I knew the hits off Pet Sounds but had never heard the LP. I took a music class in college and was discussing Sgt. Pepper's with the professor. He asked if I had heard Pet Sounds and I admitted that I hadn't. He said that it had influenced The Beatles - and I had a hard time believing him but agreed to buy the CD and listen all the way through. Since that night in 1995, Pet Sounds has been one of my all time favorite albums. The greatest ever? Maybe . . . maybe not . . . but it sure is one of the greatest of all time. Thank you Brian.
I had a music class in high school in 1978 and my teacher said the same thing. Pet Sounds set a new standard and the Beatles went out to make Sgt. Pepper the next year; soon followed by Stones Satanic's (didn't quite match up) and it went on from there. Brain may have been a little delusional but he was a musical genius...
I listened to Pet Sounds countless times when I was a slightly lonely and confused teenager back in the late 1960s. I know all the songs by heart and can still sing along to them including every little nuance in the vocals. This LP really spoke to me. I'm a great Beatles fan and read somewhere that Brian Wilson was inspired by Rubber Soul to try to compose and create a complete album with no covers and fillers. Paul McCartney has said that God Only Knows is the most beautiful song he's heard. Many years later I told these things to my brother-in-law, also a big Beatles fan. He'd heard of Pet Sounds but assumed it was just a greatest hits compilation of their 60s singles. My wife associated the Beach Boys with surf music and assumed Pet Sounds was just more of the same. Capitol's lack of promotion for one of the best albums ever made was almost criminal. I don't know who decided upon the deadly dull, misleading album sleeve or even the title 'Pet Sounds'. They should be shot. Just calling it maybe 'Reflections' with a slightly abstract painting of a young man deep in thought would've done it much more justice. Oh well, that's enough from me. I'm now going to listen to Pet Sounds again from beginning to end and decide whether to join in the lead vocals or harmonies on each song.
Capitol was not pleased with the "new direction" of Brian's this album represented. They were used to the Brian Wilson hit machine of fast rock and roll tunes of surf - cars - girl songs. Introspectiveness, innovation, art was not what they wanted from the Beach Boys. Capitol quickly rushed out a greatest hits album, the first of three released through '69. The album hit the top 10 at 10, but it was a far cry from from the top 1 to 3 that their albums usually placed at. Brian was getting the accolades from everyone who was anyone, from Leonard Bernstein to the Beatles, but these issues from Capitol and within the band, the "don't f* with the formula" few, played a huge role in his later shelving SMiLe, and, besides his mental health issues, contributed extensively to his reclusiveness and minimal participation with the band since '67. Pet Sound was basically a Brian Wilson solo record that the rest of the Beach Boys came home from touring to and added their unique harmonies. His new direction produced the #1 hit Good Vibrations, again showing his genius in it's new techniques, his production, arranging, and song writing capabilities, but SMiLE was never fully realized in the setting it should have been (late '66. early '67), so all of that respect for him at that time moved on to the next "shiny object", and the band itself became referred to as "your father's band" by the rising counterculture. The band found new respect in the early 70s with the work they were doing in albums like Surf's Up and Holland, but then the nostalgia craze took over around '73 with movies like American Graffiti , TV shows like Happy Days, and then Capitol puts out a double album of classic Beach Boy hits, Endless Summer, that sells like hotcakes, and from then on, they were pretty much a nostalgia band, people wanting to hear those 60s hits. It just amazes me what could have been, when you listen to the body of work Brian was writing in '66-'67, had the Capitol and Mike Love just shut the f up, especially after the success of Good Vibrations, what could have been. They killed an artist's soul!! I myself was turned on to Pet Sounds and Brian Wilson by Eric Clapton. As a 14 year old starting to delve into my music interests, I was all Clapton from the Yardbirds, through Mayall, into Cream, and beyond. It was an interview in '76, when I was 14, where I heard Clapton proclaiming how incredible this album is, how Cream would play it from start to finish before their shows to get in the mindset to go play, then hearing Jack Bruce proclaiming Brian Wilson was "the new Bach". I knew the Beach Boys, but I didn't own anything. I went out and purchased Pet Sounds with my paper route money, put it on the turntable and it did not grab me. Okay, tunes I had heard on the radio, but what was the big deal? Always curious, and of course having spent hard earned money for it, I played it two more times front to back. The third time it was as if the clouds lifted. A kaleidoscope of sounds and feelings washed over me. I got "it"! Even to this day, I swear I'm still hearing new things buried in Brian's arrangements. It's what Bob Dylan said about Brian, "That ear should be in the Smithsonian." The emotion in the album was realized by me too. I carried the lyrics from I Just Wasn't Made for These Times in my wallet from 14 until my mid 30s as it encapsulated how I felt throughout my life, an iNFj who wasn't like everyone else. Even the fade of the locomotive racing past, horn blaring, with Brian's dogs barking just wraps it up so perfectly. This all led to my deep dive into the Wilson catalog and history. His chords, chord changes, key changes, all of his unique characteristics in writing, arranging, and producing have always struck a chord within me. If you want a great perspective on what was going on, I recommend the Tom Nolan articles (1971) from Rolling Stone. www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/beach-boys-a-california-saga-244579/ www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/beach-boys-a-california-saga-part-ii-233192/ and the David Leaf book, "The Beach Boys and the California Myth" which has been revised twice, the latest being 2022s "God Only Knows: The Story of Brian Wilson, the Beach Boys and the California Myth." I heard this is a waterdowned version of the goings on with Mike Love, as Leaf was tired of the "death stares " from Love, the man of no musical talent, nasally vocals, banal lyrics, and behavior opposite of his last name.
