It ain't 'Sgt. Pepper,' but what is?

It's unlikely that there's ever been a record as eagerly or lengthily anticipated as Brian Wilson's SMiLE, an album almost 40 years in the making. While very much worth the wait, the work itself isn't all it's been cracked up to be.\nWilson, who in collaboration with lyricist Van Dyke Parks and a massive amount of hash, mounted the mythic SMiLE back in 1966. This, after Wilson's Beach Boys had unleashed the then-panned but now justifiably essential Pet Sounds earlier that year. Amid Wilson's tinkerings, the Beatles unleashed Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. He went bat shit assuming the record couldn't be topped and shelved his tapes. Up until now all that remained of SMiLE were the singles "Heroes and Villains" and "Good Vibrations," replacement records Smiley Smile and Wild Honey or bootlegs if you were fortunate enough to obtain them.\nSome of SMiLE as we now know it will ring familiar. The aforementioned "Heroes and Villains" (better now than before) and "Good Vibrations" (worse, but still awe-inspiring) open (well, it's the second track) and close the record respectively. Much of what's here is entirely new and revelatory. Try listening to "Surf's Up," "Wind Chimes" or "In Blue Hawaii" without getting choked up. For that matter, listen to "Vega-Tables" without laughing your ass off. Much of this is attributable to Wilson and Parks' poetic lyrics, as well as Darian Sahanaja's pitch-perfect instrumentals.\nAs much of what's here was re-recorded earlier this year, Wilson's voice isn't what it was 37 years ago, but it's still a thing of beauty. I can't imagine what this thing might've sounded like when it was supposed to have been released back in '67. In all likelihood, it would've been the unadulterated masterpiece it's been billed as for decades. As is, SMiLE is a fantastic album and a mystery revealed.