The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds entry

      The music and image of the beach boys prior to recording Pet Sounds can be described as surfer-friendly, fun, irresponsible, and spontaneous. Pet Sounds changed that a lot for the band. 
In some ways, you can say that their image was completely reversed for this album.

      Brian Wilson did everything for the beach boys. He is the one who started the band and he produced and wrote most of the songs for the band. His admiration for harmonies was a great influence on the beach boys and is a major reason for their sound. He was essentially working alone and, in my opinion,
the band might as well have been hired help or walk-ons.

      Brian Wilson had many influences that helped him write and record Pet Sounds. His major influences were the competition of The Beatles, pressure by the label due to the label favoring The Beatles, and wanting to find a new sound using instruments that other groups weren’t using on major releases. He also experimented with smoking pot and used LSD a couple times with some associates. He eventually had a breakdown and took a break from touring. After being in the studio for so long, he started working on material that was outside of his comfort zone. Doing this resulted in the amazing Pet Sounds album.

      Pet Sounds has many characteristics that set it apart from other popular recordings of the 1960’s. There was a tragic love song on the album, which wasn’t very normal in the 60’s. Most songs were happy and fun during that experimental time, but Brian wrote one of the saddest most tragic loves songs ever. The arrangements on Pet Sounds were also spectacular. There were accordions, various percussion, and several basses on one song at some times. This was a new explosion of flavor that rock and roll had never seen.

          As a listener, the impression that Pet Sounds has on me is emotional. This is very surprising due the The Beach Boys being thought of as a more fun-loving band prior to this release. I feel the pain in the songs that are sad and the lyrics really take me on a ride. I am captivated and captured by the emotions in the songs. As a professional, I have to recognize the influence that the Beatles had on this album. At the same time, I admire Brian’s flavor. He has such a wide variety of instruments and the lyrics are so far ahead of his time, it leaves me in awe. This album is ageless and I’d love to produce something equal to this.