Brian Wilson Presents Smile
It was tempting to post this under music DVD's but, it really belongs here. SMILE is two discs. The first is a excellent documentary about the history of this amazing piece of POP music.
Brian Wilson was so far ahead of his time that if SMILE would have been released as scheduled Sgt. Pepper would have paled in comparison, as it now does. As you watch the documentary it is hard to not think about "What if....".
What if Brian Wilson had not succumbed to the emotional breakdown that came about while trying to complete a masterpiece that nobody else at the time understood. What would he have done next? Would the Beatles ever have been able to keep up with him?
There have been so many rumors over the decades about just what did cause Brian Wilson to have a emotional and mental breakdown and then withdraw from the world. This documentary answers these questions.
The second disc is a live concert of SMILE. When you watch it you realize that it isn't just a series of songs on a record. It is a cohesive rock opera. The songs are played together without break in three movements. It is a music DVD that will entertain you for many viewings. I found that with each viewing I appreciated the complexity of the music more and more. Not to mention the innovative way that Brian Wilson used musical instruments you thought you were familiar with as well as juxtaposing things like classical cello players with a harmonica player.
Brian Wilson was so far ahead of his time that if SMILE would have been released as scheduled Sgt. Pepper would have paled in comparison, as it now does. As you watch the documentary it is hard to not think about "What if....".
What if Brian Wilson had not succumbed to the emotional breakdown that came about while trying to complete a masterpiece that nobody else at the time understood. What would he have done next? Would the Beatles ever have been able to keep up with him?
There have been so many rumors over the decades about just what did cause Brian Wilson to have a emotional and mental breakdown and then withdraw from the world. This documentary answers these questions.
The second disc is a live concert of SMILE. When you watch it you realize that it isn't just a series of songs on a record. It is a cohesive rock opera. The songs are played together without break in three movements. It is a music DVD that will entertain you for many viewings. I found that with each viewing I appreciated the complexity of the music more and more. Not to mention the innovative way that Brian Wilson used musical instruments you thought you were familiar with as well as juxtaposing things like classical cello players with a harmonica player.
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