Public/Fan's reaction to Our Prayer and Cabinessence on 20/20 not SMiLE.

[Custom Machine]

When 20/20 came out, did the fans/general public think or know those were originally planned  to belong  on SMiLE??

As someone who bought 20/20 when it was first released, I didn't have a clue that Our Prayer or Cabinessence had been intended for Smile.  When I looked at the writers credits for Cabinessence, my thought was, "Oh, cool, Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks recently got together again and wrote another song."

this is very interesting imo. What did you think of  Cabinessence when you first heard it? Did it not strike you as being very different from the rest of the 20/20 material? could you please share any thoughts you can recall on the matter?

My recollection is that I thought Cabinessence was an incredibly complex and unique recording.  Like Mike Love I didn't have a clue what a lot of the lyrics meant, but unlike Mike Love I didn't care, because in the context of the song they just seemed to work.

I remember especially enjoying Cabinessence while laying down and listening thru headphones.  For sure the song was nowhere near as instantly accessible as Do it Again or I Can Hear Music, but after a few listenings it was obvious this was a great piece of music with (as is the case with much of the best BB music) opportunities for a multi-layered listening experience.  

Do It Again was one of my favorite songs from the summer of '68, and when the 20/20 album came out almost 7 months later I was surprised to hear the addition of the workshop sounds at the end of the song.  In fact I still have a huge preference for the single version without the workshop tag.  At the time I also had no clue that the workshop tag was a Smile remnant.  In trying to make sense of the addition of that tag I figured the BBs must have added it, with the sounds-like-someone-hit-their-finger-with-a-hammer "Ow!" at the end, to signify that the BBs had been burned by people who thought they weren't cool enough, especially when they had released such a retro sounding song, so they went ahead and recorded an "Ow!" to represent their reaction to those who considered them to be unhip.  

Just got out my original copy of the album, and when opening the foldover Unipak cover (which was rather new and popular at the time) I see that gave letter grades in faint pencil to 8 of the 12 songs, but Cabinessence isn't one of them, presumably because I must have felt I needed further listening to determine a grade.  Of the songs I did give grades to, my favorite was I Can Hear Music, which received an A+++.

And for anyone who's a glutton for punishment for more details, specifically the US LP releases of the album, I think 20/20 went out of print when the BBs went to Warner Bros about a year later.  Although it was rereleased in July 74 as part of a Warner Bros  twofer LP along with Wild Honey, just a few weeks after the appearance of Endless Summer, I don't think it reappeared with the original cover until the 1981 Capitol green label release, but unfortunately that release lacked the fold over over with Brian in the center holding a eye chart with song listings.  In 1994, when we were well into the CD era, it was again released as an LP by Capitol, but this time with the original rainbow label and a fold over cover (though not actually a Unipak, as those hadn't been made anywhere for many years) with BW and the eye chart inside.

[Melt Away]

we all had  mild trepidation after the SS debacle-who wouldn't?

Pete Townshend, Robbie Robertson and Steven Tyler? And many, many others?

Said it before. Will say it again. Those who don't like Smiley Smile don't get it, are not real fans, and can't hang.

So true.

[Jim V.]

we all had  mild trepidation after the SS debacle-who wouldn't?

Pete Townshend, Robbie Robertson and Steven Tyler? And many, many others?

Said it before. Will say it again. Those who don't like Smiley Smile don't get it, are not real fans, and can't hang.

I personally really dig Smiley Smile, but to say that those who don't get it aren't real fans is kinda ridiculous. Some people prefer different things about the group. I don't care all that much for Friends, does that mean I'm not a real Beach Boys fan?

[oldsurferdude]

we all had  mild trepidation after the SS debacle-who wouldn't?

Pete Townshend, Robbie Robertson and Steven Tyler? And many, many others?

Said it before. Will say it again. Those who don't like Smiley Smile don't get it, are not real fans, and can't hang.

So true.

So arrogant and biased,

[SMiLE Brian]

we all had  mild trepidation after the SS debacle-who wouldn't?

Pete Townshend, Robbie Robertson and Steven Tyler? And many, many others?

Said it before. Will say it again. Those who don't like Smiley Smile don't get it, are not real fans, and can't hang.

So true.

So arrogant and biased,

Didn't you buy sunflower the day it came out?

