I've been thinking a lot about Smile lately. I like it, but I don't love it. I certainly don't think of it as
Pet Sounds' equal. A big part of that is just not being much of a VDP fan. But I've been thinking that perhaps the idea of reusing musical elements throughout the album, thereby creating a single piece of work as opposed to individual/distinct tracks, just isn't as appealing to me in practice. Couple that with the linking of tracks and overarching conceptual narrative - it's just all a bit much. Also, some of the material (and choices of instrumentation) is just a bit too playful for my liking. Then there's the fact that it wasn't completed in 1966/7. So, with all that in mind, when I'm listening to the various incomplete tracks on Disc 1 of
TSS, as pleasing as some of it is, some tracks just don't really stand on their own. In a sense, their identities are compromised. Not a problem for others, but I guess that's just how my brain works and how I listen to music. As I've said before, what I really enjoy about
TSS is the bonus discs of session work. Listening to the material as a work in progress, I find it very interesting and downright inspirational. But that's how I gotta approach it. And it's not all that often that I'm in the mood for it.
Relistening (twice) to
BWPS this weekend was more enjoyable than I had remembered. Again, I always liked it, but not loved it (which translates to only listening to it occasionally). But I always had a lot of respect for it. I thought it was very well-done. And, now, I'm even more certain of that. Actually, I don't think they could have done it much (if any) better. The material is, and has always been, uneven. Some of it great, some of it not very good at all. What I'm saying is, I think they just about made the most of it. And that includes the construction (i.e. the editing/sequencing of the work.) Even vocally, I think Brian sung as good as he was capable of (which was better than he was capable of during most periods since the early 70s) and everyone else did a
great job. By 2004, without Carl and Dennis, and with an aged Mike (with an aged Brian), I don't really think current Beach Boys vocals would have improved it at all. If anything, I think
BWPS works better as a clearly defined solo project. Otherwise, it would clash more with
TSS, IMO.
Anyway, I'm starting to ramble. But this positive experience with
BWPS will hopefully lead me to listening to it more. I certainly think it's my go-to moving forward when it comes to listening to Smile as complete work. (And I
do think it sounds complete.) I may not love the material from start to finish, but it's a pretty fun listen (and, at times, spellbinding). Some of those melodies are ingrained in my mind and are fun to singalong to. And I really do enjoy hearing Brian and his band perform it.