Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin II - Review

Songs: Whole Lotta Love, What Is And What Should Never Be, The Lemon Song, Thank You, Heartbreaker, Living Loving Maid (She’s Just a Woman), Ramble On, Moby Dick, Bring It On Home

Comments: Let’s go back for a moment to the debut Album. The cover of the album is really provoking. Of course it shows the burning Zeppelin “ Hindenburg” and you could argue that it symbolises a new band breaking into the seventies with full might. But in the end it represents the Phallus Erectus. Robert Plant like Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull fame was obsessed by it and it would be a great influence in the Led’s work.

After the release of their first album the band started touring in the UK and the USA. As always there was the commercial urge to produce a follow up so during the tour the band got into the studios in London, New York and Los Angeles from time to time to record. This rush basically had three important consequences:

1.       There simply wasn’t enough time to record only new material. So the band used pieces of existing blues material that were part of their live shows. A lot has been said about them ripping up blues artists but I don’t see any problem there as it happens all the time in the music industry. I do think however they should have given sufficient credit to the authors;
2.       The Sound Quality got a bit muddy. Again, much has been said about that. The original record suffered a bit from it but the re-mastered version released in 1994 is of excellent quality;
3.       Since there was not enough time to produce layers upon layers, the music was crisp, energetic and very much to the point. 

The last observation becomes immediately clear when the Album Opener Whole Lotta Love (# 4 Billboard) breaks out the loudspeakers. A Great riff, great bass and great drums. A real explosion! I graduated from high school back in 1970 and this album was one of my presents alongside Santana’s first Album and Pearl by Janis Joplin. We played these records all day and all night while drinking a “couple” of beers. Yeah, I know, the middle part of Whole is a bit too long although it sounds rather cool when you listen to it with your headphones on. And Robert Plant made good his promise on the cover of the debut Album and had his first recorded orgasm. This part sounds a bit dated today but in 1969 we all loved it. Nobody had ever done that before.

In my opinion, What Is And What Should Never Be is the best track on the Album. It’s got everything that makes Led Zeppelins music so interesting. It’s dark and it’s light, it’s quiet and it’s loud and these combinations work perfect here. I suppose you could call it a ballad and as such it could have done without the screaming part. But I like it the way it is. It’s different and special. Great Song.

Robert Plant & the Squeezed Lemons then perform The Lemon Song. The band used a number of old blues classics and glued them together. It’s not a great song but it’s certainly interesting and the bass playing is amazing. As far as I could ascertain, Robert had his second and last musical orgasm here on Led Zeppelin II and even seemed to fall out of bed during the final stages.  

Thank You is a beautiful pop song with childish lyrics but with a great feeling to it. It was written for Robert’s wife Maureen and I suppose she was very touched by it. On the other hand there were these bands of groupies awaiting Robert after each concert so I’m not so sure what really happened when the mountains crumbled to the sea.

The songs Heartbreaker and Living Loving Maid are usually played together as almost one song and that works fine. Heartbreaker is a great Hard Rock Riff and one of the high marks of the Album. Jimmy really shines here. Living Loving Maid is a quite simple fast rocker but it’s well done and to the point.

Ramble On is a kind of folk-rock song that people either like or hate. I like the guitar playing a lot, am confused by the silly lyrics and annoyed with Robert’s screaming. But it’s not a bad song. It should have been a Single release but the band wasn’t into that sort of stuff. At least not at that point in time.

How many words would have been written about the drum solo in Moby Dick. It’s too long but in 1969 everybody included a drum solo on their albums so what the heck. Let’s forgive them for always and forever shall we? The song has a great Riff!

And finally there’s Bring It On Home, apparently sung by Robert through his harmonica or maybe some other gadget. You could argue the band was trying to sound as an authentic blues band or you could say they were trying to see if they could get away with anything. I think it’s okay although it might have fitted better on the debut album.

And that’s it, Led’s Second Album. In my opinion it’s a great album, just as good as the band's first effort. But it’s also completely different. The first album was a coherent Blues album with prog-rock and folk influences. This one however is a collection of great songs and a crossover of Hard Rock and Heavy Metal with the occasional references to the blues and a bit of folk. All the guys played extremely hungry and eager on this record with great results. If anything, the lyrics are a bit simple and dull but the music makes you forget that for most of the time. The Album meant the commercial and artistic breakthrough for the band. The cover of the album seems to confirm that with the Phallus seemingly exploding. Look out world, The Led is out!

