The 1966 album Tom Petty declared the best of all time
Of course, there will never be a common consensus on the greatest album of all time, but there are a select few that are unquestionably in the conversation.
At some point, all of us have got into a heated debate on the subject, which could last all day without getting anywhere near reaching a conclusion. However, some opinions matter more than others, and when somebody like the legendary Tom Petty delivers his perspective, you sit back and take his every word on board.
While Petty himself was responsible for creating a selection of classic albums, such as Damn The Torpedoes and Wildflowers, which could be considered all-time greats, the best of all time is a different conversation altogether, one that goes beyond the quality of the songs.
Unsurprisingly, Petty didn’t throw any of his own work into the ring. In his mind, for an LP to reach this status of cultural importance, it needed to have changed the fabric of music as an art form, which is a strict remit that only a select few albums have genuinely achieved.
Therefore, with that crucial criteria considered, one clear contenders for the prize were proposed by the ‘American Girl’ singer. For Petty, The Beach Boys’ maestro Brian Wilson, who he once hailed as “the greatest”, was responsible for crafting the best album music has ever known.
Wilson’s songwriting credentials saw him drive The Beach Boys to creative heights that had never been seen before, or after, and relentlessly pushed the boundaries to the detriment of his own sanity. Moreover, he made everyone else step up their game, too. If it weren’t for The Beatles’ competitive relationship with the Californians, they’d never have fulfilled their full potential and altered the face of contemporary music.
Petty was a fan of both groups, but, in his view, The Beach Boys’ work aged better than The Beatles’. He claimed they had a timeless element that the Fab Four lacked, who sounded like a product of their times. To cut him some slack, he did say this in 1982, but nevertheless, his remarks on The Beatles have aged badly.
The American singer-songwriter made the admission when he spoke with Playboy, who tasked him with picking a favourite album out of Pet Sounds and Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Petty shared, “Well, I like both. But these days, I’d probably play Pet Sounds. I can hear Sgt. Pepper without playing it. But frankly, I don’t think it wears that well into the ’80s.”
On the other hand, he continued, “Pet Sounds still sounds great to me. Hell, I once heard a radio interview with Paul McCartney in which he said that after hearing Pet Sounds, he had to do something like Sgt. Pepper. He was right. Brian Wilson is the greatest. The root of his personal problem was that he did genius work and never got recognition for it from the man in the street. So he took a real artistic risk. It’s a brilliant album.”
If that glowing endorsement wasn’t enough, Wilson’s website boasts a quote from Petty that would be the highlight of any other artist’s career. However, in the case of Wilson, there are countless similar references from the likes of Bob Dylan, Elton John and Paul McCartney that are equally favourable.
Within the quote, the late singer touched on his love of Pet Sounds and claimed he doesn’t think there’s “anything better than that”, before adding, “I don’t think you’d be out of line comparing him to Beethoven, to any composer. The word genius is used a lot with Brian. I don’t know if he’s a genius or not. But I know his music is probably as good as any music you can make.”
While Wilson was unable to replicate the brilliance of Pet Sounds, that takes nothing away from his achievements in creating the album in the first place.
The best album of all time debate will never be wholly settled, but there’s no doubt Pet Sounds is deserving of a position on the musical Mount Rushmore. Even now, 60 years on, both Mike Love and Al Jardine are separately touring the album this summer to celebrate its landmark anniversary. While they won’t be here in another 60 years to tour the record, millions will still be listening to Pet Sounds.
