Brian Wilson says 'Pet Sounds' isn't as good as The Beatles' 'Rubber Soul'

Brian Wilson says 'Pet Sounds' isn't as good as The Beatles' 'Rubber Soul'

http://www.nme.com/news/the-beach-boys/56941

Brian Wilson has said that he believes that The Beach Boys' classic 1966 album 'Pet Sounds' is not as good as The Beatles' 1965 effort 'Rubber Soul'.

Speaking in The Sun, Wilson said he also thinks the best album he has composed is 'Smile', which was eventually released in 2004 despite Wilson beginning to compose it all the way back in 1966.

He said of 'Pet Sounds': "It's a good album, but not the best. I think The Beatles' 'Rubber Soul' is still the best album of all time. As for my own music, 'Smile' is my most ambitious album in terms of sequences and seques. I'm also incredibly proud of [solo album] 'That Lucky Old Sun'.

Wilson has recently said that he is looking to retire from touring in 2012, as he feels is getting too old for it. He is currently touring in support for his new album 'Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin' and will play a series of UK dates in September.

The worst Beatles album >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Pet Sounds

Shows an amazing lack of ego on Brian Wilson's part. A real gent.

Wow. Impressive. Especially considering that Pet Sounds inspired the Beatles.

"Pet Sounds is not as good as Rubber Soul..." Good grief, I could have told Brian that myself!

This is all subjective, you know.

Although not a big fan of the Beach Boys, I do appreciate their talents. I love Brian's lack of ego here and he's right; Pet Sounds is not as good as Rubber Soul.

Originally Posted by Lucy

Wilson has recently said that he is looking to retire from touring in 2012, as he feels is getting too old for it. He is currently touring in support for his new album 'Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin' and will play a series of UK dates in September.

He also recently said that the Beach Boys may reunite for some studio recordings.

Have to disagree with Brian on this one!! I think he is just being humble, too which he is..

Macca and virtually every musician out there knows Pet Sounds trumps almost everything else, if not everything..

Smile aswell is pure Genius..

Of course on a Beatles forum probably the majority will not agree, but just go ask Paul McCartney...

Hope the Beach Boys do reunite for an album and possibly a tour for the 50th anniversary..Bruce Johnston told me they were gonna!!

I do not believe in comparing albums by different artists, but indeed it is a humble remark from Brian Wilson.

This thread made me listen to Pet Sounds today and again to me it is an album of high level and all the developments The Beach Boys also were in at the time of this album which is more than just a combination of songs, it's a moment in time where things in these songs are just different from anything before.

I saw a documentary of The Bee Gees the other day who described this period where you had the Beach Boys and Beatles doing other things than the average album made them wonder what to do with their carreers and how to cling on to this type of adventure.

Exactly. While i love Rubber Soul, it infact has some of my favourite Beatles songs on it, it is still compared to Pet Sounds vey much a "pop album".

Pet Sounds truly changed the game. It was the very first concept album. The intricacy of the music, the arrangments, the harmonies..it is unrivalled. McCartney tried to imitate it for creativity with Sgt Pepper and came close, but failed..

One could argue Pet Sounds uses alot more studio musicians than "Rubber Soul" - which is pretty much the 4 Beatles and George Martin on a track or 2, but soon enough the Beatles would routinely be usuing outside musicians and orchestra's..

That is the influence and majesty of Pet Sounds. Having heard the whole album played live by Brian Wilson i'd highly recomend anyone who hasnt listened to it at least several times before to sit down and do so..theres nothing like it.

Before Pet Sounds, bands including the Beatles recorded 'songs'. After Pet Sounds they made 'albums'..

Originally Posted by CWW

McCartney tried to imitate it for creativity with Sgt Pepper and came close, but failed..

I understand what you mean yet "Pepper" did not become a 'concept' album. It's still a combination of solo songs.

The title song is almost the same as Magical Mistery Tour. Within You Without You is nowhere near any other song on the album.

The signature of the album is maybe the orchestral influences and the experiences of the guys reading newspapers and posters translated in to songs.

Abbey Road to me is much more the "concept album" of The Beatles.

Originally Posted by FPSHOT

He also recently said that the Beach Boys may reunite for some studio recordings.

Argh, that would be awful! Plus two of them are dead.