[Don Malcolm]

I don't mean to speak for The Real Beach Boy, but I think I understand where he's coming from...those of you "youngsters" here simply cannot believe what it was like in 1968-71 for those of us who were fans of the band in terms of the "peer pressure." It was tantamount to being excommunicated or being sent to the gulag. I kid you not! It all pivoted around Smiley Smile. That album just polarized things in ways that defy description. You would be openly shunned if you mentioned that you liked the Boys!!

I remember talking to one of my BB fan friends when CSNY's "Carry On" became a big hit, and he said, "See? You can still have a Beach Boys record on the charts, but you can't actually be the Beach Boys!!"

Interestingly, after Jann Wenner buried the Boys with his scathing review of Wild Honey, Rolliing Stone was much more positive about their next four LPs. Schmidt and Jim Miller were perceptive writers and made good points in their reviews. But the damage had already been done.

The BBs relationship with Capitol had deteriorated so much by the release of  20/20 that there was little or no fanfare in America about the LP or the presence of the two Smile tracks. Given what seemed to be going on at the time, a lot of fans simply thought that 20/20 signified a continuing element of chaos in the band's career. Today it's a fascinating artifact of a band in transition, and its "all over the map" approach is no longer an issue.

For those who clung to the promise of Smile against all evidence to the contrary, "Cabinessence" was an indecipherable clue that dropped the fan into a labyrinth, each of us a Theseus forced to wander without Ariadne's thread. Tracking from it back to the Smiley Smile tracks that were made over only deepened that mystery and blew out the flickering candle that had been tenuously lighting the path in the labyrinth. In that darkness, the emotional strangeness in those tracks--"She's Goin' Bald," "Wind Chimes," "Wonderful"--became a rallying point for a small coterie of fans who rightly sensed the artistry in what were still clearly the ruins of something special that seemed lost forever. They may well touch a reservoir of memory and emotion for some of us that may be more intense for what was lived through in those very strange days, and continue to resonate even with the passage of so much time.

[Jason]

we all had  mild trepidation after the SS debacle-who wouldn't?

Pete Townshend, Robbie Robertson and Steven Tyler? And many, many others?

Said it before. Will say it again. Those who don't like Smiley Smile don't get it, are not real fans, and can't hang.

So true.

So arrogant and biased,

Well, pot meet kettle.

[filledeplage]

The Summer of '69 would not nearly have been as memorable without 20/20. Easy call. SMiLE connection knowledge or not.

Absolutely! 

Summer of '69!

Do it Again on the LP

I Can Hear Music

Bluebirds

Cottonfields

And the famous eye-chart! 

I was clueless that those were SMiLE tracks! 

[I. Spaceman]

Interestingly, after Jann Wenner buried the Boys with his scathing review of Wild Honey,

He reviewed that record positively. He didn't like Smiley Smile.

[oldsurferdude]

we all had  mild trepidation after the SS debacle-who wouldn't?

Pete Townshend, Robbie Robertson and Steven Tyler? And many, many others?

Said it before. Will say it again. Those who don't like Smiley Smile don't get it, are not real fans, and can't hang.

So true.

So arrogant and biased,

Well, pot meet kettle.

As usual, trbb misses the point of the thread-we're talking albums and music just incase you noticed. The fact that I think Myke Luhv is a corny has been is yet another story that I'm sure you will take pride in  dialing in your ever valued opinion of. Kettle? Yeah you love to stir it as much as anyone.

[oldsurferdude]

we all had  mild trepidation after the SS debacle-who wouldn't?

Pete Townshend, Robbie Robertson and Steven Tyler? And many, many others?

Said it before. Will say it again. Those who don't like Smiley Smile don't get it, are not real fans, and can't hang.

So true.

So arrogant and biased,

Didn't you buy sunflower the day it came out?

Or close to it. Was wandering up and down aisles of a record shop and finally worked my way to their section and saw something called Sunflower but was kinda looking for Add Some Music which was the original title. But there it was in all it's glory.I remember being a bit concerned that Myke Luhv was in white flowing robes but yes, Jim Miller, it could stand with Pet Sounds. It was an awakening of a band that you know could really put it all to bed. The icing on the cake was that it got some decent airplay for a band that was all but washed up.

[Don Malcolm]

Interestingly, after Jann Wenner buried the Boys with his scathing review of Wild Honey,

He reviewed that record positively. He didn't like Smiley Smile.

