Pet Sounds-overrated?

Stompbox

Ok just hear me out! While technically and musically astonishing, its lyrical content and diversity pales in comparison with the Beatles releases of that time. Discuss.

Driver 8

I think it's superior to Sgt.Pepper if not Revolver, but why compare it to albums that happened to be released at the same time? Consider it on its own merits, surely?

carchaeologist

For its time a great album, but i wouldnt rate it as the best album of all time though....

Stompbox

Driver 8 wrote: »

I think it's superior to Sgt.Pepper if not Revolver, but why compare it to albums that happened to be released at the same time? Consider it on its own merits, surely?

The fact that it's often considered the greatest album of all time is exactly my reason for comparison. Apologies though, I probably should have stated that. While a great album, its just not an incredible album for me.

Latchy

When Pet Sounds was released in 1966 the suits in capital records and other beach boys specialy Mike love, were scratching their heads and asking Brian Wilson ' what's this Brian ? ,were is all the hit surfing stuff we were expecting ? '' and there was the quandry ,cuz while the other beach boys had being selling out concerts around the world singing all there surfing stuff and other hit records , Brian had stayed at home during this period and began working on this new studio concept album that was so different to what he and Mike love had being writing .It was ahead of it's time but it took many years for people to realise that and Love wanted to know why Brian was '' ****ing with the hit record formula '' ? .

Simple answer to that is brian was so far ahead of Love in terms of songwriting and talent that he was looking byond what a five piece harmoney group could do as well as the commercial side of making hit records, and discovering the depths of what could be produced in a recording studios with the best Musicians and recording equipment around at the time ,at quite an expense .It is known that each track on the Pet sounds album took many many takes before it's master and producer was happy with the finished product .

As for the album itself there was so many Musicians and instrumemnts used on it including a full orchestra and it gave us such gems as 'god only knows ' (Paul McCartneys all time fave record ) ' good vibrations ' Caroline no ' wouldent it be nice ' although sloop john b is probaly the odd one out on the lp .

To really expierence this great album and have a fly on the wall expierence listen to ' the pet sounds sessions 4 cd box set ' released in 1988 including many outakes and original backing tracks .

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pet_Sounds

Stompbox

'Good Vibrations' isn't on Pet Sounds, it may have been written at the sessions but it certainly isn't on the album.

Latchy

Corrrect ,it was included in the sessions but not on the released LP .

Amazotheamazing

In a lot of ways Mike Love was right though, Brian Wilson was moving in a direction that ultimately destroyed that version of the band. Smile, and Smiley Smile, are bogged down by the things Love was worried about, lyrical inaccessability and nonsense lyrics, and music that was devoted to whimsy. Smile could have been a better album to Pet Sounds if Love and Asher had been kept involved, imo.

Pet Sounds works, incredibly well imo, because it deals with complex emotions that most bands, the Beatles included, had ignored. It was a realisation that there is a darker side to love and relationships that can really mess you up, but when it works it's worth it.

Don't think there's such a thing as "the greatest album ever", but Pet Sounds would be towards the top of my list.

grumpytrousers

If the yardstick of best album of all time was 'biggest deviation from original blueprint for world domination' then Pet Sounds would probably win by a country mile.

As things stand, it's a fine album. I've bought it, i like it but it doesn't have the resonance with me that it has with millions of others. I can see what there is to like about it, but it doesn't just 'hit' me. I think the problem is that it's very one-dimensional. All the songs are the same sort of subject matter, whereas you take Revolver , you had a myriad of styles accross the 45 minutes, rangeing from the Kids stuff to the acid tinged psychadelia, via Harrisons Raga stuff and all that went in between.

And if you go and look over other albums that i'd consider to be in the upper echelons of the Best Albums ever, they all tend to have a bit more variety in them. Let it Bleed by the Stones has Country, blues, Rock, and a Gospel Choir.

London Calling has punk, rock, ska, honest-to-god pop and loads of other things.

Pet Sounds. It's good, but...i dunno. If my house was burning down, i'd not be running back for it. On the other hand, I'd make sure to buy it within the next 9 months!

ZakAttak

Never got the Pet sounds thing. So he used 16 instruments on one track (according to the docu. I saw)- so?
It may have been great pop music- but Elvis had done that already over 10 years before.
Every inch of that album is filled up with pointless clutter. Bloody string quartets and other such nonsense.

Doo-wop for white men.

I know Good vibrations isn't on the album but I want to use that song to illustrate a point; Theremins, special drums, orchestra-like sounds etc.

You can play that song on a guitar!!!

If you're going to write simple pop songs fair enough, do it- but don't pour a load of crazy crap on top and expect to be congratulated on it.

Latchy

Like all of the beatles albums the beach boys back catolouge has gems on every album .listening to late 60s albums like 'sunflower ' Hollond ' 20/20 ' ' and early/ late 70s stuff like ' Surfs up ' LA ' ( the light album ) were Dennis Wilson comes into his own with songs like ' baby blue eyes ' love surrounds me , you see were they became more than a surfing song band .

like the early beatles stuff , i get around /california girls/ dont worry baby /good vibrations , is original and fresh even today .

Pet sounds stands out on it's own merit but also later stuff and songs like Breakaway /do it again /surfs up, show Brian Wilson was still up up there along with Lennon /McCartney ,fried brains genius or not