Excellent Pitchfork Media Pet Sounds Review

By Michael DeMartin

Here's a great review of the new Pet Sounds reissue from Pitchfork Media. It might be the best one yet:

Oh come on, it's just Pet Sounds. Despite the fact that two or three generations of music fans will secretly believe you have no soul if you don't announce your allegiance to it, despite that you probably already own it (in some cases, two or three times over-- if I could only remember where I put my 24-carat gold CD version), or that you may even have written an article for Pitchfork years ago making fun of anyone who dared criticize it, well, that's no reason to feel any pressure to make sure it's displayed prominently for guests, or worry that you haven't met your monthly "God Only Knows" listening quota.

Despite (or because of) the "pressure" to adopt pro-Pet Sounds stances in today's high-powered world of hanging out with your friends or staying home and getting high whilst listening to "Let's Go Away For Awhile", I'd wager most people are only too happy not to discuss the merits of the oft-oft-reported Beach Boys masterpiece. Certainly, regardless of what I write here, the impact and "influence" of the record will have been in turn hardly influenced at all. I can't even get my dad to talk about Pet Sounds anymore.Oh come on, it's just Pet Sounds. Despite the fact that two or three generations of music fans will secretly believe you have no soul if you don't announce your allegiance to it, despite that you probably already own it (in some cases, two or three times over-- if I could only remember where I put my 24-carat gold CD version), or that you may even have written an article for Pitchfork years ago making fun of anyone who dared criticize it, well, that's no reason to feel any pressure to make sure it's displayed prominently for guests, or worry that you haven't met your monthly "God Only Knows" listening quota.

Despite (or because of) the "pressure" to adopt pro-Pet Sounds stances in today's high-powered world of hanging out with your friends or staying home and getting high whilst listening to "Let's Go Away For Awhile", I'd wager most people are only too happy not to discuss the merits of the oft-oft-reported Beach Boys masterpiece. Certainly, regardless of what I write here, the impact and "influence" of the record will have been in turn hardly influenced at all. I can't even get my dad to talk about Pet Sounds anymore.

YOU CAN READ THE COMPLETE TEXT BY CLICKING ON THE TITLE OF THIS POST. IT WILL TAKE YOU TO PITCHFORK MEDIA.

Brian Wilson Pet Sounds ((LIVE)) Press Release

Brian Wilson Performs ‘Pet Sounds’ for the very last time in the UK

London, Thursday 7th September, Following the ecstatic reviews, ticket frenzy and extraordinary audience response that accompanied the historic first-ever performances of the ‘lost’ masterpiece, ‘SMiLE’ in 2004, the amazing ‘In Concert’ shows throughout 2005, Brian Wilson returns to the UK in November for what will be a poignant occasion. Brian Wilson will be playing a gig that will no doubt be talked about in rock n roll history for years to come. The Co-Founder of The Beach Boys that is Brian Wilson, will be playing a one off show at London’s Adelphi Theatre on Sunday 12th November, and to celebrate its 40th Anniversary will be performing the Classic album ‘Pet Sounds’ in its entirety for the very last time in the UK.

The legendary writer, producer, arranger and performer of some of the most unforgettable and inspirational music in rock history, Wilson will again perform with his extraordinary ten-piece band.

These concerts mark Brian Wilson’s sixth return to the UK. The triumphant staging of ‘Pet Sounds’ in January 2002 was followed by a return visit for encore performances in June of that year. 2004 debut performances of ‘SMiLE’ attracted fans from all over the world including Sir Paul McCartney, George Martin, Paul Weller, Roger Daltrey, Natalie Imbruglia, Daniel Johns, Geoff Hoon, Greg Dyke, and Fran Healy of Travis.

Pet Sounds, The Beach Boys’ 12th studio album, is universally hailed as one of the most important recordings of all time. EMI Catalogue Marketing released it along with previously unseen dvd footage and unheard tracks on 28th August 2006 on this, the 40th anniversary of its original release. It will be available digitally (including video downloads), and the digital formats will also include bonus tracks.

He is one of popular music's most deeply revered figures, the main creative force behind some of the most cherished music in rock history. Indeed, it is no exaggeration to call Brian Wilson one of the most influential composers of the last century.

If you’ve seen Brian in concert, you’ve already witnessed the magic and the celebration. If you’ve heard his records, you know why he’s been called the Mozart of Rock, the Gershwin of his generation. In a culture where trends change overnight, Wilson has gone the distance.

