Smiles, Vibes and Harmony (A Tribute to Brian Wilson)

This 1990 curio arrived at the outset of a decade that would end with a much deeper connection between alt-rock and the influence of Beach Boys genius Brian Wilson. Maybe that accounts for how idiosyncratic this roster might seem compared to a more reverent accounting of bands directly touched by the wonders of Pet Sounds or Surf’s Up: when you lead off with the Dictators’ Handsome Dick Manitoba bellowing “Brian Wilson, you rule bay-bay” before cheerfully growling through a taunting surf-punk “Dance Dance Dance,” you’d be right to expect a lot more off-kilter joy on that front. Garage-rock miscreants have free rein here, whether it’s Billy Childish & Thee Headcoats turning “409” into a fuzz-n-scuzz ode to carjacking (“I can’t pay cash so I commit a crime/Gimme that, gimme that 409”) or the Cynics sneering through a pop-punk “Be True to Your School” that sounds like their favorite part of school is beating up crosstown rivals after the homecoming game. There are a few other jaunts into the oddball corners of Wilson’s catalogue, too — Das Damen tromps through an uglied-up mutation of The Beach Boys Love You novelty “Johnny Carson” — as well as some off-kilter updates of the old surfing-and-cars material that first made Wilson famous, like Jan & Dean’s “Gonna Hustle You” delivered with a characteristic hiccuppy wildness by Peter Stampfel & the Bottle Caps.But along with a few of the tribute-album usual suspects — Sonic Youth contributes a noisy yet spiritually faithful excursion through the beautiful existential bummer “I Know There’s an Answer” — are some solid gems by now-obscure (and likely then-obscure) garage bands, with selections like the A-Bones’ “Drive In” and the Untamed Youth’s “Chug-a-Lug” making it clear just how much lineage there was from the Beach Boys through the Ramones and onwards.