Type of Music: Hard Rock and Heavy Metal mixed with bits and pieces of Progressive Rock, Blues and Folk.

Rating: ********* (9 out of 10)

Black = Good Songs

Green = Great Songs

Red = Could Be Better

Sound Quality: Good. Be sure to get the re-mastered version.

Chart Success: The album made it to number 1 in the Billboard Album Top 200.

Who should buy this Record:  Everybody!!  Led Zeppelin’s Breakthrough Album and one of the true Classic Rock Albums of All Time. Get It Now!

Jan van den Ende                                   March 2012

Littlemill 12 Years Review

Country: Scotland

Brand: Littlemill

Type: Single Malt Whisky

Region: Lowlands

Age: 12 Years

Alcohol: 40%

Date: 15/03/2012

Colour: Deep Yellow Gold

Nose: Quite unusual nose. Sure there’s Grain, Malt, Oak ,Toffee, Straw and a hint of Peat. But also this sour unpleasant smell of morning sickness in combination with green winter Vegetables. A bitterness that hints at Sulphur. There is some Fruit in the background but it’s hard to identify. Maybe Pineapple.

Taste: Sweet Grains, Toast, Sugar, Bit of Honey and Pepper.

I added a few drops of water and the nose opens up a little bit with grassy and lemon tones. But on the palate this Malt becomes a plate of sugared cereals sprinkled with cheap honey. The Finish becomes bitter.

Finish: Short with a bit of Butterscotch and Pepper. Dry. Bit of a Bite on the tongue. Nothing to get excited about.

Rating:  71

Nose: 17– Taste: 18 – Finish: 18– Overall: 18

What a Sad Sight! 

General Remarks: The Littlemill distillery was located in Bowling near Glasgow, on the border of Lowlands and Highlands and was founded around 1770, which makes it one of the older, if not the oldest distillery in Scotland. Unfortunately the last owners (Gibson International since 1984) went broke in 1994 and the distillery had to close. The dismantled remainder was destroyed by fire in 2004. There isn’t much of the whisky left these days.

Drinking Experience Neat: Average

Conclusion: This is not an appealing Single Malt. Luckily, I only bought a miniature bottle so not too much harm is done. This is unworthy of a Single Malt. Even cheap blends score higher in my Rankings. I’m not familiar with the whiskies of this Distillery in former times but this expression is certainly below par.

Jan van den Ende                                                              March 2012  

This Was - Jethro Tull - Review

Songs:  My Sunday Feeling, Some Day the Sun won’t Shine for You, Beggar’s Farm, Move on Alone, Serenade to a Cuckoo, Dharma for One, It’s Breaking me Up, Cat’s Squirrel, A Song for Jeffrey, Round.

Type of Music: Late Sixties Blues Rock

Comments:

Jethro Tull is a Progressive Rock group formed in 1967 in Luton in the United Kingdom. Key Figures are band leader Ian Anderson and guitarist Martin Barre who joined the band in 1969. First some general remarks about Ian Anderson. If you can’t get used to Ian´s voice, it’s difficult to like Tull´s Music. Secondly, Ian is not the most modest guy on this earth. Many times that makes his songs and texts extraordinary, sometimes it makes them almost unbearable. You will encounter all of these when we follow Ian’s career throughout the years. Jethro Tull is still very active by the way and tours the world on a regular base.   

Now let’s return to This Was, Tull´s First album. Tull was not yet the successful Prog-Rock Band of the early/middle-seventies but just one of the many Blues Bands that were active in England in the late sixties. Guitarist Mick Abraham (blues back-ground) played an important part in the making of this album.

The Album is unknown to most Rock fans and that’s a pity because it deserves our attention.

It’s mostly right out Blues like in Someday The Sun Won’t Shine For You and It’s Breaking Me Up. On various occasions the songs are jazz-flavoured like Move On Alone, written by Mick Abrahams, and Serenade To A Cuckoo, written by Jazz Flutist Roland Kirk, where Ian starts to show us his magical flute playing abilities. There is some instrumental filler here as well such as the traditional Cat’s Squirrel and Round. And Dharma For One is more of a showcase for the individual players than an actual song.  

