The Smiley Smile Message Board

Did they ever make an entire album which you consider perfect from beginning to end? Which you would not change a single note on?

No. Pet sounds comes close and it doesn't contain any typical fillers but there's still a song or two there that I don't care for.

Disregarding the obvious (Pet Sounds, SMiLE),  I'd say Wild Honey is about as perfect as it gets. Short, but so very very sweet (Odd thought: What if Brian made a Wild Honey era version of Surf's Up using his '67 piano demo as the base?) 20/20 would almost make the cut, but the Bruce Johnson instrumental is a bit boring, and that weird effect at the beginning of Never Learn Not to Love nearly made me jump out of my seat the first time I heard it. Maybe if you cut that bit out and replaced Never Learn Not to Love with Celebrate the News or a finished up version of Ol' Man River or something.

Friends - Holland - Love You :smokin

Not necessarily perfect by rock critics' standards but personally I wouldn't change anything at all about these three. All brilliant from start to finish, as is Pet Sounds, of course.

Love You is perfect. Possibly the best album ever. Its just so off-putting. I would like to someday create something from the same well of inspiration that Love You came out of. Impossible though

As I've said many times before "Surf's Up" is my favourite BB album but it has it's flaws. Take a Load of Your Feet is too lightweight and SDT (which I like btw) would have been better suited as a one off single. Those Dennis songs really should have made the cut in their place. Also as much as I love the song, ANY of the Wilsons could have cut a much better lead on A Day in the Life of a Tree then Jack Reiley.

My biggest problem with Pet Sounds is it can lack energy at times and start to sound a bit 'samey'.  A little rocking guitar here and there could have helped. I've also noticed that every song has the verses sung in the same style, using a 3 note spiral at the end of many lines.

"Then we wouldn't have to wait so lo
                                                           o
                                                              ong"

"But that's not me
                             ee
                                 e"

"Where did your long hair go
                                             oo
                                                 o?"

Dare I say it but some of Smile is less then essential to these ears.

20/20 would have been perfect if not for that crappy Bluebirds Over the Mountain single.

I'd say the BB album that doesn't have a single weak spot for me would have to be Holland.

Way to ruin the album for everyone else, bub.

Depends on the standards one applies.

Do I know a perfect pop album at all, by anyone? No. But as for art in general, the question itself is a bit redundant. I could say that I can't find fault with Glenn Gould's 1981 interpretation of Bach's Goldberg Variations, but that may be different tomorrow... then I might prefer Angela Hewitt's one, which is a tad more playful and loose.

Pure maths is perfect. But you can't listen to it, nor read or just watch it in the commonsense manner.

Pet Sounds and SMiLE (as per TSS) are superb, 5-out-of-5 stars albums for me - and that is enough. Kind Of Blue is their equal, in jazz. And Svjatoslav Richter's version of the Well-Tempered Clavier, which is rather romantic, is the same in classical.

Compare art (e.g. music) to human beings themselves. You won't ever find a flawless one. You have your preferences, which even may change over time. Your loved one is not perfect, and nether are you yourself. But if there were no flaws in us, then there wouldn't be love at all, nor art. Life would be just one thing: immensely and frighteningly boring. Not worth living, in fact.

I am pretty sure of all this.

Thank you.

(double post)

f*cker. Pet Sounds is pretty much flawless and I don't think you understand how original it is compared to an album like Surf's Up.

You are correct Sir. I don't deserve to call myself a Beach Boys fan. I shall give away all my CD's of them to the local Oxfam and delete my smileysmile account post haste.

Sorry. I'm in a bad mood this morning and can't really handle when someone attacks Pet Sounds, my favourite thing in this world.

i totally agree :]

besides the 2 obvious albums...pet sounds & smile which are perfect in every way :)
i'd have 2 say wild honey..just the whole vibe of it is awesome.. plus it's the only beach boys "r&b" album :D

For me, it's THE BEACH BOYS' PARTY album, a perfect concept album.

Pet Sounds is flawless. It's not my current favorite, just because I've already played it a billion times, but even the parts that are "samey same" are still very different, and help bind together the album as a whole.

I think that CatP-ST is damn near flawless, although He Come Down almost torpedoes it. I scratch my head when people claim that Here She Comes and Hold on Dear Brother aren't "really" BB songs but give a pass to the fake gospel that, while fun, isn't exactly an original idea (other than comparing the Maharishi to Jesus in some pretty trite lyrics). While it isn't as cohesive as Pet Sounds, So Tough covers a lot of cool ground. It brings exciting new southern rock-type vibes to the band's sound, and includes Dennis' cinematic ballads in addition to some fun middle-period Brian Wilson rockers. I love Marcella, and Mess of Help, and I almost crash the car when I start dancing. Great production, too. Not a wall of sound, but it does have a lot of depth and the voices and instruments are clear and crisp.

Wild Honey is mostly flawless, except for the oft-cited muddiness and How She Boogalooed It. I'd Love Just Once to See You took a while to grow on me, but I like it. Still, that and Mama Says (which I ADORE, for obvious reasons) don't really fit. But it is an unbelievable album nonetheless, close to perfect.

Oh, and I wouldn't change ONE note on Summer In Paradise, not for the life of me. Because each and every change, however tiny, would improve that album - and it would become less laughable and become better as a result.

So as it stands, SIP is a truly flawless disaster. Let's keep it that way, folks.

Today, Pet Sounds, Smiley Smile, Sunflower, Love You.

