Albums You Should Own Part 1

Welcome to the first in a no-doubt irregular series of blog posts which aim to point you in the direction of  great albums that you should have in your collection. You should actually buy these. Go into one of the fast disappearing record shops and impress everyone as you pick a copy off the shelf and take it to the till. Then, as you walk down the street, take it out of the carrier bag and purposely read the back (ensuring the front cover is fully on display much like the latest VW Polo ad). In all honesty you will probably be thought of as a bit of a fruitcake, and be subsequently targetted as a potential mugging target, but hey, at least you'll feel cool!

Anyway, to the first album.

Pet Sounds by The Beach Boys
Released in 1966 and driven by competition between Lennon and McCartney and the Beach Boys' creative force, Brian Wilson, Pet Sounds was a direct riposte to the Beatles' Rubber Soul album. Until that point, the Beach Boys had been pouring out gems like Surfin USA, Little Deuce Coupe and so on. But the creative maturity being displayed by Lennon and McCartney and their almost God-like status in the USA (we're talking pre-Lennon furore) awoke Brian Wilson to try and attain greater things.

Brian Wilson teamed up with Tony Asher to try and create something that put Rubber Soul into the shadows. And they succeeded to an extent. Whilst the Beach Boys touring entity took the music to the masses, Brian, who had given up touring to concentrate on writing and recording new music, was creating something that was a complete departure from what had gone before.

Case in point is the song 'I Know There's An Answer'. Apparently with an original title of 'Hang On To Your Ego', the title was changed because Mike Love refused to sing the lyrics. Then, there's 'I Just Wasn't Made For These Times', which seems to be Brian Wilson telling the world how he feels at odds with his existence at the time.

From these introspective, atmospheric songs to upbeat numbers like 'Wouldn't It Be Nice' and 'Sloop John B', the album takes your mood up and down and up and back down again, ending on the melancholy 'Caroline, No'.

'Good Vibrations' was originally listed on the album, but Brian Wilson removed it to continue work on it. The creative battle with the Beatles was temporarily won, until the release of Revolver later the same year. The recording of the follow-up, 'Smile' sent Brian on the way to a mental breakdown, precipitated by his drug use.

The best way to listen to this album is through good headphones and in the dark. Give it a go. You might just like it...