All throughout his career, Ian sometimes found it necessary to “ robotize” his voice in the way Moby does it today. I think that’s a pity and it downgrades the otherwise good A Song for Jeffrey. Although in 1968 many people probably loved these experiments as they were quite new in those days.

On the plus side we begin to discover the wonderful and unique combination of Blues and Rock and Ian’s Flute. This would produce great results in the future but it also works very well here in My Sunday Feeling and Beggar’s Farm, the best song on the album. This last song shows the difference of having Ian and his flute in your band. Great Lyrics as well.    

The Album was digitally re-mastered in 2001 and contains three bonus tracks, the instrumental One for John Gee, written for the owner of the Marquee Club in London where the Tull started playing live, the Indian flavoured Love Song and the somewhat unusual Christmas Song. They aren’t bad songs but I can perfectly live without them.

This Album is different from all other Tull Albums but certainly worth listening to.

Bonus Tracks: One for John Gee, Love Story, Christmas Song.

Rating: ******* (7 out of 10)

Black = Good Songs

Green = Great Songs

Red = Could Be Better

Who should buy this Record:  If you like late Sixties Blues Bands like Cream, John Mayall or Ten Years After this album is certainly well worth its money. Real Prog-Rock Tull adepts should start their collection elsewhere. 

Pink Floyd - A Saucerful Of Secrets - Review

Songs: Let There Be More Light, Remember a Day, Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun, Corporal Glegg, A Saucerful of Secrets, See-Saw, Jugband Blues. 

Type of Music: Psychedelic Rock   

Comments:

Set the Controls for the Future of the Band. 

The Pink Floyd´s second Album is basically Part II of the Star Wars that started with The Piper at the Gates of Dawn. But there is one big difference: Syd Barrett. Or better, his absence. Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds got the better of him and he had to leave the band. 

One final song, Jugband Blues with the immortal last words "And what exactly is a joke? " marks his departure. It´s not a very good song unfortunately.

I'm sure that many a tear was shed by the remaining band members but I also suspect that Roger saw his chance here to lead the band in the direction he saw in his mind.

Still, with Syd out we miss the genius or the "madness" that had marked The Piper. Because Roger Waters is no Syd Barrett. He wrote his version of the Interstellar Overdrive and named it A Saucerful of Secrets. It´s not bad but I hear a craftsman and not a genius, crazy as Syd might have been. And Syd´s Scarecrow is now called Corporal Glegg and it´s only half as funny. Roger would find his own way in the seventies but to me this record is Roger´s Piper Revisited.

Richard Wright wrote (Weird Word Sequence) two songs for the album namely Remember a Day and See-Saw of which the first one is the better of the two. So everybody did their best to show they could manage without Syd, but maybe it was too early for that in 1968.

That leaves us with Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun. It was written by Roger but the other band members contributed to the song as well and it is the only moment on the album where you sense that they are capable of writing an interesting, complex and experimental song as well. It´s too little to save A Saucerful from being more than an average Psychedelic Rock Album. It did however gave them confidence. The confidence they needed to be able to make Dark Side in the future.

Syd of course was replaced by Singer/Guitarist David Gilmour and that was a lucky hand as time would tell. 

Rating: ******* (7 out of 10)

Black = Good Songs

Green = Great Songs

Red = Could Be Better

Who should buy this Record:  Only for the real Floyd Fans. Of which there are a lot of course, including me!

Buchanan's De Luxe 12 Years Review

Country: Scotland

Brand: Buchanan’s De Luxe

Bottled by James Buchanan & Company

Type: Blended Whisky

Age: 12 Years

Alcohol: 40%

Colour: Light Golden (Artificially Coloured)

Nose: Toasted Cereals, Grain Alcohol, Toffee, Caramel, Vanilla, Toast, Toasted Oak, Straw, Grass, Heather-Honey, Cocoa Powder, Salted Almonds, Citrus Peel, Ginger and the faintest hint of Smoke. 

