'Smile'

The teenage symphony to God released 40 years later by a 65-year-old man.

Two of the top 10 reasons rock and roll is the most popular musical genre in the history of musical genres is Led Zeppelin screwing that girl with a mud shark and "Smile."

For the latter, it was Brian Wilson's alleged masterpiece, a follow-up to "Pet Sounds" and direct response to the Beatles' "Revolver" and an attempt to make an American record when American records weren't cool.

So Wilson nosedived into some LSD, built a sandbox in his house and started holing up with Van Dyke Parks and writing the most extravagant and over-the-top three-minute pop songs in history.

Famously, the album never saw the light of day. Wilson broke down mentally. Mike Love hated the thing and the others put together "Smiley Smile" and "Wild Honey," which are both really good, underrated albums.

After 40 years of hiding out, his brain fried and his brothers dead, Wilson decided to dust off the album -- from scratch -- and release the damn thing.

Maybe this is all Wilson. Maybe he needed the money. Maybe he wanted to do music again. However, "Smile" isn't what it should have been and the boy genius must know this.

I think Wilson and his compatriots assumed the mystery and legacy of the project and Wilson's escape from his own demons would make for a triumphant return. Instead, he overstepped his bounds and found out two things:

1. He's not nearly as good without his brothers. The jokers Wilson brought in for instrumentation and, most importantly, vocals pale in comparison to what was released with "Smiley Smile." Not that the new guys don't have talent, but no one harmonized like the brothers Wilson.

He's not nearly as good outside the 1960s. On the fantastic "Pet Sounds," Wilson decried that he "just wasn't made for these times." He might have been speaking for 2000s-era Wilson. "Smile" is well over-produced, like a nice steak so over down it loses the juicy savoriness and falls flat. There was something about recording in the 1960s -- from the technology to just the way the music felt like without digitization and 12-track recording. You can not convince me that the 2000s "Smile" is anywhere near what 1960s Wilson wanted.

"Heroes and Villains" is a fantastic song. Maybe the Beach Boys ever recorded.