'Smile': Greatest Record Never Heard : NPR Heard on All Things Considered In late 1966, Beach Boys legend Brian Wilson created what some consider his most glorious single ever, "Good Vibrations." For a long time thereafter, all was silence and rumors. In fact, Wilson was working quietly with lyricist Van Dyke Parks on what he hoped would be his magnum opus, a vast, abstracted suite called Smile. Brian Wilson performs his long-awaited album Smile in Paris. PIERRE ANDRIEU/AFP/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption PIERRE ANDRIEU/AFP/Getty Images But some of his fellow Beach Boys were vehemently opposed to any deviation from what had become their lucrative signature sound. Wilson — depressed, drugged out and increasingly out of touch with reality — scrapped the project and became a recluse. Still, fragments from Smile sessions surfaced on Beach Boys albums and a raft of bootlegs. Over the years, those in the know have hailed the work as an imaginative breakthrough. Now, nearly four decades later, the public is finally getting a chance to hear the most celebrated album never released. Wilson is taking a 45-minute concert version of Smile on a European tour.

Reviewing the London premiere, a critic for The Guardian called it "the grandest of American symphonies." Tim Page reports on the history of Smile. Article continues after sponsorship Brian Wilson: That Lucky Old Sun Album Review | Pitchfork Rock September 3 2008 After the long-awaited, triumphant official release of Smile, the former Beach Boy returns-- along with co-writers Scott Bennett and Van Dyke Parks-- creating an amazing portrait of L.A. and his own place within it. In 2004, Brian Wilson finally climbed one of the biggest artistic mountains of his life, recording and releasing a complete version of Smile, which since 1966 had been perhaps the most legendary unfinished album ever. It was a triumph that returned Wilson to the spotlight, crowning an extremely spotty solo career with a true jewel. In fact, Wilson had already released the now nearly forgotten Gettin' in Over My Head earlier in 2004, to virtually no fanfare. Smile, though, was different.

We knew it was brilliant before we even heard it, and though I still prefer my own bootleg of the original 60s recordings, it was something of a relief to hear Wilson finally purge the project that derailed him so long ago. If Smile finally cleared out Wilson's closet, That Lucky Old Sun neatly closes the circle he began drawing in 1961 with the single "Surfin'", returning him to an idealized Southern California after Smile brought him across the country and through its history. Musically and lyrically, That Lucky Old Sun is as cohesive as its predecessor, though more modest in scale and ambition. Wilson and co-writers Scott Bennett and Van Dyke Parks have created an amazing portrait of L.A. and Wilson's place within it, blending nostalgia with hope for the future and honest biographical detail. The title track is an appropriately chosen oldie, written in 1949 by Beasley Smith and Haven Gillespie with lyrics that contrast the toil of life with the easy indifference of nature to our travails.

In the past, it's been a hit for Frankie Laine, Louis Armstrong, and Frank Sinatra, but here, Wilson uses it as a musical thread to tie his album together, reprising it three times after opening the album with it. Also aiding the album's suite-like feel are four spoken interludes written by Parks that paint images of L.A. life with the writer's characteristic sense of wordplay and rhythm. From a listening standpoint, these are the low points of the album, as Wilson's narration isn't very compelling, especially when he's asked to wield a series of Spanish phrases after "Mexican Girl". The narratives do, however, flesh out the album's geographical portrait. The lyrics to the songs themselves are often just as vivid, such as the opening verse of "Morning Beat", which borrows its rhythmic feel from the Beach Boys' early singles. "The sun burns a hole through the 6 a.m. haze/ Turns up the volume and shows off its rays/ Another Dodger blue sky is crowning L.A." perfectly captures a sunny day in the city Wilson still loves.