The arraignments are insane on this album. The way Brian used the bass guitar like the rungs of a ladder on the song "I'm Waiting For The Day." Pet Sounds sounds like the one who created it suffered from insanity. I mean that in a good way. It's one of my favorite LP's.
My friend, this is a great video, I'm Latino and I love the beach boys, I consider Pet Sound one of the greatest albums of all time and one of the ones that has marked me the most in such a short time, Thanks for this video
You want to know how good Pet Sounds is? A BRITISH boy prefers it to The Beatles, Floyd, Queen etc. Imagine being so good that you as an American can even stand to compete against the British Invasion
This British 'boy' does NOT prefer it to The Beatles. And how you can mention Floyd and (God forbid) Queen, in the same sentence as The Beatles is a mystery to me. Revolver and Rubber Soul are. in my view, both greater albums than Pet Sounds.
@@petegilgan6217 you don’t understand why Pet Sounds is superior because you don’t understand songwriting or music composition and have (most likely) never attempted it…. or at least certainly, even if you’ve attempt it - you’ve never done it well.
@@KurtCobain-rs4zt Thanks for passing judgement on me - someone you don't know and have never met! I would be very disappointed if The Beatles hadn't played their own instruments/parts on Revolver (thanks to the Wrecking Crew for that). Wilson co-wrote some great stuff, that occasionally equalled The Beatles, but as good as A Day In The Life, Penny Lane, Strawberry Fields Forever and Yesterday? No.
@@petegilgan6217 Brian Wilson literally inspired A Day In The Life, Penny Lane, and Strawberry Field Forever. In regards to both the arrangements and the production. The idea of a multi-song began with Good Vibrations. Ask Paul, John, or George Martin. The idea of baroque Edwardian style was lifted from The Beach Boys doing similar motifs in Pet Sounds, Good Vibrations, and in the SMiLE sessions that were shown to Paul & John when they visited. On top of that, The Beatles had the brilliance of George Martin as a producer to filter all their musical ideas through before it was recorded & released. Are you disappointed at that? Brian was 100% the auteur of the material, start to finish. Writer, director, and editor. Co-wrote some great stuff? No, here he wrote it all. The lyrics were essentially the only thing he had collaborated on. Left without interference from the label and other band members, on his own he composed the greatest album released at that point, and remains one of the best ever, if not the best. At 23 years old.
Per Sounds is the best album of all time. After 40 years listening to it I never tire of it. I love the Beatles and there albums were amazing - but I go back the Pet Sounds because it hits yiu emotionally much deeper than the Beatles ever did. I have listened to this albums and gone back to it for decades. It’s the most timeless album ever.
I agree. I'm huge Beatles fan and I think they're great and they even have more excellent albums than the Beach Boys did. but none of it is as good as Pet Sounds.
@HipHop226 A jazz head! Both *GREAT* albums! This is so subjective. I can think of dozens of records from many genres that l feel are superior to any Beach Boys offering.
The way I see a producer is they tap into the income stream of something produced. Seeing lots of producers is to me sometimes a sign that the artist has lost control. It's the same with film making. I have the 4CD Pet Sounds Sessions I bought many years ago. And I find hearing the separated A cappella songs to be the most beautiful. Once you hear the songs only as separated elements it really exposes the perfection Brian was searching for. It has the Brian singing version of God Only Knows. I sort of wonder why The Beatles have not done this style of release because hearing clean separated tracks of song from master tapes is mindblowing.
The Beatles bounced tracks down on top of eachother so until AI came about it was, and kind of still is, impossible to separate. Example/ on a four track tape recorder, the Beatles woudl record say drums, guitar and piano on track one, then more guitar track 2 (mayeb with some tambourine or another track) then bass on track 3. Then they woudl mix all those to the 4th track and record over tracks 1-3). Recording pet sounds was like an orchestra, they had 4 tracks, all the music woudl be recorded live to tracks one and two, or even track one (mono) then the vocals by themselves on the other 3 tracks. So the vocals on BB records were alwys separate. Not true with the Beatles.
Thank you so much for this, David! I have had the good fortune and pleasure of seeing Brian Wilson perform several times over the past 25 years. So sad to hear last week of his dementia--hoping that this gentle soul who gave us such beautiful music is able to get through the difficult time with peace
I might be a little late to this party, but you are an analytic genius! Thank you so much for your insight into these incredible bands!! Keep it up bro 👏
Lots of good music came out of the LA area in 65-67: the Sunset Strips groups -- Love and The Doors, and the more regional bands -- Mamas and the Papas, the Byrds, the Association, and the Beach Boys. What a great time for music!
My second fav album of all time (only after Abbey Road, im Beatles fan btw). Beach Boys and Beatles totally changed my taste of music, especially Pet Sounds which blew my mind at the first time I listened to.
@@nl5828Yes you're right Paul McCartney does say that about God Only Knows. I would never say that The Beach Boys didn't write some good songs, their just not in the same league as The Beatles.
