1. Describe the music and image of The Beach Boys prior to the recording of Pet
Sounds.
Prior to the recording of Pet Sounds, The Beach Boys were characterized as "a surf group," whose band name was quite appropriate for much of the content of their songs. They had enjoyed much commercial and critical success up to this point, having numerous singles reaching the Top 10 chart, and the #1 album in the country. (Elliot, B.). It wasn't until Wilson took a break from touring with The Beach Boys and heard The Beatles' Revolver for the first time that they would go on to release what Wilson claimed to be "...the greatest rock album ever made!" (Carlin, Peter A.).
2. Discuss Brian Wilson and his role within The Beach Boys.
Brian Wilson was The Beach Boys' main singer and songwriter. Though he wasn't the lead vocalist or the frontman of the group, he held a lot of the responsibility and pressure that his father handled prior to his firing. He eventually would go on to depart from The Beach Boys' in order to pursue producing music full time, yet still serving as the backbone for The Beach Boys' musical creations (Elliot, B.).
3. What influenced Brian Wilson to write and record Pet Sounds?
Among the many things that shared influence of Brian's writing/recording of Pet Sounds, The Beatles' album Rubber Soul was one of the most prominent. Wilson described his first time hearing the track as "a whole album with all good stuff." (Elliot, B.). Until Pet Sounds was recorded, their albums had included filler tracks, cover songs, and sometimes even skits and comedy. Pet Sounds marked the first time in The Beach Boys' (specifically Wilson's) career that they would put out an album that was thoroughly planned, written, and produced. Apart from the musical influences that Wilson drew from Revolver, he incorporated very personal and profound lyrical content that reflect his most recent psychological battles and nervous breakdowns he had experienced during his touring ays (Elliot, B.).
4. Discuss a minimum of two characteristics of Pet Sounds that set it apart from
other popular recordings of the mid 1960s e.g. arrangements, session
musicians, instrumentation, production qualities, lyrical themes, etc.
One thing that set apart Pet Sounds from other recordings in the mid 60s was its lyrical content. As The Beach Boys departed from their old surf-rock sound that brought them to fame, they began to release music at the forefront of the psychedelic rock era. While other bands at the time were looking outwards toward social problems and oppressive governmental policies and circumstances, Wilson looked inward for lyrical inspiration. His recent experiences from his nervous breakdowns to breaking away from the band's touring would supply him for the written content throughout Pet Sounds, specifically on the second side (Carlin, Peter A. Audiobook).
Another characteristic of Pet Sounds is that it was written, arranged, recorded almost entirely by Brian Wilson with the help of session musicians while The Beach Boys were out on tour. As Wilson had recently relieved himself of touring with The Beach Boys, he finally had the time on his hands to regain his mental stability, and build his confidence with a substantial amount of backing tracks that he would later present to the rest of the group on their return from touring. As Pet Sounds was greatly influenced by the psychedelic rock album Revolver, it was an entirely new aspect for the other members to adapt to. It was initially met with resistance, but they eventually gave in, thinking of Pet Sounds as "Wilson's ego album" (Matthew, G.).
One thing that set apart Pet Sounds from other recordings in the mid 60s was its lyrical content. As The Beach Boys departed from their old surf-rock sound that brought them to fame, they began to release music at the forefront of the psychedelic rock era. While other bands at the time were looking outwards toward social problems and oppressive governmental policies and circumstances, Wilson looked inward for lyrical inspiration. His recent experiences from his nervous breakdowns to breaking away from the band's touring would supply him for the written content throughout Pet Sounds, specifically on the second side (Carlin, Peter A. Audiobook).
Another characteristic of Pet Sounds is that it was written, arranged, recorded almost entirely by Brian Wilson with the help of session musicians while The Beach Boys were out on tour. As Wilson had recently relieved himself of touring with The Beach Boys, he finally had the time on his hands to regain his mental stability, and build his confidence with a substantial amount of backing tracks that he would later present to the rest of the group on their return from touring. As Pet Sounds was greatly influenced by the psychedelic rock album Revolver, it was an entirely new aspect for the other members to adapt to. It was initially met with resistance, but they eventually gave in, thinking of Pet Sounds as "Wilson's ego album" (Matthew, G.).
5. What impression does Pet Sounds have on you as a listener and as an
industry professional?
As an industry professional, I found the Pet Sounds recording to be pretty paramount for its time. Although The Beatles' Revolver (a rival album to Pet Sounds both commercially and critically) contained more innovative recording techniques, Pet Sounds definitely made better use of the stereo spectrum. Listening to the mono mixes, each and every instrument has its noticeable place in a fitting frequency range. Although the guitars tend to get lost from time to time in battle with the vocals, everything generally has an appropriate place in the audible frequency spectrum. From a compositional standpoint, I enjoyed listening to the piano arrangements. Wilson's knack for altering the chord notes in a progression and use of inverted chords help bring the arrangement of keys to life. The vocal harmonies and doubling ultimately serve as the selling point to a beautifully composed musical adventure that went down in history as one of the most influential recordings ever for good reason.
If you want to read more in depth about what I've discussed, check out the references tab up top!
-Matthew Morrison
As an industry professional, I found the Pet Sounds recording to be pretty paramount for its time. Although The Beatles' Revolver (a rival album to Pet Sounds both commercially and critically) contained more innovative recording techniques, Pet Sounds definitely made better use of the stereo spectrum. Listening to the mono mixes, each and every instrument has its noticeable place in a fitting frequency range. Although the guitars tend to get lost from time to time in battle with the vocals, everything generally has an appropriate place in the audible frequency spectrum. From a compositional standpoint, I enjoyed listening to the piano arrangements. Wilson's knack for altering the chord notes in a progression and use of inverted chords help bring the arrangement of keys to life. The vocal harmonies and doubling ultimately serve as the selling point to a beautifully composed musical adventure that went down in history as one of the most influential recordings ever for good reason.
If you want to read more in depth about what I've discussed, check out the references tab up top!
-Matthew Morrison
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