Interesting take on an album that has slowly gained the appreciation of many who, like me, were music listeners at the time, and did not quite know what to make of it.
Radio programmers and recording studio executives did not, either. Two songs on Pet Sounds received immediate radio airplay upon their release on 45s - Sloop John B and Wouldn't it Be Nice - likely because they were the most similar in sound, lyrics and instrumental construction to the usual Top 40.
The flip sides were interesting, though: You're So Good to Me and God Only Knows. The former track is a more conventional recording, upbeat and clearly intended (by the aforementioned studio folks) to perhaps garner some air time on AM radio.
The latter is a work of art.
My own observations:
On God Only Knows, a bright organ and horn intro soon finds accompaniment by orchestral strings, tambourine and unconventional close harmonies. This, followed by even more unusual chord progressions, time signature changes and lyrics that evoked not simple young love, but a soulful longing and a sense of uncertainty woven into a fabric of almost otherworldly sound.
A song of such quilted construction evokes George Gershwin and Phil Spector - both of whom influenced Brian Wilson - but the result was a brilliant expression of Wilson's own genius and perhaps, of his internal struggles as well.
There is a truly ethereal quality to many of the songs on Pet Sounds, owing to the lushness of its instrumentation, its ambitious harmonies, and the searching, reflective nature of its words. I think those qualities are what makes the album such a timeless musical experience.
