Pet Sounds: Beach Boys classic turns 60 years old

On Saturday (16 May), The Beach Boys celebrated the 60th anniversary of their history-altering project, Pet Sounds.  

A stark pivot away from their usual, upbeat jovial sound, they opted to abandon sun, sea and surfing, moving towards a darker wave, permeated with realness that absorbed loss and heartache in staggeringly eye-watering style.  

Forget sunglasses and shorts, The Beach Boys invited listeners into a cold world full of collocate ambience. Happy jingles juxtaposed with dark lyrics are evident, and a wash of grey looms over the experience; but my word does it work.  

 

 

 

 

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Don’t get us wrong, the occasional 'shanty-like', sanguine tale permeates the tracklist, a cover of Sloop John B being the standout - which very much became one of the LP’s classic hits.  

However, this record had a natural, revived edge. A new level of emotional depth was unlocked, together with the cohorts most breathtaking harmonies on multiple tracks like You Still Believe In Me, Caroline, No - just to name a few.  

Musically, The Beach Boys had found a fresh hook, tapping into a thematic coherence alongside lyrical ambition, postulating into something that was nothing short of groundbreakingly poetic and frankly life changing.  

When Paul McCartney dubs it the “album of all time”, you know you’re doing something right.  

But its reception at the time? Bleak. It seemed the masses weren’t ready for their tanned titans to shy away from the UV. But Brian Wilson and his crew knew what they had carved; a complete statement of intent.  

However, sixty years on, Pet Sounds has retained its loyal followers who backed the record from day one, while recruiting a conglomerate of globe wide dogmatists.  

This album remains as vital as ever and redefined how a record could be perceived. And today, its legacy is one of immense respect. Brian Wilson took a risk, shunned off the familiar, and produced an art form of pure, exemplary excellence.  

To celebrate, a range of special 60th anniversary physical formats have been released. You can check out all available variants here.