Rating: 
Summary: It Won't Make You Smile
Review: For curiosity seekers and for die-hard Beach Boys fans, this book is valuable for collecting much of what was written, at the time it was festering, about the infamous "Smile" album that collapsed in early 1967, after months of apparently more painstaking than the myth has it work between Brian Wilson, Van Dyke Parks, and the famed Wrecking Crew musicians. The inclusion of Jules Siegel's legendary "Goodbye Surfing, Hello God" alone is worth the price of the ticket, but the rest does nothing much beyond reminding people that what began as a serious musical project ended, for numerous reasons, as coming damn close to being Brian Wilson's tombstone in more ways than one.But if you are looking to catch the missing key to "Smile," forget it. (You'll come closer, actually, if you pick up an album cut almost three decades after "Smile" collapsed: Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks's "Orange Crate Art," on which they all but switched roles and produced about California something in the neighbourhood of what "Smile," in its elliptical way, was aiming to say about old America.) The subsequent leakings-out of various critical pieces of the "Smile" puzzle, right up to those session fragments included on the "Good Vibrations" box set, will have to do until or unless Brian Wilson or someone with his authorisation consents to a finished "Smile" finally seeing the light of day - and it isn't likely to happen. As it is, what has seen light of day tells us this much: "Smile" would likely have been a stunning album. Maybe not a thorough groundbreaker (though subsequently appearing tracks like "Cabinessence" and "Surf's Up" suggest it would have been knocking at the door), but at least no disgrace upon Brian Wilson's musical legacy.
Rating: 
Summary: Curio
Review: For the time being this book stands as the difinitive book on the famous "Smile" abandoned album project, but it does so by default. As far as I know it is the only book on the subject. I do hope that eventually someone will sit down and write a coherent and better one. A lot of what Priore gives us is primary source material, articles and clippings and recording charts from the 1966-67 period. Some of these articles, especially "Goodbye Surfing, Hello God" and a few attempts to reconstruct a proper list of what was recorded for the project are of value. A lot of the newspaper clippings are repetitive and meaningless, and some of the photographs are marred by the author's writing his own unfunny voice bubbles on them. Indeed, Priore's own writing is poor (especially his ridiculous reliance on the word "bitchin'"), though it does convey a lot of enthusiasm. This is the personal scrapbook of an obsessive fan. There are nuggets of good information in this mess, but you will need to sift. It's a shame that a more coherent and scholarly digestion of this material hasn't yet been written, and I eagerly await the day. Meanwhile, curious fans should all be listening to the "Smile" era recordings that are provided, with excellent sound quality, on the box set "Good Vibrations - 30 Years of the Beach Boys."
Rating:
Summary: Operates under a misconception
Review: I think that the vastly overrated Priore probably should have stuck to a modus operandi of collecting together various articles and essays about the Smile project written by others, rather than interjecting any of his own under-researched prose; you see, it labors under the inaccurate assumption that Smile was completed in 1967, merely awaiting sequencing, mixing and mastering. This is clearly untrue if one reads any interviews with Brian from then until now, any other articles about the album, any liner notes based on engineer Linett's research, etc. Smile was MAYBE 75% completed when it was abandoned.
Thankfully, "agenda" books like this will cease to find readership now that Brian has completed Smile and all questions have been solved. Reading this book is like looking through a volume of crossword puzzles with the wrong answers filled in; the market is gone. Save your money and buy Smile itself instead, or any great Beach Boys album, like Pet Sounds, Wild Honey or 20/20.
Another complaint (as long as I'm at it) is that Dominic's grammar isn't very good, and he jumps to some odd conclusions -- such as assuming that the edited-together fragments of "Heroes & Villians" on the GV boxed set are being presented as an official Brian Wilson mix, when in fact that claim isn't made at all, but rather that it's just a collection of outtakes for the curious listener (as Priore would've learned if he'd bothered to read the liner notes).
