Dance Party Tuesday - Pet Sounds

This year's Grammys featured a tribute performance for the Beach Boys, as well as a performance by the Beach Boys themselves - together for the first time in many years. I was raised on the Beach Boys as my Dad is a big fan, and now I'm a big fan.

I'm usually a little cranky when people perform Beach Boys tributes or select them for countdowns - they always focus on their early work, the surfing songs. I do love those songs - they're fun, beautiful and emotional. I would love to see more of their later work highlighted, though, and songs that weren't radio hits.

Me, during the Grammys:

So! Today you get a Dance Party Tuesday. We're going to run through my favorite Beach Boys album, Pet Sounds. <---- Click that link! It's the wikipedia page for the album. I know all of it because it's in the liner notes to the anniversary edition of Pet Sounds, which I pored over for hours. Fascinating!

Arguably one of the best pop albums ever written (Rolling Stone gave it the #2 spot among the 500 greatest albums of all time), and historic. No, really. This group was emo back in the 60s, y'all!! Lush harmonies, emotional topics and musical complexities abound. Talk about a wall of sound. The album starts out with some songs you're likely familiar with, but keep on listening down into the ones that didn't go to radio.

Down below the album videos are a few documentary bits & pieces I found. Happy watching/listening!

1 - Wouldn't It Be Nice

2 - You Still Believe In Me

3- That's Not Me

4 - Don't Talk (Put Your Head On My Shoulder)

5 - I'm Waiting For That Day

6 - Let's Go Away For A While

7 - Sloop John B

8 - God Only Knows

9 - I Know There's An Answer

10 - Here Today

11 - I Just Wasn't Made For These Times (my favorite from the album! Emo, gorgeous vocals, layers, sigh)

12 - Pet Sounds

13 - Caroline, No

Bits and Pieces

There's more Behind The Sounds videos for each song on Pet Sounds, here! Each video has tons of great info, photos and film footage and I can't wait to watch them all.

Here's a podcast about the engineering and recording of Pet Sounds and how it impacted pop music of the time. Please ignore the fact that this dude seems to be reading a Beach Boys book report.