GENRE(S): Pop
PREAMBLE - The first entry of my soon-to-be continual review series: "Rolling Stone Magazine's 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time". Coming in at #2 is Brian Wilson's unforgettable, unmistakable coming-of-age masterpiece.
LOOK - February 15, 1966 The Beach Boys made their way to The San Di ego Zoo for a photo shoot. The title for their upcoming LP, Pet Sounds, was to be playfully represented and a playful moment was sure caught on film. The band's name and title of the album are nestled above the photograph on a bar of green; this is a hint to me that 1. the designer didn't know where to place the type on the photo itself, or 2. Capital Records stuck to a very common formula of using geometrical shapes of color to place type on (see With The Beatles).
LISTEN - Pet Sounds represents a changing of the guards. The fun-in-the-sun formula that catapulted The Beach Boys into superstardom didn't slip away with the tide but was dragged out to sea by Brian Wilson determined to set the bar even higher. Along side lyricist Tony Asher, Wilson gave us the most heartbreaking display of fading innocence. Much to their discontent the rest of the Boys (Mike, Carl, Dennis & Al) were benched from the writing process and were only employed for their vocal talents, but in turn delivered the richest and most beautiful harmonies to ever be pressed into vinyl.
SPEAK - California sunshine, and surfboards is synonymous with The Beach Boys. 1966 swelled with inspiration and popular musicians on either side of the Atlantic had to put up or shut up. Dylan had gone electric, The Beatles dedicated themselves to more studio time and broke free of the Mersey Beat. The Beach Boys became Men and Wilson, especially, intended not to set foot on the California Coastline. Pet Sounds was the result of one man's revelation into pop music. The album cover itself has become famous (not infamous) but only because of its record's contents. This visionary gem could never be visually captured, not then and certainly not now; who would want that daunting task?
ALBUM GRADE: -A
ALBUM ARTWORK: C
DO WE HAVE A FIT?: NEUTRAL
Bruce and I have 2 copies of this record. We know it is the best Beach Boy's album but it may even be at the top of our list in all time favorite albums!
ReplyDeleteMark & Kellie are out of town for the weekend but I know he's excited to check out your blog! Music and design are his passion (among a couple of other things!)
ReplyDeleteThis is one of my all-time favorite albums. I fell asleep listening to it last night. It is beautiful and perfect and I won't even start talking about it because I wouldn't know where to start or end. I will say, however, that I am not a fan of their surf-era music so, although I do like Today!/Summer Days Summer Nights, this is their first album in my opinion. I love the album artwork but I am not even exactly sure why. It's amazing that a photograph of the guys feeding animals at a petting zoo could become such an iconic image. I like the pictures/design on the back of the album as well. Great post Aaron. p.s. Have you considered tackling Sgt. Pepper, or is that too sacred? -- M.Cleaver
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments guys! There aren't really enough words to describe this album but I tried...
ReplyDeleteI forgot to tell you that during Mark's digital imaging early years he decided to move a couple of these goats and paste them on our Christmas card picture. Our family never looked more natural!
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