I listened to the highly-touted Feb. 20th "Smile" performance, and it is, as advertised, all that and a bag of chips. And I really had my doubts about this one, because after so many years of absorbing the "Smile" myth, the idea of it actually existing in the year 2004 didn't seem possible. And even if it could magically appear, would it honestly bear any ressemblance to its 1967 ancestry? That is, Brian Wilson 2004 couldn't hope to capture Brian Wilson 1967 anymore than Barry Bruner 2004 could capture, say Barry Bruner 1990 -- too much time has passed, people change, and musical tastes change (and all this stuff is virtually axiomatic, isn't it?).

Yet it has arrived, and it sounds like everything you've ever heard about it. It's "Good Vibrations" spread over 45 minutes. It's a roiling stew of wierd barnyard sounds, clucking and banging, and four part harmonies passing in and out like winds through an open window. The melody seems to do an about-face every minute or so, tunes appear and then return three minutes later. It's bonkers. It's unpredictable. It's a fascinating listen.