Taste: Thin and slightly Watery Delivery. Quite Sweet with Toasted Cereals, light Vanilla, Caramel, Toffee, Orange-Peel, Green Apple, Straw, Grass, Cocoa Powder, Sugared Tea, Pepper, Salt, Ginger and hints of Tobacco and Smoke. 

Finish: On the short side. Sugary Sweet at first but Dry towards the end with Toasted Cereals, slightly Bitter Nutshells, Toasted Refill Oak, Heather-Honey, Black Pepper, Salt, Caramel, Mandarin, Cocoa Powder and hints of Tobacco and Smoke from a distant fire.

When adding a few drops of Water you get some Fruit on the nose. Think of Pear and Apricots. Bit of Lemon as well and some extra Honey. On the Palate it almost becomes Ice Tea Lemon. The Finish gets more Sugary. You can certainly experiment with a few drops. The Nose opens up quite a bit and the Ice Tea Lemon feeling on the Palate is remarkable.

Rating: 79 

Nose: 20,5 – Taste: 20 – Finish: 19 – Overall: 19,5

General Remarks:

I can’t tell you a lot about this Blend I’m afraid. It was created in 1884 by one James Buchanan in London. Today, the company belongs to the Diageo Group. At the heart of this Blend lays the Dalwhinnie Distillery (Highlands). It is Scotland’s highest Distillery. Only 10% of its production is sold as Single Malt. The rest goes into Blends like Buchanan’s and Black & White. Buchanan's 12 Years its very popular in South America.

Drinking Experience Neat: Average/Okay

Drinking Experience on the Rocks: Good

Conclusion: It’s not an expensive Blend at US$ 30/35. But it’s yet another of those Blends of which 13 are found in a dozen. There’s no real character, no adventure, no challenge. It’s sugary and a bit boring. And it doesn’t inspire me to write more about it.

Jan van den Ende                                    March 8, 2012 and August 16,2017

Fleetwood Mac - Heroes Are Hard To FInd - Review

Fleetwood Mac - Heroes Are Hard To Find - 1974

Songs:  Heroes Are Hard To Find, Coming Home, Angel, Bermuda Triangle, Come A Little Bit Closer, She´s Changing Me, Bad Loser, Silver Heels, Prove Your Love, Born Enchanter, Safe Harbour. 

Type of Music: Mid-Seventies Pop-Rock.

The Band:

Mick Fleetwood                                     Drums and Percussion

John McVie                                             Bass

Christine McVie                                     Keyboards and Vocals

Bob Welch                                              Guitar and Vocals

Comments:

Bob Weston and Dave Walker had left the band by now and you would expect a return to true form from the remaining four key members.  Unfortunately this is not the case. Seven of the eleven songs are written by Bob Welch and none of them seem to go anywhere. Sometimes you get the feeling he tries to write prog-rock a la Yes or Pink Floyd like in Coming Home or Angel. He does not succeed though. Christine McVie wrote the remaining four songs. Of these, Heroes Are Hard To Find and Bad Loser are not too bad. But Prove Your Love and Come A Little Bit Closer are dull. With this Album Fleetwood Mac seemed to have reached a dead-end. But help was on its way!

Rating: ***** (5 out of 10)

Black = Good Songs

Green = Great Songs

Red = Could Be Better

Who should buy this Record:  Even True Mack Fans will find this a difficult listen.

Beatles - Help - Review

Beatles - Help - 1965

Songs:  Help, The Night Before, You´ve Got To Hide Your Love Away, I Need You, Another Girl, You´re Going To Lose That Girl, Ticket to Ride, Act Naturally,It´s Only Love,You Like Me Too Much,Tell Me What You See,I've Just Seen A Face, Yesterday,Dizzy Miss Lizzy.

Type of Music: Mid Sixties Quality Pop. 

Comments:

The first seven songs on the Album form the Soundtrack of the Film of the same name, you´ve heard about but probably never saw. If you like a pleasant Pop album this is the place to be. Only two covers this time and, as usual, they don´t impress me. Ringo is allowed to sing Act Naturally and John rapes his own voice in Dizzy Miss Lizzy. 

