#TBT: 50th Anniversary of the Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds

I was a Beach Boys fan from a young age, but it took me a while to appreciate Pet Sounds. Once I connected to the album, however, it became one of my all-time favorites. Although it was met with a lukewarm reception from American critics and audiences, it’s considered one of the most important, influential and, by some, the greatest rock album of all time. To celebrate this groundbreaking work's 50th anniversary, Brian Wilson will play the entire album at stops on his upcoming tour.

To some extent, the album is considered to be the solo work of Brian Wilson, who had quit touring with the band in order to concentrate on writing and producing music. When the band came back to record the album, members of the group had concerns, and Capital Records released The Best of the Beach Boys that same year, not exactly a vote of confidence for the work.

To get a sense of Pet Sounds' place in rock music, consider this: Brian Wilson was recording Pet Sounds when he became enthralled with Rubber Soul, which subsequently influenced his work. The Beatles’ producer George Martin has said, "Without Pet SoundsSgt. Pepper never would have happened...Pepper was an attempt to equal Pet Sounds." AllMusic notes, "The group here reached a whole new level in terms of both composition and production, layering tracks upon tracks of vocals and instruments to create a richly symphonic sound."

Want to know more? There are entire books written about the album including Wouldn't It Be Nice and Pet Sounds.

Also, check out Love & Mercy, an entertaining biopic on Brian Wilson.