The Cursed Song That Destroyed a Genius and Redefined Pop: Brian Wilson’s Obsession with “Heroes and Villains”

“Heroes and Villains.” The title alone whispers the great secret that lay dormant for decades, waiting to be unveiled in its true form. Picture 1967: the epicenter of the cultural whirlwind, and at its heart, a genius on the tightrope—Brian Wilson—crafting a pop symphony that defied all logic. This wasn’t just another song; it was, in essence, an avant-garde opera disguised as pop—a sonic labyrinth with the ambition to alter every musical perception.

“Heroes and Villains” didn’t just get ahead of its time; it transcended it. With its multiple sections and tempo shifts, the piece was a sonic puzzle, each fragment an intricate piece of a greater design. And the lyrics? Ah, the lyrics. Van Dyke Parks—a poet with the twisted mind of a magician—became Wilson’s partner in this lyrical odyssey. After collaborating with a jingle writer (Tony Asher) for the iconic Pet Sounds, Wilson craved to climb an artistic Everest. And Parks, with his peculiar palette of Old West imagery, American pioneers, and pure surrealism, was the key. His verses, as cryptic as ancient hieroglyphs, drove the rest of the Beach Boys mad; they simply couldn’t decode the echo of their meaning.

For nearly two years, Wilson immersed himself in recording every segment of “Heroes and Villains,” using different studios as if they were canvases, giving each section its own unique personality. Few know that, for certain rhythmic bases, Wilson dared to experiment with a primitive, electromechanical drum machine—something unheard of in rock at the time. Then, like a sonic alchemist, he stitched each piece together through an exhausting editing process, searching for perfection in every transition.

But obsession came at a price. Wilson’s fragile mind, already at its breaking point, fractured further when he heard The Beatles bursting forth with their own avant-garde innovations in tracks like “Strawberry Fields Forever.” The dream of SMiLE dissolved. Songs from that album, including incomplete versions of “Heroes and Villains,” found their way onto later records, but it wasn’t the SMiLE Brian had envisioned. When Smiley Smile was finally released in 1967, “Heroes and Villains” was only a shadow of his grand ambition—a shortened version that merely hinted at the majesty of the original vision.

It wasn’t until 2004 that Brian Wilson finally gave us the revelation. With Brian Wilson Presents SMiLE, the world could at last hear “Heroes and Villains” as it had been conceived, its original parts intact—a testament to a genius silenced for decades.

This work pushed him to the brink, consuming him intellectually and emotionally. While his bandmates saw it as a waste of time, a descent into madness, there was one visionary mind who recognized its magnitude. Frank Zappa, a true avant-gardist, was among the first to hail “Heroes and Villains” as a masterpiece of modern composition, repeatedly naming it one of his favorites.