References to star-studded concrete, the Capitol Building, the Hollywood Bowl, the Hollywood Hills, and even smog are sprinkled throughout the album and complete the picture. Wilson's backing band, largely similar to the crew that worked on Smile and he has been touring with, is versatile, handling both old-school rock'n'roll and big, pretty ballads with ease. Members even do their best to approximate the harmonies of the Beach Boys when necessary-- especially since, with Wilson's falsetto gone, it's up to his mates to hit the high notes. Though it's just as orchestrated and complex as some of Wilson's classic work, the record doesn't capture that sparkling, big-room sound; as a result, it can occasionally feel a little hermetically sealed, especially with the way the background vocals are mixed and compressed. As interesting as the portrait of Southern California the album paints can be, it's the self-portrait Wilson embeds in his wider narrative that carries the majority of the album's emotional weight. "Forever She'll Be My Surfer Girl" is clear self-referential nostalgia, but he digs deeper elsewhere.

"I am a diver, a long line survivor," he sings on "Live Let Live", a line knowingly provided by Parks. "Oxygen to the Brain" and "Midnight's Another Day" are direct attempts to put Wilson's past mental and substance troubles to bed. "I laid around this old place/ I hardly ever washed my face," he signs on the former, following it up on the latter with, "Swept away in a brainstorm/ Chapters missing, pages torn." Wilson washes his hands of those missing pages on two celebratory numbers, "California Role", which uses its title's nearly unforgivable pun to actual good effect. But it's "Going Home" that most firmly validates his renewed artistic currency: "At 25 I turned out the light/ Couldn't handle the glare in my tired eyes/ But now I'm back." And he is, with his finest non-Smile album since the golden age of the Beach Boys. Lucky us.

The Beach Boys to release 'lost' album Smile after 44 years - NME NME 1:07 pm - Aug 31, 2011 0shares 'The Smile Sessions' sees the remaining band members returning to the abandoned album PA The Beach Boys are set to release their ‘lost’ album ‘Smile’ on October 31. ‘The Smile Sessions’ sees three of the surviving members of the band collaborating to release “an approximation of what was intended to be the completed” album, reports The Guardian . Brian Wilson released his own version of the 1966/67 album in 2004, but this version of the album sees Wilson collaborating with Al Jardine and Mike Love to ‘polish’ the original session masters, which were abandoned 44 years ago. The album will be available in double CD, double vinyl and a number of different boxsets. Four albums’ worth of bonus material, including demos, alternate takes, mixes and studio banter will accompany the long-awaited release. A biopic of The Beach Boys ‘ Brian Wilson is currently in the works.

River Road Entertainment has acquired the life rights to The Beach Boys ‘ founder and those of his wife, Melinda Wilson. Throughout his life Wilson has battled mental illness, including what was thought to be depression and bipolar disorder. It was rumoured that a major factor in his breakdown was the cancellation of the ambitious ‘Smile’. Deadline reports that Oren Moverman, who was nominated for an Academy Award for The Messenger, is writing the screenplay. Moverman is also currently working on the biopic of Kurt Cobain for Universal and Working Title. No director or star is yet attached to the project. Song Stories Long-awaited Smile surfaces as double disc album | Features | videtteonline.com Long-awaited Smile surfaces as double disc album Nov 8, 2011 0 by Kevin Pajor, Daily Vidette Reporter When most people think of the Beach Boys, they think of fun in the sun pop music fluff. By the general public, they arent really considered a serious band thats ranked alongside the other greats of their time.

When they were at their best, however, very few other acts in the business could equal the musical magic created by primary songwriter and arranger Brian Wilson. Their 1965 album Pet Sounds is widely regarded by music critics as one of the greatest of all time. In the mid-'60s the Beach Boys were in a race to the top of the music world with the Beatles. Rubber Soul influenced Pet Sounds, and Pet Sounds was a large influence on the Beatles Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band. Brian Wilsons massive response to that '67 psychedelic masterpiece was to be called Smile. Due to Wilsons problems with drugs and schizophrenia, the album never saw the light of day. Obsessed fans mixed tapes of the recording sessions together to create their own Smile albums, many of which were shared across the country and across the Internet. In 2004 Wilson and his band revisited the Smile music and recorded their own version.

