Reviews

By the time Pet Sounds hit stores on May 16, 1966, The Beach Boys had already released ten studio albums.  The group’s sound had undoubtedly matured since their earliest days, culminating in an exquisite mini-suite that filled most of Side Two of 1965’s The Beach Boys Today! and the increasingly sophisticated, if still teenage-themed, productions of its follow-up, 1966’s Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!).  Still, even those recordings didn’t fully prepare listeners for Pet Sounds.

Composer-arranger-singer-producer Brian Wilson and his bandmates Mike Love, Carl Wilson, Dennis Wilson, Al Jardine, and Bruce Johnston conjured an entire spectrum of emotions in just over 35 minutes on two sides of vinyl.  A song cycle of striking beauty and sensitivity, Pet Sounds transcended its origins as an answer to The Beatles’ Rubber Soul.  Working with his bandmates and primary lyricist Tony Asher, Wilson eulogized lost innocence (“Caroline, No”), hoped for the promise of brighter days ahead (“Wouldn’t It Be Nice”), and laid a young man’s innermost soul laid bare (“I Just Wasn’t Made For These Times,” “That’s Not Me,” “You Still Believe in Me”).  Pet Sounds had romance (“I’m Waiting for the Day,” “Don’t Talk (Put Your Head on My Shoulder),” rollicking adventure (“Sloop John B”), and cinematic explorations (“Let’s Go Away for a While,” “Pet Sounds”).  Not to mention that it just might have the greatest pop love song ever written (“God Only Knows”) which begins with a once-shocking lyrical conceit: “I may not always love you…”  Pet Sounds is an album of countless feels – including some conflicting ones, presented simultaneously…much like life itself.

The Beach Boys captured the zeitgeist on Pet Sounds, and every few years has brought another reissue of the album which initially was ahead of its time. (It wasn’t certified platinum until early 2000, and only rose as far as No. 10 on the Billboard album chart at the time of its initial release.)  To mark its 60th anniversary, Capitol and UMe have revisited the album in a variety of formats including two luxe vinyl releases. A new 1LP mono edition in Interscope-Capitol’s Definitive Sound Series (DSS) utilizing the One Step process was pressed at RTI on Neotech VR900 D2 180-gram vinyl, with AAA [All Analog Mastering] cut by Chris Bellman at Bernie Grundman Mastering from Brother Records’ 1970s rarely-used analog tapes. This version, with replica Brother labels, was limited to 6,000 individually numbered copies, and each copy included a certificate of authenticity documenting the mastering, plating, and pressing process. (This pressing sold out on pre-orders, but avid fans would be wise to keep an eye out for secondhand copies.)

Bellman’s remaster of the 1972 source possesses a beautiful clarity in this quiet and noise-free pressing.  It preserves the full, thick, mono sound crafted by Brian Wilson.  The abundantly joyful “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” opens Side One with a blast of optimism.  Imagine hearing this explosion of sound popping from your turntable for the first time, densely layered yet utterly accessible in its bright melody and buoyant lyric.  The emotional tenor shifts with the mournful plucked piano strings which open the delicate “You Still Believe in Me.”  Brian’s lead vocal is drenched in raw vulnerability.

Brian’s titular “pet sounds” are, of course, peppered throughout the song, whether the bicycle horn or the harmonies which form a moving cry near its climax.  Mike Love is at his most deeply felt on the verses to “That’s Not Me,” showing a sensitive and introspective side of his own voice while Brian soars on the chorus.  There might have been some irony in titling a song “Don’t Talk,” but a musical paean to non-verbal communication has never been so sensual.  Brian’s affecting falsetto is accompanied by strings adding a stately and unsettling quality.  It’s harmonically complex and classically tinged yet direct and piercing.

Darkness and light co-exist on Pet Sounds.  The swirling, carnival-esque sound of “I’m Waiting for the Day” brings Love’s lyrics to life.  While the doo-wop background vocals and instrumental track make it the closest song on Pet Sounds to conventional rock, it’s nonetheless another example of Brian Wilson painting with music; even if you stripped the track of the lyrics, you would feel the waves of exultation and anticipation.  Wilson’s melody is simply transporting on the mellow “Let’s Go Away for a While,” reportedly inspired by Burt Bacharach’s chords.  The folk song “Sloop John B” is forever out of place yet perfectly in place on Pet Sounds, offering a view of adolescence from another era.   Bellman’s master brings out Carol Kaye’s electric bass line with precise definition.

Side Two opens with “God Only Knows,” and listening to it in the context of the full album offers the opportunity for this most familiar of songs to be heard anew, always striking in its beauty and splendor.  Wilson, Love, and Al Jardine all trade lines on “I Know There’s an Answer,” and the remastering allows its varied instrumentation to shine.  Bass harmonica, banjo, tack piano (also a Bacharach favorite), and harpsichord are all part of the heady instrumental mix.

