@tgilb: I came into possession of the Smiley Smile LP in early Spring of ’68 (how that came to pass is a story for another time), and put it on the turntable having no idea what to expect. I suppose my interest was piqued by having heard the amazing "Good Vibrations" on the radio for months and months, while driving around smoking Jazz cigarettes.
For context, The Beach Boys were the first the first group I saw live, in the Summer of ’64 (I saw The Beatles the following Summer). I listened to the All Summer Long album all that Summer, while making out with my girlfriend on her father’s couch (he was at work ;-). She was herself a beach girl, tan and blonde. Anyway ;-), Rock ’n’ Roll was of course changing drastically and rapidly that year and the next (and the next, and next, etc.), and All Summer Long’s follow-up---The Beach Boys Today---was decidedly out of step. The boys were pictured on the cover in matching V-neck sweaters, looking like a group such as The Letterman. Corny, square. And the music matched; not a hint of the harder edge R & R was beginning to exhibit. I never bothered listening to the two following albums---Summer Days (And Summer Nights) and Pet Sounds (until years later, of course), and didn’t know anyone else who did. We were all listening to The Kinks, The Yardbirds, The Who, The Stones, The Animals, The Beatles of course, etc.
So when "Good Vibrations" appeared out of the blue, it was kind of a shock. Oh yeah, The Beach Boys. By that time even their name was a joke. Boys? We wanted to look and sound like men! Psychedelia was in full bloom in the Spring of ’68, and we were listening to Cream, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, The Jefferson Airplane, The Grateful Dead, and all the other leaders in the field. By that time even we suburban white kids were "experienced" (if you know what I mean), and considered anything not mind expanding unworthy of our attention.
So I put on Smiley Smile and strapped on the Koss Pro 4AA headphones, and lit a reefer. What came out of the 4AA’s and into my ears was the strangest, most disturbing "music" I had ever heard. Far weirder than any of the psychedelic music that we were all listening to. The more I listened, the scarier it got. "Fall Breaks And Back To Winter (W. Woodpecker Symphony)"? WTF?! "Heroes And Villains" is an ASTOUNDING song, unlike any other I have ever heard! This was something far more cerebral than what Rock bands were doing, far more conceptual. I didn’t notice it at the time, but a certain Van Dyke Parks’ name co-resided with Brian Wilsons’ in the songwriting credits.
It wasn’t until a coupla years later that I read the great book written by Paul Williams (not the songwriter) entitled Outlaw Blues. Three chapters of the book contain the pieces Williams wrote for Crawdaddy magazine as the Smile sessions were taking place, chronicling the making of that incredible album (do you have the Smile boxset?). Smile instantly became an obsession of mine, and remains for me the most amazing project ever undertaken by a Rock n’ Roll musician (actually musicians, though Van Dyke Parks can hardly be considered that). That Smile was never finished in ’68 is for me the deepest tragedy in the entire history of Pop music. An unrealized masterpiece! Van Dyke characterized Smile as Manifest Destiny set to music. Smiley Smile gives us but a glimpse into the musical world and experience Brian and Van Dyke were endeavoring to create.
