Comments on: Carl’s Rock Songbook #46: The SMiLE That Wasn’t

By: A More Smiley Take on SMiLE » Postmodern Conservative | A First Things Blog

Fri, 22 Jun 2012 13:35:01 +0000

[...] Michael Anton’s fine essay on the Beach Boys, California culture, and the SMiLE Sessions album is now available on the Claremont Review of Books website. On the merits of SMiLE, compare and contrast his take with my Songbook essay, The SMiLE that Wasn’t. [...]

By: Carl Eric Scott

Carl Eric Scott — Wed, 30 May 2012 02:03:09 +0000

Paul and MPB, I appreciate the kind words and the spirited partisanship for Brian. His achievements are definitely something worth being passionate about.

And MPB, I’d say that there was always something fundamentally different about the Beach Boys’ approach to arty pop than that of the British groups–hard to put my finger on it precisely, but there just feels a more natural progression from their earlier work to Pet Sounds and even SMiLE.

By: Paul

Paul — Tue, 29 May 2012 22:09:03 +0000

Brian didn’t stand a chance,he had already made the extraordinary masterpiece ‘Pet Sounds’ with little support from the record company and elsewhere.Here was a man pushing all the boundaries,his ‘rubber band’ already stretched to the limit in previous years.
Smile was as different to ”Sounds’ as ‘Sounds. to anything before it, one person can only take so much,how much resistance can one person take.In no way do I think it was Brians unability to finish ‘Smile’.Obviously Brian was not in the best mental state,I believe it more to be that Brian had enough of the negativity from those around him and just basically switched off to protect himself.

By: MPB

MPB — Tue, 29 May 2012 00:27:49 +0000

How can you quote danbk saying, “There isn’t a memorable riff, rhythm, harmony or melodic line.” When Surf’s Up, Cabinessence, and Good Vibrations (Good Vibration sir!!!!!) are all on of the album. Good Vibrations alone would make this a questionable remark. And I’d argue Good Vibrations and Surf’s Up (the second suite really) come the closet to realizing what Brian Wilson was going for: a pop composition; but, if a pop song can’t be composed in the same sense of an orchestral piece, than what of the long American Charles Ives tradition of blurring the two?

And what of the British-sense of pop, with its own connotations and traditions, pervades SMiLE in a way that it didn’t with Pet Sounds? His peers into PopArt songs were primarily British and Pet Sounds was a huge deal in Britain and Europe, while being ill-received in the states (something that troubled the rather sensitive man.) How much of a foreign influence overtook the work?

But otherwise great article Mr.Scott, and I’m hoping the next one is right around the corner!

By: Free Pop Music Video » Blog Archive » Carl’s Rock Songbook #46: The SMiLE That Wasn’t – First Things (blog)

Mon, 28 May 2012 03:43:09 +0000

[...] Carl's Rock Songbook #46: The SMiLE That Wasn'tFirst Things (blog)The songs of that album work both as chart-potential pop-song and as artful orchestral expansions of such. They are not initially off-putting. Even as the SMiLE songs become more familiar, they never entirely lose their aura of experiment. [...]

By: Pop Music Video Site » Blog Archive » Carl’s Rock Songbook #46: The SMiLE That Wasn’t – First Things (blog)

Mon, 28 May 2012 03:42:25 +0000

By: » Blog Archive » Carl’s Rock Songbook #46: The SMiLE That Wasn’t – First Things (blog)

Mon, 28 May 2012 00:13:31 +0000