Right, my bad. But there's still a strong sense of "damning with faint praise" in that review as I go back and re-read it. For example:

"Through most of the album the approach is a simple one: add the Beach Boy harmony and vocal style to pre-existing ideas and idioms. Of course, the approach is still unsatisfactory compared to the time when the Beach Boys were making their own idiom."

"Country Air" is the most relaxed and naturally achieved synthesis of innocence and sophistication that the Beach Boys are aiming for. Whether or not they recognize the success of this inconspicuously placed song, hugely successful in terms of what they have so obviously been aiming for, is doubtful."

"It's kind of amusing that the Beach Boys are suddenly re-discovering rhythm and blues five years after the Beatles and Stones had brought it all back home, but it is probably indicative of the transmogrification of the blues that is making R&B currently so popular with the public at large."

It was not a good time to be a BB fan, regardless of how we parse Wenner's review.

[Disney Boy (1985)]

I don't mean to speak for The Real Beach Boy, but I think I understand where he's coming from...those of you "youngsters" here simply cannot believe what it was like in 1968-71 for those of us who were fans of the band in terms of the "peer pressure." It was tantamount to being excommunicated or being sent to the gulag. I kid you not! It all pivoted around Smiley Smile. That album just polarized things in ways that defy description. You would be openly shunned if you mentioned that you liked the Boys!!

I remember talking to one of my BB fan friends when CSNY's "Carry On" became a big hit, and he said, "See? You can still have a Beach Boys record on the charts, but you can't actually be the Beach Boys!!"

Interestingly, after Jann Wenner buried the Boys with his scathing review of Wild Honey, Rolliing Stone was much more positive about their next four LPs. Schmidt and Jim Miller were perceptive writers and made good points in their reviews. But the damage had already been done.

The BBs relationship with Capitol had deteriorated so much by the release of  20/20 that there was little or no fanfare in America about the LP or the presence of the two Smile tracks. Given what seemed to be going on at the time, a lot of fans simply thought that 20/20 signified a continuing element of chaos in the band's career. Today it's a fascinating artifact of a band in transition, and its "all over the map" approach is no longer an issue.

For those who clung to the promise of Smile against all evidence to the contrary, "Cabinessence" was an indecipherable clue that dropped the fan into a labyrinth, each of us a Theseus forced to wander without Ariadne's thread. Tracking from it back to the Smiley Smile tracks that were made over only deepened that mystery and blew out the flickering candle that had been tenuously lighting the path in the labyrinth. In that darkness, the emotional strangeness in those tracks--"She's Goin' Bald," "Wind Chimes," "Wonderful"--became a rallying point for a small coterie of fans who rightly sensed the artistry in what were still clearly the ruins of something special that seemed lost forever. They may well touch a reservoir of memory and emotion for some of us that may be more intense for what was lived through in those very strange days, and continue to resonate even with the passage of so much time.

All nicely put, but really, age has nothing whatsoever to do with how one does or does not enjoy Smiley Smile. I'm in my late twenties and it is, and always has been, one of my very favourite Beach Boys albums. I leanerned all about SMiLE after i had got into Smiley Smile, but that doesn't mean i don't appreciate Smiley as much as someone who knew the history when they first listened to it, whether on it's original release or subsequently. In fact, it could easily be argued that the opposite is the case, but that's not an argument i'm going to make...

[SMiLE Brian]

Interestingly, after Jann Wenner buried the Boys with his scathing review of Wild Honey,

He reviewed that record positively. He didn't like Smiley Smile.

Right, my bad. But there's still a strong sense of "damning with faint praise" in that review as I go back and re-read it. For example:

"Through most of the album the approach is a simple one: add the Beach Boy harmony and vocal style to pre-existing ideas and idioms. Of course, the approach is still unsatisfactory compared to the time when the Beach Boys were making their own idiom."

"Country Air" is the most relaxed and naturally achieved synthesis of innocence and sophistication that the Beach Boys are aiming for. Whether or not they recognize the success of this inconspicuously placed song, hugely successful in terms of what they have so obviously been aiming for, is doubtful."

"It's kind of amusing that the Beach Boys are suddenly re-discovering rhythm and blues five years after the Beatles and Stones had brought it all back home, but it is probably indicative of the transmogrification of the blues that is making R&B currently so popular with the public at large."

