THE BACKSTORY

*a rundown of the history of the Beach Boys & SMiLE*

The recording sessions for the Beach Boys SMiLE album are among some of the most infamous in rock music history. After launching their careers on clean cut images, vocal harmonies, and all-American subject matter like girls, cars, and surfing (although only the drummer/brother Dennis Wilson, actually surfed) in 1961, the brilliant producer/mastermind of the group, Brian Wilson, really began to take some left turns around 1965. After their first 2 albums, Brian began handling full production duties with 1963‘s Surfer Girl and, including the live album Beach Boys Concert, the band would effectively release a total of 7 full-lengths between the years of 1963 and 1964. With 4 albums released in ’64 alone, it’s no wonder that the year ended with Brian experiencing anxiety issues and withdrawing himself as a touring member of the band. It was also around this point that Wilson began smoking on chronic herbs to deal with his stress and the subsequent year brought the LP TODAY!, which had a B-side that ventured into darker areas and away from the typical, more accessible and upbeat subject matter still presented on the first half. TODAY! did well commercially, but the label (Capitol) and Beach Boys vocalist, Mike Love (Brian’s cousin) came at him, questioning his new musical direction, and trying to push him back towards the poppier boy band-style cheese that had made them stars. Wilson folded back into the more accessible Summer Day (And Summer Nights!!) -finding less overt creative outlets hidden in some of the backing arrangements/orchestrations- and finished the year off with a cover album, but, whether anyone saw it coming or not, his next album, Pet Sounds, would become his undisputed masterwork. Incorporating elaborate arrangements with unorthodox instruments – and anything else that would make a sound- Wilson worked diligently with studio musicians and inexperienced lyricist, Tony Asher to create an effort so revolutionary that it has consistently been hailed as one of the greatest albums of all time (often placing #1 on such lists for various publications). Now experimenting with weed and LSD, The Beatles had recently taken their own career altering detour with Rubber Soul and, after being blown away by the Fab Four‘s release, Brian was so instantly and fully inspired that he set out to create an album just as great. In turn, the Beatles (especially, Paul McCartney) were so enthralled with Pet Sounds that it has been credited as a major inspiration behind Sgt. Pepper. Even now, Pet Sounds has more than stood the test of time, but there was some huge opposition to the work, both by the label and the rest of the band. As legend has it, the title actually came from Mike Love questioning Brian by asking, “Who’s gonna hear this shit? The ears of a dog?“ Regardless of what anyone thought, Wilson‘s vision saw the light of day and showcased his pure genius filtered through the culmination of knowledge/skill gained through his musical career and experiences up until that point. One of the greatest rock albums ever made had just been released and tales of the next great followup began to spill out over through the next year or two, but it never came. Brian was at the height of his creativity as a producer/arranger/musician and various sessions for the new album had taken place, before the project screeched to a halt and was, subsequently, shelved. That album was SMiLE. (more…)

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