|
Post by The Cincinnati Kid on Jan 1, 2019 20:17:55 GMT -5
Worked on for months as Smile, Brian Wilson eventually scrapped the album and turned it into Smiley Smile. Perhaps the most polarizing album in the bands catalog, Carl Wilson once said it was a bunt instead of a grand slam. While Smiley Smile only made it to #41, it did include the #1 hit Good Vibrations and Heroes and Villains, which reached #12. Attachments:
|
|
|
Post by Vale on Jan 2, 2019 9:53:13 GMT -5
10/10
Smiley Smile is like fine wine, the older it gets, the better it becomes. The first time you hear it, if you're coming from surf/cars/girls songs, you can be a little shocked. Then with time, you begin to absorb it and it gets inside of you. This is what happened to me. You have to know all the story to really appreciate it.
There is the masterpiece of all times in it (Good Vibrations) and there are music bites that are awesome. Sometimes scary (Wind Chimes) creepy and mysterious (She's Goin' Bald), this album has introduced me to the SMiLE tracks (back in the day when I heard Smiley Smile for the first time, I had never heard about SMiLE).
I consider this album one of the best Beach Boys albums ever and I think that Good Vibrations will last for generations.
|
|
|
Post by kds on Jan 2, 2019 10:07:42 GMT -5
4/10, and I'm only rating it that high due to the inclusion of the definitive versions of Good Vibrations and Heroes and Villains. Other than those two tracks, I find little appeal in this very strange Beach Boys album.
Carl Wilson (in)famously called the album a bunt. I have to disagree as a baseball fan, as I think a well timed bunt is a thing of beauty. I think Smiley Smile is more like a strike out.
|
|
Departed
Former Member
Posts: 0
Likes:
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 2, 2019 12:45:01 GMT -5
9/10
Everything about this album does it for me, except that Good Vibrations feels out of place on it. The experimentation, the inventiveness, the kooky vibe, and the whole idea of creating something through limitation all appeals to me, and the songs are like nothing else. To me, it’s like Brian got so far ahead of himself that Smile didn’t make sense to him anymore -- he was over it and on to the next phase. I do understand why it was met with confusion by many fans, since it’s such a departure from what everyone was expecting, and it was out of step with the current trends. But I see it as a necessary reset to the way the Beach Boys approached making music. It’s one of the most special albums in their catalogue and one of my favourites.
On a personal level, listening to Smiley Smile helped me through an art project I was working on. It kept reminding me that I didn't need to box myself in or do what was expected, that even though I was working with really basic tools, that didn't mean I couldn't try some neat stuff to achieve my objectives. It put me in a great headspace for creativity and trying stuff out even if there was the risk of failure.
|
|
|
Post by filledeplage on Jan 2, 2019 12:51:02 GMT -5
Gave it a 9 - I like the back cover better than the front. Wish they used some version of the store front cover art. And named it Smile Vol. 1. It might have taken some of the pressure of these young guys.
|
|
Departed
Former Member
Posts: 0
Likes:
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 2, 2019 16:23:08 GMT -5
I have to be in a very specific mood to play this album all the way through. It kind of feels like sobering up after a bad trip. It's interesting, and for that reason I rate it higher than albums like Still Cruisin and Keeping the Summer Alive. But it's not in my top 5 or 10 beach boys studio albums.
|
|
Departed
Former Member
Posts: 0
Likes:
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 2, 2019 20:13:36 GMT -5
I usually skip tracks on this one....like, all of them except for GV and H&V.
|
|
|
Post by Beach Boys Fan on Jan 2, 2019 21:41:33 GMT -5
10. Fabulous, magnificent beginning to end.
|
|
|
Post by ian on Jan 3, 2019 10:34:43 GMT -5
I just can’t quite love it-because I always find myself unfavorably comparing the smiley Smile versions to the smile songs. I really hate this version of wind chimes. Also-the original songs-she’s going bald and getting hungry are really mediocre in my opinion.
|
|
Departed
Former Member
Posts: 0
Likes:
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 4, 2019 17:41:37 GMT -5
Underrated experimental masterpiece. It definitely takes a long time to grow on you, though. I hated it for a long, long time until I stopped comparing it to what it could have been (SMiLE) and what it was never supposed to be (Pet Sounds) and just accepted it for what it is. So I understand the low and middling ratings here. I would just recommend giving it another listen or two sometime, preferably with a new perspective.
