Pet Sounds by the Beach Boys is undeniable in it’s brilliance. It’s a masterpiece of not only sixties pop-rock music but it is a sonic statement that has never really been surpassed. I have bought literally thousands of records and tapes from Slow Boat Records on Cuda St in Wellington, New Zealand, shout out to Jeremy, Steve and Denis. They have a chart of the 100 best albums across the wall of the shop and Pet Sounds is number one. Initially when I first entered the store I thought; big call on the number one album but after 52 years of listening to music, I agree. I own multiple pressings of this album on vinyl both stereo and mono as well tape (my favourite format). My favourite composer is Mozart (number one) and after him it would have to be Brian Wilson’s genius on the Pet Sounds album. Now Pet Sounds has turned 60! So it’s time to dive into the warm pacific waters on the west coast and see how this album came to be one of the most influential albums of all time.
It all begins in 1961 when The Beach Boys formed in Hawthorne, California. The irony of the name of this band is that apart from the drummer Dennis Wilson, who was definitely the coolest member of the band, none of them surfed or really liked the water for that fact. The band consisted of brothers Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and their friend Al Jardine. Brian Wilson was the brains and creative force behind the bands songs and what would become its distinct sounds with a heavy use of vocal harmonies and lollypop melodies. They signed with Capitol Records in 1962, their second record ‘Surfin’ Safari’ (1962) launched a five-year streak of 16 consecutive U.S. top 40 hit singles and notable albums between their releases Surfer Girl (1963) and The Beach Boys Today! (1965). They were the clean cut nice guys of the California music scene. But there’s a rub, Dennis Wilson is real wild one and behind the scenes lives a more traditional rock & roll life style with girls, drugs, booze, cars, boats and an open handed drumming style that would become the stuff of legends among drummers like myself.
After years of touring in 1965 Brian Wilson leaves the touring life to concentrate on writing music. He is the closest to Dennis out of all the members of the band and with his influence Brian also starts to experiment with drugs like Marijuana and Acid, nothing unusual, it’s music and it’s the sixties, who wouldn’t and many did. But Brian is a sensitive soul and a true creative. He felt life as well as lived it and unlike his fellow band members the adulation of being an adored pop musician had warn off and he is looking for something deeper and more meaningful in his art. The art of music is also on a sharp creative arch in the sixties, especially with Phil Spector’s invention of the Wall of Sound. It is hard to put into words the impact this had on the way we listen to music from that point on and how it is produced in the studio. Fascinated by this new sonic tsunami Brian Wilson would go the studio and sit in on the Spector sessions that were on a Friday nights at Capitol Records studios. These sessions are quickly recorded with multiple songs completed in a night and one the radio in quick succession. Besides Spector the people making this happen mostly consisting of an incredible group of session musicians called the Wrecking Crew.
Who are the Wrecking Crew? They got their name from older Jazz session musicians who looked down on playing rock and roll music as being beneath them, so they affectionately—and sometimes dismissively, dubbed these amazingly talented session musicians as the “Wrecking Crew”. The Crew was made up of a loose collective of Los Angeles musicians who played on thousands of iconic 1960s and 1970s hits. While their names rarely appeared on record sleeves, their virtuosity and speed with providing the backing tracks for artists like Frank Sinatra, The Supremes, Sonny & Cher and Elvis Presley made them legendary. They could all sight read music notation and would knock off multiple ready to press tracks every session they recorded, time was money. Their work often extended beyond pop music into television and film scores as well. They recorded themes for shows like Batman, Green Acres, Mission: Impossible, and Hawaii Five-O. The unit initially coalesced in the early 1960s as the de facto house band for Spector and helped realize his wall of sound production style. To put some names to the ambiguity here are some of the members: Don Randi (Keyboards), Al De Lory (Keyboards), Carol Kaye (Bass), Bill Pitman (Guitar), Tommy Tedesco (Guitar), Glen Campbell (Guitar) and Hal Blaine (Drums) to name a few of many. The Wrecking Crew are integral to Pet Sounds as they are the uncredited muscle behind The Beach Boys’ masterpiece album not the band; as they were touring Asia during the recordings sessions.
Brian Wilson was inspired by Phil Spector’s Wall of Sound concept and desperately wanted the next Beach Boys record to capture and represent that sound. In order to do this he decided to record the next record with the Wrecking Crew whilst the band was away. The reason behind Wilson’s creative push to make this musical leap came from four lads in Liverpool, England called The Beatles. In November, 1965 the Beatles released Rubber Soul. The impact of this inspired offering by the Beatles lit a creative fire under Wilson and he felt an inspiration to not only match but top the Beatles. He has stated that he felt a competitive push after hearing the album and felt he had something equally brilliant to contribute. Moreover, the musical market was changing in the sense that most musical distribution at the time was driven by 45’ single releases. What the Beatles were doing was changing the focus to the album rather than the single and working to a creative theme or concept that ran through an album rather than a vehicle to cojoin singles into a single product to move units. This was a ground breaking vision for the distribution of an artform and Wilson was all over it. The idea of a concept album was born, Wilson had a vision and it all starts with a song called ‘Sloop John B’.
