61. The Beach Boys — Pet Sounds (1966)

a harmonious baaaaaaaaa

1. A perfect album, full stop. The bang of the drums announcing “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” is such an emphatic statement, a smack across the face that you’re in for a treat. Every song that comes after is great; all killer, no filler. Exactly what Brian Wilson had in mind when he wrote it.
2. The album title refers to Wilson’s favorite (“pet”) sounds that he mixed into the audio — bicycle bells, theramins, beverage cans, orchestral sounds. Mixing those with the Phil Specter-style wall of sound production resulted in an album that sounds immediately digestible but absolutely unlike anything else in rock and roll at the time. Unsurprisingly, it seems like nobody knew what to do with it at the time. Neither of the two biggest songs on the album were released as early singles; “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” was released two months later and reached #8 on the charts, while “God Only Knows” was merely a b-side in the States. The album peaked at #10 on the charts, screwing with Wilson’s head from then on. Wikipedia says the album debuted to U.S. reviews that “ranged from negative to tentatively positive.” Of course now, this is considered one of if not the best albums of all time. It’s fitting that it includes a track titled “I Just Wasn’t Made For These Times.”
3. “God Only Knows” is one of those songs that’s so perfect and so beloved at this point it might elicit a sigh when you call it an all-time great; still, it’s an all-time great, up there with “Like A Rolling Stone” as perhaps the greatest pop song of all time. But again — everything on this album is good. “Sloop John B” is weird as hell and a delight; “I Know There’s An Answer” is introspective and epic; “That’s Not Me” takes some of their surfer sounds and turns them into something more mature. Everything here has something to offer.
4. The fact that this is the 11th Beach Boys album is really something. How many acts hit their peak 11 albums in? Any? At this point, if any act ever releases a good album after their third or fourth it’s a minor miracle.
5. Truly remarkably, “Good Vibrations” was left off of the album and released later as a standalone single. That’s how good this album is; a perfect song was left off.

One Essential Song:

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