While that album was successful and eye-opening in its own right, fans have been waiting a long time to hear Smile as originally recorded. Last week, a package called The Smile Sessions was released. It may be disappointing to some long-time Beach Boys fans that the version of Smile on this set follows almost the exact same track order as Brian Wilsons from 2004. The audio quality varies from track to track, but is almost always wonderful considering the age of the music. This is the best the original Beach Boys tracks for Smile will ever sound. Listeners new to Smile may be taken aback by its structure. It isnt sequenced like an ordinary album of song after song. Rather, it is built around a few big songs and surrounded by soundscape-type tracks that build the atmosphere and Americana effect of the album. Smile isnt just an album; its an experience that really has to be listened to from beginning to end.

The crowning achievement, other than the famous Good Vibrations, has to be Surfs Up. It is a gorgeous track depicting desolate human civilization, full of clever wordplay and soaring falsetto. For my money, Surf's Up is one of Brian Wilsons absolute masterpieces. This isnt Smile as it would have been released in 1967  its still safe to say that its the greatest album never made. However, the great-sounding compilation here, alongside the plentiful bonus material, makes this set a must-buy for fans of popular music. × The Beach Boys' 'Smile' named as the greatest ever bootleg by Uncut - NME NME 4:22 pm - Oct 21, 2011 0shares NME's sister paper also include Nirvana, Blur and The White Stripes in their top 50 PA The Beach Boys ‘ ‘Smile’ album has been voted the Greatest Bootleg recording of all time.

The record, which is set to be finally officially released after 44 years on October 31, has come top of a poll conducted by NME‘s sister magazine Uncut . Brian Wilson released his own version of the 1966/67 album in 2004, but the official version of the album later this month sees the songwriter collaborating with surviving members Al Jardine and Mike Love to “polish” the original session masters, which were abandoned first time around. The original version of ‘Smile’ was closely followed by Bob Dylan And The Band’s 1967 recording ‘A Tree With Roots’ and Neil Young ‘s ‘Chrome Dreams’ [Rust Edition] in a collection of the 50 Greatest Bootlegs in the November edition of Uncut . Other entries include Steve Albini‘s original version of Nirvana ‘s ‘In Utero’, Blur ‘s ‘Parklife’ deluxe bootleg, The Smiths ‘ unreleased demos and instrumentals and an Italian bootleg of The White Stripes ‘. You can read more about the 50 Greatest Bootlegs at Uncut.co.uk .

‘Smile’ meanwhile, will be available in double CD, double vinyl and a number of different boxsets. Four albums’ worth of bonus material, including demos, alternate takes, mixes and studio banter will accompany the long-awaited release. Song Stories The Beach Boys | Rolling Stone artists > T > The Beach Boys > Bio The Beach Boys Bio Creators of lush songs described as "teenage symphonies to God" and one of the most innovative bands ever, the Beach Boys invented California rock. Brian Wilson's songs celebrated a West Coast teen fantasy, full of surfing, driving and pretty girls that barely hid the songwriter's inner conflicts. Wilson orchestrated and produced glossy, manicured tracks with an ultra-smooth blend of guitars and vocal harmonies, creating a signature pop sound as recognizable as any in rock history. Though the group scored a late career hit with "Kokomo" (Number One, 1988) and survived into the late 1990s, it had been reduced to America's premier nostalgia act, having lost all but one of its founding members (Mike Love).

