''Smiling Pets'' is a multi-artist

tribute album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records coll ...

consisting of

experimental An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs when ...

alternative Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * ''The Alternative'' (film), a 1978 Australian television film * ''The Alternative ...

cover versions of

Beach Boys A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc shell ...

songs from ''

Pet Sounds ''Pet Sounds'' is the 11th studio album by American rock band the Beach Boys, released on May 16, 1966, by Capitol Records. It was initially met with a lukewarm critical and commercial response in the United States, peaking at number 10 on th ...

'' (1966) and the never-finished ''

Smile A smile is a facial expression formed primarily by flexing the muscles at the sides of the mouth. Some smiles include a contraction of the muscles at the corner of the eyes, an action known as a Duchenne smile. Among humans, a smile expresses ...

'' project. It was released exclusively in Japan by

Sony Records Sony Records was a record label founded by R&B duo Ike & Tina Turner in 1963. It was not affiliated with Sony Group Corporation. Ike Turner produced singles by members of the Kings of Rhythm and the Ikettes on Sony Records. Records on the label ...

in March 1998.

Background

Some song titles differ from how they have been officially published by the Beach Boys. The most prominent of which is "Tones", which is a cover version of the instrumental ''Smile'' track "Holidays". Prior to ''Smiling Pets'', most ''Smile'' material was only sparsely available on the compilation '' Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of The Beach Boys'' (1993). Because "Holidays" had not been officially released until more than a decade later on ''

The Smile Sessions ''The Smile Sessions'' is a compilation album and box set recorded by American rock band the Beach Boys, released on October 31, 2011 by Capitol Records. The set is the follow-up to ''The Pet Sounds Sessions'' (1997), this time focusing on the a ...

'' (2011), it is highly likely that unauthorized bootlegs with erroneous track lists were consulted by ''Smiling Pets'' artists. "Tones" (also known as "Tune X") was actually a working title for an entirely different composition recorded by

Carl Wilson Carl Dean Wilson (December 21, 1946 – February 6, 1998) was an American musician, singer, and songwriter who co-founded the Beach Boys. He was their lead guitarist, the youngest sibling of bandmates Brian and Dennis, and the group's ''de ...

during ''Smile'' sessions. Another misleading title is "

Heroes and Villains "Heroes and Villains" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1967 album ''Smiley Smile'' and their unfinished ''Smile'' project. Written by Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks, Wilson envisioned the song as an Old West-themed ...

", which can arguably be more accurately described as a reprise of "

Do You Like Worms? "Do You Like Worms?" (sometimes erroneously referred to as "Do You Dig Worms?") is a song by American rock band the Beach Boys from their never-finished album ''Smile (Beach Boys album), Smile''. Written by Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks, the son ...

". Tracks from this album later reappeared on individual band compilations or album reissues. "

Surfin' U.S.A. "Surfin' U.S.A." is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys, credited to Chuck Berry and Brian Wilson. It is a rewritten version of Berry's "Sweet Little Sixteen" set to new lyrics penned by Wilson and an uncredited Mike Love. The song w ...

" is present in complete form on

Melt-Banana Melt-Banana is a Japanese noise rock band that is known for playing extremely fast noise rock mixed with experimental, electronica and pop-based song structures. Since forming in 1992 the band has released ten albums and toured worldwide extens ...

's ''

MxBx 1998/13,000 Miles at Light Velocity ''MxBx 1998/13,000 Miles at Light Velocity'' is the first live album by Melt-Banana. The album is not a conventional "live" album: it was not recorded at a concert, but live in the studio specially for John Zorn's Tzadik Records during the band' ...

'' (1999).

Secret Chiefs 3 Secret Chiefs 3 (or SC3) is an American avant-garde group led by guitarist/composer Trey Spruance (of Mr. Bungle and formerly, Faith No More). Their studio recordings and tours have featured different lineups, as the group performs a wide range ...

's cover versions of "

Good Vibrations "Good Vibrations" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys that was composed by Brian Wilson with lyrics by Mike Love. It was released as a single on October 10, 1966 and was an immediate critical and commercial hit, topping record c ...

" and "Heroes and Villains" are on their compilation '' Path of Most Resistance'' (2007).

The Olivia Tremor Control The Olivia Tremor Control is an American psychedelic band from Athens, Georgia. The band's main line-up comprised Will Cullen Hart, Bill Doss, Eric Harris, John Fernandes, and Peter Erchick. The Olivia Tremor Control's music encompasses a wide r ...

's versions of "Do You Like Worms?" and "Little Pad" were later included as bonus tracks on reissued releases of '' Music from the Unrealized Film Script: Dusk at Cubist Castle'' (1996). An album similarly-fashioned to ''Smiling Pets'' was released two years earlier, entitled ''The Christmas Album'', which was a tribute to the compilation ''

A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector ''A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector'' (originally released as ''A Christmas Gift for You from Philles Records'') is an LP album, album of Christmas songs, produced by Phil Spector, and originally released as Philles Records, Philles 4005 ...

'' (1963). It was also compiled by Seiji Morita and included some of the same performers. The Ships and FORMS are aliases of the

Olivia Tremor Control The Olivia Tremor Control is an American psychedelic band from Athens, Georgia. The band's main line-up comprised Will Cullen Hart, Bill Doss, Eric Harris, John Fernandes, and Peter Erchick. The Olivia Tremor Control's music encompasses a wid ...

and Secret Chiefs 3, respectively. OnoTetsu is the pianist for Harpy, an experimental Japanese

noise Noise is unwanted sound considered unpleasant, loud or disruptive to hearing. From a physics standpoint, there is no distinction between noise and desired sound, as both are vibrations through a medium, such as air or water. The difference arise ...

band. Short Hair Front and Feelds were short-lived bands seemingly led by the album compiler Seiji Morita, and he is credited as

arranger In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orches ...

for their contributions "

I'm Waiting for the Day "I'm Waiting for the Day" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1966 album ''Pet Sounds''. Written primarily by Brian Wilson, the lyrics describe a man who is "waiting for the day" when the woman he loves will be ready to ...

" and "

I Just Wasn't Made for These Times "I Just Wasn't Made for These Times" is a song by American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1966 album ''Pet Sounds''. Written by Brian Wilson and Tony Asher, the lyrics describe the disillusionment of someone who struggles to fit into societ ...

". Little is known about the album's more unrecognizable artists Sports Guitar or R. Gree & Grey Tea. They may also be pseudonyms.

Critical reception

Writing in his 2005 book about ''Smile'',

Domenic Priore Domenic Priore (born January 15th 1960) is an American author, historian and television producer whose focus is on popular music and its attendant youth culture. Biography He has written extensively about The Beach Boys' ''Smile'' album, includin ...

praised ''Smiling Pets'' and highlighted "Fall Breaks and Back to Winter" and "Cool, Cool Water" as stand-out tracks.

Track listing

Personnel

;Production staff *Seiji Morita – compilation producer *Masami Hatta – executive producer *Mitsuo Koike – mastering *Hideki Ohtsuka – photography *Youko Kobayashi – artwork

References

External links