When pet sounds was released it didn't do well no one bought it, it wasn't until much much later when critics said it was the greatest album they ever heard, personally I think it would be a very good EP, wouldn't it be nice, sloop John b, God only knows, and that's it, it would have been a better LP if Good vibrations was on it,
Excellent video. Historically, it's the most important album of all time. Pet Sounds is like Bach. Carpenters are also very important historically to studio production. Unlike Brian, they were musically trained and had Pet Sounds for the inspiration they needed to accomplish some incredibly sophisticated multitrack studio productions - using the same musicians Brian Wilson did for Pet Sounds - The Wrecking Crew. I wasn't alive for any of it either but I now understand the reason these people are timeless legends of music. Their names will echo through humanity forever, like Bach, Mozart, Lennon & McCartney. THAT is how important this album is.
I’ve listened to pet sounds more times than I can count. My favorite 3 tracks are you still believe in me, don’t talk put your head on my shoulder, and Caroline no. It’s just beautiful overall as an album. John Lennon’s plastic ono band ranks up there with pet sounds if you ask me
I’ll take walls and bridges any day over anything Lennon did solo. POB is a good album, not an easy listen. Imagine is bleak too and mind game is too pop with no bite
@@mumbles215 walls and bridges is ok, I like it a fair amount. Only a couple of standout songs for me. The other 3 records you mentioned are preferred by a mile. I despise ‘whatever gets you thru the night’ The greatness of Elton John/John Lennon collaborates, and that single is the result. Sad shit.
After hearing all of the hype surrounding this album, I was disappointed at first. It's not a rock album. Not as fun an energetic as early BB albums. But it grew on me. I didn't want to hear a album filled with studio musicians. Or kazoos. I wanted to hear the Beach Boys. But the songs and vocals are good for the most part. I can now appreciate it.
The fact is that people HATED Pet Sounds ....it only sold about 300k upon release and was a huge disappointment for BW... the BB never recovered from that. The highly anticipated single in 67, Heroes and Villains, was another flop, and the downward spiral continued.
I feel like you could say the same about Bob Dylan's Blonde on Blonde. There was technically a producer, yes. But it was by and large just Dylan's music. Both Pet Sounds and Blonde on Blonde sort of catapulted rock music into something entirely different though of course
Really enjoyed this, and yes Pet Sounds is just a superb album. One great story I heard about it was that one of the people who funded its recording wanted in exchange for his cash a role in the mixing. So the engineers rigged him up with his own "master" console in the studio booth so he could make fine adjustments and make his mark. He loved it. Of course, the console wasn't connected to anything! Not sure if it's true, but makes a great story!
This story sounds like a slight corruption of the accommodations engineers supposedly made for the Wilson's father Murry, who bugged them so much with his constant requests for more level and in particular more treble, that they rigged up a dummy knob for him to turn. The people that funded Pet Sounds were of course Capitol Records -- nobody put their personal money into it, nor would've they needed to as the Beach Boys were allotted a deservedly enormous budget.
The World's Coolest Club I'd never heard of. Ok somehow the TH-cam journey tonight included reading comments on a Glenn Campbell 12 string solo where somebody said that he was "a member of the wrecking crew." Never heard of it before, but I always enjoyed his music. 10 minutes later I'm here diving deep into Pet Sounds to hear that Brian Wilson was a member too?
Pet sounds definitely one of the best albums ive heard. I would also ask others to check out some other albums from them too like Sunflower and Smiley Smile. Not the Pet sounds level, but definitely great albums too. Maybe im little biased cause Im a everyday beach boys listener🤷♂️
I'm not going to go on about how great Pet Sounds is. It's all been said. I liked your presentation and appreciation of....yes! A unique piece of music. The Wrecking Crew etc who played on so many hits throughout the 60s and 70s. I'm sure you're aware of this also....Beatles myth stole so much from this. It's all on-line. Took it back to George Martin and Beatles were considered to have changed the course of music. It's simply not true! Brian did! Many young people like you. Are discovering what I've said about Brian, when it wasn't fashionable to say it, at the time that I said it.
It’s a good album but here it and you know instantly it’s the Beach Boys, that’s not a bad thing but hear sgt pepper and every song could have been written by a different band, the difference between a band having a sound and a band making unique music that sound different every time is the key here.
The Beach Boys sound here is only their vocal harmonies. The whole instrumentation comes from the Wrecking Crew. That's a point always missing in the discussion. Beatles had Paul on bass, they didn't need Carole Kayne...
I prefer listening to Sunflower, even though I think Pet Sounds is greater overall. I got fed up with revolver and rubber soul, some songs on those albums are not so great, I used to skip them
David Hartley Yes, Pet Sounds is arguably the best Beach Boys album. But even Paul McCartney can't seem to mention any other Beach Boys song favorite besides God Only Knows. It makes me wonder if he's ever heard such masterpieces as Warmth of the Sun, Please Let Me Wonder, and Surf's Up, to name just three.
It is indeed great. But why did they fade as a group after this masterpiece? I often feel sad when I play Pet Sounds because I think about their decline after this apotheosis.
Pet Sounds is great but I believe the Beatles surpassed it 3x: first with Revolver, then with Pepper & The Beatles. Pet Sounds may be the *most influential* album of the 1960s. Love & Mercy is an absolutely amazing movie, the best biopic of all time.
