What Is The Weird Fascination With The "Smiley Smile" Album?

[Newguy562]

I Seem To Be So Into It, maybe Because of the Cover, the Strange music On the album,or because It Was The First Album released after they aborted smile.....It Is Considered The Aborted Baby Of Smile.
What Are Your Feelings About This Album? Does It Draw You In?

[stack-o-tracks]

Not the best songs or production, but I love the vibe. Definitely one of my favorite BB albums.

[cablegeddon]

the SS-version of Wind chimes is interesting, With me tonight is fun, Vegetables is acceptable....wonderful is a slaughter. So no there's not much I like about it other than that it collects GV and H&V.

[Newguy562]

I Like The Creepyness Of The Songs . It Has An On Vibe & Feel To The Whole Album.
Plus It Has An Awesome Cover.. If You Listen To It In The Dark You'll Be Spooked Out Lol

[hypehat]

It's truly unique!

[mammy blue]

It's in my top 5, as you can see in my sig. It's a fascinating, unique album in the BB catalog. I hope that it will be appreciated more on its own terms now that Smile has been officially released. In addition, two of the "remakes" are superior to the Smile versions (in my opinion): Wind Chimes and Fall Breaks and Back to Winter.

[Jason]

Smiley Smile is one of the best "f*** yous" in rock music. Brian Wilson, renowned genius of the Beach Boys, works on what would have been his other magnum opus in Smile, only to have a few naysayers question him. In response, he abandons Smile and makes an even more f***ed up album as a response. The fact that Smiley Smile is among their top five best records only helps its cause. I think the album's reputation will improve since the release of the Smile box set.

[letsmakeit31]

Smiley Smile is the 2nd Beach Boys album I'd listened to (1st of course was Pet Sounds). And at first I found it crap esp after PS I thought "What a backwards leap that was", Then about a week later I listened to it again and I found I wanted to hear it again as soon as it finished but I still felt it very badly lacking!!.
 While listening to it the 3rd time, I was drawn into reading the booklet and read stories about the missing link of PS & SS which was Smile and how their was versions of the same songs from SS originally recorded during late 66 to early 67.
And on the 4th listen with some background info in my mind I began to love Smiley Smile very much.
This was the album that got me deeping into The Beach Boys music more so than Pet Sounds which got my heart, but Smiley Smile got my mind onto a massive head trip.
I've got a special place for Smiley Smile which I think is one of the bravest things musically that Brian has ever done!!. 

[Chris Brown]

It took some time for me to warm up to Smiley, but once I did, it became a staple among my favorite Beach Boys albums.  I've never heard a record like it in my life, and it amazes me how Brian was able to accomplish so much using so little.  Those who think it sounds lazy aren't hearing what I'm hearing - the inventive modular recording is still there, just with a lot less instrumentation and no reverb.  Smiley has never sounded half-assed to me; rather, it's the pinnacle of minimalist recording.

This may be sacrilegious, but I always play the album without "Heroes" and "Good Vibrations" - neither of them fit at all.  That leaves me with just under 20 minutes of pure Brian Wilson magic, and makes for quite the (brief) musical trip.

[pixletwin]

Smiley Smile is the 2nd Beach Boys album I'd listened to (1st of course was Pet Sounds). And at first I found it crap esp after PS I thought "What a backwards leap that was", Then about a week later I listened to it again and I found I wanted to hear it again as soon as it finished but I still felt it very badly lacking!!.
 While listening to it the 3rd time, I was drawn into reading the booklet and read stories about the missing link of PS & SS which was Smile and how their was versions of the same songs from SS originally recorded during late 66 to early 67.
And on the 4th listen with some background info in my mind I began to love Smiley Smile very much.
This was the album that got me deeping into The Beach Boys music more so than Pet Sounds which got my heart, but Smiley Smile got my mind onto a massive head trip.
I've got a special place for Smiley Smile which I think is one of the bravest things musically that Brian has ever done!!. 

You have described, in precise terms, exactly my experience with SS. 

[The Demon]

Not a weird fascination for me.  It's their best album, along with Love You.  The songs are well-written and played appropriately, just like any other good album.  I also think those albums, perhaps along with Pet Sounds and Smile, are the closest things they did to music Brian would make just for himself.  It feels less like he's speaking to an audience, which gives Smiley the same intoxicating fervor you find in the Residents, McCartney and McCartney II, The Madcap Laughs, or even Head (speaking to an audience, but eschewing their given audience).