But while the Beach Boys star continued to fade in the new millennium, Brian Wilson overcame many of his demons and began recording and performing live again to rave reviews. In 2004, he released SMiLE, a four-decades-old Beach Boys project few expected to see finished. Brothers Brian, Carl and Dennis Wilson were encouraged by their parents, Murray and Audree, to do music and sports. Brian was a varsity baseball player at suburban Hawthorne High when he began to work seriously on music. His first band included brothers Dennis and Carl (who was expelled from Hawthorne for going to the bathroom without permission), cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. As the Pendletones, Kenny and the Cadets (Brian was "Kenny"), or Carl and the Passions, the group played local gigs. At Dennis' suggestion, Love and Brian wrote "Surfin'," which became a regional hit on the soon defunct Candix label in December 1961 while the group was calling itself the Beach Boys.

Like most of their early songs, "Surfin'" used Chuck Berry guitar licks with vocal harmonies (arranged by Brian) recalling 1950s pop groups like the Four Freshmen, which Brian studied closely. Murray Wilson, who was later revealed to have been psychologically and physically abusive to his sons, managed their band and got them a contract with Capitol. The hits began: "Surfin' Safari" (Number 14, 1962); "Surfin' U.S.A." (Number Three, 1963), a note-for-note copy of Berry's "Sweet Little Sixteen" with new lyrics; and "Surfer Girl" (Number Seven, 1963), all of which launched and capitalized on the "surf music" fad, although only Dennis surfed regularly. "Surfer Girl" marked Brian's emergence as a producer, with its complex vocal harmonies and sophisticated pop chords. An admirer of producer Phil Spector, Brian would continue to refine his skills and become one of the greatest record producers in rock.

The years 1963-1965 established the Beach Boys' legacy: "Little Deuce Coupe" (Number 15, 1963), "Be True to Your School" (Number Six, 1963), and "Fun, Fun, Fun" (Number Five,1964), written by Brian and Love in a taxi to the Salt Lake City airport; "I Get Around" (Number One, 1964); "Dance, Dance, Dance" (Number Eight, 1964); "Help Me, Rhonda" (Number One, 1965); "California Girls" (Number Three, 1965); and such ballads as "In My Room" (Number 23, 1963) and "Don't Worry, Baby" (Number 24, 1964). Early in 1965 Brian Wilson suffered a nervous breakdown and decided to quit touring, though he continued writing, recording, and producing.

Pet Sounds, which was released in March 1966, and included "Caroline, No" (Number 23), "Wouldn't It Be Nice" (Number Eight, 1966), and "God Only Knows" (Number 39, 1966), hit Number Ten but sold comparatively poorly. (In fact, it was not certified gold until the 30th anniversary of its release, in 1996.) Nonetheless, it stands as one of the most important works in the Beach Boys oeuvre, for it ushered in the era of studio experimentation, predating the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and rivaling even Spector in terms of its sophisticated production. With the passage of time, the importance of Pet Sounds has only grown. Paul McCartney and Beatles producer George Martin have acknowledged that it was the inspiration for Sgt. Pepper's, and the album's 30th anniversary was celebrated in 1997 (a year late) with the release of a four-CD box set that included tracks stripped of vocals and vocal tracks without instrumentation.

At the same time the Sub Pop label released a single containing three previously unreleased tracks: a stereo mix of "I Just Wasn't Made for These Times," a vocal-only version of "Wouldn't It Be Nice," and the stereo backing track for "Here Today." (All three tracks are also contained in the Pet Sounds box.) The highlight of the Beach Boys' borderline psychedelic period was "Good Vibrations" (Number One, 1966) (from Wild Honey), Wilson's production masterpiece. It took six months and cost $16,000 to make, with several distinct sections and such exotic instruments as Jew's harp, sleigh bells, harpsichord, and theremin. Meanwhile, Brian's ambitions, neuroses, and drug intake were increasing throughout the 1960s. He and Van Dyke Parks began collaborating on Smile in late 1966, but after a mysterious fire at the studio where they were working, Wilson reportedly destroyed most of the tapes in a fit of paranoia.

