Monday, Nov. 1, 2004 | 8:21 a.m.
I woke up from an amazing dream early Sunday morning.
I could have sworn I saw a 19-piece band, fronted by Brian Wilson, perform legendary lost Beach Boys album "Smile" in its entirety.
And it seemed as though it all took place in Boulder Station's Railhead, a tiny venue with a 660-seat capacity.
Too good to be true, right? But there's a ticket stub in the pocket of my jeans telling me it really did happen.
The 62-year-old Wilson really did complete his long-shelved "Smile" project -- originally intended as the follow-up to 1966's "Pet Sounds" -- this year.
He really did release an entirely re-recorded version of "Smile" in September, to gushing reviews, including a five-star rating from Rolling Stone magazine.
And he really is on the road, bringing "Smile" to life for his fans, some of whom waited 37 years to hear the finished product.
First things first. Saturday's 2 1/2-hour concert opened with an informal acoustic session, as Wilson and a bevy of backing vocalists fine-tuned their glorious harmonies on such early Beach Boys fare as "Surfer Girl," "Wendy" and "Please Let Me Wonder."
Guitarist/vocalist Jeffrey Forskett hit all the hard-to-reach high harmonies, and also provided some comic relief.
"We like to sit in this circle because it's easier to hear the tape we lip-sync to," Forskett said, referring to Ashlee Simpson's recent gaffe on "Saturday Night Live."
"That joke was even on tape," he added.
The splendid "Sloop John B" signaled the start of an electric segment, with Wilson perched behind a keyboard at the foot of the crowded stage, the position he would occupy for the remainder of the show.
From his perch, Wilson directed traffic, waving his arms and signalling to his instrumentalists as if he were directing a symphony. The glassy-eyed singer rarely looked directly at his audience, instead staring into the distance as if looking at a place just beyond his field of vision.
"Dance, Dance, Dance" and "California Girls" got the Boomer-dominated, sold-out crowd singing, while "Forever" -- a ballad written by Wilson's late brother Dennis -- was an unexpected, emotional highlight.
Wilson's rendition of "God Only Knows," introduced by the headliner as "Paul McCartney's favorite song," was somewhat disappointing. Wilson's voice cracked at points during the song, failing to match the sweetness of the original "Pet Sounds" recording, sung by his other late brother, Carl.
Otherwise, the first set was well played and quite spirited. On another night, it might have stood as a fulfilling performance on its own.
On Saturday, however, it was merely an appetizer setting up the gourmet meal to come: "Smile," at long last.
Once reassembled after a 15-minute intermission, Wilson and his group wasted no time, launching immediately into the first of three "Smile" movements with a spot-on run through opening vocal showcase "Our Prayer."
From there, Wilson's lush, concept album unfolded magnificently in the acoustically primed Railhead setting. Songs segued gracefully into one another, and musical themes repeated throughout, giving the work a sense of overall cohesion.
A six-piece string section and three-piece horn section contributed all sorts of delightful noises, giving Wilson's carefully arranged composition a "Peter and the Wolf" kind of feel.
The frantic "Heroes and Villians" was countered by the stately "Cabin Essence" during the first movement. Movement 2 was just as strong, featuring the psychedelic "Child Is Father to the Man" and the spine-tingling "Surf's Up."
During the third and longest "Smile" movement, Wilson tapped his microphone with a hand drill during "Workshop" and his cellists held aloft celery stalks during the light-hearted "Vega-Tables."
Toward the end, the final piece bogged down a bit, as the inelegant "Mrs. O'Leary's Cow" brought unneeded heaviness to the proceedings.
That setback was all but forgotten moments later, however, when Wilson capped his masterpiece with its best-known cut, "Good Vibrations."
The audience sprang to its feet midway through the song and stayed there well after the band left the stage, cheering wildly for a project that was once abandoned because Wilson's Beach Boys mates and his record label doubted its commercial viability.
The ensemble returned for a couple of encores, serving up a slew of crowd-pleasing rock 'n' roll classics: "I Get Around," "Help Me, Rhonda," "Barbara Ann," Surfin' U.S.A." and "Fun, Fun, Fun."
Ultimately, though, the night will be remembered as a celebration of "Smile," which came off even more fluidly in concert than on Wilson's reworked album.
In fact, it sounded so good, I'm actually wondering if it might have been a dream after all.
Just in case, I think I'll lie down for a bit, close my eyes and see if I can get them to do "Smile" one more time, just for me.
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