this is the most nervous i have ever been for an upload aaaaaa season 2 is DONE! thank you all for a great year. what do you want to see on season 3? comment below!

Smile is honestly a endless source of ideas and inspiration to me. The lore, the different versions, the interviews, the countless artists inspired by it, the billion bootlegs of people doing their own Smiles. It’s like a big musical sandbox where you can do anything.

Omg, I thought I was the only weirdo obsessed with this album. Truly the only wholistic fusion between classical music & pop/rock

I feel like Van Dyke's contribution to Smile is greatly underappreciated. In my eyes, Smile really is an equal collaboration between Brian and Van Dyke. I can't imagine Smile without the lyrical part of it, and I'm glad you mentioned the lyrics a lot in the video.

I saw Brian Wilson with Paul Simon in 2002 or 03. It was so awesome. After he played the Pet Sounds mini set he said “now we’re going to play you some songs to make you smile”. My buddy and I looked at each other about to die. It was so cool. I was huge into The Beach Boys in the early 2000s.

"It's an assurance that broken things are beautiful..." Wow, Abby. You really encapsulated SMiLE with that phrase.

Ugh I found an absolutely pristine copy of Smile Sessions pre-owned for $20.97 at my local record store a few months ago, listened to it once and then sold it because I needed some cash and the thing goes for like $300 these days. I fully regret that and really wish I’d kept it. Hopefully they do a repress soon. It’s been out of print since release in 2011, so it’s quite overdue and more people deserve to hear it!

There was a documentary made about the band that achingly convinced Brian to do the show at Albert Hall. His fear of going back onstage is palpable. To the player's credit (who knew all of his recorded work) they were so supportive, so loving that I had to cry. Brian was hesitant at first but then he became Brian effin' Wilson. You can sing as high as Brian with a bit of training. Your pitch is perfect so no challenge there.

The beach boys put out some brilliant albums around this time starting with wild honey, friends, 20/20, sunflower, surf's up and Holland and all of these albums have now become classics

This is the first video of yours that I have watched and I'm pretty sure it's not the last, Abigail. As a Beach Boys fan, it was so refreshing to see an analysis of the history of this album's making without going into cliche territory (Brian lost his mind, it was Mike's fault - both false) and also it was great to see you appreciating BWPS and Smiley Smile too instead of just focusing on the sessions. All of that mixed with your charm and humour. That might very well be the best video on SMiLE on the internet. Congrats, great job!

"Their cousin... MIKE LOVE 👁👁" Killed me dead 😂

My son recited 'Wonderful' at his mother's funeral. Tears, Frankie, every time a guy see his muddah.

Wow - I've been following the BBs since the Sixties. Have read and seen everything. But THIS is the best, most concise essay I've seen on Brian and the guys. A perfect combination of info, insight, and personality. It sums up the zeitgeist perfectly, and the evident hard work paid off in spades. The Final Thoughts alone are worth a stand-alone video. Brian would love it ( I know Brian's people and I'll pass it on to him.) Just like SMiLE, we've waited decades for this. If it ever gets taken down I predict there will be bootleg versions, hopefully with outtakes. ( The "Her Majesty" of "SMiLE" cracked me up big time). Brian was the Mozart of Pop, and Abigail is the Faulkner of KZfaq Pop, only she has a much better delivery than WF. Thanks, Abigail, for all the hard work and the cool style.

I was there, Abby! Both at Brian's presentation of Smile at the Royal Festival Hall in 2004, and for Pet Sounds a couple of years earlier. (Same venue: RFH is the one by the river, along from the London Eye. Google Maps has lots of photos and reviews. RFH and that area is always a nice place to go.) Of course we were delighted to see the great man. In person, gentle and soft-spoken. "You sit back - we'll do all the work". During the Pet Sounds performance, Brian regaled us with some daft knock-knock-who's-there jokes. He was centre stage, singing and sort of supervising his musicians. There was a girl in the line-up. Both times, Brian wore a bright Hawaiian-style shirt. You remember these things. Both times, for Pet Sounds and for Smile, the format was the same and we weren't complaining. The first half, they performed the album. The second half "after the intermission" was a Beach Boys singalong of our old favourites that we'd loved for decades. One very happy audience, we were. Thank you so much Brian Wilson.

