User Score
Generally favorable reviews- based on 522 Ratings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 398 out of 522
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Mixed: 39 out of 522
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Negative: 85 out of 522
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StillaKidAtheartOct 15, 2004Simply a Masterpiece! I first heard Sgt. Pepper's at the age of 14, and I have the same kind of feeling listening to Smile today...I can't stop listening to it...Thank you, Brian...You reached me.
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AaronS.Oct 15, 2004Better late than never. This beautiful musical curiosity sounds like nothing else, totally unclassifiable. It sounds as out of place today as it would have back in 1967! Highly recommended to those with adventurous tastes.
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GaryEOct 14, 2004Now we can see how expendable the rest of the Beach Boys really were. Brian was obviously the brains of the outfit.
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MattPOct 14, 2004A brilliant masterpiece that lives up to all the hype. Best album of the year and the decade. Don't listen to the naysayers.
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JoeMOct 14, 2004I am biased and a huge Brian Wilson fan and I admit that, but SMiLE, 38 years late is still a triumph. Believe it or not, it is even better and more powerful performed live. I love this music!
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DevinBOct 13, 2004
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DavidROct 12, 2004First listen, I liked it but thought it was a bit odd. Then pieces began to surface in my memory. After a few more listens, I convinced it's one of the most original, wonderful, pieces I've ever heard. I love it.
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DrakeTOct 11, 2004This CD is more and less than could be hoped for. Brian's angelic voice from the 66/67 Smile sessions is absent, but his voice still sounds great, despite the diminished range. This version puts the Smile pieces in order and makes sense of everything that's circulated before. It's extraordinarily creative music that should elicit a Smile.
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JEOct 9, 2004i love it. it's a great album. i think everyone who is digging it is suffering from a little bit of nostalgia, but that's only natural..
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JimDOct 8, 2004An amazing aural experience. Totally unlike anything else by the Beach Boys in many ways, but the harmonies take you back.
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markfOct 7, 2004
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KrisOct 7, 2004best album of the year no doubt, you´ll have alot of fun if you get this one
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paulaOct 7, 2004the best 45 minutes of popular music i've ever heard.
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williamfOct 7, 2004never was that much of a brain wilson fan, but wow!!!!! this is a classic
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DavidPOct 7, 2004
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LarryJOct 6, 2004It just keeps getting better with each time I listen to it. I especially love the middle suite of "Childhood" songs -- "Wonderful." If the original BB had been involved in this production, particularly the late-Carl Wilson, it would have rated off the chart. The album and Brian's backstory, in my opinion, serve to reinforce the overall theme of these tracks. I'm happy Brian can SMiLE.
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RyanKOct 5, 2004This album is a blast of 1960's psychadelia that is sure to inspire many strange trips... It's beautiful and innocent... why don't people make music like this anymore?
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EoinOct 5, 2004A good album, but the songs are not as strong as on Pet Sounds. But as concept albums go it's quite good.
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DavidLOct 4, 2004Smiles and a few tears for what this great artist has accomplished in his lifetime and the joy in music that he has brought all of us who never quit listening.
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BrianFOct 4, 2004The second "suite" is worth the purchase price alone...brilliantly beautiful! Deduct 1 point for the odd animal and power tool songs - give me more music!
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ChristopherFOct 4, 2004A wonderful concept album fully realized. Comparisons to Sgt. Peppers are not inaccurate because Sgt Pepper isn't a concept album: it has no central theme. Brian Wilson is a phoenix rising form the ashes, again.
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RobbieWOct 4, 2004I always thought "Pet Sounds" was the best LP Brian Wilson would ever make. Now I have to say that "Smile" is even better. Even though I had high expectations, this CD has exceeded them. A++++
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m.toupsOct 3, 2004Mama mia that's a spicy meatball!
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JMOct 3, 2004Who would have thought it could turn out this good almost 40 yrs later? I can't stop listening to it!!!
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alcOct 2, 2004love this album the most!!
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TazmanianDevilOct 2, 2004Can't stop listening... enjoy every moment of this CD
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FrankAOct 2, 2004SMiLE's time is NOW!
