Brian Wilson brings in a little bit of the beach

By GINA VIVINETTO, Times Pop Music Critic

TAMPA - Lovers of pop icon Brian Wilson came Thursday to see the legendary songwriter perform his long, lost masterpiece Smile in its entirety. Some among the 971 fans had waited 37 years.

Smile is the album Wilson, then the principal songwriter for the megapopular Beach Boys, abandoned in 1966 as he declined into drug abuse and mental illness. Back then, Wilson, now 62, called the album a "teenage symphony to God."

Today, Smile sounds like pop bliss.

The times have caught up to Wilson's brain. Or so many pop groups have cribbed from his intricate harmonies, his usage of nutty instruments and ornate, nearly orchestral arrangements over the decades that Smile doesn't sound so strange.

Backed by the impeccably talented Wondermints, as he was on his 2000 Pet Sounds tour, Wilson began by gathering with the musicians in a circle. The group performed some of Wilson's hits unplugged, using acoustic guitars, bongos, tambourine, harmonica, and a bass guitar (okay, that was plugged in) as if gathered around a fire at the beach

Surfer Girl, Good To My Baby, and Wendy, which Wilson dedicated to his daughter, sounded vibrant, sung in soaring harmonies. The cheery Add Some Music To Your Day was delightful with a bit of flute.

Wilson's vocals were solid, although it was tough to tell his mood. His face was stony although he clapped his hands occasionally and tapped his toes.

That changed when the band took to their instruments. Wilson, now center stage behind keyboards - which he touched sporadically - became animated. Sloop John B had him thrusting arms up and smiling.

"There are a lot of Chuck Berry-isms on this song," Wilson said, acknowledging his debt to one of his rock 'n' roll heroes as a revved-up guitar led into Dance, Dance, Dance. His singing on that tune was bumped up a notch, filled with growling and an oomph that continued on California Girls.

The second half of the show was devoted to Smile, a truly jubilant piece of music. It's a bit precious in spots, but that doesn't detract from the work's overall themes of humanity's general goodness. What's clear is that it never would have been a hit for the Beach Boys in 1966. While it has songs that deal on some surface level with girls and cars and surfing, it's much more profound. And weird.

Highlights were many:

A breathtaking Heroes and Villains, filled with dizzying whistles and cello splashes. The bright doo-wop of Roll Plymouth Rock which showed the wacky genius of Wilson's mind. and, naturally, the buoyant Good Vibrations, so filled with loopy theremin and bristling joy, fans leapt to their feet by song's end to be a part of it.