Pet Sounds - Stereo [VINYL]

Product Information

As for the stereo vinyl debuts of "The Beach Boys Today", "Summer Days...and Summer Nights", "Beach Boys Party" & "Smiley Smile", there is no reason why Capitol Records themselves couldn't offer those stereo mixes on vinyl. Capitol owns the recordings, after all. Wilson spent almost a half-million 2015 dollars producing the record to his definition of musical and sonic perfection, mixing it to mono, his preferred format, in part due to his hearing in mono.

The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds | Releases | Discogs The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds | Releases | Discogs

This record was the lynch pin around which the recent Brian Wilson bio-pic "Love and Mercy" spun. I highly recommend that movie to anyone who is a Wilson or Beach Boy fan.On ‘God Only Knows’ it is just Carl, Brian and Bruce that are singing and on the acapella version, when they finish their vocal, a voice asks, “How was that? Was that cool?” It’s Bruce Johnston asking the question and it is the perfect coda for not just the song, but also the album, because Pet Sounds is arguably the coolest record of all time. This is the kind of record that makes life worth living, reaffirming the notion that pop music is the most admired art form in the world. Pet Sounds features some of the greatest LA musicians of the period. There are guitarists as varied as, Glen Campbell, Barney Kessel, Tommy Tedesco and Al Casey. On keyboards there’s Larry Knetchel, drummers, Hal Blaine and Jim Gordon along with French Horns, violins, an electric Theremin, and all manner of percussion instruments, including Coca-Cola cans. Listening to Brian encouraging, demanding and cajoling the musicians on the session tapes is like a master class in record production.

is Pet Sounds so expensive?- Vinyl Engine Why is Pet Sounds so expensive?- Vinyl Engine

On my pauper’s system ~ Technics SL Q3, Audio Technica (model??), DCM CX-17 bookshelf pair, and Denon crap AVR ~ my NM minus minus DCC copy has got body. I think KG & SH brought out the lows. Acoustic Sounds' L.P.'s may feature heavier album covers than regular Capitol L.P.'s, but it's not the album cover that you play. As for the idea that Analog Productions' pressings area necessarily better than regular Capitol vinyl, that may not always be true. Some people on the Steve Hoffman forums who bought Analog Productions' mono vinyl reissue of "Pet Sounds" have reported off-center grooves on "Side One", and have stated that it is audible.

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With that being said, this mono reissue isn't the best sounding version of the album, technically. However, it's the one that connects with me most. I love the stereo version as well, however the mono mix intended by Brian Wilson has an almost magical property to it. The instruments blend together like a carpet strewn about a finely sanded off, glossy wood floor - this is including the beautiful vocals. I Just Wasn't Made For These Times has an absolutely cinematic feel in mono, where the vocals drown out the instruments to a point where it feels very grand and definitive. The instrumentals sound absolutely divine in mono, especially Pet Sounds, which I would say is actually better in mono rather than stereo's odd timing issues. Pet Sounds evokes something gorgeous within one, and whether it be stereo or mono, one thing's for certain: it's a classic for a reason. This record has so often been written about and reviewed that all I want to do here is get to the sound of this recent reissue mastered by Kevin Gray from the original analog tape, and compare it to previous issues.