'Smile' or 'Pet Sounds'

[originals]

These seem to be widely considered Brian's two masterworks. But which do you personally prefer? For myself, I like 'Smile' much MUCH better than 'Pet Sounds'.
You?

[FatherOfTheMan Sr101]

SMiLE is better music, Pet Sounds is a better album.

[originals]

SMiLE is better music, Pet Sounds is a better album.

What a fascinating take on things.

[blank]

The way I look at it, nobody has ever or will ever hear Smile.  It simply was not completed in its original form.  Sure, BW/VDP, etc made a complete album in 2004, but that is not The Beach Boys.

That being said, The Smile Sessions is fantastic.  One of the most interesting things about the Smile phenomenon is how, due to the modular nature of the music and the incompleteness of the album, the listener can customize their Smile experience without really compromising "Brian's original version" - he never really decided on how he wanted to piece the snippets together (except for completed songs like Vegetables, Cabinessence, Cool, Cool Water and Surf's Up), and TSS simply followed the template of the 2004 release!

That's why I have gotten enormous satisfaction out of making my own "what-if" version of Smile with pieces and full songs the high-quality 2011 mixes.  But does it top Pet Sounds?  YES

[Cabinessenceking]

Smile is a jigsaw and as a result can be reinvented again and again, it really is quite special in the musical world. On the other hand Pet Sounds contain some of the greatest individual pop songs of all time, most notably I Just Wasn't Made For These Times and Don't Talk, there is just so much emotion both in the music and in the great lyrics Tony and Brian co-wrote, magical! This is a hard draw, but I would consider them top tier by such a margin that ranking them further serves little purpose. The mood might affect the choice.

[Phoenix]

For me, it's Pet Sounds by a very narrow margin.

[EgoHanger1966]

I feel like we've had this thread, but...Pet Sounds.

[Summer_Days]

Oh here we go again. Kirk vs. Picard (Kirk!) Coke vs. Pepsi (Coke!) Baseball vs. Football (Baseball!)...

and Pet Sounds vs. SMiLE. For me it will always be Pet Sounds. PS is very close to me personally, emotionally. Discovering PS in 1999 made me a fan and pretty much changed my life and the music that I primarily listened to before it. Finally, PS is home to my #1 favorite song, 'Wouldn't It Be Nice'.
I LOVE the SMiLE music. I really do. It's a continuation of Brian at his peak, which really hit the summit with Pet Sounds. Still, until I die, PS will be a kind of obsession for me. I wouldn't want it any other way.

[Reddiwhip]

How's this for reasoning:

Smile is a gift, Pet Sounds is a blessing.

You can do so much with Smile!  You can switch it around every which way and it's arty yet fun, understated yet ambitious.  It's like somebody gave you an interactive book/video game/record album/photo album that you want to spend forever getting to know the ins and outs. 

Pet Sounds is more of a spiritual feeling of empathy (though IJWMFTT decries a lack of empathy on the part of everybody else), letting us know that having feelings of longing, and feeling out of place, and that there's something missing from adult life that we had as children, is okay.  That is the blessing of Pet Sounds.

[runnersdialzero]

IJWMFTT decries a lack of empathy on the part of everybody else

So it was the world that had Asperger's, not Brian.
OMGGGGGG

[Chocolate Shake Man]

Oh here we go again. Kirk vs. Picard (Kirk!) Coke vs. Pepsi (Coke!) Baseball vs. Football (Baseball!)...

Wow. 3 for 3.

[originals]

Great responses, everyone. I have really enjoyed reading this!
I agree - part of the joy of 'SMiLE' is being able to create your own and imagine what might have been. I have personally created 7 different versions and treasure them all.

[Letsgoawayforawhile]

Pet Sounds came from within Brian. I feel Smile came from around him. I'd have to say Pet Sounds though based solely on the really personal lyrics him and Mike wrote.

[Zach95]

Pet Sounds came from within Brian. I feel Smile came from around him. I'd have to say Pet Sounds though based solely on the really personal lyrics him and Mike wrote.

Except Tony Asher wrote the lyrics.

[I. Spaceman]

Smiley Smile.

[Reddiwhip]

IJWMFTT decries a lack of empathy on the part of everybody else

So it was the world that had Asperger's, not Brian.
OMGGGGGG

 

[Letsgoawayforawhile]

Pet Sounds came from within Brian. I feel Smile came from around him. I'd have to say Pet Sounds though based solely on the really personal lyrics him and Mike wrote.

Except Tony Asher wrote the lyrics.

Sorry.
HELPED write.
Interpretation is completely different than doing it all himself. Mike helped write at least three songs. Tony definitely deserves praise for what he did though.

[Catbirdman]

And for me it would be:
Kirk vs. Picard (The Second Doctor!)
Coke vs. Pepsi (Sprite!)
Baseball vs. Football (Yeah, Baseball for sure!)
Pet Sounds vs. Smile: No straight answer.

I have 1,000 times more love, affection, and fascination for Smile than I do for Pet Sounds.
I am 100 times more overjoyed, swept away, and awed by Smile than I am by Pet Sounds.
Smile is more fun. It’s more stimulating, it’s richer, grander, more adventurous, further, higher, and far, far beyond.

This very month, after years of tinkering, I have finally made for myself a personal Smile that I find fully satisfying and whole. So far, it’s held up after 3 weeks of listening (knock on wood), and I never thought that was possible.

But that’s my Smile. Doubtless you have your own. There’s a case to be made (and many have made it) that the ambiguity and open-ended-ness of Smile adds to its greatness. I tend to think the opposite: because there is no, and never will be a 1967 Brian Wilson definition of Smile, it is also impossible to make a definitive evaluation of the work against Brian’s other completed works.

As a whole, and as a singular work, Pet Sounds is, objectively, better. It also features what I believe is Brian’s greatest song, “God Only Knows.”

[Summertime Blooz]

I'm more of the hopeless romantic type, so I vote for Pet Sounds. Smile is more for the head than the heart. Nothing wrong with that; it's kept my head enterttained for many many hours. But- Pet Sounds is IT for me.

[runnersdialzero]

Smile is more for the head than the heart.

Speak fer yerself. I hear great emotion in these songs and lyrics, even if none of them have a plainly-stated chorus of, "Sometimes I feel very sad," or anything

[Summertime Blooz]

Smile is more for the head than the heart.

Speak fer yerself. I hear great emotion in these songs and lyrics, even if none of them have a plainly-stated chorus of, "Sometimes I feel very sad," or anything

Considers the source- then moves on...

[runnersdialzero]

Smile is more for the head than the heart.

Speak fer yerself. I hear great emotion in these songs and lyrics, even if none of them have a plainly-stated chorus of, "Sometimes I feel very sad," or anything

Considers the source- then moves on...

Cruel

[Cabinessenceking]

Yes, Newguy created the same thread. Most of his threads seem to me very interesting, actually.

what happened to Newguy? I really digged his enthusiasm for this board along with numerous topics (many of which were already done before, but many were still great) Haven't seen him posting here recently.

Should the Smiley Smile board do an IAMA request on reddit for Newguy?

[Ram4]

For me it's Kirk, Pepsi, Football.  Though I don't watch Star Trek, don't really drink Pepsi at all, and I don't really watch sports much anymore!

SMiLE and Pet Sounds = both.  I listen to whichever I'm in the mood for, they are both so great and unique.  Not unlike comparing Revolver and Sgt Pepper.

[Mikie]

Apples & oranges.