The separation of Classical and Pop musics can be indefensible in purely artist terms. A fair amount of 20th Century Classical barely qualifies as music at all, imo, and an album of the most artistically ambitious and rewarding music of the Century came from not a Classical composer, but a Pop songwriter, Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys. His 1965 album Pet Sounds was hailed by Paul McCartney as the best album he had ever heard, and was Pauls inspiration for The Beatles Sgt. Pepper (don't blame Brian if you, as I, don't care for Pepper ;-). Pet Sounds is still voted All-Time Number One Album in many poles. But PS is not the album to which I refer.
In 1966, Brian, with the other Beach Boys on the road, and using the best studio musicians in Los Angeles (The Wrecking Crew, found on albums from Frank Sinatra to Sonny & Cher), began the recording of an album he conceived, envisioned, and wrote to tell the story of the expansion of the United States of America from coast-to-coast----Manifest Destiny, in music and lyric. Brian Wrote the music, and he brought in Van Dyke Parks to write the lyrics.
Recording began, but Brian's vision was soon being questioned by the obnoxious Mike Love, lead "singer" (he stinks) of TBB, who not only didn't understand it or Van Dykes lyrics (Mike never progressed beyond "teenage" love songs, and Vans lyrics were rather abstract), but also thought it wouldn't be commercially successful (Mike had already amassed three ex-wives and kids by that time that he had to support, I believe). As the recording dragged on for over a year, Capitol Records started pressuring Brian for "product", something to sell (Groups were putting out at least an album a year at that time, sometimes two!). As the resistance from Mike and the pressure from Capitol increased, Brians inner demons rose to the surface (he had already suffered a nervous breakdown in '64, and is a diagnosed Paranoid Schizophrenic), and that combined with his intake of copious amounts of LSD and Cocaine resulted in his complete and utter implosion, the "Smile" album remaining unfinished. Brian retreated to the bedroom of his Bel-Air mansion, pulled the covers over his head, and stayed there for a number of years.
Needing a new album, Brians brother Carl threw together some of the completed "Smile" recordings and some new, Brian-less material, and Capitol released "Smiley Smile", an album Carl described as being a bunt to the "Smiles" home run. I knew none of this when I first heard SS in early '68, and to say I was left speechless is a gross understatement. It made everything else of the time sound so.....pedestrian. And that includes all the psychedelic music that was supposed to be re-imagining Rock n' Roll. It did no such thing, but "Smile" sure would have. What a shame. In 1968, Leonard Bernstein produced and narrated a one-hour TV Special about the newly-sophisticated Pop music he found so interesting, and Brians solo performance of "Surfs Up" (a song to have been on "Smile") on his living room grand piano was the centerpiece of the show. The clip is viewable on You Tube, and is absolutely mesmerizing.
Over the years, Smile took on a legendary status, with many bootleg LPs and CDs coming out with a lot of the unreleased "Smile" recordings. Finally, a couple of years ago, Capitol paid some professional recording people very familiar with both Brian and "Smile" to find all the tapes, listen to and organize them, and prepare a proper "Smile" release. It is available as a 9-CD boxset, and in a 2-LP or CD version. The boxset is overkill, with an entire disc devoted to every single take, partial and complete, rehearsals etc., of "Good Vibrations", and another for "Heroes & Villains". They're both great songs, but an entire disc of each?! The 2-LP set will do nicely.
