CD reviews

Brian Wilson
‘Brian Wilson presents SMiLE’

What “SMiLE” is: the long lost, purported masterpiece composed by Beach Boys leader Brian Wilson as his band’s follow-up to their creative peak, “Pet Sounds;” an album widely hailed as one of the finest in the history of rock ’n’ roll. “SMiLE” was intended to be, in Wilson’s famous words, “a teenage symphony to God,” but recording on the project was abandoned in 1967.

On the strength of worldwide No. 1 single “Good Vibrations,” the song with which Wilson cemented his status as a recording studio genius, the legend of the unfinished album grew and “SMiLE” eventually became the holy Grail of pop music. Apocryphal bootlegs with shuffled track orders surfaced over the years and in the ’90s, a portion of material from the sessions was officially released on a Beach Boys box set. Still, the entire album remained unfinished and unreleased.

What “Brian Wilson presents SMiLE” isn't: the completed original album.

What “Brian Wilson presents SMiLE” is: the closest thing we're ever going to get.

Buoyed by the rapturous reception of his recent return to the concert stage — including shows where he performed all of “SMiLE” — Wilson decided to complete the album with original lyric collaborator Van Dyke Parks and re-record it with his current band.

As the grand musical statement Wilson and Parks imagined, “SMiLE” is a broad look at America and the album spans the country, going from “Roll Plymouth Rock” to “In Blue Hawaii” in song. Along the way, there are silly snapshots (“Barnyard,” complete with animal noises) and nods to classical music (“Old Master Painter”), country (the banjo and harmonica of “Cabin Essence”), lullabies (“Song for Children”) waltz (the intro of “I'm in Great Shape”) and symphonic psychedelia (“Mrs. O’Leary’s Cow”). Wilson’s command of all the forms is almost as astonishing as the way he seamlessly blends them together — truly using the recording studio as an instrument itself.

While Wilson’s lead vocals here are not as crystalline as they were 30 years ago — the incomparable sibling harmonies of his deceased Beach Boy brothers Carl and Dennis are also sadly missed — and some of the material is clearly date-stamped late ’60s, “Brian Wilson presents SMiLE” never sounds quaint. Instead, its timeless beauty unfolds with repeated listens (and definitely try it on headphones) revealing profound depth of music, and more important, feeling. The remade “Good Vibrations” can't help but fall short of the original recording, but the gorgeous a capella harmonies of “Our Prayer,” the brilliant pop suite “Heroes and Villains” and the gentle “Surf's Up” are worth the price of admission alone.

For longtime “SMiLE” devotees — the kind of fans that snapped up countless bootlegs of the album — there may be a tinge of regret that the Grail quest is over as the new album finally defines exact song titles and running order.
Like the holy Grail, “SMiLE” is of another time and place, but no less wondrous to behold today. A

Brian Wilson is scheduled to perform “SMiLE” at the Dodge T
Theatre on Oct. 31. A Showtime documentary film, “Beautiful Dreamer: Brian Wilson and the Story of SMiLE,” airs on the cable network at 9 p.m. Tuesday.

— by Thomas Bond, Get Out

The Clash
‘London Calling’ deluxe edition

The entire Clash catalog (save 1985's “Cut the Crap” CD) was lovingly reissued a few years back, so what does this deluxe edition have to offer? Plenty, as it turns out, but before we discuss the extras, a word on the album itself.

It is the greatest album ever made by a punk band and the creative apex of the greatest punk band ever. Hyperbolic opinion? Maybe, but Rolling Stone named it the best album of the 1980s, so you needn't solely take my word for it. There's not a clunker among its 19 tracks and the disc is full of stone cold Clash classics such as “Hateful,” “Spanish Bombs,” “Clampdown,” “The Guns of Brixton,” “Death or Glory,” “Train in Vain” and, of course, the title track. These songs are as vibrant and vital today as they were a quarter-century ago.

What makes this deluxe edition special is its second disc, “The Vanilla Tapes.” Rehearsal recordings the band made in the summer of 1979, it comprises almost a complete alternate version of the album. Some of the songs are fully formed, while others are still in the birthing process with lyrics to be added or changed later. What is entirely intact is the unmistakable power in the band's music — even cheaply recorded in a practice space. There are five previously unreleased songs in the mix that are fascinating to hear but also confirm the Clash's decision to not include them in the final running order of the album.

Along with the second disc, a DVD called “The Last Testament: The Making of London Calling” is included in the package. A 30-minute film by Don Letts — who also directed the outstanding Clash career documentary “Westway to the World” — it features interviews with all four members of the band, including the late Joe Strummer. There are also promo clips for three songs and home video footage of the actual recording sessions that show producer Guy Stevens going to extreme lengths to get the best performances from the band. His method is complete madness, but the end result more than justified his means.

Recent inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, The Clash hardly need their praises sung here. For fans, the two bonus discs make the deluxe edition purchase worthwhile. For the curious, it's a perfect primer to learn why The Clash were once famously dubbed, “the only band that matters.” A

— by Thomas Bond, Get Out