‘Sloop John B’ is a folk tune from the Bahamas, Originally called ‘The John B Sails’ and had already been recorded by others like the Kingston Trio in 1958. However, Wilson hears the opportunity to turn a traditional island folk song into a Beach Boys anthem by blending island vibes with American rock and roll. He wanted to create a song that was lush and layered, something that would stand out. He made a few lyrical tweaks and recorded on a four track recorder, transfer to a eight track to add overdubs to capture a more lush sound known as ‘bouncing down’ or the ‘ping pong’ method and with that Pet Sounds has found its musical genesis. This recording style had some disadvantages as it limited the ability to create stereo mixes it allowed more complex arrangements but was also very time consuming. Now, this is where the Wrecking Crew comes into play, they allow Wilson to paint in layers of sound by their number and talent, they were an orchestra that could work quickly too. Wilson had the ability to write music notation and would hand it out to the musicians and then conduct them like an orchestra allowing for a fuller and expansive sound. ‘Sloop John B’ is the only song on the album Wilson didn’t write and when listening to the whole album it stands along against the rest of the recordings as it is more upbeat and harks back to their surf rock days. ‘Sloop John B’ was released as a single in April 1966 and made it to number three in the billboard charts. It was left on the album to help increase sales and carry the rest of the more melancholic tone of the album to a wider audience.
Wilson wrote all the music for Pet Sounds inspired through emotional experiences of sadness and pain. This emotional depth is what sets it apart from the rest of the Beach Boys catalogue. Wilson didn’t like working with Mike Love who had contributed many lyrics on previous songs for the Beach Boys as he didn’t want to engage with Love’s overwhelming ego. However, when it came the lyrics Wilson felt inadequate and decided to collaborated with Tony Asher an advertising executive and jingle writer who was well read and preferred jazz to rock. Over a three week period at Wilson’s home Asher and Wilson wrote the bulk of the lyrics trying to capture the feel of classic American love songs like Cole Porter rather than the beach/car inspired lyrics in previous recordings. Wilson at 23 is married but still enamoured with teenage girls, their youthful beauty and more innocent times. He wanted to capture the innocence of being in love and that translates heavily into the lyrical content created with Asher. Wilson is also starting to show the cracks of his mental health issues and could swing in moods dramatically from bright eyed and happy to bitterly depressed and would retreat to his bed and avoid work for hours. He would eventually however return to the piano with Asher and continue to incorporate a new melodic and structural ideas into the lyrics of his songs. They worked quickly in the end and would have the lyrical content completed within three weeks.
The recording of the album was completely controlled by Wilson’s perfectionism, infamously described by some of the Beach Boys as Stalin in the studio where he would work for hours on end obsessively to capture the sounds in his head. The result is tracks like ‘You Shouldn’t Believe in Me’, a playful childlike feeling in a sonic package, a melodic mournful track with multi coloured harmonies. The album opens with ‘Wouldn’t It Be Nice’, which captures Wilson’s desire to in a marriage that is free from the constraints of the societal conventions associated with his own marriage, oddly inspired with his infatuation with his sister in law Diane Rovvel. These two songs are the only songs where Asher wrote the entirety of the lyrics. The songs would layer sound in a unique was which was achieved with unconventional instruments, bike horns, dog barks and layered harmonies. Song parts in many tracks were written in different keys for different instruments which was unheard of and often confused members of the Wrecking Crew but also contributes to the unique overall sound of the album.
Most of the basic tracks were finished by early February, 1966 when the rest of the Beach Boys returned from their Asia tour. At this point the mood in the studio took a definite turn for the worst. The band were confused by Wilson’s vision and made comments such as “What the f**k do these words mean” and “This isn’t out kind of sh*t”, with Dennis being the only member to see the vision that his brother was trying to create and offered encouragement. When it came time to record vocals Wilson had the members of the band audition on each song to see who would sing lead vocal on each track. The vocal sessions were grueling with Wilson making the band do multiple takes to get not only the right tone but also the vibration he heard in his head onto tape. The band out of frustration at one point told Wilson to record the vocals himself to which he replied, “It won’t sound like the Beach boys without the vocal harmonies and unfortunately I cannot achieve this by myself”. This speaks volumes to the relationships within the band dynamic at the time. An example of Wilson’s desire to move beyond the confinements of the band is the song ‘Caroline, No’, which was released as a single under the name Brian Wilson in March 1966 and it only features Wilson on vocals not The Beach Boys. ‘Caroline, No’ is unique in its sound and marked a dramatic change in Wilson’s song writing. It was written about a high school crush and comments on how people change and grow up, it is one of his most emotionally resonant songs. Interestingly the songs coda features Wilson’s dog Banana.
