The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds

Speaking of that 60s sound, talk about nostalgia when I dug out my vinyl copy of Pet Sounds by The Beach Boys to play today. I used to think of it as my favorite album of all time and while it still has the best song ever created on it, it’s not my absolute favorite but really up there nonetheless. This was the album that caused The Beatles to make Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and the one that Brian Wilson made in response to The Beatles’ Rubber Soul. Paul McCartney has been asked about it before and he acknowledges Pet Sounds as one of the best of all time. Still, even in 1967, I can’t imagine how amazing it must have sounded to those fresh ears then; even almost 50 years later and “Sloop John B” still sounds terrific. Right in the middle of the album, it precedes the following song with an upbeat flavor and although it’s a cover on its own, the Beach Boys’ version is still timeless.


Not only is “God Only Knows” my favorite song of all time – the song that holds so much deep sentiment for me – but it’s downright perfect if you ask me. I remember hearing this song on “The Wonder Years” and then finally realizing that it was the centerpiece of Pet Sounds, it was a perfect that match. If anyone remembers that episode, Kevin realizes that at a different school, with new boys to chase her, Winnie is gone…for now at least. And they play this song as he sees another guy walk her on to the opposite bus as they drive off into the night, on separate buses, in different directions. The song’s construction is built around soaring vocals and beautiful harmonies. And the lyrics – beguiling, poignant and heartfelt – are some of the best I have ever heard. They sing about how if she ever left, ‘the world could show nothing to me so what good would living do me?’ It’s that feeling of realizing that if she ever left you, you’d be the most miserable side of lonely ever and well, who knows what it would be like without her. Either way, it wouldn’t be great at all, ‘though life would still go on, believe me.’ – Bryan