One of my favorite genres of Substack post is the person who rattles off a nuanced bottled history of something they really love, that I know nothing about, and then hedges it in a little bit, cleans it up, makes a neat package. I didn't know literally any of this. Moved by the depiction here of two musicians playing chords, figuring out the melody together, making vocal noises and resolving to fill the words in later. A call-and-response in some meaningful second language.
Thank you for this great piece about this great album.
I was one of those kids who grew up with 80s punk rock and had no interest at all in the Beach Boys, who seemed to be as nothing more than sugary, shallow pop ... until I finally heard Pet Sounds. Brian Wilson was right on when he sang 'I Just Wasn't Made For These Times'.
Since then I hear some other albums I love differently, now that I hear the clear influence of this quiet masterpiece. You mention Revolver here...another is XTC's Skylarking. I had thought their love for the Beach Boys manifested mostly in the ooh-wee-ooh harmonies and light hearted energy of their earlier albums... but the melancholy beauty, the concept album flow, really everything from the cricket sounds to the piano and strings of Skylarking sounds like a tribute to Pet Sounds from start to finish to me now.
I am going to listen to Pet Sounds again right now!
I am only a casual listener of the Beach Boys but the way you describe their history and music is so compelling! "Wouldn't It Be Nice" is my favorite song of theirs, but now because of your great writing I'm inspired to listen to the whole Pet Sounds album.
I’m glad when I hear the first notes of every single track on this album. It is truly all killer, no filler, as we say now. I’m not tempted to skip tracks, or just tolerate a song until I get to the next one. There are very few other albums of which this is true.
Fantastic writing, Ross. Pet Sounds is an album that I truly began to appreciate during the past decade or so. It started when one of my buddies brought over the Pet Sounds Sessions CD set for one of our music nights. The more I listen to (and learn about) the album, the more I appreciate it. Particularly last year when I added the Analogue Productions 45 RPM 2LP pressing, which sounds amazing and better allowed me to hear some of the nuances.
What a wonderful tribute article. I read it after viewing Love & Mercy on TV, a revealing & depressing experience. But it was all worthwhile to watch a re-enactment of Brian creating Good Vibrations on the fly in the studio, minutely directing bewildered master instrumentalists to play the symphony that pre-existed in his head.
Beautiful writing, Ross, thanks so much for this. What a gift of an essay. Besides the simple and heartfelt beauty of the writing, I learned some things I didn't know before, which I wasn't sure was still possible for me with the BBs! Thank you again.
I have been a fan of Pet Sounds and Smile since I first heard them as a teenager in the 2010s. So, I actually did get to have it resonate with my own teenage angst, which was bittersweetly sublime. I enjoyed this essay and it’s inspired me to give another look to the 70s Beach Boys albums, which I’ve mostly neglected except for Love You.
Okay, after the 1970s, the BBs didn't THAT much great stuff, but they definitely did some. That's Why God Made the Radio (2012) is a not only not a bad album, it's half a great one ... I listen to Summer's Gone (written with Jon Bon Jovi) all the time. The three songs before it are great too.
Also, check out Somewhere Near Japan and the Paley sessions!
Strangely, after being generally aware of Pet Sounds for years, I finally became completely entranced by it just last week. Perhaps something to do with the bubbling springtime and a general existential unease. Whatever the reason, I listened to the album on loop for days. Then seeing this on the stack was a fitting cap to that experience. Its going to be a Beach Boys summer in this house.
Excellent stuff, Ross! For whatever reason, I never would have pegged you as a fellow Beach Boys obsessive, but I suppose that's on me. I did take your somewhat tongue-in-cheek advice and print this out. Not because it's too long, but because it's so endearing and so well written that it deserves to have a physical print. Looking forward to more deep dives like this!
Ok: I’m reading this tonight. I’m giving the world ONE more chance to show me why I should like Pet Sounds; why I should rank it up there with the best of the Beatles or the Stones. I’ve never been able to hear what you all are hearing.
