The Smiley Smile Message Board

What BB albums have you given as gifts to people, and what did they think about them?  (Silly question I know, but I just wondered...  ;))

I gave "Smile" to an old high school teacher... it was the Purple Chick version, but I touched it up a little to smooth out some of their mistakes (like the horrible slow-down effects).  He thought it was okay, but "the harmonies got repetitive."  (??)

I gave my brother the Beach Boys Classics album (as chosen by Brian Wilson) at Christmas 2003 because, though he's not a BB/BW fan as such, I'd persuaded him through my enthusiasm to come along to one of the 2004 Smile concerts.  This is probably my favourite of all BB compilations because it balances the more obvious material with lesser known ones and is something a bit different to the usual 20 Golden Greats approach.  It's was also a fair approximation of the non-Smile section of BW's concerts at that time.  My brother seemed to really get into BB/BW for a short while but his interest now seems to have faded and he's back to listening to his usual Coldplay and variations thereof type bands.

I gave a copy of the DCC gold disc version of Pet Sounds to one of the marketing guys at the radio station where I worked, sort of as an "I'm going away" present. He's a major collector, and between him and his wife they had over 4000 CDs in their collection, but he said he never got around to getting Pet Sounds, which is why I got it for him. He called me a few days later to thank me, and he said he was really blown away..."Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but they did all that on just four tracks?!" "Wow, very emotional..."

Everyone deserves Pet Sounds. BB fan or not; it might take them 10 years to get into it, but when they do, they will!

I probably gave away five copies of Pet Sounds on vinyl in the 80s; partly in response to one of the books- Leaf's or Elliot's, maybe- that mentioned that it had still not gone gold or sold a million or something, and suggested that fans take it as a gift to dinner parties in lieu of a bottle of wine.

I gave one of my brothers the GV box set as a gift when it came out.  I'm sure there have been lots of others, but I'm usually a bit careful upon whom I impose my musical obsessions.  I have infected a lot of people over the years who became rabid fans; particularly in the animation industry, and I'm proud to say that has borne some results.

I never gave away a copy of Pet Sounds to any of my friends. My friends are either punks or metalheads. The BBs just don't jive with those scenes. I never bothered.

My friends would never in a million years make any other kind of emotional link with music other than " DUDE FUCKING COOL AS RIFF THERE MAN U HEAR THAT ROCKIN GUITAR OH sh*t DUDE ITS CRAZY".

I'm kind of like that, it depends on my mood.  Sometimes I listen to "Feel Flows" and really study the words, and something I just think "MAN, I GOTTA CRANK THE BASS!"   

Either way... that song has cool bass.

I got my girlfriend Pet Sounds for Christmas, she gave it a 2 out of 5, and then broke up with me a few weeks later.

You should have broke up with her right after she rated it.

Though plenty of people have come to BW/BB whose musical tastes might not otherwise be thought to be sympathetic, I think this has been largely due to the Pet Sounds/Smile, Brian as tortured genius aspect of the legacy.  Certainly, it is an example of how the 'fun in the sun', give the people what they want, nostalgia act of latter day Beach Boys has not always been the best marketing strategy for the music as time has gone on. 

I never can find anyone who is as passionate about certain music that I love...I just keep it to myself...I tried to sell people on The Byrds and Pet Sounds...only one person in my circle of friends likes either.

Great thread!

I once gave one of my SMiLE-mixes to my brother as an additional birthday present. His first reaction was something like "WHAT THE F*CK?!?!?!". Not in positive way, more in a confused way.  ;D

Yes, it is a pain trying to make people like the things you like.  Unfortunately, I always feel a terrible compulsion to do so.   :-[  And I hate people doing that to me!  For years I have been trying to get my brother to like Dylan but he just can't get past the voice (I think).  I had better success with Brian and The Beach Boys.  Their sound was a bit more user friendly.  But even so - he's far happier listening to the likes of Coldplay, Snow Patrol, Keane etc.  Pearls before swine.    

I picked up a copy of "Pet Sounds" for my friends' bday this coming Saturday. I let her borrow mine last semester, and I didn't get it back for a while lol but I did eventually.