The bookshops are awash with books about the Beach Boys, so do we need another one? Well if you are interested in the mythology of the band’s legendary SMiLE album, which famously sat unfinished from 1967 until its acclaimed live premiere in London in 2004, then this might be a welcome addition to your bookshelves.
For those unfamiliar, SMiLE was the album set to follow Pet Sounds and built around the hugely influential singles ‘Good Vibrations’ and ‘Heroes and Villains.’ Release dates came and went, record sleeves were printed and scrapped and eventually Brian Wilson admitted defeat and the album sank into the mythology of bootlegs and what could have been. Then, in 2004 the unexpected happened, Wilson announced he would perform the album in full in London and release a brand-new recording of the album. It was magnificent and plaudits were duly lauded on Wilson. This book covers the period of recording in 1967 right through to the post-2004 legacy that the album and shows have had, with seemingly no stone left unturned and no-one left un-interviewed.
Author David Leaf is no stranger to the subject matter, having made the, rather disappointing, Beautiful Dreamer documentary shortly after the 2004 tour and album, and has written extensively about Brian Wilson and the Beach boys for many decades. He has earnt the respect of Wilson and has access to, seemingly, everyone involved in the album and industry – with the notable exception of Beach Boy Mike Love. Thus, we get insights from the likes of lyricist Van Dyke Parks, fellow Beach Boys members including Carl Wilson and quotes from the likes of Sir Elton John, Bruce Springsteen and Sir George Martin. Such is the influence of the SMiLE project it is hard to imagine anyone declined to be involved in this publication. Thankfully, Leaf is a long-time associate of Wilson’s, and Beach Boys scholar, and is eminently qualified to pull together the multitude of strands that form the story behind SMiLE and does so eloquently and with fastidious attention.
The book is full of fascinating detail, which for those die-hard SMiLE aficionados will be a God-send. I admit I was a SMiLE junkie for many years, searching our bootlegs and books about this masterpiece, but the level of detail in this book perhaps even surpasses what the diehard fans are searching for. Whilst, the book is full of anecdotes such as how Paul McCartney turned up at Wilson’s Royal Festival Hall show one night playing a Ukulele, many of the interviews offer a multitude of, well deserved, platitudes at the expense of further insight. Thus, the book becomes more an encyclopaedia to dip into rather than a must read cover-to-cover, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
It is hard to imagine anyone Leaf hasn’t spoken to or anything that might be left to say about the album so in that sense this book is an essential reading for anyone interested in the real story behind SMiLE. However, the main criticism of this book is that the wealth of individuals interviewed by Leaf often say the same thing, namely what a genius Wilson is and how amazing it was to finally see him perform the seminal album live. Both these points are true, but it is questionable how many times we need to read these views.
We have the Wilson recording of SMiLE, the Beach Boys’ box set, the documentary and now the most in-depth book possible. But there still remains an air of mystery behind what really happened to Wilson and the SMiLE project back in ’67 and it is that mystery which helps keep the album so magical, that and the sheer brilliance of the music from start to finish. If you want to know more about SMiLE this book is a great place to start, but you might not need to read it cover-to-cover.
SMiLE – The Rise, Fall, and Resurrection of Brian Wilson by David Leaf is published by Omnibus Books, April 2025
