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Re: Re: Re: Brian Wilson Presents SMILE!

I've been listening to the bootlegs for an awfully long time now, but it's nice to finally have a completed record in hand with a tracklisting as Brian intended it.
There are some sections of just heart-rending beauty. But the real way to experience this record is live. Earlier this year, my wife and I had the chance to see Brian at the Keswick Theatre near Philadelphia. The band performed Smile in its entirety along with nearly two hours of Beach Boys and (limited) solo stuff. It was, by far, one of the most moving concerts I've ever attended.

john.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Brian Wilson Presents SMILE!

I must also point out that half of the credit goes to Van Dyke Parks (who also performed on Sound of Music). Van Dyke is an amazing writer - not to mention a very nice guy. He's so busy these days - but said it's a very rewarding time.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Brian Wilson Presents SMILE!

Amen to the props for the god-like genius that is Van Dyke Parks! I've been a Beach Boys fanatic all my life, had a lot of the Smile boots over the years, yet they always left me cold and wondering what the fuss was about.

That has all changed for me with Brian Wilson's new presentation of the material. It's an astounding and incredibly warm record, full of love. The new touches that Parks has provided made all of the difference as far as the cohesion the body of work needed. I also like that it says all it needs to say way under an hour's length of time. And that is indeed a needed breath of fresh air in today's musical climate.

The other hero of the new Smile is Darian Sahanaja---musical director of the incredible Brian Wilson Band. His and the band's contributions are key to this record's success. You popsters out there may want to track down the albums by Darian's other band, The Wondermints---who are also amazing. Other members of The Wondermints play in the Brian Wislon Band as well.

These past two months the Sundance cable channel has been showing an absolutely amazing documentary on the making of the new Smile, called Beautiful Dreamer. I'm sure it'll be out on dvd at some point. It's not to be missed. One of the most moving rock documentaries I've ever seen.

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Replying to:

I must also point out that half of the credit goes to Van Dyke Parks (who also performed on Sound of Music). Van Dyke is an amazing writer - not to mention a very nice guy. He's so busy these days - but said it's a very rewarding time.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Brian Wilson Presents SMILE!

Jeez, Steve, I wish I had Sundance now. My rotten cable company has a very limited scope, unless you love ESPN... PH

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Brian Wilson Presents SMILE!

As stated earlier bro, I'm sure that Beautiful Dreamer documentary HAS to be coming out on dvd sometime soon---it's just too great to be limited to cable screenings.

The archival footage alone makes it worth the viewing, but more than anything this documentary presents warts and all Brian's continued daily struggle and victories over his now diagnosed clinical depression, which makes the documentary even more important for eveyone to see---not just music fans.

And man, footage of the vocal and then subsequent band rehearsals for last year's live shows in England are remarkable on many levels. The doc culminates in the first live presentation of Smile, a show Brian was still contemplating cancelling minutes before taking the stage. You then get to see the triumphant performance, complete with crowd shots of Paul McCartney & George Martin losing their minds. And when Brian asks Van Dyke to take a bow, there isn't a dry eye in the house...

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Replying to:

Jeez, Steve, I wish I had Sundance now. My rotten cable company has a very limited scope, unless you love ESPN... PH

Re: Brian Wilson Presents SMILE!

Hi all, all i can say is that we saw brian wilson/wondermints, his orchestra live in San francisco re: "Smile" concert" and they put on a GREAt live show. Brian doesn't do many high vocal parts anymore,as the guitarist/vocalist to his right(forget his name) sings most of the high lead parts. Brian's a real pro! His choice of venue was also great as the acoustics were super! the crowd was dancing and having a great time! personally, i dig "smile'cd alot! cheers,-Jim



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