This may not belong in this thread, but maybe it does. Gary Louris is leading the Jayhawk charge here and it is poppy bright, happy, explodes in color, and rocks and sashays like a bell-bottomed beaut on her way to the big porch swing covered in honeysuckle heaven on a Sunday evening. Bob Ezrin produces with his proggy flourishes here, lending Smile some americana with a well worn coat of psychedelia. But Louris is the man here, Smile is the title and one of the songs is actually called Mr Wilson.
This is a good record, dialed back a little from the first two. Jean Luc Ponty is the guy here, his playing is incendiary throughout. Billy Cobham is gone but Narada Walden holds his own laying down some big busy backbeat, and the band plays well together with every tune. The cd Columbia Jazz Remaster series sounds great too.
This is the deluxe version with 2 cds and I must say a job well done. The audio is great but does not compromise the integrity of the record. The same with providing full length and longer versions which makes this a 'near' improvement on the original. Two songs played back to back... Train Around the Bend and Oh, Sweet Nothing along with Ocean, one of my favorite outtakes of all time, always seems to seal the deal. I'm thinking Loaded may be my favorite rock and roll record of all time, surpassing a few others that have been on the mantle for awhile.
