Don't Smile at Me
2017 EP by Billie Eilish
Don't Smile at Me (stylized as dont smile at me) is the debut extended play by American singer Billie Eilish, released on August 11, 2017, via Darkroom and Interscope Records. Eilish and her brother Finneas O'Connell wrote all the material on the EP's original release and were solely responsible for its production. It is an electropop and bedroom pop record with elements of R&B and jazz.
Seven singles were released to support "Don't Smile at Me". "Ocean Eyes" and "Idontwannabeyouanymore" were both sleeper hits, charting on the US "Billboard" Hot 100 and UK Singles Chart. "Bellyache" reached the top five on the "Billboard" Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart for a milestone of 32 weeks, while "Copycat" peaked at number 12 on the chart. Eilish embarked on the Don't Smile at Me Tour and Where's My Mind Tour in 2017 and 2018, respectively, to further promote the EP.
The EP received generally favorable reviews from music critics, with many praising the music and Eilish's vocals. "Hostage" received a nomination for Best Cinematography at the 2019 MTV Video Music Awards. "Don't Smile at Me" was commercially successful, reaching number 14 on the US "Billboard" 200 and number 12 on the UK Albums Chart. It entered the top 10 in many other countries, including Lithuania, where it reached number one.
The EP was later reissued on December 22, 2017, to include the single, "&Burn" with Vince Staples. The song was certified gold in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). An expanded edition of the EP was released on digital platforms and features two more previously released singles, "Lovely" with Khalid and "Bitches Broken Hearts". "Lovely" was commercially successful, peaking at number 64 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 and number 47 on the UK Singles Chart. "Bitches Broken Hearts" was certified platinum in the US and Canada by the RIAA and Music Canada (MC), respectively.
Background.
In July 2017, Eilish told "Billboard" that "each track off "Don't Smile at Me" will follow a distinct plot". She explained, "The only tie-together? I'm pretty sure I don't have any songs that are about how much I love someone. They're all either about like, 'I hate you,' or 'you make me hate me'."'
Eilish spoke about the EP's title: "My EP is called "Don't Smile at Me" for a lot of reasons, but one of them would be when [someone tells you], 'Smile. Why aren't you smiling? It's so much more beautiful when you smile.' Everyone's taught to smile. Girls are like, 'Look happy, look like you're having fun!' I'm not gonna look like anybody except what I am. I want to impress myself." Eilish and her brother Finneas O'Connell wrote most of the material for "Don't Smile at Me". Finneas produced the EP in its entirety. Studio personnel John Greenham and Rob Kinelski handled the mastering and mixing, respectively.
Music and lyrics.
"Don't Smile at Me" is primarily an electropop and bedroom pop record, with R&B and jazz influences. The EP opens with "Copycat", a hip hop-influenced electronica and pop track. It features minimalist production consisting of a bass guitar and piano. The song is Eilish's response to people she felt kept copying everything she was doing. The following track, "Idontwannabeyouanymore", is a pop and R&B song, with a jazz and neo soul-influenced melody. The track features Eilish singing about self-doubt and low self-esteem. According to Baeble Music's Olivia Lewis, "My Boy" begins with a "chiller, jazz-like vibe, and a layer of darkness and mystery". It features hip hop-influenced production, using a hi-hat and keyboard. Musically, the track is a pop song.
With "Watch", described as a pop ballad, Eilish sends a message to her former lover, saying she is leaving their toxic relationship. The track begins with the sound of a match strike that continues throughout the song as its main beat. "Party Favor" is a folk track with Eilish playing the ukulele. The song addresses Eilish's break up with her boyfriend on his birthday with a phone call. "Bellyache" is a mid-tempo electropop and R&B song with influences of hip hop, deep house and Latin macabre in its instrumentation. The song's lyrics were written from the perspective of a psychopath who kills those close to her, including her friends and lover.
"Ocean Eyes" is a dream pop, pop, synth-pop, indie pop and R&B ballad. The song features percussion, bass guitar and a synthesizer. "Ocean Eyes" is a love letter to Eilish's crush with her lover's "ocean" eyes. "Don't Smile at Me" closes with "Hostage", a stripped-down pop track. Lyrically, the track is about an intense love that Eilish feels for someone and an overwhelming desire she has for them. The reissue of the EP contains one additional track; "&Burn" with Vince Staples——a hip hop-influenced pop track. "[B]ooming kick drums" and "velvety keys" support the track. Like "Watch", the song starts with the sound of a match striking and uses it for the main beat. When Eilish and Finneas were recording the song, it was titled "Watch & Burn". The track later became two separate songs—"Watch" and "&Burn".
The expanded edition of "Don't Smile at Me" contains two extra tracks. "Lovely", featuring Khalid, is a chamber pop-based stripped back ballad. The track features minimalist production consisting of a piano, violin strings provided by Madison Leinster, and percussion, as Eilish and Khalid sing about the feeling of being trapped inside of one's own mind. "Bitches Broken Hearts" is an R&B track. Emmit Fenn handled additional production of the track, the first song by Eilish to feature production by someone other than her brother. Lyrically, the song delves into the aftermath of a breakup, with Eilish pretending she no longer needs or cares about her former lover.
Promotion.
Singles and other songs.
"Ocean Eyes" was originally released on November 18, 2015, via SoundCloud and YouTube. On November 18, 2016, it was re-released as the lead single from "Don't Smile at Me". Although the song did not chart initially, it became a sleeper hit in 2019 after Eilish released her debut studio album "When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?", reaching number 72 on the UK Singles Chart and number 84 on the US "Billboard" Hot 100. The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) certified the song quadruple platinum in Australia. It received triple platinum certifications in the United States, Canada and Denmark from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), Music Canada (MC) and IFPI Denmark, respectively. The song spawned two music videos; Megan Thompson directed the first released on March 24, 2016. The second is a dance performance video released on November 22, 2016. A remix EP for the track was released on January 14, 2017. It includes remixes by Astronomyy, Blackbear, Goldhouse, and Cautious Clay.
"Bellyache" was released on February 24, 2017, as the second single from "Don't Smile at Me". The song was also a sleeper hit, reaching number three on the US Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart for a milestone of 32 weeks, and number 79 on the UK Singles Chart. It was certified double platinum in the US, Australia, and in Mexico by the Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas (AMPROFON). Miles and AJ directed an accompanying music video released on March 22, 2017. Marian Hill remixed "Bellyache" and released it on May  5, 2017. "Watch" was released as the third single from "Don't Smile at Me" on June 30, 2017. Megan Park directed the song's music video which was released on September 18, 2017. The track was certified platinum in the US, Canada, and Australia. "Copycat" was released as the EP's fourth single on July 14, 2017. Sofi Tukker remixed it and released it on January 12, 2018. The song peaked at number 12 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart; it ultimately was certified in the US.
