Beach Boys - Pet Sounds (1966)

If ever there was a definitive album by any band-- this is it. Pet Sounds is the creative pinnacle of the Beach Boys illustrious career.

With not a weak track on the entire album this album is what a classic pop album should sound like.

On a standard pop album, you'd get about eight catchy or fun songs with a ballad or two tossed in for good measure. Pet Sounds on the other hand is like an art museum for your ears-- each song is an aural painting. Much like in a museum of fine art the more you look at paintings the more you notice things that you might not have noticed at first glance-- with every listen of this classic album, you're more than likely to hear things you hadn't heard on any of your previous listens.

While most casual listeners will know Wouldn't It Be Nice, Sloop John B, and God Only Knows-- those songs are but a mere glimpse at the sheer beautiful splendor of the album as a whole. From the romantic Don't Talk (Put Your Head On My Shoulder) to the oddly upbeat I'm Waiting For the Day with it's melancholy lyrics and upbeat music, to the emotive song of lost innocence, Caroline, No.

This is an album best enjoyed in a single sitting, listening start to finish without interruption as each song only augments the rest of the album. The album which was originally mixed and released in mono has been remastered and rereleased in stereo. The first fourteen tracks contain the original mono mix, at which point the album repeats itself in its remastered full stereo sound. But when all is said and done, whether you listen to this masterpiece in mono or stereo you can't escape its musical brilliance.

Related Links
Brian Wilson Smile review
Wouldn't it Be Nice



Sloop John B


God Only Knows

Brian Wilson - Smile (2004)

There's a bit of a hullabaloo be bandied about regarding the release of Smile yesterday. The album was supposed to have been released by the Beach Boys back in 1967 and was rumored to have had the potential to impact the music industry just as much as (if not more than) Sgt. Peppers.

That being said this is a Brian Wilson, not a Beach Boys release-- this was Brian's baby- his brainchild, his teenage symphony for God.

The Beatles and Beach Boys both started out making simple bubble gum pop and shifted with major groundbreaking releases, The Beatles had their Sgt. Peppers and White Album-- the Beach Boys had Pet Sounds. The Beatles were able to re-invent themselves and change their image, but-- for whatever reason, it seems the Beach Boys were never able to shake the "bubblegum pop" mentality they had thumbprinted on the American psyche.

I'm left wondering if Smile had been released by the Beach Boys back in 1967 as originally planned if they might have shaken off the wholesome "Be True to Your School"/surfing/girls/cars image which had made them so popular initially. I wonder if their successes might have eventually surpassed that of The Beatles.

Instead, we're left wondering "what if" and given a glimpse inside the mind of a modern musical genius. Despite having entered the twilight of his life, Brian Wilson's music still exhibits a child-like awe of the world around him. I think his music speaks to so many people, because deep down inside, most of us miss our childhood and both envy and relate to a man who never lost that youthful idealism, a man who is able to make music that is at the same time-- simple, complex, and absolutely beautiful.