The only objective flaw is having Heroes and Good Vibes on there. And besides that, I think they either should have just gone all in and redone ALL the SMiLE tracks in this style, or else went the other extreme and done all new material. The half and half mix means that the songs don't gel in terms of lyrics, themes or feel. I also think calling it Smiley Smile was a big mistake as it set up bad expectations. Naming it after Gettin' Hungry (like as a reference to the munchies perhaps?) would have been perfect.
9
|
|
|
Post by filledeplage on Jan 4, 2019 18:11:57 GMT -5
For someone coming into this - Smiley is not like being backwards-compatible. Until 20/20 (and we did not know certain tracks were from Smile) those tracks are all anyone had. It is under-rated. But not under-loved.
|
|
Departed
Former Member
Posts: 0
Likes:
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 4, 2019 19:53:11 GMT -5
For someone coming into this - Smiley is not like being backwards-compatible. Until 20/20 (and we did not know certain tracks were from Smile) those tracks are all anyone had. I first heard Smiley Smile years before ever hearing any SMiLE tracks, so there really isn't any "comparison to..." bias to my dislike of it. Every so often I put it in the player to see if I can "get it". In a word....absolutely not, no way, uh-uh!
|
|
|
Post by filledeplage on Jan 4, 2019 20:10:25 GMT -5
For someone coming into this - Smiley is not like being backwards-compatible. Until 20/20 (and we did not know certain tracks were from Smile) those tracks are all anyone had. I first heard Smiley Smile years before ever hearing any SMiLE tracks, so there really isn't any "comparison to..." bias to my dislike of it. Every so often I put it in the player to see if I can "get it". In a word....absolutely not, no way, uh-uh! Maybe I explained that poorly. There was no basis of comparison - it was like being lost in a forest and just enjoying the tracks. I'm not sure that there is anything to "get" or a message, beyond the great experimentation such as Woody Woodpecker Symphony or Wind Chimes and all the sound distortion. And finding the beauty in each of the tracks without worrying whether it had a theme or a message. If it comes up in the car - I just enjoy it. Even Whistle In. Goofy, light and fun.
|
|
|
Post by kds on Jan 4, 2019 22:42:02 GMT -5
For someone coming into this - Smiley is not like being backwards-compatible. Until 20/20 (and we did not know certain tracks were from Smile) those tracks are all anyone had. I first heard Smiley Smile years before ever hearing any SMiLE tracks, so there really isn't any "comparison to..." bias to my dislike of it. Every so often I put it in the player to see if I can "get it". In a word....absolutely not, no way, uh-uh! I've done the same with Smiley Smile and, much like Love You, I found myself liking it less with each listen.
|
|
Departed
Former Member
Posts: 0
Likes:
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 6, 2019 3:54:39 GMT -5
An album thats almost un-explainable, it has one of the most unique sounds of any record then or since. An ambient weird Lo-fi psychedelic ghostly whisper of a record really. Extremely minimalist in execution, Smiley was Brian going even deeper into the possibilities of songwriting, producing, and arranging just like he was months earlier working on Smile. i find it amazing that Brian Wilson basically laid the blueprints of the 'Lo-Fi Bedroom DIY pop' scene decades before it was really done. Introducing rock to radical minimalism like he did with radical maximal-ism with Smile and Pet Sounds. I'm currently too tired to write paragraphs for why I believe this record is as important and almost as good as pet sounds and smile, but I don't have the energy. All I got to say is its a perfect unbelievably unique and groundbreaking record. Perfect 10, I have no complaints.