Any Pere Ubu fans probably get it.  It's music for your mind, totally divorced from being in the moment or being fashionable, which is what so much music is concerned with.  It's no coincidence that some of the first albums Dave Thomas had were Smiley Smile, Beefheart, and Zappa.  I think resistance to Smiley is weirder, and comes from the fact that it's not fashionable or classifiable, unlike Pet Sounds.  You have to engage with albums like Smiley Smile.  It's not a soundtrack for your lifestyle, which is what makes it less popular than a lot of other music.  It is Brian's ego music, not yours.  And people hate that.

[Ron]

I Seem To Be So Into It, maybe Because of the Cover, the Strange music On the album,or because It Was The First Album released after they aborted smile.....It Is Considered The Aborted Baby Of Smile.
What Are Your Feelings About This Album? Does It Draw You In?

To be honest, I think the fascination with it is it's a much more intimate album than the things they had done before.  You can hear some pretty stripped down songs, and it almost sounds like you're in the room with the beach boys.  People like it because they connect with the guys on that album better than the performances on the earlier albums.  It's a completely different sound.

BTW, exact same reason people liked Friends and some of the other albums to come. 

[anazgnos]

Not a weird fascination for me.  It's their best album, along with Love You.  The songs are well-written and played appropriately, just like any other good album.  I also think those albums, perhaps along with Pet Sounds and Smile, are the closest things they did to music Brian would make just for himself.  It feels less like he's speaking to an audience, which gives Smiley the same intoxicating fervor you find in the Residents, McCartney and McCartney II, The Madcap Laughs, or even Head (speaking to an audience, but eschewing their given audience).

Any Pere Ubu fans probably get it.  It's music for your mind, totally divorced from being in the moment or being fashionable, which is what so much music is concerned with.  It's no coincidence that some of the first albums Dave Thomas had were Smiley Smile, Beefheart, and Zappa.  I think resistance to Smiley is weirder, and comes from the fact that it's not fashionable or classifiable, unlike Pet Sounds.  You have to engage with albums like Smiley Smile.  It's not a soundtrack for your lifestyle, which is what makes it less popular than a lot of other music.  It is Brian's ego music, not yours.  And people hate that.

Very persuasively argued.  I've always has a special love for Introverted Music as you describe it, love Ubu/Residents etc...but I've always had a bad relationship with Smiley Smile.   My perspective on the BBs may have always been messed up given that the Vigotone Smile boot was the 2nd album of theirs I bought and loved after Pet Sounds, long before I'd heard Smiley or Surf's Up 1971 or anything else.  So Smiley Smile always sounded like damaged goods to me.  I had no such problems with Wild Honey or anything later, but with Smiley it was impossible to hear the music as a full statement with its own merit, rather than a half-realized stand-in for something I liked a lot better.  And the bonus tracks on the 1990 twofer did it no favors - "Can't Wait Too Long" - it's like, 'what happened to that album, why can't I have more stuff that sounds like that?'

But anyway I've been trying to work on my relationship to Smiley Smile lately, trying to come to terms with it as a lovely and unique and fully expressed album in its own right.  Your post kind of underlines the necessity of this for me.

[trismegistus]

I like Smiley Smile. It was actually the first BB album I ever bought, mainly because I dug the songs I had heard from Smile. Not crazy about the H&V mix, but I like most of the rest of it, love the big chunky organ on Gettin' Hungry and the tape manipulation on She's Going Bald, actually like the Smiley version of Vegetables quite a lot, it's nicely minimalist. It's the BBs album that I would make, I think.

[Mahalo]

With Me Tonight is so amazing that I cannot begin to describe how much spiritual strength it exudes into my innermost existence. Smiley Smile rules!

[FatherOfTheMan Sr101]

I have a great Smiley SMiLE Story,

About 3 Years Ago, My Family won a fully paid vacation in Saratoga Springs, one of the nicest places in my area, which I love to visit in the summer.

It was around this time actually, and we decided to go in the winter since we'd never do that unless it was free!

I wasn't too excited, so the day before we left I one-day ordered The SMiLE DVD.

I watched it on the short drive to Saratoga, where we decided to walk around town, I stumbled upon a record store.