And Pet Sounds is at least equal to Rubber Sould IMO

Originally Posted by FPSHOT

I understand what you mean yet "Pepper" did not become a 'concept' album. It's still a combination of solo songs.

The title song is almost the same as Magical Mistery Tour. Within You Without You is nowhere near any other song on the album.

The signature of the album is maybe the orchestral influences and the experiences of the guys reading newspapers and posters translated in to songs.

Abbey Road to me is much more the "concept album" of The Beatles.

Still, McCartney has said that Sgt Pepper was the direct result of Pet Sounds and his attempt at replicating it..there is a strong concept at least joining the first few tracks and the end of the album, and if you combine the cover art and all that, there si a big concept running thru it. Bruce Johnston from the Beach Boys told me his son's thesis is on Pet Sounds and Sgt Pepper and their similarities! Can you imagine the acsess that guy would have got to both camps for his PHD?! now thats something i'd like to read!!

Now Abbey Rd as a concept album you could side one side (side 2) certainly was..but it was more stringing together a few short tracks of Johns in between Pauls if you ask me..and John never liked side 2 much ..

Pet Sounds didnt just influence "concept albums" like Tommy and Quadrophenia, it influened and changed all music after it...

A friend of mine is a retired sound man. He has worked with Harrison, McCartney, Lennon, Dylan, the Beach Boys, and you name it. He has done studio work with orchestras and was one of the group of engineers that perfected the sound systems in stadia in the 1970s, which was very much a trial error thing.

I spoke to him the other night about the Beach Boys and their influence on the Beatles. He said very little of the Beach Boys ever got into any of the Beatles records. He only worked with the Beach Boys on tour not in the studio. He said later the Beach Boys had a ghost band and singers behind screens as they could not handle it - they could not get the highs. He set up the gig when they played in the White House. They also had a ghost band behind the screens there as well. He was not impressed with them that much thinking they a were a single direction limited band, although he liked some of their early work as it was different at the time.

He said he has tried to see influences of the Beach Boys in the Beatle's music and can't see anything worth mentioning. He outright dismisses as fantasy that Sgt Pepper was based on Pet Sounds. The Beatles and the Beach Boy had the same publicist at the time, a Liverpudlian Derek Taylor, who spun it out to the press that there was a rivalry. There was not.

As he rightly states, musicians get influences from all over, consciously and subconsciously. The Beatles were openly stating where their influences came from. Lennon openly stated Please Please Me was heavily influenced by Roy Orbison, who toured with the Beatles. To my knowledge none have stated where Beach Boys influences were. Paul McCartney did say that after about 1966 he would go more into melodic base lines - the Beach Boys had some, but so did others. Admiring other people's work does not mean emulation.

IMO, Pet Sounds is a good album, not a game changer. Some tracks were over-produced with far too many instruments. It was not well received in the USA at the time.

Brian Wilson has said in quite a few interviews over the years,that when he first heard Rubber Soul he was blown away by it. He said that all of the songs flowed together,and that it was pop music but folk rock at the same time (I think he must have heard the American version because it's really more of a true great folk rock record,and it's the better version.I was so hoping when the remasters came out that this version would be re-mastered on CD and I was waiting since 1987 when I got rid of my turn table and all of my records for CD'S) and Brian said that's what he just couldn't believe that they did this so great and it inspired him to make Pet Sounds.

So if it wasn't for The Beatles Rubber Soul album,we wouldn't have had Pets Sounds or Sgt.Pepper!

Pet Sounds is not even The Beach Boys best album - that has to go to Sunflower, great album.

Song for song Rubber Soul is better. But what attracted McCartney was that the whole "Pet Sounds" album, aside from "Sloop John B", is an expression of Brian Wilson's vision. The clean production, unusual chord changes and arrangements, using water cooler bottles as a drum etc., all this inspired Paul to want to do the same. Forget the 3 minute pop song, and try for something adventurous and unique.

Also remember that while Paul was in a group with three other 'happy to try anything' members, Brian had to fight for his vision every step of the way against a band that DID want to stick to the 3 minute pop song! To achieve what he did under those circumstances is downright amazing.

Paul and Brian really seem to like each other and show little ego in praising the others work.

Beach Boys would be great if they were The Beatles!