The Beatles did praise this album as innovative and ground breaking.

Brian has stated that Rubber Soul was a huge influence in that every album track was top notch, no throwaways

You Still Believe In Me - Not just delicate, "psychedelicate". Brian was 23 when creating this gem. Best vocals of Mike Love's career. I love this album.

The young Brian Wilson had such great vocal range, starting with his sweet falsetto. Brian directed the backing Wrecking Crew band on every instrument. Their famous bassist Carol Kayr said that the members of the Wrecking Crew would say that that kid (Brian Wilson) is special and knows what he’s doing!

Brian Wilson said that he wanted the audience to feel loved when they listened to this album. I hope you felt that way! "Don't Talk (Put Your Head On My Shoulder)" is one of the most beautiful, spiritual love songs I've ever heard. I learned what falling in love felt like before I actually experienced it from listening to that song. Nothing like cuddling up with your significant other while that song plays.

There's so much depth to Brian Wilson's music and story. No wonder this is Paul McCartney's favourite album. I really recommend watching the movie Love and Mercy at the same time, as well as listening to the instrumental and acapella versions of the Pet Sounds Sessions. Today! (1965) and the Smile Sessions (2011) albums are also musts from that creative peak (65-67) before Brian's mental decline started.

Crystal, I remember the first time I heard the album and thought - whatever. Second time - wait this is good. Third time - this is brilliant. I must have heard it over 100 times over the summer of 2021. May be one of the finest albums I ever heard. Brilliant.

"Pet Sounds" is a sheer masterpiece! Definitely one of the greatest albums ever recorded in popular music history. "You Still Believe in Me" is wonderful, a magical song. It means so much to me on a personal level. I was once walking around the streets of Rome, Italy, all alone in the middle of the cold dark night, everything closed, no one in sight, feeling dejected and rejected, and I sang this song to myself to fight back the tears. I needed to be back home, in the warm summer sun, at the pool, being a happy safe child again. That song saved me in that moment.

Every time I listen to this, I’m blown away. Brian Wilson was only 24 when Pet Sounds was made and I’m about to turn 30…

Linda Ronstadt said that when she was rehearsing & got stuck trying to hit certain notes, her go-to vocalists to study & emulate were Maria Callas & Brian Wilson.

Oh, and I've been telling you to listen to PET SOUNDS for a long time. LOL!

I think you will love Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), Crystal. John Lennon called them “Son of Beatles” and said had The Beatles not broken up they probably would sounded a lot like ELO. Jeff Lynne, the band’s leader, produced “Free As A Bird” and “Real Love”, and would work with George Harrison a lot later in his career.

Don’t Talk( Put Your Head on my Shoulder) is the most beautiful song I’ve ever heard.

Oh man, this is the first time I'm coming across your channel, and I'm only 5 minutes into this video, but I'm so stoked to find someone with a background in music reacting to this. I mean its nice seeing people in general enjoy the music I've always greatly appreciated, but its extra satisfying getting to share the experience with people that know more about what they're hearing. And I'm glad I'm not the only one that does little hand movements to what they're hearing when they listen to music :D

I knew you would love this record! Great reaction, Crystal :-)

What a brilliant album it is...I am not surprised you loved it with your keen appreciation of vocal harmony. It's great to see somebody so enthusiastic and so emotionally tuned in to the life-altering power of beautiful music! Peace x

A brilliant album. The Beach Boys were wonderful vocalists, and B Wilson a super composer. The musicality comes from the extraordinary LA session musicians known as the "Wrecking Crew".

Crystal, this album truly is life-changing. “Let’s Go Away For Awhile” to me is musical instruments playing what it feels like to fall in love with someone from the first meeting to that kiss. That middle part where it stops and then the chord changes, that’s the moment the couple kiss and fall in love. And I agree 💯 with you about “You Still Believe In Me” sounding like a holiday song. Such an underrated track. I can’t wait to see you listen to Side 2.

Brian's angelic falsetto is just PRICELESS... Carl may have been the golden throat of the band but Brian's voice to me is still unrivaled...

I'm going to spend days watching your reaction to this album. There's SO MUCH to appreciate!

Such a joy watching you listen to this for the first time. Smiles are wide😃

What a shock!!!! Very happy that you are hitting this album! I think this is the way to go for a lot of bands: hit their classic albums, as opposed to doing their entire discography!

