“A higher force was with me when I was writing it,” says The Beach Boys Brian Wilson about his band’s tour-de-force album on the DVD disc that accompanies the 40th Anniversary re-issue of one of modern music’s greatest classics – Pet Sounds. Moving away from the surf and car songs that had made the California quintet famous, Wilson, who was on hiatus from touring with The Beach Boys, concentrated on creating a new type of sound. It was a magical time for music and for the group’s wunderkind, who was inspired both by Phil Spector’s Wall of Sound productions and The Beatles Rubber Soul. The personal and chemical demons that so often drag genius across that thin line into madness had yet to take their toll on the then 23 year-old Brian, who created a masterpiece to teenage melancholy that is still as potent today as was on its original release in 1966.
Capitol Records and the consumer public were largely confused by Pet Sounds when it made its debut. After all, here was an album that eschewed the always winning formula of California surf songs for introspective heartbreakers like “I Just Wasn’t Made For These Times” and the winsome “Caroline No”. These songs may not have been about popular teenage past times, but they did express the silent longings of an entire generation in a way no one else had before. “God Only Knows” was lifted by scores of crackerjack studio musicians and still featured The Beach Boys signature harmonies, but the music and lyrics (Wilson collaborating with Tony Asher) were covering new territory. “I may not always love you” may have been a strange way to start a love song, but it was vastly important in that it signaled that the cookie cutter days of the 1950s were over. Love was free and roaming in the 1960s and Wilson and the boys captured both the wondrous rapture and underlying sadness of that decade all in 2 minutes and 51 seconds of pop perfection.
Pet Sounds, which included both original mono and stereo versions, plays beautifully in the 40th Anniversary edition. Also included is a DVD featuring some video clips (one previously unreleased) and interviews with The Beach Boys and their collaborators. While some of the interviews have been clobbered together from previous docus, they are still enjoyable. One of the highlights to watch for is Sir George Martin visiting Brian Wilson at his home recording studio and stripping down “God Only Knows” layer by layer. As the subtle intricacies of the track fall away before our eyes and ears, it is no surprise that Pet Sounds still stands as one of the greatest albums of all time. |