Customer Reviews

Pet Sounds [Vinyl]

5 star:		(111)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Few will argue that PET SOUNDS is one of the most significant musical releases in the 20th century. Some call it the best album of all time, and while I feel it is impossible to give any musical piece a definitive "best" distinction, PET SOUNDS is a required album in any genuine collection of modern music. What makes this particular reissue exciting is the stereo remixing. While this remixing was initially created for the 4CD PET SOUNDS SESSIONS, the remastered mono and stereo versions now fit on one inexpensive disc. I don't have the historical perspective to decide which version is better (after all, PET SOUNDS was released before I was born). However, after hearing the mono version for dozens of times (on the 1990 CD release), the stereo version on this 1999 remaster is a captivating revelation. The problem I have with mono recordings is the lack of soundstage depth and imaging. After all, you cannot reproduce the original 3D sound event with one channel. The stereo tracks blast this album wide open. Instead of everything emanating from the center, voices and instruments are placed in lifelike, floating space. Sonic texture and detail is improved significantly and you can hear the "air" around the instruments for the first time. The opening transition of "You Still Believe In Me" is smooth, unlike the cut-and-paste sound of the original mono version. Placing all of the harmonious voices in "God Only Knows" is easier and the articulate positioning invites close study of the arrangements and production. The only problem with the stereo version is that it is a hack. While the stereo remixing was performed under Brian Wilson's supervision, Mr. Wilson probably made different decisions during the modern remixing sessions than he would have made back in 1966. So the mono version remain the only true statement, from a historical perspective at least. Fortunately, since both versions occupy this disc, it doesn't necessarily matter which is better; both appear in glorious form.

Just to fan the PET SOUNDS vs. SGT PEPPERS flames a little, the stereo remixing reveals that Brian Wilson's offering is superior to the Beatles. The little details and encompassing sounds of the remixing suggest PET SOUNDS features the better production and creative insight. But what remains, stereo remixing or not, is that PET SOUNDS is personal emotion distilled into a 35 minute album. SGT PEPPERS, as whimsical and confident and incredible as it is, is too self-aware and pretentious (although it can be argued that pretension is derived from genius). It tries so hard to be the best there ever was that some of that genuine musician-listener connection is compromised. I speculate that SGT PEPPERS receives its "best album of all time" distinction because it is a Beatles release. It seems contradictory to award that distinction to a somewhat ordinary West Coast band that the Beach Boys were. After all, the Beach Boys had PET SOUNDS, but they didn't have REVOLVER, RUBBER SOUL and ABBEY ROAD in their canon.

Possibly a more challenging question is: PET SOUNDS or KIND OF BLUE?

Most young today people associate The Beach Boys music with surfing,cars,chicks and fun,fun,fun.Thus when the songs,Wouldn't It Be Nice,Sloop John B,and God Only Knows are recycled for the umpteenth time on a compilation album,it's easy to overlook the wonderful production,as well as the depth of its parent album Pet Sounds.Since it set the standard for albums for the last 34 years,most seemed lost on its impact.But when you truly listen and get inside these songs that you really experience the beauty of this album.The aforementioned themes are replaced with songs of introspection and more adult themes.Brian Wilson's need to compete with The Beatles turned into burning creativity as he recorded Pet Sounds with meticulous attention to detail.Using some of Phil Spector's Wrecking Crew as well as the famed Wall Of Sound technique,the albums complexity was nothing short of amazing.Songs like That's Not Me,Here Today and Caroline No display both beauty and sadness in their own unique way.Wouldn't It Be Nice, God Only Knows,and Waiting for the Day are rays of light that seems on the brink of turning into dashed dreams.The Beach Boys harmonies are flawless though since Brian sings most of the leads,you'd almost think they're guest stars on their own album.Even for all its accolades,Pet Sounds was deemed a failure back in '66(due to the general publics as well as Capitol Records inability to understand and embrace the record)But over the years it has left the other Beach Boys albums in the dust,as well as accorded its own boxed set.In '66 it seemed way ahead of its time,nowadays it just exist outside of time.

