Brian Wilson Presents Smile
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''Brian Wilson Presents Smile'' (also referred to as ''Smile'' or the abbreviation ''BWPS'') is the fifth studio album by American musician
Brian Wilson Brian Douglas Wilson (June 20, 1942 – June 11, 2025) was an American musician, songwriter, singer and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often Brian Wilson is a genius, called a genius for his novel approaches to pop compositio ...
, released on September 28, 2004 on Nonesuch. It features all-new recordings of music that he had originally created for ''
Smile A smile is a facial expression formed primarily by flexing the muscles at the sides of the mouth. Some smiles include a contraction of the muscles at the corner of the eyes, an action known as a Duchenne smile. Among humans, a smile expresses d ...
'', an unfinished album by
the Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and their f ...
that he abandoned in 1967. Revisiting ''Smile'' was an intense emotional undertaking for Wilson, as he had been deeply traumatized by the circumstances that had originally surrounded the project. Wilson initially agreed to revisit ''Smile'' in the form of a live concert performance as a follow-up to his 2000–2002 tour for the Beach Boys' album ''
Pet Sounds ''Pet Sounds'' is the eleventh studio album by the American Rock music, rock band the Beach Boys, released on May 16, 1966, by Capitol Records. It was produced, arranged, and primarily composed by Brian Wilson with guest lyricist Tony Asher. R ...
''. From October to November 2003, he worked with keyboardist Darian Sahanaja and original lyricist
Van Dyke Parks Van Dyke Parks (born January 3, 1943) is an American multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, arranger, record producer, singer, and former Warner Bros. Records executive whose work encompasses orchestral pop, elaborate recording experiments, Ame ...
in assembling a three-movement structure for ''BWPS'' while embellishing the material with newly written lyrics and melodies. Wilson and his band premiered it at the
Royal Festival Hall The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,700-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London, England. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is a G ...
in London on February 20, 2004. Encouraged by the positive reception, he adapted the performance as a studio-recorded solo album. None of the other Beach Boys were involved with ''BWPS'', nor with the documentary that covered its making, '' Beautiful Dreamer: Brian Wilson and the Story of Smile''. ''BWPS'' was universally acclaimed by critics and peaked at number 13 in the US and number 7 in the UK. It earned Wilson his first
Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...
, winning in the category of Best Rock Instrumental Performance for " Mrs. O'Leary's Cow". The album also garnered a nomination for best engineering for
Mark Linett Mark Linett is an American record producer and audio engineer who is best known for his remixing and remastering of the Beach Boys' catalog. Since 1988, he has been the engineer for Brian Wilson's recordings. He has also worked with Red Hot C ...
who recorded and mixed the project. In 2011, the album's sequencing served as a blueprint for '' The Smile Sessions'', a compilation dedicated to the original Beach Boys recordings. In 2020, ''BWPS'' was ranked number 399 on ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
''s list of "
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". , it is the third-highest rated album in the history of
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.


Background

In 1967, due to numerous difficulties surrounding the project,
Brian Wilson Brian Douglas Wilson (June 20, 1942 – June 11, 2025) was an American musician, songwriter, singer and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often Brian Wilson is a genius, called a genius for his novel approaches to pop compositio ...
abandoned ''
Smile A smile is a facial expression formed primarily by flexing the muscles at the sides of the mouth. Some smiles include a contraction of the muscles at the corner of the eyes, an action known as a Duchenne smile. Among humans, a smile expresses d ...
'', an unfinished album that he had recorded with his band
the Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and their f ...
, lyricist
Van Dyke Parks Van Dyke Parks (born January 3, 1943) is an American multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, arranger, record producer, singer, and former Warner Bros. Records executive whose work encompasses orchestral pop, elaborate recording experiments, Ame ...
, and numerous session musicians. The band substituted its release with ''
Smiley Smile ''Smiley Smile'' is the twelfth studio album by the American rock band the Beach Boys, released on September 18, 1967. Conceived as a simpler and more relaxed version of their unfinished ''Smile'' album, ''Smiley Smile'' is distinguished for i ...
'', a downscaled version, and a legend subsequently grew around the original ''Smile'' recordings. In the 1980s, unreleased material from its recording sessions began circulating widely on bootlegs, which inspired many fans to compile a hypothetical version of the completed album. Among these fans were Los Angeles-based musicians Darian Sahanaja, Probyn Gregory, and Nick Walusko, all of whom later formed the band Wondermints. In 1995, Wilson reteamed with Parks for the collaborative album '' Orange Crate Art'', which provoked speculation regarding a future release of ''Smile''. Instead, Wilson indicated that he was more interested in completing a forthcoming collaboration with musician Andy Paley. That year, Paley invited Wilson to a concert at the Morgan-Wixon Theater in Los Angeles, a show which featured the Wondermints performing a rendition of " Surf's Up". After the concert, Wilson remarked to Paley, "If I'd had these guys back in '67, I could've taken ''Smile'' on the road." In late 1998, the Wondermints accepted an offer from Wilson's wife Melinda Ledbetter to join Wilson's live band, a group that included guitarist Jeffrey Foskett, multi-instrumentalist Scott Bennett, reed player Paul Mertens, bassist Bob Lizik, and backing vocalist Taylor Mills. Their first tour was successful, and from 2000 to 2002, Wilson followed up with another, this time playing the ''
Pet Sounds ''Pet Sounds'' is the eleventh studio album by the American Rock music, rock band the Beach Boys, released on May 16, 1966, by Capitol Records. It was produced, arranged, and primarily composed by Brian Wilson with guest lyricist Tony Asher. R ...
'' album in its entirety.


