A Deep Dive Tribute To Brian Wilson, And His Game Changing Production On “Pet Sounds”

Brian Wilson was more than just a musical legend. He was the very definition of an icon. And he passed away yesterday at the age of 82. 

Nate blogged about his passing, and referenced the impact he had on popular music that has reverberated for generations since his groundbreaking work in 1966 on the pivotal Pet Sounds.

We’ve all heard the name, we’ve all heard the songs, but for many, (including myself until a few years ago), the real depth of his genius went unrecognized. But I wanted to dive deeper and honor him, and the album, in a way that might school people, similar to how I was schooled just a few years ago. Unless you're an alien, chances are you're a fan of music. And if you're a fan of music, then you need to know the name Brian Wilson, and who he was. And not just for being a member of The Beach Boys. Which is what I previously thought.

Just being 100% transparent and honest here, growing up a child of the 80s and 90s, TGIF on Friday evenings was appointment television. Every week. Like pretty much every other American family household of the time, Full House, was a staple of our weekly routine and schedule. And for anybody who knows Full House, you know that The Beach Boys were a staple on the show. 

But for anybody who was introduced to them via ABC Friday night sitcom television, we missed the boat entirely. I grew up thinking they were basically the group version of Jimmy Buffett- a bunch of older guys who loved the open water, tropical drinks, and chasing bronzed beach bunnies. I had no idea just how profound Wilson and his band's impact actually was. I was stuck on the surface, associating him with the summer fun and beach vibes of “Surfin’ U.S.A.”

And how could you fault me?

That clip- the hairstyles, the outfits, the shoulder pads, etc. is so 90s it hurts. 

So I'm not embarrassed to admit that I couldn't have been more misinformed about the group, and its leader, Brian Wilson, up until 5 or 6 years ago. 

One thing I've realized since no longer being forced to read miserably boring literature in school, is that I genuinely enjoy reading books about people. I love biographies, and autobiographies even more. Especially about musicians. Hearing the stories and experiences, about what goes into the makeup of a specific person, who then creates a work of art has always fascinated me. And it's like they are "showing us their work" to a math problem when we learn about the situations and circumstances that shaped them. 

Wanting to learn about what made the world's biggest musicians, and greatest songwriters tick, was not only fascinating, it was also inspiring. Common themes became apparent, over and over- perseverance, believing in yourself, hard work, and harnessing God given talents. 

So did common names. 

Pretty much anybody alive today that's looked up to as a world class songwriter or producer gives thanks for attributes part of their success to being inspired by the one and only Brian Wilson, and his groundbreaking masterpiece, Pet Sounds.

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As evidenced yesterday through the outpouring of love from his contemporaries worldwide - 

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For Brian Wilson, those situations and circumstances that molded him begin with his father, Murray Wilson. Wilson's father was a composer in his own right. 

Wilson's dad pushed him hard. Sometimes too hard. 

His psychological and emotional abuse left deep scars on Brian, which would later influence both his personal struggles and his musical output. This tension would become one of the defining themes of Wilson’s life. His love for music was, in many ways, a response to the turbulent relationship with his father, a way of escaping to something that felt pure and beautiful. While at the same time always seeking to achieve some sort of validation and approval from him through it. 

(A lot of the deep emotional tones and undertones of The Beach Boys material (which for a long time I never knew existed there), is due to this focal part of Brian's life.)

Reading the numerous obituaries paying honor to the late Wilson yesterday, Rolling Stone's Rob Sheffield framed the young Wilson brothers'  child, then asked the burning question, best- 

The Beach Boys are the most legendary of American rock & roll bands, haunting the cultural imagination, with a twisted family story at the heart of the saga. Three suburban brothers thrown together in a surf band by their abusive manager-father: Brian, the haunted pop composer; Carl, the shy kid with the heavenly voice; Dennis, the wild-ass drummer who lived the cars-and-surf lifestyle Brian just sang about. Plus high school pal Al Jardine and their cousin Mike Love, who took pride in bringing the bad vibrations. How could these damaged kids make such beautiful music together? God only knows.

As much as Murray tried to control and browbeat Brian, it was in those moments of rebellion and isolation that Wilson would craft the music, and his sound, that would change everything. 

Brian wasn’t just a songwriter; he was a sound architect. 

In the mid-‘60s, he took the pop music world by storm with his groundbreaking work on Pet Sounds, the album that would inspire not only The Beatles but also generations of musicians and producers.

