Brian Wilson enlisted
Van Dyke Parks as his collaborator for
SMiLE, the follow-up to
the Beach Boys' groundbreaking album
Pet Sounds. One single, "Heroes and Villains," was released from the sessions and became a hit, but the rest of the album remained on the shelves. Over the years, the legend of
SMiLE continued to grow, as bootlegs circulated and selected songs were recorded by
the Beach Boys (including "Sail on Sailor," from 1973's
Holland).
Parks and
Wilson didn't work again until 1995, nearly 30 years after the
SMiLE sessions. However, the resulting album,
Orange Crate Art, isn't quite a collaboration -- it's a collection of
Parks songs as sung by
Wilson.
Van Dyke Parks' approach is intellectual, not instinctual, which means his compositions are complex; similarly, his lyrics are dense and laden with poetic imagery and metaphors. Then again,
Orange Crate Art isn't a pop album -- it's a self-conscious work of art.
–
Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi