may be one of the best things I've ever heard. A bit of a cliche I know, but over the past day or two it has completely overcome me, along with Brian Wilson's autobiography.
I honestly can't think of a better all-round record, and when you consider the state of mind it was written in, it makes it all the more poignant.
Agreed
One of my favourite albums of all-time and it contains, in my opinion, the greatest song ever written (God Only Knows)
almost snap!
Snap
Yeah
It goes without saying really. It is a masterpiece. God Only Knows is my 2nd favourite song ever.
Name me a better album
and I will laugh in your face.
a better album than Pet Sounds?
lots
Go on?
Can't. Be. Done.
Lots
that you prefer, but not lots that are better. From production, track listing, talent and songwriting it is flawless </dork>
The thing is,
I've had the album for two years, and gone from thinking it's overrated, to thinking it's alright, to this.
I tend to get intimidated by such acclaimed albums, and set myself up for disappointment, but I've realised this is the real deal.
I only just got the album
at Christmas. Fuck knows why it took so long, I fucking love it.
Far too much cursing
Must drink less coffee over the course of the day.
Do you mind if I ruin Brian Wilson's autobiography for you
by saying that it wasn't actually entirely written by him, and that (allegedly) Landy was behind a lot of it. When I found out I nearly cried.
But this thread is making me want to listen to that album again, which is always a good thing. I Just Wasn't Made For These Times remains one of the greatest songs ever written.
Well it's Brian Wilson...
so I imagine he had quite a bit of help with writing it. Certainly, Landy comes across as quite Jesus-like, so I'm not surprised!
*nods*
This is a fair point. Wikipedia says:
It is widely understood that although it was written following interviews with Brian and others, Landy was largely responsible for the book, in conjunction with People magazine writer Todd Gold. The book describes Landy in terms that could be called messianic. In a later lawsuit over the book, Wilson testified in court that he hadn't even read the final manuscript. As a result, the book was taken out of press some years later. It should also be noted that the book used parts of other Beach Boys books written by Steven Gaines and David Leaf without crediting the sources. They also altered these "borrowings" to put other people's words into Brian's mouth.
It kinda stopped me enjoying the book as much as I did when I first read it. Funnily enough, I'm now reading a Phil Spector autobiography, so it'd be interesting to see how the two stories compare...
a lot of that biography is apparently false
as for Pet Sounds, I loved it on first listen, and have been hooked ever since.
Brian had his mind turned to goo by that guy
And Landy was just trying to get in on the royalties, he didn't write a note. Utter scumbag.
Read the Brian Wilson chapter in The Dark Stuff by Nick Kent for a bit more on that.
I really want to like this
record, but it just doesn't do it for me. Although I haven't listened to it for ages, there always seemed to be a wee bit of filler on it and as someone else said on these boards it comes across as quite conservative.
I'd rather listen to Dylan or Simon and Garfunkel.
what tracks on it do you consider filler?
out of interest
x one million
still love it when people try and argue with its genius