10 Perfect Rock Albums That Almost Destroyed Bands
3. Pet Sounds - The Beach Boys
The fact that Pet Sounds still sounds as immaculate as it does today feels like it shouldn't be possible. After 50 years of being one of the most pristine productions in rock history, Brian Wilson's masterpiece feels like it captured lightning in a bottle, with some of the sweetest melodies that the world had ever heard. If only the rest of the Beach Boys actually were in tune with what was going on in Brian's head.
During the production of the album, Mike Love started to get a bit weary of just how experimental Brian was willing to go, thinking that they were straying a bit too far from the band's original good time spirit. It also doesn't help when Brian's father, and de facto manager, felt the exact same way, even going so far as to suggest cutting tracks like God Only Knows in lieu of the more surf-centric music that they were known for.
Even when Brian eventually got the sounds he heard in his head, the label didn't even have that much faith in it, going so far as to release a greatest hits album of the band's early days a few months after the record came out. It didn't take long for the rest of the world to realize what they were hearing though. This wasn't just another pop record. This was perfection that somehow found its way onto vinyl.