"Idontwannabeyouanymore" was released as the fifth single from "Don't Smile at Me" on July 21, 2017. It charted at number 96 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 and number 78 on the UK Singles Chart. The track was certified double platinum in the US. A vertical video for the track was released to Spotify in December 2017. The EP's sixth single, "My Boy", was released on July 28, 2017. The song received a remix by TroyBoi entitled "MyBoi", released on March 9, 2018. "My Boy" was certified platinum in the US. "&Burn", featuring American rapper Vince Staples, was released as a single on December 15, 2017 and later included on the EP's reissue. The song was certified gold in the US. "Party Favor" was released on an exclusive pink 7-inch vinyl as the seventh and final single from "Don't Smile at Me" on April 21, 2018, coinciding with that year's Record Store Day. A cover of "Hotline Bling", originally performed and written by Canadian rapper Drake, was released as the B-side. "Party Favor" was certified gold in the US.
"Lovely", featuring Khalid, was released as the lead single for "13 Reasons Why: Season 2 (Music from the Original TV Series)" on April 19, 2018, and later included on the expanded edition of the EP. Taylor Cohen and Matty Peacock directed its music video. The song reached number 64 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 and number 47 on the UK Singles Chart. It was certified octuple platinum in Australia and Canada, triple platinum in Mexico and in Poland (certified by the Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry (PSPI)), and double platinum in the US and New Zealand—certified by Recorded Music NZ (RMNZ). "Bitches Broken Hearts" was originally released as a standalone single on March 30, 2018. It was later included on the expanded edition of "Don't Smile at Me" and the physical deluxe edition of Eilish's debut studio album "When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?". The song was certified platinum in the US and Canada. Despite not being released as a single, Henry Scholfield produced a music video for "Hostage". It was initially released exclusively via Apple Music on July 11, 2018. The video was later uploaded to Eilish's YouTube channel on October 8, 2018. "Hostage" was ultimately certified platinum in the US and Canada.
Tours.
To promote the EP, Eilish embarked on the Don't Smile at Me Tour and Where's My Mind Tour during 2017 and 2018. In Europe, Eilish would open with "Bellyache". Eilish would then sing "&Burn" without Staples. It would begin with the original arrangement before the beat drops and Eilish would break into dance. Eilish would finish with "Copycat", red lights would flash as she sang it. The staff of "Billboard" magazine praised Eilish's performance at The Bowery Ballroom. Lyndsay Havens described the performance as "explosive" but "at times tender, and entirely exciting". She added the performance was "the type of show where you are acutely aware that the artist you are currently watching will outgrow the venue they are playing almost immediately". The staff of "The Gazette" felt Eilish "wants to bring the audience into her world, creating an experience for them".
Reception.
Critical reception.
"Don't Smile at Me" was met with generally favorable reviews by music critics. Kristin Smith of Plugged In said of the EP, "A fusion of multiple genres, sounds and styles, these nine tracks capture the young singer's undeniably engaging perspective and personality. We hear the honest confessions of a teenager who has known heartbreak, self-loathing and love. "Don't Smile at Me" is dreamy and depressing, enchanting and haunting. And it warrants both praise and caution." Nicole Almeida of "Atwood Magazine" wrote "Don't Smile at Me" was a "powerful declaration", and a "statement coming from the mouth of someone who knows who she is. The title perfectly embodies the strength and ambition of Eilish's debut EP and of Eilish herself as an artist." Robert Christgau, writing for "Vice", commended Eilish's "still-fragile melodies and still-pure voice" on the EP, but considered the songwriting and production to be less accomplished than that of her debut single "When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?". Tom Hull mentioned that "Don't Smile at Me"'s singles are "more pop", and more "easily distinguished from the filler". Brenton Blanchet of "Spin" magazine lauded the EP, saying it was the "first sample of what Eilish could create in her bedroom", saying the "airy and atmospheric project showcased pop craft beyond her age".
Commercial performance.
"Don't Smile at Me" became a sleeper hit in the US, debuting at number 185 on the US "Billboard" 200 a month and a half after its release. The EP later broke into the top 100 in the week ending May 31, 2018, its 21st week on the chart, at number 97 with 7,000 album-equivalent units. "Don't Smile at Me" reached the top 40 of the "Billboard" 200 in the week ending July 28 at number 38 with 12,000 units, including 10,000 streaming equivalent album units, before peaking at number 14 in its 56th charting week for the issue dated January 26, 2019. As of April 2019, the EP has sold 947,000 album-equivalent units in the US and has also generated more than 1.2 billion on-demand audio streams for its tracks. "Don't Smile at Me" was more successful outside the United States. The EP peaked at number 12 on the UK Albums Chart. In Australia, it peaked at number six on the ARIA Charts. It was most successful in Lithuania, peaking at number one on the chart. In early 2019, Eilish became the youngest artist to hit one billion streams on Spotify with "Don't Smile at Me".
Track listing.
Notes
Personnel.
Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.
Charts.
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References.
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Smile (Dami Im song)
"Smile" is a single by Australian recording artist Dami Im, released on 26 May 2015. It was written in Solna, Sweden by Im, Hayley Aitken and Olof Lindskog, and produced by the latter under his production name Ollipop. "Smile" is an upbeat bubblegum pop and doo-wop song that consists of a saxophone rift, electric guitar, synth, handclaps, harmonies and backing vocals. Several critics felt its production was reminiscent of Meghan Trainor's sound. Lyrically, "Smile" conveys a positive message "about loving and appreciating yourself and doing all the simple things in your life to make yourself smile and be ultimately happy." The song received mixed reviews from critics; some complimented its fun pop sound, while others criticised the simple production and Im for following Trainor's sound.
Upon its release, "Smile" debuted at number 48 on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart, number 55 on the South Korea Gaon International Download Chart and number 63 on the South Korea Gaon International Digital Chart. The accompanying music video features Im performing random acts of kindness as she gives out flowers, balloons, free coffee and drinks to people in the streets of Sydney, and visits a nursing home and childcare centre. Fans noted that the video's concept was similar to country duo O'Shea's video for their song "Bad Day Good" (2014). Im promoted "Smile" with interviews and performances on radio and television programs, as well as instore appearances.
"Smile" featured in a Pepsi commercial in China and Taiwan, causing the song to peak at number 32 in China in 2024.
Production and release.
"Smile" was written and recorded in Solna, Sweden. Dami Im co-wrote the song with Hayley Aitken and Olof Lindskog of the songwriter collective, The Kennel. It was produced and mixed by Lindskog under his production name Ollipop. The mastering was done by Leon Zervos at Studios 301 in Sydney. On 23 April 2015, Im announced on her social media platforms that "Smile" would be released as her next single. It was then made available to pre-order the following day. The song was first released digitally in South Korea on 26 May 2015. It was released both digitally and physically in Australia on 29 May 2015. The physical release features a Holiday remix of "Smile", which was produced and mixed by Carl Dimataga. He also provided all instruments and Audrey Dimataga provided additional backing vocals. The remix was later released digitally on 26 June 2015.
Composition.
Several critics felt "Smile" was reminiscent of Meghan Trainor's sound.
