Pet Sounds

8.3	Rating (218 ratings)
9	Amazon rating

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PET SOUNDS | The Stars of 1966 Give Their Verdict on the Beach Boys' Masterpiece

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Review

16 years, 1 month ago at Mar 10 4:04

jeffrey

Brian's best. Indispensible.

Pet Sounds

6 years, 2 months ago at Feb 13 21:19

JxSxPx

During the earliest writing sessions for Pet Sounds, Brian Wilson turned to his then-wife and said, “I’m gonna make the greatest album! The greatest rock album ever made!” Inspired by the Beatles’ Rubber Soul, a record that he believed to have no-filler, Wilson wanted to top it, to bring a new maturity and depth to pop song craft. I like to think he accomplished all of his goals, and that ... read more

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Description: Pet Sounds is the 11th studio album by American rock band the Beach Boys, released May 16, 1966 on Capitol Records. It initially met with a lukewarm critical and commercial response in the United States, peaking at number 10 on Billboard Top LPs chart, a somewhat lower placement than the band's preceding albums. In the United Kingdom, the album was hailed by the music press and was an immediate commercial success, peaking at number 2 in the UK Top 40 Albums Chart and remaining among the top ten positions for six months. Promoted as "the most progressive pop album ever", Pet Sounds attracted recognition for its ambitiou Pet Sounds is the 11th studio album by American rock band the Beach Boys, released May 16, 1966 on Capitol Records. It initially met with a lukewarm critical and commercial response in the United States, peaking at number 10 on Billboard Top LPs chart, a somewhat lower placement than the band's preceding albums. In the United Kingdom, the album was hailed by the music press and was an immediate commercial success, peaking at number 2 in the UK Top 40 Albums Chart and remaining among the top ten positions for six months. Promoted as "the most progressive pop album ever", Pet Sounds attracted recognition for its ambitious recording and sophisticated music, and is widely considered to be among the most influential albums in the history of music.

The album was produced, arranged, and almost entirely composed by Brian Wilson with lyrics by Tony Asher. Most of the recording sessions were conducted between January and April 1966, a year after Wilson had quit touring with the Beach Boys to focus on writing and recording. For Pet Sounds, his goal was to create "the greatest rock album ever made"—a personalized work with no filler tracks. It is sometimes considered a Wilson solo album, repeating the themes and ideas he had introduced with The Beach Boys Today! one year earlier. The album's lead single, "Caroline, No", was issued as his official solo debut. It was followed by two singles credited to the group: "Sloop John B" and "Wouldn't It Be Nice" (backed with "God Only Knows").

Wilson's orchestrations mixed conventional rock set-ups with elaborate layers of vocal harmonies, found sounds, and instruments never before associated with rock, such as bicycle bells, French horn, flutes, Electro-Theremin, string sections, and Coca-Cola cans. It consisted mainly of introspective songs like "You Still Believe in Me" about faithfulness, "I Know There's an Answer", a critique of LSD users, and "I Just Wasn't Made for These Times", an autobiographical statement on social alienation (as well as the first use of a theremin-like instrument on a rock record). Unified by a Wall of Sound-style production, the album comprised Wilson's "pet" sounds. Recording was completed on April 13, 1966, with an unprecedented total production cost that exceeded $70,000 (equivalent to $540,000 in 2018). In October, the leftover song "Good Vibrations" was followed as a single and became a worldwide hit. In 1997, a "making-of" version of Pet Sounds was overseen by Wilson and released as The Pet Sounds Sessions, containing the album's first true stereo mix.

Pet Sounds is regarded by musicologists as an early concept album that advanced the field of music production, introducing non-standard harmonies and timbres and incorporating elements of pop, jazz, exotica, classical, and the avant-garde. The album could not be replicated live and was the first time a group departed from the usual small-ensemble electric rock band format for a whole LP. Combined with its innovative music, which was perceived as a wholly self-conscious artistic statement (or "concept"), the album was crucial to the development of progressive/art rock, bringing more attention to psychedelic music in the mainstream, and helping to elevate rock as a genre for listening, rather than dancing. As 2012, Rolling Stone continues to rank it second on its list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time". In 2004, Pet Sounds was preserved in the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." ... (more)

Manufacturer: Capitol
Release date: 16 May 1966
Number of discs: 1
EAN: 0724352626625 UPC: 724352626625

Tags: 1966 (13), Baroque Pop (10), Pop (8), 1960s (8), Psychedelic Pop (5), Rock (4), Usa (4), Album (3), Progressive Pop (3), Pop Rock (2), 60s (2), 1960's (2), California (2), Psychedelic (2), American (2), Psychedelic Rock (2), United States (2), Sunshine Pop (2), Stream Of Consciousness (2)

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PET SOUNDS | The Stars of 1966 Give Their Verdict on the Beach Boys' Masterpiece

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"God Only Knows - possibly my favourite Beach Boys song. I will be little troll-y and controversial by saying Pet Sounds album is vastly overrated with only 3 or 4 decent songs"

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"Songs from the album, Pet Sounds By The Beach Boys #57- "God Only Knows" "

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JxSxPx posted a review 6 years, 2 months ago

Pet Sounds

“During the earliest writing sessions for Pet Sounds, Brian Wilson turned to his then-wife and said, “I’m gonna make the greatest album! The greatest rock album ever made!” Inspired by the Beatles’ Rubber Soul, a record that he believed to have no-filler, Wilson wanted to top it, to bring a new maturity and depth to pop song craft. I like to think he accomplished all of his goals, and that quote is true for me. I firmly believe that Pet Sounds is the greatest album ever made, a work exquisite artistry and beauty. The type of immaculate artwork that comes along once in a generation, if you’re lucky. Listening to this album is the closest I ever get to prayer, it touches me that deeply. I distinctly remember my first listening experience with Pet Sounds. Having been a cas” read more

JxSxPx added this to a list 6 years, 3 months ago

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"Brian Wilson’s finest hour Effectively a Brian Wilson solo album, Pet Sounds so appalled Capitol the label rush-released a best-of to shore up the band’s career (though Pet Sounds hit number 10). The Beatles, disagreeing, later cited this orchestral song cycle as the inspiration behind a little record called Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Standout tracks: “Wouldn’t It Be Nice,” “God Only Knows”"

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"Ignoring ’60s pop conventions, Brian Wilson turned the noises in his head into a musical universe. Heavenly arrangements punctuate an emotionally wrenching song cycle bursting with youthful hope, longing and doubt. This is why Brian Wilson is a genius. Standout track: “God Only Knows”"

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"PET SOUNDS (1966) THE BEACH BOYS Review coming soon... FAV TRACKS: "I Know There's An Answer"; "God Only Knows"; "Wouldn't It Be Nice"; "I Just Wasn't Made For These Times"; "Here Today"; "Caroline, No"; "Pet Sounds"; "Let's Go Away for Awhile"; "I'm Waiting for the Day"; "Sloop John B"; "Don't Talk (Put Your Head On My Shoulder)"; "You Still Believe in Me"; "That's Not Me" "

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