Announcement

Wilson had been psychologically scarred by the making of ''Smile'' and regarded the album as his life's greatest failure. Sahanaja recalled, "When I first met Brian, you couldn't even mention the words '
Heroes and Villains "Heroes and Villains" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1967 album ''Smiley Smile'' and their unfinished ''Smile (The Beach Boys album), Smile'' project. Written by Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks, Wilson envisioned ...
'; he'd turn around and walk away or he'd say, 'I don't want to talk about it.'" In December 2000, while at a Christmas party at Bennett's house, Wilson was playing songs on piano when the wife of biographer
David Leaf David Leaf (born April 20, 1952) is an American writer, director, and producer who is best known for his associations with Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys since the late 1970s. Leaf's 1978 biography, '' The Beach Boys and the California Myth'', ...
called out a request for "Heroes and Villains". To the astonishment of everyone present, Wilson began playing and singing the song. He then agreed to perform the song with his band at a forthcoming tribute show held in his honor at the
Radio City Music Hall Radio City Music Hall (also known as Radio City) is an entertainment venue and Theater (structure), theater at 1260 Sixth Avenue (Manhattan), Avenue of the Americas, within Rockefeller Center, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York C ...
in New York. At the concert, various artists performed renditions of Wilson's songs, including " Our Prayer" and "Surf's Up", with Wilson's band providing accompaniment. A performance of " Cabinessence" was considered, but dropped due to its complexity. Following the concert, Ledbetter and Sahanaja successfully petitioned Wilson to add "Our Prayer" and "Surf's Up" into his regular setlists. "Heroes and Villains" and a medley of " Wonderful" and "Cabinessence" were also added. Within a few months, Wilson performed "Prayer" and "Heroes" during his appearance on ''
Late Night with Conan O'Brien ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show is the second installment of the ''Late Night (franchise), Late Night'' franchise originally established by David Letterman. Hosted by Conan O'Brie ...
''. According to Sahanaja, "It was like little baby steps all the way." While rehearsing for the ''Pet Sounds'' concerts in January 2002, Sahanaja attended a lunch meeting with Wilson, Ledbetter, and ''Pet Sounds'' show promoter Glenn Maxx. At one point, someone joked, "The only thing that could ever top this is to do music from ''Smile''". Unusual for Wilson, he did not voice an objection to the idea. In 2003, during the recording of his forthcoming album '' Gettin' in over My Head'', Wilson permitted his managers to schedule shows that would include the live debut of ''Smile''. On May 22, while he was in London to accept an
Ivor Novello Award The Ivor Novello Awards, named after the Welsh entertainer Ivor Novello, are awards for songwriting and Musical composition, composing. They have been presented annually in London by the The Ivors Academy, Ivors Academy, formerly called the Britis ...
for Lifetime Achievement, it was announced that Wilson and his band would perform a live interpretation of ''Smile'' in February 2004 at the
Royal Festival Hall The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,700-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London, England. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is a G ...
in London. Parks, who had attended the Radio City Music Hall concert, was not originally involved, nor was he contacted about the project beforehand, and only learned about it through the press. The news elicited some mixed reactions from fans of Wilson who felt that his attempt to complete ''Smile'' would destroy the legendary quality associated with the project. Sahanaja remembered that, during their meetings over the summer, Wilson did not appear interested in the project. He said, "I knew there were a lot of people who were very familiar with this stuff, and for most of them even touching ''Smile'' was sacrilege. I was of that same mindset, but then Brian gradually started getting into it."


Preparation


Planning and collaboration

The project was not approached as an attempt to complete ''Smile''. Initially, the band's goal was only to assemble a cohesive live set of ''Smile'' material that had been released to that point. To assist with the assembly, Sahanaja was assigned the role of "musical secretary" for Wilson and in early autumn 2003, was sent to the Beach Boys' tape vaults to download select recordings to his laptop. Sahanaja consulted bootlegs that he had amassed since the early 1980s, as well as an archive of literature belonging to David Leaf, which included photocopies of handwritten lyric sheets that were originally given to illustrator Frank Holmes in 1966. With
Pro Tools Pro Tools is a digital audio workstation (DAW) developed and released by Avid Technology (formerly Digidesign) for Microsoft Windows and macOS. It is used for music creation and production, sound for picture (sound design, audio post-productio ...
session files loaded onto his Apple G3 iBook, Sahanaja joined Wilson at his home on numerous occasions to listen to the recordings and determine how they were originally supposed to function together. To relieve Wilson from the burden of deconstructing and reconstructing his own music, Sahanaja handled the task for him by transcribing the recordings as much as he possibly could, then presenting the resultant work back to him for necessary adjustments. At first, Sahanaja presented only the recurring motifs and chord patterns of the songs before moving onto any lyrics. Wilson had resisted listening to the original recordings, but eventually went through with the task. He later said that listening to the recordings "reawakened the bad feelings of the drugs, not the music. The music was good vibes. The drugs were bad vibes. I had a bad flashback, but we got over it right away." In Sahanaja's recollection, "He'd be saying, 'Oh yeah, that's supposed to be a part of this song,' or 'Use that bit to connect these two songs here,' and it was really neat." However, on another occasion, Sahanaja said that Wilson did not assert his original ideas for the album: "Brian Wilson is not going to tell you in October/November of 2003, 'No, this was supposed to be like this.' If anything, he was terrified at first, but as he became more comfortable, we just went with his gut. And nine times out of ten, his gut is ''Smile''." Early in these sessions, the pair were working on the song " Do You Like Worms?" when they ran into issues reading the handwriting of its lyric sheet. Wilson swiftly phoned Parks, who he had not spoken to in years, and immediately asked what word came after "cheering". Parks asked Wilson to fax him the lyric sheet, and within minutes, Parks called back and clarified that the word was "Indians". After Wilson and Sahanaja finished their work for that day, Wilson called Parks again and had a lengthier conversation, during which Parks accepted the invitation to join the project. Parks returned to his original role as the project's lyricist. He was not involved with the sequencing of the tracks, preferring to leave those decisions to Wilson. In the interest of preserving the "integrity" of their work, Sahanaja took on a less active role, contributing to the discussions only when the songwriters were struggling with "how to pull something off live". Wilson later stated that he could recall very little of ''Smile'' until Parks entered the project. Parks himself had not listened to any of the ''Smile'' music in decades. According to Sahanaja, Wilson, Parks, and Sahanaja configured the presentation into three movements. The third effectively constituted songs that were leftover from the other two movements, and in Sahanaja's description, "the stuff that was the riskiest" from Wilson's point of view. Sahanaja said: "At that point, he
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and Van Dyke were talking as if they were finishing ''Smile''."