"Smile" is an upbeat bubblegum pop and doo-wop song. Its instrumentation consists of a saxophone rift, electric guitar, synth, handclaps, harmonies and backing vocals. Jessica Morris of Fdrmx.com noted that "Smile" also features "soulful and restrained" vocals by Im and "a big band sound that mixes with contemporary electronic sounds". Damian of Auspop and Josep Vinaixa of Ultimate Music felt that the track was reminiscent of Meghan Trainor's sound. Similarly, Thomasbleach.com wrote that "Smile" was "channeling the 50s pop sound Meghan Trainor has made popular in mainstream culture", while Andja Curcic of "Renowned for Sound" added that Im took "on the throwback doo-wop 1950s style that has made Meghan Trainor such a worldwide success". Kathy McCabe of News.com.au felt that the song had a "retro 60s girl group sound" that would "connect with fans of Meghan Trainor's hits".
Im described "Smile" as a "feel good, joyful and uplifting song". The lyrics are "about loving and appreciating yourself and doing all the simple things in your life to make yourself smile and be ultimately happy." Curcic noted that "the song begins with a brass call and response interplay with an electric guitar". In the chorus, Im sings: "You gotta live your life, you gotta treat you right, you gotta give into that crazy appetite. You gotta shake it up, you gotta hold it down, you gotta do all the things that make you smile."
Reception.
Jessica Morris of Fdrmx.com gave the song 4.2 stars out of five and wrote that Im "delivers a high-energy performance that will put a smile on your face and give you that extra 'oomph' in the day. While it's not hugely climatic, 'Smile' is a fun diddy that puts other bubble-gum pop to shame with Im's superb talent." Thomasbleach.com called it an "infectious pop track" that "shows a fun and carefree side" to Im, further adding that "you can't help but bop along and smile". The website also felt that the song is "a bit too 'kid friendly' that it almost sounds like it belongs on a Wiggles album". Auspop gave "Smile" a mixed review, stating that the track "leaves us cold...for some reason it feels to us like her label's decided, 'hey, Meghan Trainor's sound's working right now, let's get ourselves a slice of that'."
Another mixed review came from Andja Curcic of "Renowned for Sound", who gave "Smile" two-and-a-half stars out of five. She called it a "disappointing" and "silly song" with "uninspired and simplistic" lyrics, further adding that it "barely showcases" Im's big vocal range and does not have a "memorable quality" or "bring a fresh twist" to the throwback genre. Curcic concluded, "I really hope Im backs away from this genre and starts to build her way back to some great music." For the week ending 6 June 2015, "Smile" debuted at number 55 on the South Korea Gaon International Download Chart with sales of 3,896 copies, and number 63 on the South Korea Gaon International Digital Chart. In Australia, "Smile" debuted at number 48 on the ARIA Singles Chart for the week dated 8 June 2015, and only spent one week on that chart. It became Im's ninth top fifty and seventeenth top one hundred entry.
Music video.
The music video was filmed on 20 May 2015 and premiered on Im's Vevo channel on 28 May 2015. It features Im performing random acts of kindness around Sydney. The video begins with the caption: "On May 20, Dami took to the streets to make people smile for her new video. This is what happened." It then shows the question "What Makes You Smile?", followed by scenes of Im in the kitchen making muffins. She then visits a nursing home and gives out muffins to the residents before she sings and dances with them. This is followed by scenes of Im in the streets handing out free coffee and drinks to parents and their children. Im is then seen handing out flowers to people and taking photos with them. Afterwards, she visits a childcare centre and reads a story to the children and then dances with them. The video then shows Im volunteering to walk dogs in the park. She later visits a party shop where she blows up smiley face balloons and gives them out to people in the streets. The video then ends with a shot of a smiley face balloon.
Following the video's release, some fans noted that its concept was similar to the video for country duo O'Shea's song "Bad Day Good" (2014). O'Shea's video also features random acts of kindness as the duo are seen walking around a town paying for people's petrol and parking. When asked by "The Daily Telegraph"'s Sydney Confidential about the similarities between the two videos, Im stated: "I had no idea something similar had been done. I just wanted to do something a bit different, and something that I wasn't in a costume or playing a character. I just wanted to be myself." Within four days of its release, the video for "Smile" had already received more than 16,000 views.
Promotion.
To celebrate the release of "Smile", Im launched a #MakeYouSmile social campaign to bring happiness to people through small gestures of kindness. She encouraged her fans and the wider public to do the same. The single's release and music video were promoted on "Sunrise" on 29 May 2015. Im also promoted "Smile" with a television interview on "The Daily Edition" (29 May 2015) and radio interviews on "Fifi & Dave" and 3AW (15 June 2015). She performed and signed physical copies of "Smile" for fans during instore appearances at Westfield Chatswood (30 May 2015) and Westfield Burwood (20 June 2015), and performed an acoustic version on the breakfast radio show "Matt & Jane" (12 June 2015). Im performed "Smile" with the Sydney Street Choir at the Sydney Opera House on 22 July 2015.
Track listing.
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Credits and personnel.
Credits adapted from the CD single liner notes.
References.
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Have a Smile with Me
Have a Smile With Me is a 1964 album by Ray Charles. In a reversal of the previous concept album "Sweet & Sour Tears", this album is filled with humorous songs.
In 1997, it was packaged together with 1963's "Ingredients in a Recipe for Soul" (and both sides of the 1965 single "Without a Song") on a two-for-one CD reissue on Rhino with historical liner notes.

Don't Smile at Me Tour
2017 concert tour by Billie Eilish
The Don't Smile at Me Tour (stylized as dont smile at me tour) was the first headlining concert tour by American singer-songwriter Billie Eilish. It was launched in support of her debut EP "Don't Smile at Me" (2017), and consisted of 17 concerts, 12 in North America and 5 in Europe. The North America dates were announced in July 2017, with more dates being added later. The set list featured all of the songs from "Don't Smile at Me". The tour was positively received by critics.
Synopsis.
Eilish would start the tour with "Copycat" over flickering lights. They would slow the show and play "Idontwannabeyouanymore". "Watch" would then come next. She would then perform "Party Favor" while playing on a ukulele and would later transition into a cover of the Drake song "Hotline Bling". She would later perform an unreleased song called "Listen Before I Go". Eilish ended her regular set with "Ocean Eyes". Eilish would return with a performance of "Bellyache" during the encore.
Set list.
This set list is representative of the show in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on October 20, 2017. It is not representative of all concerts for the duration of the tour.
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Don't Laugh at Me
"Don't Laugh at Me" is a song written by Allen Shamblin and Steve Seskin, and recorded by American country music artist Mark Wills. It was released in July 1998 as the second single from album "Wish You Were Here". Like "I Do (Cherish You)" before it, "Don't Laugh at Me" was a number 2 hit on the "Billboard" country charts. The song received Country Music Association nominations for Country Music Association's Single, Song and Video of the Year in 1998.
Background.
Allen Shamblin was inspired to write the song after his school-aged daughter came home and confided that she was being teased by her peers because of her freckles.
Content.
The song is a ballad in which various characters, from teased children to a homeless man on a street corner, seek acceptance from those around them.
Wills has received letters from teachers and students who have said that they can identify with the song's story. According to him, "everyone can relate to [the song]…Everyone at some point in their life has been picked on, made fun of or put down." He told "Billboard" magazine that the song is "one of the strongest songs I've ever recorded in terms of dealing with life in general."
Music video.