I went in and found some incredible deals, a 2nd pressing White Album for $6, Wild Honey for $3 and SMILEY SMILE for $1!!!

I Grabbed them all and flew to the register, and quickly went to the hotel to assess my find.

It ended out being a first pressing and I was so excited! I wasn't expecting much because I knew the story of the album, but still! (Actually, I was more excited by Wild Honey )

Anyway, we were getting ready to leave the next day, and I was watching the SMiLE DVD, looking at Smiley, and waiting for my parents to pack.

THE SECOND "Mrs. O' Learys Cow" STARTED UP, IT STARTED POURING SNOW, AND WE WERE STUCK IN THE HOTEL!

I looked at the vinyl, "Fall Breaks And Back To Winter" And Laughed, "Maybe Brian Wanted This To Be A Winter Song Instead After All!" Haha!

[Aegir]

I love Smiley Smile because it is a deconstruction of music by an extremely popular band.

[oldsurferdude]

Bought it when it was released with a whole bag full of higher expectations based on what they had recently accomplished. I felt pillaged and burned-smoked to be more accurate. I just sat there in a pool of total disbelief of what I had just heard. As bad as it was with GV and HAV backed out of it, I think there was more of a pending feel of doom for the future of the group. The lp quickly went to the back of the stack with very little rotation. Bought the two-fer just to own it and SOT but never play it. I still feel a bit duped due to  the uphill battle it helped create in being a fan back then.  

[runnersdialzero]

Bought it when it was released with a whole bag full of higher expectations based on what they had recently accomplished. I felt pillaged and burned-smoked to be more accurate. I just sat there in a pool of total disbelief of what I had just heard. As bad as it was with GV and HAV backed out of it, I think there was more of a pending feel of doom for the future of the group. The lp quickly went to the back of the stack with very little rotation. Bought the two-fer just to own it and SOT but never play it. I still feel a bit duped due to  the uphill battle it helped create in being a fan back then.  

>: (

[Mike's Beard]

I seem to have a love/hate relationship with Smiley. Sometimes when listening to it I can't help but think what on earth were they thinking?

[Newguy562]

Thank all of you for sharing your experiences and what you like about the album. :]
Seems like i can relate to all of you, i guess the day i really got into "smiley smile" i was really high and i listening to the whole album and it took me on a dark and eerie trip. See the album cover? Well i felt like i was walking through those plants trying 2 make it to that house where the lips are. Every song has it's place on that album even the stripped down "Wonderful""Wind Chimes""Vegetables." :]
"Smile" Isn't the only album that will have a legacy, one day "Smiley Smile" will to.
Well they both share the same legacy i guess.

[runnersdialzero]

Smiley Smile is brilliant and great in a way that Smile doesn't even begin to be. The opposite is true, too. Just wish both had been completed.

[TheManchesterMan]

When I was about 7 years old my friend's dad had a little portable record player and the two records me and my friend found to play on it were Johnny Cash Live at San Quentin and Smiley Smile. I loved it then and I love it now. I still think I prefer 'Fall Breaks And Back To Winter' to 'Mrs O'Leary's Cow', it has a quality that I've rarely found in any other piece of music. I love the organ sounds, I love the intro to 'Getting Hungry', I love 'She's Going Bald' and I adore 'Little Pad'. It's a fantasic album.

[Newguy562]

When I was about 7 years old my friend's dad had a little portable record player and the two records me and my friend found to play on it were Johnny Cash Live at San Quentin and Smiley Smile. I loved it then and I love it now. I still think I prefer 'Fall Breaks And Back To Winter' to 'Mrs O'Leary's Cow', it has a quality that I've rarely found in any other piece of music. I love the organ sounds, I love the intro to 'Getting Hungry', I love 'She's Going Bald' and I adore 'Little Pad'. It's a fantasic album.

The only song I couldnt feel was "She's going bald" the middle part was ughhhhh.

[MBE]

Hearing Brian describe the sessions in glowing terms in a 1968 interview with J. Marks and hearing the session tapes really made me like this album far more. It's weird for sure, but there are great vocals throughout and some really neat ideas. They had a great time making the record you can tell. That's why I like their 1967-71 records so much. Brian told me that was really a great time for them working together and that the friendships were strong than. He was emphatic about it. Smiley is not in my top five or perhaps even top ten Beach Boys albums, but it is a sleeper that has a charm of its own.