Leonard "Lenny" Vaughn chronicles the creation of "Good Vibrations," one of the most expensive and innovative singles ever recorded, and the tragic story of the abandoned "Smile" album project. The episode details Wilson's seven-month recording process using modular techniques across four studios, the revolutionary use of the theremin, and how the song redefined pop music structure. Vaughn then explores the ambitious "Smile" project with collaborator Van Dyke Parks, intended as a musical tour of American mythology and consciousness. The episode examines how Wilson's perfectionism and mental health struggles, combined with band tensions and commercial pressures, led to the project's collapse in 1967, marking the end of an era of artistic ambition in popular music and leaving behind one of music history's greatest "what-ifs."
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