One of my favorite genres of Substack post is the person who rattles off a nuanced bottled history of something they really love, that I know nothing about, and then hedges it in a little bit, cleans it up, makes a neat package. I didn't know literally any of this. Moved by the depiction here of two musicians playing chords, figuring out the melody together, making vocal noises and resolving to fill the words in later. A call-and-response in some meaningful second language.
Thank you for this great piece about this great album.
I was one of those kids who grew up with 80s punk rock and had no interest at all in the Beach Boys, who seemed to be as nothing more than sugary, shallow pop ... until I finally heard Pet Sounds. Brian Wilson was right on when he sang 'I Just Wasn't Made For These Times'.
Since then I hear some other albums I love differently, now that I hear the clear influence of this quiet masterpiece. You mention Revolver here...another is XTC's Skylarking. I had thought their love for the Beach Boys manifested mostly in the ooh-wee-ooh harmonies and light hearted energy of their earlier albums... but the melancholy beauty, the concept album flow, really everything from the cricket sounds to the piano and strings of Skylarking sounds like a tribute to Pet Sounds from start to finish to me now.
I am going to listen to Pet Sounds again right now!
I am only a casual listener of the Beach Boys but the way you describe their history and music is so compelling! "Wouldn't It Be Nice" is my favorite song of theirs, but now because of your great writing I'm inspired to listen to the whole Pet Sounds album.
I’m glad when I hear the first notes of every single track on this album. It is truly all killer, no filler, as we say now. I’m not tempted to skip tracks, or just tolerate a song until I get to the next one. There are very few other albums of which this is true.
Superb and riveting essay, thanks so much for making it freely available.
Fantastic writing, Ross. Pet Sounds is an album that I truly began to appreciate during the past decade or so. It started when one of my buddies brought over the Pet Sounds Sessions CD set for one of our music nights. The more I listen to (and learn about) the album, the more I appreciate it. Particularly last year when I added the Analogue Productions 45 RPM 2LP pressing, which sounds amazing and better allowed me to hear some of the nuances.
What a wonderful tribute article. I read it after viewing Love & Mercy on TV, a revealing & depressing experience. But it was all worthwhile to watch a re-enactment of Brian creating Good Vibrations on the fly in the studio, minutely directing bewildered master instrumentalists to play the symphony that pre-existed in his head.
Beautiful writing, Ross, thanks so much for this. What a gift of an essay. Besides the simple and heartfelt beauty of the writing, I learned some things I didn't know before, which I wasn't sure was still possible for me with the BBs! Thank you again.
I have been a fan of Pet Sounds and Smile since I first heard them as a teenager in the 2010s. So, I actually did get to have it resonate with my own teenage angst, which was bittersweetly sublime. I enjoyed this essay and it’s inspired me to give another look to the 70s Beach Boys albums, which I’ve mostly neglected except for Love You.
Okay, after the 1970s, the BBs didn't THAT much great stuff, but they definitely did some. That's Why God Made the Radio (2012) is a not only not a bad album, it's half a great one ... I listen to Summer's Gone (written with Jon Bon Jovi) all the time. The three songs before it are great too.
Also, check out Somewhere Near Japan and the Paley sessions!
Strangely, after being generally aware of Pet Sounds for years, I finally became completely entranced by it just last week. Perhaps something to do with the bubbling springtime and a general existential unease. Whatever the reason, I listened to the album on loop for days. Then seeing this on the stack was a fitting cap to that experience. Its going to be a Beach Boys summer in this house.
Excellent stuff, Ross! For whatever reason, I never would have pegged you as a fellow Beach Boys obsessive, but I suppose that's on me. I did take your somewhat tongue-in-cheek advice and print this out. Not because it's too long, but because it's so endearing and so well written that it deserves to have a physical print. Looking forward to more deep dives like this!
This is beautiful, Ross. Art and ardor, loud and clear.
Ok: I’m reading this tonight. I’m giving the world ONE more chance to show me why I should like Pet Sounds; why I should rank it up there with the best of the Beatles or the Stones. I’ve never been able to hear what you all are hearing.
Listening to the instrumental versions of the songs is what unlocked the album for me.