The music video was directed by Jim Hershleder and premiered in mid-1998. It features Wills performing the song at a school playground at night, witnessing scenes of bullying as depicted in the song.
Chart performance.
"Don't Laugh at Me" debuted at number 69 on the U.S. "Billboard" Hot Country Singles & Tracks for the week of July 18, 1998. The song peaked at number 2 on the Hot Country Songs chart on October 10, 1998, for two weeks and was kept out of the top spot by "Where the Green Grass Grows" by Tim McGraw.
Peter, Paul and Mary version.
Peter Yarrow attended a performance by co-writer Seskin at the Kerrville Folk Festival, which led to his recording the song with Peter, Paul and Mary. Their version appeared as the sole new recording on their compilation album Songs of Conscience and Concern. The song helped inspire Yarrow to found the non-profit organization Operation Respect, promoting tolerance and civility programs in education. The organization distributes curriculum programs under the "Don't Laugh At Me" name. In conjunction with this program, the song has been made into a children's book including an afterword by Yarrow. Part of the proceeds from the book go to Operation Respect.
Lagwagon version.
In 2014 Lagwagon recorded a punk rock version of this song which was published as "bonus track" from their record Hang.
References.
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Smiley Smile
Smiley Smile is the twelfth studio album by the American rock band the Beach Boys, released on September 18, 1967. Conceived as a simpler and more relaxed version of their unfinished "Smile" album, "Smiley Smile" is distinguished for its homespun arrangements, "stoned" aesthetic, and lo-fi production. Critics and fans generally received the album and its lead single, "Heroes and Villains", with confusion and disappointment. The album reached number 9 on UK record charts, but sold poorly in the U.S., peaking at number 41—the band's lowest chart placement to that point.
Following principal songwriter Brian Wilson's declaration that most of the original "Smile" tapes would be abandoned, the majority of the recording sessions lasted for six weeks at his makeshift home studio using radio broadcasting equipment, a detuned piano, electronic bass, melodica, found objects for percussion, and a Baldwin theater organ. The unconventional recording process juxtaposed an experimental party-like atmosphere with short pieces of music edited together in a disjointed manner, combining the engineering methods of "Good Vibrations" (1966) with the loose feeling of "Beach Boys' Party!" (1965). Despite leading these sessions, Wilson deliberately credited the album's production to the group collectively for the first time.
From late 1966 to mid-1967, "Smile" had been repeatedly delayed while the Beach Boys were subject to a considerable level of media hype proclaiming Wilson to be a "genius". After settling payment disputes with Capitol Records, "Smiley Smile" was distributed in collaboration with Brother Records, the band's new self-owned record company. A second single, "Gettin' Hungry", was credited to Wilson and Mike Love and failed to chart. "Smile" was left incomplete as the band immediately moved onto the recording of "Lei'd in Hawaii", an unfinished live album featuring performances in the style of "Smiley Smile", and "Wild Honey", released in December 1967.
"Smiley Smile" has since become a critical and cult favorite, influencing the development of the lo-fi, ambient, and bedroom pop genres. It is often regarded as one of the finest chill-out albums for having positive effects on listeners experiencing an LSD comedown, a usage adopted by at least one drug clinic. In 1974, it was ranked number 64 in "NME"'s list of the greatest albums of all time. Outtakes and session highlights from the album were included on the compilations "The Smile Sessions" (2011) and "1967 – Sunshine Tomorrow" (2017).
Background.
Original "Smile" sessions (1966–1967).
The Beach Boys' album "Pet Sounds", issued on May 16, 1966, was massively influential upon its release, containing lush and sophisticated orchestral arrangements that raised the band's prestige to the top level of rock innovators. Early reviews for the album in the US ranged from negative to tentatively positive, but the reception from music journalists in the UK was very favorable. The group had recently employed the Beatles' former press officer Derek Taylor as their publicist. Bothered by the popular view of the Beach Boys as outdated surfers, leader and songwriter Brian Wilson requested that Taylor establish a new image for the band as fashionable counterculture icons, resulting in Taylor spearheading a media campaign with the tagline "Brian Wilson is a genius".
In October 1966, the group followed up "Pet Sounds" with "Good Vibrations", a laboriously produced single that achieved major international success. By then, an album titled "Smile" had been conceived as an extension of that song's recording approach, with Wilson composing music in collaboration with lyricist Van Dyke Parks. Wilson envisioned "Smile" as an outlet for all of his intellectual occupations, such as his fascination with spirituality and its relationship to humor and laughter. He told "Melody Maker": "Our new album will be better than "Pet Sounds". It will be as much an improvement over "Sounds" as that was over [our 1965 album] "Summer Days"." By the end of the year, "NME" conducted an annual reader's poll that placed the Beach Boys as the world's top vocal group, ahead of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones.
Litigation and collapse (February–June 1967).
Business partner David Anderle attempted to form Brother Records, an independent label, with the intention of giving "entirely new concepts to the recording industry, and to give the Beach Boys total creative and promotional control over their product." A February 1967 lawsuit seeking $255,000 (equivalent to $ in 2024) was launched against Capitol Records over neglected royalty payments. Within the lawsuit, there was also an attempt to terminate the band's contract with Capitol before its November 1969 expiration. In April 1967, Wilson and his wife put their Beverly Hills home up for sale and took residence at a newly purchased mansion in Bel Air. Wilson also set to work on constructing a personal home studio.
Parks permanently withdrew from the project in April, with Anderle following suit weeks later. Between mid-April and early May, Wilson took a four-week break from studio recording. On April 26, Carl Wilson was arrested for refusing his draft into the US Army and later released on bail. On April 28, in an effort to promote the group's upcoming UK tour, EMI issued the single "Then I Kissed Her" to the chagrin of the band, who did not approve the release. On May 6, a week after stating that "Smile" was to be released "any moment", Taylor announced in "Disc & Music Echo" that the album had been "scrapped" by Wilson. However, Taylor's assertion of the album's cancellation at that point was likely to be spurious. The Beach Boys were still under pressure and a contractual obligation to deliver an album to Capitol. For most of May, the touring group embarked on a run of shows in Europe while Brian resumed scheduling recording sessions at professional studios, some of which were cancelled on short notice.
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Brian just said, "I can't do this. We're going to make a homespun version of it instead. We're just going to take it easy. I'll get in the pool and sing. Or let's go in the gym and do our parts." That was "Smiley Smile"
—Carl Wilson
Throughout 1967, Wilson's public image was reduced to that of an "eccentric" figure as a multitude of revolutionary rock albums were released to an anxious and maturing youth market. For a time, the Beach Boys had been the Beatles' chief rivals, and Wilson was concerned that if "Smile" followed in the wake of another critically successful release by the Beatles, then his album would be received with unjust comparisons. His race was effectively lost when the Beatles released "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" (May 1967). By June, Wilson declared to his bandmates that most of the material recorded for "Smile" would be abandoned. In an interview conducted in January 1968, he intimated that he had run out of ideas "in a conventional sense" and had been "about ready to die" before "Smiley Smile". He said: "I decided not to try any more, and not try and do such great things."
Style and content.
Modular approach and recording atmosphere.
