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The Smile Sessions is a compilation album released by American rock band the Beach Boys on October 31, 2011 that focuses on abandoned recording sessions which—if completed—would have followed the Beach Boys' eleventh studio album Pet Sounds. The album features comprehensive session highlights, outtakes and an approximation of what the completed Smile album may have sounded like based on a template established in 2004 for Brian Wilson Presents Smile.

The Smile Sessions received unanimous critical acclaim upon release, is ranked number 381 in Rolling Stone's 2012 list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time and won the award for Best Historical Album at the 55th Grammy Awards.

Background

Though certain fragments of the original Smile recording sessions subsequently leaked from 1967–2011 via studio albums, compilations and bootlegs, a comprehensive and official package had not been compiled by Capitol Records, largely due to the logistics in organizing the hundreds of convoluted song components and out of respect for Wilson who was once deeply disturbed by some of the recordings, believing them to be cursed.

Work on what would have been the original Beach Boys version of Smile began in 1966, following the release of their album Pet Sounds, and based on the complex engineering methods of their single "Good Vibrations". After Wilson abandoned the project, sporadic attempts would be made over the next few decades to either finish or release the album as it was. During this time, recordings from the sessions would surface in underground trading circles and become a focal point for bootleg recording makers and collectors. An official release of some archival Smile material was included in the Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of The Beach Boys box set in 1993. A few years later, Capitol Records issued The Pet Sounds Sessions box set, which featured an assortment of alternate mixes and highlights of the Pet Sounds recording sessions spread over four CDs.

Thirty-six years after the original album's conception and a period of mental rehabilitation, Wilson reconciled with the project and released a new interpretation of the source material via a solo album entitled Brian Wilson Presents Smile in 2004.

In an interview with Jeremy Roberts on February 3, 2011, Al Jardine revealed "Capitol Records plans to issue a Beach Boys version of Smile sometime this summer to begin the celebration of the Beach Boys’ 50th anniversary. Smile is the Holy Grail for Beach Boys’ fans, so it will be good." Jardine also mentioned that the surviving Beach Boys "didn't do any new recording. I'm happy to see it finally come out. Brian’s changed his mind about releasing the material, but it was inevitable, wasn’t it?" The release was confirmed by Capitol Records on March 11, with the acknowledgement that an official release was planned for later in 2011.

Reconstruction

In addition to presenting most of the recording sessions in high-fidelity stereo, disc one of The Smile Sessions assembles the Smile album as it may have sounded in the 1960s while loosely following the template spelled by Brian Wilson's 2004 interpretation. This presentation is mixed in mono due to missing stems and as a nod to Wilson's producing methods at the time.

Not all of the tracks in this reconstruction feature material recorded solely in the February 1966 – May 1967 period in which Smile was being worked on. Some recordings utilize elements recorded by The Beach Boys at later dates or for other purposes.

• "Heroes and Villains" contain post-Smile organ overdubs.
• "The Elements: Fire" contains wordless vocals that were recorded for "Fall Breaks and Back to Winter" on June 29, 1967.
• "Holidays" and "Wind Chimes" segue together with a pitch-shifted version of the Smiley Smile "Wind Chimes" coda, recorded July 11, 1967.
• The water chant intro to "Love to Say Dada" was recorded on October 29th, 1967 for an early version of "Cool, Cool Water".
• Carl Wilson's lead vocal on "Cabin Essence" was recorded for the 20/20 album on November 20, 1968.
• The "bygones", Carl Wilson's backing vocals and the "Child Is Father of the Man" coda of "Surf's Up" was recorded on June 18, 1971.

Digital manipulation is used extensively; most prominently on "Surf's Up", in which the instrumental track is mashed up and synced with the vocal stem from an alternate performance of the song.

Release

After numerous delays, The Smile Sessions was released online via iTunes on October 31, 2011, and the next day on CD, vinyl, and through other online services via digital download. The recording is available as a single CD, a deluxe 2-CD package, as well as a limited edition deluxe box set composed of 5 CDs, 2 LPs, 2 7" vinyl singles, and a 60-page booklet that features high quality photographs, essays and recording sessionography.

Reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	96
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic
The A.V. Club	A
Consequence of Sound	Hot
The Guardian
One Thirty BPM	100%
Paste
Pitchfork Media	10/10
Rolling Stone
Ultimate Classic Rock

The Smile Sessions has been positively acknowledged by multiple music notable publications. It was crowned as the best reissue of 2011 by Rolling Stone magazine and the box set version of the album won the Best Historical Album award at the 55th Grammy Awards.

Mark Richardson of Pitchfork Media gave the album a perfect score and had particularly high praise of "Surf's Up" stating, "To my ears, the song is a high-water mark of pop songwriting, positively haunting with its melodic twists and turns. And Brian's vocal performances, with wild leaps into the upper reaches of his falsetto, give the track an almost unbearable poignancy." PopMatters journalist Thomas Britt claimed "There is something holy in the tapestry of the album" and when reflecting on the drama surrounding the album's history stated "Contemporary bands could certainly stand to realize that all the band myths and stories in the world don’t matter much if you can’t bring the songs, and no one brought the songs like Brian Wilson."

Musicians including Henry Rollins have given enormous praise to the compiled recordings, calling it "even better than advertised ... Sonically, the album is one of the best things you are likely to hear in all of your life. There are moments on SMiLE that are so astonishingly good you might find yourself just staring at your speakers in unguarded wonder, as I have."

Awards and accolades

Awards and accolades

Track listing

Although the tracklisting to The Smile Sessions is different than what it would have been on the original 1967 Smile album, interviews with box set compiler Mark Linett revealed that the tracklisting of the first disc would "present the whole piece as close to it as was envisioned, or as is envisioned, as possible". Brian Wilson has stated that the exact running order was not decided in 1967 and that the original Smile would have been "less uplifting".

Compact disc

All tracks are written by Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks, except where noted

Vinyl LP

Both discs ( Capitol T-27658) are pressed with Capitol's black/rainbow LP label used from 1962–1968. The replicated album cover remains entirely true to the original, bearing the original catalog number for the mono release (T 2580).

LP one

LP two

Box set edition

5-CD Set

All tracks are written by Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks, except where noted

All music is composed by Brian Wilson, except where noted

LP

As above.

7" single one

• "Heroes and Villains part one" b/w "Heroes and Villains part two" – Capitol 27658

Issued with reproduction of the original picture sleeve for the unreleased single (Capitol 5826)

7" single two

• "Vega-Tables" (unique 7"-single mix] b/w "Surf's Up" – Capitol 27667

Both singles feature the Capitol orange/yellow swirl "West Coast label" (from Capitol's Los Angeles pressing plant), originally used from 1962–1968

Personnel

Recording

The Beach Boys

• Al Jardine – lead, harmony and backing vocals; sound effects
• Bruce Johnston – harmony and backing vocals
• Mike Love – lead, harmony and backing vocals
• Brian Wilson – lead, harmony and backing vocals; organ, harpsichord
• Carl Wilson – lead, harmony and backing vocals; electric guitar, bass guitar; percussion
• Dennis Wilson – lead, harmony and backing vocals; drums; Hammond organ