@@rolfejones7445 Elementary school lyrics? Screeching, nasaly harmonies? Augmented by a few studio tricks. It's saccharine crap. Like Phil Spector produced a (shitty) opera based on a Norman Rockwell painting of Lake Woebegone. *EVERYTHING* Brian Wilson produced is nauseating pablum.
you must have a very limited taste in music with all the great music of that era the beach boys didn't make my best of anything list i never seen a beach boys album growing up in that era
Pet Sounds is an American sounding album but it doesn’t lean on the usual sources of rock n roll. Ed Sheeran’s music is just plastic and disposable cookie cutter crud for deaf people.
If you really wanna hear a genius check out 2 Fantastic albums by Gino vanelli - " Brother To Brother" and "Nightwalker " I personally think that the song" Put the weight on my shoulders " is the greatest song ever written, it totally blows away anything John, Paul or Brian ever wrote. Also there's another song Gino wrote and recorded called " Ugly Man " ( Off of the album" Gist of the Gemini " ) that's a total masterpiece,and keep in mind Gino wrote and scored all the parts ( He's a Schooled Musician) and deserves far more credit than he He's also a much better singer than Paul or Brian (John is in a class of his own and is the greatest Rock singer ever)
Yeah...I don't get it. I mean, it's got some nice enough songs on it, but I can't think of any thing about this album that I could classify as "great". This is not intended as a negative to anyone who likes this album btw.
It might help to put Pet Sounds in context Bob Dylan, Bringing it All Back Home The Beatles, Rubber Soul Pet Sounds Revolver One influenced the next. Wilson was inspired by Rubber Soul because he realized and album could be more than a collection of singles. Every song could be killer. It is not a concept album. There’s no narrative or theme that ties it together. It’s just a collection of songs Wilson put together to be great. Chasing the concept album, Smile, nearly killed him.
Some accuracy and some error. Also cannot have this discussion without mentioning the Dylan Album Blonde on Blond, the 3rd of the great 3 albums released in 66, the other 2 being Revolver and Pet Sounds. The error is that apart from Sloop John B which Capital Records forced Brian and the Boys to put on Pet Sounds, the rest of the album is a theme album for sure. It is a love story from beginning to end and Caroline No, is looking back at once was. Now thus is no special insight at all, but the progression is quite clear, topicwise, lyrically and musically. At least Sloop John B fits in from a musical production style if not thematically.
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for your next video can you please do how Rock artists inspire and influence by Bob Marley.
David - your interpretation of Pet Sounds is a masterpiece of understanding and 'compassion'
Well, I certainly enjoyed this interesting video about Pet Sounds (what I consider to be the best from the Beach Boys), so consider me subscribed.
“You haven’t been educated musically until you’ve listened to Pet Sounds” Paul McCartney
I Just Wasn't Made for These Times is one of my top 5 favorite all time songs.
I knew the hits off Pet Sounds but had never heard the LP. I took a music class in college and was discussing Sgt. Pepper's with the professor. He asked if I had heard Pet Sounds and I admitted that I hadn't. He said that it had influenced The Beatles - and I had a hard time believing him but agreed to buy the CD and listen all the way through. Since that night in 1995, Pet Sounds has been one of my all time favorite albums. The greatest ever? Maybe . . . maybe not . . . but it sure is one of the greatest of all time. Thank you Brian.
It’s like top 3 oat to me
I had a music class in high school in 1978 and my teacher said the same thing. Pet Sounds set a new standard and the Beatles went out to make Sgt. Pepper the next year; soon followed by Stones Satanic's (didn't quite match up) and it went on from there. Brain may have been a little delusional but he was a musical genius...
I listened to Pet Sounds countless times when I was a slightly lonely and confused teenager back in the late 1960s. I know all the songs by heart and can still sing along to them including every little nuance in the vocals. This LP really spoke to me. I'm a great Beatles fan and read somewhere that Brian Wilson was inspired by Rubber Soul to try to compose and create a complete album with no covers and fillers. Paul McCartney has said that God Only Knows is the most beautiful song he's heard. Many years later I told these things to my brother-in-law, also a big Beatles fan. He'd heard of Pet Sounds but assumed it was just a greatest hits compilation of their 60s singles. My wife associated the Beach Boys with surf music and assumed Pet Sounds was just more of the same. Capitol's lack of promotion for one of the best albums ever made was almost criminal. I don't know who decided upon the deadly dull, misleading album sleeve or even the title 'Pet Sounds'. They should be shot. Just calling it maybe 'Reflections' with a slightly abstract painting of a young man deep in thought would've done it much more justice.
Oh well, that's enough from me. I'm now going to listen to Pet Sounds again from beginning to end and decide whether to join in the lead vocals or harmonies on each song.
