The documentary was acceptable but a bit standard. Not much in it that I hadn’t read in other documentations of the SMiLE story, which is my favorite story in rock history, narrowly edging out Nirvana’s rise to stardom.

The concert was nice to watch. The camera never gets tired of that smiling blonde (you know the one.) I liked the guy pointing at the camera to do the “yer under arrest!” from “Heroes & Villains.”

I never bought those DVDs but they were a nice companion to the album.

When Brian’s SMiLE came out in 2004 I adored it and listened to it over and over and over again and agreed that the 2004 “Good Vibrations” was mostly better than the original (which does have better vocals and keyboard tones, but no extra chant section, which is my favorite part.) Then the 2011 SMiLE Sessions came out and I didn’t WANT them to make the 2004 version “redundant,” but to be fair I mostly only listened to the 2011 sessions discs afterwards. The full version of the SMiLE “Good Vibrations” as recorded in the 1960s, again, had better keyboard tones and echo and young Beach Boys vocals…but the wonderful chant section sounded…not BAD, but like it was coming from a different planet as the rest of the song. In the end I would pick the 2004 version as my favorite.

I wonder how many people checked out The Wondermints, the band that Brian used to re-record SMiLE?