Rank the tracks #12: Smiley Smile

[You Kane, You Commanded, You Conquered]

I like the noise fx & "eerie" vibe. The Smile version is too happy-go-lucky. Don't you like the tag in the SS? I think it's beautiful.

It's the best part of that version of WC, but that's not saying much.  Also, I'm not so sure if the SMiLE version could be described as happy-go-lucky, it gets pretty maniacal at about a minute and a half in.

[You Kane, You Commanded, You Conquered]

The Smiley Smile version is dark & the Smile version - light. The chorus with the wall of the BBs is definitely not creepy. It brings image of riots, the boys rebel against the government not paying salary etc. The Smiley version is hidden attack, it's a very subtle threat & it's more dangerous because nobody knows when the attack will be. See?

Yeah, I see your point. Still don't like it, but hey, to each their own.

[Mr Fulton]

1. Good Vibrations
2. Heroes And Villains
3. Little Pad
4. With Me Tonight
5. Wind Chimes
6. Wonderful
7. Fall Breaks And Back To Winter
8. Vegetables
9. Whistle In
10. Gettin Hungry
11. She's Goin Bald

[Wata]

I've somehow always rated it lower among 60's BB albums, but I think this is still great. The purest kind of drug music.

1. Good Vibrations -exceptional.



2. With Me Tonight -great harmony as usual
3. Vega-Tables -superb minimal production

4. Whistle In -cute.
5. She's Goin' Bald -interestingly odd
6. Little Pad -same as above
7. Heroes And Villains -love it, but not this version
8. Fall Breaks and Back To Winter

9. Getting Hungry
10. Wind Chimes


11. Wonderful -unlistenable. Literally ruined the song.

[Julia]

Again, three tiers. Tier one is "the singles which are objectively so much better and of such different character, they throw off the whole album and shouldn't have been included at all." Tier two is the Smiley sessions proper. Tier three is "this is a Smiley song but of noticeably inferior quality."

In an ideal world, Smiley should've been single-less and featured all the major SMiLE songs or leftover feels (plus newies like WMT) in that same lovely stripped down, stoned out style. A chorus-less take on CE, some of the recycled Psychedelic Sounds chants, letting Mike write lyrics for a simplified CIFOTM melody, or Dada almost as-is from the late SMiLE sessions, would've been welcome substitutions.

1. GV (it doesn't fit on the album, but objectively its miles better than anything on it)
2. H&V (ditto)

3. Wind Chimes (probably the freakiest track on the album. The original version was so soothing and beautiful, yet with a noticeable melancholy vibe to it, like the narrator was just wasting his life away at home, retreating from the world, and this version cranks that up to 11. A great "cover" that stands alone.)
4. Wonderful (ditto. I especially love the knew bridge with Brian's self-effacing inner monolog set to music. As great as the '66 version is, I always felt there was something lacking to it, a "second movement" or bridge. In a way, this version sounds more complete.)
5. Fall Breaks and Back to Winter (The perfect track to demonstrate Smiley's sonic identity--calming yet ominous and creepy at the same time. I wish Brian did more music like this.)
6. Whistle In (a great chant, very soothing yet sad. You can almost hear the sound of Brian's heart breaking as he "hangs it up" and whistles his way home on a hard years work, knowing he failed to do what he set out to do. I only wish it was longer.)
7. Little Pad (love the laugh-singing and Hawaiian instrumental interludes--very beautiful. Probably the least overtly offputting of the non-single Smiley tracks)
8. With Me Tonight (not counting GV, this is maybe the only romantic song on the whole thing, and the most "standard Beach Boys" song)
9. Vegetables (love the water-jug blowing and glass pouring)
10. She's Goin Bald (this one ups the creepy and offputting vibes but sacrifices the chill atmosphere to do it. I remember when I heard the "chipmunk vocal" sped up section and first time and couldn't believe what I was hearing--how was this on a Beach Boy album? THIS is the followup to Pet Sounds??)

11. Gettin' Hungry (my least favorite by a substantial margin, though not bad considering it's Smiley. It doesn't really fit sonically with the core body of the album, like the singles, but it couldn't fit on any other album at the same time. The more traditional song structure v-c-v-c puts it at odds with Smiley's "stoned party just droning out some music" MO. I think the fact that this was the only Smiley song Mike wrote on--not counting GV--where he wasn't sprucing up VDP's work has something to do with why it feels different.)