The album Brian Wilson called “the single greatest album I’ve ever heard”
When Brian Wilson started in the early 1960s, the album format didn’t exist as we know it today. Even though Wilson could put together one symphony after another with The Beach Boys, it was another matter of trying to make it work in the album’s context, which would usually just be a collection of singles compiled into decent order.
It’s a strange idea, but the novel inspiration of making a volume of poems that felt attached to one another posed an artistic challenge for the best composers. Although Wilson could make the same surf songs forever, he knew he could take his muse further, and make intent on making LPs that really delivered on all fronts.
After taking his cues from artists like The Four Freshmen for their vocal harmonies, Wilson was floored when The Beatles started experimenting. Coming after years of being the lovable moptops from England, the Fab Four had turned in their most adventurous songs yet with Rubber Soul, delving into folk-rock while introducing the world to new sonic avenues like the sitar.
While a few fans were confused, Wilson was convinced he could make an album that would measure up to that, telling Rolling Stone, “We prayed every night that we could make a record as good as Rubber Soul”. Even though Wilson originally put his labour into The Beach Boys’ latest single, ‘Good Vibrations’, Pet Sounds would be the moment he got to shine.
Free from the road for the first time, Wilson assembled the studio musicians in The Wrecking Crew to make a companion piece to Rubber Soul, putting together tales of teen angst on tracks like ‘God Only Knows’ and ‘Wouldn’t It Be Nice’. Although Wilson thought he had one-upped his competition, The Beatles were paying attention right back.
Leaving the road shortly after Pet Sounds hit the airwaves, Paul McCartney was knocked out and decided to make an album that would outdo The Beach Boys. Creating the scenario of a fictional band, Macca led the charge in creating Sgt Pepper, which would become the most celebrated Beatles album of all time, coming out right as the summer of love was underway.
Though Wilson still had his heart in his music, he confessed that Sgt Pepper was as close to perfection as he could think of, remarking: “Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band is probably the single greatest album I have ever heard. The Beatles ultimately eclipsed a lot of what we worked for…they eclipsed the whole music world”.
Before the record was released, Wilson also remembered hearing a copy of the album from McCartney, which reduced him to tears. When discussing the arrangement of the ballad ‘She’s Leaving Home’, Wilson remembered how emotional the experience became, recalling to Rolling Stone: “We both just cried. It was beautiful”.
The 1967 record is perhaps the ultimate definition of the album. Beloved by many, but derided by a strong voice, Sgt Pepper is now often seen as perhaps the greatest concept album of all time. Marked down when taking songs on their own, the LP is perhaps the finest examples of a feature length piece of music that connects to itself, taking its theme to a brand new place.
McCartney became the artistic drive of the band during this time as Lennon became distracted by fame, and the band’s manager, Brian Epstein, sadly passed away. With the new impetus to create, McCartney constructed one of the most resolute pieces of art the band ever composed. It might have fallen flat for almost any other band, but for The Beatles, it was just another reminder of the supreme thought that went into their releases. They were seemingly light years ahead of the rest.
It seems as though, over time, that concept has hampered its viewing. Nowadays, the album’s uniqueness and idiosyncrasies are chalked off as indulgent, but that hasn’t stopped it from still being McCartney’s favourite. “I’d pick Sgt. Pepper’s, meself, because I had a lot to do with it,” he responded when asked.
Though The Beatles would move from strength to strength on their next handful of albums, Pet Sounds would remain the peak of Wison’s powers. To get the follow-up, Smile, off the ground, Wilson went down the studio rabbit hole and began to lose grip on reality, ultimately shelving the project to work on other psychedelic projects like Surf’s Up.
Despite the competition at the time, Wilson always maintained a friendly relationship with every member of The Beatles. While both bands may have engaged in competition, their contributions to the genre only made the rest of the rock scene that much better.
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