Original ''Smile'' differences

According to Wilson, ''BWPS'' reimagined the original ''Smile'' concept "from scratch". Asked for a comparison, he responded that the new version was "different, much different. Much more progressive, much happier, much more uplifting." Parks provided lyrics that had been written in the 1960s but not previously documented, and some that were newly written for the project. He believed that a hypothetical 1967 version of ''Smile'' would not have been significantly different from their 2004 version. Sahanaja believed that there were two exceptions in which Wilson clearly recalled ideas that he had originally conceived for the ''Smile'' album. One was the verse melody of "Do You Like Worms?"; the other was the pairing of " Wonderful" and " Look". Regarding the latter, Sahanaja said that "Brian just butted those two together and said, 'Yeah, that's it! That's how it goes!'" When he asked Parks if an idea was part of the original concept, Parks would only respond with, "It was inevitable." A number of short, orchestral segues between songs were newly written for the project by Wilson, Parks, Sahanaja, and Paul Mertens. They also wrote a string arrangement for the second part of "Surf's Up", an idea that Wilson said he originally intended for the piece. Some of the titles of the original tracks were changed, including "Do You Like Worms?", which was renamed "Roll Plymouth Rock". Wilson explained that this was because "we wanted something a little more appropriate". When Wilson was presented " Mrs. O'Leary's Cow", he began humming the melody from " Fall Breaks and Back to Winter", which was then incorporated into the piece. In Wilson's words, "We irstthought of it as 2-movement
rock opera A rock opera is a collection of rock music songs with lyrics that relate to a common story. Rock operas are typically released as concept albums and are not scripted for acting, which distinguishes them from operas, although several have been ad ...
. Then we added a third ndwe called it a 3-movement rock opera." The subtitles for these movements ("Americana", "Cycle of Life", and "Spiritual Rebirth—Elements") were the invention of music writer Peter Reum. In a 2011 interview, Sahanaja stated that Wilson never mentioned an "elemental" concept during these sessions: "whenever I did bring up the concept he didn't seem to react to it with any enthusiasm. I brought it up again while Van Dyke was around and didn't get a clear reaction from him either." According to biographer
Steven Gaines Steven Gaines (born 1946) is an American author, journalist, and radio show host. His books include ''Philistines at the Hedgerow: Passion and Property in the Hamptons'', '' The Love You Make: An Insider's Story of The Beatles'', '' Heroes and Vi ...
, Wilson had declared an intention to complete ''Smile'' in three movements in 1980. Besides the tracks that made it into the final presentation, nothing else from the original ''Smile'' sessions was worked on, although some recordings were presented to Wilson for consideration. Among the rejected ideas that Sahanaja played for Wilson was " He Gives Speeches", " With Me Tonight", " She's Goin' Bald", and the alternate "rock with me, Henry" version of "Wonderful".


Rehearsals

Rehearsals began in January 2004, at which point Leaf had arrived with a film crew set on documenting the project. Wilson was still intensely troubled by his memories of ''Smile'' and the prospects of performing it live. He began struggling with a resurgence of
auditory hallucination An auditory hallucination, or paracusia, is a form of hallucination that involves perceiving sounds without auditory stimulus. While experiencing an auditory hallucination, the affected person hears a sound or sounds that did not come from the ...
s. Sahanaja recalled that, after the holiday break, when he returned to Wilson's house to prepare for the forthcoming vocal rehearsals, "I remember him shaking and he sat down and he started crying and yelling 'I'm fucked! I'm fucked!'" They attempted to work on a few songs before Wilson threw the lyric sheet across the room and began shouting from the other room, "Darian! Darian! They are trying to kill me! They are trying to kill me!" On the first day of rehearsals, Wilson had a panic attack and drove himself to the emergency room at a nearby hospital, but calmed down within hours. His attendance for the rest of the rehearsal dates remained inconsistent, as he would leave prematurely on some days, and on others, skip them entirely. Sahanaja told biographer Mark Dillon, "There's always the question of whether you're forcing Brian to do something he doesn't want to do. But in the end, do you want a Brian Wilson who just sits at home, watching TV, or should you try to put a spark under him and get him going to the point where it is a productive, positive thing for him?"


