The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds: The Greatest Album of the Twentieth Century

By Kingsley Abbott and Jimmy Webb

Book Overview

Released in May 1966, Pet Sounds was the album that saw The Beach Boys graduate from perfectly crafted lightweight pop like "Surfin' USA" into a vehicle for the mature compositional genius of Brian Wilson. It also inspired The Beatles to make Sgt Pepper. Kingsley Abbott draws on hours of new interviewers to tell the full story of the album; from its composition and recording, through to its long-term legacy, as the greatest album popular music has yet produced. Brian Wilson tours the US in Fall 2001, performing Pet Sounds in its entirety with a full orchestra.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1900924307
• ISBN13: 9781900924306
• Release Date: October 2001
• Publisher: Helter Skelter Publishing
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 0.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 6.2" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

An instant Beach Boys library essential

An essential addition to the library of Beach Boys fans : the inside story of the making and marketing of the classic Pet Sounds album, its own influences (including the Beatles "Rubber Soul") and its influence on others (especially on the Beatles "Sgt. Pepper's..."), and its muted reception in 1966 and its place today in the pantheon of pop music. Highly readable, with loads of details on the writing and recording of tracks and the contributions of the musicians who played on the recording. Illustrations include such memorabilia as the musician's union payroll sheets for the sessions. Reading the book makes one want to pull out the album and listen again and again. High praise, indeed.