Pet Sounds

Pet Sounds is the eleventh studio album by the American rock band the Beach Boys, released on May 16, 1966, by Capitol Records. It was produced, arranged, and primarily composed by Brian Wilson with guest lyricist Tony Asher. Recorded largely between January and April 1966, it furthered the progressive sound introduced in The Beach Boys Today! (1965). Initially promoted as "the most progressive pop album ever", Pet Sounds is recognized for its ambitious production, sophisticated harmonic structures, and coming of age themes. It is widely regarded as among the greatest and most influential albums in music history. Wilson viewed Pet Sounds as a solo album and attributed its inspiration partly to marijuana use and an LSD–rooted spiritual awakening. Galvanized by the work of his rivals, he aimed to create "the greatest rock album ever made", surpassing the Beatles' Rubber Soul (1965) and extending Phil Spector's Wall of Sound innovations. His orchestrations blended pop, jazz, exotica, classical, and avant-garde elements, combining rock instrumentation with layered vocal harmonies, found sounds, and instruments not normally associated with rock, such as French horn, flutes, Electro-Theremin, bass harmonica, bicycle bells, and string ensembles. Featuring the most complex and challenging instrumental and vocal parts of any Beach Boys album, it was their first in which studio musicians, such as the Wrecking Crew, largely replaced the band on their instruments, and the first time any group had departed from their usual small-ensemble pop/rock band format to create a full-length album that could not be replicated live. Its unprecedented total production cost exceeded $70,000 (equivalent to $680,000 in 2024). An early rock concept album, it explored introspective themes through songs like "You Still Believe in Me", about self-awareness of personal flaws; "I Know There's an Answer", a critique of escapist LSD culture; and "I Just Wasn't Made for These Times", addressing social alienation. Lead single "Caroline, No" was issued as Wilson's official solo debut, followed by the group's "Sloop John B" and "Wouldn't It Be Nice" (B-side "God Only Knows"). The album received a lukewarm critical response in the U.S. but peaked at number 10 on the Billboard Top LPs chart. Bolstered by band publicist Derek Taylor's promotional efforts, it was lauded by critics and musicians in the UK, reaching number 2 on the Record Retailer chart, and remaining in the top ten for six months. A planned follow-up album, Smile, extended Wilson's ambitions, propelled by the Pet Sounds outtake "Good Vibrations", but was abandoned and substituted with Smiley Smile in 1967. Pet Sounds revolutionized music production and the role of producers, especially through its level of detail and Wilson's use of the studio as compositional tool. It elevated popular music as an art form, heightened public regard for albums as cohesive works, and influenced genres like orchestral pop, psychedelia, soft rock/sunshine pop, and progressive rock/pop, as well as synthesizer adoption. The album also introduced novel orchestration techniques, chord voicings, and structural harmonies, such as avoiding definite key signatures. Originally mastered in mono and Duophonic, the 1997 expanded reissue, The Pet Sounds Sessions, debuted its first true stereo mix. Long overshadowed by the Beatles' contemporaneous output, Pet Sounds initially gained limited mainstream recognition until 1990s reissues revived its prominence, leading to top placements on all-time greatest album lists by publications such as NME, Mojo, Uncut, and The Times. Wilson toured performing the album in the early 2000s and late 2010s. Since 2003, it has consistently ranked second in Rolling Stone's "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Inducted into the Library of Congress's National Recording Registry in 2004 for its cultural and artistic significance, Pet Sounds is certified platinum in the U.S. for over one million sales.

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