The Beach Boys — Pet Sounds, 60 Years Later
“God only knows” this took long enough!
Welcome (or welcome back) to Vinyl Monday! This is my series where I give the who/what/when/where/why and how I feel about classic albums in my collection. My revised thoughts on the Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds, released 60 years ago last weekend. Thank you to returning guest “God Only Knows: Brian Wilson, The Beach Boys, and the California Myth” author David Leaf for being part of this anniversary celebration!
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Timestamps:
intro – 0:00
art/packaging/personnel – 2:04
Pet Sounds – 7:09
track listing/release – 33:11
my thoughts – 52:40
thanks for watching! – 1:28:50
Music:
Intro Music: Yeah Yeah Yeah (Long) by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/…) Artist: http://audionautix.com/
Outtro Music: Ticket To Nowhere Man by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/…) Artist: http://audionautix.com/
Vinyl Monday logo by Callum: https://www.youtube.com/@clynaack
#vinyl #vinylcommunity #thebeachboys
@FreviriousQuigby
May 24, 2026 at 1:22 am
in the words of the great philosopher Gerard, "teenagers scare the living shit out of me"
@thomasulrich3107
May 24, 2026 at 1:22 am
8:02 honestly based. Wouldn’t trust Bono to be able to get me a diet coke tho
@Citric_Productions-f1r
May 24, 2026 at 1:22 am
I knew it! I knew pets could make sounds!
@scottdavis0801
May 24, 2026 at 1:22 am
I ❤ every song on this album. It's a very emotional trip though.😢😊
@stephensorensen4477
May 24, 2026 at 1:22 am
My first three favorite albums are very set. The next Three are from The Kinks, The Moody Blues and Traffic, ( but which particular album from those groups are not set.
Then comes Pet Sounds.
But it feels like it’s floating it’s way upward. 🌊🌹🚉🫧
@forgottenclown9115
May 24, 2026 at 1:22 am
For me, the Beach Boys will always be the Rambo II of rock.
After losing Vietnam, Rambo returns to “hell” to rescue the POWs—and, in doing so, restore American self-confidence.
In the same way, Smile, sustained by the myth of Brian Wilson’s lost masterpiece—a “what might have been” story if there ever was one—serves as a balm for the faliour of 1960s American pop.
@pyjamajam783
May 24, 2026 at 1:22 am
Abby the host of VM is totally different person from Abigail the interviewer. 🤔
@ChrisFreeman-z8x
May 24, 2026 at 1:22 am
I remember when I first heard "Caroline, No" on the radio early in 1966. I was transfixed. It was so beautiful. I waited to hear them play it. And when I heard it, I was just in a wonderful place.
But I didn't hear it that many times, and soon it disappeared off the radio.
It was not released under the Beach Boys name. The single "Caroline, No" was released under the name of Brian Wilson.
The song was not a huge success, but not a flop, either. It charted somewhere in the mid-range.
Capital wanted a strong hit follow-up to the less than desired response to "Caroline, No", and Al's suggestion to do "The Wreck Of The John B", turning it into "Sloop John B", that put the Beach Boys at the top of the charts again.
Still, "Caroline, No" is one of the most beautiful songs Brian ever wrote. It's right up there with "The Warmth Of The Sun".
@davidbanan.
May 24, 2026 at 1:22 am
if there's any album one that warrants the description "simply magic" it's Pet Sounds.
It's just such a singular listening experiance for me, there's no album that feels quite like Pet Sounds does, and even if I think that Sgt. Peppers is the better album there's something about Pet Sounds that is just, well, magic.
@michaelevans898
May 24, 2026 at 1:22 am
Sixties Art Major — I heard the songs on "Pet Sounds" when I was 16 years old — meaning the singles as they were released on AM Radio during the winter. The unpretentious "Barbara Ann" needs to be mentioned as VERY popular in our town, where the Beach Boys steadily performed live. I had an all-night job and heard everything on the album over the air throughout the summer of 1966, both by request from fans and bored DJs who knew that they couldn't miss with a Beach Boys track.
My peer group bought "Pet Sounds" as a matter of course, and its 45RPM singles separately, which they wore out on record players that were barely big enough to hold those seven-inchers. During the Autumn, "Good Vibrations" was the phenomenon that everybody says it was, and said peer group was eager to hear that came next …
Because of circumstances you mention, this album was not stacked up and abused on LP changers, though, with the result that when stereo equipment finally came into wide circulation, there were many copies in 'average' households that sounded like they should!
@clydekimsey7503
May 24, 2026 at 1:22 am
I certainly love this channel, but i have to disagree on her motivation on why record labels put out greatest hits albums. She says it means the label puts them out when they see no more strong material coming from the band. True for some bands, but many other band had greatest hits volume 2 and 3, so many bands weren't finished creatively after their first greatest hits album.
@clydekimsey7503
May 24, 2026 at 1:22 am
For more information on Pet Sounds, watch the movie Love and Mercy.
@michaelshiflett4835
May 24, 2026 at 1:22 am
Abby I think you’re a genius.
@Mikeywithak-ts3oy
May 24, 2026 at 1:22 am
Van Dyke Parks is to Brian Wilson as Jim O'Rourke is to Wilco.
@RonaldHaselden
May 24, 2026 at 1:22 am
Is Pet Sounds deserving to be considered among the very best albums of all time? Yes it is without a doubt, and thanks for highlighting Don't Talk so well in your discussion, because it seldom gets mentioned at all in the shadow of God Only Knows and Wouldn't It Be Nice.