Capitol was not pleased with the "new direction" of Brian's this album represented. They were used to the Brian Wilson hit machine of fast rock and roll tunes of surf - cars - girl songs. Introspectiveness, innovation, art was not what they wanted from the Beach Boys. Capitol quickly rushed out a greatest hits album, the first of three released through '69. The album hit the top 10 at 10, but it was a far cry from from the top 1 to 3 that their albums usually placed at. Brian was getting the accolades from everyone who was anyone, from Leonard Bernstein to the Beatles, but these issues from Capitol and within the band, the "don't f* with the formula" few, played a huge role in his later shelving SMiLe, and, besides his mental health issues, contributed extensively to his reclusiveness and minimal participation with the band since '67. Pet Sound was basically a Brian Wilson solo record that the rest of the Beach Boys came home from touring to and added their unique harmonies. His new direction produced the #1 hit Good Vibrations, again showing his genius in it's new techniques, his production, arranging, and song writing capabilities, but SMiLE was never fully realized in the setting it should have been (late '66. early '67), so all of that respect for him at that time moved on to the next "shiny object", and the band itself became referred to as "your father's band" by the rising counterculture. The band found new respect in the early 70s with the work they were doing in albums like Surf's Up and Holland, but then the nostalgia craze took over around '73 with movies like American Graffiti , TV shows like Happy Days, and then Capitol puts out a double album of classic Beach Boy hits, Endless Summer, that sells like hotcakes, and from then on, they were pretty much a nostalgia band, people wanting to hear those 60s hits. It just amazes me what could have been, when you listen to the body of work Brian was writing in '66-'67, had the Capitol and Mike Love just shut the f up, especially after the success of Good Vibrations, what could have been. They killed an artist's soul!!
I myself was turned on to Pet Sounds and Brian Wilson by Eric Clapton. As a 14 year old starting to delve into my music interests, I was all Clapton from the Yardbirds, through Mayall, into Cream, and beyond. It was an interview in '76, when I was 14, where I heard Clapton proclaiming how incredible this album is, how Cream would play it from start to finish before their shows to get in the mindset to go play, then hearing Jack Bruce proclaiming Brian Wilson was "the new Bach". I knew the Beach Boys, but I didn't own anything. I went out and purchased Pet Sounds with my paper route money, put it on the turntable and it did not grab me. Okay, tunes I had heard on the radio, but what was the big deal? Always curious, and of course having spent hard earned money for it, I played it two more times front to back. The third time it was as if the clouds lifted. A kaleidoscope of sounds and feelings washed over me. I got "it"! Even to this day, I swear I'm still hearing new things buried in Brian's arrangements. It's what Bob Dylan said about Brian, "That ear should be in the Smithsonian." The emotion in the album was realized by me too. I carried the lyrics from I Just Wasn't Made for These Times in my wallet from 14 until my mid 30s as it encapsulated how I felt throughout my life, an iNFj who wasn't like everyone else. Even the fade of the locomotive racing past, horn blaring, with Brian's dogs barking just wraps it up so perfectly. This all led to my deep dive into the Wilson catalog and history. His chords, chord changes, key changes, all of his unique characteristics in writing, arranging, and producing have always struck a chord within me.
If you want a great perspective on what was going on, I recommend the Tom Nolan articles (1971) from Rolling Stone.
www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/beach-boys-a-california-saga-244579/
www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/beach-boys-a-california-saga-part-ii-233192/
and the David Leaf book,
"The Beach Boys and the California Myth" which has been revised twice, the latest being 2022s "God Only Knows: The Story of Brian Wilson, the Beach Boys and the California Myth." I heard this is a waterdowned version of the goings on with Mike Love, as Leaf was tired of the "death stares " from Love, the man of no musical talent, nasally vocals, banal lyrics, and behavior opposite of his last name.
@@ms8596 Really appreciate this informative comment.
Reflections would have been an awful name. I love the album title and the cover.
You actually took time to text this.
I have favourite albums but Pet Sounds is my personal pick for the greatest album of all time.
Good choice Sebastian!
for your next video can you please do how Rock artists inspire and influence by Bob Marley.
Why ?? I don't get it
The arraignments are insane on this album. The way Brian used the bass guitar like the rungs of a ladder on the song "I'm Waiting For The Day." Pet Sounds sounds like the one who created it suffered from insanity. I mean that in a good way. It's one of my favorite LP's.
I am a hardcore Beatles fan. But Pet Sounds really one of my favorite playlist outside of The Beatles both as a group and solo.
It was also the most inspirational album to Paul
playlist? lol
My friend, this is a great video, I'm Latino and I love the beach boys, I consider Pet Sound one of the greatest albums of all time and one of the ones that has marked me the most in such a short time, Thanks for this video
You want to know how good Pet Sounds is? A BRITISH boy prefers it to The Beatles, Floyd, Queen etc. Imagine being so good that you as an American can even stand to compete against the British Invasion
This British 'boy' does NOT prefer it to The Beatles. And how you can mention Floyd and (God forbid) Queen, in the same sentence as The Beatles is a mystery to me. Revolver and Rubber Soul are. in my view, both greater albums than Pet Sounds.
Oh god this was not a good idea to make such a bold statement, as you can tell by the first reply…
@@petegilgan6217 you don’t understand why Pet Sounds is superior because you don’t understand songwriting or music composition and have (most likely) never attempted it…. or at least certainly, even if you’ve attempt it - you’ve never done it well.
@@KurtCobain-rs4zt Thanks for passing judgement on me - someone you don't know and have never met! I would be very disappointed if The Beatles hadn't played their own instruments/parts on Revolver (thanks to the Wrecking Crew for that). Wilson co-wrote some great stuff, that occasionally equalled The Beatles, but as good as A Day In The Life, Penny Lane, Strawberry Fields Forever and Yesterday? No.
@@petegilgan6217
Brian Wilson literally inspired A Day In The Life, Penny Lane, and Strawberry Field Forever.
In regards to both the arrangements and the production.
The idea of a multi-song began with Good Vibrations.
Ask Paul, John, or George Martin.
