Track Listing

1. Wouldn't it be nice
2. You still believe in me
3. That's not me
4. Don't talk
5. I'm waiting for the day
6. Let's go away for a while
7. Sloop John B
8. God only knows
9. I know there's an answer
10. Here today
11. I just wasn't made for these times
12. Pet sounds
13. Caroline no

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4570 in Music
• Released on: 2000-09-04
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Dimensions: .21 pounds

Amazon.co.uk Review
This was pretty much the only occasion on which Brian Wilson managed to articulate his extraordinary musical vision over the length of an album. As such, Pet Sounds is not merely one of the greatest records ever made, but also one of the towering masterpieces of 20th-century art. Every song here, from the exuberant introduction of "Wouldn't It Be Nice" to the concluding, wistful lament of "Caroline No", is definitive pop music. Wilson's fantastical orchestrations and harmonies support a collection of lyrics which are childishly innocent almost to the point of appearing sinister--no album has ever started with a less traditionally rock & roll sentiment than "Wouldn't it be nice if we were married?". When delivered in Wilson's anguished whine, the effect is gloriously heartbreaking--as statements of naked vulnerability go, "I Know There's An Answer" and "I Just \ Wasn't Made For These Times" remain difficult to top. Popular legend has it that when the fiercely insecure and competitive Wilson, a year on from Pet Sounds, heard the Beatles' Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, he was devastated. He needn't have worried. Pet Sounds wasn't trumped then, and it won't be anytime in the future.--Andrew Mueller

CD Description
This is more than just an album by a great American band--it's THE great American pop album, an ambitious foray into the intricacies of harmony and melody. Masterminded by Brian Wilson, PET SOUNDS changed the rules of rock & roll. Once upon a time, rock and pop albums consisted of an artist's hit singles and the remainder was mostly filler. Wilson's production brought the concept of recording an album to a new level. He refined Phil Spector's wall-of-sound production style into a more complex, stunning approach. The result was inspired by the Beatles' RUBBER SOUL, and was, in turn, an inspiration for SGT. PEPPER.
The devoutly romantic "God Only Knows" and the hopeful "Wouldn't It Be Nice" reflect an innocent time of yearning post-adolescence. From the complex upwardprogressions of "You Still Believe In Me" to the heartbeat bass of "Don't Talk (Put Your Head On My Shoulder)", Wilson paid attention to every nanosecond of sound. The traditionalfolk song "Sloop John B", with its thickly interwoven vocals, was a major hit for the band, but astonishing power comesfrom the less familiar songs too. The shifting moods and devious instrumentation of "I'm Waiting For The Day" and the contemplative, revealing "I Just Wasn't Made For These Times"are further testaments to Wilson's tortured genius. Wilson has said that angels were overseeing the production of PET SOUNDS--there is no doubt about it.

Customer Reviews

It really is the best!
I had heard reference to Pet Sounds many times over the years and knew it to be considered by many prominent modern artists to be a formative influence and perhaps the greatest popular music album of all time. However, I somehow never got round to actually finding this out for myself. Firstly, although I had heard and loved some of the well-known Beach Boys classic hits, I never considered them to be worthy of ‘all time greatest’ material (except perhaps ‘God Only Knows’ and ‘Good Vibrations’, one of which is actually on Pet Sounds and the other of which is from the same era). Secondly, the fact that it was mixed in mono also put me off. I would love to say I am sufficiently discerning to appreciate a mono mix for pure musical content alone. But the truth of the matter is I like the quick audio fix that stereo gives – I am very much into swirling vistas of moving sound.

So, it was with great anticipation, and some apprehension at being let down, that I first listened to this Pet Sounds release. I skipped the mono tracks and jumped straight to the stereo re-mixes. I couldn’t quite believe what I was hearing, so I played it back again… and again. It is now two weeks on and I haven’t stopped playing it, back to back, time after time. And although I will no doubt listen to other music again at some point soon, I know I will be able to revisit Pet Sounds any time at all for the rest of my life. It really is eternal.

