The SMiLE Sessions - The Beach Boys

The SMiLE Sessions (recorded 1966-67, released 2011)

1. Our Prayer - 1:04
2. Gee - 0:51
3. Heroes and Villains - 4:51
4. Do You Like Worms? (Roll Plymouth Rock) - 3:34
5. I'm In Great Shape - 0:27
6. Barnyard - 0:47
7. My Only Sunshine (The Old Master Painter/You Are My Sunshine) - 1:55
8. Cabin Essence - 3:30
9. Wonderful - 2:03
10. Look (Song for Children) - 2:30
11. Child is Father of the Man - 2:09
12. Surf's Up - 4:12
13. I Wanna Be Around/Workshop - 1:23
14. Vega-Tables - 3:48
15. Holidays - 2:32
16. Wind Chimes - 3:06
17. The Elements: Fire (Mrs. O'Leary's Cow) - 2:34
18. Love to Say Dada - 2:32
19. Good Vibrations - 4:15

SMiLE might be the most famous unreleased album of all time. A lot has been written about it by those far more informed than me, so I'll confine my comments to the music. What we have is a quirky, experimental, multifaceted album that plays like a song suite and has many delicately beautiful moments.

There are a lot of different musical projects going on in the album. The stellar vocals from the Beach Boys are reason enough to listen. These guys could harmonize like no one else, and the melodies and harmonies throughout bring a lot of tenderness and emotion, even when working with Van Dyke Parks' esoteric lyrics. Folk, classical, barbershop, even some jazz intermingle with the more traditional pop vocalizing, and the melodies are always memorable and creative.

However, that's not all that's happening. The instrumentation is about as eclectic as you can get: orchestra, sound effects, horns, kazoos, banjos, penny whistles, vegetable chewing... and of course my favorite, Carol Kaye's heavily distorted Fender bass guitar.  Brian seems to be trying to elevate instruments of all sorts - childhood toys, found sounds, homemade percussion, sirens, electronic effects - to a classical status.  This works better in some songs than it does in others.

Finally, the album plays as a fairly cohesive unit, which is impressive considering it is unfinished. The song suite traces various moods - nostalgia, wistfulness, contemplation, playfulness, all are evoked by the stream of melodies.  Certain themes repeat throughout at just the right time to connect the music as a whole. The pacing of the album allows the different themes to make a subtle impact.

Looking back in time, if this album had been completed and released in 1967, there's no telling how it might have been received. It is definitely a unique piece of music, almost separate from its time - after all, everyone else was making groovy psychedelic sitar harpsichord tunes about rainbows. There is a restrained elegance to SMiLE that might not have translated well to people expecting a Sergeant Pepper type of album. It's definitely in a class of its own.

Arbitrary rating: 4.5 out of 5 subtle impacts

Master of the World - Jules Verne

Master of the World (Verne, 1904)

In sort of a precursor to the X-Files, federal policeman John Strock is drawn into unexplained happenings throughout the country. His first adventure, investigating reports of volcanic fires and rumblings on an inaccessible (non-volcanic) mountaintop, quickly gives way to the pursuit of several mysterious vehicles: a car terrorizing the highways at the unheard of speed of 150 miles per hour (so fast you can't see it with the naked eye!), a boat with the same type of speed flashing up and down America's east coast, and then a submarine menacing a mountaintop lake. When the governments of the world publish offers to buy the technology from the inventor, a note comes in to the federal police office, rejecting all offers, signed by "The Master of the World."

The premise here is fairly interesting - a crazy inventor has harnessed unheard of speed and power in all known forms of transportation, rejecting fame and fortune to retain his exclusive power over anyone who might stand in his way. In true Verne fashion, we find out late in the game that this is Robur from The Clipper of the Clouds.  (Nemo made a similar cameo at the end of The Mysterious Island).

However, the story has such strong foreshadowing, there is no real mystery, and it just makes Strock seem ignorant when he is surprised by something the reader has known for awhile.  Also, the banter between Strock and his boss is pretty goofy ("I shall not fail!" "I hope not, the American people are depending on you", etc).  The story hints at more than it delivers - even Robur, once discovered, is mostly silent, and his actions remain unexplained at the end.

There are a couple great scenes, including one involving Niagara falls that, though very heavily foreshadowed, is still exciting. Verne's wonder at technology is less apparent here, though, and the tone is darker throughout.  An interesting read, but not one of Verne's best.

Arbitrary rating: 3 out of 5 inaccessible (non-volcanic) mountaintops

The Clipper of the Clouds - Jules Verne

The Clipper of the Clouds (Verne, 1886)

Though a lot shorter than the more famous Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, Jules Verne's The Clipper of the Clouds (the original French title translates to Robur the Conqueror) is very similar - a borderline megalomaniac inventor kidnaps skeptics and takes them on a trip around the world in his invention.  The kidnapped spectators can't help but admire the ingenuity and power of the invention, but ultimately they realize they must escape if they hope to rejoin the world of men.  Only instead of a submarine, Robur's invention is a heavier-than-air flying machine - styled an "aeronef" by Verne, though he considers using the terms "aeroplane" and "helicopter".

One of the best parts of this book is Verne's enthusiasm and awe for technology. His excitement and vigor are contagious, even when he waxes eloquent on the astounding speed of "one hundred and twenty five miles an hour" and the dizzying height of "four thousand feet above the ground"!  For me, these anachronisms add a charm to the book and shine a light into a different era, when the fastest forms of transport were locomotives and steamships.

The scenes of suspense and action are top-notch throughout.  The mysterious beginning of the book, where people all over the globe hear unexplainable music in the sky, is great science fiction.  There are also gripping moments when the ship gets caught in storms (including a mid-ocean waterspout) that are written at white-knuckle pace.

Unfortunately, the characters aren't too memorable, and one is a racist stereotype.  Robur kidnaps three Americans to convince them of his ship's superiority: the two leaders of a balloonist society and their black servant.  The two balloonists begin as fairly innocent victims but become vengeful and bloodthirsty by the end of the story, while their servant is portrayed more as a monkey than as a man, presumably for comic relief.  Meanwhile, Robur's crew is fairly faceless, and as for Robur... what to make of him?  One minute he's the villian, the next the hero; one minute a grand speechmaker, the next a recluse.  He's definitely the most interesting of the cast.

There were also a lot of distracting errors in geography.  Either Verne in his enthusiasm failed to research, or the translator was lazy.  My edition is a pretty cheap paperback, and I caught other typographical errors, so maybe we can blame the publisher for the idea that Yosemite is southwest of Nebraska, or Beijing is due east of Tokyo...

Arbitrary rating: 3.5 out of 5 aeronefs