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Loading... The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds (33 1/3)by Jim Fusilli
   None No current Talk conversations about this book.  TobinElliott | Sep 3, 2021 |   If you are an ardent fan of "Pet Sounds", I suspect it is the same for you. What a remarkable thing it is to know that there's someone out there who understands how you feel and feels the same way—and who not only feels as you do, but can articulate your feelings better than you can. This is a very loving tome on the creation process of "Pet Sounds", which is by many not hailed as The Beach Boys' masterpiece, but one of the best albums of the 1960s, and by others as the best pop album ever made. It also delves into the sanities and insanities regarding Brian Wilson, the "Pet Sounds" mastermind and main creator. The music is a world in itself, and this book complements it well. The author has taken in how lonely and worthless Brian Wilson felt, before, during and slightly after having finished the album. His manager father, his fears, his marriage, the competition from The Beatles... To end - a few lines from the book on the song "God Only Knows": The song opens with the line "I may not always love you."(  ) pivic | Mar 20, 2020 | ) dasam | Jun 21, 2018 | I finished with a sense that Brian Wilson was as much an innovator in pop arrangements and studio recordings as he was a pop songwriter. Fusilli emphasises Brian's role over those of the rest of the band, who seem to have been traveling session musicians for Brian's muse. I wonder if that view is generally shared. The Wilson family's father turned out to be as manipulative and perhaps self-serving as Sharon Osborn's father. Another recurrent theme to rock'n'roll, to be sure. (  )1  elenchus | Sep 12, 2016 |  ) cappybear | Jun 15, 2015 | no reviews | add a review
Belongs to Series33 1/3 (19)
Pet Sounds is, rightly, one of the most celebrated pop albums ever released. It has also been written about, pored over, and analyzed more than most other albums put together. In this disarming book, Jim Fusilli focuses primarily on the emotional core of the album, on Brian Wilson's pitch-perfect cry of despair. In doing so, he brings to life the search for equilibrium and acceptance that still gives Pet Sounds its heart almost four decades after its release. For all the ups and downs, the scandals and, finally, the good times that are associated with Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys, nothing can diminish the beauty of Pet Sounds - its sense of adventure, its insight into the boundless mysteries of young love and how all its elements seem to coalesce to lay bare an insecure teen confronted by the uncertainties of adulthood, a man who wishes life were as simple as he believed it once was. More than a wonderful work that has easily withstood the test of time, Pet Sounds raises pop to the level of art through its musical sophistication and the precision of its statement which, taken together, celebrate the fulfillment of Brian Wilson's ambition. No library descriptions found. |
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 Google Books — Loading...GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)782.421660922The arts Music Vocal music Secular Forms of vocal music Secular songs General principles and musical forms Song genres Rock songs History, geographic treatment, biography Biography Collected biographyLC ClassificationRatingAverage: (3.3)
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Wikipedia in English (2)
5
Yet, this account of The Beach Boys in general, and Brian Wilson in particular, as they led up to the making of their seminal album, where Brian's head was at at the time, some of the influences, helps me to appreciate it more.
It'll never be a top ten listen for me, but this account did definitely make me look at it in a different light.
Well done. (