The idea of baroque Edwardian style was lifted from The Beach Boys doing similar motifs in Pet Sounds, Good Vibrations, and in the SMiLE sessions that were shown to Paul & John when they visited. On top of that, The Beatles had the brilliance of George Martin as a producer to filter all their musical ideas through before it was recorded & released. Are you disappointed at that?
Brian was 100% the auteur of the material, start to finish. Writer, director, and editor. Co-wrote some great stuff? No, here he wrote it all. The lyrics were essentially the only thing he had collaborated on. Left without interference from the label and other band members, on his own he composed the greatest album released at that point, and remains one of the best ever, if not the best. At 23 years old.
Per Sounds is the best album of all time. After 40 years listening to it I never tire of it. I love the Beatles and there albums were amazing - but I go back the Pet Sounds because it hits yiu emotionally much deeper than the Beatles ever did. I have listened to this albums and gone back to it for decades. It’s the most timeless album ever.
I agree. I'm huge Beatles fan and I think they're great and they even have more excellent albums than the Beach Boys did. but none of it is as good as Pet Sounds.
It's fucking awful. The Beach Boys suck out loud.
Kind of Blue by Miles is the greatest. And Love Supreme is #2
@HipHop226 A jazz head! Both *GREAT* albums! This is so subjective. I can think of dozens of records from many genres that l feel are superior to any Beach Boys offering.
The way I see a producer is they tap into the income stream of something produced. Seeing lots of producers is to me sometimes a sign that the artist has lost control. It's the same with film making. I have the 4CD Pet Sounds Sessions I bought many years ago. And I find hearing the separated A cappella songs to be the most beautiful. Once you hear the songs only as separated elements it really exposes the perfection Brian was searching for. It has the Brian singing version of God Only Knows. I sort of wonder why The Beatles have not done this style of release because hearing clean separated tracks of song from master tapes is mindblowing.
The Beatles bounced tracks down on top of eachother so until AI came about it was, and kind of still is, impossible to separate. Example/ on a four track tape recorder, the Beatles woudl record say drums, guitar and piano on track one, then more guitar track 2 (mayeb with some tambourine or another track) then bass on track 3. Then they woudl mix all those to the 4th track and record over tracks 1-3). Recording pet sounds was like an orchestra, they had 4 tracks, all the music woudl be recorded live to tracks one and two, or even track one (mono) then the vocals by themselves on the other 3 tracks. So the vocals on BB records were alwys separate. Not true with the Beatles.
this is my favorite album ever
Thank you so much for this, David! I have had the good fortune and pleasure of seeing Brian Wilson perform several times over the past 25 years. So sad to hear last week of his dementia--hoping that this gentle soul who gave us such beautiful music is able to get through the difficult time with peace
Nice I have always loved the beach boys and Brian Wilson appreciate you explaining the genius of the album
such a great job done David! love the storytelling part and the various transitions! Keep going! Henri
Thank you so much Henri!
I'm not a Beach Boys fan. But I'm musically intelligent enough to know good music when I hear it. "Pet Sounds" is MASTERPIECE!
Where would music be had The Beach Boys never released Pet Sounds? Pet Sounds is such a unique album, love it
I might be a little late to this party, but you are an analytic genius! Thank you so much for your insight into these incredible bands!! Keep it up bro 👏
I have to put Pet Sounds and Who's Next as the top two albums in my mind
Because the song Wouldn't It Be Nice is so monumental in quality.
I was literally just reading 1001 albums go hear before you die! 😄
Great video 👏
It speaks to the heart like no other record.
I agree it is one of the greatest pop albums ever.
Lots of good music came out of the LA area in 65-67: the Sunset Strips groups -- Love and The Doors, and the more regional bands -- Mamas and the Papas, the Byrds, the Association, and the Beach Boys. What a great time for music!
I was exposed to this album because of my favorite teacher. Forever grateful
One of my all-time favorites.
Fanastic video! Couldn't agree more!
One of the greatest albums of all time
I enjoyed the video very much and just found your channel. Oh and I subscribed.
Great content, loved it!
Wanted a video like this since i got into bb 2 months ago! This is great
Thanks, yes love the Beach Boys!
I hope this video somehow ends up being recommended to fans of Ed Sheeran 😄
Haha I actually like some of the Ed Sheeran songs!
I just wasn’t made times hits diff. I adore pet sounds. It’s gotten me thru some of the most difficult times of my life
Awesome video, well done!! Please do More Brian Wilson Vids!!👽
Thank you! Hopefully will do and also some other artists/albums that I love!
My second fav album of all time (only after Abbey Road, im Beatles fan btw). Beach Boys and Beatles totally changed my taste of music, especially Pet Sounds which blew my mind at the first time I listened to.
The best ever!
Best album of the 20th century.
That means the exact same thing as ‘best album of all time’.
Not even close.
it arguably wasn’t even the best album of 1967!
Well said sir!
Pet Sounds in mono...amazin!
Easily my favorite album
Uno de mis álbumes favoritos de siempre, su sonido es pura magia, te transporta a otro mundo
Great video. Subscribed!
Thank you!
Great video, subscribed.
❤️❤️❤️
Not a patch on The Beatles. Pet Sounds did not move far enough away from their usual sound. The Beatles sound changed with every album.
i agree to an extent, but it is interesting that paul mccartney is on record as saying “god only knows” is one of the greatest songs ever written.
