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Rating:
THE REVIEW
Many words have been said.
And written: mountains of articles, of reviews.
There was even a monographic box set (4 CDs) dedicated to it, which features takes that would allow one to follow its tortuous development phases.
But in the end, for us, 38 years later, how does this album sound?
Well-known, because ultimately it has been overtaken on the right by its numerous subsequent clones, or still fresh and therefore a "masterpiece" as acclaimed by many?
Let's say it right away: it's not something new and unheard.
One would need to isolate from the listening of the last 20-25 years for it to be so.
Ignore small bands like XTC and BLUR, and trifles like "Soft Bulletin" by Flaming Lips or "Deserter Songs" by Mercury Rev - just to list the first little things that come to mind.
But then, it's precisely by reflecting on who/what we just mentioned that one realizes the greatness of the disc in question, the precursor of all that goodness.
Here, there's pop that wants to grow up, and indeed it succeeds, while retaining its characteristics of readily engaging music.
Two spins in the CD player and you're already humming the various Wouldn't It Be Nice, Sloop John B, God Only Knows, or Caroline No.
But this is actually an album to be listened to multiple times, to discover its nuances and the remarkable complexity of arrangement, which, however - and here's the greatness of it all - keeps the music light and, indeed, singable.
What POP should be.
And if this is the material that interests you, you already know what to do.
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Summary by Bot
This review reflects on The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds 38 years after its release, affirming its status as a timeless pop masterpiece. Though not unheard or new to listeners, it remains influential, pioneering a mature yet engaging pop sound. The album’s complexity and singability make it rewarding across multiple listens. It's praised for shaping future pop music while staying accessible.
The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys are an American rock/pop group formed in Hawthorne, California, best known for their vocal harmonies and for Brian Wilson’s studio-driven ambition that reshaped 1960s pop, with landmark releases such as Pet Sounds and the long-mythologized Smile-era material.25 Reviews
Other reviews
By alcol2
Pretend not to know what a nasty trick that man with the intensely wrinkled face played on the world by publishing—forty years ago (?)—the sacred text of pop of all time, "Pet Sounds"?
From pop tout-court to pop with prog nuances, everything that light song has always wanted, sought, experimented, desired, is born and dies in these grooves.
By JohnWinston
If God had recorded an album, it would have been Pet Sounds.
'God Only Knows'... Such a refined melody led Sir McCartney to pronounce it the greatest song ever.
