The Smiley Smile Message Board

No REAL poll here. Just wanted to get some users feelings between the two.

For me SMiLE HAS to be in stereo.

So I have a stereo version, 4.0 AD fan mix of Smile. For Smiley I can go for both mono or stereo (got a fan mix stereo version)

IMO a few smiley tracks are better than the original, most notably Wind Chimes and Wonderful. The laid-back nature and tranquil sound on Smiley gives makes them better to my ears. The Smile version of WC is too noisy for me during the chorus, great instrumentation on the verses and fade however. They are both fantastic albums and both equally key in understanding what they Beach Boys were and what they became. No one can ever try to understand Brian if they haven't heard these two albums. They are both my favourites.

My post history makes it no surprise (or contest).  Smile, all the way.

Pet Sounds
Smile
In Concert

Far and away, my top three albums by the Boys.

Smile

The "better" versions wouldn't exist if not for the blueprints. This was Brian's most creative, and ambitious effort. A complete masterpiece.

Smile in a heartbeat. Only the SS version of Windchimes improves on the original.

SMiLE.

SMiLE OR SMILEY SMILE? I JUST CANNOT F*CKING DECIDE

Two totally different works, impossible to decide between. I think Brian's 2004 completed Smile may be the best thing ever recorded... but Smiley Smile is a much braver, more interesting, more astonishing piece of work. The second movement of Smile is beautiful in a way that anyone could understand, while Smiley Smile is like something from a totally different universe. I couldn't ever choose.

Both are great, but SMiLE is much better IMO.

There's a reason Carl said Smiley was the bunt, Smile the grand slam or whatever it was. Even incomplete and in its reconstructed state Smile destroys Smiley for me. It's all about those incredible fragments - the cabin essence coda, the slow part of cifotm, the cantina section, bicycle rider, vegetable fade, keen a wok a poo la, barnyard, old master painter. However you want to put the pieces together, the band never recorded music this creative and beatiful before or after.

Smile is a much, much better album. Hands down. But I do think that Smiley Smile is an easier album to just enjoy.

Smile is such a tough listen that I can't just lay back and enjoy the album. I have to concentrate and take it all in. It's beautiful, it's brilliant, but the madness and the abundance of ideas also make it a bit of an uneasy listen for me. Smiley Smile on the other hand is lay-back and effortless. It's a breeze to listen to.

But still, I choose Smile. Because, well... Come on, it's Smile.

Hmm I gotta say Smiley, even though I love Smile.  I think that Smiley is honestly one of the most brilliant things I've ever heard.  It's beautiful, dark, twisted, and possibly most importantly, absolutely hilarious.  I remember the first time I heard the Smiley mix of Heroes and Villians as opposed to the Sounds of Summer or Purple Chick mixes and I was absolutely blown away by the organ and the ridiculously jarring edits.  That moment where "...and sunny down snuff I'm alright by the Heroes and..."  jumps right into the chorus at the end made me laugh out loud in a way that no other piece of music ever has.  Sure the Smile version and the alternate "cantina" mix (the bonus track one) may better present Heroes as a story song but IMO nothing compares to sheer insanity of the Smiley version.  The same can be said for Smiley as whole.

Thank you for summing up exactly why i too vote Smiley Smile (and have thus saved me the trouble of typing). I think SMiLE is (would've been) utterly exceptional, but there's no denying the sheer unadulterated love i feel for Smiley, still probably my all-time favourite album. It's just such fun!

Suicide is never the answer.  Smile and kill Claudius already.

Technically speaking, SMiLE still does not exist. Therefore - Smily Smile! Standout tracks: "Little Pad", "Gettin' Hungry" and "She's Goin' Bald".

No contest: Smiley Smile for me.

Smile just doesn't quite make it ... it feels like it's all potential. Plus I like how the SMiLE tracks were laid out on subsequent albums to give you a little window into what might have been.

Smiley is one of the best records ever.

I understand it's all a matter of taste, but c'mon, we're talking apples (SMiLE) and razor blades (Smiley Smile) here.  No contest....SMiLE all the way!

Star Wars vs. Battle Beyond the Stars

Beatles vs. Crazy World of Arthur Brown



Need I go on?

Smiley is pretty darn good but it doesn't come cllose.

Smiley Smile was a god-awful fart that impacted the entire fan base upon release. Man, was I pissed!!! :o

Exactly.

The SMiLE material trumps Smiley Smile easily. Even unfinished, even in the botched TSS sequence.

How does one define "Smile"? If it's everything to do with "Smile" then to my mind this includes Smiley Smile. If it's the sessions, then it's not an album and is incompatible with said Smiley Smile. Chalk and cheese. Or am I being naive?

(I like the "little window" comment above.)