Who is this Beetles you refer to?

OMG (G standing for goodness, of course). This will probably be the only time I ever publicly put down the Beatles, or at least not treat them as though it were their heads on Mount Rushmore.
Rubber Soul is better than Party!, or for that matter any Beach Boys album pre-Pet Sounds. However, Rubber Soul was the blood in the water the great white shark needed.

"In December 1966, I heard the album RUBBER SOUL by the Beatles. It was definitely a challenge for me. I saw that every cut was very artistically interesting and stimulating. I immediately went to work on the songs for PET SOUNDS."

That's a Brian Wilson quote as found in the liner notes for the CD version of Pet Sounds. With Rubber Soul, Brian realized that albums didn't have to have throw-away songs, realized that the bar had been risen, realized that it was ok to be an artist instead of a pop star. And he was more than up to the challenge.

The reason the album is called Pet Sounds is because that's what he heard in his mind: pet sounds that he wanted to share with the world. Until Rubber Soul, musicians focused on producing 2-3 great songs, and then mailed the rest in to the labels. The Beatles gave him permission to explore the pet sounds and attempt to press them to vinyl.

Pet Sounds is all Brian. The other Boys and a bunch of studio musicians helped him produce the sounds, but they were all sounds that he heard in his head long before they were uttered into microphones and blown into trombones. This is the main difference between Sgt. Peppers and Pet Sounds. Pet Sounds could have been done with an entirely different set of musicians (this is proven with the recently released Smile). It was Brian that orchestrated the album. Sgt. Peppers, on the other hand, was more of a collection of requests to George Martin.

It's rumored that during the recording of Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite! John kept telling Martin that he wanted to "smell the sawdust." Take after take John said "I don't smell the sawdust," until Martin did something right, and John was satisfied.

Brian knew what he wanted. The Beatles knew they wanted cool sounds, but they didn't know what sounds they wanted, or for that matter how to create them. Pet Sounds is a deliberate execution of an idea; Sgt. Peppers is an attempt to create the same magic that's found in Pet Sounds. It doesn't reach the same level because its foundation is not based on an idea, it's based on the desire to have an idea.

There would be no Sgt. Peppers without Pet Sounds. There may not be a Pet Sounds without Rubber Soul, either. And there definitely isn't The Wiz without The Wizard of Oz.

Seriously, I challenge any of you to listen to Don't Talk (Put Your Head on my Shoulders) with headphones without crying. Personally, I cry for several reasons, but mainly because it is so beautiful and perfect and somehow makes me feel happy and inadequate at the same time.

Here's a quick quiz: on page 4 of the CD version of Pet Sounds, is the dude standing behind Brian:
a) a bus driver
b) a line cook at a hamburger joint Brian frequented before Radiant Radish
c) Tattoo's father

The answer, of course, is potato.

Dylan, do you agree with my post? Also, would you be willing to go to Antiques Road Show with me and bring something heavy that takes both of us to carry but is worth nothing, like a table from Target? I would love to go on that show, yo.