One of the joys. . .

. . .of being a music lover is that, now and then, you get to rediscover one of your longtime favorites and marvel at it all over again. That happened to me last night with the Beach Boys' "Pet Sounds". It had probably been a year since the last time I dusted off the CD, and when I put it in, it was almost as though I was listening to it for the first time. Of course, it seems like I go through that same experience every time I hear it, but that doesn't make it any less thrilling. I simply cannot get over how well the music on that album stands up today.

One of the characteristics that make it such an incontrovertible work of genius is the actual recording, which, to my ear, takes a sledgehammer to Phil Spector's "Wall of Sound". Unfortunately, that doesn't come across in this YouTube video, but you do get a hint of the musical complexity that runs through the whole album:



If you don't already own this album, and you are a fan of pop music with any emphasis on the "music" part, then you are required by federal statute to get it. Failure to do so will, I'm afraid, raise serious questions about your patriotism.

Serendipitously, as I was looking around for links to place into this post, I discovered that the surviving members of the band have patched up their decades-old differences. While I doubt that anything could ever bring Brian Wilson back to the apex of his creativity established on "Pet Sounds", it certainly is good to know that the band can look back on the seminal moment in pop music history that they shared without the cloud of animosity hanging over the accomplishment.