What can you really say about Pet Sounds that hasn't been already said? In a nutshell it's probably the greatest pop album ever recorded (but it actually took many years for music fans to awaken to that assertion.) I was born in early 1961 and I remember hearing the Beach Boys music from the time I learned how to walk. My mother played their boss All Summer Long LP nearly every night at dinner. Everybody in my neighborhood played Beach Boys' records and in fact one of the first records I ever bought was the group's single Do It Again in the summer of 1968.
But to be quite honest, when all the heavy music of the late 60's began to appear (Cream, Hendrix, Big Brother etc.) the music of the Beach Boys began to seem a little old hat to me. Although I always liked them I never really realized how great they were until I was in my early early 20's. I first purchased Pet Sounds in the summer of 1981 at Capital Record Shop in Hartford, Connecticut. It was a Japanese import copy and I think I paid $25 for it (a lot back then!)
When I finally got around to playing it I had no idea of what a profound listening experience it would be. Of course, I was already familiar with some of the tracks such as Wouldn't It Be Nice, Sloop John B, God Only Knows and Caroline No. But hearing those songs among killer album tracks like Here Today, That's Not Me and I Know There's An Answer made it seem like I was hearing them for the first time. There was also the two devastating instrumentals Pet Sounds and Let's Go Away For Awhile.
One of the truly remarkable things about Pet Sounds is that it doesn't sound even the slightest bit dated. It sounds like it could have been recorded at any time in the last 45 years (you certainly can't say that about Sgt. Pepper.) However, one of the odd things about the record is the underlying feeling of loss and melancholy.) It sort of predates the feeling of despair at the core of fellow Los Angeles group Love's 1967 masterpiece Forever Changes. Listening to Pet Sounds reminds me of the first time I took acid. While I was going up on the drug I was truly flying, but the next day I felt kinda down and disconnected. Pet Sounds closing number Caroline No leaves me with the same feeling, it's quite disturbing but compelling at the same time.
Pet Sounds was one of the Beach Boys least successful records of their golden era but is now rightly regarded as one of the greatest (if not the greatest) records ever made.
David Furgess
August 1, 2013