Well in case the hourdes of 5 star reviews weren't enough for you...the best thing I can tell you is that the album is beautiful. Every song is as good as the next. This album overshadows everything the Beatles ever did without exception. This is a lot to claim but it just takes one listen to "That's Not Me" or "I just wasn't made for these times" and you feel like you're relating to Brian Wilson on a level that you just can't find anywhere else in music. You really feel as though you understand him and he understands you as he sings. Pet Sounds is something to be experienced. Expectation might cloud your first experience with the album but don't give up on it just let it go a few times and I promise you that you'll be hooked like I am. I'm a young Beach Boys fan (19) and this album made me appreciate a band that I never knew had anything interesting to offer me...little did I knew that Pet Sounds isn't the only thing they have to offer. The Good Vibrations Box Set should be the next thing you check out...for it has the infamous Smile tracks which I'm certain will blow you away like they did me...I hope that reading this inspires you to buy this album...its just too good to go without ever hearing.

I have listened to this album many many times, and every time at various points, every hair on my body stands on end. No other album of popular music (and very few albums of any type of music) does that to me. The beauty of this music is overwhelming and awe inspiring; And to top it all, it sounds as if it was recorded yesterday. I noticed some reviewers give this album bad reviews, and then proceed to explain why the Beatles are great. I think such comparison is pointless, both of these bands produced masterpieces, and their work is unsurpassed to this day. But in defense of The Beach Boys, I must state that such comparisons are like comparing apples and oranges. These bands were working with different "canvases". Let me explain, The Beatles made music for the "Mind and Body", but The Beach Boys made music for the "Heart and Soul". The Beatles were masters of songwriting, their songs had great hooks, intelligent lyrics, good musicianship; you could analyze their songs, interpret the meaning of their lyrics; Lyrics and storytelling songwriting (not surprising since they began in the skiffle traditon and were later in their career influenced greatly by Bob Dylan) took center stage in their music. The music of The Beach Boys, on the other hand, you just "FEEL" it! it strikes you immediately upon listening (and repeated listening do not dimished the impact). The music they produced at their peak is moving(The Beatles wrote great songs, but nothing they wrote is moving or as moving as the songs in Pet Sounds). When you listen to the Beach Boys you get lost in the music, the music is not about some clever story or immaginary characters; it is about yourself, the listener,because it grabs you and speaks directly to you. Lastly, I want to say, if you don't have this album, GET IT! (and the first time listen to it from start to finish). This music is good for the soul!

I have to conclude that "Pet Sounds" is the greatest album ever made. Hands down. Forget about the greatest "pop" ever made- it is up there with the greatest music ever made. I have no qualm in placing Brian Wilson in the company of Beethoven and Mozart. Unlike anything else on record. "Sgt. Pepper" is great too, but "Pet Sounds" resides on a different level...but the essence of the sound I cannot put into words. It's effect on me is completely delightful and beautiful. You just have to listen- and enjoy.

I agree with many who say you must evaluate each artist unto themselves and not compare "apples to oranges" but this LP/CD invites comparison by being incomparible. Of course that doesn't make sense, but that's the point...this is an emotional issue so I'm going to make this review from deep inside with my own emotional being!

I am old enough to remember this LP when it first came out in all of it's monophonic glory. My brother and I had been Beach Boy fans since 1962/63 and followed their music religiously. As we lie in bed every night we would listen to different artists, different albums almost every night...falling asleep to their hits and misses as most LP's of the time seldom showed any consistency from one tune to the other.

Then the night came in 1966 when my brother came home from his job with the new Pet Sounds lp he had bought. I can't remember how many nights that was the only album to guide us to sleep...but I know it was well over a year...without a break! From the first time I heard it, there was something magic in those grooves. Brian was talking directly to me in his music and words. He tugged at my anticipation of growing older with songs about loss...loss of innocence, loss of love, loss of friends...all warning me of what growing up would do to my heart and soul. Brian provided this musical backdrop that featured humourous snips of sounds that didnt' seem like they should fit but ironically made the overall feel of the music DEEPER in retrospect. The sound of a bicycle bell, the squeek of a horn, all woven in the tapestry of angst...although I had no idea what that meant, I did know how it felt.

