The Pet Sounds Sessions

I have been putting off writing a review for Pet Sounds for awhile now...for how do you review a perfect work of art? I am utterly speechless whenever I listen to 'Don't Talk' or 'Caroline, No' - I don't think I have heard any album that comes close to the emotional impact that 'Pet Sounds' has had (and continues to have) on me.I finally bought 'The Pet Sounds Sessions' and I had to write a review.Disc One starts off with the stereo mix of 'Pet Sounds' - I will say that I prefer the mono version way more, but the stereo version really shows how many elements Brian crammed in to make the perfect sound. After the stereo set, the 'session takes' begin. You hear Brian in the booth talking to the musicians, guiding them into playing precisely what he wanted. The seven minutes of the 'Wouldn't It Be Nice' studio session are almost worth the price of the entire set! Along with the session audio are tracks of the instrumentals of each song - great for musicians who want to dissect a particular song to answer the question of "how did Brian do this!?"Disc two continues the session takes of each song. Disc three starts of with the 'vocals only' set of songs...again, I am speechless when trying to describe the beauty of these songs. Also on disc three are the alternate versions of many of the 'Pet Sounds' songs. The most beautiful, in my opinion, being the 'Don't Talk' Vocal Snippet - buy this set if only for this one track...it is the most beautiful vocal piece I have ever heard in my life.A fourth disc is included which contains the re-mastered mono album.The audio quality is amazing on all the songs/sessions. Capitol really put a lot of time/money/effort into this boxed set and it shows.Also included in the box are two booklets about 'Pet Sounds'. One booklet includes 126 pages of interviews from nearly everyone involved in the 'Pet Sounds' project...including audio engineers, studio musicians, collaborators, to the Beach Boys themselves. This booklet also includes a wealth of information on how Brian would work in the studio and how he came up with his music. The other booklet is more of a scrapbook full of pictures, song notes, etc.If you dig 'Pet Sounds' and want to hear more of it, I definitely recommend this box set.5/5

In 1965-66, I sang in my high school's "Select Choir." I've also sung in various quartets and played lead, rhythm, and bass guitar, and harmonica. So I know about music and harmony.I always knew The Beach Boys were top notch vocalists. But when I listened to them on just the VOCAL tracks of this Pet Sounds box set, even I wasn't prepared for it...it blew me away! The instrumental tracks are also very beautiful and inspiring. If you get this box set, you should listen to the vocal and instrumental tracks SEPARATELY in a quiet place with no distractions or interruptions. And, of course, listen to the vocal & instrumental tracts TOGETHER (as the released version). You need to listen to them in the setting described above to be able to really (and fully) appreciate this musical masterpiece.The only thing that could top this Pet Sounds box set is... if VIDEO had been taken of the guys singing their vocal parts along with the sound being recorded, too. To have such a video/audio DVD made available to the public would be absolutely AWESOME!Paul McCartney was once asked by a Japanese radio station what his ten favorite songs were. At the top of his list was "God Only Knows." But I believe the words of George Martin, the PRODUCER of The Beatles, carry even greater weight. He said: "If there is one person that I have to select as a living genius of pop music, I would choose Brian Wilson...[Sargent] Pepper was an attempt to equal Pet Sounds." Notice that Martin used the word, "attempt." Think about it: this man was the producer of the records of the group that many still believe is "the world's greatest group"... yet, he says he would choose BRIAN WILSON if he had to name just "one" person as a "living genius of pop music."Pet Sounds is a masterpiece, Brian Wilson is a genius...period.

Whether you are a die-hard Beach Boys fan, or just a fan of good music, this box-set belongs in your collection. The impact, although delayed somewhat in 1966, of "Pet Sounds" has been well documented over the years. And the recent reissue of the album makes clear that this music is coming from a special place. What the box-set does, is allows you to hear the process of the album's creation. Through alternate takes, and the "pieces" that Brian Wilson assembled into complete songs, you can hear how songs that are now classics were born. The box contains four discs...the first being a Brian Wilson supervised and approved stereo mix...the first ever, and "Sessions Part I. Disc two contains the pieces, backing tracks, Brian's instructions to the studio musician's (who are some of the best players on the planet..then and now) titled "Sessions Part 2. Disc three is perhaps the most moving for it contains just the vocal tracks of the album's songs, along with alternate versions of songs like "God Only Knows", and "Wouldn't It Be Nice". The box set also contains, in a separate slip cover replicating the original album sleeve, the original album...in mono of course.Yes, it does help to have a strong curiosity about music and how songs are developed to get the most from this set...(disc two), but from the stereo mix, to the vocal tracks, to the alt. versions..this must be what Heaven might sound like.

A++Buy from this seller.CDs were perfect.

If you want to experience Brian Wilson's mastery in the recording studio this is a must have. You can hear him directing all the musicians of the "Wrecking Crew", just trying to achieve the sound that's in his head. You can hear each song and all the different takes it took to get a finished production. There's a finished take with just the background vocals to the song "Wouldn't it be Nice" that to me is worth the price of this box set alone. If you like Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys, this is well worth the price.

Right on time and exactly as expected. It doesn't get any better than that!

The Grail! The Beach Boys when they and The Beatles were opening music doors consistently!- a wonderful trip!

Für Fans der Beach Boys ist das schon ein MUSS. Pet Sounds in Stereo nachbearbeitet, und die Entstehungsgeschichte eines der besten Alben der 60er Jahre. Empfehle dazu auch den dazugehörigen Film "Love and Mercy".

Après de nombreuses pérégrinations (réticences de Carl Wilson face à la conception d'un box-set monument à la gloire de Brian Wilson, exigence de la part de Mike Love de donner "sa" version des faits dans le livret du coffret), The Pet Sounds Sessions est sorti en 1997.Certes, le coffret paraît moins riche que le monstrueux coffret Smile Sessions (5 CD, 2 45 tours, 2 LP, gros livre), mais il n'en est pas moins essentiel. Sur 2 CD, nous avons des extraits des sessions d'enregistrement de chaque titre de l'album, en plus d'outtakes et des premières bribes de Good Vibrations, suivi du backing track, tandis qu'on nous gratifie de version a capella. Des versions alternatives se trouvent également dans le coffret, le grand moment étant Caroline No à sa vitesse d'origine. Ce coffret avait présenté pour la première fois un mix stéréo de Pet Sounds (d'autant plus intéressant qu'à l'époque, on avait perdu certaines bandes de Wouldn't it be nice, retrouvées plus tard pour une édition CD en 2001), ainsi que le bon vieux mix mono, mais je préfère les remasterisations réalisées pour le 40ème anniversaire de l'album en 2006. Néanmoins, le coffret reste essentiel. A posséder donc.

今夏公開の映画Love And Mercyに先がけ、予習として購入しました。　収録音源の充実ぶりは当時の現場の空気までもが感じられる内容です。買って良かった！