Smile by Brian Wilson

[Masked Man of Mystery]

I'm a huge Beach Boys fan and I was wondering if anyone's picked up the album, and if it sound like the Beach Boys. I know he had to get new people, but does it have that classic Beach Boys feel?

[Edwin MacPhisto]

It's got the feel, but not the happy-go-lucky attitude. If you're talking Pet Sounds Beach Boys, certainly. "Surfin' Safari," not so much.

 

My roommate bought it last week, and it's pretty good. It still sounds a bit twee and dated (understandably), but it is highly listenable and loaded with great harmonies and arrangements. The re-done versions of "Heroes and Villains" and "Good Vibrations" are a little off-putting, though.

[5_moves_of_doom]

Edwin summed it up perfectly, except I loveloveLOVE the new version of "Good Vibrations." But yeah, it's definitely not like "Oh, this album has so much hype, we'll just put it out and it'll be a normal album." It has quite an epic feel to it, no doubt, and you really feel like you're listening to something special. Not as good as Pet Sounds, but it comes very close, and you know, over 30 years after the fact, that's not so bad.

[Murmuring Beast]

It's very good, yes.

 

The only thing that doesn't compare to the original is the re-recording of Surf's Up.

[Giuseppe Zangara]

Where's Paul McCartney and his carrots?

[Murmuring Beast]

He's obviously tired of plagiarism now.

[The Man in Blak]

Maybe it's just me, but the album seems a little too polished - tracks like the Fire suite ("Mrs. O'Leary's Cow") and "Heroes and Villains" really suffered in the re-recording process, and I'm far from being an analog-worshipping purist.

 

Oh, and I'm not a big fan of the new "Good Vibrations" either. (The altered lyrics stink.)

 

The content is still there and it's still remarkable...but the presentation and production left a lot to be desired, in my opinion.