Several songs have surfaced since; the Wilson-Parks "Heroes and Villains" (Number 12, 1967) appeared on Smiley Smile, and the melancholy, beautiful title cut of 1971's Surf's Up was also a Smile composition. The Smile debacle, and Smiley Smile, marked the end of Brian's reign as the Beach Boys' sole producer. Beginning with Wild Honey (Number 24, 1967), other group members shared writing and production, along with Bruce Johnston, who joined the touring Beach Boys after Brian retired from the road in late 1964. (Johnston replaced Glen Campbell after a brief stint.) Johnston has been associated on and off with the Beach Boys, primarily as producer, ever since. The Beach Boys' late-1960s touring band also included Daryl Dragon (later the Captain of the Captain and Tennille) on keyboards; Blondie Chaplin (later a sideman with the Rolling Stones and others) on guitar, bass, and vocals; and Ricky Fataar (later of Joe Walsh's band) on drums.

In 1968 the Beach Boys became the first major American rock band to play behind the Iron Curtain when they performed in Czechoslovakia. Increasingly, Carl played a larger role in directing the group. His was the lead voice on "Good Vibrations," "Surf's Up," "Wild Honey" (Number 31, 1967), "Darlin'" (Number 19, 1967), and "Friends" (Number 47, 1968), among others. Beginning in 1970 and for the next 18 years, the Beach Boys released their records on their own Brother label, a custom imprint of Warner/Reprise. Their first album under the deal, Sunflower (Number 151, 1970), inaugurated a five-year performance hiatus for Brian, although he tried one live show in early 1970 at the Whisky-a-Go-Go in L.A. The group's hugely popular oldies-dominated live shows reinforced in the public's mind the image of a group whose creative past was behind it.

In fact, however, 20/20 (Number 68, 1969), Sunflower, and its more successful followup, Surf's Up (Number 29, 1971) contained some of the group's more adventurous and interesting work: the lower charting but important singles "Do It Again" (Number 20, 1968), "I Can Hear Music" (Number 24, 1969), "Add Some Music to Your Day" (Number 64, 1970), "Long Promised Road" (Number 89, 1971), and the intriguing album cuts "This Whole World" and "'Til I Die." In 1972 the Beach Boys decided to record in Holland, but after relocating their families learned there were no adequate studio facilities. They had a studio broken down, shipped, and reconstructed in a converted barn, where for over six months they recorded Holland.

Reprise initially rejected the album for a lack of what the company considered a solid hit single, so Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks provided "Sail On Sailor" (written by Brian and several others in addition to Parks). With a rare lead vocal by Blondie Chaplin, the single hit Number 79 when released in 1973, but rose to Number 49 when re-released in 1975. Holland also contained "The Trader," yet another of Carl's more introspective, mature works, and Al Jardine's "California Saga (On My Way to Sunny Californ-i-a)" (Number 84, 1973). Aside from a critically acclaimed double live album, The Beach Boys in Concert (Number 25, 1973), the group's next five charting releases would be repackages and greatest-hits compilations, including Endless Summer (Number One, 1974) and Spirit of America (Number 8, 1975). Another stellar live collection, Beach Boys '69 (The Beach Boys Live in London) came out in 1976 (Number 75).

Meanwhile, efforts continued to coax Brian out of his Bel Air mansion, which included a sandbox as well as a recording studio. In the late 1960s he had briefly run a West Hollywood health food store, the Radiant Radish, and in 1972 he produced an album by his wife, Marilyn, and her sister Diane Powell, as Spring (or American Spring). In 1976, after a much-publicized rehabilitation, Brian rejoined the band for 15 Big Ones (Number Eight, 1976). It included oldie remakes (Chuck Berry's "Rock and Roll Music," which went to Number Five and was the Beach Boys' only Top Ten hit from late 1966 through mid-1988) and Brian Wilson originals such as "It's O.K." (Number 29, 1976), with backing tracks Brian had recorded with ELO founder Roy Wood's group Wizzard. In 1977 open personality clashes (primarily between Dennis Wilson and Mike Love) jeopardized the band's future as it switched labels and moved over to CBS; eventually Love's brothers Stan and Steve were removed from the Beach Boys' management organization.

