The 1960s were an ongoing battle not only between generation gaps and counter culture, but among musicians as well. As the 1960s begin to utilize music as a universal language some of the greatest bands of all times arose such as the Beatles and the Beach Boys. When thinking about these two bands, one has a hard time deciding which one has a deeper meaning to their songs, and although many believe the Beatles to be the greatest band of the 1960s, I would like to place the Beach Boys right alongside them, at par.
One of the Beach Boys most prominent albums is Pet Sounds. Overall, this album much like the Beatles Revolver is an odd album complete with both ambivalence and contradictions. It is at this point that the five Beach Boys, Al Jardine, Mike Love, Brian, Carl, and Dennis Wilson, reach the zenith of their career. The album feature two major radio hits: Wouldn’t It Be Nice and Sloop John B along with Brian’s best recording ever God Only Knows. Personally, I believe the album’s mixing of not only instruments but strange sounds such as bicycle bells as well has rendered Pet Sounds the best pop album ever made.
However, much like the Beatles whom people deem have created some of the best albums ever made, people cannot deny experiencing this intense lack of joy and this sensation of alienation within the lyrics of Pet Sounds. Ironic names are given to titles of the songs within Pet Sounds such as Smile, which in reality speaks about the end of a teenage life and the desire to transcend its limitations. Although the song’s lyrics might be despondent and gloomy, ironically the title and melody is harmonious. Even the number one song Wouldn’t It Be Nice trickles with negative connotations. The title intends it to be an optimistic song, however the lyrics permeate with frustration and the inability of a teenager in love to control his own life and spend the night with his lover.
Most of the substance found within Pet Sounds is full of multifarious emotions and matters that go beyond the narrow-minded conception of a typical teenager. The album deals with sophisticated themes such as life’s limitations, the inability to see hope in difficult situations, and the fading of optimism within the society of 1960s. At its core, Pet Sounds to me is equivalent to the album of the Beatles and deserves the same recognition for it is an album that has not only sent sundry imperative themes to society but has also chosen to take a path of music that generally was not taken by the music bands of the 1960s.
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