Smile is the title of possibly the most famous unreleased album in rock history. The album in question, recorded in 1966-67, was intended to be the Beach Boys' follow up to Pet Sounds, but for a variety of reasons was never released.

Some people have tried to lay the blame for this on Mike Love, the band's lead singer, but while it is true he was less than enthused by the music the band were making, it is probably more likely that the real explanation is Brian Wilson's - 'it was inappropriate music for us to be making'.

The album seems to have floundered because of Wilson's mental illness and drug abuse, along with there being too many factions trying to tell him what to write, and legal problems with the band's record label - a scenario that would be all too familliar in coming decades.

The vast majority of the music is in fact nowhere near as good as the legend would have it - most of it is just jamming on two chords. However, a few tracks that were fully written, with lyricist Van Dyke Parks rank with some of the best songs ever written.

The tracklist for a typical bootleg (Sea Of Tunes vol 16) of this album is:

  1. Prayer
  2. Heroes And Villains
  3. Barnyard
  4. Do You Like Worms
  5. The Old Master Painter/You Are My Sunshine
  6. He Gives Speeches
  7. Wonderful
  8. Child Is Father Of The Man
  9. CabinEssence
  10. Look
  11. Good Vibrations
  12. Vegetables
  13. Wind Chimes
  14. Mrs. O'Leary's Cow (aka Fire)
  15. I Love To Say Da Da
  16. Well, You're Welcome
  17. Surf's Up

Most of these tracks have in fact seen legitimate release in one form or another:

Smiley Smile, the Beach Boys' next official release, featured Good Vibrations along with partially or wholly re-recorded versions of Heroes And Villains, He Gives Speeches (with new lyrics by Mike Love, retitled She's Going Bald), Wonderful, Vegetables and Wind Chimes.

Well, You're Welcome was released as the B-side to the single version of Heroes And Villains.

Partially rerecorded versions of Prayer (retitled Our Prayer) and Cabinessence were issued on the 20/20 album.

A rerecorded version of I Love To Say Da Da, with new lyrics by Mike Love, retitled Cool, Cool Water was issued on Sunflower.

A partially rerecorded version of Surf's Up (incorporating part of Child Is Father Of The Man) was issued on Surf's Up

Smile era versions of Prayer, H&V, Worms, Wonderful, CabinEssence, Vegetables, Wind Chimes, part of Fire, DaDa and Surf's Up were issued on the box set Good Vibrations: Thirty Years Of The Beach Boys.

A demo of Heroes And Villains by Brian Wilson, incorporating parts of Barnyard and another song I'm In Great Shape was issued on the Endless Harmony compilation.

On those tracks that were completed, the Beach Boys for this album consisted of Brian Wilson, Carl Wilson, Dennis Wilson, Mike Love, Al Jardine and Bruce Johnston.

Brian Wilson toured a suite based on this album in 2004. See Smile 2004 for my thoughts on that work.