After the great successes of (especially artistic) and
Good Vibrations (artistic and commercial), all eyes were on The Beach Boys in 1966. The group around mastermind was slightly more popular among critics and listeners than , strangely enough in England. This created a fierce buzz about a new album that was to be called
Smile . Wilson searched diligently for 'the new sound' to maintain its
… position at the top. Despite months of studio work, this quest would never be completed. The record was eventually dropped, but the myth persisted. Several writers published about the unfortunate project and on the black market found leaked Smilerecordings are in great demand. Smile thus became a kind of holy grail of pop music. When Wilson made a in 2004 , the call for the original incomplete recordings became stronger than ever. The Smile Sessions presents them in full glory and makes it clear that Smile is a masterpiece even in its incomplete form. This 'teenage symphony to God' is a wonderful mix of everything from doo-wop to proto-hard rock. The unfinished puzzle is still unmatched. (JE)more