If you’ve ever heard Pet Sounds, you know it’s not just a collection of songs; it’s a sonic masterpiece. 

I'd grown up hearing my parents play it around the house, and the numerous hits from it frequented the oldies stations they would listen to in the car- but none of that did it justice. 

You also couldn’t go over a friends house back then without seeing the album cover mixed in with the vinyl collections of all your friends’ parents. EVERYBODY owned Pet Sounds. But why?

It wasn't until reading countless and countless music giants in Rolling Stone credit and praise the album for influencing and inspiring them, that I decided to buy the album on vinyl and listen for myself just what everybody was talking about. 

(Despite technological advancements, the fact that we're living in the times of The Jetsons, using reverse-engineered alien technology, etc., there is still no sound known to the human ear that is better, fuller, richer, or warmer than vinyl.) No joke. Lossless audio, flac, whatever digital medium you choose to stack against it, ask any audiophile or expert, nothing compares to vinyl audio.)

Even listening to that LP on a beat-to-shit Panasonic Technics 1200, plugged into a Pioneer DJM 500, feeding through to a pair of studio monitors, I could tell it was different and unlike what I was used to hearing. Listening on vinyl also forced me to hear the album as Wilson and the band intended it to be heard, and digested. From the first seemingly upbeat and hopeful track, "Wouldn't It Be Nice", all the way through to the devestating "Caroline No."

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I had no idea how, or why, this album stood out the way it did, but I finally got why so many mega-talented artists and professionals looked up to it. 

I wanted to learn more about it, and I was in luck. Because a year or two later, a documentary was released, commemorating the album's 50th Anniversary, aptly titled, "Making Pet Sounds". And it showed, and explained, everything. 

(You can stream the entire thing on Apple+) (I watched this again last night in attempts to do this blog justice.)

I was mind-blown. And then I truly, finally, understood what the big deal was.

Those sounds I'd heard flowing all around me, enveloping me in their harmonic bliss weren't just an auditory magic trick- it was revolutionary. Meaning, it had literally never been done before. 

The fact the album was recorded in mono (because Wilson was deaf in one ear, allegedly due to abuse from his father), makes the fact even more astounding, that Wilson was able to manipulate such depth, weaving so many layers into and out of each other on each track.

Brian Wilson didn’t just create music, he created an emotional landscape. It’s hard to overstate just how revolutionary this album was at the time and still remains today. 

Influenced by Phil Spector’s famous "Wall of Sound", Wilson took that concept and essentially flipped it on its head. 

While Spector’s wall was about creating a dense, "bombastic sound", Wilson’s approach was more nuanced, more musical, and more emotional.

Wilson, though influenced by Spector, didn’t just want to create an all-encompassing sound. He wanted to create something more intricate, more layered. His idea was to fill every inch of space with emotional depth, but also with distinct musical textures. 

If you watch the documentary, you'll hear everybody from his bandmates, to his session recording artists, to those who look up to and idolize him describing him as this "visionary", who had a unique ability to take a traditional pop song and, through careful arrangement, make it feel like it was about to burst open with complexity. 

Basically, Wilson took Spector’s Wall of Sound and made it far more musical, using layers to create an emotional resonance, not just a wall of noise.

Here is a great video that isn't too long explaining the notion behind Spector's ingenuity - 

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And here's one on Wilson's take on that - 

(Sidebar - here’s an interesting nugget I discovered- Brian Wilson was completely obsessed with The Ronettes’ famous tune “Be My Baby”. The song, which was produced by Phil Spector, was a defining moment in pop production, and Wilson saw it as a blueprint. He would talk about how much he was captivated by the song’s sound and how it influenced his approach to Pet Sounds. He loved the way it captured raw emotion with its lush yet simple arrangement, something he would replicate with his own productions. If you've ever listened to “Be My Baby” and wondered why it feels so timeless, know that Wilson was just as enthralled with it.)

He told me about hearing “Be My Baby” for the first time, on his car radio, and pulling over to the side of the road to cry. “Good Vibrations” was his attempt to capture that same magic. “I knew God was with us when we were doing it,” he told me. “It’s no ‘Be My Baby,’ but it’s a good record.”

The best part of the story behind the album is how Brian Wilson made this happen. When Pet Sounds was being created, Wilson was essentially a mad scientist in the studio. While the rest of The Beach Boys were on tour in Japan, Wilson stayed behind and poured himself into the album. 

