Kicking off the list of The Great White Shank’s “Seven Wonders of the Musical World” is “Mrs. O’Leary’s Cow”, released on “Brian Wilson Presents SMiLE” back in 2004.

Originally recorded for The Beach Boys aborted “SMiLE” album in the fall of 1966 – and original outtakes from the “SMiLE” sessions bear this out – this was no recent Brian Wilson creation by any means. Think about all the sounds the giants of the musical world circa ’66 (The Beatles, the Stones, Dylan) were creating at that time; consider the fruits of the flowering of the “West Coast Sound” by The Byrds, The Mamas and The Papas, etc. Listen to “Mr. Tambourine Man”, or “Monday, Monday”, the listen to “Mrs. O’Leary’s Cow” and be prepared to be BLOWN AWAY.

How to describe “Mrs. O’Leary’s Cow”? Experimental. Incendiary. Psychedelic. Paranoid. Claustrophobic. Quite simply, in my mind, the most innovative and incredible piece of music I’ve ever heard. Even after numerous listenings, it never fails to amaze and awe. First, a frenzied burst of percussion, whistles and toots percolate on top of a series of rolling piano/bass notes, creating an image of frenzied activity bubbling in intensity that ends in a single, dying whistle wheezing over a playful calliope organ. Then the explosion: fierce, pounding drums, wailing violins, fuzz guitar, and thumping bass, and strange harmonies combine and reverberate in a pulsating aural pastiche that conjures up a hellish firestorm of blazing heat, chaos, and destruction, resulting in one of the most amazing and strangest pieces of music to come out of the ’60s, if not ever.

The story goes that for the “fire” section, Brian wanted to create something that would not only sound like a raging inferno, but scare people as well. After the recording session, when a sudden rash of fires occurred around L.A. (one actually burning down a building located near the studio), he freak out to the point where, even if SMiLE had been released, it wasn’t 100% certain “Mrs. O’Leary’s Cow” would have even been included. After all, Brian reasoned, if he wanted fire, you didn’t have to do a huge blaze, you could do something soft and warm, like a candle – right? Whatever.

There’s really no other way to put it: if SMiLE had come out in 1967 with this incredible 2 1/2 minute piece of music, everything that would have followed – and that includes The Beatles’ celebrated “Sgt. Pepper” album – would have suffered in comparison. But that doesn’t diminish in any way the 2004 performance of the song. I defy you to find another song from late 1966 (or, for that matter, since then) that even comes close to “Mrs. O’Leary’s Cow” in technical brilliance, creativity, and aural originality.