The Beach Boys 'Child Is Father To The Man' (Bootleg, 1967)

Harmony-drenched, excessive, far-out, genius from the aborted 'Smile' sessions.

I remember first laying my hands on a bootleg of The Beach Boys' lost classic 'Smile' about 15 years ago. I also remember how long it took me to make the leap from the simple but amazing pleasures of 'Pet Sounds' to get my head round 'Smile'. It's a journey away from straightforward songwriting into another world.

'Smile' is to 'Pet Sounds' what 'Bitches Brew' is to 'Kind Of Blue' - both great records, just a little bit more so.

I find myself posting about this album as I've just found out that 'Smile' is coming out as a staggering £125 box set - 5 CDs, 2 7"s, 2 LPs. I thought that the 3-disc version of 'Pet Sounds' was excessive - utterly brilliant - but surely as far as you can go in forensic analysis of 'classic' records. That was until I found myself forking out for the complete 'Funhouse Sessions' set by The Stooges...

Anyway, while I wrestle with the decision of whether to shell for this, check out 'Child Is Father To The Man'. It's song which veers from eerie contemplation to expansive harmonies and Charlie Brown trumpet, drilling further into the central motif in a very jazz kind of way.

Let's get lost, as someone said.

Download The Beach Boys 'Child Is Father To The Man' (classic, genius, sixties, pop, Beach Boys, Brian Wilson, mp3) (Mediafire)

mp3 courtesy of the excellent Beach Boys blog, Warnakey's Beach Boys Blag.