Fantastic analysis as usual. Most of these songs are my first listen too and you nailed it. Off topic I like the way your hair looks. You did something.

Thank you for your reaction Crystal - it is always a pleasure and an education to get to enjoy your videos! All of my favourite Beach Boys tracks are from this masterpiece an LP!

I think I speak for a lot of your viewers in the channel who suggested this album when I ask you: What did I tell ya, huh? This is the album that is the best example of being really creative with timbre in one's music. And in particular timbres you wouldn't expect to hear on a rock & roll album from 1966; let alone one from the Beach Boys. Between a harp, an accordion, a bass harmonica (which you'll hear again in other songs on side 2), a clavichord, a bass clarinet, tympanis, and even both a bicycle bell and bicycle horn; there wasn't any limit to Brian Wilson's imagination. And it'll be even more prominent in the side 2 songs (let's just say one of those side 2 timbres you'll come across might be found next to your laundry machines).

Really enjoyed seeing you go through this. It's an utterly beautifully crafted album throughout, I do admittedly skip a couple tracks in the middle more often than not because they're kinda too slow for me and Brian Wilson playing around in his falsetto range at a slow tempo isn't my totally favorite thing in music for some reason, but it's a masterpiece throughout and most of the tracks blow my mind.

The refrain harmonies in You Still Believe in Me are unreal. Such an underrated song. Paul McCartney said: "I love that melody. That kills me, that melody. [hums the first verse, bursts into song at 'I wanna cry.' ] That's my favorite, I think. The way that's arranged, where it goes away very quietly. I was in the car the other night, and I was telling the kids, saying, 'wait, wait, here it comes.' And then it comes back, and it's so beautiful right at the end, comes surging back in these multi-colored harmonies. Sends shivers up my spine. That's one of my favorite tracks."

What a lovely surprise!! Excellent analysis. Thank you. This album inspired the Beatles, as is well-known, and Paul in particular ("She's Leaving Home").

Wonderful comments young lady, I’m 63 and didn’t really know of this masterpiece until 10-20 years ago - Brian was one of the very few r and roll geniuses ( Lennon / McCartney, Paul Simon, MJ) he composed it while band was out touring - he decided he couldn’t do it anymore.. and he had the best ‘sesssion’ LA musicians record the basic album.. the rest of the band wasn’t originally thrilled upon first hearing it but when they started adding their vocals they reluctantly realized what they had!!

Wonderful reaction! First time viewer of your channel... and I loved it! Don't fret about never having heard this. We all come across these treasures along life's path. I never heard one of the greatest albums of all time (The Zombies - Odessey and Oracle) until a few years ago I had been listening to music for decades... and never heard that brilliant piece of work (outside "Time of the Season") that belongs with "Pet Sounds" and "Sgt. Pepper's..." in the pantheon of great albums. But NOW I have... and I'm so grateful for it. Enjoy PET SOUNDS... It's a remarkable work. So is "SMiLE"... the greatest unreleased album (until it finally was decades later) from the brilliant mind of Brian Wilson. That's worth giving a spin, as well. Carry on and continued joy along the way!

1. Can't wait till you get to side 2, which has one of our favorite songs of all time leading it off! 2. You've inspired our channel to do our next video on this aibum. Loving these reaction videos, Crystal!

Such a great album. 😇 Thanks for the video, Crystal.

Although I'm an old geezer now, I was a kid when The Beatles, Rolling Stones and all of the exciting British Invasion groups were changing music, and still both listen to them as well as play those songs (on guitar). While there were many American bands that were big, most of them didn't resonate with me like the blues-based British rock music did, with a few exceptions such as Buffalo Springfield, who played a kind of country/folk/rock amalgam. I always recognized the genius of Brian Wilson, but at the time, I couldn't really get into the group. As someone living on the East Coast, surf rock wasn't a big thing, and many of their songs always seemed kind of sappy to me. I have to qualify this by saying that I saw The Beach Boys perform outside in Washington, DC long ago and they were a very powerful group and highly enjoyable, although by that time, Brian Wilson had kind of lost it and spent an entire year in his bed ballooning up to about 300 lbs. Fortunately, he recovered. As another poster noted, Wilson wrote the music but it was performed by The Wrecking Crew, session musicians that played on countless pop and rock albums. Their superb bass player was Carole Kaye.

