The 1967 song Art Garfunkel called the “most creative record of them all”
With ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’, Art Garfunkel is partly responsible for one of the highest-selling singles of all time, a track which has sold over 25million copies worldwide. However, Garfunkel believes “the most creative record of them all” is an accolade that belongs to The Beach Boys.
Garfunkel namechecked ‘Good Vibrations’ as one of his all-time favourites during an appearance on the BBC radio programme ‘My Top Twelve’ in 1975. It was an interesting time in his career following the split of Simon & Garfunkel, his solo adventures didn’t catch fire like Paul Simon’s, and he was left living in the shadow of his former bandmate’s success.
The relationship between the duo was always complicated, ever since they were school friends. Whenever they spend a considerable amount of time together, tensions arise. In 1975, the pair were on surprisingly amicable terms, and Garfunkel wistfully reminisced about how they bonded over their shared love of The Beach Boys.
Despite their occasional clashes, Simon and Garfunkel often found common ground through the records they admired. Both were obsessive listeners who paid close attention to arrangement, melody and vocal texture, which partly explains why Brian Wilson’s studio innovations resonated so deeply with them.
The layered harmonies and emotional sweep of The Beach Boys’ work mirrored the kind of ambition Simon and Garfunkel would later chase on records like Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme and Bridge Over Troubled Water.
Wilson’s influence extended far beyond vocal harmonies, too. By the mid-1960s, he had started treating the recording studio as an instrument in itself, piecing songs together section by section rather than relying on straightforward live takes.
That approach transformed pop music and inspired countless artists to think bigger about what a single could achieve. For Garfunkel, hearing ‘Good Vibrations’ was less like listening to a chart hit and more like discovering an entirely new language for popular music.
‘Good Vibrations’ was a pivotal moment in their artistic lives and alerted Garfunkel to the endless possibilities that music offers. When the singer-songwriter first heard the song on the radio, he was taken aback and needed to call Simon to tell him about the mindboggling track he’d just heard.
Recalling his introduction to the track, Garfunkel said: “When I heard ‘Good Vibrations’ on the radio for the first time, I called Paul (Simon) immediately and I said ‘I think I just heard the greatest, most creative record of them all.'”
He continued: “Brian (Wilson) showed us all the endless possibilities in what’s been recorded and how it can be layered and combined or subtracted to create something that certainly came from his California roots, which to me, has always represented the promise and sweetness in America. With that joyousness, he became our Mozart of Rock’ n’ Roll.”
‘Good Vibrations’ was a track that The Beach Boys slaved over for two months. Astonishingly, it took 90 hours of studio time and 70 hours of tape to get it right. It was no coincidence the Californians pushed the boundaries, considering they ploughed the same amount of studio hours into the song as some bands take to make albums.
Wilson developed an unhealthy obsession with making sure ‘Good Vibrations’ was flawless, and there was not another thought that occupied his mind during the elongated recording process. He even stayed at home to work on the song while the rest of the band went on tour, further proving his commitment to the cause.
Although the creation of ‘Good Vibrations’ was an all-encompassing endeavour for Wilson, the final result was worth every drop of sweat the singer poured into it, as Garfunkel’s praise illustrates.