Initial concerts


Premiere

''Brian Wilson Presents Smile'' premiered at the Royal Festival Hall on February 20, 2004. It was bookended by two
setlist A set list, or setlist, is typically a handwritten or printed document created as an ordered list of songs, jokes, stories and other elements an artist intends to present during a specific performance. A setlist can be made of nearly any materi ...
s consisting of regular Beach Boys hits such as " Sloop John B" and " God Only Knows", lesser-known songs such as " You're Welcome" and " Time to Get Alone", and songs from ''Gettin' in Over My Head''. The first set was played acoustically in the style of ''
Beach Boys' Party! ''Beach Boys' Party!'' is the tenth studio album by the American rock band the Beach Boys, and their third in 1965, consisting mostly of cover songs played with acoustic instruments. It reached No. 6 in the US and No. 3 in the UK. The album spaw ...
''; Wilson sat on a stool surrounded by his supporting band, who provided additional vocals, two guitars, bongos, and an occasional flute or harmonica part. When ''Smile'' completed its debut, Wilson received a ten-minute standing ovation before he was able to invite Parks, who was in tears, onstage. According to Sahanaja, "the standing ovation was indescribable. I had never seen anything like it as an audience member or a performer. ..They wouldn't let him speak or say anything. ..I stepped up to him and said, 'Uh, Brian... I think they like ''SMiLE''.'" For the encore, Parks performed shaker on " Do It Again". Sahanaja reported that, after the show, Wilson rocked back and forth backstage—out of relief that he had finally conquered his fear of ''Smile''—exclaiming "Darian! Darian! We did it! We did it!" The concerts were repeated at the same venue for every night until February 26, with each playing recorded by engineer Mark Linett for posterity on film and a 48-track Genex
hard disk recorder A hard disk recorder (HDR) is a system that uses a high-capacity hard disk to record digital audio or digital video. Hard disk recording systems represent an alternative to reel-to-reel audio tape recording and video tape recorders, and provide ...
. All the dates were sold-out, with attendees including
Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...
,
George Martin Sir George Henry Martin (3 January 1926 – 8 March 2016) was an English record producer, arranger, composer, conductor, and musician. He was commonly referred to as the "fifth Beatle" because of his extensive involvement in each of the Beatle ...
, and Jason Pierce of Spiritualized. A brief tour followed in England and Europe.


Reviews

Critical reaction was highly favorable. ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' declared that it was "one of the greatest of American symphonies." John Mulvey wrote in ''
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
''; "It's rare that you can honestly say you were present at a moment of genuine historic significance. And it's rarer still that the reality of these occasions measures up to the hype." In March, '' GQ'' ranked ''BWPS'' among the "Top Five Gigs of All Time". Parks attended several more of Wilson's shows, commenting, "It's absolutely thrilling. I did two shows in London, two in New York and two in LA, and you can't help but be engaged in seeing the performance. The audience was very much a part of what the performance was all about." Conversely, ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'' Stephen Dalton was skeptical of the album's myth and felt that most of the performance "sounded like whimsical juvenilia. It was clearly adventurous for its era but, with the best will in the world, it is not difficult to see why Wilson's ..fellow Beach Boys balked at releasing it." ''Mojo''s
Jim Irvin James Lawrence Irvin is an English singer, songwriter, music journalist and podcast host. Irvin was a singer in the English new wave band Furniture, who had a UK hit single, in 1986 with Irvin's " Brilliant Mind". Irvin contributed to ''Melod ...
was similarly underwhelmed; although he enjoyed the songs, he wrote, "To claim that this show was transcendent is to disregard the figure at its heart, a bewildered-looking man of 61 who barely plays the piano he's perched behind. ..its hard to feel uplifted, as such." Critic
Barney Hoskyns Barney Hoskyns (born 5 May 1959) is a British music critic and editorial director of the online music journalism archive Rock's Backpages. Biography Hoskyns graduated from the University of Oxford with a first class degree in English. He began ...
wrote that it was "a pretty magnificent evening", although Wilson's apathetic demeanor resembled that of an
autistic Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing di ...
person's. Hoskyns mused, "As bizarrely not-there as Brian seemed through all of this, he seemed to be enjoying himself as much as he is able to. Occasionally he flapped his arms about, and he made a big point of introducing ' Marcella' as a real 'rock'n'roll' song – as though that were what we secretly craved."