@Mikeywithak-ts3oy
May 24, 2026 at 1:22 am
Well adjusted All American ACID FREAKS! Let's not forget the huge influence of avant-garde music. Although Van Dyke Parks is only credited on SMILE, the boys started hanging out with him in 1966. Parks' is an avant-garde pop composer and his album Song Cycle is one of the best psychedelic pop albums of all time. Parks is to The Beach Boys as Jim O'Rourke is to Wilco.
@gaodene
May 24, 2026 at 1:22 am
yeah, you weren't joking. you took on a big one. and THANK goodness you jump into the cover. as much as i love this album, the cover really was the weak point of this album. it really does show that the label was 5 years behind what the beach boys put together on this album. it almost felt like the label thought this was just "another one"
@qwerty123860
May 24, 2026 at 1:22 am
I GF was surprised when I showed her my five copies of that album LOL
@MJ1
May 24, 2026 at 1:22 am
You do Qobuz?
You should talk about that more. If you care about a great music experience, you have to care about a great audio experience. Most of your generation have never heard good audio.
Use your platform to fight for that cause.
@stephenlangsl67
May 24, 2026 at 1:22 am
My Mom and Dad were at the San Diego Zoo on the same day that the cover photo for the Pet Sounds was taken and actually met The Beach Boys in Person.
@modernworldiscrap
May 24, 2026 at 1:22 am
Still the best album ever produced
@weezadam
May 24, 2026 at 1:22 am
Hard disagree on Sloop John B. It was recorded almost a year before most of the rest of the album was recorded and doesn’t really fit in with the other tunes. On its own it’s a beautiful production with those saccharine harmonies. But every time I listen to the album I’m actually tempted to skip the track.
@elvisleeboy
May 24, 2026 at 1:22 am
Pet Sounds is the album for those who really aren't made for their times. It'll always resonate with people who feel apart from everything going on.
@Beatlezjunkie
May 24, 2026 at 1:22 am
Can you do Weezers blue album
@ghanimaatreides5889
May 24, 2026 at 1:22 am
Pet Sounds is overrated the same that Sgt. Pepper's is overrated, but it doesn't make either album any less important culturally or any less dear to the hearts of fans. Personally, I respect Pet Sounds, but I don't worship it; although "God Only Knows" is one of my favorite songs of all time, and it makes me cry every time I hear it. I think Pet Sounds is pivotal to pop music (through the musicians that were influenced by it) the same way that Rubber Soul/Revolver are, and no matter if people list it #2 or #3 or if any one listener likes it or not, you can never take away its impact.
@fluffskunk
May 24, 2026 at 1:22 am
I know Brian intended it to be in mono, but the Atmos, especially "God Only Knows", is transcendent.
@BrotherLove1962
May 24, 2026 at 1:22 am
Being a songwriter, and having had to work with other musicians, lots of musicians, within the context of a band, this is my take on Pet Sounds. Number one he wasn’t primarily lyricist, he was a composer. In the early days, he was developing his skill. By the time he got to pet sounds, he wasn’t being constrained by the fact that he was writing songs for this particular group of people to perform. As the Beatles had discovered, the studio was a far more creative environment, especially in the fact that you could have other musicians come in playing orchestra or instruments with which none of them were acquainted. Perhaps part of the problem with his “breakdown“ was the fact that he felt trapped. This is probably why smile ended up the way it did. He was trying to compensate doing the kind of music that is in his head with trying to keep The Beach Boys alive. The rest of The Beach Boys proved that they could only be The Beach Boys.
@makisupadude1241
May 24, 2026 at 1:22 am
Great video! Would love a video on the love you/adult child era!
@waterboys3001
May 24, 2026 at 1:22 am
I'm 68 and it always sounded like 1960s muzak to me. It was the type of stuff you would hear in the background when my parents would take me to a restaurant. It is pleasant pop, but it is not rock. Nobody but the critics were listening to this album when I was a teenager. If you liked Zeppelin, Hendrix, Sabbath, or the Mahavishnu Orchestra you wouldn't get a lot out of the twee ditties on this album. US critics like Christgau and Lester Bangs were clueless. I never understood the acclaim this album got from American critics.
@seijunsejuki
May 24, 2026 at 1:22 am
Sometimes I feel like I'm alone on an island, being the only person it seems, in the world, who doesn't think this is the greatest album of all time. I don't know, is there anyone else here who thinks this is an overrated album? Or am I just insane?
@RobertBrooks-z3r
May 24, 2026 at 1:22 am
I enjoy the opportunity to continue to explore and learn more about classics like Pet Sounds. Well done Abby!
@davidkornblatt851
May 24, 2026 at 1:22 am
Ok I’ve met Brian Wilson. The Beach Boys could never do what the Beatles did. It’s unfortunate. Because the Beatles had Four super guys. The Beatles had George Martin. The Beatles had Norman Smith and Geoff Emerick! The Beatles eventually had All of EMI working for them. It’s not close.
@bluemanfansam
May 24, 2026 at 1:22 am
YEAH LEMON TWIGS
@MonsieurC64
May 24, 2026 at 1:22 am
You are right about "Sloop John B." ! It's a very important song on the album, and one of their all time best recordings. The Beach Boys recorded some great covers, as important as their original hits.