There will be classical purists who will snort with derision at comparisons between Brian Wilson and the great classical composers such as Mozart and Beethoven. I love classical music too, especially getting to know a new symphony or concerto properly, understanding more with each listen until I almost feel as though I am inside the composer’s head. And I can honestly say that I feel the same way about Pet Sounds too. Although there are many other pop albums which I have taken a while to get into, there are none which I have got into immediately, and then again, and again in so many different, progressively deeper ways. There is just so much going on in these songs! How did he do this with the tools available at the time? In fact, how could anyone do anything like this ever again, even with all the wizardry which can happen in a modern studio?

I could never before appreciate how bands such as The Beatles, Screamadelica and REM cited the Beach Boys as a major influence. Listening to Pet Sounds, it is now so clear. It seems like a distillation of the best bits of many different modern classic albums. And then I have to remind myself that actually this was the pre-cursor to them all. I’m still trying to get to grips with the fact that Brian Wilson did this in 1966!

And this brings me on to the mono mixes. I have seen reviews of this release slating the stereo remixes as being nothing like the original and being a trashing of Brian Wilson’s legacy. However, although I do appreciate that there are differences they are quite clearly the same songs, drawn from the same cuts. And on the contrary, I have found both the stereo and mono mixes to be very complimentary. There are so many moving, flowing melodies in there that often a part which is obscured in one mix jumps out in the other. And then you can appreciate the part in the context of either mix. (So much for me thinking I was not able to appreciate a mono mix – I now know that I could have bought and loved Pet Sounds in mono many years ago.)

So, what more can I say? You might buy and not like it, but if you’re curious and are reading Amazon reviews of Pet Sounds because you’ve heard about it like I did and think it’s your kind of thing, then you’re already on the right track and buy it, buy it, buy it! And even if you’ve stumbled upon this by complete chance, buy it anyway, because although it might not click with you, if it does, then truly you will have found something rarely, profoundly, achingly, joyfully moving.

I just wasn`t made for these times
Pet Sounds remains one of the most music changing albums of our time along with The Beatles-Sgt Peppers. Brian, as ever influenced by Lennon and McCartney spent 2 months on and off with Tony Asher on this project laying down the instrumental tracks in the first 2 weeks.
The album starts off with the pleasing Wouldn't It Be Nice, then moves into the moody You Still Believe In Me, the up-tempo That's Not Me jars uncomfortably with Brian's epic melancholy Don't Talk (Put your head on my shoulder).
I'm Waiting For The Day and Lets Go Away For Awhile finds Brian in reflective mood while Sloop John B and God Only Knows show that Brian can appeal to the masses , both being top 5 hits. I Know There's an Answer and Here Today are both very clever pop songs showing off the classic Beach Boys harmony but the real masterpiece of the album is the almost suicidal I Just Wasn't Made For These Times which ironically shows Brian totally unaware of his genius.

The album finishes with the instrumental Pet Sounds, a thoroughly adept piece of lift muzak never bettered and Caroline No, a song written for and about his then wife Marilyn.

Pet Sounds changed the way I myself looked at music and certainly changed the progression of modern conceptual music forever.

Brian was and still remains one of the very few artists deserving of the label "genius".

Well desrving of the hype
Upon first hearing this album, I have to honestly say I couldn't relate to the album as a whole. I liked the hits (God Only Knows, Sloop John B, and Wouldn't It Be Nice?), but that was it. Over twenty years later and it is now in my top 10 desert island albums, and will always remain there.

Brian Wilson took a HUGE gamble in writing music from his soul, and while Pet Sounds has become a bandwagon classic among music fans world-wide, it is a personal listening experience that improves over time. You simply cannot get it the first time around.

The Beach Boys vocals are stunning. At the time of its creation Brian Wilson used the latest 8-track recorders to expand the groups vocal dynamics. This is an important aspect of the band...that is, they were a vocal group rather than a rock group.

Pet Sounds is a shining gem waiting to be discovered. Given that the Beach Boys haven't attracted the most favourable reviews for most of their later careers, this album is a rare example of praise given where praise is due.