By Steve Marinucci
Published May 24, 1991, San Jose (CA) Mercury News
It's the most famous rock album never made.
The Beach Boys' legendary "Smile" was an ambitious album conceived by Brian Wilson. But it was scrapped in 1967, after pressure from his record company, Capitol, lack of support from his bandmates and the release of the Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band," which stole "Smile's" thunder.
Speculation on what "Smile" might have been has been fueled for years by songs for the proposed album released elsewhere (the masterpiece "Good Vibrations" and "Heroes and Villains" are two). Heightening the interest even more are the unreleased tracks -- such as "Mrs. O'Leary's Cow" -- that have fallen into the hands of collectors.
Now the story of the album will be told on the next "American Pop," with host Jon Bryant, which airs at 6 p.m. Sunday on KCSM-FM (91). The program's highlight is a hypothetical version of the album, constructed from released and unreleased tapes.
We may never hear the "Smile" album Brian Wilson intended. But even a little "Smile" is better than none.
