You’ll hear tricycle bells and bicycle horns in "You Still Believe in Me," and sleigh bells in "God Only Knows." The album features an empty plastic bottle used for a percussion sound in "Caroline, No," and Wilson used empty Coke cans in a similar manner in "Pet Sounds," the track before it. Throughout the recording of Pet Sounds, Wilson relied on an unusual assortment of items to add depth to the songs he had written and mostly carried in his head. The Wrecking Crew, as those session players were unofficially called, had to adapt to any number of requests, some more unusual than others. Brian Wilson directs from the control room while recording Pet Sounds. Right," Wilson tells Robinson, and the assembled group of studio session players, who have become legends in their own right. Robinson does his best to play the instrument in a way that mimics what Wilson is singing. "Make it more ooooh-ooh," Wilson sounds out, trying to get Robinson closer to what’s in his head. "Nah-uh, that was too jerky," Beach Boys mastermind Brian Wilson says to French horn player Alan Robinson, interrupting a take of "God Only Knows." At least in part, Pet Sounds is defined by its modernization and imaginative sound So now that it's turning 50, let's figure out why it's as good as it is. That it gave us "God Only Knows," one of our culture’s most beloved songs, should hint at the remarkable quality of the album as a whole. It was a product of particular circumstances, developed amid an informal competition between two behemoth musical groups. It also vaulted the Beach Boys to the forefront of popular music trends.īut it didn't arrive out of nowhere. Through sheer cohesiveness in its themes, song-to-song production excellence, and innovative use of instruments, Pet Sounds set a new standard for what a record album could - and should - be. This is the intro to "God Only Knows," the most well-known single from Pet Sounds, the masterpiece by the Beach Boys originally released 50 years ago, on May 16, 1966.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |