The Beach Boys - The Pet Sounds Sessions (4 disc set)

R.I.P. to the great Brian Wilson... a true visionary, innovator and musical genius who with his group The Beach Boys, in my opinion, saved American rock - and indeed rock music as a whole - in the early sixties after the demise/sidelining of some of the genre's early stars (Buddy Holly, Elvis, Chuck Berry, Eddie Cochran, Little Richard, etc., as I mentioned here earlier). Wilson used his deep musical knowledge and melodic sense to craft, at first, seemingly simple but sonically advanced anthems to the beach life and culture of Southern California, then began to expand his musical palette and subject areas into more intense, personal areas and compositions. He put every iota of his being into his search for crafting the perfect pop song, miniature "teenage symphonies to God". It's an open debate as to whether this intensity of focus was the cause of his subsequent mental breakdowns, or if tensions and situations outside of music (such as drug abuse, or his relationship with his father and early band manager Murry Wilson) were the reason. But Brian Wilson LIVED, FELT, and SAW music... clearer than almost anyone else.

In regards to his celebrated output, many reviewers and critics reference Smile, The Beach Boys' unfinished 1967 concept album, as Wilson's peak. However, I feel that the praise regarding Smile is somewhat overblown, heavily influenced by its aura of being a "legendary" 'lost" album (true, the original album sessions were finally released in 2011 as a multi-disc box set that included an approximation of what the finished album would have sounded like... but in my opinion, it's not quite the same thing as having the thing appear in its proper time and place back in the 1960s).

For my money, however, Brian Wilson's magnum opus was and will always be Pet Sounds, released in 1966. Although ostensibly a Beach Boys album, Wilson was the sole producer and arranger, and primary composer (along with guest lyrical collaborator (and ad man/jingle writer) Tony Asher) of every song on the disc. Brian put his heart and soul into this release; he basically considered Pet Sounds to be a solo album - reportedly, somewhat to the chagrin of his bandmates, who generally weren't consulted regarding compositions and lyrics, instead being presented with completed arrangements they were expected to follow explicitly.

Although the album met with "meh" reviews and middling sales in the U.S., Pet Sounds was lauded by critics in the U.K., and was a major hit over in England, reaching #2 on the national charts and remaining in the English Top Ten for over six months. Eventually, critics around the world caught up with what was heard and felt about this album in Britain. Today, Pet Sounds is widely recognized as an innovative, groundbreaking, revolutionary rock release, and is considered one of, if not THE, greatest album of all time (currently #2 on the Rolling Stone 500).

I distinctly remember purchasing my copy of this album at a record store in Austin, Texas in the late '90s, while on a road trip to that city. Strangely, despite my voluminous music collection even back then, I had yet to add this one to my stacks. As such, that day on the road in Central Texas, for some reason I was COMPELLED to acquire this album IMMEDIATELY, and went out of my way to find a local music store that carried it.   And after all these years, I still love the music it contains. I consider "God Only Knows" to be one of the greatest, most beautiful songs ever composed.

Call me crazy... but I am convinced that, should the Earth come to an end hundreds of millions of years from now, on the day it occurs at least one of our successors (whether humanoid or not) will be listening to this song on the way out.

1997 saw the release of The Pet Sounds Sessions, containing detailed excerpts of the recording sessions and remastered mono and stereo mixes of the original album. The original plan was that Sessions was to have been released in May 1996 to coincide with the 30th anniversary of Pet Sounds. But Beach Boys vocalist Mike Love took exception to the box set's planned liner notes, which he felt diminished what he claimed was his more active involvement in the making of the original album (an observation and attitude that, for all intents and purposes, existed solely in his own head...). So modifications were made to Sessions' essays to include Love's self-serving and generally nonfactual comments, which delayed the set hitting store shelves by eighteen months.

Allmusic provides this review of the set:

"Part of the fascination with Pet Sounds lies in its detailed, multi-layered arrangements, in which all the parts blend together into a symphonic whole. The richness of the music is one of the reasons hardcore fans have desired a set like The Pet Sounds Sessions, a four-disc box that presents an abundance of working mixes, alternate takes, instrumental tracks, and rarities, as well as the first true stereo mix of the album. Certainly, a set this exacting is only of interest to serious fans, and even they might find the endless succession of work tracks tedious. Nevertheless, there's something fascinating about hearing the album broken down to its individual parts; after hearing horn lines, vocals, and percussion tracks out of their original context, the scope and originality of Brian Wilson's vision becomes all the more impressive."

'Nuff said.

So in memory of the late, great Brian Wilson, who passed away earlier today, I hereby provide you with The Pet Sound Sessions, a four-disc compilation of alternate mixes, instrumental track, isolated vocals, and other pieces and parts that made up the whole of one of the most influential and celebrated rock albums in history, released by Capitol Records on November 4th, 1997. Have a listen and revel once again in Brian's genius... and, as always, let me know what you think.

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