It was not a good time to be a BB fan, regardless of how we parse Wenner's review.

Such snarkiness from Jann Wenner, thinking british groups run R&B and brought it home. It never left america in the first place with motown.

[celticsurfer]

Remember the first time I heard Cabinessence: it was on BBC 2 on a sunday just before the weekly charts. it sounded like a symphony and was mysterious.
Got 20/20 after that (should be the only french guy to buy BB stuff at the time!) and was delighted by Our Prayer and Cabinessence.
But also by time to get alone, Never learn not to love, I went to sleep and Be with me.
Did not know they came from Smile sessions! the only time I heard of Smile was in the spring of 67 before it came out under Smiley smile!
Was ignorant of the drama of early 67. I did not have access to Fusion or Cheetah magazines at the time.
The Smile story became a subject after Cool Cool Water and those important Richard Williams articles (for me the best ever stuff on BW) in the Melody Maker.
Then you got Rolling Stone, Creem.....

That was my situation in 69 years before internet!

[guitarfool2002]

It is pretty amazing how both context and the passage of time can change the impact of certain styles, sounds, and entire genres of music. To flip through some of Rolling Stone magazine's other reviews from the time 67-69, quite a few bands have all but dropped off the face of the earth, if not disappeared from the public eye or pop culture radar. And some acts and albums obviously deserve to drift away, while others need a serious revisiting and a fresh look at the music.

And I have noticed something which wasn't as notable in, say, the 80's...that a lot of the 60's "British Blues" movement has not fared very well at all in terms of being put on as high of a pedestal as it may have been at least before the internet and access to various reissues and previously obscure blues collections was much more of a challenge.

Meaning the British blues players and singers were copying if not doing smoothed-out versions of records that were, simply put, not easy to find and not widely heard, and I think as soon as more folks heard where they were getting all that blues mojo from, the influence went down considerably in favor of the original acts.

In that way, I think a 1967 review of Wild Honey which suggests the Stones and Beatles were doing something along the lines of "bringing it back home" or whatever Wenner wrote about those bands playing R&B sounds naive at best...when compared to some of the heaps of praise being given certain British blues acts who sound limp and carbon-copy when heard in 2012.

And Wild Honey...damn if it doesn't sound less like the Beach Boys doing R&B and more like a good 1967 Beach Boys album!

[filledeplage]

I don't mean to speak for The Real Beach Boy, but I think I understand where he's coming from...those of you "youngsters" here simply cannot believe what it was like in 1968-71 for those of us who were fans of the band in terms of the "peer pressure." It was tantamount to being excommunicated or being sent to the gulag. I kid you not! It all pivoted around Smiley Smile. That album just polarized things in ways that defy description. You would be openly shunned if you mentioned that you liked the Boys!!

I remember talking to one of my BB fan friends when CSNY's "Carry On" became a big hit, and he said, "See? You can still have a Beach Boys record on the charts, but you can't actually be the Beach Boys!!"

Interestingly, after Jann Wenner buried the Boys with his scathing review of Wild Honey, Rolliing Stone was much more positive about their next four LPs. Schmidt and Jim Miller were perceptive writers and made good points in their reviews. But the damage had already been done.

The BBs relationship with Capitol had deteriorated so much by the release of  20/20 that there was little or no fanfare in America about the LP or the presence of the two Smile tracks. Given what seemed to be going on at the time, a lot of fans simply thought that 20/20 signified a continuing element of chaos in the band's career. Today it's a fascinating artifact of a band in transition, and its "all over the map" approach is no longer an issue.

For those who clung to the promise of Smile against all evidence to the contrary, "Cabinessence" was an indecipherable clue that dropped the fan into a labyrinth, each of us a Theseus forced to wander without Ariadne's thread. Tracking from it back to the Smiley Smile tracks that were made over only deepened that mystery and blew out the flickering candle that had been tenuously lighting the path in the labyrinth. In that darkness, the emotional strangeness in those tracks--"She's Goin' Bald," "Wind Chimes," "Wonderful"--became a rallying point for a small coterie of fans who rightly sensed the artistry in what were still clearly the ruins of something special that seemed lost forever. They may well touch a reservoir of memory and emotion for some of us that may be more intense for what was lived through in those very strange days, and continue to resonate even with the passage of so much time.