Wow, you are great at this. Brian Wilson is not just a Pop/Rock star, he is a composer equal to the all time classical composers. I really want o hear this album done as a symphony, orchestra only.

If Brian Wilson watches this video, I am sure he would be very happy with your first time reaction to his masterpiece. I myself got great pleasure listening to you describe you emotions. This has always been one of my favorite albums. Thank you Crystal for doing this. This reaction makes many of us old timers who were around at that time feel all warm inside.

Quite a refreshing analysis. you don't bombard us with theoretical terms, but you break down the roles of each song section and describe the feeling they give off

Your enthusiasm and informed comments for Pet Sounds are so refreshing and uplifting to me and I've been listening to these songs for a lifetime. I'm so pleased you rate it so highly. I don't know how much you know about Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys but I would recommend the film 'Love and Mercy'. It gives a good account particularly of Brian's story.

Aw Pet Sounds

"God Only Knows" is one of the great songs of all time. These masterpieces deserve all the accolades they receive almost 60 years after they were recorded.

Wow, what a surprise Crystal and a treat. The songs I love the most on this album are God Only Knows, Wouldn't It Be Nice, & Sloop John B.

"The Pet Sound Sessions" box set has outtakes in which you can hear Brian Wilson constructing his masterpiece. He knows exactly what he wants at all times, and is in total command in the studio.

Never listened to this whole album before, but I can see why Paul McCartney loves it. It's right in his wheelhouse.

really happy you liked it, it's one of my favorites

Welcome to the Pet Sounds fanclub! "Don't Talk (Put Your Head On My Shoulder)" kills me every time.

YES!!! I'm so excited for you Crystal! I got turned on to this album back during my junior year of high school back in 97. I was a Brian Wilson obsessive from that point forward. The Smile Sessions album is just as good as Pet Sounds btw. For me though? Pet Sounds over Pepper 😁

Great video here! I think we watched you fall in love with this genius. In my view this is another nice, giant feather in Wilson's cap. The Beatles cannot compare to Brian Wilson's abilities with vocal arrangements.

All of the Beatles loved this album. George loved it so much that he "wore out the grooves". (I've never known quite how this works, but by this time George had enough cask to replace the needle!) This record was a major source of inspiration for the Beatles as they became a studio band with "Sergeant Peppers..." and "Magical Mystery Tour".

One of my favorite songs is on side 2. Can’t wait to hear your reaction

Thanks, Crystal. I never listened to Pet Sounds, but you have given a good overview.

I was a big Beach Boys fan years before this album came out. As an 8 year old I didn't seem a major change for them. When I heard Revolver a few months later I couldn't believe the sounds the Beatles were coming up with.

"Sloop John B." is actually a cover. But it is one of my all-time favorite Beach Boys recordings. It is an absolutely perfect song. Again, it meant so much to me on my voyage to Rome. The line "I wanna' go home" resonated so deeply and personally with me, and always will. "I feel so broke up. I wanna' go home. Why won't they let me go home?" My god, what a masterpiece!

Listening again to 'Sloop John B' (a traditional song, BTW) for the thousandth time, I suddenly realised that part of the magic of that little descending flute/celest intro is that it takes me into the sound world of Benjamin Britten's 'Sea Interludes' from 'Peter Grimes'. So evocative!

Brian Wilson is a genius.... Nothing else to say, except that the beach boys were on tour at the time. Brian had stopped touring by this time and was staying at home writing. This whole album came out of Brian Wilsons head, he wrote it and recorded it with the Wrecking Crew while the rest of the band were on tour.

Not only an escalation of the "Numero Quatro" running gag, but a superb showing off of a gorgeous singing voice.

Crystal, if you ever get a chance, I highly recommend checking out the “Pet Sounds Sessions” boxed set. There are instrumental versions of these songs as well as a capella/vocals only versions. You can also hear Brian giving directions to the other musicians as they run through the songs. It’s amazing.

I remember recommending this. I’m glad you took it up.

