SMILE sessions The Beach Boys


Between the spring of 1966 and the summer of 1967 the Beach Boys were recording songs and drafts for an album called SMILE originally called Dumb Angel that was going to be the follow up to the 1966 classic album "Pet Sounds" and Brian Wilson called this next project an Teenage Symphony TO God. Brian got together with Van Dyke Parks an former child actor as well as an record producer,musician and songwriter who had played on the Byrds no 44 US hit 5D (Fifth Dimension) in 1966 to write songs for SMILE.the Beach Boys were having great success at that time with the million selling hit single "Good Vibrations" number 1 in the USA,UK and no 2 in Australia as well as becoming the number 1 vocal group edging out the Beatles in the end of year poll in the New Musical Express an British rock magazine at the time. The album was intended be out by early 1967 but it was delayed and by this time that Brian Wilson began to have serious problems with Smile with issues that was happening at that time like his mental state, problems with drugs and others which by mid 1967 he decided to abandoned the project so it never came until NOW. I am reviewing the double CD box set as there is an 5 CD box set as well and in this box set it has the songs that were going to be on the album as well as parts 1 and 2 of Heroes and Villains, an solo version of Surf's Up, the Fire Sessions, the session highlights of Good Vibrations and others. It's an BRILLIANT and an EXCELLENT CD with great stuff and it's great to see the SMILE stuff finally coming out after 44 years. this album is one of the great unreleased albums in music history and although some of the SMILE stuff appeared on the 30th anniversary box set Good Vibrations as some of the tracks appeared on Smiley Smile, 20/20 and Surf's UP and in 2004 Brian Wilson did an solo album of SMILE which was top 30 but the original recordings had not been out until this year. It's great way to celebrate the group's 50th anniversary of formation and it's must for any Beach Boys fans as well as 60's music fans and I am giving this 5 stars which it's in the shops now.

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