1966 was a great year for the Beach Boys. Pet Sounds had been released to universal acclaim; Paul McCartney called it the greatest record ever made. Good Vibrations was released near the end of the year, expanding the concept of the pop song even further. Even though the rest of the Beach Boys were hesitant about the strange new directions the band was taking, the eyes of the musical world were on Brian Wilsons next move and he was excited to take it. The next project was tentatively called Smile. It was intended to be a complex, experimental, orchestral affair to dwarf even Sgt. Pepper. While the rest of the band went on tour in Europe, Brian Wilson paired up with songwriter Van Dyke Parks and began writing and recording new material. This instrumental, tentatively called Mrs. OLearys Fire, was thought to have been inspired by a particularly vivid LSD trip where he experienced self-immolation and ego death. During recording, he insisted that everyone involved wear fireman hats and brought in burning wood to fill the studio with smoke. Immediately after recording, there was a rash of fires in the L.A. area and Brian was convinced that the track had pyrokinetic properties. After his fellow band members came back from tour, hearing the new music horrified them. Shattered, Brian shelved the tracks and the far less ambitious album Smiley Smile was released the following year. Brian sank into even deeper depression and psychosis, and wouldnt emerge for a number of decades. Dont overdo psychedelics, kids. As a bittersweetly happy ending, though, the songs were eventually finished almost 40 years later, and released as Brian Wilson Presents Smile. It was considered one of the best releases of that year and of the decade, lauded by critics as a masterpiece, and this song specifically won the Grammy for Best Rock Instrumental Performance. I guess he just wasnt made for his times.
Posted on: Sat, 08 Nov 2014 19:00:01 +0000
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