I distinctly remember the first time I heard SMiLE, and the strong feeling that ran through me. The chilling, towering voices that bellow out the first a capella chord of this monumental album hit me hard with no warning, and put me in a state of alert attention from the second I pressed play. The power behind music is ultimately unexplainable, but upon modest investigation into the lives of great artists one can easily find common themes and heartbreaking stories that inevitably shape their songs to move and inspire millions.

“Our Prayer” is the awe-inspiring track that opens the 2004 album SMiLE, unleashing more than 30 years of anguish, pain and struggle that its author had to endure, from his mental breakdown and seclusion through a long rehabilitation to the moment when he was finally able to put his masterpiece album back together and present it to the world. The message behind the title SMiLE can be mistakingly interpreted at face value, something innocent and child-like, perhaps another light and happy album of easy-going surf songs and naive romantic ballads. But as some suggest, it can also mean “wanting to smile” - a conscious attempt by the composer to bring out something that is not easily accessed, and trying to turn a new leaf and leave behind old and painful baggage, smiling in spite of it all.

Not your typical opening to a Rock’n’Roll album, this track introduces a one of a kind concept album: SMiLE was described by its author as “A pocket symphony for god.” It tells the story of an imaginary journey through early America, and employs the signature Brian Wilson blend of unusual instruments, vocal harmonies, orchestral sophistication and R&B rhythms. For me this music is so appealing because it brings together many different musical worlds that I love in a way that is very personal and fresh. Gershwin, Bach and Chuck Berry seem to all blend seamlessly here, and yet the synthesis is totally original, and the beautifully abstract lyrics of Van Dyke Parks match perfectly with Brian’s dreamy rhapsodies and mood pieces. In this album we also find “Good Vibrations,” one of the most influential and complex Pop/Rock songs of the 1960s, a study in art-pop production and advanced recording techniques.

I am sharing a transcription that I found online from a website that is since gone, and including a short video performance of “Our Prayer.” I hope this will inspire you to use whatever musical styles you love to create something of your own and tell your epic story.