Brian Wilson Presents Smile (studio album) by Brian Wilson

The original Smile album and it's subsequent collapse is a very sad story, not only for the potential it had to be the best record ever made but most importantly the effect Brian's health had suffered afterwards. But we did in the end manage to get a complete version of what it may have sounded like and I actually prefer this version than the one compiled with the original tapes that was released a few years afterwards. This is because it is completed it sounds more cohesive, the tracks flow better together and as a result feels more like an album than a compilation of previously unreleased outtakes.

Extremely under-rated eas ily the most album-like and my favorite "Smile"

When an album is accompanied by such a background story, there is a tendency that the story dominates the actual music. Not here, though, not even close. Ambitious and sophisticated, yet poppy and entertaining, it combines the best of both worlds.

From planetneutral 01/24/2021 18:26

I recognize the significance and the achievement that this represents, but don't love these songs and can't help wonder what might have been.

From LebowskiRams 08/05/2019 18:09

Brian's vision and little else. A pure, wholesome, and long-awaited album that's a happy ending to one of music's greatest lost albums

From SleepDealer 07/25/2018 19:30

Maybe this is a controversial view, but I prefer this to both Smiley Smile and the Smile Sessions... By some distance. Love it.

Underrated album. Had it been released in the 60s with the original BB, would have been up there with Pet Sounds.

If this album was released with the same instrumentation, but with the voices of the original Beach Boys instead of old man Wilson, I can guarantee you this would be in at least the top 50.

From flamingyesdept 03/12/2017 12:21

It's hard to explain quite how amazing this album is. Had it been released in December 1966 as originally planned, it would have changed the course of popular music forever, having just as great, if not a greater, impact than the Beatles with Sgt. Pepper's. But even released four decades later it stands as an extraordinary feat of musical ingenuity. Not only was this album years ahead of its time - it was decades ahead. Even released in 2004 this sounded fresh and groundbreaking. This album is coherent like no other I have ever heard. Musical and lyrical themes and ideas intertwine and recapitulate throughout the record, providing a thoroughly cohesive and consistent listen throughout; its unique three-movement structure is downright ingenious, with all the songs linked inseparably. The arrangements are just incredible, production pin-perfect and performances stunning. Even at 61, Brian Wilson's voice remains powerful and provides impeccable delivery. The breadth and depth of emotions covered in this album is simply incredible, moving from the amazing beauty of Our Prayer to the jaunty and uplifting Heroes and Villains to the somber and thought-provoking Surf's Up to the experimental Mrs O'Leary's Cow and then the downright joyous Good Vibrations. The lyrics, courtesy of Wilson's collaborator Van Dyke Parks, are poetic in their vivid imagery and depth of imagination. In all then, this is possibly the most incredible album I've ever heard, and as far as I'm concerned the definitive artistic statement in popular music. To consider this album was originally conceived over half a century ago by a 23 year-old man who was half-deaf, had terrible drug-addiction issues, suffered paranoid schizophrenia and experienced several mental breakdowns, who somehow was able to piece it all together perfectly 40 years later is nothing short of astounding. It upsets me greatly that this isn't even in the top 500 on this website, it's just a bit rediculous really.

From corenfro 01/24/2017 17:00

Terrific and underrated album! It's hard to not put this higher as this is clearly an improvement on Pet Sounds. Somehow it feels both raw and scattered yet very complete and finished at the same time. Songs take bits and pieces from other songs. Themes recur, die down, melt into sections of strings and horns and Brian's weird vocal sounds, then suddenly those latent motifs will reassert themselves, sometimes quite violently. It can at times make the listener wonder "is this patched together?" but the answer is "not really". Even if there is a bit of "start/stop" - it actually works smoothly to Wilson's advantage thanks to a bit of witchcraft his part.

It's not hard to believe that it is what it is: a man with complete and utter mastery of the melodic and harmonic spectrum on the verge of absolutely losing his mind for several decades. For more back story there's a decent film "Love and Mercy" that is a dramatized version of Wilson in the Pet Sounds / Smile era. Give that a watch or better yet, just give the 2 albums a listen.

Oh, and by the way, if this thing had came out when it was supposed to, it would have rivaled the legacy of Sgt. Pepper - an album that as it stands owes Wilson and the Beach Boys an enormous debt of gratitude.