I got this album about ten years ago when my mom called into a radio contest and won it. One of those "If you're the ninth caller you get a prize" radio contests. She won this, Santana's Supernatural and Aida Original Cast Recording. She then gave all three CDs to me and this is the only one of the three that I still have today. Considered by many to be one of the greatest albums ever made, it is on numerous lists of best albums. Sir Paul McCartney has often sighted Pet Sounds as one of his favorite albums and has called it an education in music. This is truly the beginning of a new era in The Beach Boys career. They gained fame by popularizing, inventing?, Surf Rock which largely concentrated on songs about surfing, the beach, cool cars, and living under the California sun. This type of music was very popular and very fun to listen to but it often was considered very simplistic, don't get me wrong I love songs like "Surfin' USA" and "Help Me Rhonda" but they are very simple in idea and that is what makes them fun. With Pet Sounds The Beach Boys completely abandon all of the Surf ideas that made them popular, but retain their spectacular harmonies. The album is full of introspection and questions about life and the times we are living in. Brian Wilson is in complete control here and many of the songs seem to come from his individual point of view. This is truly The Beach Boys finest album because many of their other albums, particularly those before 1966, are simply song collections, twelve catchy songs packaged onto one disc. Here the thirteen tracks make a whole sound. There are the hit singles "Wouldn't it Be Nice," "Sloop John B," and "God Only Knows" but they fit into a bigger picture that is known as Pet Sounds. They have made more fun albums and much bigger sellers (if you just wants hits the compilation Sounds of Summer is your best bet) but The Beach Boys never made a more innovative or complete album than Pet Sounds.
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