Description

Original early UK Mono press with the Capitol logo on the left on the label

Brian Wilson’s gift to 20th-century music elevated this pop album into a beguiling musical and emotional cogency that still operates outside pop culture’s fickle space-time continuum–and limited critical lexicon. There’s never been another record to compare (Rubber Soul, its inspiration, is close; Sgt. Pepper’s, its response, misses the point), and certainly no album has been as dissected, overanalyzed, and predigested for public consumption. Pet Sounds is easily the best Beach Boys album, and one of the best of the 1960s. The group here reached a whole new level in terms of both composition and production, layering tracks upon tracks of vocals and instruments to create a richly symphonic sound. It wouldn’t have been a classic without great songs, and this has some of the group’s most stunning melodies, as well as lyrical themes which evoke both the intensity of newly born love affairs and the disappointment of failed romance (add in some general statements about loss of innocence and modern-day confusion as well). The spiritual quality of the material is enhanced by some of the most gorgeous upper-register male vocals (especially by Brian and Carl Wilson) ever heard on a rock record. “Wouldn’t It Be Nice,” “God Only Knows,” “Caroline No,” and “Sloop John B” (the last of which wasn’t originally intended to go on the album) are the well-known hits, but equally worthy are such cuts as “You Still Believe in Me,” “Don’t Talk,” “I Know There’s an Answer,” and “I Just Wasn’t Made for These Times.” It’s often said that this is more of a Brian Wilson album than a Beach Boys recording (session musicians played most of the parts), but it should be noted that the harmonies are pure Beach Boys (and some of their best). Massively influential upon its release (although it was a relatively low seller compared to their previous LPs), it immediately vaulted the band into the top level of rock innovators among the intelligentsia, especially in Britain, where it was a much bigger hit. Mojo magazine’s panel of pop experts once elected it greatest album of all time

Track list:
1. Wouldnt It Be Nice
2. You Still Believe In Me
3. Thats Not Me
4. Dont Talk (Put Your Head On My Shoulder)
5. Im Waiting For The Day
6. Lets Go Away For Awhile
7. Sloop John B
8. God Only Knows
9. I Know Theres An Answer
10. Here Today
11. I Just Wasnt Made For These Times
12. Pet Sounds
13. Caroline, No