But the Lennon/McCartney songs are mostly well done. The Title Track, Ticket to Ride and Yesterday are all Classics. It´s worthwhile to follow Ringo´s percussion in Ticket to Ride. Ringo is absolutely the underrated Beatle while in fact many times his drumming carries the songs. George participates in the party with two songs. Both I Need You and You Like Me Too Much are Okay. It´s also interesting to observe the Dylan influence in songs like You´ve Got To Hide Your Love Away and I´ve Just Seen A Face.      

In short, tons of fun on this album that is not superb all the time but hardly ever disappointing.  

Rating: ******** (8 out of 10)

Black = Good Songs

Green = Great Songs

Red = Could Be Better

Who should buy this Record:  Everyone who enjoys a pleasant  Sing-Along Sixties Pop-Album.

Highland Park 1994 16 Years Review (2012)

Country: Scotland

Brand: Highland Park 1994 Travel Retail Bottling

Type: Single Malt Whisky

Region: Highland

Age: 16 Years

ABV: 40%

Colour: Old Gold/Amber

Nose: Light. Familiar combination of Malt, Peat, Sherry and Light Smoke. Dried Fruits like Apricots and Sultanas. Biscuits. Hints of Wood and Spices. There is something there that reminds me of walking alongside a quay in a harbour but I’m not able to pin it down. All in all it’s not an unpleasant nose but it’s not spectacular as well.

Taste: Quite Sweet with Honey, Heather and some Peat Smoke. Herbal Tea comes to my mind. It’s rather uneventful I’m afraid.

Finish: Very short. Sweet at first, than dry. A bit of Honey, Licorice or Anise and Earth. Rather disappointing.

Rating:  82,5 

Nose: 22 - Taste: 20,5 - Finish: 19 - Overall: 21

General Remarks: This whisky is a special bottling for the Global Travel Retail aka Tax Free Shop. It matured for 16 years. I suspect in Bourbon Casks. It was distilled in 1994 and was bottled in 2010. You might remember that Highland Park is the Most Northern Scottish Distillery on the Orkney Isles. It was founded in 1798.

I added a few drops of water that brought more Peat and Malt to the nose. You can nose this one with-and without water. Taste-wise a few drops of water don’t add anything, so better drink it straight.

Drinking Experience Neat: Good

Conclusion: I don’t know what it is with these Global Travel Retail expressions from Highland Park. So far I tasted the 12 Years, distilled in 1998 and now the 16 Years distilled in 1994. They simply aren’t in the same class as the Standard Distillery 12, 15 and 18 Years. The Travel Retail expressions are a bit light and frankly boring. Were older Refill Casks used or batches with a less distinct quality? To be honest I think that lots of people would have difficulties in recognising the Retail expressions taste wise as Highland Park during a Blind Tasting Session and that says something for a Distillery quite capable of delivering quality whiskies with a distinct Distillery character. Or is it just me? Anyway, this is not a bad Single Malt but is it really worth the US$ 70,- they’re asking for it? I don’t think so.

Jan van den Ende                                                                  March 3, 2012

Beach Boys - Pet Sounds - Review

Wouldn’t It Be Nice, You Still Believe In Me, That’s Not Me, Don’t Talk (Put Your Head O My Shoulder), I’m Waiting For The Day, Let’s Go Away For A While, Sloop John B, God Only Knows, I Know There’s An Answer, Here Today, I Just Wasn’t Made For These Times,Pet Sounds,Caroline No

Brian, Carl and Dennis Wilson grew up in the Los Angeles area, close to the Pacific Coast. Together with their cousin Mike Love and school buddy Al Jardine they started the Beach Boys in 1961. The Wilson brothers used to sing harmony at home as particularly Brian loved the vocal acts that were so successful in the States in the Fifties. Their first hit was Surfin’ (they were called the Pendletones at that time) and soon thereafter the band was renamed Beach Boys and signed a record contract with Capitol records. Their second single Surfin’ Safari hit the Top 20 in 1962 and helped starting the Surf Rock Craze in Southern California. The group launched a number of successful singles and Albums but by the end of 1964 Brian got tired from touring and wanted to concentrate more on writing and producing song material. His friend Bruce Johnston became his replacement in the band.