The smile album is phenomenal! I’m glad Brian Wilson finished it and released it years later. Definitely one of my favorites from The Beach Boys.

His concert in 2004 with Darrien from the Wondermints conducting is my all time favorite, live or recorded. He looked like a happy little kid and barely spoke throughout. Our Chopin.

I love this album. Surf's Up is one of my all-time favourite songs, but the rest of what Brian and Van Dyke were writing at the time is amazing as well. Smiley Smile has its moments too. Cool video.

Great job, Abby. There are few people I find compelling enough to sit and watch for an hour. I too own BWPS, the Smile Sessions and a Smile bootleg.

The Stockholm Strings & Horns had the great honor of working with Arthur Lee & Love on his 2003 European tour & Brian Wilson on his 2004 tour. They appreciated working with the two eccentrics & their discipline helped keep both in line !

I love Vega-Tables and i don't feel any guilt for that. Absolute favourite... if there wasn't 'Surf's Up' aaah. D: So much, so good on here. I hope Brian Wilson is happy at the end of this story.

1 little note: The lyrics in Good Vibrations weren't by Van Dyke Parks. The original lyrics (the ones on Brian Wilson Presents SMiLE) were by Tony Asher, the lyricist for Pet Sounds. The single's lyrics were written by Mike Love, and a couple of these (the first line and the chorus) are used in both versions nowadays.

This is my first time watching your content and I really loved it, please continue posting this videos I really like the way you review the records. also although I'm not part of the 60s generation and only discovered Smile a couple of years ago, I really can appreciate the truly piece of masterpiece it could have been if made by the whole Beach Boys and for that it have become one of my favorite pieces of music I have ever heard.

Hi Abigail! This is my first time catching your show. Great job! Your insight and taste in music is wonderful. I can only imagine how gorgeous that album would've been in its actual time slot...that friendly competition between The Beatles and The Beach Boys up through 1966 brought us some of the most fantastic work in music. Songs like 'Surf's up', 'Wonderful', 'Heroes and Villains', 'Cabinessence', and 'Wind Chimes' were just so ahead of any band at that time...and still.are. The Beatles too, of course. When I think of what they did in just seven short years, it blows my mind....The stars have to align just right to catch lightening in a bottle like that. I love The Beatles and Beach Boys. Number 1 and 2, respectively. Awesome work Abby!

Great work Abby! A fitting finale to season 2---you picked a whopper of an album to cover and your appreciative comments on Brian as a person and creator are wonderfully heartwarming. My thoughts on the different iterations of Smile? When BWPS first came out, I sat, listened, and was spellbound through the entire album. No other album has ever hit me that hard. Sounded like a perfect marriage between Sgt. Pepper and Abbey Road. This album lived up to the legend and the hype. When the Smile Sessions came out, it became my favorite version. The finished and unfinished parts show the Beach Boys going _way_ outside their comfort zone, a dark horse progressing as fast as Beatles were. (A mere two albums since Summer Days.) Brian and the boys may not have won that race, but they're the underdog I relate to. And in that sense, Smile's imperfections make Smile perfect to me, plus the mystique of never knowing what the finished product would have been.

I can’t thank you enough for what you’ve done for us all! 😊

After Smile Brian actually produced Smiley and Wild Honey with the group in 1967. After that Brian produced Friends and kind of took a back seat on 20/20 onward. His special magic he added to the music was still there but, not as much as before 1968. So in a sense Friends was last true album that Brian fully was invested in. Well it kind of changed when Brian got ambious with Love You in 1977.