Studio recording

Motivated by the positive reception, Wilson agreed to record a studio version of ''Smile'' after two weeks of consideration. Recording began on April 13, 2004 with his ten-piece touring band, augmented by a ten-piece string section and an acoustic bassist. The basic tracks were recorded at
Sunset Sound Recorders Sunset Sound Recorders is a recording studio in Hollywood, California, United States, located at 6650 Sunset Boulevard. Background The Sunset Sound Recorders complex was created by Walt Disney's Director of Recording, Tutti Camarata, from a co ...
in four days, with overdubbing and mixing continuing until July with some stops at engineer
Mark Linett Mark Linett is an American record producer and audio engineer who is best known for his remixing and remastering of the Beach Boys' catalog. Since 1988, he has been the engineer for Brian Wilson's recordings. He has also worked with Red Hot C ...
's Your Place or Mine studio. When played live,
digital keyboard An electronic keyboard, portable keyboard, or digital keyboard is an electronic musical instrument based on keyboard instruments. Electronic keyboards include synthesizers, digital pianos, stage pianos, electronic organs and digital audio work ...
s were used to replicate the sound of various instruments such as
harpsichord A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a musical keyboard, keyboard. Depressing a key raises its back end within the instrument, which in turn raises a mechanism with a small plectrum made from quill or plastic that plucks one ...
and tack piano, and electric drums were used in place of
timpani Timpani (; ) or kettledrums (also informally called timps) are musical instruments in the percussion instrument, percussion family. A type of drum categorised as a hemispherical drum, they consist of a Membranophone, membrane called a drumhead, ...
s. These digital keyboards were kept for the album's recording, though a real
upright piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an action mechanism where hammers strike strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a chromatic scale in equal temper ...
and timpani was used. Some alterations were also made to tracks' specific arrangements, since they had been arranged with an audience in mind, along with the logistics of only having ten performers on stage. Linett explained: "For the studio version of ''Smile'', Brian and the band eliminated some of the flourishes that were designed just for live performance and substantially reworked the instrumental arrangements." Most engineering for the album followed practices that were common during the 1960s, and tracks were recorded and sequenced in discrete sections the same as they would have been on the original ''Smile''. The vocals were recorded using a Universal Audio
tube Tube or tubes may refer to: * ''Tube'' (2003 film), a 2003 Korean film * "Tubes" (Peter Dale), performer on the Soccer AM television show * Tube (band), a Japanese rock band * Tube & Berger, the alias of dance/electronica producers Arndt Rör ...
mixing console A mixing console or mixing desk is an electronic device for Audio mixing (recorded music), mixing audio signals, used in sound recording and reproduction and sound reinforcement systems. Inputs to the console include microphones, signals fro ...
identical to the one used by the Beach Boys at
United Western Recorders United Western Recorders was a two-building recording studio complex in Hollywood that was one of the most successful independent recording studios of the 1960s. The complex merged neighboring studios United Recording Corp. on 6050 Sunset Boule ...
in the 1960s. The album was recorded onto a custom Pro Tools HD rig. Mixing was completed in late July, just as the band were to begin their tour of Europe. Wilson mostly avoided the mixing sessions. Linett said, "Brian would come in, make comments, take stuff home, then make more comments. The third time he came in, I gave him a CD and I said: 'Hey, there it is. ''Smile'', ready to play on your CD player.' I swear you could see something change in him. And he's been different ever since." According to Sahanaja, Wilson held the CD to his chest and said, "'I'm going to hold this dear to my heart.' He was trembling."


Release

In an interview from October 2004, Wilson was asked what completing ''Smile'' had meant to him, and he responded: On September 28, 2004, ''BWPS'' was issued on
Nonesuch Records Nonesuch Records is an American record company and label owned by Warner Music Group, distributed by Warner Records (formerly Warner Bros. Records), and based in New York City. Founded by Jac Holzman in 1964 as a budget classical label, Nonesuch ...
. It debuted at number 13 on the ''Billboard'' 200, the highest chart position of any album by the Beach Boys or Brian Wilson since 1976's ''
15 Big Ones ''15 Big Ones'' is the 20th studio album by the American rock band the Beach Boys, released July 5, 1976, by Brother/Reprise. It includes a mix of original songs and renditions of rock 'n' roll and R&B standards. The LP was the band's first a ...
'', and it was the best-selling album on
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for two weeks. On September 28, Wilson appeared on ''
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'' performing "Heroes and Villains". On October 5, Leaf's documentary '' Beautiful Dreamer: Brian Wilson and the Story of Smile'' premiered on the Showtime network. The film included interviews with Wilson and dozens of his associates, albeit none of his surviving bandmates from the Beach Boys, who declined to appear in the film. It was later included on the DVD of a ''Smile'' concert performed in Los Angeles. By February 2005, Nielson Soundscan had reported that the album had sold over 300,000 copies. It was certified platinum in combination with its international sales. From autumn 2004 to summer 2005, Wilson supported the album with a world tour that included stops in the US, Europe, and Japan. In March 2005, Wilson, Parks, and Leaf held a panel at the annual
South by Southwest South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...
convention in Austin, Texas to discuss ''Smile''. Asked if he would permit the release of the original Beach Boys recordings, Wilson responded, "Never. Those are gone forever. I don't want those made public because they bring up bad memories. I don't think about the old days anymore. I never do." Sahanaja told ''Australian Musician'', "In six years of touring this is the happiest we've ever seen Brian, I mean consistently happy and it's got to be because of the music. ..Who would have thought … of all things…''Smile''."