Since the recording of "Good Vibrations" in 1966, Wilson had established a new method of operation. Instead of working on whole songs with clear large-scale syntactical structures, Wilson limited himself to recording short interchangeable fragments (or "modules"). Through the method of tape splicing, each fragment could then be assembled into a linear sequence, allowing any number of larger structures and divergent moods to be produced at a later time. "Smiley Smile" continued this approach. The album also continued Brian's exploration of "party tracks"—a form of music which includes the sounds of people shouting and making noises, as if at a party. Brian had enacted this approach with "Beach Boys' Party!" in 1965, thereby mixing that record's style with the modular composition method he devised for "Good Vibrations".
Most of "Smiley Smile" was recorded at Brian's improvised home studio from June 3 to July 14, 1967. The group had held a few of the early sessions at Hollywood Sound Recorders and Western Studios. All sessions after June 11 were conducted at the home studio. The core instrumentation at these sessions consisted of organ, honky-tonk piano, and electronic bass played by the Beach Boys themselves, rather than the session musicians employed in much of their previous work. Brian became obsessed with a three-tiered Baldwin organ during the album's recording, resulting in a more minimalist approach to the new arrangements. Most of the piano was played by Brian, and most of the bass was played by Carl.
It was the first album for which production was credited to the entire group, instead of Brian alone. Dennis Wilson explained: "He wanted it that way. He said 'It's produced by the Beach Boys.'" When asked if Brian was "still the producer of "Smiley Smile"", Carl answered, "Most definitely." He described "Smiley Smile" as an improvised, low-effort affair that was "more like a 'jam' album." Brian acknowledged: "We had done about six months work on another thing, but we jumped and ended up doing the entire thing here at the house with an entirely different mood and approach than what we originally started out with." When questioned on why the band took the approach they did, he stated, "We just had a particular atmosphere that we were working in that inspired the particular kind of things that were on the album." He said that he did not "have any paranoia feelings" recording the album: "[W]e had so much fun. The "Smiley Smile" era was so great, it was unbelievable. Personally, spiritually, everything, it was great."
According to music theorist Daniel Harrison, "Smiley Smile" is not a work of rock music as the term was understood in 1967, and that portions of the album "can be thought of as a kind of protominimal rock music". In his book about psychedelic music, author Jim DeRogatis referred to "Smiley Smile" as a work of the "ultimate psychedelic rock library". Conversely, "Stylus Magazine"'s Edwin Faust wrote in 2003 that the album "embraces the listener with a drugged out sincerity; a feat never accomplished by the more pretentious and heavy-handed psychedelia of that era. It is for this reason "Smiley Smile" flows so well with the more experimental pop of today".
Music journalist Domenic Priore notes that when the Beach Boys were taken out of professional studios, "the discipline of the clock, rates and overtime disappeared". Mike Love, recalling how "She's Goin' Bald" had been written about fellatio, commented: "We were stoned out of our heads. We were laughing our asses off when we recorded that stuff." Dennis remembered the album as "the most fun thing we ever did." Bruce Johnston did not participate in most of these sessions. He later called the work "very spacy" and "weird", but "so subtle and so damn innovative."
Differences from "Smile".
Carl Wilson famously compared "Smiley Smile" to "a bunt instead of a grand slam". From the vast sum of material Brian had recorded for "Smile", only portions of the backing track for "Heroes and Villains" (recorded October 1966) and the coda for "Vegetables" (recorded April 1967) were used for "Smiley Smile". Comparing Brian's original "Smile" mixes with the "Smiley Smile" version of "Heroes and Villains", Al Jardine called it "a pale facsimile ... Brian re-invented the song for this record ... He purposefully under-produced the song." "Good Vibrations", which was recorded sporadically from February to September 1966, appears with no differences from the original single. Brian reportedly objected to the placement of "Good Vibrations" on "Smiley Smile", but for the first time, he was outvoted by his bandmates, who insisted on its inclusion.
"Wind Chimes", "Wonderful", and most parts of "Vegetables" were completely rerecorded with scaled-down arrangements. "Vegetables" was reworked as a kind of campfire song, while "Wonderful" traded its harpsichord and trumpet for a haphazardly-played organ, high-pitched backing vocals, and a doo-wop sing-along section. The marimbas in "Wind Chimes" were replaced by organ and dissonant noise. Other tracks only extracted minor elements, such as a melody line, from other "Smile" pieces. "She's Goin' Bald" borrows the verse melody from a "Smile" fragment known as "He Gives Speeches", "With Me Tonight" is a variation on "Vegetables", and "Fall Breaks and Back to Winter (W. Woodpecker Symphony)" lifts a recurring melodic hook from "".
Despite reports that "Smile" had been shelved for being "too weird", there was no attempt by the band to make the musical content on "Smiley Smile" appear any less bizarre for their traditional fanbase. David Anderle thought that Brian's intention was "to salvage as much of "Smile" as he could and at the same time immediately go into his [long-discussed] humor album." According to a contemporary "Hullabaloo" article, "The title, suggested by [Wilson's cousin] Barry Turnbull, reflects the album's happy concept, it is taken from the Indian aphorism, 'The smile that you send out returns to you.'" The cover artwork featured a new illustration of Frank Holmes' Smile Shoppe, this time located in the middle of an overgrown jungle.
"Smiley Smile" was produced without any direct involvement from Van Dyke Parks. The only songs that appeared to have no connection to the original "Smile" album were "Little Pad" and "Gettin' Hungry". In addition, while the Beatles' Paul McCartney was present at an April 1967 session for "Vegetables", the recording where he had reportedly supplied celery crunching sounds was not used on "Smiley Smile".
Technical aspects and mixdown.
"Smiley Smile" was recorded with an eight-track tape machine, with all the different musical sections spread out across numerous reels of tape. In other words, intros, verses, choruses, and endings were each allocated their own reel. The Beach Boys recorded using what was predominantly radio broadcasting equipment, which lacked many of the technical elements and effects found in an established studio. The studio set up at Brian's house was, in its mid-1967 incarnation for "Smiley Smile", in its infancy. Due to the sporadic nature at which Brian decided to produce the record at his home, there was little time to fully outfit the Bel Air residence as a properly-equipped recording studio.
Tracks were typically constructed around a performance of Wilson playing piano that was usually mixed out of the final recording. This process was equivalent to the use of click tracks a decade before they were common. Some recording accidents were used to their advantage, such as in "With Me Tonight", which contains an informal link between the verse and chorus by way of a voice saying "good", as in "good take", spoken by the band's friend Arny Geller from the control room. Tape manipulation was another prominent feature, with varispeed being applied to a few vocals. On "She's Goin' Bald", a new device called the Eltro Information Rate Changer was used to raise the pitch of the group's vocals without affecting the tempo.
The home set-up was moved between different areas as the sessions progressed. This led to unconventional ways of achieving particular sounds at the home, such as a replacement for what would be achieved by an echo chamber. The album's engineer Jim Lockert recalled how "Brian's swimming pool had a leak in it and was empty, so we put a microphone in the bottom of this damn near Olympic-size pool and the guys laid down inside the pool and sang so the sound would go down the wall of the concrete pool into the microphone – and that was part of the vocals on one of those songs." Some vocals were also tracked in the shower.
