If Smile had been released back in 1967...

[Dead Parrot]

Well, the one thing it wouldn't have done is "blown Sgt Pepper out of the water", at least not commercially, anymore than Pet Sounds blew Revolver out of the water. IMHO, despite the strong Americana themes running through SMiLE, it would have still been more of a success in places like the UK and Europe than it would have been stateside.

[bgas]

Well, the one thing it wouldn't have done is "blown Sgt Pepper out of the water", at least not commercially, anymore than Pet Sounds blew Revolver out of the water. IMHO, despite the strong Americana themes running through SMiLE, it would have still been more of a success in places like the UK and Europe than it would have been stateside.

Yes, maybe, but IMHO, the January 1967 release of Smile would have blown the Beatles minds and severely altered the product they might then have released as Sgt Pepper, thereby blowing it out of the water. 

[Jcc]

I tend to think it would not "blow Sgt. Pepper out of the water".  If released, SMiLE would have been a great album, but its greatness would not necessarily turn Sgt. Pepper into a crappy album.  Both albums would have been judged on their own merits, each would have its fans which enjoyed both or preferred one or the other.  SMiLE and Pepper are two completely different listening experiences.  One is very English, the other would probably have been very deeply American.

What SMiLE would have done is allowed the Beach Boys to stay relevant from 1967 onward, and to be spoken of in the same "classic rock" vein as the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Who, or Led Zeppelin.  30-40 years onward, they would have been remembered for more than being a "good time oldies surfer band".  That is also what makes the SMiLE legend more fascinating.  It's never been completely all about the album, but what that album would have done to the band and to people's perceptions of the band and 60's music in general.

[Mike's Beard]

Your last paragraph must pretty much sum up the thoughts and feelings of every member of this board.

[Chris Brown]

Well, the one thing it wouldn't have done is "blown Sgt Pepper out of the water", at least not commercially, anymore than Pet Sounds blew Revolver out of the water. IMHO, despite the strong Americana themes running through SMiLE, it would have still been more of a success in places like the UK and Europe than it would have been stateside.

Yes, maybe, but IMHO, the January 1967 release of Smile would have blown the Beatles minds and severely altered the product they might then have released as Sgt Pepper, thereby blowing it out of the water. 

I agree, though I'm not sure "blowing it out of the water" is the most accurate way of putting it.  I do think that Pepper would have been a different animal had Smile come out in January.  How it would have changed, I'm not sure, but we all know how impacted The Beatles were by Pet Sounds, and hearing Smile would have only made them up their game that much more.

Jcc is spot on too, in that Smile would have forever altered the music-listening public's perception of the band.  Even with the notoriety and acclaim that Pet Sounds has garnered them over the years, the fact is that most people still think of them as the band who did "Kokomo" and all those surfing/cars/girls songs.  Nothing wrong with appreciating that aspect of them, but as we all know, there's a lot more to the Beach Boys than that.  The band deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as the Beatles, the Stones, etc., and Smile being released, I believe anyways, would have gone a long way in getting them there.