Beach Boys Mark 'Pet Sounds' 60th With Capitol Tower Party
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- Capitol Records hosted the 60th anniversary party at the soon-to-reopen Capitol Tower in Hollywood, where Mike Love, Al Jardine, and Bruce Johnston accepted tributes on behalf of the late Brian, Carl, and Dennis Wilson, with a 'Pet Sounds' flag raised over the building.
- Fresh vinyl reissues of the original album are rolling out, including a zoetrope picture-disc, a numbered 'one step' audiophile edition, and 'The Pet Sounds Sessions Highlights' — a separate release with vocal-only tracks and alternate takes highlighting the Wrecking Crew's instrumental work.
- 'Pet Sounds' didn't achieve gold certification until 2000 and is now double-platinum; Love and Johnston blamed Capitol's promotion team for not knowing what to do with an album so different from the band's Top 40 hits, and said the label's 'bean counters' instead pushed a greatest-hits compilation that sold 3.5 million copies.
- Paul McCartney has called 'Pet Sounds' his favorite album and 'God Only Knows' the perfect recording, with Love noting the record's thematic coherence directly influenced the Beatles' approach to 'Sgt. Pepper's.'
- Brian Wilson was deeply depressed by Capitol's poor promotion of the album, according to Love, who recalled doing 25 to 30 takes of parts of 'Wouldn't It Be Nice' — earning Wilson the nickname 'dog ears' for hearing things 'most human beings don't or can't.'
- 'God Only Knows' contains only 10 lines of lyrics across two verses, was never issued as an A-side single (released as the B-side to 'Wouldn't It Be Nice,' which peaked at No. 8 on the Hot 100), and was ultimately recorded with just three-part harmonies by Johnston, Brian, and Carl Wilson after too many vocalists crowded the track.
Why it matters: The 60th-anniversary campaign — complete with premium vinyl reissues and a Capitol Tower party — is the label finally catching up to an album its own promotion team famously fumbled, one that was certified double-platinum only after going gold in 2000. McCartney's public praise and Love's acknowledgment that 'Pet Sounds' reshaped the Beatles' approach to 'Sgt. Pepper's' underscore its role as the creative blueprint for the album-era concept record.
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