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He started writing it the morning after he first heard the Beatles’ Rubber Soul. Legend goes that after not being able to sleep after hearing it, bright and early the next morning, he woke up, went to his piano, and wrote “God Only Knows.”  

He wrote the entire thing, and produced about 80% of it. The band, at that point, was unaware of what he had been working on.

Wilson would literally take anything he could find in his avergae day to day that made sound, and found a way to incorporate it into song. We’re talking bike bells, horns, and any other random shit he could find.

Wilson, however, didn’t do this alone. He relied heavily on the Wrecking Crew- a group of world-class session musicians based in Los Angeles, who played on countless classic tracks during the ‘60s. 

These musicians were the unsung heroes behind many of the greatest hits of the era. While The Beach Boys were off touring, Wilson collaborated with them, giving them sheet music without telling them what the song was about or even what the title was, he simply communicated his musical vision, often by singing parts of the arrangements himself. The Wrecking Crew then translated his vocal sketches into real, tangible music. Really wild shit.

He wanted them to “go in blind” not knowing a songs title so they wouldn’t subconsciously lean a certain way into how they played their respective instrument. 

He is also credited with inventing “inverted harmonies”. Which are nothing special to us today, but back then, was ground breaking and unheard of.

Hey Google, explain what an inverted harmony is to me like I’m 10 please.

Imagine you're playing a game with your notes! An "inverted harmony," also known as "negative harmony," is like taking a normal chord and flipping it upside down. 

Think of it like this:

Normal Chord: You build a chord by going up from a starting note, adding more notes on top, like stacking building blocks. 

Inverted (Negative) Chord: Instead of building up, you flip the chord and build downwards from a different starting note, using the same "stacking" rules but going the other way. 

Why is it cool?

It creates new, interesting sounds that are related to the original chord but have a different feel, like a "mirror image".

This effectively led to another common tool and sound today, stereo imaging. Which, despite reading about at length, and understanding on its face, my brain still can’t comprehend in terms of taking a mono signal and envisioning it, and hearing it in your head as Wilson did, in stereo.

A great way to notice the difference is by listening to the two different versions on this double album release- 

One of the things I enjoyed the most about the documentary was the engineers who were present when Wilson was putting this masterpiece together, and their comments about how Pet Sounds true beauty lies in its simplicity. But that at the same time, when people think that simpleness is easily replicated, and easy to do, when they attempt to try it, they quickly realize that's not the case.

When the rest of the band returned, they were greeted by a radically new sound. A sound that had evolved so far beyond the band’s early, fun surf-rock hits that it was like stepping into a completely different world. 

They came back to hear an album that pushed boundaries in ways they never expected. 

Brian had discovered a way to turn the actual, physical recording studio into an instrument. 

I know this sounds absurd now, but this was an even more absurd thought to even consider back in the day. And Wilson pulled it off. All with about 4 recording tracks, analog everything, and minimal takes.

Wilson’s new vision was not only daunting, ambitious, and completely groundbreaking, it was terrifying. 

Some of the band members were initially skeptical, wondering if he had lost his mind while they were overseas, but they soon realized they were witnessing something extraordinary. It wasn’t just a new sound. It was a new way of thinking about music.

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But it would take time for Wilson's genius to not only be proven, but rewarded. Pet Sounds was a giant flop when it first debuted. Stores stopped carrying it because it didn't sell, and the music label panicked and quickly released a "Best Of The Beach Boys" album in hopes to do damage control and stop the bleeding. For years, it was impossible to find a copy, strange as that sounds now. 

The album's standout track, "God Only Knows," has famously been called "the perfect song" by none other than Sir Paul McCartney. High praise indeed. 

“It’s one of the few songs that reduces me to tears every time I hear it,” McCartney said. “It’s really just a love song, but it’s brilliantly done. It shows the genius of Brian.”

As the doc shows, the track only took Wilson 45 minutes to write, with the assistance of his friend Tony Asher- who up until that point had been a radio commercial "jingle" writer. Wilson claims he had the song already written in his head and the only difficult part was communicating it to The Wrecking Crew and later, his bandmates. 

Hearing the isolated vocals to the song, with Carl Wilson taking lead vocal duty, are mesmerizing -

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The harmonies on this song are truly unbelievable. Even by today's standards. 

This below clip had been dubbed “one of the most amazing moments in the history of music”. And it was like 60 years in the making because Wilson was such a recluse.

The story in the doc Brian not traveling to London after wrapping production on the album, but his brother bringing two copies of the pressing with him, and being summoned to a hotel to play the album for John Lennon and Paul McCartney is unbelievable. As was their reaction to it. 

