Pet Sounds

Funnily enough pet in Valenciano means fart so this thread really resonates. Imagine asking a group of Valencian schoolchildren if they had any pets. The titters in class rang out loud and clear.

I struggle with the notion of musicans as genius. There's a BW quote out there somewhere - "that just means a lot of people like my songs", or similar. Few, if any musicians, truly change the course of history, innovate at a genuinely exceptional level, establish new ways of thinking, decode the secrets of the universe, cure polio. etc. More often than not, musicianship is a craft, with techniques, and rules that can be learned, rather than some miraculous god-given gift. Brian had a love of Gershwin, alongside a love of Jan and Dean, and was smart enough to figure out how that music worked.

I've spent much of my adult life in and out of BW concerts. I love his music as much as any, but whilst he's had a truly wonderful talent at times, if we're calling him a genius in the present day, then that title is an honorific, like "President", bestowed for life. He's certainly a brave man, but also one left without much of a voice outside of his music. I was gifted a meet and greet pass to one of his shows, the day after his birthday -

Me: Thanks Brian, did you have a good birthday?

Brian: ..................

Pet Sounds is obviously fantatstic. It will have broadened the horizons of a great many as to what music can achieve - in its subject matter, its palette of timbres and harmonies, in stepping outside the confines of formulaic 4/4 rock. At the same time, the lyrics that tie the music together were the work of Tony Asher. (Likewise, on Smile, Van Dyke Parks plays as much of a role as Brian), and this level of quality control are what we should expect of our musicians, rather than the exception.

For me, the highlights from the record are 'I Know There's An Answer', the title track (which in live performance has been given just enough room for improvisiation, and a build-up of intensity), and Sloop - a pretty much perfect arrangement of a traditional.

BW's reputation as genius seems to rest on the quality of his output, his reputed abilities to hold complex arrangements in his head, and to visualise these, and the unhappy coincidence that he has carried the stone of mental illness. Not to diminish his achievements at all, but there are many others with similar talents & burdens. And 'Smile', when we finally heard it, was at least the equal of PS, if not superior (you could make a good case also for Holland, and 20/20).