Published on Jun 28, 2005
My love for
Pet Sounds
has been established, and it has
taken its rightful place in the list of Jeff’s favorite albums.
Now, when presented an album that is so incredibly well produced,
the natural reaction is, “How did he/she do this?” This question
certainly arose after I gave
Pet Sounds a spin or two. Luckily, Capitol Records, through
The Pet Sounds Sessions, has provided us with an answer.
The Pet Sounds Sessions consists of four discs, with a
treasure trove of material to be found on each. Also included are
some stellar liner notes, as well as a small book, titled
The Making of Pet Sounds. It is apparent from the first time
you lift the lid of the box off that great care and thought went
into the creation of this set.
Disc 1 is broken up roughly in half. The first 13 tracks are the
stereo mixes of the actual
Pet Sounds tracks. This was the first time anyone had heard
this album in stereo, and it certainly is an experience all in
itself. If the “wall of sound” approach found on the mono mix of
Pet Sounds bothered you at all, this disc is for you. The
stereo mix allows for a more clear listening of the album, the
instrumentation is easier to pick out. However, for the purist,
Pet Sounds was never supposed to be heard in stereo, so your
opinion may depend on how much you care about the original
album.
The rest of Disc 1 and Disc 2 is the “meat” of the set. Here one
can find session highlights, backing tracks san vocals and
unreleased tracks, all in wonderful stereo. This was a barrel of
fun to listen to; the session highlights provide context for the
backing tracks that follow. To listen to Wilson and Co. run through
early versions of “Wouldn’t It Be Nice,” or “I Know There’s An
Answer,” is exciting as well as revealing. In fact, my only gripe
is that I wanted to hear more of the session highlights. The
biggest hits get about 7-8 minutes, while some tracks such as
“Sloop John B” get roughly a minute. An explanation is provided in
the liner notes, and it makes sense, but I get the feeling this box
set could have been even bigger and better. However, that is a
small matter.
Disc 3 is really what sold me on buying this set. The first 11
songs are the final vocal tracks heard on
Pet Sounds. To be able to hear The Beach Boys sing
Pet Sounds essentially in an a capella format is just
breathtaking. One can pick out little bits that you might not hear
on the actual tracks themselves. My favorite “discovery” is at the
end of “Wouldn’t It Be Nice,” when Brian and Carl (I think) drop
the pitch of their harmonies ever so slightly. It makes for a
gorgeous-sounding vocal. I’ve listened to these tracks over and
over again, and each time I get chills down my spine. The rest of
Disc 3 proceeds to present
Pet Sounds in an alternate manner. For example, instead of
Brian singing “Sloop John B,” we hear Carl. “God Only Knows” has an
added a capella tag, featuring all the Beach Boys as well as what
is gathered to be everyone who was in the studio at that time.
Personally I think that should have made the final cut, but I can
live. Other songs have different vocalists as well, lyrics
reversed, and added solos. This particular material is interesting
to a degree, but the other two discs are more so.
Disc 4 is the original
Pet Sounds, in its mono mix. It’s a wonderful bookend to the
overall set; you’ve heard how the album was made, and to close
everything out there it is presented again in final, unfettered
form. So now, having spent the weekend listening to this collection
over and over again, is it worth it for everyone to buy? The answer
is no — even the casual Beach Boys fan would most likely find this
set dull. However, if you love
Pet Sounds, or have an appreciation and desire to see how a
record of
Pet Sounds‘ caliber was recorded, by all means order this
set now.