|
|
|
Post by filledeplage on Jan 6, 2019 10:28:01 GMT -5
I first heard Smiley Smile years before ever hearing any SMiLE tracks, so there really isn't any "comparison to..." bias to my dislike of it. Every so often I put it in the player to see if I can "get it". In a word....absolutely not, no way, uh-uh! I've done the same with Smiley Smile and, much like Love You, I found myself liking it less with each listen. Around 1999 a French version of Smiley came out. It had a bunch of bonus tracks (some of which were on one of the box sets) but the comment are fascinating. It is an anachronism with the Boys in striped shirts, looking 1965-66-ish. They didn't even wear them around the time Smiley came out. One purchaser said it was like the "bastard son of SMiLE" and how you could hear new things on this re-issue. Another referred to it as the "Boys taking this ramshackle approach." I find it always interesting to hear what others thought of this release. And, this was in stereo. from Amazon www.amazon.com/Smiley-Smile-BEACH-BOYS/product-reviews/B00002DDFH
|
|
Departed
Former Member
Posts: 0
Likes:
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 20, 2019 18:37:53 GMT -5
I bought Smiley Smile (together with the Mothers of Invention's Absolutely Free) when it was first released (there are bound to be others here who bought it at the time). I was aware of SMiLE and the big build-up it was getting and I must have seen Derek Taylor's "SCRAPPED" article--I read all the music papers in those days. Whatever the case, I was bewildered by this oddity, with its almost laughable discrepancy between the oils of the two hits and the pastels and charcoal sketches of the rest. It took me a couple of months to come to terms with it but come to terms with it I did. And I've loved it ever since. In retrospect, the pairing with the Zappa record was pretty neat. To me, it's a nocturnal album. I have just the slightest misgivings about the verse in "Gettin' Hungry" so I'll give it 9.
|
|
Departed
Former Member
Posts: 0
Likes:
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 20, 2019 22:58:12 GMT -5
I have just the slightest misgivings about the verse in "Gettin' Hungry" so I'll give it 9. Please....do tell. Whatever it is you're referring to, I've missed it. And it would be only a minor issue among several major issues I have with this stoner-fest.
|
|
Departed
Former Member
Posts: 0
Likes:
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 20, 2019 23:48:44 GMT -5
I have just the slightest misgivings about the verse in "Gettin' Hungry" so I'll give it 9. Please....do tell. Whatever it is you're referring to, I've missed it. And it would be only a minor issue among several major issues I have with this stoner-fest. Im curious too. But Ive always considered Gettin' Hungry to be a great album title. I think "Smiley Smile" did this music a great disservice, as it invited even more comparisons between it and SMiLE than would have already been warranted. GH is a great pun for smoking weed and getting the munchies too.
|
|
Departed
Former Member
Posts: 0
Likes:
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 21, 2019 5:19:45 GMT -5
Please....do tell. Whatever it is you're referring to, I've missed it. And it would be only a minor issue among several major issues I have with this stoner-fest. Im curious too. But Ive always considered Gettin' Hungry to be a great album title. I think "Smiley Smile" did this music a great disservice, as it invited even more comparisons between it and SMiLE than would have already been warranted. GH is a great pun for smoking weed and getting the munchies too. sockit and @iluvleniloud : My slight (and I mean very slight!) misgivings concern one very specific moment in the verse. It's the guitar note you hear first at 0:20 (the B#--it occurs in the second verse at 1:08). Perhaps it's the musician in me or something but it irked me when I first played "GH" and it's irked me ever since. That really is all! If voting was out of 100 instead of 10, I've give SS 99. And I wouldn't change a thing--like all albums (or anything really), it is what it is. Not even the title, although I do see where you're coming from, C. Dammit folks, your legitimate concern has convinced me to give it a 10 instead.
|
|
|
Post by aquarius on Mar 19, 2019 12:10:57 GMT -5
Really dig it--maybe better than it was intended fifty years back. 8/10
|
|
|
Post by Jason (The Real Beach Boy) on Mar 28, 2019 11:16:33 GMT -5
10, and only because I can't rate it higher. The best damned record they ever made and the musical invention just astounds. I only listen to it in mono and always in the dark. There is no other way. One of the greatest "fuck you" statements in rock music.
