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Brian Wilson Presents Smile

Updated: 12/20/2025, 1:20:45 PM Wikipedia source

Brian Wilson Presents Smile (also referred to as Smile or the abbreviation BWPS) is the fifth studio album by American musician Brian Wilson, released on September 28, 2004 on Nonesuch. It features all-new recordings of music that he had originally created for Smile, an unfinished album by the Beach Boys that he abandoned in 1967. Revisiting Smile was an intense emotional undertaking for Wilson, as he had been deeply traumatized by the circumstances that had originally surrounded the project. Wilson initially agreed to revisit Smile in the form of a live concert performance as a follow-up to his 2000–2002 tour for the Beach Boys' album Pet Sounds. From October to November 2003, he worked with keyboardist Darian Sahanaja and original lyricist Van Dyke Parks in assembling a three-movement structure for BWPS while embellishing the material with newly written lyrics and melodies. Wilson and his band premiered it at the Royal Festival Hall in London on February 20, 2004. Encouraged by the positive reception, he adapted the performance as a studio-recorded solo album. None of the other Beach Boys were involved with BWPS, nor with the documentary that covered its making, Beautiful Dreamer: Brian Wilson and the Story of Smile. BWPS was universally acclaimed by critics and peaked at number 13 in the US and number 7 in the UK. It earned Wilson his first Grammy Award, winning in the category of Best Rock Instrumental Performance for "Mrs. O'Leary's Cow". The album also garnered a nomination for best engineering for Mark Linett who recorded and mixed the project. In 2011, the album's sequencing served as a blueprint for The Smile Sessions, a compilation dedicated to the original Beach Boys recordings. In 2020, BWPS was ranked number 399 on Rolling Stone's list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". As of 2025, it is the third-highest rated album in the history of Metacritic.

Infobox

Released
September 28, 2004 (2004-09-28)
Recorded
April 13 – July 2004
Studio
Sunset Sound Recorders and Your Place or Mine Recording, California
Genre
Orchestral popart poppsychedelic popAmericanaindie rock
Length
46:49
Label
Nonesuch
Producer
Brian Wilson

Tables

Professional ratings · Contemporary critical reception
Source
Source
Aggregate scores
Source
Aggregate scores
Rating
Metacritic
Metacritic
Aggregate scores
Metacritic
Aggregate scores
97/100
Review scores
Review scores
Aggregate scores
Review scores
Source
Source
Aggregate scores
Source
Aggregate scores
Rating
AllMusic
AllMusic
Aggregate scores
AllMusic
Aggregate scores
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Aggregate scores
Entertainment Weekly
Aggregate scores
A
The Guardian
The Guardian
Aggregate scores
The Guardian
Aggregate scores
NME
NME
Aggregate scores
NME
Aggregate scores
9/10
The Observer
The Observer
Aggregate scores
The Observer
Aggregate scores
Pitchfork
Pitchfork
Aggregate scores
Pitchfork
Aggregate scores
9.0/10
Q
Q
Aggregate scores
Q
Aggregate scores
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Aggregate scores
Rolling Stone
Aggregate scores
Uncut
Uncut
Aggregate scores
Uncut
Aggregate scores
The Village Voice
The Village Voice
Aggregate scores
The Village Voice
Aggregate scores
A+
Aggregate scores
Source
Rating
Metacritic
97/100
Review scores
Source
Rating
AllMusic
Entertainment Weekly
A
The Guardian
NME
9/10
The Observer
Pitchfork
9.0/10
Q
Rolling Stone
Uncut
The Village Voice
A+
Weekly album charts
Australian Albums (ARIA)
Australian Albums (ARIA)
Chart (2004)
Australian Albums (ARIA)
Peakposition
17
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)
Chart (2004)
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)
Peakposition
59
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)
Chart (2004)
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)
Peakposition
19
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)
Chart (2004)
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)
Peakposition
72
Canadian Albums (Billboard)
Canadian Albums (Billboard)
Chart (2004)
Canadian Albums (Billboard)
Peakposition
44
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)
Chart (2004)
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)
Peakposition
18
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)
Chart (2004)
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)
Peakposition
21
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)
Chart (2004)
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)
Peakposition
39
French Albums (SNEP)
French Albums (SNEP)
Chart (2004)
French Albums (SNEP)
Peakposition
29
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)
Chart (2004)
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)
Peakposition
22
Irish Albums (IRMA)
Irish Albums (IRMA)
Chart (2004)
Irish Albums (IRMA)
Peakposition
17
Italian Albums (FIMI)
Italian Albums (FIMI)
Chart (2004)
Italian Albums (FIMI)
Peakposition
33
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)
Chart (2004)
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)
Peakposition
15
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)
Chart (2004)
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)
Peakposition
23
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)
Chart (2004)
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)
Peakposition
54
UK Albums (OCC)
UK Albums (OCC)
Chart (2004)
UK Albums (OCC)
Peakposition
7
US Billboard 200
US Billboard 200
Chart (2004)
US Billboard 200
Peakposition
13
Chart (2004)
Peakposition
Australian Albums (ARIA)
17
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)
59
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)
19
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)
72
Canadian Albums (Billboard)
44
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)
18
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)
21
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)
39
French Albums (SNEP)
29
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)
22
Irish Albums (IRMA)
17
Italian Albums (FIMI)
33
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)
15
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)
23
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)
54
UK Albums (OCC)
7
US Billboard 200
13
Year-end charts
UK Albums (OCC)
UK Albums (OCC)
Chart (2004)
UK Albums (OCC)
Position
171
Chart (2004)
Position
UK Albums (OCC)
171

References

  1. They had also contributed to the making of journalist Domenic Priore's Smile-focused fanzine, The Dumb Angel Gazette.
  2. He said that he did not understand why Smile continued to attract a following, commenting "Things are so different now.
  3. For the shows that featured a symphonic orchestra, Parks was commissioned to write an orchestral arrangement of Wilson's
  4. Sahanaja later said, "If you had even mentioned it to him a month earlier, he would have freaked."
  5. His managers at this time were former publicists Ronnie Lippin and Jean Sievers.
  6. Wilson paid Parks and his wife's travel expenses for attending the Radio City Music Hall show and singled them out for a
  7. Journalist Scott Staton states that Wilson "probably wouldn't have completed" the project had engineer Mark Linett not a
  8. Sahanaja filmed some of the planning sessions for future reference; some of the footage was later used for Beautiful Dre
  9. Sahanaja said, "I found out later that that incident was part of his seasonal depression, especially now that he is the
  10. The ovation was longer on the second night.
  11. Wilson later commented on the ten-minute standing ovation, "I got bored after a while. I said, 'Okay, that's enough!' bu
  12. He went on to give the album his rare A+ grade. It also topped his annual list of the year's best album.
  13. The Guardian had run a feature in which various celebrities and industry figures were solicited for their opinions on BW
  14. In his ballot for the magazine, Christgau ranked it as the 20th best album of the decade.
  15. In this edition, The Smile Sessions, which had appeared on the list's 2012 revision, was not listed.
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