PET SOUNDS is the eleventh studio album by The Beach
Boys. It was released on May 16,
1966. It was made several months after
Brian Wilson quit touring with the group and focused on writing and
recording. On this album you can hear
various sounds including: bicycle bells, buzzing organs, harpsichords, flutes,
electro-theremin, dog whistles, trains, and barking dogs. The music is considered psychedelic rock and
baroque pop. The album cover was shot at
the San Diego Zoo. I am reviewing here
the 2012 re-release of the album on CD on Capitol Records. I prefer the stereo mixes here over the mono
as they sound clearer.
The album’s opening song ‘Wouldn’t it be Nice’ was written
by Brian Wilson, Tony Asher, and Mike Love.
It has a cheerful pop sound to it and longs for blissful matrimony:
“Wouldn’t it be nice if we were older/Then we wouldn’t have to wait so long/And
wouldn’t it be nice to live together/In the kind of world where we belong/You
know it’s gonna make it that much better/When we can say goodnight and stay
together/Wouldn’t it be nice if we could wake up/In the morning when the day is
new/And after having spent the day together/Hold each other close the whole
night through”. ‘You Still Believe in
Me’ is one of seven songs Brian co-writes with Tony Asher. This sleepy song is one of gratitude to one’s
partner: “I know perfectly well I’m not where I should be/I’ve been very aware
you’ve been patient with me/Every time we break up/You bring back your love to
me/And after all I’ve done to you/How can it be/You still believe in me”.
‘That’s not Me’ is a very reflective song coming from a male
perspective: “I had to prove that I could make it alone now/But that’s not me/I
wanted to show how independent I’d grown now/But that’s not me/I could try to be
big in the eyes of the world/What matters to me is what I could be to just one
girl/I’m a little bit scared/Cause I haven’t been home in a long time/You
needed my love/And I know that I left at the wrong time”. ‘Don’t Talk (Put Your Head on my Shoulder)’
is a very mellow song that takes a romantic turn: “I can hear so much in your
sighs/And I can see so much in your eyes/There are words we both could say/But
don’t talk/Put your head on my shoulder/Come close/Close your eyes and be
still/Don’t talk/Take my hand/And let me hear your heart beat/Being here with
you feels so right/We could live forever tonight/Let’s not think about
tomorrow/And don’t talk/Put your head on my shoulder”.
‘I’m Waiting for the Day’ is an experimental pop song about
falling for someone who is on the rebound: “I came along when he broke your
heart/That’s when you needed someone/To help forget about him.../I kissed your
lips/And when your face looked sad/It made me think about him/And that you
still love him so.../He hurt you then, but that’s all done/I guess I’m saying
you’re the only one/I’m waiting for the day when you can love again”. ‘Let’s Go Away for Awhile’ is one of two
tracks penned solely by Brian Wilson.
This one is an easy listening instrumental.
Two of my favourite Beach Boys songs of all time are up
next. ‘Sloop John B’ is upbeat musically
and is one of the best story songs ever.
It begins: “We come on the Sloop John B/My grandfather and me/Around Nassau
town we did roam/Drinking all night/Got into a fight/Well, I feel so broke up/I
wanna go home/So hoist up the John B’s sail/See how the main sail sets/Call for
the captain ashore/Let me go home, let me go home/I wanna go home, yeah
yeah/Well, I feel so broke up/I wanna go home”.
‘God Only Knows’ has a happy sound musically and vocally but conversely
is somber lyrically as it puts into words just how attached we get to our
romantic partners: “If you should ever leave me/Though life would still go on
believe me/The world could show nothing to me/So what good would living do
me?/God only knows what I’d be without you”.
Brian Wilson, Mike Love, and Terry Sachen wrote ’I Know
There’s an Answer’. It is eclectic
instrumentally and searches for a remedy for the stresses of life: “They come
on like they’re peaceful/But inside they’re so uptight/They trip through their
day/And waste all their thoughts at night/Now how can I come on/And tell them
the way that they live could be better/I know there’s an answer/I know now but
I have to find it by myself”. ‘Here
Today’ reminds us that love and heartbreak oft go hand in hand: “You’ve got to
keep in mind love is here today /And it’s gone tomorrow/It’s here and gone so
fast/Right now you think that she’s perfection/This time is really an
exception/Well, you know I hate to be a downer/But I’m the guy she left before
you found her”.
‘I Just Wasn’t Made for these Times’ is a wonderful song of
discontent and unrest: “Sometimes I feel very sad (3X)/I guess I just wasn’t
made for these times/Every time I get the inspiration to go change things
around/No one wants to help me look for places where new things might be
found/Where can I turn when my fair-weather friends cop out, what’s it all
about?” ‘Pet Sounds’ is actually a pleasant instrumental that makes me picture
myself lounging carefree on a beach.
‘Caroline No’, a soft song of lament, ends the album: “Where did your
long hair go?/Where is the girl I used to know?/How could you lose that happy
glow?/Oh, Caroline no/Who took that look away?/I remember how you used to
say/You’d never change, but that’s not true/Oh Caroline you/Break my heart/I
want to go and cry”.
PET SOUNDS was produced by Brian Wilson. It is considered one of the most influential
records in the history of pop music, with the likes of Elton John and Paul
McCartney praising it. Rolling Stone
named it the No 2 greatest album of all time.
On this album you will hear the tight group harmony vocals you expect
from the Beach Boys. The songs here
though are much more mature, creative, and artistic in comparison to their
better known hits such as ‘Surfin’ U.S.A.’ and ‘I Get Around’. This album is more of an acquired taste. I’m rating PET SOUNDS 85%. For more info visit: www.beachboys.com and www.capitolrecords.com.