10/10 one of my all time faves. Beautifully composed and arranged. Seeing it being performed live by Brian Wilsonās band (with Al Jardine) a few years ago was amazing!
A-Bing the mono and stereo of Wouldnāt It Be Nice here
the stereo sounds a LOT better but Iāll stick with the mono as thatās the original.
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I really did not enjoy that again. Not for me in a big way.
With this username it was only ever gonna be a 10 from me. Theyāre my favourite band and this is my favourite album. Although Iām the first to admit theyāve put out some shite over the years, when it came together they were on another level. Pet Sounds is the record where everything aligned for them. It manages to bring together the best bits of their sound but also takes it to a whole other place entirely. I think what appeals to me is that weird mix of extreme cheesy joy at times and then a spiritual, other-worldly sense of beauty and sadness at others. I love that thereās an immense amount of variety in the songwriting but that itās still a cohesive album that retains a kind of spooky, mysterious quality somehow. So much has been said over the years about how clever the composition and arrangements are and man the vocals are just insane. Itās mind boggling to think BW was 23 when he wrote, recorded and produced this album. He really was a rare talent which makes what happened not long after that much sadder.
8 Likes
I can understand how most music is made. Thatās not to say that I could write a 10/10 album myself, nor to claim that I have some kind of super power in terms of understanding the process of writing.
But with most of my favourite albums (Original Pirate Material, Turn On The Bright Lights etc.) I can comprehend that it was written by humans in the same way that I have written music myself, they just did a particularly good job of it.
There are two exceptions to this.
One is Variations on Swing by Meet Me In St Louis. If the vocals were written first, writing the music to twist around the vocals seems impossible. But if the music was written first, writing the vocals in the way that they twist around the music seems equally impossible. How did they do it? I donāt know, and I will never know.
The other is Pet Sounds. I understand a lot of the harmonic analysis that Iāve read of the structures of the songs.
And the harmonic structure of them is completely batshit insane.
But you donāt think that, you just know that theyāre catchy, memorable, beautiful songs.
Thatās the thing that makes Pet Sounds so good. Itās as deep, rich and as complex as life itself. But itās somehow also as simple as the basic pleasure of drinking water when youāre thirsty.
11 Likes
itās an 8, bordering on a 7 cos of the overhyped love for it
- Probably my favourite album (sorry Thom)
Still listening to Tago Mago.
What an album.
2 Likes
always like to imagine the beach boys werenāt really in to surfing
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they werenāt, it was only Dennis who did it
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Somehow never heard this, despite having Barbara-Ann on a greatest hits comp I got from my dadās collection. Got it on now, great throwaway fun, isnāt it
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yeah I like the idea of it (which Iāve just made up now) of it being a party to celebrate the end of their old sound before they moved on
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i like their version of thereās no other like my baby
10/10 i think
i wanna cryyyyy yyyayyyyyyayyayayyyyayyayyyayayayayy
yyy yyyy ay ay ayyy yyy ayyy yyy ay ay ay ay ay
3 Likes
I always forget Good Vibrations isnāt on this album
Iāve gone with a 3. Tempted to give it a 1 but I donāt hate it, I just donāt think itās anything special. 3 seems reasonable on that basis.
Solid 8. Nowhere near as good as boomers would have you believe, but the highs are some of the highest highs that have ever been ā¦ highed
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(Donāt Talk) Put Your Head on my Shoulder is one of the most beautiful songs ever written.
Album is fantastic. Iām not gone on Sloop John B so canāt give it a 10 but itās one of those I go back to a few times a year.
3 Likes
Pretty sure they gave you a Long Blondes album by mistake
5 Likes
I always had the sneaky feeling that behind the door which said Private Staff Only there was a whizzing and whirring time machine
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