44 years late, a lost Beach Boys masterpiece finally SMiLEs upon the world

With the release of SMiLE on Nov. 1, people who want to experience (or revisit) the Summer of Love can finally do so with what I see as THE definitive trifecta of pop masterpieces.

While there certainly were terrific releases in 1967 that helped define a rock generation (Jefferson Airplane’s Surrealistic Pillow and? The Jimi Hendrix Experience’s Are You Experienced to name a couple), The Beatles‘ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, the? Monkees‘ Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn, and Jones Ltd. and The Beach Boys‘ lost SMiLE perfectly capture the experimental pop vibe of the era.

If you like the music of the 60s, setting aside preconceived notions of both the Monkees and The Beach Boys and listening to what they had become by 1967 no doubt raises a few eyebrows. Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn and Jones Ltd. showcases a mittful of progressive yet pop-accessible triumphs such as The Door Into Summer, Words, Love is Only Sleeping, and especially the psychedelia-drenched Daily Nightly and Star Collector.

Check out Star Collector here!

And really, what can I say about Sergeant Pepper that has not already been said ad nauseum?

But while fans had easy access to where the Beatles and the Monkees were taking the new generation, The Beach Boys lost their footing, never truly regaining success or respect among critics and fans.

Band leader and guru Brian Wilson, like the Beatles, had eschewed the idea of touring so he could expand his head in the studio, experimenting with sound effects, Indian music, and the budding idea of “concept albums.” After releasing the milestone Pet Sounds, (McCartney’s inspiration to create Sergeant Pepper), Wilson went to work on what he called “a teenage symphony to God.” Unfortunately, he received zero support or cooperation from his family, the band, or his record company. That, coupled with his own growing drug addiction and mental problems, finally forced him to abandon the entire SMiLE project in early 1967.

In the end, only the classic (and, for the time, very weird) song Good Vibrations emerged from the SMiLE sessions to great success, and the music world was anxious to see what the entire record would sound like.

And so an incredible story of mythos and mystery was born. For over 40 years, people examined every aspect of SMiLE. Just what would it have been? Was Brian unleashing a brand new style of rock and roll? Which later Beach Boys tracks were conceived during the sessions? Do the masters still exist somewhere? Will the album ever be released?

In 2004, an older, wiser, and sober Brian Wilson released a newly recorded version of SMiLE to commercial acclaim, making people even MORE hungry for the original band’s version. And while no one will ever know just exactly what SMiLE would have sounded like (simply because it was never finished), this 2011 release is probably 95 percent of what fans would have received in 1967.

Listen to one of the highlights from SMiLE here!

Original tracks (with the original Beach Boys vocals) have been cleaned up, cobbled together, and crafted in Brian’s original order to create a non-stop cacophony of noises, snippets, and musical milestones intended to reflect Americana, much as Sergeant Pepper reflected British ideology. Other tracks from SMiLE touch on classic Beach Boys harmony (Gee), psychedelic experimentation (Vege-tables, Wind Chimes), and nearly perfectly-crafted pop (Surf’s Up, Cabin Essence).

And, like Sergeant Pepper, SMiLE was meant to be listened to in its entirety. The concept is lost somewhat if you pull out separate tracks, although many songs stand beautifully on their own, yet another testament to Wilson’s musical genius.

It is interesting to speculate just what the future would have held for The Beach Boys had SMiLE been released and enjoyed the profound musical and cultural impact many historians believe.