When Brian Wilson was 22, he began to write the songs that appeared on the Beach Boys legendary album Pet Sounds, which was released on this day, 16th May 1966. The lyrics were written mainly by an advertising copywriter, Tony Asher, and together, with some assistance from the other members of the band, one of the great records of the 20th Century was born. The word genius is thrown around with gay abandon, even to those with more limited, some might say little, talent. Brian Wilson was a genius.
Until 1966, the Beach Boys sang about cars, girls and surfing and with great success. It was, and remains for many, the music of summer. Wilson’s body of work would have been impressive enough without Pet Sounds. With it, he became one of the greats, creating an album that stands up alongside the greatest music of the Beatles.
Wilson’s cousin and band singer Mike Love was a critic of the Pet Sounds project, calling it “Brian’s ego music” and remained opposed to the band’s expanding repertoire, supposedly urging him to not “fuck with the formula”. Mercifully, Wilson ploughed on regardless, making this incredible record which spawned some all-time classics like God Only Knows and Wouldn’t It Be Nice.
The album bombed in America, with the band’s fans not ready to accept this dramatic change in direction, and while it reached number ten in the Billboard album chart, it quickly slipped down and the record company, Capitol, quickly rushed out a greatest hits album to keep the band’s name alive. Meanwhile, in the UK, the album soared to number two.
At 24, Brian Wilson’s creative powers had peaked and while he, and the band, continued to make great music into the 1970s, and to a more limited extent into the 1980s (I am thinking Kokomo, here), they never came close to creating an album of such depth and brilliance. In truth, how could they?
Brian’s tragic descent into chronic mental health issues has been well chronicled but even then there was a happy ending, of sorts. Around the year 2000, he resumed full-time touring again, at first playing Pet Sounds in its entirety, then Smile!, the doomed follow-up, which miraculously he finished in the new millennium.
I attended one of his shows at the Royal Festival Hall, sitting in front of Manic Street Preacher James Dean Bradfield and bumping into legendary Kink Ray Davies at the interval. Both signed my ticket, which of course I lost. It was one of the most moving evenings of my life as his legion of fans willed him to success. Not least because of his stellar backing band, it was a triumph.
Incredibly, he then embarked on a series of tours around the world. I saw him three times at Bristol’s Colston Hall, on the Pet Sounds, Smile! and Greatest Hits tour. They were the stuff of greatness.
Better still, I got to meet him on two occasions, having blagged backstage passes. He sat behind a table, occasionally posing for photos, signing merchandise and engaging in minimal chat with the fans. At one after show, I asked him to sign my Pet Sounds CD and some merch belonging to my friend Tim. “Only one!” he snapped. His manager, who was was standing next to him, waved his finger to suggest I went to the back of the queue and wait in line to be seen again. Brian didn’t even look up and signed for me.
My favourite albums change like the wind. Mainly, it’s Aja by Steely Dan, sometimes it’s Gaucho by Steely Dan, then Revolver, Rubber Soul and Sgt Pepper by the You-Know-Whos but when I am listening to Pet Sounds, as I shall do today, Brian Wilson’s work of pure genius will be, in that moment, my favourite album of all-time.
On 11th June 2025, Brian Wilson died quietly in his sleep, having never properly recovered from Covid-19 since his final tour in 2022, at the age of 82. His body of work was quite astonishing. Pet Sounds really is something else. God only knows where music would have been without him.
