Many of our readers are directed here through the Taylor Hicks fan network, so I will introduce Pet Sounds by reminding you that it was Taylor’s first album of the month on HQ back in October 2007.  To people who like to read Top 10 lists, you’ll find Pet Sounds or songs from it at the top of many lists, including “Greatest Album Ever” and many artists’ “Most Influential Albums”.  This jewel of an album, clocking in at just over 30 minutes and packed with some of songwriter Brian Wilson’s best work, was released in 1966 and was a direct influence on its more famous and popular contemporary, the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper album.

Like many great works of art, Pet Sounds was not appreciated by the general public in its own time.  The vaguely symphonic sound, more mature lyrics and comprehensive feel of the album were confusing to Beach Boys fans who were anticipating another record full of happy, sun-surf-and-cars pop songs.  It was better appreciated by the tastemakers of the time, the other musicians who were outgrowing the “teenage” phase of rock & roll and getting ready to move into the drug-fueled psychedelia of the late 60s.  Unfortunately for Brian Wilson, a man of fragile confidence, he was about six months ahead of the rest of the world.

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In the above video, Brian sings lead on a demo version of “God Only Knows,” which was named “Greatest Love Song” several years ago.  I’ve chosen “God Only Knows” as representative of the entire Pet Sounds album, because it is one of the best known cuts and also because it really is well representative of the album.  It also happens to be one of my favorite songs.  The album version is sung by Brian’s youngest brother, Carl, because of the emotion Brian felt Carl could bring to the song.  (If you were going to classify the Wilson brothers according to genre, Brian is pop and jazz, Carl was soul and blues, and Dennis, the middle brother, was raw rock & roll.)

“God Only Knows” is a love song, but it is a curious love song.  It begins with the phrase, “I may not always love you,” which does not seem particularly committed until you continue along to, “but long as there are stars above you, you never need to doubt it.  I’ll make you so sure about it: ‘God Only Knows’ what I’d be without you.”  (Please note that the punctuation is not original, this is just how I see it when I hear it.)  Imagine, for a moment, your significant other confessing, “I don’t know what kind of person I would be without your influence on me.”  That is the emotional impact of this song.  Pet Sounds is full of these not-so-obvious turns of phrase, and it requires the listener to actually listen, to stop and think about the words.

For those musically inclined, the music itself should stop and make you think.  Brian was greatly influenced by the jazz harmonies of the Four Freshmen and by the compositions of George Gershwin. At the same time, he was also being influenced by the same thing that everyone else in the music scene was influenced by in 1966: marijuana. He became obsessed with creating the perfect album, and with experimentation in the studio. He spent hours getting exactly the right sound for his songs, hours that his record company saw as dollar signs going down the toilet. To get Capitol off his back, the Beach Boys released the semi-live Party! album and the single “Barbara Ann”. Compare the howling of “Barbara Ann” with the delicate instrumentation of “God Only Knows” or even the island-influenced arrangement of the cover “Sloop John B” and you can understand why teenage fans might have been confused.

However, to certain fans, those who were growing up along with the Beach Boys (all, by that time, in their 20s), or perhaps those who had always been more mature than their peers, Pet Sounds became the soundtrack to a more angst-filled time of life.  The themes of love, loss and pain were laid bare, but always with Brian’s signature hopeful music.  And that is what keeps the album from becoming a vat of depression in which to wallow (although I and many other fans will admit to having done that): there is always a major chord, an uplifting progression, a quirky turn of phrase to draw you out of your despair and appreciate the genius of this music and the beauty of love.

Brian Wilson will be performing at the Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom on Sunday, July 13.  If you would like to experience Pet Sounds for yourself, I recommend listening to it in mono first, as Brian mixed it, and then listening to the later stereo version.  It is available on Amazon.com.

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