All nicely put, but really, age has nothing whatsoever to do with how one does or does not enjoy Smiley Smile. I'm in my late twenties and it is, and always has been, one of my very favourite Beach Boys albums. I leanerned all about SMiLE after i had got into Smiley Smile, but that doesn't mean i don't appreciate Smiley as much as someone who knew the history when they first listened to it, whether on it's original release or subsequently. In fact, it could easily be argued that the opposite is the case, but that's not an argument i'm going to make...

Disney Boy - I have to agree 1000% with Don as far as the prevailing attitude of the time.  I suppose that releasing certain tracks a little at a time, subversively got the SMiLE tracks out there, spoon-feeding, as it were to the faithful listeners.  After all, they had nothing to lose at that point. There were "singles" like Do It Again, that were getting radio time, and, yet, I think the band was struggling, as a result of paid editorialists, who can often have a personal agenda with a review, or being paid to slam a record from some other source.  

Reviews often interfere with a personal viewers points of view by the mere power of suggestion. Making one's own mind up, is superior in my view.  I don't think Don is slamming any newer fan's opinion, as much as trying to explain the context and circumstance of the era. It was bad.  Really bad. And Don and I (and the faithful rest) are having the "last laugh" at this juncture, but, it was rough among our peers at the time.  

We weren't "musically correct!"  

[I. Spaceman]

Interestingly, after Jann Wenner buried the Boys with his scathing review of Wild Honey,

He reviewed that record positively. He didn't like Smiley Smile.

Right, my bad. But there's still a strong sense of "damning with faint praise" in that review as I go back and re-read it. For example:

"Through most of the album the approach is a simple one: add the Beach Boy harmony and vocal style to pre-existing ideas and idioms. Of course, the approach is still unsatisfactory compared to the time when the Beach Boys were making their own idiom."

"Country Air" is the most relaxed and naturally achieved synthesis of innocence and sophistication that the Beach Boys are aiming for. Whether or not they recognize the success of this inconspicuously placed song, hugely successful in terms of what they have so obviously been aiming for, is doubtful."

"It's kind of amusing that the Beach Boys are suddenly re-discovering rhythm and blues five years after the Beatles and Stones had brought it all back home, but it is probably indicative of the transmogrification of the blues that is making R&B currently so popular with the public at large."

It was not a good time to be a BB fan, regardless of how we parse Wenner's review.

I agree, in hindsight, and according to the praise the album deserved. But still, it is a positive review overall from the editor of the "hippest" rock magazine of the era, and they followed it up with stronger reviews of the group's succeeding releases. I don't think RS should get the blame for the band's lack of popularity, simply because one editorial stated that the "Brian Wilson Is A Genius" thing was a hype (which it was, cooked up by Derek Taylor to change the group's image).

[Summertime Blooz]

we all had  mild trepidation after the SS debacle-who wouldn't?

Pete Townshend, Robbie Robertson and Steven Tyler? And many, many others?

Said it before. Will say it again. Those who don't like Smiley Smile don't get it, are not real fans, and can't hang.

I think you may be joking, but even Dennis said the album "was a bunt instead of a grand slam". No, I don't much care for Smiley Smile in comparison with other BBs albums of the 60s.

[Joshilyn Hoisington]

I think you may be joking, but even Dennis said the album "was a bunt instead of a grand slam". No, I don't much care for Smiley Smile in comparison with other BBs albums of the 60s.

When the bases aren't loaded, sometimes a bunt is exactly what's needed.

[DonnyL]

I don't mean to speak for The Real Beach Boy, but I think I understand where he's coming from...those of you "youngsters" here simply cannot believe what it was like in 1968-71 for those of us who were fans of the band in terms of the "peer pressure." It was tantamount to being excommunicated or being sent to the gulag. I kid you not! It all pivoted around Smiley Smile. That album just polarized things in ways that defy description. You would be openly shunned if you mentioned that you liked the Boys!!

I remember talking to one of my BB fan friends when CSNY's "Carry On" became a big hit, and he said, "See? You can still have a Beach Boys record on the charts, but you can't actually be the Beach Boys!!"

Interestingly, after Jann Wenner buried the Boys with his scathing review of Wild Honey, Rolliing Stone was much more positive about their next four LPs. Schmidt and Jim Miller were perceptive writers and made good points in their reviews. But the damage had already been done.

