features in: Album Chart of 1966 ● Album Chart of the Decade: 1960s ● 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die  |
The real catalyst for Pet Sounds was the U.S. version of The Beatles’ album Rubber Soul, released late in 1965. Brian Wilson later recalled his first impressions of the ground-breaking album: “I really wasn’t quite ready for the unity. It felt like it all belonged together. Rubber Soul was a collection of songs … that somehow went together like no album ever made before, and I was very impressed.” Inspired, he rushed to his wife and proclaimed, “Marilyn, I’m gonna make the greatest album! The greatest rock album ever made!”. His muse resulted in this splendid work of pop art which, somewhat amazingly, only reached no.10 in the Billboard Albums chart of the time. “Pet Sounds” delivered those legendary Beach Boys harmonies and melodies under and over a somewhat darker approach, fusing all that they’d learnt to date with a psychedelic orchestration steeped in Phil Spector’s dramatic production values. Paul McCartney was perhaps the most moved man on the planet: “It was Pet Sounds that blew me out of the water. I love the album so much. I’ve just bought my kids each a copy of it for their education in life… I figure no one is educated musically ’til they’ve heard that album… I love the orchestra, the arrangements… it may be going overboard to say it’s the classic of the century… but to me, it certainly is a total, classic record that is unbeatable in many ways… I played it to John [Lennon] so much that it would be difficult for him to escape the influence … it was the record of the time.” The gauntlet was well and truly laid down to the Fab Four…
The Jukebox Rebel
04–Sep–2005
| Tracklist |
| A1 | [02:22]  The Beach Boys - Wouldn’t It Be Nice (Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Tony Asher) Pop |
| A2 | [02:30]  The Beach Boys - You Still Believe In Me (Brian Wilson, Tony Asher) Pop Ballad |
| A3 | [02:27]  The Beach Boys - That’s Not Me (Brian Wilson, Tony Asher) Cerebral Pop |
| A4 | [02:51]  The Beach Boys - Don’t Talk (Put Your Head On My Shoulder) (Brian Wilson, Tony Asher) Pop Ballad |
| A5 | [03:03]  The Beach Boys - I’m Waiting For The Day (Brian Wilson, Mike Love) Cerebral Pop |
| A6 | [02:18]  The Beach Boys - Let’s Go Away For A While (Brian Wilson) Film Score / Incidental |
| A7 | [02:56] The Beach Boys - Sloop John B (Traditional) Pop |
| B1 | [02:49]  The Beach Boys - God Only Knows (Brian Wilson, Tony Asher) Cerebral Pop |
| B2 | [03:08]  The Beach Boys - I Know There’s An Answer (Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Terry Sachen) Cerebral Pop |
| B3 | [02:52] The Beach Boys - Here Today (Brian Wilson, Tony Asher) Cerebral Pop |
| B4 | [03:11] The Beach Boys - I Just Wasn’t Made For These Times (Brian Wilson, Tony Asher) Cerebral Pop |
| B5 | [02:20]  The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds (Brian Wilson) Cerebral Pop |
| B6 | [02:52] The Beach Boys - Caroline, No (Brian Wilson, Tony Asher) Pop Ballad |
