Fandom and Ontology in Smile

In 2011, Columbia Records released a new boxed set that chronicled the Beach Boys’ 1967Smileproject. Rock critics uniformly praised the collection, which won a Grammy Award for “Best Historical Album” in February 2013.¹ After being known for nearly four decades as the most famous rock record never released, the musical content ofSmilefinally stood alongside the well-known legend surrounding the album’s demise. The album’s story had been the source of endless discussion in the rock community, and this set finally addressed the long-standing question of whetherSmilehad been a real musical masterpiece or a wisely abandoned