Monday, March 01, 2004

MP3 is the solo piano version of "Surf's Up" recorded by Brian Wilson during the illfated Beach Boys Smile sessions. Not as great as the version they finally released in 1971 with the "child is father to the man" coda, but one of Brian Wilson's greatest vocal performances - he makes Van Dyke Parks' impressive-sounding-but-meaningless wordplay actually seem profound and heartfelt. And the "mmhhmmm" at 2:33 is one of the most expressive wordless syllables ever recorded.

(And like most of Music Geek Nation, I am breathlessly awaiting the new finished (or as finished as it's ever going to get) version of Smile.)

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