Rating: 
Summary: Flawed gem of a book for a flawed diamond of a record!
Review: I truly, really like this book. It collects hundreds of pieces of news items, press releases, magazine articles, reviews, interviews, and much more, all pertaining to the Beach Boys never-released legendary and apocryphal "Smile". If one has never heard "Smile" one might wonder what it is/was, and what's all the hoopla for in the first place? The BEST intro to the Smile Sessions is the fan-produced "Smile Store" Interactive CDR. Once you've played the hundreds of outtakes, and gone through the day-by-day recording chronology, THEN this book will become worth it's weight in gold. Either the Vigotone or Sea of Smiles Bootleg CDs will also serve as a worthy introduction. THEN buy this book. You'll never hear Good Vibrations the same way again! :-)
Rating:
Summary: Not as good as an album, but....
Review: If U're at all a fan of middle-period Beach Boys (say from PET SOUNDS thru L.A.-LIGHT ALBUM) or of Brian Wilson's personal odyssey, this is a pretty impressive book -- all it needs is a CD box-set of SMILE-album sessions 2 go with it.
But: U might wish it was more professionally done. Priore's book is rather haphazardly put-2gether, like a scrapbook, with pages of newspaper clippings, magazine articles, photocopied record sleeves, interviews with Beach Boy-watchers & SMILE-era participants & experts, bootleg-SMILE-album reviews, etc. But it's not really in NE order, certainly not chronological order. An index or a more orderly presentation woulda helped.
1 of the key SMILE-era magazine articles, Jules Siegel's 1967 "Goodbye Surfing, Hello God!" is included here, & it's priceless, a perfect peek in2 Brian & the Boys' mindset at that time. & Priore & his friends' tireless investigation in2 how much of the SMILE album got finished & in what order is impressive & helpful if U're a hard-core BB fan.
Priore's "Surfer Attitude" may grate on yr nerves at times -- but he nails 1 issue: The people at Capitol Records, in the band & close 2 this music shouldn't let the mystique that surrounds the album keep it from EVER Bing officially released. They released a PET SOUNDS SESSIONS box, & thousands of fans R waiting for a SMILE SESSIONS box -- seems like a built-in market 2 me. If that box EVER gets released, this book would make a pretty good companion 2 it.
Rating:
Summary: A Must-Have for Beach Boys/Brian Wilson Fans.
Review: In late 1966, the Beach Boys and their leader/creative mastermind, Brian Wilson, were on top of the music world with the million-selling "Good Vibrations", and having been voted the #1 rock group (over The Beatles) in the world in England's prestigious NME music poll. The Beach Boys album "Pet Sounds" had been issued that May and had astounded many with its innovative beauty and emotional depth. At this time, Brian set out to write an even more ambitious album masterwork, originally titled "Dumb Angel", but eventually known as "Smile". For many reasons, this album never came out, and The Beach Boys went from being on top of the music world to being outcasts by the end of 1967. Domenic Priore masterfully blends period articles, personal accounts from group members, Brian Wilson, Van Dyke Parks, David Anderle, Jules Siegel, David Leaf, etc., interviews, artifacts from the era, and his own lucid, no-holds-barred writing to describe the beautiful music that would've made up "Smile"; and all the tragic events that derailed Brian Wilson in his search for the musical holy grail. Ultimately, it is a fascinating music business soap opera pitting an extremely gifted and innovative artist fighting to be creative against great pressures operating both within and without himself. Domenic Priore deserves credit for taking a very complex subject, and making some sense for the reader out of the chaotic events of this crucial period in rock music history. A must-have for Brian Wilson/Beach Boys fans, as well as fans of mid-late '60's rock music.
