Why fans rejecting Smiley Smile or Love You bothers me.

[Mr. Cohen]

Yeah, that's right. It bothers me. To me, these are pure expressions from one man's soul, that being Brian Wilson in this case, and if you hate these albums, well, I feel like you are rejecting Brian Wilson as a person. Yes, I feel it is that blunt of a statement. Honestly, I feel that by doing that, you reduce Brian to a commercial entity that you use purely for your own enjoyment.

Then again, I suppose that it is the purpose of pop music, isn't it? To make people serve us for our own enjoyment, to give what we used to call "court jesters" employment. When we don't like what they produce artistically, we don't hesitate to use harsh language to express our disapproval, to figuratively cut off their heads with popular opinion. Beyond even that, we pry into their personal lives and judge that as well for its moral content and entertainment value. It's sick and degrading. Then, ironically, we wonder aloud why Kurt Cobain kills himself or why Brian gives terrible, uninformative interviews. Did you ever stop to think that could it be that our tendency to fetishize musicians is unhealthy, both for ourselves and the musician, and that it causes so called rock stars to retreat or go insane? Could it be that we are propping people up so that we can exalt or destroy them for our own sense of gratification? I think so. I think fans here get gratification out of bashing Mike Love. I've come to think that it's sick to judge interpersonal relationships that we have only the slightest notion of.

Like so many rock stars plead, it should all be more about the music, shouldn't it? And, in just discussing the music, shouldn't we have some regard to people's feelings? Think about the torment bad reviews cause some people. What would it hurt if there was a little more love and acceptance? It would hurt nothing but our own sense of entitlement, that we reserve the right to negatively judge people to boost our own self-esteem.

So, keep bashing Smiley Smile or Love You while wondering at the same time why Brian retreated from life. Please, don't think for a second that you're part of the problem. It would defeat the whole purpose of this "rock star" act we've concocted. Bash away, my friends, bash away.

[Dutchie]

Yeah, that's right. It bothers me. To me, these are pure expressions from one man's soul, that being Brian Wilson in this case, and if you hate these albums, well, I feel like you are rejecting Brian Wilson as a person. Yes, I feel it is that blunt of a statement. Honestly, I feel that by doing that, you reduce Brian to a commercial entity that you use purely for your own enjoyment.

sorry to tell you but...smiley smile was done after BRIAN quit the SMILE album. The other boys were to put out a album legaly for capitol records so they made Smiley Smile. A waste of time because Smile was way better.

Loves You was made by BRIAN as part of therapy.. the other is that in 77 the boys were at the point of splitting so those 2 made Loves You..

[OneEar/OneEye]

I love Smiley Smile.   And personally I think the version of Wind Chimes on Smiley kicks the Smile version to the curb.  I like the version of Vegetables as well, and (dare I say it) I think the version of Wonderful on Smiley is great and unfairly maligned.  The Smile version(s) of Wonderful were/would have been awesome too, but I like this one as well.  Basically I like the whole album.   

[phirnis]

I love Smiley Smile.   And personally I think the version of Wind Chimes on Smiley kicks the Smile version to the curb.

Couldn't agree more, in fact the Smiley rendition of "Wind Chimes" might very well be among my top 10 BB songs ever.

[PongHit]

Although they are very different from each other, & represent 2 distinct eras/approaches, both albums are among my favorites too.

[Mike's Beard]

DaDa while I agree with some aspects of your post I think you may be getting certain issues confused. Personally when I say that I find a big chunk of "Love You" to be a steaming pile of sh*t it's not because I am taking great delight in knocking B.W., it's because I find a hefty amount of songs on it to be the worst the Beach Boys ever put their name to.  While there are undoubtedly over zealous Brian fans out there who take great delight in slagging anything BB related he is not involved with because they can't stand Mike Love and enjoy letting it be known, there are also going to be those who simply do not enjoy "Summer In Paradise" because they feel that it is bad music. I have a hard time imagining Mr.L crying himself to sleep over this each night.

I think a good sized portion of your post reflects the modern media more than the modern fan. Newscasters fall over themselves to kick celebs when they are down. That whole Brittany Spears thing of a couple of years ago made me sick.  Also surely there should be strongly defined laws (esp in U.S of A) of what a member of the paparazzi can and cannot be allowed to do in regards to following celebs.

