What if SMiLE had been released? And there was no Smiley Smile? Jerry answers those questions with a tantalizing 'what if' fantasy mix: The Beach Boys SMiLE Again.

Back when we were talking about LiFE OF BriAN 5, Jerry gave some early clues to his new mix:

"It will have mostly unreleased tracks from SMiLE sessions, Smiley Smile and a lot of the late-60s unreleased stuff, like 'Breakaway', 'Loop De Loop', 'Celebrate The News', 'Can't Wait Too Long', etc., with silly, goofy sound bites in between the tracks, similar to how I made 'SurfClownSMiLE'. That's all on Side One. On Side Two, it's as if Brian were given free reign to do whatever he wanted: in this case, a 17-minute elemental suite called The Elemental Conclusion."

Jerry recently elaborated on the theme:

Basically, the concept of the album is that SMiLE WAS released and was a major critical and commercial success. Encouraged by this, Mike and Brian come to a truce and agree to do one side of an album (tracks 1-5) as "The Beach Boys Show", following the formula (more or less), and Brian was allowed free reign on Side 2, which he decided to continue his "elements" theme he began with SMiLE. Hence, the very different 2 sides of the album. It was a compromise between Love & Wilson.

Also of note: Jerry has a new "collaborator" on the graphic end of his projects. Enter SoundChaser, who not only gave the original graphics for LiFE OF BriAN a facelift, but also did the graphic artwork for The Beach Boys SMiLE Again. We also interview SoundChaser in this issue to get some tips for those who like to have professional graphics to go with their own personal mixes! Click here for our SoundChaser interview

The Beach Boys SMiLE Again

The Beach Boys SMiLE Again shows that The Beach Boys could have followed up SmiLE with intriguing results. It kind of reminds me of the compromise that Lennon and McCartney reached on Abbey Road - one side of "rockers" and the other side the "experimental" medley. Side 1 of The Beach Boys SMiLE Again gathers the best of The Beach Boys' post-SMiLE eclectic tracks, with humorous soundbites in between tracks to follow the "humor" sub-theme of SMiLE. It has long been thought that the band reached a musical "drough" between Pet Sounds and Sunflower - but The Beach Boys Show demonstrates that all the band really needed was a good editing job!

While side 1 is a great assembly of tracks, it is side 2 that I really dig! It takes the "elemental" theme of SMiLE (earth, wind, fire, water) to a new level, using familiar tunes (great to hear San Miguel-I LOVE that song!) and some really cool sound manipulations. Great imagery is used in the transition from Loop De Loop to Brian's Smog rant, correlating airplanes (and other machines) have added to the smog problem. And I love how Smog is mixed with He Gives Speeches. Fire Breaks is amazing, showing how that Smiley Smiley track (Fall Breaks…) can really give you that ominous "fire" feel. Finally, a "new" water chant leads into Cool Cool Water. All in all this is a fantastic exploration of the "elements".

Here are the titles of the songs for The Beach Boys SMiLE Again:

Side 1: The Beach Boys Show
1. You're Welcome
Three Blind Mice
Soulful Old Man Sunshine
2. Break Away
3. Celebrate The News
4. We're Together Again
5. Can't Wait Too Long

Side 2: The Elemental Conclusion
6. Earthquake At San Miguel
Loop De Loop
Smog Part 1
He Gives Speeches
Smog Part 2
Sail Plane Song
Fire Breaks
Cool Cool Water Part 1
Water Trance
Cool Cool Water Part 2

The Beach Boys SMiLE Again is not only a welcome addition to Beach Boys's fans, but true SMiLE fans will really 'get' the fantasy that the disc explores. Jerry Boyd has done it again and I can't wait to hear his next project! With Jerry's talents, the possibilities are endless…how about a LiFE OF MiKE disc? (just a bizarre idea)