Trending
MOST READ
Girl in a Coma Singer Nina Díaz\' Spiritual Makeover

Girl in a Coma Singer Nina Díaz' Spiritual Makeover

Music: “What’s up with Nina?” I asked Faith Radle, Girl in a Coma’s manager, looking at the band’s lead singer, Nina Díaz. It was pouring rain that... By Enrique Lopetegui 6/19/2013
SB5: Dead Anti-Abortion Bills See New Life In Special Session

SB5: Dead Anti-Abortion Bills See New Life In Special Session

News: Just when we thought we evaded a round of draconian abortion bills proposed during the surprisingly quiet 83rd Texas Legislative regular session, Gov. Rick Perry... By Mary Tuma 6/19/2013

Best Beer Selection

Best of SA 2012: There are times at the Flying Saucer that frequent flyers need to be told to fasten their seat belts because they're in for a taste explosion. Even those who have... 4/25/2012
2012 Best of San Antonio Food Winners List

2012 Best of San Antonio Food Winners List

Best of 2012: 2012 Best of San Antonio Food Winners List 4/25/2012
Free Will Astrology

Free Will Astrology

Astrology: ARIES (March 21-April 19): Maybe you’ve seen that meme circulating on the Internet: “My desire to be well-informed is at odds with my desire to remain... By Rob Brezsny 6/19/2013
Calendar

Search hundreds of restaurants in our database.

Search hundreds of clubs in our database.

Follow us on Instagram @sacurrent

Print Email

Aural Pleasure Review

The Beach Boys: The Smile Sessions

Photo: , License: N/A


The Beach Boys' Smile long loomed as pop's greatest unfinished masterwork, before the weight of its ambitions took both Smile and the Beach Boys down with it. Until 2004, that is, when band mastermind Brian Wilson managed to pull the album (and himself) together, producing a newly recorded, fully intact Smile as a solo project. Elaborate, immaculately conceived, and triumphant as long-hoped, it gave a happy ending to pop's greatest cliffhanger. The Smile Sessions, EMI's latest entry to the Smile canon, acts as a sort of cathartic coda to its cult followers, achieving what no other stitched-together bootleg from the past four and a half decades has managed: re-creating Smile in its entirety using material from the original Beach Boys 1967 sessions. Looser and more acid-soaked than the 2004 rendition, it finds the group's two greatest strengths, studio production and vocal harmonies, at full power. Undeniably, it is the definitive Smile. It also makes clear how tantalizingly close Wilson got to completing his opus. The remaining 80 minutes of Sessions consists of outtakes, studio scraps, and several unreleased tracks, all further highlighting the incomprehensible intricacy of Smile and foreshadowing the strains that led to the band's collapse.

★★★★★ (out of 5 stars)

We welcome user discussion on our site, under the following guidelines:

To comment you must first create a profile and sign-in with a verified DISQUS account or social network ID. Sign up here.

Comments in violation of the rules will be denied, and repeat violators will be banned. Please help police the community by flagging offensive comments for our moderators to review. By posting a comment, you agree to our full terms and conditions. Click here to read terms and conditions.
comments powered by Disqus