This album was released in 1966 and it’s an experiment to the music that the band had already created. You know it’s a great album when The Beatles were inspired from it, George Martin said that without this album, we wouldn’t have Sgt. Pepper. Coincidentally, the album ‘Rubber Soul’ inspired Brian Wilson to create this masterpiece. This album was perceived better in the UK, as it peaked at number two and stayed in the top ten for six months. Whereas in the US, it peaked at number ten.
- Wouldn’t It Be Nice
What a way to commence an album! It opens with a melodic riff, which many will recognise off adverts throughout the years. Most recently, it appeared on ‘Sky Mobile’ adverts. The whole song has a content feeling to it. In the first verse, the writer is looking forwards to a future with the person he loves. A line that shows this is, “Wouldn’t it be nice to live together, in the kind of world where we belong?”. Backing vocals play a key part in this track, as it adds that extra layer of flavour and excitement to the song. I think this is one of the most wholesome songs that I’ve ever heard. My favourite line from this track is, “You know it seems the more we talk about it, it only makes it worse to live without it”. I love what this line suggests, which is that when you talk about having something, it makes it harder to accept the reality that you don’t have it. However, in this case the writer enjoys the part where he imagines things.
Overall Rating — 10/10
2. You Still Believe in Me
What strikes me about this song is the wedding like melodies, keys, and strings. It’s very much so a dream like song. An echo like melody is hummed, which is following the lead of a piano. Progressing into verse one, the writer portrays his faults in his relationship and how he’s surprised his partner has had so much patience with him. Verse two suggests that the writer can’t be faithful to his partner when she isn’t around. I interpreted this from the line, “But I can’t help how I act when you’re not with me”. After the second chorus, the line, “I wanna cry” is sung and the song briefly quietens, until there are yells of “Ahhh-“. We are then tricked again into thinking the song is over again, and the yells continue. The music behind it is the melody and tune which was played in the introduction. However, this time it’s at full belt. I feel like it’s a song played at the stage of a wedding, before everything goes quiet and the vicar says, “We’re gathered here today”. My favourite line from this track is, “I know I’m perfectly well I’m not where I should be”.
Overall Rating — 8/10
3. That’s Not Me
Track number three is quite the laid-back song. Unlike the rest of the album, there isn’t any additional features/ effects featured on the song. It’s a song which explores the writer wanting to gain independence. “That’s not me” is repeated multiple times throughout this song, which leads me to think that the writer doesn’t want to go off and find his own independence, and that it’s almost forced. However, the writer is off to chase his dream but because of it, he is lonely. You almost sympathise with the writer in the lines, “I miss my pad and the places I’ve known, and every night as I lay there alone”. My favourite line from this track is, “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”.
Overall Rating — 8/10
4. Don’t Talk (Put Your Head On My Shoulder)
The vocals throughout this track are immense! It follows on from track three with the chilled-out sound. The message in the first verse shows that the writer knows what his partner is saying without her having to say anything. Verse two shows how much the writer wants to forget the world when he’s with his partner. I love all the lyrics in this section, “Being here with you feels so right, come close, close your eyes and be still, let’s not think about tomorrow”. My favourite line from this track is, “Don’t talk, and let me hear your heartbeat”.
Overall Rating — 9/10
5. I’m Waiting for the Day
I love the introduction to this song, there is so much happening! A drum dramatically opens the track, which is followed by a melody played on the flute. I find the perspective of which this song is wrote from interesting. The narrator is wanting to offer his love to somebody who has just had their heartbroken and give them a clean slate to love. Just like the title suggests, he is waiting for the day for when this person is ready to love again. It’s clear that this girl is still hurt by her ex-partner, and when the writer kisses her, he can tell she is still upset about it. “I kissed your lips and when your face looked sad, it made me think about him and that you still loved him so” is a line that proves this point. My favourite line from this track is, “I gave you love with a brand-new start, that’s what you needed the most to set your broken heart free”.
Overall Rating — 9/10
6. Lets Go Away For Awhile
This is a first for me, as I have never reviewed an instrumental track before. What a brilliant composition this is! There is a whole range of instruments involved. It makes me feel so at ease and chilled when I hear this track. It opens with drums, like track five, where they’re building suspense. This plays alongside a riff on keys that sways up and down. A baritone saxophone keeps this song quiet and deep, something like you’d hear whilst you were on hold but also something you’d hear in a foreign hotel lobby. I think the violin is a beautiful element of this instrumental. All the instruments blend smoothly. Halfway through the song, it sounds as though the song is coming to a dramatic end, as the instruments play one note per beat. Then the song takes a switch, and a sliding guitar is added, and a tenor saxophone plays. The acoustic guitar seems to be the driving force throughout this song, as this doesn’t change what it’s playing. The title of the track is fitting because it’s a different type of track in comparison to the rest, and they’re literally taking us away from that.
Overall Rating — 8/10
7. Sloop John B
If you’re a football fan, you’ll instantly recognise this tune, as many fanbases have adopted it to create a chant. I think that shows it’s a great melody and that it has caught onto the sporting world. The track is taken from a traditional folk song, modernised (at the time) by The Beach Boys. Lyrically, it explores being on a sailor’s voyage and all that came with it. From the drinking, partying, and fighting. A line that Brian Wilson changed was, “This is the worst trip since I was born” to, “This is the worst trip that I’ve been on”. This was a reference to being on an acid trip, as the acid culture was popular in the 60’s. A line which is heard many times throughout this track is, “I wanna go home”. It shows how the sailors were sick of being on the boat, and being away from home, almost stranded, can drive you insane. My favourite line from this track is, “The poor cook, he caught the fits, and threw away all my grits”.