A lot of people may think that all music that the Beach Boys made before Pet Sounds was just throw- away happy but simple surf pop with texts about surfing and teenage daydreams. But in songs like Catch a Wave and In My Room and on the Album The Beach Boys Today from 1965 it’s clear that Brian Wilson was capable of a lot more than that.

In December 1965 Brian Wilson listened for the first time to the Rubber Soul Album from the Beatles. And this is the moment where the inspiration for Pet Sounds was born. But first, let’s have a look at my opinion on the Rubber Soul Album:

“ For most Pop bands this release would be their Greatest Hits Album and a fine one too! But actually it’s “just” another Beatles Album.  It’s really amazing isn’t it? There are shiploads of interesting hooks in the songs and they tend to stay in your head. Very few artists achieve that once in their career. The Beatles would do it time and time again. That’s why they are really one of the great, if not the best, Pop-Rock bands of all times.

The songs are mostly written by John and Paul. One song, What Goes On also gives credits to Ringo. Unfortunately it’s the weakest track on the album although it’s still not bad.

George emerges with two fine songs Think for Yourself and If I Needed Someone.

Some great ballads here like Michelle, Girl and the often-covered In My Life. Listen to Bette Middler´s version if you find it.

It’s still mostly Pop Music but the Sitar in Norwegian Wood and the slightly Psychedelic Sound of The Word point out to a new direction.”    

Rubber Soul is one of those amazing albums that do not contain filler. You have to realise that that was most uncommon in the late fifties and early sixties. The Record Industry was completely focused on Hit-Singles. Albums were nothing more than a collection of the latest hits of an artist together with a bunch of unimportant filler songs. You didn’t even have to play your own instruments!

I’m sure that must have irritated Brian Wilson already for some time and to him the Rubber Soul Album meant that times might be changing. Since the early days of Rock, there always has been a mostly healthy rivalry between artists from Great Britain and the USA. You had Elvis Presley and Cliff Richard, the Rolling Stones and the Doors and so on. So it was only natural that Rubber Soul challenged the musical genius of Brian Wilson.

Now Rubber Soul is mostly a collection of great songs. It’s not so much a musical statement and it’s not a Concept Album. There are a wide variety of songs on the album. This is logical as the songs were written by John, Paul, George and even Ringo.

Brian’s situation was different. He was basically alone. So he went to the studio and started working on his musical ideas. He found it sometimes difficult to write the lyrics in such a way that they really expressed his feelings. Therefore he invited his new friend Tony Asher to work with him on this and it proved to be a very lucky draw. 

Brian wanted to make a great Pop Rock Album, at least as good as Rubber Soul. But also something completely different and not primarily a commercial success. His musical background of Fifties vocal groups, some influences from Classical Music, the Surf Pop that was practically invented by the Beach Boys, his love for Phil Spector’s Wall of Sound and his abilities in the Sound Studio would ensure just that.

I’m not sure what exactly Brian had in mind when the started the project but I do believe he wanted to achieve at least two things. Firstly, to take harmony vocals to a whole new level. And secondly, to use a whole bunch of new instruments and studio effects.

Lyrically, he wanted to steer away from the simple summer teenager adventures and address the Teenager’s real feelings such as love and sadness and fear. And finally, he did want to maintain the basic strengths of the Beach Boys sound, harmonies and hooks.

The work started with laying down the instrumental tracks. Brian and Tony and a lot of studio musicians recorded layer upon layer of music using all kinds of instruments including but not limited to tympani, saxophone, trumpet, string bass, harpsichord, clarinet, vibraphone, organ, guitars, percussion, drums, violins, cello, viola, bongos, ukulele, piano, flutes, horns, accordion, harmonica and trombone and using bicycle bells, whistles, sounds of trains, Coca Cola cans, barking dogs etc.

It’s almost like working with a Symphony Orchestra. No wonder that during the sessions Pet Sounds more and more started to look like a Teenage Symphony reflecting Brian’s musical and personal views. I’m sure that the other Beach Boys had to swallow when Brian invited them to the studio to record the vocals. Because if you’re not the musical brain of a band, you are usually happy with the fun and the money and what have you that the success brings you and you’re afraid a change of musical direction will scare away your public. I’m sure they wondered as well if Brian’s drug use (LSD mostly) was getting the better of him. But Brian managed to convince them fortunately because Pet Sounds has some of the best harmony vocals in Rock History.

