What is everyone's obsession with 'Pet Sounds'?

Hingle McCringleberry wrote:

Am I missing something?

Yes

It's vastly over-rated. How good could any album including Mike Love's involvement actually be?

I direct you to "Forever Changes" by Love (the band, not Mike)instead.

Not everybody is obsessed with this album.

Back when it came out the target audience was mostly under the influence of mind-altering substances. It most likely sounded different to them.

When this came out people were into drugs in order to be accepted as hip. Today they're into tattoos in order to be accepted.

George Martin: "The first time I heard Pet Sounds, I got that kind of feeling that happens less and less as one gets older and more blasé ... that moment when something comes along and blows your mind. Hearing Pet Sounds gave me the kind of feeling that raises the hairs on the back of your neck and you say ‘What is that? It’s fantastic.’ It gives you an elation that is beyond logic. It's like falling in love; you’re swept away by it. That’s what Pet Sounds did to me."

“Without Pet Sounds, Sgt. Pepper wouldn't have happened. Revolver was the beginning of the whole thing. But Pepper was an attempt to equal Pet Sounds."

"If there is one person that I have to select as a living genius of pop music, I would choose Brian Wilson. His invention and creativity with the Beach Boys reached a level that I always found staggering and Pet Sounds must rank as one of the highest achievements in our genre."

http://albumlinernotes.com/George_Martin_Comments.html

Paul McCartney: "It was Pet Sounds that blew me out of the water. First of all, it was Brian's writing. I love the album so much. I've just bought my kids each a copy of it for their education in life---I figure no one is educated musically 'til they've heard that album. I was into the writing and the songs."

"I played it to John so much that it would be difficult for him to escape the influence. If records had a director within a band, I sort of directed Pepper. And my influence was basically the Pet Sounds album. John was influenced by it, perhaps not as much as me. It was certainly a record we all played – it was the record of the time, you know?""

"I’ve often played Pet Sounds and cried. It's that kind of an album for me."

http://albumlinernotes.com/Paul_McCartney_Comments.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BW92t264eBM

You've got to remember that at the time it sounded like nothing else and of course people were blown away by it. It's not like dumping it in today's world of music and musical choice and seeing how people react to it.

I agree. I just can't stand The Beach Boys. And you are dead on, all their music sounds like commercial jingles.

They are one of the most overrated bands in history. Maybe people just wanted an American band during the whole Brit invasion, or maybe people like to act like they live at the beach and they surf?

I just don't get it.

EZ10Miler wrote:

I agree. I just can't stand The Beach Boys. And you are dead on, all their music sounds like commercial jingles.

They are one of the most overrated bands in history. Maybe people just wanted an American band during the whole Brit invasion, or maybe people like to act like they live at the beach and they surf?

I just don't get it.

Ok, it's one thing to dislike a band -- everyone has tastes. But inventing reasons for people to like the band outside of, you know, just liking them is really irritating. I enjoy the Beach Boys because they have a beautiful sound and write well-crafted pop music. Note the Beatles quotes above you, who presumably didn't have much reason to root for American bands or "act like they live at the beach".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOZ2pziuLjo

Just listen to it and stop talking.

To start off Brien Wilson was a pioneer of multitrack recording and Pet Sounds is accepted as his masterpiece.

Paul McCartney doesn't hesitate when asked what his favorite song of alltime is. The answer is "God Only Knows". Mccartney even takes it a step further, saying its the one song that he wished that he had written.

Fun factoid of the day: Despite being recorded in 8 tracks (or is it 16?), the final recording of Pet Sounds was in mono.

track chick wrote:

You've got to remember that at the time it sounded like nothing else and of course people were blown away by it. It's not like dumping it in today's world of music and musical choice and seeing how people react to it.

Oh yeah, all of that quality music of today. In the future people will be wonder what happened to music in the teeny decade.

ah see uh shorty

She got nice booty

my niggah

ah got corvasseeyay

my niggah

an dee an gee

yeah

ah got spennin cheese

my niggah

yeah.

Think of electricity.

People take it for granted now, but it is an amazing convenience and it is shocking how much we rely on it.

Now we don't rely on Pet Sounds, but when it came out it was mind blowing as was Sgt. Peppers.

McCartney was also very into the song Bridge Over Troubled Waters and he wished he had written that one too. Very melodic chappy, that boy.

Old farts, be honest here: were you blown away by Pet Sounds when it came out? And when Sgt Peppers came out a year later? These albums came out before my time, and to my ears Sgt Peppers is way more 'mind blowing' and original. Pet Sounds has one very moving song (God Only Knows) and one very catchy song (Wouldn't It Be Nice) but otherwise...it's ordinary. I suppose the instrumentals were unusual for the time.

malmo wrote:

To start off Brien Wilson was a pioneer of multitrack recording and Pet Sounds is accepted as his masterpiece.