Overall Rating — 9/10
8. God Only Knows
One of the greatest love songs ever written is, ‘God Only Knows’. I can’t even put the words together to describe how it makes me feel. From the instrumentation to the vocals and of course, the lyrics. Each feature combines to create this perfect track. It opens with a rising sound, electric keys repeatedly playing, and a soft melody played by a French horn, (I believe). “I may not always love you”, is the opening line, which contradicts what the song is about. This is then flipped to, “But as long as there are stars above you, you never need to doubt it”. The soft vocals are matched by the gentle beat in this opening verse. In the refrain, there is the beautiful line, “God only knows what I’d be without you”. In the 60’s, this could have been a risk to include God in a song in this way, but it’s a risk that’s paid off. Beautiful vocals combine in the outro of this track. Paul McCartney believes this is the greatest song ever written, which speaks volumes about how amazing this track is. My favourite line from this track is, “If you should ever leave me, well, life would still go on, believe me. The world could show nothing to me, so what good what living do me?”.
Overall Rating — 10/10
9. I Know There’s An Answer
The instrumentation throughout this entire song is gripping. The high keys playing that riff over and over from the introduction is why I’d say this song is catchy. This song was written whilst Brian Wilson was on an acid trip. The original lyrics in the chorus were changed because Mike Love felt like it was too much of a hipster’s song. Instead of, “Hang on to your ego, hang on but I know that you’re gonna lose the fight”, to, “I know there’s an answer, I know now but I have to find it by myself”. I really admire the vocals in the chorus. I think this song explores how people hide themselves away from the rest of the world, because they feel safe and comfortable in their own company. It seems as if the writer wants to tell people that they should step out of this comfort zone for a better life. My favourite line from this song is, “They trip through their day, and waste all their thoughts at night”.
Overall Rating — 9/10
10. Here Today
This song has such a dramatic sound to it, and you can feel the tension being built and released. The opening verse shows the narrator explaining the start of a love story between two people but is offering a warning to the subject of this song. I love the lines, “A brand new love affair is such a beautiful thing, but if you’re not careful think about the pain it can bring”. I love the backing vocals behind these lines and the constant banging of the drum on each beat. This is where the song builds tension and is relieved in the chorus. Verse two suggests the subject thinks this girl is different to any other girl they’ve had before. However, the writer is the person who was with the girl before and he is inferring that being with her causes a lot of hurt. “Keep in mind love is here today, and it’s gone tomorrow”, is a brilliant line, suggesting that this girl is going to break the subject’s heart and that he isn’t going to feel secure being with her. My favourite line from this track is, “Right now you think that she’s perfection, this time is really an exception”.
Overall Rating — 9/10
11. I Just Wasn’t Made For These Times
Track eleven is written from a vulnerable perspective of Brian Wilson and Tony Asher. They feel like they don’t belong in their era that they’re in, especially when it comes to romantic situations. The pre-chorus, “Each time things start to happen again, I think I got something good going for myself, but what goes wrong”. The song title also backs up the previous point made. The instrument used just before the last line in the chorus is beautiful and adds sadness into the song. You can only have sympathy for the writers of this track. My most favoured line of this song is, “They say I got brains but they ain’t doing me no good”.
Overall Rating — 9/10
12. Pet Sounds
‘Pet Sounds’ is also the title of the album, and it is the second instrumental track to feature on the album. I feel like there is a psychedelic sound throughout most of this song. It sounds to me as if they have taken different facets from songs on the record and combined it into one defined sound. It was originally named, “Run James Run”, in hopes that it would be picked for a James Bond film, but this never did happen. This does make sense when you hear the song, there are elements of the song that have tension, which would be perfect for an action scene.
Overall Rating — 8/10
13. Caroline, No
‘Caroline, No’ is the track that rounds off such a fantastic album. It has a moody feel to the song, it’s got a downbeat feeling, yet there is still so much happening in the track. The writer is distraught by how much Caroline has changed and wants her to be her old self who had a “happy glow”. It’s definitely a breakup song, because it seems as though she isn’t going to change for him, and they have grown apart from what they use to be. I love the emotion in the lyrics, “Oh, Caroline, no!”. The track ends with a dog barking as the sound of a train approaches. This is fitting for the title of the album. My favourite line within this song is, “It’s so sad to watch a sweet thing die”.
Overall Rating — 9/10
My overall thoughts are this is an impressive album. The experimentation was worth the outcome. So many different instruments and sounds combined, creating some beautiful songs. I feel some what of a connection to some of the lyrics in the songs, and I appreciate the theme of love and heartbreak throughout the album. A lot of emotional vulnerability is shown in the lyrics, and I think this is something that needs to be appreciated.
Favourite Track — Track 8 — ‘God Only Knows’
Favourite Line — Track 8 — “If you should ever leave me, well, life would still go on believe me. The world could show nothing to me, so what good would living do me?”