Great analysis really enjoyed your take. I think my favourite is Brian Wilson presents with Beach Boys Smile a very close second! I listen to Pet Sounds and the former to obsessively too. Its inspiring and uplifting music, still blows my mind he was trying to make all this in 1967...the moment when they got all the tracks on the computer was the moment I think it became truly real for Brian, no longer in his head! Edit, a fan project might be to combine the two.

another smash out of the park Abby! Always very articulate about your opinions that even sometimes helps me understand why i love an album so much. I've actually never listened to smile before but had heard lots of little things about it. watching this video was a great compilation of info that illuminated the picture a bit better for me. i think it's time for me to listen to smile.

I love the way you said ‘Mike Love’. It said everything 😂 I was lucky enough to speak to Brian Wilson on the phone once. Greatest experience of my life!

Great Job Abby! This is one of your best!

Congratulations on two years Abbey! Thank you for brightening so many music lover’s lives! I watch a lot of music/vinyl review channels, and your’s stands out from the pack! Keep on doing what you’re doing!

Great job, Abby! I've been looking forward to watching this video all day and it was well worth the wait. I can't wait to see what you come up with next season. I'd love to hear your thoughts on other Beach Boys albums particularly Sunflower, Surf's Up, Holland, and/or Love You.

Well deserved season break, Abigail. Wonderful.

Thank you for a brilliant season 2! I came onboard after watching the Aeroplane Over The Sea episode and this series has quickly became my favourite yt channel. The level of research and production in all of your videos is amazing. I went through a heavy 60s/70s phase in my early 20s and these videos serve as a constant reminder of just how wonderful that period in music truly is.

This is one helluva deep dive. Congratulations on such a detailed insight on what has now become the stuff of legend.

Congrats on your second season! Great re-cap of the Smile saga.

Cant believe its been 2 seasons wow watched every one luv it and your fashion sense and yes you must use the firehat again somehow i gain so much insight on the albums from you and i thought i knew a decent amount congrats again cant wait for season 3

i can't take it, she is just too adorable and smart--and she has a lot of records

I was never a beach boys fan before I watched your channel. Now I am. Thanks for giving me the push I needed to give them a chance I was too cynical to before.

Thank you so much for your closing thoughts on hope and optimism. I've always loved Smile, and your review deepened my love it. Great job!

Thanks for this! Been on a Beach Boys binge and I needed someone to set me straight on the different versions of the songs.

So very well done. I’m one of those people who has been living with the “Smile” mythology seemingly my entire life. I was never a huge early BB fan but loved pretty much everything from “Pet Sounds” through “Surfs Up” (“Smiley” perhaps being the exception). Over the years, as various boxed sets were released, there were always tidbits from the “Smile” session, but I never thought I’d see a completed version. When I first heard “BW presents Smile”, I must admit to being a little thrown. I guess I was really surprised how everything was put together. Maybe after so many years I didn’t know what to expect. On my second listening though, it truly floored me. I loved it. Everything about it. It definitely lived up to almost 40 years of hype. I bought the big Smile box when it came out, and there’s a lot of great (albeit disjointed) music there. Very cool that you did the comparison of versions, but I’ll always love the “BW presents…” version. As sacrilege as it is to say, the fact that it’s in stereo is what tips it for me (in fact I was disappointed that the Smile box didn’t have a stereo version as well as the mono). Anyway, great stuff Abby.

This video does Smile justice. A lot! Well done, Abby!

Hi Abby! Great video and great finish to the season finale! I thought you may have done "Smiley Smile" separately but glad you included it here. "Smiley Smile" is on my list of underrated albums. Great job! Watched it in its entirety. Keep up the great work!

incredible video, I can't even image the insurmountable amount of effort that must've gone into writing this! Between this and the ongoing Pop Goes The 60's Beach Boys docuseries I'm definitely warming up to the band a lot! Thank you for the amazing analysis 🙏

Wow Abbey. So glad you prefer the Smiley Smile versions of Wonderful and Wind Chimes. I still like the others but the darkness of those alternate versions really drags me in ❤

Thank you for all your hard work, Abi. 🍻🍻

Whew! What a trip you took us on, Abby! You keep upping your game week by week. Congrats on two years of outstanding work. Your extensive research and thoughtful insights are impressive. Looking forward to year three.

