Smile

There should be fanfares. Every contributor to pop's legacy should respectfully bow down in silent thanks that Smile has finally been officially released. It may not be the original album (the tragic deaths of Carl and Dennis Wilson, and perpetual legal wrangles ensure The Beach Boys remain steadfastly estranged from this re-recording, and each other), but that won't matter to fans who devoured bootlegs, worshipped the recycled Smile songs that appeared on later albums and obsessed over literature such as "Look! Listen! Smile! Vibrate!" or Andrew Doe and John Tobler's Definitive Beach Boys guide.

Imagine waiting 37 years for a train to the best theme park in the world. Finally, there you are, and despite the paint job, it still doesn't fail to delight. Well, that's what it is to listen to Smile. The ideas may seem far-out initially, but they soon reveal themselves as pop-art at its absolute zenith. Who can argue with the sublime "Cabinessence"? The majesty of "Surf's Up"? And (least of all) the jewel in the crown of pop music "Good Vibrations"? Modern music may have caught up, but Smile's joyous trundle through Americana will leave mouths open wide in wonder. The gripes over the absence of Beach Boy vocals, (particularly Carl Wilson and Mike Love) may be valid, but Wilson's band are respectful imitators, and this is the best Brian's sounded in years--his world-weary, poignant voice conveys Van Dyke Parks' impressionistic lyrics more maturely than his younger self.

It's impossible to give a definitive opinion, because it's something that everyone needs to hear, history or no history, and though it may not quite satisfy 37 years worth of anticipation, or stand up to the original version (this version shows Brian was so, so close to originally finishing it), it's unquestionably the album of the decade. --Thom Allott

While current list-orientated thinking places the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds as one of the greatest modern popular recordings, debate still rages as to whether its mooted follow-up, Smile, would have outshone it. Only ever glimpsed in segments, was the album just a victim of a self-perpetuating myth, enhanced by legends of Brian and his missing marbles? Or was this one of the great lost opportunities? 40 years later, Brian's finally letting us know...

After creating Pet Sounds almost single-handedly while his siblings toured the globe, Brian - already in the throes of considerable mental anguish - embarked on a project even more gargantuan. With maverick lyricist Van Dyke Parks he proceeded to craft a 'teenage symphony to God'. Six months of intense work yielded most of the tracks, but by then Wilson was suffering from intense paranoia and exhibiting somewhat erratic behaviour. While recording the "Fire" sequence of "Mrs O'Leary's Cow" (getting the orchestra to wear fireman's helmets!) he believed that the vibes had started a major conflagration nearby. Now irreparably fragile and convinced he could never better the Beatles, he took to his bed for years, releasing tantalising snippets of his symphony on subsequent albums and leaving fans to try and assemble their own versions from advance press release track listings. Ironically Brian's own website claims that: "To this day, few have heard this lost masterpiece".

What's immediately apparent is that this project, once dubbed 'unwieldy', is perfectly suited to modern ears. The complexity of the segmented arrangements, the recurring themes ("Roll Plymouth Rock", "Heroes and Villains" etc.) and the lush orchestration and vocal harmonies actually improve under modern recording techniques, making what once seem muddled now a startlingly clear vision of American history - albeit a baroque and impressionistic one. Parks' lyrics defy categorisation and still convey a concise sense of the weight of 200 years. One instinctively knows what he means by 'Bicycle rider, just look what you've done to the church of the American Indian' or 'Colonnaded ruins domino' ("Surf's Up").

The music manages even more. Every second is packed with a thorough trawling of popular forms, from lounge jazz ("I Wanna Be Around") to barbershop ("Heroes and Villains"). A capella opener "Our Prayer" provides the missing link between the Four Freshmen and gospel music(!) and "Wonderful" manages to be both sensual and holy. Only during the final suite, containing oddities such as "Vega-tables" and the aforementioned "Mrs O'Leary's Cow", do you start to wonder if Brian's muse is unravelling before your ears.

Aficionados will argue for decades over the differences between these newly recorded versions and the sacred originals, yet the Wondermints, Brian's backing band on recent live outings, are so steeped in Beach Boys lore that you'd be hard pushed to tell them from the originals. Only Brian's older, worn vocals really give the game away. Anyone fearing that finally finishing Smile would diminish its status can now rest easy. This is a work of genius that transcends time. Is it time to rewrite those lists again? --Chris Jones

Find more music at the BBC This link will take you off Amazon in a new window

Smile is inarguably the most long awaited album in modern pop history. It's been more than 37 years since the title first appeared on a label release schedule, intended as the January, 1967 follow-up to the groundbreaking art-rock of the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds. But Smile never made its initial release date. Today, this album is not a mere reconstruction of past performances, but something entirely new, a serious summation of a project that has been gestating for nearly four decades.

BRIAN WILSON Smile (2004 Taiwanese edition 17-track CD album - the most famous unreleased album in popular music history finally comes out arranged composed sequenced and performed by Brian presented in superb embossed card picture slipcasecomplete with extensive booklet + obi-strip!)