When the record was finally completed they sat down and listened to what they had achieved. What started as a bunch of musical ideas had become a Teenage Symphony. With lots of classical influences while maintaining the Beach Boys backgrounds. With songs that could not specifically be called ballads but were also not fully up-beat. With lots of rhythm changes within the songs. With hooks and moods combined in an unpredictable way. So while the texts were for teenagers, the music maybe wasn’t.

Surely it had become a coherent Album. You can even argue that there exists a certain similarity between the songs, specifically those that started with I. But it was Brian’s album in the end. Caroline No was even released as a Brian Wilson single.

Brian also wanted to include Good Vibrations on Pet Sounds but it wasn’t finished in time so it was left for the next album. That’s a pity. On the other hand I’m sure Brian did not want to include Sloop John B, as the song has nothing in common with the rest of the Album. But the Record company insisted as it was the group’s latest Hit Single that peaked at # 3 in May 1966.

You can also argue if it was a wise decision to include the instrumental Title Track. It was originally called Run James Run and was written as a possible Sound Track for a James Bond Movie. It’s not bad but it seems a bit out of place as well.

The Album was released on May 16, 1966. It remained in the Charts for 39 weeks and peaked at # 10 in early July. It was not such a commercial success as their other albums so far and it didn’t reach the Gold status in that year. The divine God Only Knows only reached # 39 as Flip Side to Wouldn’t It Be Nice. I’m sure that Carl, Dennis, Mike, Al and Bruce must have had some “ I Knew It” feelings. Even Brian wasn’t completely satisfied as he immediately started working on the ill-fated Smile project. Maybe he was looking for more variety on his next album, something the Beatles managed to do later on Sgt. Pepper and the White Album.

On the other side of the Ocean however, Pet Sounds was a huge success. God Only Knows for example was a Top 5 hit in the United Kingdom. And they were chosen Britain’s most popular vocal group in 1966, defeating the Beatles. Paul McCartney loved and still loves the Album. He also said that God Only Knows was the most beautiful Song ever written. It inspired the Beatles to explore new roads that would eventually lead to the Sgt. Pepper Album.

But the Beach Boys and Brian Wilson never were quite the same after Pet Sounds although they kept recording and performing with mixed success. Brian really got into drugs and was AOL for a long time.

Albums like Rubber Soul and Pet Sounds however changed the Record Industry. For a number of years the Album became a place where artists were allowed to explore their musical ideas. It’s not for nothing that the period 1967-1975 has produced most of the real Classic Rock music.

I’m not going to review the songs on a one by one basis. They are all good and some of them are great.  But most songs have their magic moments like the opening Harpsichord in Wouldn’t It be Nice, the heavenly vocals on God Only Knows and the remarkable Bass-Line in Don’t Talk (Put Your Head On My Shoulder).

But my absolute favourite on the album is the closing Caroline No. I’m really moved to tears by this Song and I also wonder what happens in the end. What is the meaning of the passing Train and the Barking Dogs? Are they only sound effects, maybe to suggest the loneliness of the boy? Or does he commit suicide because of love lost? Or did Caroline kill herself? Did she get on drugs?

I don’t know but the song fascinates me as few songs have ever done.

So that’s Pet Sounds. I’m not sure if the title only refers to Brian’s dogs that are barking at the end of Caroline No or that it represents this collection of songs that represent his musical ideas, his feelings, his Pet Sounds. I do know the songs on the album have the quality to make me feel genuinely happy or sad or confused.

In the end, Brian has left us a timeless record that has won the hearts of many listeners all over the world. It’s not fair to compare this record to one of the Beatles Albums simply because Brian alone couldn’t defeat the joined efforts of John, Paul & George. You can compare it though to George Harrison’s All Things Must Pass Album, released soon after the Beatles split up. Completely different music of course but in both cases it represented the best both Brian and George had to offer at the high water mark of their artistic abilities.

Rating: ********* (9 out of 10)

Black = Good Songs

Green = Great Songs

Red = Could Be Better

Jan van den Ende                                   March , 2012