The BBs relationship with Capitol had deteriorated so much by the release of  20/20 that there was little or no fanfare in America about the LP or the presence of the two Smile tracks. Given what seemed to be going on at the time, a lot of fans simply thought that 20/20 signified a continuing element of chaos in the band's career. Today it's a fascinating artifact of a band in transition, and its "all over the map" approach is no longer an issue.

For those who clung to the promise of Smile against all evidence to the contrary, "Cabinessence" was an indecipherable clue that dropped the fan into a labyrinth, each of us a Theseus forced to wander without Ariadne's thread. Tracking from it back to the Smiley Smile tracks that were made over only deepened that mystery and blew out the flickering candle that had been tenuously lighting the path in the labyrinth. In that darkness, the emotional strangeness in those tracks--"She's Goin' Bald," "Wind Chimes," "Wonderful"--became a rallying point for a small coterie of fans who rightly sensed the artistry in what were still clearly the ruins of something special that seemed lost forever. They may well touch a reservoir of memory and emotion for some of us that may be more intense for what was lived through in those very strange days, and continue to resonate even with the passage of so much time.

wow, this is a great post! one of the most insightful I've ever seen on here.

[Bean Bag]

I think you may be joking, but even Dennis said the album "was a bunt instead of a grand slam". No, I don't much care for Smiley Smile in comparison with other BBs albums of the 60s.

When the bases aren't loaded, sometimes a bunt is exactly what's needed.

Exactly.  It's cool how hip Smiley was.  All dry, trippy and Ultra-LoFi.  And I love how un-hip and dorky it ultimately was!  Especially in light of how crazy the SMiLE frenzy was.

The world watching.  Teeth mashed.  Bearing down!!  Ready...ready...ready!

*poop* out popped Smiley Smile.

 

[Don Malcolm]

Reviews often interfere with a personal viewers points of view by the mere power of suggestion. Making one's own mind up, is superior in my view.  I don't think Don is slamming any newer fan's opinion, as much as trying to explain the context and circumstance of the era. It was bad.  Really bad. And Don and I (and the faithful rest) are having the "last laugh" at this juncture, but, it was rough among our peers at the time. 

We weren't "musically correct!" 

Very well put, filledeplage! And yes, my intention was exactly as you state. Sorry if anyone was confused about that. It would be very nice to jettison the memories that surround those times, as they created a level of confused disconnection which others, coming to the band's music later on, are fortunate to be able to bypass. We've also been lucky as time has passed, for we've been able to discern the exact nature of the band's "institutional anarchy" and come to terms with it in one way or another. And we've been lucky to have access to a wealth of unreleased material (including session tapes) that have helped us to create a more encompassing context for the music and the events surrounding it.

Smiley Smile is arguably the most fascinating Beach Boys album ever, for so many reasons. I think that's true whether one overlays the historical context or not. No other band has an album that so totally occupies such a nether region. So much strangeness (and beauty) to wallow about in!

[DonnyL]

It is pretty amazing how both context and the passage of time can change the impact of certain styles, sounds, and entire genres of music. To flip through some of Rolling Stone magazine's other reviews from the time 67-69, quite a few bands have all but dropped off the face of the earth, if not disappeared from the public eye or pop culture radar. And some acts and albums obviously deserve to drift away, while others need a serious revisiting and a fresh look at the music.

And I have noticed something which wasn't as notable in, say, the 80's...that a lot of the 60's "British Blues" movement has not fared very well at all in terms of being put on as high of a pedestal as it may have been at least before the internet and access to various reissues and previously obscure blues collections was much more of a challenge.

Meaning the British blues players and singers were copying if not doing smoothed-out versions of records that were, simply put, not easy to find and not widely heard, and I think as soon as more folks heard where they were getting all that blues mojo from, the influence went down considerably in favor of the original acts.

In that way, I think a 1967 review of Wild Honey which suggests the Stones and Beatles were doing something along the lines of "bringing it back home" or whatever Wenner wrote about those bands playing R&B sounds naive at best...when compared to some of the heaps of praise being given certain British blues acts who sound limp and carbon-copy when heard in 2012.