Ray Pohlman’s electric bass is a lead instrument on “Here Today.”  With Love providing the emotive vocal, Wilson experiments with song structure itself.  The three choruses are seven bars each rather than the traditional eight while the juxtaposition of bass, horns, and vocals create an offbeat, jagged feel that underscores the lyrical conceit of transience.

“I Just Wasn’t Made for These Times” brings vulnerability to the fore once again, leading into the uptempo instrumental “Pet Sounds” with its flashes of Henry Mancini, Les Baxter, and John Barry.  Its rhythmic, percussive sound is potent on this pressing.  The album concludes with “Caroline, No,” equal parts sweetness and sadness, with a literal touch of “pet sounds” via the barking of Brian’s own dogs Banana and Louie.

For those looking for a less expensive but no less stellar vinyl edition which also includes a stereo mix, Capitol is also offering a new 2LP entry to UMe’s Vinylphyle series.  This beautiful set has been pressed at RTI on 180-gram black vinyl and cut from original mono (1966) and stereo (1996) tapes by Joe Nino-Hernes at Sterling Sound in Nashville. The two LPs are housed in protective poly sleeves within a sturdy tip-on gatefold jacket; an OBI is included, and a four-panel insert contains Howie Edelson’s new liner notes and an introduction by The Who’s Pete Townshend.  The Vinylphyle pressing is nearly as impressive as the DSS version.  If the DSS is slightly preferable for its punchier mono sound and more detailed bass presence, the Vinylphyle not only does the mono tape justice but includes Mark Linett’s stereo mix on vinyl.  This stereo mix, which premiered as part of the 1997 Pet Sounds Sessions box set, is as true as possible to Brian Wilson’s original intentions as producer, and offers an alternative, and equally valid, way to enjoy the album.  The separation lends a wonderful dimension to the recording, and Nino-Hernes’ mastering in both mono and stereo is sensitive and subtle.  Original Capitol labels are replicated on the LPs.  (TSD has not heard the final vinyl version in this campaign, a pressing on zoetrope vinyl.)

CD and digital fans haven’t been left out in the cold, either.  The Pet Sounds Sessions box set has made its belated debut on digital/streaming services, while a 2CD (or 2 LP) “highlights” edition has come into print.  Chances are anyone who’s read this far already has the 1997 box, one of the cornerstones of any serious Beach Boys collection.  But for anyone new to The Pet Sounds Sessions, the 2CD release offers a sampler of what makes it so essential.  Brian Wilson was as much a casting director as a producer, and Sessions lets listeners into the studio to revel in his casting process: Mike sings lead on “I’m Waiting for the Day” (Brian is heard on the final version) and Carl tackles the first verse of “Sloop John B” (Brian, once again, sang it himself on the released LP) in a version with the original “I feel so break up” lyrics.  Brian cast the instruments, too.  A sound sculptor, he tries out a saxophone solo on one version heard here of “God Only Knows.”  None of these alternate approaches are “wrong,” per se, but as a producer, he knew instinctively knew what made a great performance even greater.  The “vocals only” versions reprised here are still spine-tingling, while the tracking date highlights share a fly-on-the-wall studio experience.  The six-panel digipak includes a 16-page booklet with Brian’s 1997 introduction as well as photos and new commentary from compiler Howie Edelson as well as full personnel credits for each track.  (Oddly, one song is heard on both discs: the Vocals Only mix of “I’m Waiting for the Day.”)

In any format, Pet Sounds remains one of the crowning achievements of the American rock era, and an album which grows in stature with each passing year.  Perhaps the most glaring omission in this 60th anniversary campaign is the lack of a Blu-ray Audio release for Giles Martin’s 2023 Dolby Atmos mix of the album.  Still, Capitol/UMe’s 60th anniversary campaign, while not offering anything unheard, nonetheless keeps the album’s flame burning brightly with a pair of sonically superior vinyl releases and a look back at a CD-era favorite.  God only knows what we’d do without Pet Sounds.

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2LP Sessions Highlights (Green and White Splatter Vinyl): uDiscoverMusic.com / TheBeachBoys.com
2LP Sessions Highlights (Black Vinyl): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / uDiscoverMusic.com / TheBeachBoys.com
2LP Sessions Highlights (Yellow Vinyl): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Link TBD
2CD Sessions Highlights: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / uDiscoverMusic.com / TheBeachBoys.com

1LP Zoetrope Vinyl: uDiscoverMusic.com / TheBeachBoys.com
1LP Definitive Sound Series (sold out): Capitol Records Store
2LP Mono/Stereo Vinylphyle: uDiscoverMusic.com / TheBeachBoys.com