• Wind Chimes from Smile (Originally Unreleased Album, Unfinished -1967)
"'I have an idea, I'm not sure exactly how this is going to work, but we'll try it.' Brian goes to his piano and signals Chuck Britz, the engineer, to roll the tape. He plays a simple music box melody. The tape is run back. On a second track he adds some tinkles on the honky-tonk piano. For about half an hour Wilson goes over the same piece, filling the eight tracks with counterpoints, syncopated gates and notions. 'OK, let's hear it.' Wilson in the control room, standing close to the center speaker, listens to the playback. He rushes to the board and supervises the throwing of switches and turning of knobs - more echo on the third track, a touch of reverb on the second honky-tonk overdub, this track dry and the other with more highs. Something happens to the sounds; they change, they move around and are transformed into a work of sheer beauty. Everyone in the booth has seen and heard the entire process." - Teen Set, April 1967
This is undoubtedly my single favorite album of all time. It feels like such a perfect culmination of all the themes and ideas Fleet Foxes has been working with since 2008. It answers many of the questions found on both Helplessness Blues and Crack-Up, and represents an incredible maturation and growth in Robin Pecknold's perspective. Their other albums are certainly masterpieces, but this, in my opinion, is their magnum opus. I doubt it will be recognized as such in its time. isaiah_stuart