John telephoned Brian after hearing Pet Sounds for the first time and told him that he thought it was the best album he had ever heard. With Paul commenting his famous line about "God Only Knows". 

The Beatles were effusive in their praise for the album, the sound, and for influencing them in not just deciding to re-record Sgt Pepper and The Lonely Hearts Club, but in their future sound as a whole. 

McCartney also called Pet Sounds, “the most influential album of all time.” And he has gone on record saying that Sgt. Pepper’s wouldn’t have existed without Pet Sounds. That’s how powerful Wilson’s influence was. The record became the standard for what pop music could achieve, not just in terms of sound, but in emotional depth.

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(Here is a great video highlighting the connections between the two albums)

(Sidebar - later in life, Brian and Paul would meet in person and a budding friendship would be born.)

What Pet Sounds did was create a ripple effect that shaped not only The Beach Boys’ future but the entire music landscape. 

To put it simply, and the TLDR summary is this- if Jesus is the defining point in human time- ie. B.C. and A.D., then Pet Sounds is the defining album in popular music history. There was music before Pet Sounds, and after Pet Sounds.

And it wasn’t just the Beatles who were changed forever. Pet Sounds influenced everyone from David Bowie to modern artists like Beck and Radiohead. Today, that ripple is still felt. The bar Wilson set for creativity in music is something that artists strive for even now. His work was a leap into the unknown, and for those of us who listen closely, it’s easy to see why his music continues to resonate.

Dylan once said, “That ear, he’s got to will that to the Smithsonian.” John Lennon’s son said he was our American Mozart.

This wasn't just another talented musician who left us yesterday, this was a titan who changed music, and thus, the world, forever.  

When I think about Brian Wilson, I don’t just think about a bandleader or a genius producer. I think about someone who, despite all of the personal battles he faced, still created music that has changed the world. His music captured everything. The highs and lows, the simplicity and complexity of life. It has been a constant source of inspiration and reflection for all of our favorite artists. He is the universal answer to the question, "who is your favorite artist's favorite artist?"

Harry Langdon. Getty Images.

Pet Sounds opened my eyes to the brilliance of Wilson’s work, and once I started truly listening, everything changed. 

On the surface, many of his songs, like “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” or “I Get Around,” feel like quintessential feel-good anthems. At first listen they're catchy, upbeat, and full of youthful optimism. 

But if you think deeper, and think about Wilson writing them, you realize that there’s a sadness woven into the fabric of these songs. 

Whether it’s the yearning for something more. Ir the melancholy undertones of lost love. Or the quiet loneliness hidden behind the seemingly carefree facade, Wilson had a way of capturing the complexity of human emotion like no other. These songs aren't throwaway pop songs. They are complex beyond casual comprehension. They are multiple, multiple-layered. Just like life. 

His ability to combine joy and sorrow in the same song is a testament to his genius. Just like his instrumental arrangements, his work is layered in such a way that it can be studied forever. With each listen revealing something new. Brian Wilson didn’t just write songs- he painted emotional landscapes that speak to the heart. And he did it in a way that took really big feelings, and stated them simply.

He may have passed away yesterday, but the music he created will never fade away. 

His work on Pet Sounds didn’t just change The Beach Boys, it changed the way we hear music. His influence on modern artists and his impact on music production are immeasurable. We owe a debt to Brian Wilson that can never be repaid, but the beauty of it is that we don’t have to. His music will continue to inspire, resonate, and remind us of the power of a single, perfect song.

Rest in peace, Mr. Wilson. And thank you. The world is a better place for having heard your music.

Michael Ochs Archives. Getty Images.

p.s. - there is sadly no video of this duet in existence, but Paul McCartney joined Wilson at a benefit gala in 2002 to sing "God Only Knows" together, and it's beautiful. 

p.p.s. - I have heard that hearing Pet Sounds in Dolby Atmos is an out-of-body experience. Can anybody confirm? We really meed those Atmos speaker prices to come down and for them to become the norm in every soundbar, and flatscreen speaker in the market. 

p.p.p.s. - I've heard mixed reviews about The Beach Boys documentary that Disney put out last year. I heard from somebody who didn't know anything about them before that it was pretty good, and from somebody who saw the Making Of doc that it stunk and was very "MTV-ish" in making Brian Wilson look bad/selfish. I still want to see it though, so I think I'm going to throw it on this weekend.

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