Hope I haven't come off as too much of a blowhard on this post.  I love a good debate me.  

[Sheriff John Stone]

Dada (I love to write Dada), if you're addressing your post to the casual Beach Boy/pop music fan, yeah, it makes a lot of sense. Sure, they're not going to like Smiley or Love You. We learned that in Beach Boys 101 in our freshman year, first semester. If it doesn't SOUND like the Beach Boys, people won't like it. They also don't "get it", but that's another issue.

If you're addressing your post to us nuts, well, a very, very large majority like both of  those albums. And, if they don't now, I really believe that some day they will. Eventually, Brian's gonna hook you, whether you want to be hooked or not.

[MBE]

I like Smiley but not Love You. That doesn't mean I don't like Brian or understand his story, I'm simply judging those records on their musical merits. I think Ike Turner acted like an ass most of his life but I still like his music. The personal life of someone is interesting but it doesn't really matter to me as far as what I like or don't.

[TdHabib]

It's interesting, on the case of Love You, i just have to plead ignorance. I've loved the album since about my fifth listen, and barely noticed it's flaws until I read up on my BB history. It's just blind love I guess. Play me anything else after 1976 with Brian or Dennis in less than stellar vocal form and I'll pick up on it, but with this one I don't care for some reason. Magic, I guess.

[Jay]

If you're addressing your post to us nuts, well, a very, very large majority like both of  those albums. And, if they don't now, I really believe that some day they will. Eventually, Brian's gonna hook you, whether you want to be hooked or not.

Amen. I resisted Smiley Smile for YEARS. But I'm finding myself being drawn into it more and more lately.

[Fun Is In]

To paraphrase Linus van Pelt, I love "Love You", it's just a few of the songs on it I can't stand.

And I mean that seriously.

[Emdeeh]

I love the Wilson brothers dearly -- my problem with Love You is that I heard really good versions of songs from it performed live by the BBs before the album was released. When the album came out, it was a huge let-down from what I'd heard live. I'm still no fan of LY to this day.

I do dig Smiley Smile, however.

[Magic Transistor Radio]

Both of these albums were underwealming the first time I heard them. Smiley because I was expecting to hear more Smile like music, and Love You seemed very cheesey to me. Now I love Smiley and Love You is probably in my top 5 BBs albums along with Pet Sounds, Wild Honey, Friends and Surfs Up.

[Shady]

I'm surprised when anybody but me Likes Love You. Like one reason I love Brian so much is because it's almost like Love You was made for me, it's my quirky taste, weird lyrics, friggin' crazy music.

I don't try push Love You on anyone, even fellow Beach Boys fans, it's a very acquired taste  

[Mr. Cohen]

I guess, to me, Love You is a personal statement from Brian. He wasn't going to be the 'genius' you wanted him to be (we all saw how well that worked out for him), but if you stop and take the time to look and appreciate what's there, you'll find that the magic still lingers on.... No, he can't make a "Good Vibrations" now, but he's still the Brian you knew and loved.

[Reverend Rock]

I have grown to like Love You quite a bit over the years, but it took time.  But I find quirkiness appealing, so it was inevitable I would eventually appreciate it, I guess.

But I'm very sympathetic to people who love the Brian Wilson of Pet Sounds but can't stay in the same room with the Brian Wilson of Love You.  They're really two very different people, in a way, and they are most definitely two very different types of music. 

I've always loved Smiley Smile, from the first discovery of it.  In spite of the fact that it was a "bunt instead of a grand slam", it is still one of the weirdest, quirkiest, and stoned-est albums of the psychedelic era, truly an underappreciated gem of that period in pop music.

[MBE]

I guess, to me, Love You is a personal statement from Brian. He wasn't going to be the 'genius' you wanted him to be (we all saw how well that worked out for him), but if you stop and take the time to look and appreciate what's there, you'll find that the magic still lingers on.... No, he can't make a "Good Vibrations" now, but he's still the Brian you knew and loved.

To me it feels different. It's like "let's put out anything Brian comes up with no matter how good or bad it is because he's marketable right now". I just don't think Love You lives up to Brian's previous work and I think he's bettered it several times since then. I actually like Adult Child a lot more because of the Dick Reynolds cuts.

