Melinda describes her husband's path back to "Smile" as consisting of many "baby steps." It started with his resumption of concert appearances in 1998, followed by a more ambitious tour in 2000 in which he and his new band performed "Pet Sounds" in its entirety.
Now, he says, at least privately to Melinda, the album he had formerly written off as "a mistake" is "the best work I've ever done."
It's not intended as a reconstruction of the album the world should have heard 37 years ago. "It's the way I feel about the music now," Wilson says.
And how does he feel about it now? "I think it's perfect."
Wilson talks about his music haltingly, at times giving clipped responses of "yes," "no" or "I can't answer that question"; at others offering simplistic-sounding explanations. (Asked how he and Parks composed "Wonderful," a "Smile" song that dazzles musicologists because it abandons the conventional notion of key signature, he says, "We did it through concentration.")
Such comments reflect his inherent shyness, Melinda says. But the impression that develops over the course of two interviews is that what he feels about his music is the music and that verbal explanations are, for Wilson, redundant.
Wilson doesn't appear concerned, nor does anyone in his entourage, that after 3 1/2 decades of analysis and debate, rumor and speculation, the myth will overshadow the music.
"It's so far beyond what I would have imagined it could be," guitarist Jeffrey Foskett says after a complete run-through of "Smile" at rehearsal.
"The way I see it is that the Beach Boys' first 10 albums made them stars, 'Pet Sounds' made them great, and 'Smile' made Brian Wilson a legend. I just hope that in completing this, it gives him peace and lets him put this behind him after all these years."
In one of "Pet Sounds' " directly autobiographical songs, Wilson sang, "I guess I just wasn't made for these times."
Now, he says, "I think the time is right."
