Thirty-seven years after the work was begun in 1966, Beach Boys co-founder Brian Wilson has finished SMiLE—"the most famous unheard album in pop history," according to The New York Times. And if the overwhelming critical response worldwide is any indication—Rolling Stone calls it "a triumph" in a rare five-star review—the long wait to hear the finished work has been worth it.

The legend of SMiLE grew to epic proportions in the years between the work's 1966 creation by Wilson and lyricist Van Dyke Parks and its 2004 release by Nonesuch Records. Wilson originally composed and produced SMiLE as the follow-up to his band's groundbreaking album Pet Sounds.

One of the songs written for SMiLE, "Good Vibrations," was released and became the band's first million-selling single, topping the charts in both the U.S. and the U.K. After Leonard Bernstein heard Wilson perform a solo piano version of SMiLE's "Surf's Up," he hailed Wilson's gifts as a composer. But various circumstances caused delays, worsened by the pressure to complete what was widely expected to be Wilson's consummate achievement, and the adventurous project as originally envisioned was abandoned.

Then, in 2003, Wilson announced that he was going to complete SMiLE and perform it in London. He and Parks went to work to prepare the music for performance, and created new material to make the concerts possible. The public premiere of the newly finished SMiLE received hugely enthusiastic critical and audience response, encouraging Wilson to create a definitive recording of this ambitious work.

SMiLE debuted high on Billboard's Top 200 album chart in October and has received three Grammy nominations. The record is now enjoying commercial success on a scale last seen by Wilson three decades ago.

This October, Wilson and the band that has supported him on tour over the past six years performed SMiLE—along with beloved Beach Boys songs and selections from Wilson's solo records—in two sold-out Carnegie Hall shows. This special edition of Creators at Carnegie features music from those concerts, as well as interview segments with Wilson, Parks and band member Darian Sahanaja. This latest installment in the Creators at Carnegie series highlights the exciting collaboration that features Nonesuch Records' artists playing a key role in Carnegie Hall's new and adventurous programming.

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