The Beach Boys - Unsurpassed Masters Vol. 16-18 (1999)

This 16th volume in Sea of Tunes' all-Beach Boys-all-the-time Unsurpassed Masters series is none other than another set of bootleg takes from the legendary SMiLE project that Brian Wilson emotionally, psychologically, and literally walked away from in 1967, leaving it as perhaps the most famous unfinished album in pop music history. Countless different bootleg versions of the original SMiLE sessions have been bouncing around for decades now, and even though Wilson "finished" the album with all new recordings in 2004, the aborted 1967 model continues to fascinate, charm, and frustrate its many fans and admirers. The thematic and loopy cartoon Americana Gothic arc of the finished version is cool to see revealed in Wilson's newer rendition, but the original tapes are in many ways more powerful and striking, due in no small part to the angelic singing of Carl Wilson and the other Beach Boys. Even broken into tantalizing and frustratingly unfinished fragments like this, these 1967 recordings suggest a world that almost was, and if Brian Wilson feels the matter is closed, it really isn't, because although you can make a wonderful facsimile that approximates the past, you can't, no matter how hard you try, escape it.

Although this three-CD box set is entirely unauthorized, it holds the distinction of being the first arguably authoritative release to exclusively feature music that Brian Wilson and company were preparing for the album Smile, the Beach Boys' follow-up to Pet Sounds. Although the project was never completed, many of Wilson's brilliant fragments have been incorporated into other Beach Boys works -- mostly pre-1973 -- over the roughly 33 and one-third years separating the unfulfilled album and this wholly fulfilling multimedia project. Even at three full-length CDs, Unsurpassed Masters, Vol. 17 is woefully incomplete when attempting to corral all known recordings connected with Smile. However, what is presented here -- as has been the hallmark of this series -- is the flawless sound quality. The amazing aural presence that is re-created on this bootleg set rivals if not undeniably beats the same material as issued throughout the various box sets and compilations -- such as Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of the Beach Boys and Hawthorne, CA. In the context of this box Wilson's passions can best be understood. Not just musical passion, but the life-force passion that drove him to this creative zenith. The intricate harmonic balance between the Wilson-arranged vocals and instrumentation borders on magic. If layer upon layer of sound fitting with jigsaw puzzle precision was Brian Wilson's goal, then the extended sessions for "Heroes and Villains," "Wind Chimes," "Vega-Tables," and especially "Wonderful" argue the fact that indeed much of Smile was already complete, albeit not compiled. Alas, here seems to lay the proverbial rub. Shorter musical "links" and even some of the spoken-word recordings have also been gathered on this box. Oft referred to but rarely heard tracks such as the "Bicycle Rider" theme, "Do You Like Worms," "Look," "Mrs. O'Leary's Cow" (aka "Fire"), and the "I Wanna Be Around"/ "Friday Night" medley are all amply represented. The set is capped off with the 22-minute "Vega-Tables Radio Spot Rehearsals" featuring Brian Wilson and percussionist extraordinaire Hal Blaine. The two are involved in trying to re-create an organic-sounding "man-on-the-street" type of scenario revolving around Wilson's quest for veggies. Heavily edited portions were included on the "Vegetables Promo" mock-up on the previously mentioned Hawthorne, CA. compilation of revisionist history. The packaging of this very special and equally limited box set is also worthy of mention. Original pressings include a mammoth 110-page booklet as well as an individually numbered (to 1,000) certificate. This volume has raised the bar immeasurably in regards to the quality and completeness of all Smile-related volumes -- bootleg or legit. It might take another 33-and-one-third-year revolution to find out.

Volume 18 in the Unsurpassed Masters series of illegitimately released Beach Boys vault tapes is dedicated to studio recordings made concurrent to the Smiley Smile album. This includes much of the fallout from the forsaken Smile project -- which, as enthusiasts will note, is alluded to in name more so than spirit. At exactly what point Smiley Smile became the successor has been widely speculated. However, the nearly hour and 15 minutes on this disc only further obscure any deadlines or delineations between where one undertaking ceased and the other resumed. Although Brian Wilson has been portrayed as drug-addled and/or mentally challenged during this era, these recordings prove quite the contrary. Indeed, the rehearsals and preliminary takes of "Wonderful" and "Wind Chimes" heard here are drenched in a Smile-esque noir psychosis and brilliant, introspective pathos. This is a notable progression merely hinted at a few years earlier on the comparably innocuous "In My Room" or "Warmth of the Sun." Ever the multi-taskmaster, Wilson can be heard throughout these sessions performing as well as directing every nuance of sound until satisfied with its pitch, mood, and timbre. So for some, hearing the deliberate aural construction of "Wind Chimes" may be overkill. However, those willing to search for the grail, so to speak, are greeted with not only superior sonics, but also a closer examination as to the unique methodology and techniques Wilson incorporated in recording. The tracks "Vegetables" and "She's Goin' Bald" are also holdovers from Smile -- the latter being reworked from its former incarnation as "He Gives Speeches." The songs as represented here consist of the remolding that Wilson did in preparation for Smiley Smile. Comparatively, these tracks were "dumbed down" for the album, as their Smile counterparts are uniformly better. Not all of Smiley Smile consisted of leftovers, however. Both "Getting Hungry" and "With Me Tonight" were new to the project, and while given only rudimentary examinations on this disc, those interested in hearing the vocal overdubs for both tracks can find them here. In light of the conspicuous absence of the rest of these sessions, on this volume at least, Unsurpassed Masters is dissatisfying -- especially when held against the three-disc Unsurpassed Masters, Vol. 17 (1966-1967) extravaganza which proceeded it.