SMiLE: An American Cantata
From The Smile Shop
Smile: An American Cantata, by Peter Reum
Last night I had the privilege to attend the debut of Smile. After 37 years, endless speculation, a secret was opened, and a new extended composition from Brian Wilson was performed. After a satisfying, but impatient wait for the first set of Brian's songs to conclude, the lights came up and the first movement, Americana, was begun with Brian's spiritual invocation, Prayer.
The incredible arrangement of Heroes and Villains which followed totally lived up to advance expectations. Beginning with a chugging railroad percussive effect, Brian's band broke into How I Love My Girl, followed by a very Gershwin influenced Trombone solo reminiscent of the Rhapsody in Blue. There was an a capella break with the band breaking into a waltzing In the Cantina segment, transitioning very easily into "my children were raised, they suddenly rise." The band then moved into what we usually think of the Heroes ending, unexpectedly breaking into a set of vocal scales leading to the the beautiful and Gershwinesque orchestral segment reprising the Heroes theme. A brief set of linking notes then introduced the Sandwich Isles lyrics to Do You Like Worms, with its booming drums and "rock, Plymouth Rock, roll over chorus.
Suddenly The Bicycle Rider Theme appeared, with Darian playing it in a haunting manner, just as cold and mechanical as it sounded on the tapes from 1967. One gets the feeling that we are at the dawn of the Industrial Age, alongside the European Americans, getting ready to steam roll across America, leaving Native Americans wondering what hit them. Out of the music box theme came the band, doing the heavier chords that are a part of the Worms version appearing on the Good Vibrations Boxed Set. The band then went back to the Bicycle Rider Theme, asking what has happened to the Church of the American Indian. Brian then started the Hawaiian Chants, with the band backing him in a powerful effect I can only term as chilling. The Bicycle Rider Theme returned once more, winding down, so to give the the impression that the music box had run out of music.
We then moved into a 6 minute musical essay on American Agriculture and Westward Expansion, beginning with the whimsical and humorous Barnyard segment, with band member bleating, mooing, and oinking into their microphones. After a few notes linking they then transitioned into Old Master Painter's cello segment, followed by the slow, wistful version of You Are My Sunshine, leaving the impression that something dear and precious has been lost forever. A Gershwinesque "laughing saxophone" then transitioned into Brian's "rock and roll waltz," Cabinessence, evoking startling images of open prairie, westward movement, and the loss of an ancient and precious way of life. When Brian broke into Who Ran The Iron Horse, one got the feeling that he would love to see all those farms and ranches returned to tall grass prairie, in a sense, uncovering the cornfields.
The Second Movement, Cycle of Life, begins with a story of a young woman being acquainted with the experience of making love, Brian's beautiful Wonderful. She has a child and Brian sings "maybe not one" implying that we as people are not meant to ever be alone in life. He moves into Song for Children, after a transition using the haunting Child is Father to the Man horns to introduce it. Brian sings that the "Child is Father to the Sun" implying that the process of birth and death and next generational birth is what makes us so needing of friendship and love. The Child is Father to the Man theme returns, reprised this time with a second segment of horns. Another chorus of Song for Children returns, followed by the moodiest Child horn segment, representing death.
After a brief link transition, comes one of the surprises of the night; Surfs Up is the ending to Smile's second movement. Brian hits on the theme of rebirth, literally singing about how one needs to "come about hard and join the young and often spring you gave----I heard the word, wonderful thing, a children's song......as a grandparent reflecting upon the joys of our childrens' children, no longer the parents, but the parent of the parent. This entrancing piece of music ends as it does on the Surfs Up album, with the reprise of the Child theme one last time, fade to black.
The Third Movement-Elements is the most diverse, and mystical. It is melodically rich, digging deeply into themes we know, but that we really don't. I'm in Great Shape begins the movement. A brief few notes of transition emerge into I Want to Be Around, followed by a humorous segment we know as "The Workshop." Brian, playing drill, is joined by several other band members of saw, hammer and block, and other tools. A link occurs, with the formal beginning of Earth, which we know as Vegetables. The band uses the Smile lyrics, with the now familiar "Eat Alot, Sleep Alot" bridge, leading into a jaunty, bouncing version of Holidays, which talks about sailing west into the sunset, and features a great segment with Nick speaking through a megaphone. The notes transition into the haunting a lovely "Whispering Winds" segment of the tag to Wind Chimes, followed by a smooth transition into the Wind Chimes from the Good Vibrations boxed set, with its powerful ending chords, which evolved into Can't Wait Too Long. A brief link transition turns into Intro to Fire with Brian and the band playing pennywhistles, bells, and so forth. Mrs. O'Leary's Cow follows, and can only be described as stunning in its power and scope. There are several chords not present in versions extant from the 60s, and the vocals from Fall Breaks and Back to Winter are the vocals in Fire. The whole piece ends with a slow "breakdown", transitioning into the water chant, with Brian singing "It's hot as hell in here, I need a drink of water....." After a brief stop, Dada emerges, with the band singing about being "down in blue Hawaii" and being on vacation under waterfalls and in pools of clear water. The Third Movement closes with a brief reprise of Prayer as a benediction to the entire piece, followed by the use of Good Vibrations as a coda, using the May 1966 early lyrics as the version performed. This version is fully satisfying as the coda to this extraordinary piece of American Music, a modern day American Cantata.
Brian, having reclaimed his music in Good Vibrations, is now a composer walking in the worlds of popular song and extended composition he once told me he dreamed about becoming. There is no doubt in my mind that Brian can now do whatever his muse inspires him do do, and no one will ever question his ability gain. In one stroke, Brian has emerged as a bold, modern day composer, fully competent in extended composition, or in writing the populars songs for which he has always been known and loved. Hail, conquering hero, hail Brian Wilson, American Composer!