@@nl5828Yes you're right Paul McCartney does say that about God Only Knows. I would never say that The Beach Boys didn't write some good songs, their just not in the same league as The Beatles.
No, the Beach Boys are far superior. The Beatles relied on George Martin to shape their sound, Brian did it himself.
@@MrBrutal33 😂
@@MrBrutal33Brian Wilson used the Wrecking Crew not the Beach Boys on Instruments...
I was in a dark place one time and Pet Sounds literally saved my life
When pet sounds was released it didn't do well no one bought it, it wasn't until much much later when critics said it was the greatest album they ever heard, personally I think it would be a very good EP, wouldn't it be nice, sloop John b, God only knows, and that's it, it would have been a better LP if Good vibrations was on it,
@FlowersInSunshine not in the states!!!
Excellent video. Historically, it's the most important album of all time. Pet Sounds is like Bach. Carpenters are also very important historically to studio production. Unlike Brian, they were musically trained and had Pet Sounds for the inspiration they needed to accomplish some incredibly sophisticated multitrack studio productions - using the same musicians Brian Wilson did for Pet Sounds - The Wrecking Crew.
I wasn't alive for any of it either but I now understand the reason these people are timeless legends of music. Their names will echo through humanity forever, like Bach, Mozart, Lennon & McCartney. THAT is how important this album is.
I’ve listened to pet sounds more times than I can count. My favorite 3 tracks are you still believe in me, don’t talk put your head on my shoulder, and Caroline no. It’s just beautiful overall as an album.
John Lennon’s plastic ono band ranks up there with pet sounds if you ask me
I’ll take walls and bridges any day over anything Lennon did solo. POB is a good album, not an easy listen. Imagine is bleak too and mind game is too pop with no bite
@@mumbles215 walls and bridges is ok, I like it a fair amount. Only a couple of standout songs for me. The other 3 records you mentioned are preferred by a mile. I despise ‘whatever gets you thru the night’ The greatness of Elton John/John Lennon collaborates, and that single is the result. Sad shit.
Pet Sounds while enjoyable for everyone, it really is an album for musicians
Very nice work, David.
Thank you!
Another great video!
After hearing all of the hype surrounding this album, I was disappointed at first. It's not a rock album. Not as fun an energetic as early BB albums. But it grew on me. I didn't want to hear a album filled with studio musicians. Or kazoos. I wanted to hear the Beach Boys. But the songs and vocals are good for the most part. I can now appreciate it.
The fact is that people HATED Pet Sounds ....it only sold about 300k upon release and was a huge disappointment for BW... the BB never recovered from that. The highly anticipated single in 67, Heroes and Villains, was another flop, and the downward spiral continued.
I feel like you could say the same about Bob Dylan's Blonde on Blonde. There was technically a producer, yes. But it was by and large just Dylan's music. Both Pet Sounds and Blonde on Blonde sort of catapulted rock music into something entirely different though of course
loved your video
Surely one of the greats. What is that book?
Really enjoyed this, and yes Pet Sounds is just a superb album. One great story I heard about it was that one of the people who funded its recording wanted in exchange for his cash a role in the mixing. So the engineers rigged him up with his own "master" console in the studio booth so he could make fine adjustments and make his mark. He loved it. Of course, the console wasn't connected to anything! Not sure if it's true, but makes a great story!
Haha what a great (maybe true) story, I haven't heard that before, thanks for sharing!
This story sounds like a slight corruption of the accommodations engineers supposedly made for the Wilson's father Murry, who bugged them so much with his constant requests for more level and in particular more treble, that they rigged up a dummy knob for him to turn. The people that funded Pet Sounds were of course Capitol Records -- nobody put their personal money into it, nor would've they needed to as the Beach Boys were allotted a deservedly enormous budget.
@@joshilynhoisington your version sounds eminently more plausible!
I still don't get it. It sounds pretty at times I suppose. Overall it sounds so tame and vanilla.
What is the book called in 4:24? Would love to read it
1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die - it's the same book pictured in the first shot
3:52 “-ions, bap bap, Good Vibrations, bap bap, excitations, bap bap🎶🎵”
does that 1001 Albums book list albums by the year, or by their importance / rank ?
I wish that I could've been alive in the 60's.
If you play some instrument, you must be amazed by this album
The World's Coolest Club I'd never heard of.
Ok somehow the TH-cam journey tonight included reading comments on a Glenn Campbell 12 string solo where somebody said that he was "a member of the wrecking crew."
Never heard of it before, but I always enjoyed his music.
10 minutes later I'm here diving deep into Pet Sounds to hear that Brian Wilson was a member too?
Because it's an incredible achievement.
Pet sounds definitely one of the best albums ive heard.
I would also ask others to check out some other albums from them too like Sunflower and Smiley Smile.
Not the Pet sounds level, but definitely great albums too. Maybe im little biased cause Im a everyday beach boys listener🤷♂️
I'm not going to go on about how great Pet Sounds is. It's all been said. I liked your presentation and appreciation of....yes! A unique piece of music. The Wrecking Crew etc who played on so many hits throughout the 60s and 70s.
I'm sure you're aware of this also....Beatles myth stole so much from this. It's all on-line.
Took it back to George Martin and Beatles were considered to have changed the course of music.
It's simply not true! Brian did!
