This is a lucky release for long-term fans of The Beach Boys. It nearly never happened in retrospect. Brian Wilson, for some reason or another, decided to shelve the original Smile album after realising back in 1967 that he was unable to fulfil the needs of both the album itself and the changing needs of the audience of The Beach Boys. Decades later, and with a little help from his friends, Brian Wilson managed to rerecord this album that was originally intended to be released back in 1967 and which was also originally designed to eclipse every Pop/Rock album in the history of music. Think along the lines of The Beatles 1967 release Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and you are kind of there. Only Brian Wilson could deliver this album release today, after all, he was the creative genius behind many songs of The Beach Boys. This is a shining moment in musical history and Brian Wilson was brave enough to face his long-term fears regarding this musical project. Let’s take a listen to this album and we shall hear where the music takes us.

Our Prayer / Gee begins with some multitracked harmonies that honestly do not sound good compared to what else there is on the album musically. It isn’t the highlight of The Beach Boys here, or Brian Wilson for that matter. This continues on for some time, sounding different. This quickly launches into the second section of this medley, with catchy harmonies and singing that is a huge improvement on the first half. Very sweet and refreshing. This ends with a lone trumpet part.

Heroes and Villains is one of the main tracks from the Smile project. It begins with some continuation of the trumpet from the end of the previous track and launches into a cool tune about a Wild West villain who changes his ways after meeting a love in a bar/cantina sort of situation. Regardless, although some of the singing isn’t the greatest, Brian Wilson showcases his pure genius musically in this song. A legendary and overlooked song by the main man of The Beach Boys, this is very magical. The different musical segments are fantastic, and this shines through as a great and wonderful listening experience throughout the song. A joyous and different listen, this sounds extremely cool. Brian Wilson showcases his musical talent along with storytelling lyrics that are extremely powerful from start to finish. An excellent piece of music, this is definitely worth hearing. A great song, and there is a sweet violin and a sound backing track with a trumpet to conclude. Awesome.

Roll Plymouth Rock begins with thunderous tom-tom drums and launches into a cool tune with some excellent singing throughout. It is difficult to understand the lyricism of this particular track, but the harpsichord makes it sound extremely gorgeous and pretty throughout. The recurring tom-tom drums and other sounds, along with the singing, make this tune sound really special. A fine and fantastic listening experience throughout, this does sound genuinely magical. The harmonies throughout are really sweet and different in this song. A very, very cool musical statement, Brian Wilson shares his musical talents with the world at large. Definitely worth your ears, a sweet and lovely listen from start to finish. It ends with repeated harmonies and harpsichord to conclude with. Very excellent music.

Barnyard begins with some percussion, chiming electric guitars and the imitated sounds of farm animals. This quickly launches into a weird sound piece of music with quirky lyrics to match. An interesting-sounding piece of music. It is less than a minute long.

Old Master Painter / You Are My Sunshine begins with a prominent string section and launches into a glorious-sounding tune. This launches into the second half fairly quickly, and it sounds really beautiful and different. Not bad for a minute long, there is a saxophone solo to conclude with, before the strings descend in pitch and conclude.

Cabin Essence is an interesting piece of music with some great melodies and instrumentation, including harmonica throughout. This is pure joy to listen to. It dramatically changes into a great section of music that sounds fresh, colourful and awesome. Truly, the 1960s was a great era for music and creativity within music. The mixture of vocalised sound effects, banjo, harmonica and singing make for such a pretty and unique listening experience. The song veers between subtle and loud changes, and this is a gorgeous listen throughout. Brian Wilson is a musical genius, period. This music shows that even many years after the original and aborted Smiles sessions, he still has a great talent that shines through. A great song, one of the best from this album.

Wonderful is a gorgeous harpsichord-driven ballad, and it sounds extremely romantic. A really pretty listening experience, this yet again confirms the simplicity and genius of Brian Wilson. A fantastic and spirited listening experience throughout, the multitracked harmonies are really gorgeous and excellent throughout. This music is about pure romance and looks back to the spirit of the 1960s as a result. A real standout from this album.

Song For Children begins with piano and segues in from the previous song. Some trumpet illuminates this tune, along with a stomp feel and clarinet throughout. A really joyous, pretty and cheerful-sounding tune is present. When it comes to irresistibly good Pop Music, Brian Wilson is without peer. A really great and gorgeous listening experience, this is certainly one of the highlights of this album. A killer tune, this does sound really great. A short two-minute-long listening experience that is blissful. It segues into the next song.

Child Is Father Of The Man begins with cymbal crashes and launches into a guitar-based ballad with surreal sounds throughout. This is a gorgeous ballad with some treated and multitracked vocals. Again, this is absolutely brilliant sounding. Brian Wilson showcases his talented and unique position musically and he sounds like he is showcasing a brilliant and unmatchable talent with a huge variety of instrumentation on this song. Piano then enters to finish this song off, along with trumpet. Super sweet, and lovely to hear.

Surf’s Up is one of the key pieces from this album, with rhythmic piano and pleasant melodies and singing throughout. A true joy to listen to, Brian Wilson paints a beautiful musical piece here and sounds spot on with his playing and singing throughout. This is a pure ode to great music throughout and just sounds absolutely brilliant to listen to. This is exactly what 1967 sounds like in the 21st century, and Brian Wilson creates such beautiful and wonderful music to warm hearts across the world. A really fantastic listening experience, this sounds really pretty and eternally wonderful. A really sublime listen. Towards the end are pretty piano parts and call-and-response vocals. A very sweet listen, and one of the best songs from this album. Worth every moment to listen to.

