Geoff Edgers On Brian Wilson's 'Teenage Symphony To God'

Following the 1966 critical success of the Beach Boys' "Pet Sounds" album, then 24-year-old Brian Wilson started working on a new record. He described it as "teenage symphony to God."

The album, titled "Smile," was complex, challenging, and often bizarre. The project was dropped as Wilson's drug use and growing mental illness rendered the sessions untenable.

Now, the remaining Beach Boys are finally releasing the original "Smile" sessions in a new box set. Radio Boston contributor Geoff Edgers got his hands on an advance copy and he says the album's sophistication belies the band's "girls, surfboards, and cars" image.

Geoff's full article on the release, including interviews with surviving Beach Boys members Brian Wilson, Al Jardine and Bruce Johnston, will be published in the Boston Sunday Globe.

Guest:

• Geoff Edgers, arts reporter for the Boston Globe