Steve Love was later sentenced to prison for embezzling nearly $1 million from the group. Johnston was back as coproducer for L.A. (Light Album); in the mid-1970s he had left the band to concentrate on songwriting (including Barry Manilow's hit "I Write the Songs") and make a solo album, Going Public (1977). Love You (Number 53, 1977) contained another overlooked gem, "Honkin' Down the Highway" along with Brian's surreal tribute to the king of late-night TV, "Johnny Carson." Chartwise, the late 1970s were a low time for the group: Neither M.I.U. Album (1978) nor L.A. (Light Album) (1979) charted. A flop single from M.I.U. was rereleased in 1981 and provided the group's first nonmedley Top 20 hit since 1976 in a Number 18 remake of the Dell-Vikings' "Come Go With Me." The 1980s proved a tumultuous decade for the group.

Carl Wilson quit in 1981 to concentrate on his solo career. He, more than the others, seemed to resist the band's increasingly nostalgic appeal. But after his return the following year, the Beach Boys continued being known more as an oldies-but-goodies act, albeit an extraordinarily successful one. In 1983 they unwittingly became the center of controversy when Secretary of the Interior James Watt banned them from performing a Fourth of July concert at the Washington Monument. Public opinion was solidly against Watt, who later resigned, and the group was personally invited to play the Washington Monument the next summer by First Lady Nancy Reagan. Nineteen eighty-three marked Brian's return to the stage with the group, but also the death of Dennis. On December 28 the hard-living drummer drowned while swimming off his boat in Marina Del Rey, California. With the help of President Ronald Reagan, special permission was granted so that Dennis' body could be buried at sea. Brian had since come and gone from the group. The Beach Boys enjoyed their third Number One hit, their biggest-selling single ever, "Kokomo" (1988), from the hit film Cocktail, without him.

Brian's long-awaited first solo album came out that year. Co-produced by his longtime therapist, Dr. Eugene Landy (whose license to practice therapy was later revoked), Brian Wilson elicited glowing reviews but sold poorly. The Beach Boys were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988. As of 1993 Brian was a touring Beach Boy again. Later Mike Love sued Brian, his cowriter Todd Gold, and Landy, claiming he had been defamed in Wilson's autobiography, Wouldn't It Be Nice?: My Own Story. The case was settled out of court in early 1994. In 1995 Brian and Love settled a long-running legal dispute over songwriting credit and royalties for Love. Wilson paid Love $5 million and Love has writing credit on such songs as "Wouldn't It Be Nice" and "California Girls." That same year, Brian Wilson and his estranged daughter Carnie reconciled their differences and contributed "Fantasy Is Reality/Bells of Madness" to Rob Wasserman's Trios.

The period from the mid-1990s through the turn of the century brought dramatic changes within the group, including what appears to be, at this writing, the end of the Beach Boys as we know them. They made their biggest impression on the country chart, where their Stars and Stripes, Vol. 1 (Number 12 C&W, 1996) featured "duets" with the group and country stars. In 1995 Brian was the subject of producer Don Was' documentary I Just Wasn't Made for These Times; he also released a second solo album, Orange Crate Art, and remarried. In 1997 he provided some production work, songwriting, and background singing for his daughters Carnie and Wendy's album The Wilsons. His third solo album, Imagination (Number 88, 1998), was warmly received upon its release, and Wilson returned to performing. By then he had relocated to Illinois, and in a series of candid interviews gave the impression of someone happy and comfortable at last. "My music isn't going to save the world," he said when Imagination was released. "But I think it's going to save souls, certain people in the world.