[pixletwin]

I hated Love You until one day I was on a long road trip. My mind was exhausted from Driving all day and I listened to Love You. When it got to "Love is a Woman" and I heard the saxophones which sounded so sarcastic and mocking (the "One, Two Three" part) I suddenly "got it". That album is so Brian in it's hilarity and honesty. I love it now.

[Mahalo]

At first listen, i nearly wanted to barf from Love You.. 2 listens later and a mini obseesion begun....there are more melodies on that album, at any given moment, than I could come up with on my own in my entire life. Musically speaking I have a hard time understanding how fans can't appreciate it for what it is, if not liking it.

Smiliey Smile on the other hand is a tougher pill to swallow for some. I dig it, but I can see how more traditionalists have a hard time with it.

[Magic Transistor Radio]

There is an underground band out there called the Danielson Famile. They are quite unique. However there is somewhat a resemblance to Love You to me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZGneL0Orno

[drbeachboy]

I bought Love You the day it was released. From Carl's first scream on "Let Us Go On This Way", I had a feeling that I was in for something fresh and new. The album rocks! It has an edge to it. It's quirky and funny. Some of Mike Love's best vocals  are on it. He is not as nasal as other post Holland albums. Rolling Stone even gave it a good review. I remember the caption "It may not be the Summer of Love, but The Beach Boys Love You, just the same". I consider it Brian's pre-New Wave album; raw and honest.

As for Smiley Smile, very trippy whether stoned or sober.

[Sheriff John Stone]

I bought Love You the day it was released. From Carl's first scream on "Let Us Go On This Way", I had a feeling that I was in for something fresh and new. The album rocks! It has an edge to it. It's quirky and funny. Some of Mike Love's best vocals  are on it. He is not as nasal as other post Holland albums. Rolling Stone even gave it a good review. I remember the caption "It may not be the Summer of Love, but The Beach Boys Love You, just the same". I consider it Brian's pre-New Wave album; raw and honest.

Excellent! I had the same experience as you.

[DSamore]

I would define myself as a Brian evangelist of sorts, yet I didn't like either album at first. In fact, as I type this, I'm playing "smiley" on vinyl. I think people in general just need to lose any preconceptions of Brian's slick spector-esque productions, double-tracked harmonies, etc. before they hear those albums. They are both great albums (although Smiley wins by a mile in my book) if you can just get past the expectations you may have going in to it. Your mind must be a blank slate, which is so impossible with a band as famous and as pigeonholed as the BBs. I agree also about the smiley renditions being preferable to the SMiLE renditions at times. Both are very interesting and pleasurable records.

[Nicko]

I like some songs on Love You a lot but I can't honestly say that it's a good album. I think one of the main reasons it gets so many gushing reviews is just because Brian wrote the songs rather than because of the overall quality. I don't see the album as being a personal statement either. I see it as having been hideously underproduced and underwritten in terms of the lyrics because Brian was in such a terrible place at the time. The band were also obviously in a terrible place too or they wouldn't have agreed to sing on some of the songs or then to release it in its final form.

If Adult/Child had been released it may well have a similar reputation but again it was another symptom that Brian wasn't doing well and neither were the group. Terribly halfhearted productions on some songs and abysmal lyrics.

M.I.U. probably gets such a bashing just because it's seen as being Mike and Al's album. While it's not good, it doesn't deserve quite the slating that it gets and at least it sounds like Al and Ron Altbach were actually putting some effort into the production side and all of the songs sound finished.

[Sheriff John Stone]

I like some songs on Love You a lot but I can't honestly say that it's a good album. I think one of the main reasons it gets so many gushing reviews is just because Brian wrote the songs rather than because of the overall quality. I don't see the album as being a personal statement either. I see it as having been hideously underproduced and underwritten in terms of the lyrics because Brian was in such a terrible place at the time. The band were also obviously in a terrible place too or they wouldn't have agreed to sing on some of the songs or then to release it in its final form.

I agree with everything you said except for the quality of the songs. I think they're right up there with many of Brian's 60's tracks. Obviously, the lead vocals detract from the final product, but there's something about the melodies and arrangements that are special. I don't think Brian approached that quality since.