|
|
Hydra
Kahuna
Posts: 222
Likes: 157
|
Post by Hydra on Apr 24, 2020 23:45:50 GMT -5
Not as great as people think in my opinion but definitely not bad. Obviously this album did not come close to Smile it has worse versions of two of the Smile songs on it, Wonderful and Wind Chimes but not bad versions for sure. Heroes and Villains is amazing and so is Good Vibrations obviously but Gettin Hungry and She's Going Bald ruin this album for me, they are just crap. Overall a 6/10
Track Ratings
1. Heroes And Villains 10/10 2. Vegetables 7/10 3. Fall Breaks And Back To Winter 6/10 4. Little Pad 8/10 5. She's Going Bald 4/10 6. Good Vibrations 10/10 7. With Me Tonight 9/10 8. Gettin Hungry 3/10 9. Wonderful 8/10 10. Wind Chimes 9/10 11. Whistle In 7/10
|
|
Departed
Former Member
Posts: 0
Likes:
|
Post by Deleted on Apr 30, 2020 12:31:06 GMT -5
Well, I'm home from work for the week, it's raining out, and....oh yeah....there's that social distancing thing....so I've got all sorts of time here. You folks who know me are aware of all the bashing I've done on this album over the years, so I thought this would be a good time to do a track by track to explain what it is I don't like about Smiley Smile.
First off I rated this album a 3, being a bit generous for the inclusion of H&V and GV.
1. Heroes and Villains--Not much I can say about this much discussed song. It's almost impossible to analyze in its own right without considering its origins with SMiLE. It's a wonderful little suite of its own and I suppose as good of an opener to this album as any other tune. 9/10
2. Vegetables--This is the first version of Vegetables I ever heard and I actually prefer it just a bit over the SMiLE version, which I find almost a little too goofy. This may sound odd, but the first time I heard this song it struck me as somewhat Beatlesque, like something that could have appeared on the White Album a year later. Something about the whimsical style of the song made me think of it as a tune that McCartney could have put together. And then of course, coincidentally there's his involvement in the sound effects... 8/10
So far, not too bad of a start to an album, but then....
3. Fall Breaks--This is where the love it or hate it aspect begins. I just can't get into this one. It's too weird for me (and that's saying a lot!). I've seen a number of folks praising this song as a genius production, but I don't get it. Maybe it would have been more at home on a Pink Floyd album or something like that. 1/10
4. Little Pad--This is a cute little song that I really want to like, but I wish they would have tightened it up just a wee bit. Ya know what I mean? Parts of it are very catchy like the humming, but the drunk/stoned vocals are obnoxious in my book. 5/10
5. She's Going Bald--Hate it. I never liked He Gives Speeches either. There. I said it. 1/10
6. Good Vibrations--My favorite rock song of all time. A perfect single. That this ended up on Smiley Smile is one of life's ironies. It's like showing up at a homeless camp in a tuxedo. 10/10
7. With Me Tonight--Beautiful song and vocal arrangement. 9/10
It's as if side 2 is initially showing some promise again with a few strong songs, but then...
8. Gettin Hungry--Another song I want to like, but is marred by some production issues. Upthread someone mentioned the verses, which I questioned, but now I think I understand the issue. The verses are just plain weak and sloppy. Tighten those up a bit, be a little more professional sounding, guys, and you would have a Wild Honey-grade R&B tune! 4/10
9. Wonderful--Ugh! 1/10
10. Wind Chimes--Depressing! 1/10
11. Whistle In--Nothing notable here. Sounds like it could have been a good intro to a fully realized song. 3/10
All I gotta say is that it's too bad the Boys weren't able to produce this as a side project with a darker, more adventurous band name than the Beach Boys. It could have worked in the LSD world of 1967.
|
|
petsite
Author/Historian/ Researcher
Posts: 1,970
Likes: 3,229
|
Post by petsite on May 20, 2021 18:36:28 GMT -5
Did anyone get this version released by EMI in France? Interesting bonus tracks. I purchased this before the 2001 Capitol Re-Releases.
The Beach Boys – Smiley Smile Label: Magic Records – 4975762 Format: CD Country: France Released: 1998
Tracklist: 1. Heroes And Villains 2. Vegetables 3. Fall Breaks Back To Winter (W. Woodpecker Symphony) 4. She's Goin' Bald 5. Little Pad 6. Good Vibrations 7. With Me Tonight 8. Wind Chimes 9. Gettin' Hungry 10. Wonderful 11. Whistle In
Bonus Tracks: 12. You're Welcome 13. Heroes And Villains (Alternate Version) 14. Good Vibrations (1st Version) 15. Do You Like Worms 16. Our Prayer 17. I Love To Say Da Da
|
|