Many young people like you. Are discovering what I've said about Brian, when it wasn't fashionable to say it, at the time that I said it.
It’s a good album but here it and you know instantly it’s the Beach Boys, that’s not a bad thing but hear sgt pepper and every song could have been written by a different band, the difference between a band having a sound and a band making unique music that sound different every time is the key here.
The Beach Boys sound here is only their vocal harmonies. The whole instrumentation comes from the Wrecking Crew. That's a point always missing in the discussion. Beatles had Paul on bass, they didn't need Carole Kayne...
For a pop group of any kind to make Sgt pepper would be insane. Now imagine the most famous pop group ever doing it
I don't feel as though you even attempted to answer the question in the title
I prefer listening to Sunflower, even though I think Pet Sounds is greater overall. I got fed up with revolver and rubber soul, some songs on those albums are not so great, I used to skip them
David Hartley Yes, Pet Sounds is arguably the best Beach Boys album. But even Paul McCartney can't seem to mention any other Beach Boys song favorite besides God Only Knows. It makes me wonder if he's ever heard such masterpieces as Warmth of the Sun, Please Let Me Wonder, and Surf's Up, to name just three.
Hard to imagine an Ozzy fan liking this but the greatest LP of boy/girl love. What's Goin' On by Marvin Gaye is the best about universal love.
what is the last song on this video?
“god only knows” and i have no idea about the song 😉😉😉
I always try to stay away from words like the best
I like the hits.
4:25 anyone know what this book is?
Pet Sounds is so good that t inspired the creation of Sgt. Pepper.
It is indeed great. But why did they fade as a group after this masterpiece? I often feel sad when I play Pet Sounds because I think about their decline after this apotheosis.
Because the Beatles released Revolver and Sgt Pepper right after
Pet Sounds is great but I believe the Beatles surpassed it 3x: first with Revolver, then with Pepper & The Beatles.
Pet Sounds may be the *most influential* album of the 1960s.
Love & Mercy is an absolutely amazing movie, the best biopic of all time.
for your next video can you please do how Rock artists inspire and influence by Bob Marley.
"hang on to your ego" > "i know there's an answer" Brian WAS forced to change that.. forgot to mention that.
I know that I am old, but nothing from today comes close to the the music of old.
ITS GOOD!!!
Actually that point at the end I don't think is true since I believe Brian mixed all the tunes in a day and was told to go back and do them again.
Pet Sounds is simply the greatest popular music album of all time, bar none!
It sucks.
@dominicpardo4783 - ok, please explain your short but derisive reply.
@@rolfejones7445 Elementary school lyrics? Screeching, nasaly harmonies? Augmented by a few studio tricks. It's saccharine crap. Like Phil Spector produced a (shitty) opera based on a Norman Rockwell painting of Lake Woebegone. *EVERYTHING* Brian Wilson produced is nauseating pablum.
you must have a very limited taste in music with all the great music of that era the beach boys didn't make my best of anything list i never seen a beach boys album growing up in that era
although it is very, very good, it is arguably not even the greatest album of the year it was released!
sgt pepper joins the conversation…
❤
u undersold much
BEST ALBUM EVER -
Rubber soul inspired pet sounds inspired sgt pepper !! Elvis and Dylan gave us Bruce , Bruce gave us dozens!!
Отлично. Спасибо
Smile sessions is even better
I love that hit song but most of that album I don't really care for.
Pet Sounds is an American sounding album but it doesn’t lean on the usual sources of rock n roll. Ed Sheeran’s music is just plastic and disposable cookie cutter crud for deaf people.
I tried so hard to like it but I just cant
If you really wanna hear a genius check out 2 Fantastic albums by Gino vanelli - " Brother To Brother" and "Nightwalker " I personally think that the song" Put the weight on my shoulders " is the greatest song ever written, it totally blows away anything John, Paul or Brian ever wrote. Also there's another song Gino wrote and recorded called " Ugly Man " ( Off of the album" Gist of the Gemini " ) that's a total masterpiece,and keep in mind Gino wrote and scored all the parts ( He's a Schooled Musician) and deserves far more credit than he He's also a much better singer than Paul or Brian (John is in a class of his own and is the greatest Rock singer ever)
I agree check out the smoke it's smoke time
Yeah...I don't get it. I mean, it's got some nice enough songs on it, but I can't think of any thing about this album that I could classify as "great".
This is not intended as a negative to anyone who likes this album btw.
It might help to put Pet Sounds in context
Bob Dylan, Bringing it All Back Home
The Beatles, Rubber Soul
Pet Sounds
Revolver
One influenced the next.
Wilson was inspired by Rubber Soul because he realized and album could be more than a collection of singles. Every song could be killer.
It is not a concept album. There’s no narrative or theme that ties it together. It’s just a collection of songs Wilson put together to be great.
Chasing the concept album, Smile, nearly killed him.
Some accuracy and some error. Also cannot have this discussion without mentioning the Dylan Album Blonde on Blond, the 3rd of the great 3 albums released in 66, the other 2 being Revolver and Pet Sounds. The error is that apart from Sloop John B which Capital Records forced Brian and the Boys to put on Pet Sounds, the rest of the album is a theme album for sure. It is a love story from beginning to end and Caroline No, is looking back at once was. Now thus is no special insight at all, but the progression is quite clear, topicwise, lyrically and musically. At least Sloop John B fits in from a musical production style if not thematically.