Album of the day (#1912): The Smile Sessions

[albummaster]

Today's album of the day

The Smile Sessions by The Beach Boys (View album | Buy this album)
Compilation

Year: 2011.
Country:
Overall rank: 339
Average rating: 86/100 (from 404 votes).

Thumbnail. Click to enlarge.

Tracks:
1. Our Prayer
2. Gee
3. Heroes And Villains
4. Do You Like Worms? (Roll Plymouth Rock)
5. I'm In Great Shape
6. Barnyard
7. My Only Sunshine (The Old Master Painter / You Are My Sunshine)
8. Cabin Essence
9. Wonderful
10. Look (Song For Children)
11. Child Is Father Of The Man
12. Surf's Up
13. I Wanna Be Around / Workshop
14. Vega-Tables
15. Holidays
16. Wind Chimes
17. The Elements: Fire (Mrs. O'Leary's Cow)
18. Love To Say Dada
19. Good Vibrations

About album of the day: The BestEverAlbums.com album of the day is the album appearing most prominently in member charts in the previous 24 hours. If an album, or artist, has previously been selected within a x day period, the next highest album is picked instead (and so on) to ensure a bit of variety. A full history of album of the day can be viewed here.

[HazeyTwilight]

Used to prefer this to Pet Sounds at one point, but I think the overexposure of this in my life has detracted any personal value this used to have, while Pet Sounds keeps on growing me more every time I listen to it.
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[Satie]

I think Smile is entirely too long and could do with some cutting. I much prefer Pet Sounds as the baroque pop masterpiece and Smiley Smile as the weird, exploratory, disjointed opus, even if I admire the ambition of Smile and think Surf's Up could be on a Limp Bizkit album and manage to make it a solid listen.

[Norman Bates]

I can take all the criticism that will come with such a cynical release. But to me, it's always been like A DREAM THAT YOU HEAR FOR REAL. I've imagined Smile so many times in my mind, from the studio outtakes and what leaked on official albums, that when this came out: I cried. like the baby that LP said I was.

And that's priceless.

Best album ever. I'm a baby.

[Applerill]

I don't want to be a killjoy, but I never cared for this sonically. It just doesn't have the warmth of Pet Sounds or Friends IMO.

[Norman Bates]

[alelsupreme]

A fine album, I prefer Pet Sounds as a more concise, warm, contiguous album, but Smile has a charm of it's own, with some very interesting ideas within, none of which outstay their welcome. I don't rate it as highly as I once did, but it's still great, no doubt about it.
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Romanelli wrote:

We're all fucked, lads.

[SleepDealer]

As it happens I'm reading a biography of Brian Wilson and reached the point immediately after they abandoned Smile. Fascinating stuff.

It's hard for me to compare the best Beach Boys records. Pet Sounds is great, especially considering how much of a change it represented compared to their previous music, but at the same time I find it a rather niche record for solitary listening (and out-done by Rubber Soul). Smile is much more exuberant and sophisticated, and a much more coherent listen than the likes of Sgt. Peppers. It's hard to choose between this one and the Brian Wilson (2004) version - I recently revisited this and was completely blown away (to the extent that I badly need to revisit my all-time chart).

I'm with Norman on this, although I do have a major soft spot for Surf's Up (minus Student Demonstration Time) as well.
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http://distranscontinuum.blogspot.co.uk/

[Applerill]

[SuedeSwede]

I think Smile builds a sonic world of its own where I think Pet Sounds does not. I prefer the latter, but I love the former for the dream-like qualities it evokes. Very nostalgic, and I think Look (Song for Children) executes that the best.
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