‘Smile’ wiped from the race

The mythology surrounding the Beach Boys’ “lost” album “Smile” says that if the band’s leader Brian Wilson had completed it as intended in 1967, it would have been considered that year’s best album, if not the best of its era.

But even though “Smile,” completed and recorded anew this year by Wilson, generated some of 2004’s most glowing reviews, it was not among the Grammy album of the year nominees. Although it got three nominations -- pop vocal album, rock instrumental and engineering -- some have questioned whether it should be considered at all, since many of the songs were released long ago on various Beach Boys albums.

“There are undercurrents of that,” says one Grammy voter who insisted on anonymity. “I’m very torn, and anybody who cares about music and cares about fairness would be.”

Others see it as a nonissue.

“It’s utterly ridiculous to hold that ‘Smile’ ... isn’t a new record,” says Village Voice critic Robert Christgau, who gave it a rave review for Rolling Stone.

“Were Bob Dylan to put out an album of re-recordings of his ‘60s classics, would that not be a new record?” Christgau says. “If you want then to say, ‘I already know this stuff so it doesn’t have the same impact on me,’ fine. If you want to say, ‘I preferred his voice when he still had his tonsils,’ OK. But don’t eliminate it on a technicality.”

Other factors may have been in play as well, including sales -- only 209,000 copies in the U.S. since its September release.

But there is still celebration in the Wilson camp.

“I think Brian will be very happy with the three nominations that he got,” said his co-manager, Ronnie Lippin.

Times staff writer Randy Lewis contributed to this report.