I see others have suggested to you the Pet Sounds sessions as well at other albums. You will not regret it. This music in particular provided a window into the mind of someone who was beautiful and poetic, but also extremely fearful and often unsure. Today! marks probably the first real leap in the group's progression because it was the first album Brian Wilson made after quitting touring, after he sustained a nervous breakdown on a plane ride between shows. The stress of performing, writing, singing, playing bass, producing and arranging all got to him and he hung his hat up after that episode with the intent to focus on what he could write and create and produce, not unlike the freedom the Beatles had to experiment in the studio once they had retired from touring and had no other commitments as well. I'm talking too much about this here, but if I can make a suggestion, if you have the time for some watching some time, the "Beautiful Dreamer Brian Wilson" documentary does a great job of talking about his history and the impact that was Today! onwards. The bulk of it is dedicated to explaining the task and eventual shelving of what was supposed to be the follow-up to Pet Sounds, SMiLE, but ultimately became something that Brian never finished for various reasons and Brian rarely contributed that much or made such executive decisions again. The biopic Lover & Mercy is also good, as is the documentary Pet Stories which has Brian and the session musicians who performed all the lovely, fancy music on Pet Sounds, describing what the experience was like. All three can be found on KZfaq I believe. The Pet Sounds sessions are intriguing because you'll get to hear not only the takes and Brian directing, but also, there are tracks isolated of just instrumentals, and just vocals. Listening to them will have you further appreciating the craft that went into getting everything to sound just right. It's almost as if the vocals and instrumentals could exist as separate tracks and they'd sound complete, and I believe, Let's Go Away for Awhile was intended to have vocals at one point, but Brian decided against it, finding that the instrumental worked just fine on its own. There were also vocal snippets of a harmony I think that the group, or even just Brian, made that existed as a guide track for some of the instruments. Ultimately he had the ability to decide what was enough and that's a big element the album being so special too.

lol i was about to comment this on your post last night thank yooouuuuu

Haven't listened much to this LP since the 80s so it's nice to revisit it and hear your thoughts and reactions. The striking for me is the wide variety of chords with different bass notes as well as instrument combinations e.g. flute lines with tuned percussion (glockenspiel?)... amazing string writing too...

Every CD collection without Pet Sounds is really incomplete.

Great review, as always. Now listen to the stereo mix on headphones and be blown away even more.

Just watching Crystal while listening to "Pet Sounds" was incredible. To be able to witness her hearing a true genius (Brian Wilson) is nothing like we've seen her react to any album she's analyzed. You can bet that I will watch this vid many, many, many times over just to watch Crystal. Thank you Crystal for analyzing the best album of all time. (Just my opinion).

Your insights allowed me to put language to my feelings related to this masterpiece. It was informative and fun to experience your wonderful reaction. Thank you.

Yay I recommended this a few months ago! This album changed my view of music...last summer. Welcome to the club. :)

A great movie on HBO right now called 'Love and Mercy' chronicling Brian Wilson's gradual mental decline but also showing how he created Pet Sounds and other great classics. Very interesting. Catch it if you can.Thanks.

Such a spiritual album, can't tell you how many times i've listened. Loved your reaction to You Still Believe in Me especially! You have to listen to The Band's Music From Big Pink sometime, very much similar to The Beatles and Beach Boys and touches on a wide range of genres.

The Beach Boys poured their hearts out with Pet Sounds

i think this album (as a huge beatles/pink floyd fan) is the greatest of all time

Near the end of the first song, "Wouldn't It Be Nice?", there's an instrument that sounds like a Marxophone - a sort of percussive zither - where the verse reads "...you know it seems the more we talk about it...". The Doors' Ray Manzarek played a Marxophone in "Alabama Song (Whisky Bar)".

por dios! que bonita sorpresa!!! 😳 es increible como este album me hace sentir tanta tristeza.. 15:01 .. i love it 🇦🇷

great job !!! now I like this masterpiece even more....you showed me soo much new aspects I didn´t realize since I heard your oppinions....great--- I wish you could play a little more music...and then speak your text....but you are brilliant 😊.... "dankeschön" from germany

If you love this album, it’s worth it to listen to the Vocal only & instrumental versions on the songs. What’s also brilliant is the “studio session” outtakes for each song, where you get an edited best of the 20 takes and studio discussion between Brian Wilson and the musicians, you get to hear musicians suggest things and Brian make changes to his original idea. It also gives a snapshot into how recording was at that time or at least how Brian did it, where you have 20+ musicians Brian had to book to play what he had in his head and they were all being recorded at once, so if someone messed up, or moved where they were standing and therefore wasn’t as loud, they would need to start over from the top.