You are so awesome Abigail. For someone so young you have so much knowledge and may I say, insight. Being a huge Brian fan for decades, I was so happy to find your site and listen to your analyzes. Consider me a new and huge fan. Peace

Hello Abigail. Great video and lots of info. Looking forward to next season!

Loved the Smile vs Smile part. Really fun to hear your thoughts

Abby, I’m sure you remember the box set that came out about 10 years ago. I, like many others, had mixed feelings about the demos shared on the Good Vibrations box set back in the 1990’s. When Brian did the Smile album around the 2000’s, I finally “got” what Brian Wilson was trying to convey. Would it have been better if The Beach Boys had supported Brian more? I think so. Mike Love, though he contributed with lyrics and unique vocals, didn’t have the patience to understand. Carl and Dennis, his brothers, would make greater contributions in the future. And Murray, their father and former manager, was stewing over being fired from his son. So forget his understanding. Now I appreciate Smile for what was attempted. If you can do that, you can appreciate Friends, Wild Honey, Sunflower, Surf’s Up, Carl And The Passions and Holland. 🌻🏄🍯🐝🌷🇳🇱 All of them are great albums which really should’ve been more successful. I’m sure you’ve heard most of them, Abby. Definitely worth checking out and then you can decide for yourself if any of them are worthy of a pod show. Pet Sounds is, in my opinion. But very cool you got a bootleg of Smile. Hold onto that and save a few copies on tape or CD for children, nephews and nieces. We’re very lucky we can hear all these great albums not even our older siblings or parents got to hear!

Stumbled on this video and thought I’d give it a listen. Congratulations on a brilliant piece of criticism and an engaging and comprehensive presentation. Never a dull moment. Intellectually presented and entertaining. Seems a work of love!

I’m four minutes in and I’m already enchanted by the transitions.

That was an impressive breakdown. Well done!

This is so much fun and informative. I’ve been a huge fan of mid-period Beach Boys since the early 70s and it is such a pleasure to hear your delight in this material. Thanks!!

Ok, I seriously think this might be your greatest Vinyl Monday episode yet. Everything about it oozes love and passion for Smile and it’s awesome! Also, I’m just super impressed you managed to even review an album that technically does not exist (at least in its fully intended form). Take this break! It’s very much well deserved.

Such a brilliant summing up, beautifully written.

Hi Abby.Great video, probably your best one so far IMO.Brilliantly well research and so enjoyable.

Thoroughly enjoyed this video, thank you 😊

Great job on the video, I had no idea about the story of this album and I learned a lot! Thanks!

You're so underrated!! Your videos give such a complete look at whatever LP you're diving into :))

Great season finale!! Congrats

Thanks for another great season of videos!

your subscriber base is going to explode, I've been listening to In the Airplane Over the Sea all weekend... can't believe I was unaware of this album until I watched your review.

I grew up surfing in SoCal in the '70's and thought the Beach Boys were a joke. However, I liked "Good Vibrations" and "Surf's Up". I always knew something about "SMiLE!", and for years believed that Brian had destroyed the tapes. In 1990, out of curiosity, I bought a new Deluxe TwoFer of "Smiley Smile/Wild Honey". The unfinished "Can't Way Too Long" caught my attention and I became obsessed with "SMiLE!". I bought all the albums looking for traces like "Cabinessence" on ""20/20". The Box Set "Good Vibrations" came with even more. I lived in NYC, and eventually found a handful of bootlegs, which I've played and assembled 100 different ways about a million times. An endless Rabbit Hole. I believe "Surf's Up" from the album uses the "SMiLE" elements with some polish and finishing. We're mostly on the same page here. You did a great job, and I salute you.

Your Layla review was great, but this review is your best yet. You really did your homework here! You compared several albums, compared the songs, gave excellent background history, the album's relevance and Brian then/today. Keep it up!

Quite entertainning and informative. Good work, Abi.

Yes!!! I’ve listened to this album on repeat over the last couple months. My favorite album. Thanks

You're such an underrated music history Host. Good job Abigail really impressive

Your bangs are GORGEOUS!

Thank you,this was brilliant.

Good Vibrations was played around the clock on L.A. radio in 1966, usually the complete long version. No DJ worth their salt would play a 3-minute version. Good Vibrations literally changed the vibe of L.A. while it soared in the local charts.

I have been obsessed with this album since I learned the Beach Boys were way more than Surf/Girls/Cars/School in my twenties. I loved the BW Presents version and really thought there was no need to try and improve on it. That is until I heard SMiLE sessions. There is no substitute for the original Beach Boy’s harmonies. I am 50 now, but still way too young to be a fan of this music to the level I am ( at least according to some boomers i knew in my 20’s) It’s great to see that there are young people like you Abigail who get it and have a passion for music paired with an open mind about all genres. Keep up the stellar work and thank you so much.

Great work Abby. All my favoritre music is being covered on your series

You are a STAR Abi 💌

Slow clap. 👏 👏 👏 I always vaguely knew about Smile, I never really followed the Beach Boys, but this provided a great perspective, and now I have much more appreciation for Brian Wilson. The work you put into this was monumental, and it was fascinating. I finally listened to Smiley Smile all the way thru, and will do the same for the other two. Then I'll prolly watch this review again. 😄

Just found your channel a couple uplads before this season finale and i love everything about your channel and vinyl mondays! I would love to see you do a vinyl monday on anything Frank Zappa, my fav project is Freak Out!

You're really growing wings with this one. There's magic in that album. That fire song is manifested insanity.😂

Keep on keepin' on Abby !🙂

I’m a fan of the decades long Smile cult, with passionate fans collecting and exchanging released and bootlegged fragments to piece together a myriad of individual mix tape and CD approximations. But it was wonderful seeing Brian at the Warner Theatre during his Smile tour. A joyous session.

Lovely Lady, as ever a great show. We really appreciate the work you put in over the years. Enjoy your "Week Off" and come back refreshed and re-invigorated. We wait with bated breath...

Admittedly, I am still baffled by Smiley Smile. This was such a great review! I loved the head-to-head comparison between the Smiles, and I should probably give Brian Wilson Presents Smile another listen too.

You are the key to a man's heart! The fact that you really get into this and other albums in your reviews, is heartfelt. I loved your review and enthusiasm with Smile. Your review was spot on in terms of which song versions was desired. There are so many versions of Smile sessions bootlegs available that your video would have probably been 8 hours long. There is a three CD boxed set on the Sea Of Tunes label that as far as I'm concerned, is the ultimate smile sessions. Along with the single disc Smile, also on the Sea Of Tunes label and the two CD version of Smile sessions on the Vigotone label, make up for what I consider almost everything smile. I can run copies of everything for you if you are interested in another phase of Smile material. Thank you for doing this. I know that it is hard work to edit all of your review segments (and wardrobe changes) to compile one complete review. I watched this beginning to end, and I was glued to my screen the entire time. Kudos. Thanks Abigail!

Ok, I’m crying now. Fuck, that was beautiful.

Abby, you made my day! I Instead of being responsible this morning I absolutely HAD to watch your take on one of my favorite albums. I only know the BWPS version, so I appreciated your comparisons to the other versions. Guess I’ll have to invest in the Smile Sessions version now. BTW, have you seen video “An All-Star Tribute To Brian Wilson,” recorded at Radio City Music Hall in the early naughties? Some absolute gold here, including shockingly good versions of Surf’s Up, Sail On Sailor, Our Prayer. Plus some fairly crummy stuff, but definitely worth a view. Also some really good interviews with Brian, Elton John, Brian’s wife Melissa and others - they are worth the price of admission by themselves. Many thanks for my favorite Vinyl Monday so far!

