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The Beach Boys

I'm a huge fan of classic rock, and music in general, listening to almost all genres from classical to jazz to rock to contemporary pop (very selectively). Don't care much for country and reggae. I've been reading in the latest issue of Stereophile about Acoustic Sounds reissuing The Beach Boys catalog, and the article compelled me to express my opinion on this forum. I'm simply completely, utterly, and overwhelmingly at a loss to understand the acclaim for this band. The fact that "Pet Sounds" is considered one of the greatest albums of all time leaves me speechless. I always considered their music a bit of a joke, good for background when you're in a beach bar in Southern California, in the same vein reggae or mariachi music are tolerable in Jamaica or Mexico, respectively, when one's on vacation. I then heard about them being compared to The Beatles and have been confused ever since. Perhaps a comparison to The Beatles early songs as they were evolving as musicians and songwriters would make sense, but comparing the genius of The Beatles to the "genius" of Brian Wilson is just preposterous, in my opinion.

I would like to hear from those who like or love The Beach Boys what it is about their music that they think warrants the acclaim and their presence in the upper echelon of music. I realize my post may generate quite a bit of controversy and angry responses, but I don't mean to offend or put down anyone's musical tastes. I'm posting as a music lover who is truly perplexed. 

    
actusreus
minkwelder
256 posts
 
"The fact that "Pet Sounds" is considered one of the greatest albums of all time leaves me speechless. I always considered their music a bit of a joke, good for background when you're in a beach bar in Southern California..."

The above quote would indicate to me that the OP has never heard Pet Sounds. It certainly is NOT gimmicky "beach music". The album was lushly instrumented by the famous "Wrecking Crew", who were astonished at Brian Wilson's abilities as an arranger and producer, and considered it a monumental achievement.

mapman's avatar
mapman
22,981 posts
 
The rolling stone magazine 60s crowd thinks Pet Sounds is one of the greatest.  

Its a a nicely crafted milestone work.  I'd leave it at that. 
tostadosunidos's avatar
tostadosunidos
1,198 posts
 
This guy Brian Wilson went from scoring a local hit with Surfin' in 1962 to cranking out Pet Sounds four years later.  How?

Pet Sounds had four hit singles on it--Wouldn't it be Nice, Sloop John B., God Only Knows and Caroline, No. Another tune, an instrumental, was written (but not used) for a James Bond film.  In between those you get amazing musical explorations of the weirdness of growing up and having relationships in the U.S. in the 50's and 60's.  You can sort of hear it coming with tunes on the previous few albums but it's still an amazing achievement for someone who did it all seat-of-the-pants in just a few years.  Whereas Burt Bacharach had deep classical training and sort of an internship (not to slight him--he made amazing music).  What Brian achieved is matched only by the Beatles' work from the same period.  And no, there's no beach music or car songs on Pet Sounds.  It's a whole other thing as opposed to the early records.  50 years later it holds its ground against all comers.  But nothing's for everybody--some folks don't like Beethoven and some don't like the Beatles.  YMMV.
rockyboy
335 posts
 
FWIW, the group Papa Doo Run Run recorded the California Project which is a very "polished" collection of BB songs and IMHO is very well done.  
actusreus OP
733 posts
 
Thank you all for absolutely fabulous responses rather than dismissing my post outright; I enjoyed reading all of them and came out much more educated. This is truly a terrific community. 

I represent somewhat of a younger crowd on Audiogon, from my understanding, as I'm in my early 40s so perhaps my musical tastes are to a degree a function of my age. I was exposed to The Beatles as a child and have loved them ever since only expanding and deepening my musical knowledge and exposure as I grew older. From what was once an unpalatable pile of noise to me, classic jazz has become my favorite genre of music and I'm in awe every time I listen, humbled by the talent and genius of the jazz greats. Based on that experience, I now always approach music with an open mind. The Beach Boys fail to evoke the same feelings other great music does in me, but I certainly understand much more why they are held in such high esteem after reading your responses. 

P.S.

I do agree "God Only Knows" is one of the most beautiful songs ever written. I just wish the rest of The BB catalog connected the same way with me. 
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