Pet Sounds is considered to be one of the greatest albums of the twentieth century. It caught the Beach Boys at a time of transition. They were growing tired of their old surfing songs and such and wanted to get into more serious music. Released in 1966, this album was originally going to be a Brian Wilson solo album but he used the band to record the vocal arrangements. This truly captures the Beach Boys at their prime, even though I am more of a fan of their older cliche surfing songs, but thats just me.
1. Wouldn't It Be Nice - The song starts off with some very bright guitar picking and moves into the whole band playing. The vocals are just incredible, I'm sure that everyone has heard this song at least 10 times throughout the course of their life. The lyrics are very happy and just fit perfect with the song.
Rating: 5/5
2. You Still Believe In Me - This song jumps up and down at the end of the song which is my favorite part of the song. It Brings you up and stops and then rises higher and higher. It was said that Brian Wilson did this like he was going towards God. Brian's voice in this song is excellent.
Rating: 4/5
3. That's Not Me - The organ in this song provides a great backbone while the bass line hits you hard. The Key changes many times in this song and makes the song all the better.
Rating: 3.5/5
4. Don't Talk - This song is very slow and moves into a great string accompaniment. The lyrics in the song are kind of repetitive but not so bad. The instrumental part is the highlight of the song.
Rating: 4/5
5. I'm Waiting For The Day - The song starts off with percussion and moves into a flute accompaniment. The song eventually goes into a full blow. The Flute solo in the middle of the song is very simple but yet so perfect. The Outro very end of the song is the most powerful.
Rating: 5/5
6. Let's Go Away For Awhile - This is an all instrumental song that starts off very slow and works its way through with a very large band arrangement. The Music is very relaxing and almost drifts you off to sleep.
Rating: 5/5
7. Sloop John B. - By Far my favorite song on the album. Some smooth guitar chomping with a full band arrangement that has my favorite lyrics on the album that everyone has said before in their life, "This is the worst trip I've ever been on". The vocals are great and are very bright, happy, and clean.
Rating: 5/5
8. God Only Knows - This is probably the most beautiful track on the record. It has some great string accompaniment. The lyrics are very powerful, and they are sung at perfection. This just proves that the Beach Boys have gotten past their days of surf and car songs.
Rating: 5/5
9. I Know There's An Answer - The song starts out with a piano and moves into a full band that includes a great saxophone solo. The orchestra is at its peak on this song.
Rating: 4.5/5
10. Here Today - The bass guitar stands out to me the most on this song. The Horn arrangement accompanies the band during the chorus which is perfect. There is a little interlude in the song that has a very high tempo but then moves back into the full band playing and singing at their best.
Rating: 5/5
11. I Just Wasn't Made For These Times - The Guitar line is the strongest on this song at the beginning of the song. There are some great percussion fills in this song. These are some of my favorite lyrics on this song. It is almost as if you know how he feels.
Rating: 4.5/5
12. Pet Sounds - Starts with some great percussion and is followed with an eerie guitar line. The Bass Line hits you during a short interlude in the song. It was said that the song was written with James Bond in mind and I feel I know what they mean.
Rating: 5/5
13. Caroline No - This is one of my favorites on the record. This track was originally released as a Brian Wilson single. The Harpsichords stand out the most on this song. There are dogs barking and the sound of a train going by during the outro.
Rating: 4.5/5
14. Hang On to Your Ego (Bonus Track) - The Bass Line is very strong and the chorus is the highlight of the vocals where you can feel the power of his voice. There is a short break where you hear a short guitar chomp that sounds like a banjo. I like The instrumental part at the end of the song that has some flutes at the fadeout.
Rating: 4.5/5
Overall this is truly one of the best albums that I have heard before in my life.I'm sure that a lot of people wouldn't like this album because some of the songs sound very similar. By the end of the record you are kind of worn out by the sound of Brian Wilson's voice, Not that it is bad or anything. I guess that it's like after listening to Guns 'N' Roses for too long you get annoyed at the sound of Axl's voice, only Wilson's voice is much better "musically speaking". Besides that it is a Great Album.