I’m In Great Shape / I Wanna Be Around / Workshop begins with horns, strings and rolling drumbeats. This is another pretty and joyous intermission-based piece that sounds absolutely gorgeous and divine. A really lovely and impressive song, this has a great textural feel to it throughout. A very awesome and different listening experience, this has a huge 1960s vibe to it all. The sound of a workshop follows, and this tune sounds very unique, wonderful and different. Great music, however. It segues into the next track.

Vega-Tables begins with some interesting piano and singing about eating vegetables, along with some quirky-sounding music with the sounds of electronics and recordings of carrots being munched on. The singing is absolutely gorgeous here. The second half is truly lovely and gorgeously irresistable to listen to, with chanted lyrics throughout. Pure genius, this is the world of Brian Wilson from 1967. Very, very awesome to listen to. A very great song to hear.

On A Holiday is a marching-styled keyboard-led piece from the start. It also has a xylophone present. A fine and fantastic tune, this has some gorgeous melodies and some fine singing by Brian Wilson. Really cool to listen to, the music and melodies sound absolutely awesome here. A dramatic and beautiful song, this is a real winner musically. In the second half, this melts down into a slower but equally exciting piano ballad that is truly amazing sounding. It ends with some looped and pretty harmonies over harpsichord. Brilliant.

Wind Chimes is laidback and sublime. It has some excellent vibes musically and some great singing throughout. A fantastic piece of music, Brian Wilson exceeds expectations and delivers a joyous, pretty and wonderful song that is designed to be played outside on the balcony in a tropical location with friends and drinks. The second half of this song is illuminating, with varying musical sections that sound absolutely brilliant. A really great song to listen to, this sounds pretty, enjoyable and unique. A fantastic song to listen to, and one of the highlights of this album. Awesome music.

Mrs. O’Leary’s Cow is very dramatic sounding and has a bunch of LSD-inspired melodies and sounds throughout. Very odd sounding for an instrumental piece. Soon enough, drums enter and we launch into a very loud and weirdly dramatic piece of music to listen to. This is the dark side of Smile and points out that Brian Wilson was probably not that mentally well when creating the Smile album back in 1967. Still, this is very good listening. A crazy-sounding piece of music, but nonetheless a worthwhile listen. Very, very weird.

In Blue Hawaii begins with some delayed vocals and some other electronic textures, launching into an unusual-sounding piece of music. A very different piece of music by The Beach Boys, this is extraordinarily good. The singing and instrumentation progress are nice and sound amazing, even to this very day. This song eventually launches into a pretty chorus and sounds absolutely amazing. A fine and fantastic song about drinking booze and enjoying life, this is super cool. A great musical adventure, this does sound really sweet. Brian Wilson nails Pop/Rock music perfectly and with style and grace. Awesome tunes are here.

Good Vibrations is a take on the massive hit from this era of The Beach Boys. It is a fantastic and memorable piece of music that exudes a 1960s feel from start to finish. A really lovely and grand piece of music with great lyrics, gorgeous harmonies and a great and adventurous Pop/Rock Music spirit throughout. Brian Wilson reveals his true genius on songs such as these, and he is a master of musical melodies into songs. The midsection is slower, but more magical than expected. An organ becomes prominent here, and the music present is really sweet. If The Beach Boys have a most notable musical skill, it is in their gorgeous harmonies. Period. A fresh, lovely and fantastic song from start to finish, Brian Wilson makes some very good music. It begins to wrap up with viola, keyboards, tambourine, and lovely harmonies to boot. Fantastic music and nobody should argue about that. It wraps up after four and a half minutes. Gold.

Heroes and Villains – Instrumental is the final track on this album and is technically a bonus track to listen to. It sounds just like a brassy strut sort of thing and is gorgeous, welcoming and inviting musically. Trumpets galore are present throughout this piece, along with pounding drums and harpsichord. Even without lyrics, this sounds near perfect and dramatic musically. A great way to finish off a legendary album that seriously deserves a place in your collection and more listens than you’d expect. This music is a fine example of why Brian Wilson’s efforts within The Beach Boys were so beloved. With many stops, starts and interesting parts of music throughout this track, this is a glorious listening experience. There are some sweet ukulele sounds throughout as well, very nice. The harmonies in the second half are really delicious and pretty sounding, just sounding sweet, fresh and amazing. A great, great instrumental. Period. The perfect combination of beauty and melody is throughout this piece. It eventually wraps up after nearly five minutes of amazing listening. Worth your ears. It fades out, and the album ends here.

Smile is the great album that should have been released back in 1967. However, this 2004 update of the album is also an underrated classic. Brian Wilson brings back to life those wonderful, joyous, colourful and beautiful songs that he sadly scrapped under pressure from the other members of The Beach Boys, the recording bosses and the general album-buying public of the time. It took him decades to get the courage to release this wonderful listening experience. Should you listen to this album? As the reviews suggests, you definitely should hear this beautiful and wonderful album. It will take you by surprise, a wonderful and lovely listening experience.

Amazing.

9/10