Paul McCartney doesn't hesitate when asked what his favorite song of alltime is. The answer is "God Only Knows". Mccartney even takes it a step further, saying its the one song that he wished that he had written.

Fun factoid of the day: Despite being recorded in 8 tracks (or is it 16?), the final recording of Pet Sounds was in mono.

I think Brian being deaf in one ear was one of the reasons Pet Sounds was in mono? It makes what he did even more unbelievable.

Genius isn't necessarily always popular. As a non-musician myself, there are probably a million things going on in that album that I'll never hear or understand. You only need to listen to the many musicians who say Brian's compositions are beyond anything they are capable of. When Pet Sounds was released, Graham Nash claims most musicians he knew were throwing up their shoulders wondering how anyone was going to approach making an album from now on (paraphrased). The album was that important.

Small world and butterfly effects.

CS&N used to hang out in London and try to talk Paul McCartney into listening to their music, as they wanted to get on the new Apple label. He didn't bite, which is interesting.

Like dominoes, the Stones tried to compete with the Beatles and made Her Majesty's Satanic Request - a bit of a failure in comparison to Pepper and Pet Sounds.

But before that and even when the Beatles first got famous the music industry had dumped rock music and it was crooners that were in.

The Beatles, Stones and Beach Boys brought it around.

Wilson and McCartney are both left handed bass-playing song writers who also write a lot on piano and write very melodically and play the bass melodically too.

It was all new, then....

But it was a collection of influences. The Beatles liked mostly American black blues and R&B musicians plus Carl Perkins, Elvis, The Everly Brothers and Buddy Holly.

One turn and perhaps we would be listening to champagne music today. Ed Sullivan decided to book them and Murray the K, a radio DJ in NY decided to play them too...

All hell broke lose. This should be taught in school more - it is history, just more recent history.

Today's Heavy Metal or Hip Hop or 90's Grunge acts wouldn't see a connection, but without the relaxing of standards of public behavior and protesting of war and things - most music or all music you hear now, would not have gotten created.

The Beatles and the rest did not invent rock, but they re-popularised it...which brought around the behavior change.

Mind you they did create the music video, heavy metal, Punk (sorta), were the first to use feedback and synthesizers - or a pre-synth machine and many other things.

The Who got a bit more punky and got into the rock operas - David Bowie and Freddy Mercury should thank Pete Townsend. I digress.

So what is the big deal with Pet Sounds? Listen to it, then listen to the Searchers or the Everly Brothers or Elvis in '60 or Connie Francis.....Pet Sounds....it was bizarre, but yet beautiful and it was written, produced and partially recorded by Wilson in a very manual way.

Pepper was all that too.

To clarify, Wilson would play, but he also brought in the Wrecking Crew, a highly respected studio band that many musicians hired to play on recordings. So a lot of Beach Boys music was only played live by the Beach Boys in the studio it was the Wrecking Crew and random others with Wilson who played and Wilson created 90% of the songs.

The only non-Beatle players were George Martin the producer on piano here and there, Billy Preston on organ later on and there are a couple of songs with Mick Jagger or Brian Jones offering backing vocals or an orchestra on Pepper or for All You Need is Love et al. And of course the infamous Eric Clapton on While My Guitar Gently Wheeps and Yoko Ono doing some gawdawful voice crap on Revolution No 9.

I'm sorry, but this is like quoting a short order cook at McDonald's talking about A&W. The Beatles and Beach Boys are to music what fast food is to, well, food.

I enjoy listening to the Beach Boys and The Beatles, just as I enjoy eating a Big Mac now and again. But let's not get carried away.

So what to you is a gourmet meal in music?

70s kid wrote:

Old farts, be honest here: were you blown away by Pet Sounds when it came out? And when Sgt Peppers came out a year later? These albums came out before my time, and to my ears Sgt Peppers is way more 'mind blowing' and original. Pet Sounds has one very moving song (God Only Knows) and one very catchy song (Wouldn't It Be Nice) but otherwise...it's ordinary. I suppose the instrumentals were unusual for the time.

Paul McCartney: "It may be going overboard to say it's the classic of this century, but to me, it certainly is a total, classic record that is unbeatable in many ways."

Buy "The Pet Sounds Sessions" from amazon if you really want to hear what's going on. Then keep in mind this was written (with lyrics provided by Tony Asher), composed, and produced by a 23 year old Brian Wilson...