Contemporary critical reception

''BWPS'' received widespread acclaim from music critics. At
Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from critics, ''Smile'' received an average score of 97 based on 29 reviews, making it the third-highest rated album in the website's history. ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
''s
Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...
, who was skeptical of ''Smile'' back in the 1960s, praised Parks' lyrics and wrote, "what elevates them into something approaching a utopian vision is Wilson's orchestrations: brief bridge melodies, youthful harmonies ..and an enthralling profusion of instrumental colors." Dominique Leone of ''
Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...
'' declared, "As the mythical follow-up to ''Pet Sounds'', it delivers, and despite his age, Wilson's voice even sounds fantastic, still carrying the weight of these angelic melodies." ''
The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first Alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, ...
''s Tom Smucker felt that it might go on to be considered "album of the year" and described it as "the first successfully conceptualized Beach Boys release since '' Kokomo'', the most moving since ''Pet Sounds'', and the funniest since ''Smiley Smile''". In Britain, ''The Guardian''s
Alexis Petridis Alexis Petridis (born 13 September 1971) is an English journalist. He is the head Rock music, rock and pop music critic for ''The Guardian'', and a regular contributor for ''GQ''. In addition to his music journalism for the paper, he has written ...
wrote that news of the album's release caused "an outbreak of mild hysteria" and provoked a journalist from the newspaper to solicit an opinion from the British government, who then supplied a comment from defense secretary
Geoff Hoon Geoffrey William Hoon (born 6 December 1953) is a British Labour Party politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ashfield in Nottinghamshire from 1992 to 2010. He is a former Defence Secretary, Transport Secretary, Leader ...
. Petridis concluded, "Despite the hype, it is hard not to be impressed with the new ''Smile''. ..the songs Wilson wrote for ''Smile'' still sound like nothing else rock music has ever produced. Its release may not warrant a quote from the defence secretary, but only the hardest heart would not be gladdened by its contents." ''
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
''s reviewer compared ''BWPS'' favorably to
Sergei Prokofiev Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''. , group=n ( – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor who l ...
's '' Lieutenant Kijé'' ("its interweaved and repeated melodic strands"),
Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th century music, 20th-century music. Davis ado ...
' ''
Kind of Blue ''Kind of Blue'' is a studio album by American jazz musician Miles Davis, released on August17,1959, by Columbia Records. For this album, Davis led a sextet featuring saxophonists John Coltrane and Julian "Cannonball" Adderley, pianist Bill Ev ...
'' ("its sheer contemplative beauty"), and the work of
George Gershwin George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned jazz, popular music, popular and classical music. Among his best-known works are the songs "Swan ...
and
Aaron Copland Aaron Copland (, ; November 14, 1900December 2, 1990) was an American composer, critic, writer, teacher, pianist, and conductor of his own and other American music. Copland was referred to by his peers and critics as the "Dean of American Compos ...
("its appropriation of American folk"). In his review for ''Mojo'', Mark Paytress rated ''BWPS'' higher than
the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
' ''
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' (often referred to simply as ''Sgt. Pepper'') is the eighth studio album by the English rock band the Beatles. Released on 26May 1967, ''Sgt. Pepper'' is regarded by musicologists as an early concept ...
'', as well as any "latter-day art-rock classic, say,
Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon-on-Thames, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band members are Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Gre ...
's ''
OK Computer ''OK Computer'' is the third studio album by the English rock band Radiohead, released on 21 May 1997. With their producer, Nigel Godrich, Radiohead recorded most of ''OK Computer'' in their rehearsal space in Oxfordshire and the historic m ...
''". Acknowledging the "issues of authenticity that arise out of this 'reconstruction'", he added, "as someone with a small collection of ''Smile''(''s'') — and thus with one eyebrow sharply raised — I'm amazed how easy it is to believe that this is, perhaps, the genuine ''Smile''." Less favorably, music critic
Paul Morley Paul Robert Morley (born 26 March 1957) is a British music journalist. He wrote for the ''New Musical Express'' from 1977 to 1983, and has since written for a wide range of publications and written his own books. He was a co-founder of the reco ...
felt that ''BWPS'' represented "a breathtaking example of ultimately banal thinkers attempting self-consciously to make art, a square version of freaking out, musically sophisticated, aesthetically conservative ..I needed a quick shower of
Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band formed in the New York City neighborhood Forest Hills, Queens in 1974. Known for helping establish the punk movement in the United States and elsewhere, the Ramones are often recognized as one of th ...
,
Dre DRE may refer to: * ''Dre'' (album), 2010 by American rapper Soulja Boy Tell 'Em, 2010 * Dre (given name) **Dr. Dre Andre Romell Young (born February 18, 1965), known professionally as Dr. Dre, is an American rapper, record producer, recor ...
and Hendrix afterwards, just to rinse away the clingy bits of fake myth." John Bush of
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
believed ''BWPS'' was "a remarkably unified, irresistible piece of pop music", yet decreed that it was "no musical watershed on par with ''Sgt. Pepper's'' ..or Wilson's masterpiece, ''Pet Sounds''". Writing in his 2005 book about ''Smile'', Domenic Priore opined, "The recording sessions for the album at Sunset Sound came and went very quickly, and the mix suffers because of this; the emphasis on bass is not what it should be, and the tracks should breathe more. Some felt that there was too much singing, compared with the instrumental texture of the original tapes." ''BWPS'' received three nominations for the 2005 Grammy Awards, including
Best Pop Vocal Album The Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality vocal pop music albums. Awards in several ...
and Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical (for Mark Linett). It won one Grammy, in the category of Best Rock Instrumental Performance for " Mrs. O'Leary's Cow". ''Smile'' also finished in second place in the
Pazz & Jop Pazz & Jop was an annual poll of top musical releases, compiled by American newspaper ''The Village Voice'' and created by music critic Robert Christgau. It published lists of the year's top releases for 1971 and, after Christgau's two-year abse ...
, an annual critics poll run by ''The Village Voice''. ''Pitchfork'' named it fifth best album of 2004 and the 25th best album released between 2000 and 2004.


