alia76

@JACK DONNEY: "arrangements and mixing are different things" thanks Jack, I thought mixing was that thing you send with your cellphone. :-) (I spent 10 minutes on a damn thing)

Since I've stirred up some dust, I want to clarify a few things. I would like to have the "guts" and the wealth of arguments to support a thesis aimed at downplaying the aura of Pet Sounds, perhaps with a de-review rating of 3 stars. Who knows, maybe one day I’ll manage to challenge the monster. To make a long story short, I’m not interested in contextualizing the album and defending it for its certain or presumed innovative significance in the realm of pop arrangements. I am simply making technical observations and comparisons based on what was done in vocal pop at that time. I think Pet Sounds is recorded terribly, with sounds that seem to come from a basement, and the voices mixed without the right balance, not utilizing the low registers at all. I mean, if you take "everything's comin up" by Dusty Springfield (the same year) or something by the Righteous Brothers, you’ll understand what I mean by vocal care and why not everyone can dare to use their falsetto. It is true that Pet Sounds has four or five epoch-making songs (which I won’t mention) arranged algebraically despite the few resources. However, this does not, in my opinion, make an album a masterpiece of immediacy. If instead, the discussion about Pet Sounds is to remain purely meta-musical (a study bench for arrangers), then that’s a different matter. I can even overlook the lyrical poverty of Wilson's lyrics since it’s pop and a certain lightness is allowed. Finally, though this doesn’t affect the judgment of the group, this story of competition with Rubber Soul and the Beatles in general has always made me see Wilson as an insecure child.

Here, along with the Blues from the previous comment, I add the Beach Boys, whom I've never understood. In fact, if anyone can explain Pet Sounds to me (I'll offer 5 euros)... always said by someone who doesn't understand music... but that's how it is. I won't vote here.

The guys in my band (or group, whatever you want to call it) love it. Blues gives me a case of orchitis, but that's because I don't understand a damn thing about music... I’m voting on trust.

@LOSTJ: what a beautiful movie The Shawshank Redemption...

the review is too long... I had to watch the movie, for better or worse. I remember it being as heavy as a 16th-century painting.

eh...already

worse than Vasco Rossi are only his fans...

The interview is very beautiful and as much as I try to enter the world of Massimo Volume, I admit I continuously fail. However, I have a question that stems from the statement above: "Mimì, I believe that along with Lindo Ferretti and Franco Battiato, he is the lyricist who has found words for so many people." What I don't understand is why the phenomenon (bad word, I know) Massimo Volume has never exploded in terms of communication on a more widespread level. I don't think it's a problem of musical accessibility because, for example, the CSI even managed to reach first place on the charts. I mean: they have always remained a niche group. Can someone enlighten me?