Pet Sounds

One of the all-time greats. What can I even say that hasn't been said.

It's been ages since I listened to this album. For all the accolades it gets, I was hoping for more when it came up today. That's not to say it's bad or that I disliked it, I guess I was just expecting to be blown away. The production is amazing, great sound and instrumentation all the way through. The songs are...fine. Wouldn't It Be Nice and God Only Knows of course are classics and probably on most people's top 100. Sloop John B is a song I totally forgot about but I always loved.
All that said, this is a super fun record and I would absolutely listen to it again. This is one of the albums that if I saw it in the record store I would pick it up for sure and play it a few times a year. So in that sense, it’s a good one to me. #2 album of all time as suggested by Rolling Stone (for what that's worth)? Definitely not. But enjoyable nonetheless. I'd give it a 3.75/5 but will round up to 4.

I don‘t know why, but I don‘t like the Beach Boys. Perhaps there was a time, I heard too much of them.

Super diverse and interesting. Bounces from idea to idea without a wasted moment.

Der var ikke så mange good vibrations som jeg havde håbet på

So many classics. Sloop John, Wouldn't it be Nice, God Only Knows, so many iconic classics. How can this not be five stars?

What a great pop record. Excellent recording, songs that are fun to sing along to, and just an overall good time. This is the first time I listened to this all the way though, but it won't be the last.

All time classic. I've listened to this one since I was a kid and it doesn't get old. Weird cover art though.

As surprised as I was yesterday about how good Motorhead was, and how well it stood up over time, this is the complete opposite.

Hard to get through.

God Only Knows is every bit as good as its reputation. I also really like the two instrumentals. The least effective song on the album is Sloop John B, which feels like it belongs on an earlier Beach Boys album. Still, an easy 5 stars.

Hey, I've listened to this album before! I was so inspired to listen to it one week that despite my knowledge that it was on the generator, I knew I had to sit down and listen to it. I was blown away then (but somehow God Only Knows didn't grab me) but it's even better now. The harmonies on here are gorgeous, and the small orchestra Brian Wilson was controlling on this album is some of the most gorgeous displays of instrumentals on any modern pop record. No wonder there's two different instrumental tracks on this. Brian Wilson really did make a masterpiece here, and it's a shame the other band members saw that and still shut him down with "Smile" eventually. I've seen the average score the realization of that album has on here, and I'm hoping it's just a case of people totally misunderstanding the story behind that album after years of mental issues from Brian, because the man at least displays his genius here. 1966 to 1969 really was a magical era for music, huh?

Really influential and a more mature beach boys album. Their best for sure

This will be my second album review that features Brian Wilson, the first being his solo album, "Smile" . That album was apparently supposed to be released by The Beach Boys, and build on what they started with Pet Sounds. That didn't end up happening, however, becuase Brian took ~30 years off to get his mental health in check.

This album marks a departure from the "surfer rock" style of music that The Beach Boys popularized. The musical themes went from girls, cars, and surfing in prior albums, to the alienation and loneliness that Brian was feeling while writing this album (he had already stopped touring with the band because of the stresses of being on the road).

This is considered by many to be one of the first concept albums, having a similar theme, and dialog through the whole album. This was also the first album in which the Beach Boys didn't play instruments. The instrumentals were provided by session musicians The Wrecking Crew. Brian also included the super psychadelic aspects of "found sound" such as using pet noises (dogs barking), soda cans rattling, horns, theramins, bells, etc.

The rest of the band didn't really agree with the direction that Brian was taking the band, but allowed him to create this album anyways, which didn't do as well as the rest of their stuff up to this point (probably because the public wanted more of the same surfer rock they came to love). The only real similarity that this album shares to any of their prior works is the harmonizing vocals.

Overall, a weird album, but I can see how it was influential at the time. I am just not a Beach Boys fan. I thought my favourite song was going to be the well known "Wouldn't It Be Nice", but "Sloop John B" is a great song that I hadn't heard before. I probably won't seek this out in the future, but understand it's inclusion on the list.

Favourite songs: Sloop John B, Wouldn't It Be Nice, God Only Knows, Here Today

Least favourite songs: "Caroline, No", You Still Believe In Me, Don't Talk (Put Your Head on My Shoulder), I Just Wasn't Made For These Times

3/5

"Se" Beach Boys-levy. Onhan tämä komea kokonaisuus biisien, instrumentaation ja impaktin perusteella. Eli eiköhän se 5/5 ole ansaittu.

Of course you had a bad trip. What were you thinking giving a boat a man's name?

Perfection

A 60’s pop masterpiece, one of the truly ground breaking albums of its time.

Wouldn't It Be Nice is a great masterclass in harmony. I'm Waiting For Today has a couple weird lyrics but is a solid song. Let's Go Away For A While is a song? God Only Knows is a killer song. Caroline, No is another cool track. Definetly worth a respin. Weird album though.

Went for the stereo version. So many good songs it's hard to pick a highlight. Beautiful, genre-bending music that was way ahead of its time but also nostalgic.

One of the most exquisitely beautiful albums you could ever hope to hear. Also a very brave and heartfelt album, leaping head first into uncharted territory beyond genres. Nothing else sounds like this. In my ideal alternate universe this would have caught on more commercially and the Beach Boys would have continued more in this vein. I absolutely adore Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys. This was one of the first CDs I ever owned. I drove down to Iowa to see him perform the album in it's entirety in 2017 and hearing God Only Knows in person was one of the most powerful musical experiences of my life. I always come back to this one and I always will. Transcendent. Hors categorie.