Lockert detailed a unique and labor-intensive process for the final mixing session of the album that began at five o'clock one evening and concluded the following morning at Wally Heider's Studio 3 in Hollywood. The mixing strategy involved sequentially mixing the introduction and first verse of each song directly to a two-track tape. Rather than creating copies for assembly, the team would then erase the vocals from the mixed segment, record the harmony and lead parts for the subsequent verse, and mix it down to the same tape. This meticulous approach was repeated for each section of the song, ensuring that by the end of the session, the album was fully mixed and edited. Lockert recalled, "One of the guys from Wally Heider was my second engineer and he said, 'Well, I never believed in miracles but I saw one tonight.' That’s the way they did it. It wasn't my idea. They mixed it chorus and verse, chorus and verse and intro, and all the levels had to match."
Release.
The Beach Boys were initially involved in the conception of the Monterey Pop Festival, which was held in June 1967. At the last minute, the band announced that they could not appear at the festival for reasons pertaining to Carl's military draft and their commitments to finish "Heroes and Villains" for Capitol. Derek Taylor, who had terminated his employment with the group to focus on the festival's organization, remembered that dropping out of the program "undoubtedly set the band in a very bad light. They were certainly heavily criticized at the time for it. It seemed rather like an admission of defeat." Biographer David Leaf explained: "Monterey was a gathering place for the 'far out' sounds of the 'new' rock ... and it is thought that this non-appearance was what really turned the 'underground' tide against them." Detractors referred to the band as the "Bleach Boys" and "the California Hypes" as the media focus shifted from Los Angeles to the happenings in San Francisco.
The Capitol lawsuit was eventually settled out of court, with the Beach Boys receiving the royalties owed in exchange for Brother Records to distribute through Capitol Records, along with a guarantee that the band produce at least one million dollars profit. An official announcement of the resolution was made on July 18. Capitol A&R director Karl Engemann began circulating a memo, dated July 25, in which "Smiley Smile" was referred to as a stopgap for "Smile". The memo also discussed conversations between him and Wilson pertaining to the release of a 10-track "Smile" album, which would not have included the songs "Heroes and Villains" or "Vegetables". In July, two singles were issued on the Brother imprint: "Heroes and Villains" and "Gettin' Hungry". The former peaked at number 12 on the "Billboard" Hot 100. The latter was not credited to the Beach Boys, but instead to Brian Wilson and Mike Love.
"Smile" was never delivered; instead, the group played two shows at an auditorium in Honolulu, which were filmed and recorded with the intention of releasing a live album, "Lei'd in Hawaii". On stage, the band performed "Heroes and Villains" and "Gettin' Hungry", and rearranged their past hits in the style of "Smiley Smile". Priore writes that the engagement was effectively the band's "attempt to make up" for cancelling their gig at Monterey. Bruce Johnston, who was absent for most of the "Smiley Smile" recording sessions, did not accompany the group, although Brian did. In early August, Johnston told the British press that he had heard "Smiley Smile", and when asked about "Smile", said that the album would be released "within the next two months."
On September 18, 1967, "Smiley Smile" was released in the US. The LP peaked at number 41 on the "Billboard" charts, making it their worst-selling album to that date. It spent most of its 21-week chart time bubbling under 100 and 197. When released in the UK in November, it performed better, reaching number 9 of the UK Albums Chart. During their annual Thanksgiving tour of the US, the band did not perform any of the tracks on "Smiley Smile" except "Good Vibrations". In a December interview, Mike Love acknowledged that "Smiley Smile" had "baffled and mystified" the public and that the band "had this feeling that we were going too far, losing touch I guess." He promised that their next album, then slated to be "Wild Honey", would bring the group "back more into reality".
Initial reviews.
In the description of journalist Nick Kent, "Smiley Smile" "appeared like the single most underwhelming musical statement of the sixties". It was a "major disappointment" for fans, many of whom had expected a work similar to "Pet Sounds" and the Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper". According to writer Scott Schinder, the LP was released to "general incomprehension. While "Smile" may have divided the Beach Boys' fans had it been released, "Smiley Smile" merely baffled them." Anderle said that whatever new fans the group had brought with "Pet Sounds" were "immediately lost with the release of 'Heroes of Villains,' then with the album ["Smiley Smile"]." Biographer Keith Badman writes that the music press responded by "effectively blacklisting the band, refusing to review their latest records, or reviewing them long after they have been released."
"Undoubtedly the worst album ever released by The Beach Boys", "Melody Maker" wrote. "Prestige has been "seriously" damaged." A review in "Hit Parader" praised the album for "probably [having] more a cappella harmony than on any album since the fall of the singing-group era in the late 1950s", but reserved that they "still like "Pet Sounds" better". "NME" wrote, "By the standards which this group has set itself, it's more than a grade disappointing." "Hi Fidelity" said: "... they are making the psychedelic route ... perhaps in the unforgettable city of Fresno. Until they reach the San Francisco Bay Bridge or return to the shores of Malibu ... their work can only receive partial approval."
More favorably, "Record Mirror"'s Wesley Laine predicted that "Smiley Smile" would "probably go to the top of the LP charts". He felt that it contained better songs "on the whole" than "Pet Sounds", as well as "extremely clever and insiduous ... production and arrangements [that] fall into the current psychedelic bag without being blatantly acidy." The "Milwaukee Sentinel" praised the LP as "probably the most valuable contribution to rock since the Beatles "Revolver"" and for being unlike anything the Beatles had done. "Cheetah" gave the album a rave review, observing that "the mood is rather childlike (not childish)—the kind of innocence that shows on the album cover, with its Rousseau-like animals and forest, and the smoke from the cabin chimney spelling out the title. ... The expression that emerges from this music is very strange: it's a very personal mood." "New York Times" journalist Richard Goldstein rued that "the album is a memorable, if disjointed experience, and a truly religious one as well. One must decide for oneself what the sermon is worth listening for." In his May 1968 column in "Esquire", Robert Christgau praised the minimalism of "Smiley Smile", characterizing the record as "slight" and calling the deliberately uncommercial sound of the album "unique and almost perfect".
Controversy involving whether the band was to be taken as a serious rock group followed them into the next year. On December 14, 1967, "Rolling Stone" editor and co-founder Jann Wenner printed an influential article that denounced Wilson's "genius" label, which he called a "promotional shuck", and the Beach Boys themselves, which he called "one prominent example of a group that has gotten hung up on trying to catch The Beatles". He wrote that "for some reason, ["Smiley Smile"] just doesn't make it ... [the songs] just don't move you. Other than displaying Brian Wilson's virtuosity for production, they are pointless." In February 1968, a "Rolling Stone" reviewer referred to the album as a "disaster" and an "abortive attempt to match the talents of Lennon and McCartney."
Aftermath and archival releases.
"Smiley Smile" became the first in a three-part series of lo-fi Beach Boys albums (preceding "Wild Honey" and "Friends") and the first in a seven-year string of under-performing Beach Boys albums (ending with the 1974 compilation "Endless Summer"). The "Smile" era is generally viewed as the ending of the Beach Boys' most artistically creative period, and the point after which Brian began gradually relinquishing his hold as the group's creative leader.
