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so this is probably an album everyone else and their mother has listened to, but we were in a pinch (thanks for nothing Thaddeus), so here we go, go, gooooo....
DL: the Beach Boys: Pet Sounds
many would say this is one of the greatest pop albums ever.
up until a few weeks ago, i was not one of those people (ignorance is bliss). but then again, i never saw the Goonies until college, and didn't listen to the Beatles until the early 2000s. i'm just that guy, sorry.
with the release of the new movie, i started seeing more critical coverage of the band, their lead man Brian Wilson, and how this album was a pretty big deal. so enough was enough, i proceeded to my local library (that's what us old people do) and gave it a shot.
wow.
like all truly great albums (Pinkerton, Last Splash, etc), Pet Sounds was met with initially lukewarm response in the US, but others around the world (the UK) called it "the most progressive pop album ever." the band was light-years ahead of the masses. and as with many things (other than international borders), the Brits were right.
the opening, "Wouldn't it be Nice" definitely feels like the standard Beach Boys fare - Beatles with a hint of feel-good oldies (Kokomo anybody?). I'm pretty sure my parents had that playing in the car on many a family-friendly road-trip playlist
but then shit gets real, and we're taken on an introspective, oftentimes psychedelic, ride. Pet Sounds was one of the first rock albums in the modern era that was not made for dancing (fun), but made for listening to (art).
and that's saying something.
"God Only Knows" is one of the greatest love anthems ever, period. how i had never heard this ballad before, escapes me. otherwise every girl that ever got a mix-CD from me would have had this song (and i would have had significantly more game, which isn't saying much, as i've always operated off a relatively low base).
it's a solid 4, only bc i'm kicking myself for not having listened to this a million times before. otherwise it's on it's way to a 5 in my personal catalog.
you're welcome.
many would say this is one of the greatest pop albums ever.
up until a few weeks ago, i was not one of those people (ignorance is bliss). but then again, i never saw the Goonies until college, and didn't listen to the Beatles until the early 2000s. i'm just that guy, sorry.
with the release of the new movie, i started seeing more critical coverage of the band, their lead man Brian Wilson, and how this album was a pretty big deal. so enough was enough, i proceeded to my local library (that's what us old people do) and gave it a shot.
wow.
like all truly great albums (Pinkerton, Last Splash, etc), Pet Sounds was met with initially lukewarm response in the US, but others around the world (the UK) called it "the most progressive pop album ever." the band was light-years ahead of the masses. and as with many things (other than international borders), the Brits were right.
the opening, "Wouldn't it be Nice" definitely feels like the standard Beach Boys fare - Beatles with a hint of feel-good oldies (Kokomo anybody?). I'm pretty sure my parents had that playing in the car on many a family-friendly road-trip playlist
but then shit gets real, and we're taken on an introspective, oftentimes psychedelic, ride. Pet Sounds was one of the first rock albums in the modern era that was not made for dancing (fun), but made for listening to (art).
and that's saying something.
the familiar Beach Boys' vocals are there, but there's so much going on underneath the surface - instrumentation, pacing, and experimentation.
"God Only Knows" is one of the greatest love anthems ever, period. how i had never heard this ballad before, escapes me. otherwise every girl that ever got a mix-CD from me would have had this song (and i would have had significantly more game, which isn't saying much, as i've always operated off a relatively low base).
it's a solid 4, only bc i'm kicking myself for not having listened to this a million times before. otherwise it's on it's way to a 5 in my personal catalog.
you're welcome.
You're welcome!
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised you hadn't heard "God Only Knows" before, I swear it's on the soundtrack of every every chick flick ever. But you're right, it's a great song.
ReplyDeleteThere were definitely some interesting musical developments happening in the sixties but for me this album doesn't fall into that category. But I'm not exactly a fan of rock and pop, so maybe adding a french horn to a pop track = mind blown :-)
Meanness aside, the Beach Boys are fantastic, their music has longevity that other groups (in all other genres) can only dream of! "Wouldn't It Be Nice", "Sloop John B", "God Only Knows", all tracks I know backwards (fifty years after they were released!) despite me never having heard of this album before, and they're the reason I'm giving this album 2.5 instead of 2. But ultimately I struggled my way through...
The BBC did a fancy cover over "God Only Knows" recently:
ReplyDeletehttp://youtu.be/XqLTe8h0-jo
:)
DeleteI don't think I can grade this album.
ReplyDeleteIt has some songs (mentioned above) that will last forever and ever and longer probably than any of the other songs that are present on the MK. That is why it such a landmark in the pop music culture. So, I don't think it is fare to compare it to the other albums posted on the MK.
I believe that the MK helps us discover new fun stuff and this is not part of it.
Besides my French criticism, I was happy to listen to it again.