Brian, after numerous nominations, finally won a well-deserved Grammy Award at the 47th annual awards last year, for ‘Best Rock Instrumental Performance’ for ‘Mrs.O’Leary’s Cow’.

What the critics have said:
“I have probably been to thousands of pop concerts in my life. But I have never felt anything like what I sensed here. - What I felt was love, waves of it, like heat’ – Evening Standard

‘Grown men wept as the 61-year-old performed a set of around 20 songs, including classics such as Wouldn't It Be Nice and California Girls. Wilson opened the sell-out concert with an intimate unplugged set accompanied by his 11-strong band.’ – BBC News

Pet Sounds accolades:
Sir Paul McCartney - It was Pet Sounds that blew me out of the water. I love the album so much. I've just bought my kids each a copy of it for their education in life. I figure no one is educated musically 'til they've heard that album.

Eric Clapton - All of us, Ginger (Baker), Jack (Bruce), and I consider Pet Sounds to be one of the greatest pop LPs to ever be released. It encompasses everything that's ever knocked me out and rolled it all into one. Brian Wilson is, without a doubt, a pop genius.

Elton John - Pet Sounds is a landmark album. For me to say that I was enthralled would be an understatement. I had never heard such magical sounds, so amazingly recorded. It undoubtedly changed the way that I, and countless others, approached recording. It is a timeless and amazing recording of incredible genius and beauty.

Sir George Martin - The first time I heard Pet Sounds, I got that kind of feeling that happens less and less as one gets older and more blasé…that moment when something comes along and blows your mind… It’s like falling in love - you’re swept away by it.

Mike Mills (R.E.M.) - One of the most beautiful and eternal pieces of music ever made. A personal favorite.

To be a part of history in the making you had better be quick to grab your ticket it’s only a small theatre….

Live Date 2006

Sunday 12th November Adelphi Theatre, London 0870 - 895 - 5598

24 hr cc hotline 0870 - 895 - 5598
Buy online: www.livenation.co.uk www.ticketrush.co.uk tickets and info to your mobile. All Tickets Subject To Booking Fees

Tickets go on sale Friday 8th September at 9am. £85, £75, £65, £40 (max 4 per person)

The Beach Boys ‘Pet Sounds’ 40th Anniversary album is out now on Capitol

www.brianwilson.com

Capitol Pet Sounds Press Release

THE BEACH BOYS’ PET SOUNDS: 40TH ANNIVERSARY PHYSICAL AND DIGITAL RELEASES HIT THE CHARTS AT BILLBOARD, iTUNES AND AMAZON.COM

Pet Sounds: 40th Anniversary Released Digitally and Physically In CD, Deluxe CD/DVD and Double Colored Vinyl Packages

iTunes' Pet Sounds Podcast Series Tops Music Podcast Chart During Release Week

“The Beach Boys’ seminal album comes alive on its 40th anniversary…”
(The Los Angeles Times, 8/27/06)

Hollywood, California – September 6, 2006 – Forty years after its release debut, one of popular music’s most influential and universally-acclaimed albums, the Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds, returns to Billboard’s chart and also makes a modern splash on the iTunes and Amazon.com charts. Pet Sounds: 40th Anniversary, released physically and digitally by Capitol/EMI on August 29, charges Billboard’s Pop Catalog chart with its highest sales week ever in the SoundScan era, taking the #8 position for its first week in stores. It joins the group's double-platinum Sounds Of Summer: The Very Best Of The Beach Boys (#10), making the Beach Boys the sole double entry in the chart’s Top 10. At Amazon.com, Pet Sounds: 40th Anniversary charts at #28 for its debut week.

On the digital sales front, Pet Sounds: 40th Anniversary, including a custom digital booklet with handwritten liner notes by the Beach Boys, debuted in iTunes' Top 100. In addition, iTunes’ eight-part Pet Sounds: 40th Anniversary Podcast series reached iTunes’ #1 music Podcast position during the week of August 29, while also ranking among iTunes' Top 25 Podcasts overall. The iTunes “Podumentary,” scheduled in weekly episodes from August 22 to October 10, features new, exclusive interviews and never-before-told recollections about the recording of the landmark album from all four of the surviving members of the Beach Boys: Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Al Jardine and Bruce Johnston.