For me, this album was the pinnacle of pop music achievement. Never equalled, never mind bettered.

Pet Sounds is riddled with combined instruments and experimentation like plucking piano strings with a paper clip ect. Also these songs were recorded with the full Wrecking crew playing the songs from start to end and so there was a lot of mic bleed which created the ethereal sound of the whole album. There were some drop ins but on the whole each song was a take and a performance. I truly love the playfulness of this album. It's magical.

It’s nice to find someone who appreciates music like I do. Thank you.

there is now a NUMERO QUATRO THEME !!! Bravo --- Pet Sounds is a great choice for you, and yes it is truly a shame that so much of it goes rarely heard

There is a great dovumentary about the understanding that there was a competition between McCartney and Wilson… this album inspired alot if Sgt Peppers … the thing about the Beach Boys is just how unique a sound they had

Nice job... this may be the most perfect album ever made... the music is incredible but the words and the stories they tell are at the same time really heart rending and heartwarming... reminds me of what it feels like to be 16 and in love and all the other confusing feelings that occur at that age... one could make the case that without Pet Sounds there would be no Sgt Pepper... but in any case a great album created by the genius of Brian and the other Beach Boys... harmonies galore...

Laura Nyro--More Than A New Discovery (reissued as The First Songs). She was still a teenager.

Oh my god my wish came true, so glad you listened to Pet Sounds

Holy macheral! So glad you are hearing this.

I first heard this album in its entirety 50 years ago and it was a life changing experience for me

You have a vibrant and colorful way with words. I like it. I would be really curious to hear your take on what I would consider Brian Wilson's magnum opus: the song Surf's Up from the SMiLE album. So much about this song is, wow, utterly transcendent. Keep up the groovey analysis.

Just came across this review, loved it, very in depth! As another comment suggested, the Smile sessions is a must listen after Pet Sounds. It was supposed to come out in 1967, but it failed due to a whole laundry list of reasons, but Brian himself completed it in 2004 as a solo album and named it "Brian Wilson Presents Smile". Will be on the lookout for side 2 :^)

Brian changed songwriting with his "modular" approach of perfectly linking together disparate elements. Brian is the greatest producer music has ever seen (or heard), and I feel he's the one true American musical GENIUS we have had in the past 60 or 70 years. You will hear more of the Beach Boys and realize that the one thing the Beatles were second at was vocal arranging. Brian is The King when it comes to producing and arranging. His backing tracks are as complex as his vocal arrangements. Listen to BRIAN WILSON PRESENTS SMILE (a re-recording done in 2004 of his 1967 SMILE project that never happened) and you will see why Brian was John, Paul, George, and George Martin all rolled into one. Although his voice was a little ragged, this song cycle is possibly the greatest concept album ever created in the pop/rock era. And he's still making brilliant music up until recently. Listen to "From There to Back Again" by The Beach Boys. Absolutely extraordinary composition. You will go down the Rabbit Hole regarding Brian and his Boys. Even "The Little Girl I Once Knew" from before PET SOUNDS is brilliant, as it goes into what I call "Brian Wilson Land," where you have no idea where the song is going, but after it gets there, you can never picture it going anywhere else. Oh, and SLOOP JOHN B doesn't belong on this album. It was thrown on to be commercial. It was done before PET SOUNDS before Brian leaped to his next creative level.

Not sure if you're planning to keep on exploring albums from this period but some suggestions would be The Village Green Preservation Society (The Kinks), Odessey & Oracle (The Zombies), Forever Changes (Love) or The Velvet Underground & Nico. Just so many incredible albums released between 66 and 69.

The album for which all albums that followed, are judged. Not perfect, but about as close as any artist ever came. Terrific dissertation Crystal. Your grasp of the maelstrom of voices and instruments on first listen is most impressive. The density of Mr. Wilsons harmonies and the combinations of instruments he uses makes Pet Sounds his Crown Jewel. Brian Wilson changed how the studio operated. He used different studios for their acoustic qualities. The studio itself became part of the soundscape. He is an American Treasure. Best wishes, RNB

So far, in my search, You Still Believe in Me holds an interesting record: Most notes used for one word-15 notes for the word cry. McCartney's Eat at Home on Ram uses 12 notes for the word Love. There's another challenger out there, too, but that one has slipped my mind.