Commenting on "Smiley Smile" in retrospect, Bruce Johnston said it was "a thousand times better than the [original "Smile"] ... It's just the most underrated album in the whole catalog for me." Dennis Wilson said, "It was not as ambitious as "Pet Sounds" was. But ... I listened to it in a jungle in Africa and it sounded great." Conversely, Al Jardine felt that "there are some pretty cool songs on that album but I didn't like rehashing some of the "Smile" songs. That didn't work for me." Mike Love wrote, "Some of the songs we recorded could barely be called songs. They were chants, spacey fragments, weird sound effects. Every group produces at least one bad album ... I don't think Brian wanted to be associated with it either."
Much of the group's subsequent recordings from 1967 to 1970 followed similar experimental traditions as "Smiley Smile" – namely, through sparse instrumentation, a more relaxed ensemble, and a seeming inattention to production quality. Numerous session musicians have reported that the Beach Boys had not been a distraction to Brian's workflow when recording at established studios, but once the group made the home studio their primary base of operations, his bandmates became more integrated in the band's creative decisions. Carl took Brian's place as the most musically dominant member, and Brian would not be credited as producer for another Beach Boys album until 1976's "15 Big Ones".
"Smile" material continued to trickle out in later releases, often as filler songs to offset Brian's unwillingness to contribute. "Cool, Cool Water", an outtake from "Smiley Smile" and "Wild Honey" sessions, was partially rerecorded and issued as the closing track for "Sunflower" (1970). When "The Smile Sessions" box set was released in 2011, co-producer Mark Linett acknowledged that "there's things that some people think – should "Smiley Smile" sessions be there – [with tracks such as] 'Can't Wait Too Long', we get into a very fuzzy area". In 2017, additional session highlights from the album were released on the rarities compilation "1967 – Sunshine Tomorrow". The compilation was followed several months later with two more digital-exclusive releases: "1967 – Sunshine Tomorrow 2: The Studio Sessions" and "1967 – Live Sunshine".
Reappraisal.
"Smiley Smile" has since become a cult and critical favorite in the Beach Boys' catalog. In biographer Peter Ames Carlin's estimation, "the album's reputation improved with hindsight", particularly after the release of "stripped-down warts-and-all albums" by other artists, including Bob Dylan ("John Wesley Harding", 1967) and the Beatles ("The Beatles", 1968). Writing in 1971, "Melody Maker"'s Richard Williams referred to "Smiley Smile" as "The Great Undiscovered Pop Album", one that had been "either ignored or dismissed by the reviewers." The album's prevailing negative response mellowed after the record was reissued in 1974 – the same year that the staff of "NME" ranked it as the 62nd greatest album of all time.
Since the mid-1970s, the album has developed a following that appreciates the distinct qualities of its low-fidelity production, positioning it as an essential entry in Wilson's oeuvre. It is considered a masterwork among fans of lo-fi art. Reviewing the album for AllMusic, Richie Unterberger called it a "rather nifty, if rather slight, effort that's plenty weird". Spencer Owen of "Pitchfork" deemed it "a near-masterpiece. Without any awareness of "Smile"'s existence, this album could have been a contemporary classic ... and although the album isn't anywhere close to the sonic revolution that "Sgt. Pepper" had already brought, Wilson's innovative production and arrangements still bring out the best in every single track." "Blender"'s Douglas Wolk called it "the Boys' psychedelic album — joltingly spare, druggy and funny, with the most gorgeous harmonies of their career."
Less favorably, Kent maintained that the album "undersold the worth" of "Smile" with "dumb pot-head skits, so-called healing chants and even some weird 'loony tunes' items straight out of a cut-rate Walt Disney soundtrack". "The Guardian"'s Geoffrey Cannon viewed Parks' lyrics as "pretentious", believing that Parks "messed Brian up" during "Smiley Smile". "Paste"'s Bryan Rolli ranked it at number 2 in a list of the "10 Most Disappointing Follow-Up Albums", calling it a "disjointed collection of minimalist recordings and a capella bits that are not so much songs as fragments of a shattered psyche". In the 2004 edition of "The Rolling Stone Album Guide", the reviewer described "Smiley Smile" as "inconsistent" and said that, given the context of its release in September 1967, "the album was like a strange throwback – it highlighted how out of touch these suburban California surfers had become with the psychedelic times." In his 2007 book "The Act You've Known for All These Years: The Life, and Afterlife, of Sgt. Pepper", Clinton Heylin writes that the album "sounded like a [throwaway] contractual obligation" and, together with its commercial failure, confirmed "one of the most spectacular falls from grace of any sixties band".
In the 2000s, "Smiley Smile" began to be included in lists of "must-hear" albums compiled by various publications. In 2000, it was ranked number 415 in Colin Larkin's book of the "All Time Top 1000 Albums". In a 2007 issue of "Rolling Stone", Robert Christgau and David Fricke named it one of the 40 essential albums of 1967; Christgau declared: "Towering it's not; some kind of hit it is." In 2017, it was ranked number 118 on "Pitchfork"'s list of greatest albums of the 1960s, where it was described as having "developed a small cult of its own, attracting those drawn to its stripped-down, highly spontaneous, and deeply stoned vibe."
Impact and legacy.
In later years, "Smiley Smile" became celebrated as one of the finest chill-out albums, and one that is suited for listening during an LSD comedown. At least one drug treatment center adopted the LP as a tool for comforting patients. Carl Wilson mentioned this clinic, located in Fort Worth, Texas, to the NME in 1970, saying, "They don't use any traditional medical treatment whatsoever. All they do is play the patient our "Smiley Smile" album and apparently this acts as a soothing remedy which relaxes them and helps them to recover completely from their trip."
Music theorist Daniel Harrison writes that "Smiley Smile" may be regarded as a piece akin to art music within the Western classical tradition, highlighting its pioneering contributions to the rock genre as comparable to the introduction of unconventional techniques, such as atonality, in classical music. Writing in 1971, Richard Williams felt that the album's disjointed and fragmentary approach had "all the epigrammatic, enigmatic power of Japanese "haiku"", containing 'passages written in the conditional tense (i.e. the songs move easily between reality and fantasy), a technique evolved by Godard in the cinema and which only Wilson, as far as I know, has picked up in pop."
"Smiley Smile" was one of 100 albums featured in the 2000 book "The Ambient Century" as a chapter in the development of ambient music. "Pitchfork" contributor Mark Richardson wrote that the record "basically invented the kind of lo-fi bedroom pop that would later propel Sebadoh, Animal Collective, and other characters." The "New York Observer"'s Ron Hart wrote that "Smiley Smile" had effectively presaged the work of Harry Nilsson, Elvis Costello, Stereolab, the High Llamas, the Olivia Tremor Control, and Father John Misty. Dedicated tribute albums include "Smiling Pets" (1998) and "Portland Sings The Beach Boys "Smiley Smile"" (2013).
