Prior to the Beach Boys releasing Pet Sounds, the band was looked at in a very bubble gum light. All of the members were prim and pristine, and had the gimmick of being from the beach. They played very vocal oriented songs, primarily sing-a-longs for lots of folks. If there ever was an everyman for a band it was Brian Wilson. He was essentially the brain behind all of Pet Sounds. He stayed at home for months writing all of the songs. He would write lyrics and piano riffs, and get everything set up. Brian had quit touring with the Beach Boys for a while. So while he wasn’t touring he spent all his time composing Pet Sounds. This really helped to put a lot of thought into this album. Seeing as Brian was the brainchild behind the band as it was, it does not seem so farfetched that he would dominate this album as well. The vocal harmonies help to set this album apart from many other recordings in the mid sixties. Each harmony was carefully crafted to fit the song as well as be incredible. The arrangements of the songs were not the common verse, chorus, verse, chorus as was heard before. The songs hand many more breaks and bridges. This made many of the songs seem as though the Beach boys are singing completely improvised and straight to the listener, which is truly an enchanting feeling. As a listener, I found that Pet Sounds really surprised me coming from the Beach Boys. There was not the common, simple sound I was accustomed to hearing. I found myself much more engaged in what I was listening because it was so interesting. From an industry professional’s point of view, to listen to the work of Phil Specter is always something fun to do. He had a very unique way of mixing and recording. This really brought the music to a different place, and I think helped to progress the image that the band had for it.
"Pet Sounds." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 11 Jan. 2011.
"Brian Wilson Podcast by Chrispyspears on SoundCloud - Create, Record and Share Your Sounds for Free." SoundCloud on SoundCloud - Create, Record and Share Your Sounds for Free. Audible. Web. 11 Jan. 2011.
"Pet Sounds." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 11 Jan. 2011.
"Brian Wilson Podcast by Chrispyspears on SoundCloud - Create, Record and Share Your Sounds for Free." SoundCloud on SoundCloud - Create, Record and Share Your Sounds for Free. Audible. Web. 11 Jan. 2011.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteMr. Andrew Mason, I thought your Beach Boys entry was well written.
ReplyDeleteThe facts and points that you discussed in your blog post were interesting and increased my knowledge on the Beach Boys. I also found it good that you gave people knowledge on who the band worked with such as the producers, however I found it better that you gave information on who composed the album and who you felt dominated the album the most. The post was good because the information, the way it was written, the grammar and spelling of the blog post. Great post, I found it very interesting and a great way to receive knowledge