Beach Boys' response and lawsuit

Mike Love Michael Edward Love (born March 15, 1941) is an American singer and songwriter who is one of the vocalists of the Beach Boys, of which he was an original member alongside his cousins Brian Wilson, Dennis Wilson, and Carl Wilson and their frien ...
gave his thoughts on the album in a November 2004 interview: "I guess it's a good thing for Brian to do. A friend sent me a copy, but I haven't had time to hear it yet because we've been on tour." In an earlier interview, he had said he would have no interest in listening to the album and citing the legal concept of "
corporate opportunity The ''corporate opportunity'' doctrine is the legal principle providing that directors, officers, and controlling shareholders of a corporation must not take for themselves any business opportunity that could benefit the corporation. The corporat ...
", mentioned that it had possibly infringed on the Beach Boys' intellectual property rights. Love argued that, because the group had collectively paid for the 1960s recording sessions and all contributed work on the original tracks, "I would have thought it would have been more honorable to put it together as the Beach Boys." In many interviews he gave around the album's release, Wilson disparaged the Beach Boys, calling them inferior to his current band. In a 2007 interview, Love expressed that he was disappointed to hear about Wilson's remarks. "I'm glad that he's happy with the people he's performing with, but, you know, I think it's sad that he thinks that. My personal feeling is that the original group recordings on ''Smile'' have got to be better."
Bruce Johnston Bruce Johnston (born Benjamin Baldwin; June 27, 1942) is an American singer, songwriter and musician who is a member of the Beach Boys. He also collaborated on many records with Terry Melcher (his bandmate in Bruce & Terry, the Rip Chords, and ...
took offense as well, writing in an email to biographer
Peter Ames Carlin Peter Ames Carlin (born March 14, 1963) is an American journalist, critic and biographer who has written for publications such as ''People'' magazine, ''The New York Times Magazine'', '' The Los Angeles Times Magazine'', and ''The Oregonian''. Sev ...
: "I spent years showing full support for Brian, but now that's all changed because of his current point of view." Johnston said of the album in a 2008 interview, "I think as an exercise in keeping
ilson Ilson Wilians Rodrigues (born 12 March 1979) is a Brazilian former footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, America ...
occupied, it's interesting. ..I talk to him every once in a while. But I'm never going to tell him that I'll take ''Pet Sounds'' over what he's doing now." One of the promotions for the album was a free CD issued through the ''
Mail on Sunday ''The Mail on Sunday'' is a British conservative newspaper, published in a tabloid format. Founded in 1982 by Lord Rothermere, it is the biggest-selling Sunday newspaper in the UK. Its sister paper, the ''Daily Mail'', was first published i ...
'' in September 2004. The 10-track compilation included Beach Boys songs Wilson had recently rerecorded, five of which he coauthored with Love. The ''Mail on Sunday'' distributed 2.6 million copies of the compilation. In November 2005, Love filed a lawsuit in which he claimed the promotion hurt the sales of the original recordings. Love's suit was dismissed in 2007 when a judge determined that there were "no triable issues of material fact".
Al Jardine Alan Charles Jardine (born September 3, 1942) is an American musician who co-founded the Beach Boys. He is best known as the band's rhythm guitarist, background vocalist, and for occasionally singing lead vocals on singles such as number-one hit ...
said in 2013 that he "didn't give it a whole lot of thought; I didn't want to go there at that time. They were good enough to send me a copy. So I dropped the needle, as they used to say, and listened to a few cuts, and it was very nice. But there's nothin' like the intage recordings"


Retrospective assessments and legacy

Although critics widely referred to Wilson's 2004 version as the ''Smile'' album completed, many fans disputed the notion. Bootleggers continued to compile their own versions of the Beach Boys' album. In 2011, '' The Smile Sessions'' was released containing an approximation of what the band's finished album might have sounded like, using ''BWPS'' as a blueprint. Linett co-produced the compilation with Wilson. According to Sahanaja, Wilson "lobbied hard" for the album's sequence to be based on ''BWPS''. In a 2015 interview, Wilson stated that he ultimately preferred his solo version. Reviewing ''BWPS'' on the tenth anniversary of its release, Chris Shields of the '' St. Cloud Times'' wrote that "the sequencing raised a question mark or two, and there were mixing quibbles (I would have loved to hear more bass), but .. e lyrical beauty, the majesty of the music, the shifting (yet somehow fixed) meanings that intertwine throughout it all, still elate me, still fill me with hope and joy." ''
PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...
'' contributor Sean Murphy opined that the album was "crucial", but rendered "less significant" with the availability of ''The Smile Sessions''. Writing for '' NewMusicBox'', Frank Oteri called ''BWPS'' "a wonderful album, but it is also not quite right. It is not and can never be a substitute for ''SMiLE''". Music historian
Clinton Heylin Clinton Heylin (born 8 April 1960) is an English author. Heylin has written extensively about popular music, especially on the life and work of Bob Dylan. Education Heylin attended Manchester Grammar School. He read history at Bedford College ...
, who felt that the original ''Smile'' recordings failed to live up to the myth, characterized ''BWPS'' as "a pale shadow full of digital tweaks, and precious little sweet inspiration; showing if anything that there ''never'' was a realised record". In 2009, ''BWPS'' was named the 88th best album of the decade by ''Rolling Stone''. In 2010, it was included in the book '' 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die''. In 2020, it was ranked number 399 on ''Rolling Stone''s list of "
The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" is a recurring opinion survey and music ranking of the finest albums in history, compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and indu ...
". The editors wrote, "Close your eyes and you can imagine how it might've changed the world in 1968 , but with Wilson's influence still all over scads of indie bands in 2004, it sounds and feels majestically modern." In 2022, it was ranked number 102 on ''Uncut''s list of the greatest albums released since 1997, as well as number 21 on ''Rolling Stone''s list of the greatest concept albums in history.


