The Unheard Masterpiece: Brian Wilson’s Smile and Its Impact on Music History
On June 11th, it was announced that Brian Wilson, who co-founded the Beach Boys, had passed away at the age of 82. Wilson played a significant role in shaping the unique sound of the Beach Boys as their songwriter and co-lead vocalist. From their early surf songs with a laid-back vibe to the groundbreaking and influential 1966 album “Pet Sounds,” his contributions continue to resonate.
Wilson’s battles with mental health challenges impacted the creation of the subsequent album to “Pet Sounds” – the uncompleted project titled “Smile,” which the Beach Boys started recording in 1966. Wilson believed it would be his magnum opus, but “Smile” wouldn’t see the light of day until almost forty years had passed.
Here’s the complicated backstory behind Smile—and how it cemented Wilson’s legacy.
Smile’s not-so-good vibrations
Regarding the sequel to “Pet Sounds”, Wilson referred to “Smile” as a “symphony of teenage emotions towards God”. He was exploring unconventional songs such as “Brian Falls into a Microphone”, “I Love Saying Dada”, and “Do You Enjoy Worms”.
During the brainstorming phase for his project, Wilson secluded himself at home, arranging for eight truckloads of sand to be piled near his piano. This allowed him to feel the sand between his toes and create a comfortable environment to compose music, as reported by the New York Times. A veil of secrecy enveloped this venture, which deepened when Wilson postponed the album’s release in 1967. The New York Times further stated that it “became known as one of the most famous unreleased albums in pop music history.
In 1967, the Beach Boys brought out an altered version of “Smile,” titled “Smiley Smile.” As Jay Cocks from TIME put it in 1993, this album almost pushed the band to their breaking point, and it signified a drop in their commercial popularity, marking the start of a downward trend.
Reaction to Smile
However, the work on the “Smile” sessions wasn’t entirely fruitless. Some of Brian Wilson’s efforts during these sessions found their way into Beach Boys hits like “Good Vibrations,” “Heroes and Villains,” “Surf’s Up,” “Cabin Essence,” and “Wind Chimes.” Over time, fragments of the unfinished work garnered praise. In a review of a “Good Vibrations” box set that contained some of Wilson’s recordings for “Smile,” Cocks noted the music as “unfinished, incomplete, and glorious. The music is mystical, mad, wild, and gentle, unlike anything anyone, including Wilson, had ever attempted in pop before.
In his writing, he described the lyrics as transient, like a fading dream upon waking, and the music tracks as intricately layered, much like a child stacking multiple 45 r.p.m. records in their room. He went on to say that the songs produced appeared disjointed at first, but they had an eerie quality about them that lingered.
Bruce Handy from TIME also shared his delight in finding an uncompleted CD of the Smile tracks: “I’m captivated by this CD. The raw beauty is a charm, but what truly enthralls me is its lost potential (This analogy can be adjusted to suit any gender; for instance, one might consider Sylvia Plath’s unpublished journals as an equivalent example). I am equally drawn to the clandestine insights into Wilson’s incomplete ideas, and to a glimpse of Wilson himself.
In 2004, Wilson completed reading “Smile”. Notably, TIME magazine recognized it as one of the top 10 outstanding comeback albums in a 2008 listing due to its enthusiastic reception.
He informed the New York Times that year that it had reached completion and could be approved. Wilson contended that the mid-60s were not suitable for its release, as he said, ‘We believe the public is now prepared to grasp its origins. At that time, they weren’t ready for it.’
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2025-06-12 03:06