Pet Sounds will always contain memorable album artwork; however, it will always remain dull and unimaginative. Maybe the reason for the dullness of the album is the notion that the Beach Boys are trying to portray the reality of the world through their album. That the world and life of the 1960s is dull and boring, just like the album cover. On the other hand, the songs in contrast to the album cover are creative and full of energy.
The album artwork was supposed to be a visual pun for the album’s title “Pet Sounds.” The album cover of Pet Sounds consists of the Beach Boys going to the San Diego Zoo petting section on February 15, 1966 and feeding a small herd of goats. When scrutinizing the album cover, one may notice that Mike Love seems a little held back and withdrawn from the goats and is the only one out of the five Beach Boys not feeding the goats.
Objectively though, I don’t think there is a particular reason why listeners are attracted to Pet Sounds. The audience mainly is captivated by the album and finds it valuable because they are capable of identifying with it. We identify with Brian Wilson’s sense of solitude within his voice, this lonely person who is filled with a tragic sense of anxiety and hesitation, and this adult who still has not been able to face the fact that he is now a “grownup.”
Furthermore, no other group uses such layered vocal harmonies as the Beach Boys. The compositional techniques utilized by Brian Wilson in Pet Sounds goes beyond any other rock musician. For example, Don’t Talk, Put Your Head On My Shoulder has a hey change that no other rock act had ever endeavored to attempt before the Beach Boys. They utilize a similar technique in Caroline No. When examining the album, one notices that there is a tonality change in almost every song that is still today unheard of in rock music!
Along with being one of the most intellectual Psychedelic Rock albums of the 1960s, Pet Sounds is also valuable for its emotional honesty. IT uses complex musical arrangements and phrases to communicate basic human feelings to the audience, and when dealing with Top 40 hits, that is a difficult task because most songs now days are about drugs, sex, love, and partying. It is hard to take a look at the Top 100 songs of and find a song that just portrays the basic emotional sentiments of human beings.
The album is also valuable because it is directed towards a sundry audience. It is intended for both the younger generation and for the older generation who is facing being “adults.” However, at its core, Pet Sounds is lyrically intended for the younger generation that is trying to develop their conscience in this chaotic, innovative, and free-spirited society of the sixties.
The album lyrically can almost be considered poetry if one were to think about it. It consists of heartfelt confessions and sentiments that may be spoken about within a poem. The album is designed so when people hear the first song Wouldn’t It Be Nice, they are deluded into believing it is just another ordinary album with joyous music, however once one surpasses the Wouldn’t It Be Nice, the album transforms into a soft, choir-like, drumless album. It does eventually regain its tempo afterwards, but loses it once again through the utilization of the Beach Boys very famous vocal pieces.
The album was obviously also influenced and very valuable because of its religious influence. Now days, we still don’t see spiritual music in the Top 100 iTunes songs. Pet Sounds was able to surpass these boundaries however by subtly eluding religious notions through their lyrics. Aside from songs such as God Only Knows, which evidently has religious connotations, songs such as Don’t Talk, Put Your Head On My Shoulder also have a religious aspect to it. This song has the bass line that very much resembles a heartbeat. Although many may deem this to be just another drug related song, one may also view the song as a typical teenage love song that causes Brain Wilson to envision what Heaven must be like.
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