The Smiley Smile Message Board

Is anyone as much of a fan of the Begin by the Millennium as I am.  Seriously it's one of my favorite albums ever.  The production is utterly mindblowing and the songs are all super great.  It's a shame that Curt Boettcher went on to do such crap after this great album (that I Can Hear Music cover and HCTN disco especially [though even that has some superb vocal arrangements]). 

I find myself coming back to a couple of the songs more often than I find myself listening to the album as a whole. I really like "Prelude"/"To Claudia On Thursday", "5 A.M.", "The Island", "The Know-It-All", "Karmic Dream Sequence #1", "Just About The Same", and "Blight". The rest of the songs are also good but I don't find them as eminently listenable or as memorable to me -- but they are, of course, excellently produced and arranged and so on.

Count me in as a huge fan of this album also.  For me personally, it is a desert island disc...I would put it in my top ten.  The only place I can talk about it or read about is on the internet...I don't know anyone personally who knows about it or likes it.  That opening drum beat in Prelude is sick...and this is 1968 right?  I love the various flavors of the album...there is a lounge/island/exotica tinge to it that I just love...see "I just want to be your friend."   I love the lead vocal deliveries, I think the songs have strong melodies.   "It's You" is just so fresh sounding...I would love to have a Tshirt with that album cover on it...I love the artwork.  So yeah, I'm a big fan.  Micheal Fennely (Hope I spelled his name right!) is on YouTube and has posted some interesting things like the demo to "I'ts You" Check it out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUkFSlS6SHc

I enjoy this album quite a bit. Though song-writing wise it's a bit thin, the production really helps make it interesting. BTW, I got Sandy Salisbury to sign my copy of the vinyl (he lives real close to me)!!!!

A true psychedelic classic. I think I even like this one a tad bit more than Odessey and Oracle or The Notorious Byrd Brothers. At first I didn't enjoy some of the lyrics. (I thought they were rather cheesy but ultimately I got used to that. Today I think they're part of the album's unique charm.) Have to agree about "Prelude". Couldn't believe my ears when I first heard that drum beat, which sounds like 20 years ahead of its time. "5 AM" and "There Is Nothing More to Say" may be my favourites here. "I'm With You" is brilliant as well.

Yeah when I first heard prelude I thought it was a remix!!  It's totally awesome!!  My favorites are either Prelude/To Claudia on Thursday, 5am, I'm With You, The Island, It's You, or There's Nothing More To Say (Which is like 1/2 the album).  The Island gets high marks for it's absolutely freaky middle section, which is freakier than anything on Smiley Smile (Not knocking SS though)!!  There's Nothing More to Say is so mindblowingly beautiful.  To Claudia on Thursday has one of the most brilliant arrangements I've ever heard.   I love the buildup of the vocals throughout the song, and those chimes on the last verse are amazing.  Boettcher's arranging on this album is just unbelievable!! 

Would you guys call this album a "true psychedelic classic" though?  I would say it is the ultimate "Sunshine Pop" album, speaking of which is a genre I have been totally fascinated with and digging the past 4 years or so...the wikipedia entry is a nice summation of this genre...

This is an awesome album, but I have to say I enjoy Sagittarius - Present Tense more. Curt and Gary Usher are two of my all time fave producers and together they are mind blowing. I have Begin and Present Tense both on original vinyl. I only just recently got a hold of Begin, so maybe I need to let it soak in more.....I was lucky to find a nearly mint copy of the Sagittarius album for a buck many years ago. I used to listen to "Prelude/To Claudia on Thursday a lot too. You guys are right about that drum beat, compressed to the max and way ahead of its time. I'm surprised it hasn't been sampled yet (or maybe it has?). Another track that sounds waaaaay ahead of it's time (especially drum-wise) is "There's No Blood In Bone" by the poppy Family from 1969. It sounds like a freekin trip hop song! Check it out.

I should probably start and explore the sunshine pop genre then. Sounds like a good idea!