Background: It is the summer of 1967 and SMiLE is not to be. The worldwide anticipation for Brian Wilson’s much vaunted ‘Teenage Symphony To God’ is crushed, and so is Brian. He has succumbed to the many forces reigned against him and he will never be the same. He relinquishes full control of the Beach Boys’ direction and retreats to… only he knows where. After such a glittering career, his anguish can not be overestimated. The blows keep coming. The group is in legal dispute with Capitol Records, withdraws from The Monterey Pop Festival (which will set the new musical agenda for years) and The Beatles release Sgt. Pepper.
Fully a year since Pet Sounds had been released, and six months since Good Vibrations topped the charts around the world, the Beach Boys had to get a new record out quickly or they would be finished - not just discredited. Brian Wilson has refused to allow any original SMiLE recordings to be used, so the group decides to re-record some of the songs created for SMiLE and add them to some hastily written new compositions. Since none of the other group members possess Brian Wilson’s genius in the studio environment, a studio is built in Wilson’s newly purchased mansion in Bel Air in an effort to encourage his participation in the album which will be called Smiley Smile. But a confused Brian Wilson has ‘let go’; his participation will be ‘minimised’.

Review: Heroes & Villains had to follow Good Vibrations – an unenviable task. By all accounts the original recording had a greater scope and complexity that this version, but even so, it is a very dynamic piece of music. Employing the ‘modular’ approach pioneered by Good Vibrations, the first sections charge along with energetic vocals, a great bass line and a HUGE snare drum sound. At least on this track on the album the stamp of Brian Wilson is evident. The vocal arrangements are the most ambitious and creative on the album but it was not to be the hit it was expected to be. Reputedly featuring none other than Paul McCartney on ‘vegetable munching percussion’, Vegetables shocked in the simplicity of the production and instrumentation. And yet… there is something daring in the audacity of that approach. Somehow, Brian Wilson was able to salvage the bass line and vocal elements from the infamous FIRE sessions and frame them artistically in Fall Breaks And Back To Winter (Woody Woodpecker Symphony) . Only now in hindsight can its genesis be appreciated and understood - making it much less odd, which is in stark contrast to She’s Going Bald, which still sounds odd. Unlike the psycho-acoustic effects Brian Wilson could achieve with advanced musical and vocal techniques (which are timeless), the speeded-up tape effect on the track here sounds dated and passé.
Little Pad may open with a marijuana-fuelled giggling chorus, but this simple ‘Hawaiian’ song has some gorgeous harmonies and a nice melody.
Started during the Pet Sounds sessions, Good Vibrations was truly groundbreaking. It had everything: angelic lead vocal from Carl Wilson, ethereal ‘eighths’ from the Hammond organ, and those incredible quarter-note triplets from the cellos in the chorus. The chord progressions were radical and the Beach Boys’ vocal gymnastics were breathtaking. It has a worthy claim to be the most innovative single record in popular music history. It may have taken 6 months and hours of studio time to get right, but Brian Wilson did get it right – it was, and is… perfect.
With Me Tonight opens with a vocal chant and again, the simplicity of the production lends itself to the simple but highly pleasing song.
The rich voice of Dennis Wilson is especially prominent in Wind Chimes and in the fade the delicate group vocals are simply exquisite - at their best, Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys vocal prowess could not be bettered. The delightful mood set by the angelic counterpoint of the Wind Chimes fade is abruptly broken with the harsh organ arpeggio of Getting’ Hungry. It is the last song recorded for the Smiley Smile album and in its raw rock format, is more in keeping with the style of the following album Wild Honey. However, it feels/sounds totally out of place sitting as it does between two very ‘laid back’ tracks on this album. Carl Wilson turns in a typically fine lead vocal on the delicate Wonderful, which has an artistic/fun/wacky central section of laughter and do-wop.
Whistle In is essentially another little chant elevated to an irresistible Brian Wilson muse - simplistic production again, but effective.

Summary: It wasn’t SMiLE and it wasn’t a hit record, but Smiley Smile marks the passing of the ‘baton’ from Brian Wilson to the rest of the group. From now on even with varying degrees of participation from Brian, The Beach Boys themselves would be responsible for their own futures. While commentators and intellectuals somewhat unfairly diminish Smiley Smile because it was not SMiLE, little can alter the fact that there are some fine moments on this album which would without doubt never have existed had SMiLE itself been released in1967.

Highlights: Heroes & Villains, Vegetables, Good Vibrations, With Me Tonight, Wind Chimes, Wonderful.

Twofer: The Smiley Smile/Wild Honey twofers CD features six bonus tracks. Heroes & Villains (Alternate Take) includes the famous ‘In The Cantina’, ‘Three score and five’ and tape echo explosion sections, amongst others. These demonstrate the varied creativity Brian Wilson was attempting with SMiLE. One wonders if on hearing the words “Good Vibrations take 1” anyone in the studio had any idea what a worldwide smash hit it would be. Good Vibrations (Various Sessions) shows the evolution of the track. Good Vibrations (Early Take) shows that at this point Good Vibrations was a much rougher R&B record. With so many sections and tempo changes, it is not hard to understand how it took Brian Wilson so long to arrive at the ‘ideal’ arrangement and combination.
You’re Welcome was the B-side of Heroes And Villains and is another chant! Vocally simple, this was meat and drink to the Beach Boys. As is perfectly demonstrated in Their Hearts Were Full Of Spring, a Four Freshmen song the Beach Boys had sung together since they were Hawthorne boys.
Can’t Wait Too Long/Way Too Long is the last bonus track on the CD and it is a wondrous treat. Pieced together from fragments in the vaults, it almost defies description. The weaving harmonies in the dreamy introduction give way to a nice piano and guitar interplay, followed by a vibe-accompanied doodit doodit and “Way too long” passage underpinned by a subtle fuzz guitar line. A sudden change to jazz guitar and bass, and we are off on a reprise of the vocal theme before the steady thump of a highly reverberated bass guitar walks us to the fade of this precious glimpse of what was lost to the world when Brian Wilson lost his confidence and his way in 1967.

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