Pet Sounds is the 11th studio album by the American rock band the Beach Boys, released May 16, 1966 on Capitol Records. It was initially met with a lukewarm critical and commercial response in the U.S., peaking at number 10 on Billboard's Top LPs chart. In the UK, the album was lauded by critics and reached number 2 on the Top 40 Albums Chart, remaining in the top ten for six months. Promoted there as "the most progressive pop album ever", Pet Sounds garnered recognition for its ambitious production, sophisticated music, and emotional lyric content. It is considered to be among the most influential albums in music history.
Friends is the 14th studio album by American rock band the Beach Boys, released on June 24, 1968, through Capitol Records. The album is characterized by its calm and peaceful atmosphere, which contrasted the prevailing music trends of the time, and for its brevity, with five of its 12 tracks running less than two minutes long. It sold poorly, peaking at number 126 on the US Billboard charts, the group's lowest US chart performance to date, although it reached number 13 in the UK. Fans generally came to regard the album as one of the band's finest.
20/20 is the 15th studio album by American rock band the Beach Boys, released February 10, 1969 on Capitol Records. The LP was named for being their 20th overall album release. Much of it consists of outtakes from earlier albums. It reached number 3 on UK record charts and number 68 in the US. Brian Wilson was absent during most of the album's recording after admitting himself into a psychiatric hospital, requiring brothers Carl and Dennis to retrieve several outtakes he had recorded years earlier. While Brian does not appear on the front cover, the inner gatefold of the original vinyl release features him alone, behind an eye examination chart.
Carol Kaye is an American musician. She is one of the most prolific recorded bass guitarists in rock and pop music, playing on an estimated 10,000 recordings in a career spanning over 50 years.
All Summer Long is the sixth album by American rock band the Beach Boys, released July 13, 1964 on Capitol Records. It was the first LP the group recorded since the British Invasion. The album rose to number 4 in the U.S. during a 49-week chart stay, and was certified gold by the RIAA. Lead single "I Get Around" was issued in May and became the band's first number one hit in the U.S.
"I Know There's an Answer" is a song by American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1966 album Pet Sounds. Written by Brian Wilson, Terry Sachen, and Mike Love, the song was inspired by Wilson's experience with the drug LSD and his struggle with ego death. Musically, it is distinguished for its colorful arrangement, unorthodox structure, and bass harmonica solo. The instrumentation also includes guitars, tack piano, banjo, clarinets, flutes, electric keyboards, and timpani. Wilson, Love, and Al Jardine trade the lead vocal, for which the melody spans two octaves.
"Don't Talk " is a song by American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1966 album Pet Sounds. Written by Brian Wilson and Tony Asher, it is among the most harmonically complex songs that Wilson ever composed. It is one of three tracks on Pet Sounds where he is the only Beach Boy performing.
"That's Not Me" is a song written by Brian Wilson and Tony Asher for American rock band the Beach Boys, the third track from their 1966 album Pet Sounds. It is a work influenced by psychedelic drugs that inspired Wilson to turn his attention inward and probe his deep-seated self-doubts. Wilson explained that the song "reveals a lot about myself, just the idea that you're going to look at yourself and say, 'Hey, now look, that's not me, kind of square off with yourself and say 'this is me, that's not me'." It has been called the track on Pet Sounds that most closely resembles a conventional rock song.
"You're So Good to Me" is a song written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love for the American rock band the Beach Boys, released on July 5, 1965 on the album Summer Days . It was later included as the B-side of the group's single "Sloop John B", which was released on March 21, 1966. Mojo later wrote that the song was the closest the group had come to northern soul. Wilson wrote in 1990 that the track was "spearheaded by a guitar sent through a Leslie speaker. It gave it an eerie effect."
"Let's Go Away for Awhile" [sic] is an instrumental by the American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1966 album Pet Sounds. It was composed and produced by Brian Wilson, and performed by uncredited session musicians later known as the Wrecking Crew. The track is the first of two instrumentals that appear on the album, the other being its title track.
"She Knows Me Too Well" is a song written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love for the American rock band The Beach Boys, about a man who is engrossed and obsessed in his own jealousy and insecurity. It was released on the 1965 album The Beach Boys Today!, initially serving as the B-side of their "When I Grow Up " single in 1964. It was one of the first songs that Brian wrote while under the influence of marijuana.
"In the Back of My Mind" is a song by American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1965 album The Beach Boys Today!. Written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love, it is a heavily orchestrated ballad composed in 6/8 time. Dennis Wilson largely sings lead unaccompanied though briefly during the middle-eight, his brothers Brian and Carl sing two lines in unison.
"Let Him Run Wild" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1965 album Summer Days . Written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love, it was issued as the B-side to "California Girls" and was one of the first songs that Wilson wrote while under the influence of marijuana.
"Salt Lake City" is a song written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love for the American rock band The Beach Boys. It was released on their 1965 album Summer Days .
"Summer Means New Love" is an instrumental composed by Brian Wilson for the American rock band the Beach Boys. It was originally released in 1965 on their album Summer Days . A year later, it was released as the B-side to Brian Wilson's first single, "Caroline, No", which subsequently appeared on Pet Sounds.
"Trombone Dixie" is an instrumental by the American rock band the Beach Boys that was composed by Brian Wilson, although nobody from the group played on the recording. Wilson produced the instrumental in November 1965, early in the sessions for the band's album Pet Sounds (1966). It was left off the album and was not released until 1990 as a bonus track for the CD reissue of Pet Sounds. Excerpts from the instrumental's recording session were then included for The Pet Sounds Sessions (1997).
"Amusement Parks U.S.A." is a song written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love for the American rock band The Beach Boys. It was released on their 1965 album Summer Days . Produced by Wilson and featuring a lead vocal by Love, the song's lyrics describe "mess[ing] around at the [amusement] park all day." A short bridge section with session drummer Hal Blaine imitating a carnival barker is also featured.
Summer Days is the ninth studio album by American rock band the Beach Boys, released on July 5, 1965, on Capitol. The band's previous album, The Beach Boys Today!, represented a departure for the group through its abandonment of themes related to surfing, cars, and teenage love, but it sold below Capitol's expectations. In response, the label pressured the group to produce bigger hits. Summer Days thus returned the band's music to simpler themes for one last album, with Brian Wilson combining Capitol's commercial demands with his artistic calling.
"Look" is an instrumental composed by American musician Brian Wilson for the Beach Boys' never-finished album Smile. Wilson later completed the track as "Song for Children", with new lyrics written by Van Dyke Parks, for the 2004 album Brian Wilson Presents Smile.
"I Just Wasn't Made for These Times" is a song by American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1966 album Pet Sounds. Written by Brian Wilson and Tony Asher, the lyrics describe the disillusionment of someone who struggles to fit into society. Musically, it is distinguished for its melodic bass guitar, layered vocals, and Electro-Theremin solo, marking the first time the instrument was used in popular music and the first time theremin-like sounds were used on a rock record.