Rating: 
Summary: A thrilling book for those who love rock history
Review: Now SMiLE is finished, and it will be in stores this September. This makes Priore's scrapbook/history tome about the 1966-67 SMiLE era that much more interesting and valuable. I don't have much to add to previous reviewers (and my five-star rating should indicate how I feel about the book), but I'll just note this: Domenic Priore painstakingly assembled this book as a fan's labor of love, almost as an underground project--and years later, when Brian Wilson and his band premiered the completed SMiLE in London, Priore was selected to write articles for the tour program. So now he's an officially sanctioned historian of SMiLE, lending the book even more credence.
Rating:
Summary: A thrilling book for those who love rock history
Review: Now SMiLE is finished, and it will be in stores this September. This makes Priore's scrapbook/history tome about the 1966-67 SMiLE era that much more interesting and valuable. I don't have much to add to previous reviewers (and my five-star rating should indicate how I feel about the book), but I'll just note this: Domenic Priore painstakingly assembled this book as a fan's labor of love, almost as an underground project--and years later, when Brian Wilson and his band premiered the completed SMiLE in London, Priore was selected to write articles for the tour program. So now he's an officially sanctioned historian of SMiLE, lending the book even more credence.
Rating:
Summary: Waiting for the shoe to drop
Review: Priore's book is a fantastic feat of journalism, or archival detective work, take your pick . . . Yes, it's sloppy looking and somewhat outdated, but it has the genuine thrill of the chase that you find in a book like Symons' QUEST FOR CORVO or in Richard Holmes' biographical investigations into the lives of the British Romantics.
Soon, they say, Brian will have finished and released SMILE after all these years, and surely all of us wonder, can it possibly live up to the SMILE of our imaginations? We're waiting for the other shoe to drop, will it be a success? Or will I wind up a broken man too tough to cry?
Rating:
Summary: Concise, detailed, profound-and utterly heartbreaking.
Review: The Beach Boys in 1966 were about to experience the height of thier popularity. Pet Sounds (released May 66) didn't fare to well with the stateside record buyers, but garnered positive reception with the overseas press-particulary the London underground. When "good Vibrations" was released in October, shot to #1 by December-it was clear that Brian Wilson was headed into a new direction. What he accomplished by producing Pet Sounds, he wanted to expand with Smile. But, between his hungry chemical diet, record company mumble-jumble and the Beach Boys themselves, the album, slated for a December release, was put off, and off-and eventually shelved by May of 1967. By then completed songs and musical fragments existed-but noone heard. Brain Wilson-however, became a Legend. Wilson often declined to accept the media calling him a genius-all he wanted was to be accepted by the underground the same way the Beatles and Dylan were. Personally, I don't agree with Priore stating the album was virtually complete; if that was the case, a mixdown would have been available. The general public and today's rock theoticians aare now discovering the Smile-era music; but if it WERE released back in December of 1966, would it have the same profound impact that Sgt. Pepper had in that summer of love 1967? Priore definetly wetts the appetite of the Beach Boys enthusiast; the same way David Leaf did with his 1976 classic biography "the Beach Boys and the California Myth", (now unavialble). The Smile album (orginally Dumb-Angel)was to be a grand display complete with gatefold cover and a illustrated booklet with lyrics to some of the tracks. The music,if anyone was privileged enough to hear it, was to say the least-bizzare. Mike Love, being the most apprehensive to the "new" music constantly fought Wilson in the studio; the other Beach Boys (sans Dennis and Bruce Johnson) agreed. Brian wanted to be an artist; The Beach Boys wanted fame, money and hordes of girls. In the end, Wilson said screw it, and began the retreat that would leave him a mental cripple to this day. The Beach Boys? They could have been Rock Legends with "Cabin-Essence", "Surf's Up","The Elemental Suite" "My Vega-Tables", etc. Now, though Brian Wilson will still have Pet Sounds as his crowning acheivement, the Beach Boys have been relagated to the land of oldies radio station with thier "surfand hot-rod" hedonism. Those 10 months from July 1966 through May 1967; Wilson thought he was finally able to create his watershed effort, his "teenage symphony to God", and he wound up with paranoia, dissension and pain
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