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Pet Sounds

The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds Audio CD

A fair review of the The Beach Boys "Pet Sounds" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all The Beach Boys reviews here, or go back to the The Beach Boys tabs.

Band: The Beach Boys
Title: Pet Sounds
Rating:

Release Date: 2009-04-07
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Wouldn't It Be Nice 2: You Still Believe in Me 3: That's Not Me 4: Don't Talk (Put Your Head on My Shoulder) 5: I'm Waiting for the Day 6: Let's Go Away for Awhile 7: Sloop John B 8: God Only Knows 9: I Know There's an Answer 10: Here Today 11: I Just Wasn't Made for These Times 12: Pet Sounds 13: Caroline, No 14: Hang on to Your Ego [*]

no variety
there is no heavy drums on any song. problem with this album is every song is the same musically. no electric guitar on any song and if there is you sure dont hear it. every song on here sounds the same musically a little variety is what makes an album great. every song shouldnt sound the same musically and thats the main problem with this album. it would be nice if there was at least one song on here with heavry drums and a real rocker but no. the whole album is a very laid back mellow effort. the only song i liked on here was oh caroline and that was it. other great albums have variety look at the beatles album revolver they have taxman on there and eleanor rigby and got to get you into my life and tomorrow never knows all those songs are totally different thats what makes it so good,pet sounds is none of that its all the same musically no rockers no drums no guitar just a very soft mellow sound which is rather a bore.

New "flat" remaster of original mono Pet Sounds-excellent!
It is similar (but supposedly better than) the "DCC classics" gold disc version, also mastered by Steve Hoffman, that was released many years ago and is now highly sought-after and sells for 75-100$. I haven't actually had a chance to listen to this on equipment that would
bring out its merits to the fullest, and there is a divergence of opinion
by informed BB aficionados about those precise merits or lack thereof, but
there does seem to be a consensus that, when played on good quality sound
systems, this is one of the best versions of the album ever released.

The original '60s pressings of the vinyl album were apparently not mastered well, and the 1972 Reprise "Two-fer" version coupled with the obscure BB album "Carl and The Passions-So Tough", along with the DCC vinyl release from the early '90s, are considered to be the best sounding vinyl Pet Sounds versions out there.

Listeners (in general) say that the high vocals are brighter and clearer than ever before on CD. This may be redundant unless you're a serious fan and have adequate equipment to play it on, but it's a limited, attractive edition, sure to increase in rarity and value, and if you don't have vinyl capability or the previous DCC gold disc, it's probably well worth buying.

Regarding the Audio Fidelity version

Good:
- The sound is much better than the official CD and marginally better than the bass-heavy DCC. There are some good and bad aspects of this release. If you like the DCC's sound, then save your $30. If you think the DCC is a little bottom-heavy, then splurge on this. It is more open and present, though one should keep in perspective the fact that we're talking about a mono recording from the '60s. It's no sonic marvel.
- That's about it. Try before you buy on your local BitTorrent tracker to see whether the sound is for you.

Bad:
- A weird tape drop-out at the beginning of "I'm Waiting for the Day" that is not present in the DCC or any other CD versions.
- A huge gap between "Sloop John B" and "God Only Knows" that supposedly mimics the time in between flipping a record. One of the nice things about listening to CDs is that you don't have to take time to get up and change sides. I have never noticed this on any other digital release and think it's annoying. Others may disagree.
- Why and how does this sound different from the DCC? Both of them say they were from the original master tapes, which is obviously false information as noted in previous reviews. I don't buy this stuff about the so-called Kensei Audio Transformer--there has been EQ tweaking on the DCC, the AF, or both. This is either a good or bad thing depending on your opinion of the results.
- The packaging, advertised as "deluxe," is embarrassing. The slipcase looks like it was printed on grandma's 10-year-old inkjet and my copy has little bubbles under the sticker on top of the CD. I have read a lot about broken teeth and cracking, which is not surprising given the flimsiness of the case. Audio Fidelity is clearly a slapdash operation skating by on Hoffman's name recognition.
- The price. Then again, it's cheaper than a used copy of the DCC.

All in all, I don't regret my purchase but I'm close. The 1970s C&TP vinyl reissue is better, but this is probably the best available digital version.

Not FROM THE ORIGINAL MASTERS!
Sonically, it is not bad, but not anywhere close to the earlier gold CD from the now defunct DCC. It's now very well known that the labelling on this disc is deceptive - it was NOT taken from the original analog master tape, but from a second generation copy and DAT. Not enough of an upgrade over the last Capitol remaster to be worthwhile.

The sounds of a masterpiece

One of Brian Wilson's masterpieces "Pet Sounds" was his response to the increasingly sopisticated albums by The Beatles. PLEASE NOTE-THIS REVIEW IS FOR THE NEW AUDIO FIDELITY GOLD VERSION OF "PET SOUNDS" FOR SOME REASON AMAZON IS GROUPING REVIEWS OF THIS ALBUM UNDER ONE HEADING. Working with the best session musicians in the business (something Wilson would do while The rest of The Beach Boys were touring), Wilson composed and produced "Pet Sounds" and then invited the band to come in and do the vocals, contribute lyrics as needed, etc.

This new Audio Fidelity remaster is the second time that Steve Hoffman has done this popular title. Evidently the original mastertapes are in fragile shape so Hoffman used a first generation copy that was unequalized (the same one he used on the DCC release)to remaster this again. I never had the DCC but I did have the Capital mono master and this edition blows away that version which used noise reduction. The album sounds warm and inviting with nice detail and isn't compressed or too loud. The disc is also HDCD encoded for those with high definition CD players. After the debacle with the reissue of "Heartbeat City", it appears that Audio Fidelity got this one right.

The booklet includes Brian Wilson's note on his intent with "Pet Sounds" as well as photos but it doesn't include the extensive booklet that came with the previous Capital editions of the album which is a bit disappointing. I should note though that all the musicians that played on this classic release are credited in the booklet. Other than that this is a terrific reissue and is available for a limited time with each edition numbered on the cardboard sleeve that houses the jewel box.

Brian Wilson's classic song cycle has never sounded better to me. Highly recommended.
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You can see a complete list of all The Beach Boys discography, or go back to the The Beach Boys tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.