Negative Positive
Title: High Expectations Meet Underwhelming Results
Review: Like many music crazed boomers, I have heard of the great unfinished/unreleased masterpiece that broke Brian Wilson's spirit and led him into the dark, reclusive world of mental illness. Quite a story. Quite a myth. But the hero of this myth slowly gains his strength and not only resurfaces, but completely re-records his epoch work and releases it to his adoring public. Here the myth is shattered. When compared to the competitive masterpiece of Sergeant Pepper, Smile is unimpressive except for the three songs with which we were already familiar. The new portion of Smile is musically and lyrically simplistic and unworthy of even a fraction of the hype that accompanied it. I imagine Brian always knew this, but he preferred to reveal the truth himself, honestly, rather than have some record company do it posthumously. For that bravery, I give Brian my respect. But he always had that anyway.
Is the review positive or negative? 