It pleases me to be able to do that. It feels good." He began touring in 1999. For his 2000 tour, he performed Pet Sounds accompanied by a symphony orchestra; a live album was released from that tour in 2001. In June 2000, Brian was inducted into the Songwriters' Hall of Fame. In 2001 he and Pet Sounds were the recipients of a star-studded tribute (with guests Elton John, Paul Simon, and Billy Joel, among others), televised on TNT. Ironically, as Brian Wilson seemed to be coming back into his own, the Beach Boys were enduring perhaps the most difficult times of their long career. In 1997 Carl Wilson was diagnosed with lung cancer, which later developed into brain cancer. He continued to tour with the group as his health would permit, sometimes even performing sitting in a chair. However, by fall 1997 he retired (he was replaced by David Marks, an original member who quit the group in 1963 but continued receiving about $20,000 a year in royalties).

Carl died on February 6, 1998, in L.A., at age 51. Shortly after Carl's passing, Al Jardine quit the group, leaving only Love, Johnston, and Marks (who, ironically, had been replaced by Jardine back in 1964). The trio toured as the Beach Boys, with added musicians, while Jardine emerged with his Beach Boys Family and Friends (later renamed Al Jardine's Family and Friends Beach Band after Brother Records International, the corporate entity that is the Beach Boys, got an injunction against his using the Beach Boys name), which included two of his sons and Carnie and Wendy Wilson. Love and Jardine feuded bitterly in the press and in court, but much of this was overshadowed by an ongoing celebration of the Beach Boys legacy, in a documentary (VH1's The Beach Boys: Endless Harmony), a made-for-TV miniseries (The Beach Boys: An American Family), and three simultaneously released greatest-hits packages. In 2001 the group received a Lifetime Achievement Award Grammy.

Capitol began another round of Beach Boys reissues and compilations in the early 2000s, and a Love-fronted version of the Beach Boys continued touring while Wilson appeared at various events with other rock legends including Elton John and Paul McCartney. On February 20, 2004, Brian Wilson shocked the music world when he performed his legendary SMiLE album in its entirety at the Royal Festival Hall in London. That September, Wilson released a new studio recording of SMiLE which featured a notably different "Good Vibrations," with the lyrics Mike Love wrote for the 1966 hit version of the song replaced by Tony Asher's original demo lyrics. Wilson's SmiLE, recorded with members of his touring band and the Wondermints, was critically-acclaimed upon its release in September 2004, including a rare five-star review from Rolling Stone. Wilson won his first-ever Grammy Award, ironically for best rock instrumental, for the SMiLE song "Mrs. O'Leary's Cow (Fire)." In 2005, he released a two-DVD version of SMiLE that included a documentary and live performance of the album.

Wilson toured the United States that year and also appeared at the Live 8 concert in Berlin, Germany. Also that year, Love sued Wilson again, this time for "misappropriating" Love's songs, likeness and the Beach Boys trademark during the promotion of SMiLE. Before a judge threw the suit out of court the following year, Love, Wilson, Jardine, Johnson and Marks all appeared together atop the Capitol Records building to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Pet Sounds. Wilson also celebrated the anniversary with a sell-out show at UCLA's Royce Hall in Los Angeles and was backed by a 12-member band that included Jardine. In late 2007, Wilson debuted a new song cycle, That Lucky Old Sun (A Narrative) , based on an old African-American spiritual, in London and scheduled a handful of performances in Australia into early 2008. Love and Johnson continue to tour as the Beach Boys. In February 2010, Wilson and Jardine appeared together along with an all-star cast of artists to re-record Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie's "We Are the World" to raise money for those in earthquake-ravaged Haiti.