The Pet Sounds: 40th Anniversary CD package includes the album’s Mono and Stereo mixes and a bonus mono track, “Hang On To Your Ego” (an early version of the album’s “I Know There’s An Answer”), recorded during the Pet Sounds sessions but not included in the album’s original tracklist.. The deluxe, limited-edition suede-feel CD/DVD digipak features the classic album in Mono, Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and Hi-Res 96kHz/24-bit PCM Stereo mixes, rare and previously unreleased promotional and documentary film footage, and a photo gallery of classic band images from the era. A deluxe, double colored vinyl package, limited to 10,000 numbered copies worldwide, presents Mono and Stereo mixes of Pet Sounds in a gatefold sleeve. Digitally, Pet Sounds: 40th Anniversary is available from all major DSPs.

Other music legends and the media are hailing Pet Sounds: 40th Anniversary as essential listening. Spin magazine has bestowed its highest five-star rating on the new CD/DVD package, while The Los Angeles Times calls the deluxe edition “a highly engaging celebration.”

“It was Pet Sounds that blew me out of the water… I love the album so much. I’ve just bought my kids each a copy of it for their education in life - I figure no one is educated musically ‘til they’ve heard that album.” - Paul McCartney

Pet Sounds, the Beach Boys’ 12th studio album is universally regarded as one of the most important recordings of all time. Since its original May 16, 1966 release, the studio masterpiece has reigned at the top of countless critic and fan polls, and four decades later, the visionary album maintains its timeless rank as one of popular music’s most-cited influences. More than 100 domestic and international publications and journalists have lauded Pet Sounds as one of the greatest albums ever recorded. In 1995, Pet Sounds topped MOJO magazine’s special issue “The Greatest Albums of All Time” at #1, while in 2003, Rolling Stone ranked Pet Sounds at #2 in the magazine’s list of the “500 Greatest Albums of All Time.”

Pet Sounds: 40th Anniversary deluxe, limited-edition suede-feel CD/DVD digipak package includes a DVD with six film and video cuts, including a behind-the-scenes documentary, “The Making Of Pet Sounds;” “Pet Stories,” featuring interviews with Brian Wilson, lyricist Tony Asher and members of the original “wrecking crew” Hal Blaine, Carol Kaye, Don Randi, Frankie Capp and Tommy Morgan; the never-before-released 1966 promotional color ‘firehouse’ film clip for “Good Vibrations;” original 1966 promotional black & white film clips for “Sloop John B” and Pet Sounds, and an excerpt from the unreleased BBC television documentary, “Rhythm of Life,” in which Sir George Martin joins Brian Wilson in the studio for a discussion of the album’s musical significance. Pet Sounds: 40th Anniversary’s DVD also contains a photo gallery set to the classic music of “God Only Knows” and Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and Hi-Res 96 kHz/24-bit PCM Stereo audio mixes of the album plus a Hi-Res 96 kHz/24-bit PCM Mono mix of bonus track “Hang On To Your Ego.”

Pet Sounds: 40th Anniversary’s commemorative double colored vinyl is limited to 10,000 numbered copies worldwide. Presented in a deluxe gatefold sleeve, the album’s Mono mix on yellow vinyl is complemented by the Stereo mix on green vinyl.

“Good Vibrations,” named the “#1 Greatest Single of All Time” by MOJO magazine and the “#6 Greatest Song of All Time” by Rolling Stone magazine, is a timeless musical treasure. The “Good Vibrations: 40th Anniversary” CD single, released June 27 in a limited edition digipak, features five different versions of the timeless Beach Boys hit, including the original 45 single version, an edit of the song with elements from various sessions, an alternate studio take, an instrumental and a live version from a Honolulu rehearsal in August, 1967 that was originally intended for the lost album Lei’d in Hawaii, as well as the single’s original U.S. B-side, “Let’s Go Away For Awhile.” The single’s original U.S. cover art appears on the front of the CD single, with various international single covers replicated within the package.

www.thebeachboys.com / www.petsounds.com

Brian Playing Pet Sounds LIVE - The Last Time(s)

By Michael DeMartin

As we know, Brian will be playing Pet Sounds in its entirety on November 1 at UCLA's Royce Hall (see post below). Now, from unnamed sources, I understand that Brian may also be performing Pet Sounds at a few other venues this year - and I mean just a few. Like maybe 6 or 8 and that's it. We're talking the U.S. and at least one in the U.K. I've been told that these shows WILL BE THE LAST TIME Brian performs this amazing album live.

I should have information on the U.K. show later today. Psst ... I hear it's at the Adelphi Theatre on Sunday, November 12 at 9:00pm. Tickets on sale this Friday. Check back later for more information ...