Other admirers of the album have included Pete Townshend of the Who and Robbie Robertson of the Band. XTC's Andy Partridge considered it one of "the most influential records for me" and it was a direct inspiration for his song "Season Cycle" ("Skylarking", 1986). In an interview with "Time", Steven Tyler of Aerosmith stated that his "island" music picks include "Smiley Smile", "Just for the melodic fuck all." Keiichi Suzuki and Hirokazu Tanaka, composers for the Japanese role-playing video game series "Mother", cited "Smiley Smile" among influences on the games' soundtracks. Comedian Trevor Moore stated that the theme song for his troupe's television show, "The Whitest Kids U' Know", was based on "Little Pad", which itself had been used as the opening theme for their live shows.
Track listing.
Lead vocals per 1990 CD liner notes by David Leaf. On its original release, Van Dyke Parks was not credited for "Wonderful".
Personnel.
Per David Leaf, as well as from band sessionographer Craig Slowinski, including full credits for "Good Vibrations" and "Heroes and Villains" and partial credits for "Vegetables." The credits for "Good Vibrations" are adapted from Slowinski's liner notes from "The Smile Sessions" box set, as well as the website "Bellagio 10452", maintained by music historian Andrew G. Doe.
The Beach Boys
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Technical staff
Notes.
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References.
Citations
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Bibliography.
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Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)
1975 single by Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel
"Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)" is a song by the English rock band Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel, released on 31 January 1975 by EMI as the lead single from the band's third studio album "The Best Years of Our Lives". The song was written by Harley, and produced by Harley and Alan Parsons. In February 1975, the song reached number one on the UK chart and received a gold certification from the British Phonographic Industry in October 2021. It spent nine weeks in the Top 50, and as of 2015, has sold over 1.5 million copies worldwide. The song is one of the most-played songs in British broadcasting history.
More than 120 cover versions of the song have been recorded by other artists, most notably by Duran Duran and Erasure, although Harley stated his favourite cover version was by the Wedding Present.
Writing and composition.
The song was the first single to be released under the name "Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel", as opposed to simply "Cockney Rebel". In July 1974, the original Cockney Rebel disbanded, and Harley then assembled a new line-up later in the year. "Make Me Smile" described Harley's feelings on the band's split. For many years, it was believed that Harley purposely chose to disband the original line-up and embark on a new career path. Years later, Harley began to reveal the truth behind the band's split.
Between May and July 1974, Cockney Rebel embarked on a major British tour to promote their second studio album "The Psychomodo". As the tour progressed, the band began facing growing tensions, which ultimately led to their split at the end of the tour in late July. On 18 July, the band received a 'Gold Award' for outstanding new act of 1974, and a week later they had split up over their disagreements. Jean-Paul Crocker, Milton Reame-James and Paul Jeffreys had approached Harley, insisting they could also write material for the group. Harley, the band's sole songwriter, felt this was unfair as he had been the one to originally hire the musicians for his group, and explained the deal to them at the time.
After the band split, only the original line-up's drummer, Stuart Elliott, would join the new line-up. In a television interview recorded in 2002, Harley described how the lyrics were vindictively directed at the former band members who, he felt, had abandoned him.
On "The One Show" in October 2010, Harley called the lyric "a finger-pointing piece of vengeful poetry. It's getting off my chest how I felt about the guys splitting up a perfectly workable machine. I wrote it saying 'Look, you'll learn how well we're doing here, we're doing well, why are you doing this?'" He elaborated:
<templatestyles src="Template:Blockquote/styles.css" />Three of them came to me in a little posse with several ultimatums. They wanted to write songs for the third album, and I said 'Well you know I started the band, and I auditioned you, and I told you the deal at the time. We're not moving the goal posts here.' They knew this, and they came to me demanding that they could write songs too, and I just said 'Well go and do it then'.
Harley began writing the song only days after the band's split. The tune was based on an unused Harley-penned track called "Laid in the Shade", which was the first song Harley ever performed when he began playing in London folk clubs on open-mike nights in 1971 and one which he demoed that same year using his classical guitar at Venus Recording Studios in Whitechapel. He later recalled the song was "absolute rubbish" but felt "the tune worked". Returning to this earlier tune, he wrote new lyrics and came up with a slow blues track with a dark mood, a song vastly different from the one that was recorded. In January 2012, he told "Uncut" magazine that the first verse was probably written at four in the morning after a bottle of brandy, feeling sorry for himself. On "The One Show" Harley added, "I was in distress, there's no doubt at all, out of adversity I had to talk about it, I had to write about it. I had to say these things, I had to get it off my chest."
In "One Thousand UK Number One Hits" by Jon Kutner and Spencer Leigh, Harley recalled the end of Cockney Rebel version 1:
<templatestyles src="Template:Blockquote/styles.css" />We split up because they wanted to take my leadership away. They wanted to dilute it and "Make Me Smile" is saying 'Come back one day and I'll laugh.' It was arrogant but I knew they were wrong - they didn't understand the group like I did.
Recording.
The new line-up of the band recorded "The Best Years of Our Lives" album in November–December 1974 at Abbey Road Studios in London. On a day in November, Harley arrived at the studio and played the band the original "slow blues" version of the song for them to rehearse. Harley recalled to "Uncut" in 2012 that it was "a little dirgy, slower and a little pedestrian, very on the beat", while guitarist Jim Cregan recounted in 2022 that the original presentation was "a bit ramshackle" and "not an obvious single".
After producer Alan Parsons heard the song, he suggested speeding the song's tempo up, as he felt it would suit the song better. Harley then developed the song further, introducing tacets, dead stops and gaps into it. Harley recalled in 2014: "Alan was great, he didn't try to dissuade me, he just said, 'Do it'." On "The One Show", Harley added: "Suddenly it was swinging, and bopping, and ooh-la-la. We saw a hit record being built here, there was no doubt."
In a 2015 interview for "Songwriting Magazine", Parsons recalled:
<templatestyles src="Template:Blockquote/styles.css" />I think a good producer can transform a song. If you make a small change compositionally that really makes a song gel then you can say production is part of songwriting. For example I remember on Steve Harley's "Make Me Smile (Come Up And See Me)" he was phrasing the chorus completely differently and I suggested that he made it more rhythmic and I think that is part of the hook of the whole record, so I take a bit of credit for that – although I didn't get paid for it.
Keyboardist Duncan Mackay came up with the ascending notes used for the song's introduction. A saxophone solo was originally planned for the song's instrumental break. However, after hearing Harley's idea for the solo, Cregan began to play the idea on the guitar. Harley recalled in 2014:
<templatestyles src="Template:Blockquote/styles.css" />The guitar solo was over a completely new chord sequence. The middle-eight is totally separate from the rest of the song, with no lyrics, so it's an instrumental break that's a little bit left field. We took ages getting the solo right. Some of the guys who play the guitar for me now have a lot of problems with it. It's a tough solo to play properly. It was a composite of three separate takes.
A number of backing singers contributed to the song, including future chart-topper Tina Charles, as well as Yvonne Keeley, Linda Lewis and Liza Strike.
When the song was near completion, Harley played an early mix of the song to Bob Mercer, who was the head of A&R at EMI. Harley remembered: "We were all drinking Martini, it was late at night, and we were completely knackered. Bob came in and was absolutely blown away. I asked him what he thought and he said simply, 'Number