Pet Sounds Entry

Overall, the teenage boy band The Beach Boys, established the California sound by singing about surfing and hot rod cars with rich vocal harmonies. Prior to the recording of Pet Sounds, The Beach Boys played Surf Rock music and had fun in the sun songs about California beaches, girls in bikinis, hot rods, and surfing.

Brian Wilson was very passionate about music, recording, and playing/working with The Beach Boys. He was the eldest brother to Carl and Dennis, became The Beach Boys sole producer at the age of 21, and helped The Beach Boys reach as much success as they achieved. He played a major role in writing, arranging, and producing the music for The Beach Boys.

The Beatles album Rubber Soul inspired and influenced Brian Wilson to write and record Pet Sounds. The consistency of all of the songs on The Beatles album caught Brian’s attention and intrigued him to create a similar album for The Beach Boys. He worked and collaborated with Tony Asher to achieve his ambitions with the creation of Pet Sounds.

There are many characteristics of Pet Sounds that set it apart from other previous recordings that made The Beach Boys popular. The Pet Sounds album was recorded without any musical contributions from any of The Beach Boys except for vocals and harmonies. None of the songs on the album were about surfing or hot rods, and all of the songs were linked to a theme from adolescence to adulthood. The use of unorthodox instruments was also present on Pet Sounds, including a theremin, bicycle bells, and unusual percussion sounds.

As a listener and industry professional, I am extremely impressed with the work that Brian Wilson put into this album. By listening to Pet Sounds, you can tell how powerful a producer Brian Wilson is and his ability to perfect a completely different approach of music compared to The Beach Boys earlier songs.