The Beach Boys - Smile (Three Different and 35 similar items

Here are three completely different versions of the classic unreleased (at the time) Beach Boys album Smile, spread over two perfect sounding CDs. As many fans know, the album was slated to be released in January 1967, but Brian Wilson, unable to face the pressures from both outside (Capitol Records and within the band) and within, shelved the album, leaving it unfinished until 2003, when he worked with original lyricist Van Dyke Parks and his tour director Darian Sahanaja to complete the album. This was followed up by a tour which presented the album in full along with a solo Brian Wilson Presents Smile LP in 2004. Seven years later, the SMiLE Session box set was released by the Beach Boys, which in addition to presenting all of the sessions laid out in chronological order, also presented a "finished" Beach Boys version of the album, using 2011-era state of the art technology to fill in the gaps where songs were left unfinished. Popular debate at the time was whether the "finished" album would have been anything like what would have been released in 1967 had Brian actually finished the record. Conventional wisdom said probably not, due to the unusual 3-LP side format in which the 2011 version was presented. Fast-forward another dozen or so years and technology has finally allowed for very realistic sounding Beach Boys vocals to be added in via A.I. where there were only sketches and demos of what was supposed to be. This technology has finally allowed the Smile album to be completed in a coherent sounding fashion. This set presents three very differnt takes on what might have been. First up is the already classic Dae Lims version from late 2023. Unlike the lossy version on YouTube, this is the full album in perfect, lossless stereo quality. Certain editorial decisions were made by Mr. Lims in an effort to try and present a realistic, sub-40 minute LP. This included the controversial move to leave Good Vibrations off the track listing. Many wonderful (pun intended) vocals have been added to tracks like Barnyard, Do You Like Worms, I'm In Great Shape and Wind Chimes (for example) to finally give these songs a "finished" feeling to them. Despite a running order which seemed a bit odd, the production value of this version simply cannot be denied. Next up, is the very intriguing 'Book-Off' version, from early 2023. This set popped up out of nowhere and once again utilized A.I. technology to add vocals to some of the tracks (most notably on The Old Master Painter) in an effort to "complete" them. This set follows a more "traditional" running order, but still has some unusual editing decisions within the tracks to it, such as combining Barnyard with Old Master Painter/You Are My Sunshine and I'm In Great Shape. This version has a sparse sound to some of it that makes it reminiscent of Smiley Smile in places. Finally, there is the Voo-Doo version, which is the culmination of various compiled Smile albums going back thirty years. This version follows (for the most part) the traditional layout of Smile, before Brian Wilson Presents Smile came out. While it's the longest version of the bunch at 59 minutes, this set was designed with the LP in mind and has two distinct "sides" to it. To finially realize the original intent of the album, portions were lifted from the Dae Lims produced tracks, but edited in less of a haphazard way, save for the nearly 6-minute version of Heroes And Villains, which is a whole 'nother way to experience this song. Following the album is an additional 20 minutes of bonus tracks, including many alternate versions of post-Smile 1967 Beach Boys tracks to round up the disc. The artwork not only reproduces the original front/rear cover for the album, it also recreates the original Brother Records label that the album would have appeard on had it originally come out in 1967. With three distinct, excellent editions of the album to listen to, this 2-disc set is perfect for the Smile (or is it "SMiLE") scholar to choose from. DISC ONE DAE LIMS: 1. Our Prayer 1:07 2. You?re Welcome 1:05 3. Heroes And Villains 3:29 4. I?m In Great Shape 0:22 5. Barnyard 2:35 6. Cabinessence 3:43 7. Do You Like Worms 3:41 8. The Old Master Painter / You Are My Sunshine 1:06 9. Wonderful 2:27 10. Fire / I Wanna Be Around 2:51 11. Vegetables 3:31 12. Wind Chimes 2:57 13. Child Is Father Of The Man 2:58 14. Love To Say Dada 2:11 15. Surf?s Up 4:32 BOOK-OFF: 16. Our Prayer 1:35 17. Heroes And Villains 2:54 18. Do You Like Worms 3:33 19. The Old Master Painter / I?m In Great Shape 2:55 20. Cabinessence 3:32 21. Wonderful 2:01 22. Child Is Father Of The Man 2:22 23. Surf?s Up 4:13 24. Vegetables 3:40 25. Wind Chimes 3:05 26. Fire 2:12 27. Love To Say Dada 3:01 28. Good Vibrations 3:41 BOOK-OFF BONUS TRACK: 29. Song For Children (Look) 2:38 DISC TWO VOO-DOO: 1. Intro 1:54 2. Our Prayer 1:07 3. Heroes And Villains 5:50 4. With Me Tonight 1:27 5. Do You Like Worms 4:10 6. Barnyard 2:35 7. The Old Master Painter / You Are My Sunshine 1:06 8. Wonderful 2:24 9. Child Is Father Of The Man 3:56 10. Cabinessence 3:40 11. Look 2:38 12. Good Vibrations 4:14 13. I?m In Great Shape / I Wanna Be Around 1:40 14. Vegetables 4:27 15. Holidays 2:18 16. Wind Chimes 2:54 17. Mrs. O?Leary?s Cow (Fire) 3:29 18. Cool Cool Water 2:02 19. Love To Say Dada 1:58 20. You?re Welcome 1:04 21. Surf?s Up 4:14 VOO-DOO BONUS TRACKS: 22. Whistle In 1:40 23. Country Air 2:22 24. I Don?t Know 1:04 25. Tune X 2:11 26. Fall Breaks And Back To Winter 2:15 27. She?s Goin? Bald 2:14 28. Little Pad 2:16 29. Can?t Wait Too Long 4:39 30. Mama Says 1:04 31. Smile Promo Advert 1:01