Pet Sounds at 40
This post comes a little late, as most blogs have picked up on the 40th Anniversary of Pet Sounds, but in fairness, I started this post a few months ago before the site went live. So sue me.
I was a latecomer to Pet Sounds. Having only previously known the Beach Boys from their surfin’ hits, I listened to the entire album and just didn’t "get" it. I couldn’t understand its appeal and what was so special about the songs. About three years later, it somehow all fell into place, and I was able to appreciate the scope of Brian Wilson’s musical vision. Pet Sounds was considered a commercial failure for the Beach Boys, but along with SMiLE, it constitutes their best (and most critically-acclaimed) work.Capitol Records, obviously cashing in whenever possible, released the Pet Sounds 40th Anniversary Edition on August 29th. One would think there’d be nothing left to release after The Pet Sounds Sessions box set (which is amazing, albeit exhausting) as well as the DVD-Audio mix of the album, but lo and behold, they’ve found a DVD full of stuff to throw in. Damn you, Capitol Records, you’ll get my money, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it.
In celebration of this anniversary, as well as the 40th anniversary of the release of "Good Vibrations" and the double-platinum status of their greatest hits collection The Sounds Of Summer, the four remaining corpses members of the Beach Boys gathered together on the roof of the Capitol Records building.
l-r: Brian Wilson, original Beach Boy David Marks, Bruce Johnston, Al Jardine, Mike "Hang On To Your Ego" Love. *shudder*
Ah, yet another "hell freezes over" moment in the life of a Brian Wilson fan. Not that I’m surprised; after resurrecting all of Pet Sounds live and the entirety of SMiLE, reuniting with Mike Love was really all that was left for him to accomplish.
Will the Beach Boys really reunite? My guess is that they’ll do a couple of concerts together and that’ll be it. Nobody can (or should) have to tolerate Mike Love for more than a couple of hours, least of all Brian, who’s been sued by Love (also his cousin) at least twice in the past 10 years. It’ll be interesting to see and hear if it happens. I must admit the thought of those voices together again is an appealing one.
So anyway, now that Pet Sounds is re-released, it’s worth picking up if you don’t have it already. For an example of the extraordinary musicality that surrounds this CD, here’s a goodie from The Pet Sounds Sessions box.
The Beach Boys: Wouldn’t It Be Nice (Stereo, background vocals only)
For more on the Pet Sounds re-release, including complete tracklistings, check out Pet Blog. All sorts of cool info there. Did you know that Brian had never heard of the iPod?
September 16th, 2006 at 9:13 pm
I was a huge Beach Boys fan when I was a kid (and I’m talking about 7-9 years old), but we only had their greatest hits lp. But that was enough for me and my friends who used to lip-synch/air guitar to the records over and over in their living rooms. As I got older, I had that strange moment when I realized they had actual albums — not just "greatest hits." It wasn’t until my late teens that I had the money to buy records, and one was Pet Sounds. It took me awhile to get used to it (’cause, you know, I was a "greatest hits" kid), but it has been a fav for a long time.