Love all of this! Sloop John B's song structure is simpler because it's actually an old folk song from long ago. Of course Brian did spice up a few chords here in there haha. That lead bassline is fire. Thanks for your insight :-)

Hi Crystal! The legendary Hal Blaine was the session drummer for Pet Sounds. He is the most heard drummer that you may have never heard of! He played on over 6000 singles, 150 of which were Top 10 hits, 40 of those were number 1 hits. Truly amazing career.

Justo lo estaba escuchando hoy!! Qué bueno!!

This is Absolutely beautiful, and a brilliant album.

Don’t talk (put your head on my shoulder) makes me feel like I’m floating when I listen to it. My favorite song from them by far

I love your interpretations so much. I grew up on these guys, and it was beautiful to see you embrace this album and get to the heart of the genius of Brian Wilson. I'd be curious to hear your analysis of that 'break down' part of Sloop John B, after they sing the chorus, at about 1:50 of the song (not 150 of your video as the hyperlink would suggest!!) . you skipped over it twice, and I it probably has to do more with copy right than anything else, but to me that 8 second segment is right up there with the end of God only Knows in terms of a spiritual section of this album. I'd love to understand why it affects me so much! Thanks for your work. At some point I may have to listen to your Pink Floyd stuff, as I've been avoiding this band for a long time. Would you ever be interested in doing Radio Head? Especially Paranoid Android, but which ever album speaks to you. To me, this band is up there with the Beach Boys and Beatles in terms of musical genius, but it looks like your analysis is something that could help me understand why! Or what about doing the Beach Boys album Smile? The world is still receiving that album even though Good Vibrations has always been a classic, the album was lost until only recently. If I had a million dollars, you'd be one of the people I'd support on KZfaq. Thanks for your passion for music! Thanks for making music even more prayerful (I'm a Catholic so praying with music...super important!!)

There is a VERY interesting trick on "(Don't Talk) Put Your Head on My Shoulder". When he invites to listen to his heartbeat the strings come stronger like his heart is the music itself. Very smart.

20:28 - You didn't miss anything. Brian Wilson made the clever choice of having the drum come in, even if it was just briefly for a bar or two sometimes for effect. We do hear the ride cymbal consistently as pretty much the only form of percussion, but the subdued feeling is perfect for the song, reminds me a bit of Ringo dropping out mostly for Here, There and Everywhere as well. The way that the bass is plucked/thumping in the song, people have said it's meant to emulate a heartbeat as talked about in the song! From what I can recall I don't believe there's any documented accounts of this being Brian's intent from the beginning, but it was definitely a creative decision he made and kept and people have come to the conclusion that it was some fancy referencing going on!

The box set also has outtakes of "Good Vibrations" being put together.

Crystal: 1 - Do 'Odessey & Oracle' by The Zombies 2 - Do 'Forever Changes' by Love 3 - Do 'Smile' - this needs a bit of an explanation. Brian Wilson's planned follow-up to Pet Sounds that remained unfinished (though nearly finished) when he pulled the plug on the project because the other Beach Boys (mostly Mike Love) objected to its ambitiousness, and after Brian heard 'Strawberry Fields Forever' (which he saw as winning his production race with the Beatles that had always fueled his creativity). He revived/finished the album in the early 2000s first for live performance and then he recorded it as an album 'Brian Wilson Presents Smile'. A few years later an incomplete Beach Boys version mirroring Brian's solo version was cobbled together (but since the original recording sessions were abandoned in 1967 the Beach Boys version necessarily had some "holes" in it - like missing songs/song sections/an instrumental without its intended vocal/a vocal taken from a noisy home piano and vocal demo added to a proper studio recording that was missing a vocal. For those reasons, I recommend Brian's completed solo album (which VERY closely copies the original Beach Boys recordings AND was properly finished) rather than the cobbled together decades after the fact (and with several missing/incomplete pieces/sections) Beach Boys album.

Hey, Crystal! Absolutely enjoy your reaction to Pet Sounds! If you ever get the chance to list to the Today album by The Beach Boys, you should! I think you'd love it as well. :)

This is the best album Of Beach Boys for me!!❤️❤️