Wouldn't It Be Nice: Brian Wilson and the Making of the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds (The Vinyl Frontier series) - Softcover

Granata, Charles L.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1556525079 ISBN 13: 9781556525070

Publisher: Chicago Review Press, 2003

Synopsis

"This illuminating book offers unique insight into the making of the seminal album Pet Sounds, revealing the intimate processes that went into its creation and featuring brand-new interviews with key players. From conception and composition to arrangement and production, the ways in which Pet Sounds changed the face of American popular music are chronicled. While Pet Sounds carries the tag of being a Beach Boys record, this lively exposé reveals just how little input the rest of the band had in its recording. Illustrating Brian Wilson's prodigious talent, the book chronicles his ability to turn his back on the protest songs and folk-rock of his contemporaries, and even on the bright surf sound of his own creation, in order to reach deep within himself to make music that struck an emotional chord and touched people’s souls. Wilson’s ability to embrace the rapidly advancing recording technology of the 1960s and to expertly blend rock 'n' roll, rhythm and blues, and jazz sounds with velvety harmonies and sensitive melodies to create a brand-new studio sound are discussed. An intimate portrait of Wilson’s family, breakdown, and drug use is included."

About this title

About the Author:

Charles L. Granata is a record producer, music historian, and the author of the award-winning Sessions with Sinatra: Frank Sinatra and the Art of Recording. He lives in Livingston, New Jersey. Tony Asher is a lyricist who collaborated with Brian Wilson on Pet Sounds. He lives in Los Angeles.

From Publishers Weekly:

In 1965, Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys released a revolutionary rock album that would influence the Beatles' Rubber Soul as well as the music of the Who, Eric Clapton and the Rolling Stones. As music historian Granata points out in this often passionate, sometimes pedantic history of Pet Sounds, U.S. audiences turned a cold shoulder to this album because it represented such a departure from the pleasing surf melodies that had made the Beach Boys famous. In spite of such a reception, the album showcases the soaring musical genius of Wilson, argues Granata, in what was perhaps truly the first ever "concept album." The innovative combination of folk, blues and jazz blended into the gorgeous harmonies of the Beach Boys. Granata traces the evolution of the album from its writing, mostly by Wilson and Tony Asher, to the long nights of production in the studio. He analyzes dispassionately each song on the album, from the jangly 12-string guitar chords of "Wouldn't It Be Nice?," which open the album, to the closing harmonies of "Caroline, No" that close it. Granata chronicles Wilson's well-known disappearance from the musical scene not long after the album's release to battle the demons of paranoid schizophrenia, as well as his recent solo appearances performing the songs from Pet Sounds. Granata devotedly tells a story whose contours are already well known, so the book at times appears to be a set of liner notes allowed to grow too large.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Chicago Review Press
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 1556525079
• ISBN 13: 9781556525070
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 256