Smiley smiley
| Smiley smiley | ||||
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| Studio album by The Beach Boys | ||||
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Publication |
September 11, 1967 |
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| Label (s) | Brother Records / Capitol Records | |||
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Format (s) |
LP, CD |
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Title (number) |
11 |
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running time |
27 min 36 s |
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| occupation |
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The Beach Boys |
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Studio (s) |
United Western Studios , Gold Star Studios , CBS Studios and Brian Wilson's home in Bel Air , Los Angeles |
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Smiley Smile is a music album by the US group The Beach Boys . It was released on September 11, 1967. The album was produced by the Beach Boys.
History of origin
After the critically acclaimed Pet Sounds album, Brian Wilson threw himself into work on the planned successor Smile . The first song for the album that he wrote with Mike Love was Good Vibrations . It took the Beach Boys six months to record this song, which was originally intended for Pet Sounds . They worked in four different studios because Brian Wilson believed that each studio had its own sound. When Good Vibrations was released as a single towards the end of 1966 , it was number 1 in several countries around the world.
The Smile project was to be released as a concept album and surpass everything that has come before. Brian Wilson worked closely with Van Dyke Parks , whom he had hired as a copywriter for this album. Parks brought Wilson away from topics such as love and romance to free word associations. Wilson and Parks wrote numerous songs for the Smile album. The album was announced for December 1966. But Wilson, already known as a perfectionist, kept working on parts of the album and couldn't find a common thread. Eventually the work was stopped. The album was never completed and for a long time was considered the "greatest lost album in rock history". Wilson published a sketch of the originally planned album under the title Brian Wilson presents Smile in 2004.
Wilson lost his self-confidence after the burst recordings and developed writer's block . In addition, there were other psychological problems that also impaired relationships with the rest of the Beach Boys, as well as escalating drug consumption. Problems from outside increased Wilson's condition: The record company Capitol Records was in a dispute with the Beach Boys. Capitol absolutely wanted to extend the expiring contract with the Beach Boys, the Beach Boys previously demanded payment of outstanding royalties. No studio recordings were possible during the clashes. By the time the dispute was finally settled in the summer of 1967, Brian Wilson's will to resume and complete the Smile Project had died. Because at the same time the Beatles album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band was released . Brian Wilson wanted to publish Smile before the Revolver successor. Not only did this fail, but Wilson was overwhelmed by the Beatles' work. The release of the album, considered by many to be the best pop album of all time, put the rest of Brian Wilson's ambitions: He didn't think he could reach or even outdo Sgt. Pepper .
It was not until 2011 that an overview of the recordings still available for Smile was published as a box set under the title The Smile Sessions . Instead, a far less ambitious album emerged from the ruins of the failed project: For Smiley Smile , several pieces intended for Smile were re-recorded in a modified version, plus a few newly written and improvised tracks in the home studio. Smiley Smile was the first album that was not officially produced by Brian Wilson, but by the entire group as a unit, because Brian Wilson no longer wanted to take responsibility for the recording process. However, the arrangements are still primarily Brian Wilson's work.
The album reached number 40 on the US Billboard charts , making it the worst-placed Beach Boys album at the time. In England it reached number 9.
Track list
- Heroes and Villains (Brian Wilson / Van Dyke Parks) - 3:37
- Vegetables (Brian Wilson / Van Dyke Parks) - 2:07
- Fall Breaks and Back to Winter (Woody Woodpecker Symphony) (Brian Wilson) - 2:15
- She's Goin 'Soon (Brian Wilson / Mike Love / Van Dyke Parks) - 2:13
- Little Pad (Brian Wilson) - 2:30
- Good Vibrations (Brian Wilson / Mike Love) - 3:36
- With Me Tonight (Brian Wilson) - 2:17
- Wind Chimes (Brian Wilson) - 2:36
- Gettin 'Hungry (Brian Wilson / Mike Love) - 2:27
- Wonderful (Brian Wilson / Van Dyke Parks) - 2:21
- Whistle In (Brian Wilson) - 1:04
Song info
Heroes and Villains , Vegetables , Good Vibrations , Wind Chimes and Wonderful were planned for the Smile album. She's Going Bald and With Me Tonight are based on fragments from the time of the Smile recordings.
Heroes and Villains should be the centerpiece of the Smile album. A new recording was made for Smiley Smile , which was recorded in Brian Wilson's house. The song was also released as a single and reached # 8 in the UK singles chart, in the US it reached # 12.
Vegetables contains, as a special gag, percussion elements that were created by biting into raw vegetables. Paul McCartney was there on some of the recordings and nibbled on carrots. However, this post was not used for the published version.
She's Going Soon contains vocals from the Beach Boys that sound like they inhaled helium . The effect was created by playing the recording tape faster.