ! So glad we have we have all the outtakes. Drugs really ruined the whole scene

A very fair appraisal of this album.

Ever notice how some of the best Beach Boy songs are bass driven? And who played the bass? Oh, yeah , Carol Kaye. Bob Lizik, Carl Wilson, Al.Jardine, Blondie Chaplin. Glen Campbell. And...Brian.

The interesting thing is that you can put your own Smile album together and choose which one you like most. For instance I prefer the Surf's up version a the end and with an instrumental intro. Unfortunately that version is hard to find, it is not on spotify for instance. And for me the cantina version of heroes and villains is the best. doo, doo, doo, heroes and villains!

As an European growing up with mostly UK artists I never cared much for American bands, except for two: The Doors and the Beach Boys, which I rate as highly as the many British well known rock bands like Queen, Zeppelin, Stones or those Insects from Liverpool . oh and Roy Orbison obviously, the greatest singer ever... I really love Smile, I find it better than any beatle album

i think the way to understand smile is that you can't understand it at all. it's supposed to be weird and random it's supposed to make you smile Heces the name. i feel like Brian made this Album for a select few of people only those people can understand the Album. the people that are as crazy as Brian. which is why i think it flopped among other reasons.

SMiLE is the American Psychedelic Pastoral. Piper at the Gates of Dawn was the British.

A big eye opener 👁 👀😀

I think your review is a fair and objective look at perhaps the most famous unreleased album of all time. I too love certain aspects of the album and it definitely showcases their talent for beautiful harmonies, melodies, and arrangement. I agree, the lyrics were a bit bizarre, eccentric, and unconventional. I think Brian would have been better served to work with someone else as a writing partner, perhaps Paul Simon, Burt Bacharach, Carole King or Mike Love. Brian and others say it was a three-part rock opera with an American manifest destiny and elements of the earth theme. Maybe Van Dyke's original thought was music that highlighted how American manifest destiny oppressed the Native Americans but there is Wonderful, Child is Father of the Man/ Surf's Up, You Are My Sunshine/Workshop, Good Vibrations etc... that doesn't really seem to fit that theme. I honestly believe it was an attempt to explain that there was a plan and a cohesive fabric that was holding this album together. I believe the original intent was that Good Vibrations would be on Pet Sounds but given the fact that Brian was constantly rearranging and splicing the song together looking for perfection and Capital Records demanding the release, it was left off of Pet Sounds. Once they released Good Vibrations and the huge success that followed, it was determined that Good Vibrations was the future model for million-selling Beach Boys records. As you stated very well, Smile was supposed to be an album full of Good Vibration like recordings, Heroes and Villains followed that formula but again the lyrics were as aforementioned, unconventional, and Avant Gard. Other groups of the day could get away with strange and weird but the Beach Boys ... not so much. Lastly, I actually enjoyed the Brian Wilson 2004 Smile release and with the assistance of Darian Sahanaja, it was put together in a way that flowed pretty well. Is it a three-part rock opera? Probably not, but still an enjoyable record albeit a strange diversion from the Beach Boys' signature music.

oddly enough, smile was my introduction to the beach boys. I was watching an interview many years ago of a trans women talking about finally getting gender affirming surgery. At one point she was talking about why she loves Surfs up so much, and I was just sucked into the album. An incredible unreleased treasure. (if anyone has a link to that video, I've looked for years and havnt found it, it would be much appreciated)

You should've used the original Smile track listing when dissecting the l.p. That 12 track basis was what it was intended to be, the layer sessions comp splits shit up to make it more in-depth I get it but y'know what I mean¿

I wouldn't say they were "every bit as good as Brian." But they were good, yes. Especially Carl and Dennis.

GREAT DOCUMENTARY, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THIS. I AM A BEATLES FREAK BUT THE BB COME IN 2ND AND PET SOUNDS, SUNFLOWER AND SMILE ARE RIGHT UP THERE WITH REVOLVER AND PEPPER TO ME. HELL, THE WHITE ALBUM HAD SUPER WEIRDNESS AT TIMES ( WHAT WITH WILD HONEY PIE?) SO I THINK IF CAPITAL HAD ENLISTED SAY GEORGE MARTIN and paul mccartney to help finish it off, maybe adding musical interludes to tie it all together.... it might have worked that smile album. aLTHOUGH, 1966-67 IS NOT 2023 AND MOST KIDS STILL HAVE MILITARY CUTS LETS NOT FORGET. BRIAN WAS WAY AHEAD OF HIS TIME AND HE TOOK WAY TO MANY DRUGS AT THAT TIME AS WELL. NOT THE BEST COMBINATION. TO ME, SMILE IS A ALICE IN WONDERLAND AND/OR MEETS THE WIZARD OF OZ COMBO ( BUT WITH NOT THE SAME PROMOTION OR MASS APEAL). PERHAPS, IT WAS MEANT TO BE RELEASED 40 ODD YEARS LATER ..... PERHAPS ONLY NOW CAN WE YOUNGER DUDS APRECIATE SUCH A MASTERPEICE OR MASTERBATE... WHATEVER YOU CHOOSE TO TITLE IT. SURFS UP AND GOOD VIBRATIONS ARE STILL THE GREATEST SONGS EVER WRITTEN AND THATS ENOUGH FOR ME. HELL, WHY DIDENT THEY MAKE AN EP OF THE PROJECT INSTEAD? 5 SONGS MAX WITH SIDE TWO BEING THE LIVE LEID IN HAWAII THAT CAPITAL RECORDED IN 1967 MUST PRIOR TO SMILE RELEASE DATE? THAT MIGHT HAVE SOLD LIKE HOTCAKES. YES????

In your intro, the volume of I Get Around is far louder than everything else.

10:38- Hey!!!! It's hand-bananas cousin....