So why is The Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds on this best 1,000 albums ever thing?
Growing up, The Beach Boys were a band that it seemed everyone at least kind of liked, and no one truly disliked. I didn’t necessarily distinguish the handful of “hit” Beach Boys songs I was aware of –ranging from “I Get Around” to “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” – from one another. They were just one of those bands that seemed to be “around” without thinking about them overly much.
By the time I was a young man, I’d come to think of The Beach Boys in terms of “early” and “latter” periods, the latter one comprising both more psychedelic and complex music (no, I don’t count the really latter “Kokomo” period in this!), while I also started piecing together more of their catalog. The inclusion of “Sloop John B” from Pet Sounds on the massively popular Forrest Gump soundtrack is a good example there*.
* And by the mid-2000s, “God Only Knows” was drilled into my head by way of its use in the opening credits of HBO’s polygamy drama, Big Love.
Then, at some point, I became aware of the fact that Pet Sounds was not just an important pop culture album and artifact, but a capital I Important Album. One that I should take Seriously.
Eventually I did, and I was quite glad for having done so.
Pet Sounds conjures such specific vibes and moods. Taking the album in as a whole is something of a journey that’s somehow both deeply nostalgic and super unique at the same time.
Richie Unterberger at All Music does a great job of explaining the mechanics behind why this is so:
The group here reached a whole new level in terms of both composition and production, layering tracks upon tracks of vocals and instruments to create a richly symphonic sound. Conventional keyboards and guitars were combined with exotic touches of orchestrated strings, bicycle bells, buzzing organs, harpsichords, flutes, Theremin, Hawaiian-sounding string instruments, Coca-Cola cans, barking dogs, and more.
And then there’s the part about Brian Wilson’s obsession with topping the astounding work that The Beatles were producing during this period:
Galvanized by the work of his idol Phil Spector and rival group the Beatles, his goal was to create “the greatest rock album ever made”, one without filler… With Pet Sounds, Wilson desired to make “a complete statement”, similar to what he believed the Beatles had done with their newest album Rubber Soul, released in December 1965.
These days, I’m blown away by the slower, melancholy-ish (yet somehow still sunshiny and essentially Beach Boys-y) “I Just Wasn’t Made For These Times” and “I Know There’s An Answer.”
And “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” remains one of the very best songs to have been produced during the 1960s.
For more outstanding output from Brian Wilson, check out his self-titled album (#689 of best 1,000 albums ever) and particularly the delightful (and mysterious) Smile (#390).
Some stats & info about The Beach Boys – Pet Sounds
- What kind of musical stylings does this album represent? Rock Music, SoCal Bands, Psychedelic Rock, Pop Music
- Rolling Stone’s greatest 500 albums ranking – #2
- All Music’s rating – 5 out of 5 stars
- When was Pet Sounds released? 1966
- My ranking, the one you’re reading right now – #229 out of 1,000
The Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds on Spotify
A lyrical snippet from The Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds that’s evocative of the album in some way, maybe
Wouldn’t it be nice?
What does the “best 1,000 albums ever” mean and why are you doing this?
Yeah, I know it’s audacious, a little crazy (okay, maybe a lot cray cray), bordering on criminal nerdery.
But here’s what it’s NOT: a definitive list of the Greatest Albums of All-Time. This is 100% my own personal super biased, incredibly subjective review of what my top 1,000 albums are, ranked in painstaking order over the course of doing research for nearly a year, Rob from High Fidelity style. Find out more about why I embarked on a best 1,000 albums ever project.