Track listing


Set list

The songs performed at the Royal Festival Hall shows in February 2004. First set (acoustic) # " And Your Dream Comes True" # " Surfer Girl" # "
In My Room "In My Room" is a song written by Brian Wilson and Gary Usher for the American rock band the Beach Boys. It was released on their 1963 album '' Surfer Girl''. It was also released as the B-side of the " Be True to Your School" single. The singl ...
" # "
Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...
" # " Keep An Eye On Summer" # " Please Let Me Wonder" # " Good Timin'" # " You're Welcome" First set (full instrumentation)
  1. " Time to Get Alone"
  2. " Sloop John B"
  3. " Row Your Boat"
  4. " God Only Knows"
  5. " Soul Searchin'"
  6. " California Girls"
  7. " Catch a Wave"
  8. " Dance, Dance, Dance"
  9. " City Blues"
  10. " Sail On, Sailor"
''Smile'' – same running order as album track list Encore
  1. " Do It Again"
  2. " I Get Around"
  3. " Help Me Rhonda"
  4. "
    Barbara Ann "Barbara Ann" is a song written by Fred Fassert that was first recorded by the Regents as "Barbara-Ann". Their version was released in 1961 and reached No.13 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. A more well-known version of the song was recor ...
    "
  5. "
    Surfin' U.S.A. "Surfin' U.S.A." is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys, credited to Chuck Berry and Brian Wilson. It is a rewritten version of Berry's " Sweet Little Sixteen" set to new lyrics written by Wilson and an uncredited Mike Love. The s ...
    "
  6. " Fun, Fun, Fun"
  7. " Love and Mercy"


Personnel

Per the album's liner notes. The Brian Wilson Band *
Brian Wilson Brian Douglas Wilson (June 20, 1942 – June 11, 2025) was an American musician, songwriter, singer and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often Brian Wilson is a genius, called a genius for his novel approaches to pop compositio ...
 – vocals, keyboards * Scott Bennett – vocals, keyboards,
mallet A mallet is a tool used for imparting force on another object, often made of rubber or sometimes wood, that is smaller than a maul or beetle, and usually has a relatively large head. General overview The term is descriptive of the ...
s, guitar * Nelson Bragg – vocals, percussion, whistles,
celery Celery (''Apium graveolens'' Dulce Group or ''Apium graveolens'' var. ''dulce'') is a cultivated plant belonging to the species ''Apium graveolens'' in the family Apiaceae that has been used as a vegetable since ancient times. The original wild ...
* Jeffrey Foskett – vocals, guitar,
hammer A hammer is a tool, most often a hand tool, consisting of a weighted "head" fixed to a long handle that is swung to deliver an impact to a small area of an object. This can be, for example, to drive nail (fastener), nails into wood, to sh ...
* Probyn Gregory – vocals, guitar, brass, Tannerin, whistles * Jim Hines – drums, mallets,
saw A saw is a tool consisting of a tough blade, Wire saw, wire, or Chainsaw, chain with a hard toothed edge used to cut through material. Various terms are used to describe toothed and abrasive saws. Saws began as serrated materials, and when man ...
,
sound effects A sound effect (or audio effect) is an artificially created or enhanced sound, or sound process used to emphasize artistic or other content of films, television shows, live performance, animation, video games, music, or other media. In m ...
* Bob Lizik – bass guitar, guitar,
beret A beret ( , ; ; ; ) is a soft, round, flat-crowned cap made of hand-knitted wool, crocheted cotton, wool felt, or acrylic fibre. Mass production of berets began in the 19th century in Southern France and the north of History of Spain (1808 ...
* Paul Mertens – woodwinds, saxophone, harmonica, semi- conductor * Taylor Mills – vocals, power drill, leg-slap * Darian Sahanaja – vocals, keyboards, mallets, drill * Nick Walusko – vocals, guitar Stockholm Strings 'n' Horns * Staffan Findin –
bass trombone The bass trombone (, ) is the bass instrument in the trombone family of brass instruments. Modern instruments are pitched in the same B♭ as the tenor trombone but with a larger bore, bell and mouthpiece to facilitate low register playing, and u ...
* Andreas Forsman –
violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...
* Erik Holm –
viola The viola ( , () ) is a string instrument of the violin family, and is usually bowed when played. Violas are slightly larger than violins, and have a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of the ...
* Anna Landberg –
cello The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...
* Malin-My Nilsson – violin * Björn Samuelsson –
trombone The trombone (, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's lips vibrate inside a mouthpiece, causing the Standing wave, air c ...
* Victor Sand – saxophone,
flute The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...
,
clarinet The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore (wind instruments), bore and a flared bell. Clarinets comprise a Family (musical instruments), family of instrume ...
* Markus Sandlund – cello Production and technical staff * Recorded and mixed by Mark Linett * Assistant engineer- Kevin Deane * Mark London – package design and art * Dennis Loren – graphic layouts *
Bob Ludwig Robert Carl Ludwig (born December 11, 1944), is a retired American mastering engineer. He mastered recordings on all the major recording formats for all the major record labels, and on projects by more than 1,300 artists, including Led Zeppeli ...
– mastering * Pete Magdaleno – assistant engineer * Daniel S. McCoy – assistant engineer * Brian Wilson – arranger, producer


Charts


Notes


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * *


Further reading

Contemporary articles * * * * * * * * *


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Brian Wilson Presents Smile 2004 albums 2005 direct-to-video films Albums produced by Brian Wilson Brian Wilson albums Concert films 2000s concept albums Nonesuch Records albums Psychedelic pop albums Orchestral pop albums Americana albums Indie rock albums by American artists The Beach Boys music Self-covers albums Re-recorded albums