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RyanM.Oct 2, 2004It's good. But, seemingly, people seem to think after keeping a good record on the shelf for 37 years it becomes great. This may be true for wine, but not for "Smile". Though this is a solid album, and better than most crap that's out today, it's not great...then, or now.
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RICHARDBOct 2, 2004Not much to say, except "blown away!" This goes into my top 5 of all time. The tracks released on the Good Vibrations box set really wetted my appetite, and now the complete album...it's....it's...words don't do justice.
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JackBOct 1, 2004
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JonathanSOct 1, 2004Unbelievable... gets better w/ each listening!
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MarycOct 1, 2004I never heard anything like this before.
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StephenMOct 1, 2004Worth the wait.
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JensKOct 1, 2004Forget about 1967, this is a great, great, great record today!
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StevieOct 1, 2004
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VinceH.Oct 1, 2004
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TabPSep 30, 2004I am still stunned. It is so much better than I expected. Absolute perfection.
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NikeshGSep 30, 2004Truly Ace
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kevinfSep 30, 2004Shocking Creative Accomplishment! Brian and Van-Dyke's electric ambition from back in the day is back to blow you away! Pure bliss from THE Genius!
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NickJSep 30, 2004Prepare yourself for something new at every listen. A superb mix of feelgood pop, art opus and grand slam genius eccentricity. However in terms of mood, for 'eccentricity' replace this word with 'electricity' as far as this bands performance goes.
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DennisSSep 30, 2004Words could not describe the first time I heard it!! It is by far the best rock concept album of all time!!! A true Brian Wilson Masterpiece!!!!!
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MichaelCSep 30, 2004The Only thing wrong with this album is Brian's voice, if he had that classic falsetto, it would be perfection. But I'd only drop the album 0.1 of a point for that, so I'd give the album 10 out of 10. L&M
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MattWSep 30, 2004This is one of the best records I've ever heard. Seriously.
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dfSep 30, 2004STUNNING
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DamonFSep 30, 2004When I heard this album after hearing the reviews, I am convinced that it has already obliterated every album made this year, out of the sky. This includes the new Morrissey album. This is how a decent album should be made by an artist. Sung brilliantly and layered and arranged without the use of meaningless computer technology
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WJFlywheelSep 30, 2004Good stuff for the Mike Love Fanclub.
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RayGSep 30, 2004
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wartSep 29, 2004I can't stop listening to it.
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ThomasZSep 29, 2004Finally!
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KentSSep 29, 2004It's great to hear the full thing after tasting only bits for ages. It's really fun,thanks Brian
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MikeCSep 29, 2004Glorious sonic fireworks. Amazing!
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PaulLSep 29, 2004
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SeanJSep 28, 2004No doubt, it's extremely good. However, after all the years of hype, I can't help but feel a bit disappointed? All this fuss for this?! It doesn't come anywhere near Pet Sounds in terms of sheer genius. It's certainly one of the best albums of the year, but the Arcade Fire's "Funeral" is miles beyond this.
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ebokwSep 28, 2004if this came out in when planned it would be considered one of the 10 best albums ever made.
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DanielPSep 28, 2004A mind blowing experience. Well worth the wait. Album of the year so far by a mile.
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MikeASep 28, 2004A Masterpiece
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TheFirstOneToCommentSep 28, 2004If this album were released by the Beach Boys in 1967, it would likely rank as my favorite album ever. In 2004 the songs are just as brilliant, but you miss the vocals of a sixties-era Brian (as well as Carl). This is still the greatest thing I've heard all year. One of the greatest things I've ever heard, in fact.
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ShaneSep 28, 2004
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Awards & Rankings
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Smile is quite simply the greatest triumph in the history of pop music.
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Smile's post-adolescent utopia isn't disfigured by Brian's thickened, soured 62-year-old voice. It's ennobled--the material limitations of its sunny artifice and pretentious tomfoolery acknowledged and joyfully engaged.
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Los Angeles Times"Smile" emerges as a beautiful and cohesive work, at times deeply moving, at others oddly whimsical, at still others eerily disturbing but celebratory. [27 Sep 2004]