Weekly Album of the Week II #6

Sorry I have been absent for so long but I think you will understand after you read this weeks album: The Beach Boys SMiLE.

I have been working hard, using Pro Tools software and various bootleg recordings and rare issues to recreate a close approximation of what Brian Wilson's SMiLE would have sounded like had he finished it in 1967.

Now I don't want to knock what Brian Wilson did in finishing SMiLE in 2004. It is a masterpiece recording. But listening to the original session tapes of SMiLE you hear a quality of expression in Brian's voice that is hard to come by in the 2004 version.

So what I did was take those old unfinished recordings and strung them together and sequenced, edited, and fixed them (using the 2004 SMiLE as a reference) in order to present a sort of guide album to fuel the imagination of "what should have been." The most surprising thing I learned was just how close to finishing SMiLE Brian actually was.

Some things in the 1967 recordings were impossible to match to Brian's 2004 version simply because the audio source on some parts had deteriorated, or vocals were never recorded, harmonies never overdubbed, and in one case (to the best of my knowledge) were never even recorded except in demo form; tape-deck style. But I have filled in the cracks as best I could and I must admit, it turned out beyond my expectations.

If there is enough interest in hearing the results expressed on the comments page I will provide a temporary link so you can hear it.

And you should hear it. It will make you SMiLE!