And Wild Honey...damn if it doesn't sound less like the Beach Boys doing R&B and more like a good 1967 Beach Boys album!

totally right on post man !

i think they call it 'dad rock' these days (a friend of mine calls what it's morphed into 'budweiser blues') ... it's funny how Jann Wenner and his whole Rolling Stone/Rock and Roll Hall of Fame/Springsteen/McCartney/Woodstock/Led Zeppelin/GuitarGods Baby Boomer culture has sort of set the standard for 'Classic Rock', but in reality the much hipper/unappreciated bands of the era seem to hold more relevance to music that is being made today. Specifically, I'm thinking of people like Nick Drake, 13th Floor Elevators, etc. I think the Rolling Stone people think kids are just getting to the bottom of the barrel, but in reality there is something much more exciting about putting on some long-lost Pearls Before Swine record than the latest reissue of 'Exile on Main Street' or whatever. I feel like some of that stuff just isn't aging well lately. And I for one believe that the Beach Boys recordings will ultimately hold up better than the Beatles stuff ... long time from now.

[filledeplage]

Reviews often interfere with a personal viewers points of view by the mere power of suggestion. Making one's own mind up, is superior in my view.  I don't think Don is slamming any newer fan's opinion, as much as trying to explain the context and circumstance of the era. It was bad.  Really bad. And Don and I (and the faithful rest) are having the "last laugh" at this juncture, but, it was rough among our peers at the time.  

We weren't "musically correct!"  

Very well put, filledeplage! And yes, my intention was exactly as you state. Sorry if anyone was confused about that. It would be very nice to jettison the memories that surround those times, as they created a level of confused disconnection which others, coming to the band's music later on, are fortunate to be able to bypass. We've also been lucky as time has passed, for we've been able to discern the exact nature of the band's "institutional anarchy" and come to terms with it in one way or another. And we've been lucky to have access to a wealth of unreleased material (including session tapes) that have helped us to create a more encompassing context for the music and the events surrounding it.

Smiley Smile is arguably the most fascinating Beach Boys album ever, for so many reasons. I think that's true whether one overlays the historical context or not. No other band has an album that so totally occupies such a nether region. So much strangeness (and beauty) to wallow about in!

Thanks, Don, we are in accord.  It is delightful to see so many new and ardent fans join and embrace this music.  The teacher in me wants them to really understand the era.  Otherwise it reminds me of a turn-of-the century film done, with a computer on the dining room table or Prius in the barn, next to the horses.  It should make one feel old to even make that description but it doesn't feel that way, to me.  Often, if my kids have some assignment or I see one of their "history of rock and roll" books, I dive to see if the Boys were properly treated retrospectively, because they certainly weren't well- treated in the States.  Thankfully, not so, in Europe and elsewhere.

And, it may sound obnoxious, (I don't care  ) but, with those lifer fans, I collide with at these shows, whether it is a Brian, Al or Touring Band show, I keep hearing the same things;  that the critics had this wrong, that there was no "long-view" of the impact, and, mostly, once the political and social storms would clear, that the music would endure.  The newer fans, have the luxury of having all the music in their laps at the same time, via discrete and convenient technology, whereas, we lugged around LP's,  exposing our controversial and often disrespected (in the States) tastes in music.  

The challenge for the new fans, as I see it is that the absolute volume of music to digest and embrace staggering, and, our advantage is that those old LP's were spaced-out (not the pejorative context!) with months in between so we could digest it, alongside other great music that was released.  We had it spoon-fed.  And those social catalysts, such as the Vietnam War, college protests, racial issues, women's rights had an impact.  I think we can proudly say that our activist tendencies during those times, (those of us who were inclined in that direction) help build the foundation to resolve some of those issues.  I would not trade a gray hair, to give up that LP era, and experience the whole sphere surrounding this music.  And, now, we can see some of the obstacles which faced the Band, with record company bias, as well as the same real-life challenges we face.

That said, I delight in seeing young people at the shows.  Even if, was the oft-reviled Kokomo that opened the door, to this corpus.  However they get here, welcome aboard, and savor the voyage!  But, from time to time, kick down a door or two and look behind them to see the contemporaneous stuff.  I think it is what makes it all so great!  Their voyage is so interesting, with all the ups and downs, not unlike our own adventures.  The bottom line, is that all the nonsense was sent to the back burner and the unfakable and unshakable music, pulled them aboard for this reunion.  And wordlessly, that video wall at the reunion, tells their journey, better than any movie or interview.  And it tells ours, as well.  

They may have lost a few battles along the way, but they certainly won the war!