Beyond the obvious answers of Pet Sounds and Smile, There are a few that  come really close for me. Today would be flawless if it weren't for "Bull  Session With The Big Daddy". Wild Honey would be flawless if it weren't for it's absolutely horrid production. Sunflower has a few weaker tracks, but the only one I outright dislike is "At My Window".

Little Deuce Coupe, Pet Sounds, Sunflower, Holland, Love You. I wouldn't change anything on those.

I think Pet Sounds is pretty damn close to flawless.


Summer Days would be perfect if not for "Old Man".

Personally (and I guess this is what it's all about) I cannot fault Sunflower or POB. Not one track on either than I have to skip. Then again, Surf's Up, C&P and Holland also rarely get passed over - but for me the first two win hands down if unflawnessness comes to shove.  :p

These are the closest to flawless:
All Summer Long, Today!, Pet Sounds, SMiLE, Wild Honey, Sunflower

Pet Sounds
Wild Honey
Friends
Love You
Holland

Today, Sunflower, Surf's Up and 20/20 almost make the grade

Pet sounds can be played all the way through and is flawless, might be the best album ever made. That's the only BB album with no embarassments for me, but Today, Sunflower and Love You come very close. Today really is the closest simply because the bummer is a talking track!

Today (if you remove "Bull Session"), Pet Sounds and Smiley Smile.  Many others are close, but those are the only three where I never skip any of the tracks.

I second that and would like to add these:

Christmas Album
Sunflower
So Tough
Holland
Light Album

I'm surprised no one was mentioning the Christmas Album. Not the best christmas songs ever written but as a whole it sounds great and gives you that warm-hearted, special feeling which christmas music should give you. Sunflower was a tough one, because of "Cool, Cool Water". It is not a bad song but after all these gems it just wouldn't fit whenever I listen to that album. Kind of like "When Girls Get Together" on KTSA. It just takes the drive out of it, if you know what I mean.

Still Cruisin' and Shut Down Vol. 2 are the exact opposite of a "flawless" album, there are worse for my personal taste but some songs completely ruin the listening experience to my ears. And don't get mad at me for including LA.  ;D  

If you don't mind me asking, what makes Shut Down Volume 2 one of their worst albums? I understand it not being flawless and all, but worst seems strong considering there is some real classic tunes on it.

Its not the worst, its the most uneven album with some greats and some clunkers. KTSA or SIP are the worst by far..

See, I disagree - but I love the 2nd Side so damn much. The clunky band performances on side one really ruin what could have been a great, great album - that blend was made to sing those sort of standards, and they give a side to some filler level material... But if you just had some of that Dick Reynolds stuff...

I think it's one of their best. I suppose the odd 'Love vs. Wilson' into 'Warmth of Sun' transition doesn't sit well with some. But I can overlook it. It's a great record, loaded with many of my favorites. 'This Car of Mine' is one of my favorite Denny songs.

Pet Sounds:  One of the few albums that has never worked it's way out of my cd player.  I can listen to it start to finish almost any day of the year.

1} Pet sounds 2}Smile 3}Today 4} All Summer Long 5}Sunflower 6} 93 box set

good list but ur missing wild honey :/

It's interesting to read how many albums are on people's lists. "Flawless" is an awfully strong word, and "I don't skip it" is pretty light criteria. A flawed song is not necessarily a bad song; I know plenty of albums with a flawed song or two that I'll still happily listen to in sequence -- especially from the BB's.

In my mind, the only album that is not just tolerable, but which I would not change anything about, is Pet Sounds.

Friends!

Orange Crate Art came close...but Movies Is Magic is on there!  :-D

Agreed on all counts. What exactly is a flawless album? One that is all peaks? If I listen to Surfer Girl I don't skip "South Bay Surfer", same as I don't skip "SDT" if I play Surf's Up----tremendous albums both. I wouldn't change either of them for anything. Perhaps that is the criterion for a flawless album.

As for the much-maligned "Bull Session": I think it's the perfect way to end Today!----how on earth do you follow "ITBOMM" with another song, or even an instrumental? You can't close the album with it either. So for me, it's the perfect solution. :=)

For me, it's SUSA, Surfer Girl, Deuce Coupe, All Sumer Long, Today, Pet Sounds, Party, maybe Sunflower and Wild Honey, most of SD(&SN) and SDII.

the only songs I ever skip are "Bull Session", "Cassius Love vs. Sonny Wilson", and "Our Favorite Recording Sessions". aka, not songs at all. I don't even skip anything on Summer in Paradise.

I listen to bull session just to hear Brian say, "you stepped on my french fries" :lol

SD&SN, All Summer Long & Holland - all amazing...

I've always made a case for "BSWBD" (see 6 posts earlier) and "OFRS" (not least because Brian's "note" is the first note of Mike's vocal on "Don't Back Down") but "CLvSW" is filler pure and simple.

As I see it, speech is part and parcel of the BB's recorded canon: think of Party!, "Wonderful" SS-style and "TM Song", to say nothing of the cringeworthy likes of "Prune Time"...       

As far as an album i can listen to from beginning to end without skipping
I'd have to say Pet Sounds, The Smile Sessions, Wild Honey & Today. ;D

Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmm... no, not one that I wouldn't change a single note on: in fact most, I'd change one or more songs on. The one that comes closest in my book is Surfer Girl... [quick mental sprint through the band's canon]... nope, that would be the one, with All Summer Long and Today a joint, and close, second.