I ached night after night at the desperate emptiness of Caroline No...followed by the sound of a train moving away and Banana and Louie barking their heads off wondering if I would ever feel that lonely in my lifetime, somehow knowing Brian knew I would.

Each song has an emotional resonance about it that is so personal, as if Brian were speaking to me directly in every line, with every tempo, with every voice he directed, that I felt then and still feel today, that Brian wrote Pet Sounds specifically for ME! Listen to it and you will most likely feel the very same way!

After seeing Brian perform Pet Sounds Live last summer with my brother, (it was his 54th birthday present from me), I can honestly say I have lived a full life and have witnessed two amazing feats...Pet Sounds the Album and Pet Sounds the Tour, I can die now...I've reached VALHALLA!

OGIE

Not enough praise can be given to this magnificant and beautifull album that plays to the soul and shows you things about yourself that may have never known before.

The album does not have one false note on the whole thing. Each song plays like a carfully constructed piece of pure music. It is to be compared with classical music. Spector may have invented the "wall of sound' effect but Brian Wilson uses it here to pure perfection. From the wonderful music of "Wouldn't it be Nice" to the beautiful vocals of "God Only Knows" to the heart-wrenching simplicity of "Caroline, No" the album tugs on your heart-strings and makes you think about live, living and just who you really are.

Not enough can be said about this album. A must listen for ANYBODY who likes music. Go get it.

Thanks.

I have a collection of over 825 cd's from the rock and roll era (1950's-Present). And while it is impossible to say what is the one and only greatest album of all time, there really is no question in my mind that this is one of the top five or ten albums ever recorded. Maybe Sgt Pepper's is better, maybe Revolver is better, maybe Born In The USA is better, but top to bottom this is one of the greatest records ever made. End of Story.

Pet Sounds was a milestone, so was Sgt. Pepper. Both had equal influence on music. Its almost like debating the "which came first, chicken or the egg!" Its a great album which deserves its reputation as a classic. The songs are among the most emotional and sad you'll hear. Wouldnt it Be Nice is probably one of the most brilliant and complex pop songs ever written. One thing that amazes me about this album, and Wilson in general, is the abiltiy to shift to a completely different key and chord/rhythm structure which is completely differnt from the rest of the song, and make it seemless. Listen to Wouldnt it be nice, Lets go away for a while, and the itle track to see what i mean. As far as the whole Pepper/Pet Sounds thing, let me break it down like this, hopefully it will end the pointless Pepepr vs. Pet Sounds debate: Pepper was influnced by Pet Sounds, which was influenced by Rubber Soul which was influenced by Bob Dylan who was influenced by Woodie Guthrie.......you get the idea. No one album is better than the other and certainly no one particular album is responsible for changing the face of music. It was musical evolution. And, if the truth be told: the first true concept album that most historians consider to be the first concept album was not Pepper or Pet Sounds, it was Frank Sinatra's "In The Wee Small Hours". So please, listen to this great album and appreciate its importance in pop music. If its not your bag, fine. If Pepper is your thing, fine. Enjoy them both or hate them, but dont come down on others who disagree with you.

Many people call this one of the greatest albums in the world, but I think that's only because they read that one issue of Rolling Stone. Pet Sounds is not my favorite album ever, it's not even my favorite Beach Boys album (Friends and Wild Honey are my faves), but I love it nonetheless. Not for the production, not because it was ahead of its time. None of that nonsense. Pet Sounds, to me, represents the summers when I would drift off to sleep listening to it and staring at the ocean on the horizon outside my window. When I would feel exceptionally lonely and just listen to "I Just Wasn't Made For These Times" again and again and again. When I would listen to the lyrics of That's Not Me and try my hardest to imagine would he could be talking about. When I would complain about this punk/ska-type CD my sister would listen to... until their cover of Sloop John B came on, and we would be singing along together, and vice/versa for when I was listening to Pet Sounds. When me and my (then) new girlfriend decided "Wouldn't It Be Nice" would be our song.

This album was not any sort of monumental listen for me in terms of sound quality or harmony between instruments or anything like that. Pet Sounds was the soundtrack to my life.