Portions of this biography appeared in The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll (Simon & Schuster, 2001). Mark Kemp contributed to this story. News — Brian Wilson 37-NORTH AMERICAN SHOWS ADDED BY POPULAR DEMAND TO PET SOUNDS: THE FINAL PERFORMANCES I AM BRIAN WILSON: A MEMOIR is now available everywhere! Los Angeles, CA – October 11, 2016 – With one of the most in demand concert outings of the year, music legend Brian Wilson is extending the final performance run of his Pet Sounds 50th Anniversary World Tour and announcing a slate of new North American show dates for 2017 to celebrate and perform the iconic album Pet Sounds for a final time. Currently on the road and performing his last shows of the year, the tour will pick up again in the spring with an initial 37 new dates added to the Pet Sounds: The Final Performances tour run. VIP ticket presales begin today with general onsale beginning Friday.

A full list of tour dates is below with up-to-date ticketing, show information and more at addition, fans everywhere can now purchase the autobiography “I Am Brian Wilson: A Memoir” (Da Capo Press), available at retailers everywhere. “There were so many cities on this great tour that myself, my band, Al, and Blondie just couldn’t get to playing,” says Wilson. “We’re performing more shows than ever before and the fans keep asking for more! It’s been a real trip so far and I’m happy that we’ll have the chance to reach so many people that weren’t able to catch our shows this year.” This year alone found Wilson and his band, joined by former bandmates Al Jardine and Blondie Chaplin, performing 99 shows to captivated audiences in sold out venues all over the world. Garnering critical acclaim and marking a true return to form, Wilson continues to deliver a live performance of Pet Sounds in its entirety, as well as top hits and fan favorites spanning his 54-year career with The Beach Boys and as a solo artist.

Universally hailed as a writer of one of the greatest American songbooks, Pet Sounds has reigned atop countless critic and fan polls, and has maintained its timeless rank as one of popular music’s most-cited influences. In 1965, with the Beach Boys out on tour, Wilson began session work on some of the most deeply personal recordings of his career. Inspired by The Beatles Rubber Soul, he challenged himself to create an immaculate musical masterpiece. A vast departure from the bands’ then commercial sound, the resulting “concept album” Pet Sounds achieved great critical success helping usher in a new musical landscape. Wilson began his career as a teenaged founding member of The Beach Boys, who signed with Capitol Records in July 1962 and released their first album, Surfin’ Safari, that same year. The band’s initial surf-rock focus was soon broadened to include other themes. Wilson’s innovative vocal and instrumental arrangements for major hits including “I Get Around,” “California Girls,” “Wouldn’t It Be Nice,” “God Only Knows,” and the No. 1 smash “Good Vibrations” made The Beach Boys America’s preeminent band of the 1960s.

Wilson has also achieved great solo success with 11 of his own albums released to date, including his acclaimed 2004 completion of an album he first began recording in the ‘60s, Brian Wilson Presents… SMiLE. The album earned Wilson his first GRAMMY® for a recording, which was followed by his second GRAMMY® win for producing The Beach Boys’ acclaimed 2011 release, The SMiLE Sessions. With his own band, Wilson has performed major, sold-out tours in recent years, and with The Beach Boys, he celebrated the iconic band’s 50th anniversary in 2012 with a major international tour and acclaimed studio album, That’s Why God Made The Radio. In 2015, Wilson released his latest solo album No Pier Pressure (Capitol) and was the subject of the critically acclaimed, award-winning biopic Love & Mercy (Roadside Attractions/Lionsgate). Directed by Bill Pohlad, starring John Cusack, Paul Dano, Elizabeth Banks and Paul Giamatti, Love & Mercy presents an unconventional portrait of the music legend.

Set against the era-defining catalog of the music, the film intimately examines the personal voyage and ultimate salvation of the icon whose success came at extraordinary personal cost. The culmination of these projects produced Wilson’s first Golden Globe nomination for Best Original Song (Motion Picture) for his song “One Kind Of Love” featured in the film. Brian Wilson is a Kennedy Center Honors recipient, a Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee, and a U.K. Music Hall of Fame inductee. As a member of The Beach Boys, Wilson was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988 and honored with The Recording Academy’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2001.

Question: In 2004, who released his long awaited album, "Smile"?
Answer: Brian Wilson