Second video I've watched from your channel and I'm flabbergasted at your knowledge of Smile's history. I've read tons of articles and books about Smile, Pet Sounds and Brian himself. Then you go and mention Robert Christgau - dean of American rock critics, whom I respect. I used to devour the yearly Pazz and Jop editions of the Village Voice. Plus you insert that loopy organ interlude from The Holy Grail! We appear to be long lost soulmates. Ha ha. (Smile) ☀

Won-won-wonderful video Abby! SMiLE was a life-changing album for me. Back when I first became aware of the songs from the sessions like Cabinessence and Surfs Up, I was baffled that this was the same band that I grew up with that sang "Fun Fun Fun" and "Surfing USA". Having two completed versions now available makes me always wonder just how much different music post 1967 would be had it come out that year. I've since met and even worked with some of the musicians that appear on BWPS. I can truly attest that these guys share the belief that SMiLE is one of the greatest musical projects sadly never finished and that Brian is a true musical genius! PS, if you are looking for an eventual use for the firehat, if you ever review "Electric Arguments" by Paul McCartney's side project 'The Fireman', that'll be perfect!!

Loved watching/listening to you! Two brilliant albums, very similar and also very different. But both show why Brian stands alone in the world of music.

Great idea comparing Brian's version to the SMiLE sessions and Smiley Smile!

Good job on this one. I’ve watched all the documentaries/records on the BB

I'm a new subscriber, I have to say well done for making such an innovative video, such a lot of work, research & thought went into this. Wishing you the best of luck with your channel in the future. Next, I'm on to the Pet Sounds video & then through the rest of your videos. 🙂

This was an amazing video that dug so much deeper into the story and music than I think most videos too. I love the way you dive right in with the music on your channel, it's such a fresh thing for music-based channels. I don't imagine you'll make a video on this part of SMiLE, but do you have any thoughts people using AI to "recreate" or "complete" the album? I think some are quite interesting like Dae Lims' version as well as Bookoff SMiLE, but it isn't really brought up as often considering how underground this album still is to some degree.

In the late '70s, I read a long music magazine story about Smile which was part rock history and part detective story about what happened to the album. It raised my interest in what I'd assumed was a corny old pop band from the '60s. But the music was impossible to track down then and there so I let it drift. Around that time I heard Good Vibrations and was wowed by it but the BBs were still associated with Saturday morning oldies radio by me. In the '90s, with an income that allowed it I bought Pet Sounds on CD as a kind of classics completism and found it samey and uninspiring apart from a few standouts. Then, in the midst of a Brian Wilson resurrection in the local indy scene, I bought the BW presents Smile on CD and loved parts of it. Even now, this music is something I admire rather than enjoy. However, nothing beats a fresh take by an enthusiast for rethinking a record. This epic episode has made me vow to turn the lights off and listen again, which is the best I can offer by way of thanks. This channel has been so much fun and enlightening. Enjoy your break and we'll be clicking in when you're back. Now put your feet up :)

Thank you for doing reviews from the Box's I sent you.....Have a Great Labor Day. Can't wait to see more.

Thanks for the heads up on that version of wonderful! It is indeed!

Abigail, you are the best!! Thank you! 🤩😇😊

I thoroughly enjoyed your well thought out review. I agree with everthing you said.

Having been around in the 60’s, it was amazing to hear the classic hits from so many artists roll out one after the other. Past 1965 the music changed quite a bit and the reliable string of Beach Boys hits evolved as Brian became overcome by his mental issues. The Smile collection of music reflects both the utter genius of Brian Wilson and the frenetic confusion of that genius. While I love some of tracks I think it’s best the album never came out.

Nicely done. I spent years as a Smile obsessive so I know you can only scratch the surface in an hour, but you did a great job as usual with your presentation.