Beach Boys' Pet Sounds album became one of the greatest of all time
While on the road in 1964, Beach Boy Brian Wilson suffered a panic attack. He retreated to California to write, recuperate and record instrumentals while the rest of the band continued to tour the world. When they returned, vocal recording began. The studio sessions for Pet Sounds were intensive; the band spent a week laying down the vocals for Wouldn't It Be Nice alone.
The Beach Boys
Capitol Records
While on the road in 1964, Beach Boy Brian Wilson suffered a panic attack. He retreated to California to write, recuperate and record instrumentals while the rest of the band continued to tour the world. When they returned, vocal recording began. The studio sessions for Pet Sounds were intensive; the band spent a week laying down the vocals for Wouldn't It Be Nice alone.
It seems unbelievable now, but executives at Capitol Records did not want to release Pet Sounds. Musically, it seemed too much of a departure from previous Beach Boys albums. Capitol held off on releasing singles and instead put out The Best of the Beach Boys just two months after; it was, in their minds, a form of damage control to placate fans.
However, to their surprise, Pet Sounds became a No1 hit in Britain. In the US, it reached No10 on the charts, while The Best of made it to No8.
Wilson, who was 23 when he wrote Pet Sounds, was inspired by the Beatles' album Rubber Soul. The Fab Four responded the next year with Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Rolling Stone later proclaimed Pet Sounds second on its list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, with Sgt Pepper's first.
Is there a more perfect pop song than the eighth track on the album, God Only Knows? Once, before playing it in concert in 2013, Wilson said: "Now we're going to play, I think, the best song I ever wrote."