Additional musicians

Production staff

Chart positions

Notes

1. "The Smile Sessions - The Beach Boys". Retrieved 11 November 2011.
2. ^ "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time: The Beach Boys, 'Smile 2011 Version'". Rolling Stone. November 18, 2003. Retrieved June 10, 2012. Cite error: The named reference "RS500list" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
3. ^ Alyssa Toomey and Rosemary Brennan (February 10, 2013). "2013 Grammy Awards Winners: The Complete List". E!. Retrieved April 12, 2013.
4. "The Smile Sessions review".
5. "Pretty Darn Close - Beach Boy Al Jardine On His New Solo Album, Plus SMILE - Worldnews.com". Article.wn.com. Retrieved 2013-06-05.
6. "Beach Boys' 'Smile Sessions' Bumped to August 9 Street Date". Retrieved 10 August 2011.
7. The Smile Sessions at Metacritic. Retrieved 2013-05-01.
8. "The Smile Sessions". Allmusic. Retrieved 2011-11-11.
9. Murray, Noel (2011-11-08). "The Smile Sessions". One Thirty BPM. Retrieved 2011-11-11.
10. Roffman, Michael (2011-11-03). "The Smile Sessions". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 2011-11-11.
11. Petridis, Alexis (2011-10-27). "The Smile Sessions". The Guardian. Retrieved 2011-11-11.
12. McMullen, Chase (2011-11-09). "The Smile Sessions". One Thirty BPM. Retrieved 2011-11-11.
13. Kane, Tyler (2011-11-01). "The Smile Sessions". Paste. Retrieved 2011-11-11.
14. Richardson, Mark (2011-11-02). "The Smile Sessions". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 2011-11-11.
15. Fricke, David (2011-11-01). "The Smile Sessions Box Set". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2011-11-11.
16. Swanson, David (2011-11-12). "Smile Album Review". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 2011-11-12.
17. "10 Best Reissues of the Year: The Beach Boys, 'The Smile Sessions Box Set'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2013-06-05.
18. Henry Rollins. "Henry Rollins: The Column! The Beach Boys' SMiLE: Even Better than Advertised". LA Weekly.
19. Christman, Ed (2011-03-11). "Beach Boys Engineer Mark Linett Talks 'Smile' Release". Billboard. Retrieved 2011-10-10.
20. "Ear Candy Mag interview with Brian Wilson (10-16-04)".
21. "ultratop.be The Beach Boys – Smile" (ASP). Hung Medien (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved August 23, 2012.
22. "dutchcharts.nl The Beach Boys – Smile" (ASP). Hung Medien. MegaCharts. Retrieved August 23, 2012.
23. "finnishcharts.com The Beach Boys – Smile" (ASP). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 23, 2012.
24. "lescharts.com The Beach Boys – Smile" (ASP). Hung Medien (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved August 23, 2012.
25. "Album Search: The Beach Boys – Smile" (in German). Media Control. Retrieved August 23, 2012.
26. ビーチ・ボーイズ–リリース–ORICON STYLE–ミュージック "Highest position and charting weeks of Smile by The Beach Boys". oricon.co.jp (in Japanese). Oricon Style. Retrieved August 23, 2012. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
27. "norwegiancharts.com The Beach Boys – Smile" (ASP). Hung Medien. VG–lista. Retrieved August 23, 2012.
28. "The Beach Boys – Smile" (ASP). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 23, 2012.
29. "swedishcharts.com The Beach Boys – Smile" (ASP) (in Swedish). Retrieved August 23, 2012.
30. "The Beach Boys – Smile– hitparade.ch" (ASP). Hung Medien (in German). Swiss Music Charts. Retrieved August 23, 2012.
31. "Chart Stats – The Beach Boys – Smile" (PHP). UK Albums Chart. Retrieved August 23, 2012. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
32. "allmusic (((　The Smile Sessions > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums )))". allmusic.com. Retrieved August 23, 2012.

References

• Siegel, Jules. "Goodbye Surfing, Hello God!", Cheetah Magazine #1 (October 1967)
• Priore, Domenic. Look, Listen, Vibrate, Smile: The Book about the Mysterious Beach Boys Album. (Surfin' Colours Hollywood, 1987)
• Priore, Domenic. Smile: The Story of Brian Wilson's Lost Masterpiece. (Bobcat Books, 2007)

External links

• Rockument-Beach Boy's Smile Sessions with commentary and links to music
• "Heroes and Villains" video archive at the Internet Archive Wayback Machine.
• Stylus Magazine article
• Smiley Smile – fan site with message board
• An interview with "Smile" historian Domenic Priore
• Background information and essays on the making of

• Pages with empty short description
• Concept albums
• The Beach Boys albums
• Psychedelic rock albums
• Baroque pop albums
• English-language albums
• Capitol Records albums
• Albums produced by Brian Wilson
• 2011 albums
• Grammy Award for Best Historical Album