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Anybody who was aware of music at that point in history knows that Brian Wilson's mentor, idol, was Phil Spector. Listen to a Spector recording of that period, and Pet Sounds, and it is obvious. It is so evident the the Wall of Sound it what makes these songs great with the brilliant Wilson arrangements and vocal harmonies.
Many times Brian would just come into a Spector session just to observe and learn. Wilson himself has said the greatest pop song ever is BE MY BABY. Both he and Spector recorded at Gold Star Recording Studio in LA.
All created by Him. After he felt that he understood the"Wall of Sound", he used all the same musicians; the so called Wrecking Crew, including Larry Levine. Spector often called the Beach Boys, Brian Wilson and his back up singers.
It can be heavily stated the influence of Wilson's take on Spectors WALL OF sound is what makes this CD an all time great recording. It is no accident that the original recording was recorded in Mono.
As a record collector,somehow I'd previously overlooked this all-important "Concept" album,until recently acquiring a version of "love is here" in association with a project I'd been working on.The Wilson influence was immediately apparent and so a copy of "Pet Sounds" I had to have.Oddly,it wasn't until getting to the stereo versions of the songs that the true brilliance came out,and so by track 24,my justification for buying this album was justified.Fantastic.
We lived in Heidelberg, Germany (Army) in 1969, and had the Pet Sounds vinyl album playing constantly then. Years later, we become good friends with Larry Knechtel, keyboard and bass player who The Beach Boys summoned to play on this album. Larry passed away in Aug, 2009, and listening to his music is bitter sweet. Pet Sounds is one CD I keep in the player.
Brian wrote this album when he was 23 years old and it really captures the insecurities one feels when growing up. I still remember the first time I heard the album; every song sounded the same, the singing was weird, and it was not very interesting. It is my personal opinion this is one of the best records of all time because it captures a moment in everyone's life that we all experience in a very real way; becoming an adult. First keep in mind that Pet Sounds is very dense and really is like a jazz record in the sense that it requires more then one listen to appreciate all that is happening. I know many things have been said about this album, both negative and positive. Pepper's on acid -yeah its that different. But hear it more then once. I recommend everyone give this a chance.
Highly recommended. When I hear the album at the right mood no other album can touch it; it is like an orgasm of the mind, if that makes any sense. There are so many things I could say about the music itself but I rather share my experience about its feel. But one day after a long day I put it on and it was like someone had torn my heart from my chest showed it to me and said everything was okay. I am 20 right now and feel the way he did at the time so I can relate to everything he says in the record. At the right mood some songs cut you in the chest like a knife. By the way if you still don't like the record hear some Smile tracks they are the complete opposite of this but still unbelievable, think Sgt. I still can't believe the same band did both one after the other.
I have read several reveiws and feel that this album falls in between the masterpiece category and piece of trash category. I appreciate wilsons harmonies and use of various instruments, but I feel sometimes the music is contrived. Sloop john B, God only knows, Wouln't it be nice are excellent. The best thing about this album is that it was the start of what I consider one of the greatest rock masterpices - the song Good Vibrations which is a perfect mix of the early pop baeach boys and the artsy stuff
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