The standout track ‘I Know There’s an Answer’ was co-written with the Beach Boys road manager Terry Sachen. The song was inspired by Wilson’s experimentation with LSD. It is an investigation of how drugs break down ones ego and the resulting inner perception that follows Wilson described as a “religious experience”. The song was originally conceived as ‘Hang On To Your Ego’. When recording Mike Love would refuse to sing the song due to drug references. Another standout track is ‘Don’t Talk (Put Your Head on my Shoulder), this is Wilson’s most romantic song and a deeply personal statement on love. The backing track to the vocals is solely a string arrangement that is sophisticatedly arranged by Wilson. Moreover, this is one of the most covered song by other musicians from the Pet Sounds record. Personally one of the more revealing songs on the album is ‘I Just Wasn’t Made for These Times’, a sentiment that has more meaning to me as we dive deeper into the 21st Century. This song was a written as a prayer for the people and the times of the 1960’s but with age feels more relevant today. It was a time of huge social change and perception and Wilson wanted to compose a love letter to illuminate the positivity of the revolution but also highlight how he didn’t feel he belonged. However, given the theme of isolation on ‘I Just Wasn’t Made for These Times’ it is the only song where all six Beach Boys recorded vocal tracks and harmonies.
The album cover concept was also a dramatic step away in image for the band. Gone were the beach settings, hot-rods and surfboards. The cover consists of the band dressed for a winters day in coats and sweaters, feeding apple slices to goats. It definitely captures the idea of pets and animal sounds. However, this was all Mike Love’s idea and he often credited with coming up with the title of the album but this is difficult to confirm. Love was the most critical of the band when it came to the content of Pet Sounds and I would argue that this album cover is dramatically underwhelming given the musical majesty that can be found within the sleeve. Although, it is an image I have grown to love over the years. Meanwhile, the band is finishing tracking the vocals in the studio and the finished product although confusing to Capitol executives Pet Sounds was being prepared for the world to meet. However, there is one more gem that had been conceived weeks before the Pet Sounds sessions began, a single masterpiece called ‘Good Vibrations’.
‘Good Vibrations’ started as a simple structure with guitars and drums. It was one of the many unfinished gems Wilson had floating in his head. He wanted each song to have a unique feel and some songs had come easier than other. The original title “Good, good, good, good vibrations”, is an example of how Wilson was wanting to cut through the ambiguity in this song. However, the lyrics for this song are written in part by Mike Love with the infamous line in the chorus hook “I’m picking up good vibrations/she’s giving me excitations”, which he wrote during a drive to the studio. However, the cut-off date for submission Pet Sounds was March 3rd, 1966 and ‘Good Vibrations’ remained unfinished, therefore, Wilson decided to remove it from the album much to the annoyance of the band. They used ‘Sloop John B’ as the leadoff single as Wilson felt ‘Good Vibrations’ apart from being unfinished didn’t fit the introspective themes of the album. The genius of ‘Good Vibrations’ with its shifting sections, experimental structure and spiritual optimism would act as a bridge to the Wilson’s next musical opus the album Smile. Wilson slaved over ‘Good Vibrations’ and became a laboratory for modular recording with over with 90 hours of tape over 17 sessions using four different studios. This level of experimentation needed time and Wilson refused to rush it just to include it on the album. As it turns out ‘Good Vibrations’ is a masterpiece and easily one of my favourite songs ever recorded, it is released after Pet Sounds in October, 1966 and becomes the Beach Boys biggest hit.
After completing Pet Sounds, Wilson played it for his wife, who later described the experience as profoundly moving and spiritual, recalling they both cried. Wilson worried its complexity might alienate listeners. Pet Sounds is the eleventh studio album by the Beach Boys, released May 16, 1966. Its unprecedented total production cost exceeded $70,000 (equivalent to $690,000 in 2026). It is widely regarded as among the greatest and most influential albums in music history. It is credited with introducing novel orchestration techniques and structural harmonies while also revolutionizing musical production through its detail and use of the studio as a compositional tool. It elevated recognition of popular music as an art form and albums as cohesive works, while contributing to synthesiser adoption and the evolution of orchestral pop, psychodelia. Long overshadowed by the Beatles’ works, Pet Sounds only initially gained limited mainstream recognition mostly due to Capitol records lack lustre enthusiasm for the album. It was not until its reissues revived its prominence, leading to top placements on all-time greatest album lists by various publications.
This is an album that I still return to a fan and a musician. I will confess I’m not a huge Beach Boys fan, I much prefer the Beatles and the Stones from that era. However, it is well documented that Pet Sounds would be the inspiration for the Beatles masterpiece Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Heart Club Band in 1967, which I also adore. But in the first half of 1966 Brian Wilson created a sonic spectacle that for me has only ever been remotely matched by the entire back catalogue of Radiohead in creativity. I now urge you to find the 1997 reissue of Pet Sounds and listen to everything, the outtakes, the unreleased tracks, the lot, for that to me in its entirety is all part of the experience of Pet Sounds. These mind-blowing sessions that were produced, arranged, and primarily composed by Brian Wilson and are without doubt the greatest modern recordings of all time, Slow Boat Records top hundred records ranking is right and Pet Sounds is easily the greatest album ever written… in my humble opinion, God only knows?
