Pet Sounds on CD, RFI.

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Which si the best version to get (and don't say The Complete Pet Sounds Sessions Box - I can't afford it!). I've had my copy for years (its the one with Hang On To Your Ego and the other bonus tracks on it, dog's barking, Mike Love puking, etcetera), and the sound quality is seeming really feeble next to the remastered versions of Sunflower /Surf's Up and Smiley Smile/Wild Honey. To my knowledge there are two CD versions now available, mono or mono+stereo (ie; the album twice back-to-back). Which is best? Or are there any others?

― Nick Southall (Nick Southall), Friday, 31 January 2003 15:25 (twenty-three years ago)

Why wouldn't you want the mono + stereo?

There is also a gold-CD version (mono).

― dleone (dleone), Friday, 31 January 2003 15:26 (twenty-three years ago)

I'm just checking in case it's hideously inferior sound quality or anything.

― Nick Southall (Nick Southall), Friday, 31 January 2003 15:27 (twenty-three years ago)

And there's also Pet Sounds Live, so that (kind of) makes four.

My mono + stereo sounds fine.

― James Ball (James Ball), Friday, 31 January 2003 15:32 (twenty-three years ago)

you want the mono one. what's the point of the stereo one? if pet sounds was meant to be in stereo Brian Wilson would have been able to hear in both ears.

― DV (dirtyvicar), Friday, 31 January 2003 15:34 (twenty-three years ago)

Good point DV!

― Nick Southall (Nick Southall), Friday, 31 January 2003 15:44 (twenty-three years ago)

I've got the stereo one Nick, its pretty damn good. Listened to it last night as a matter of fact.

― Chris V. (Chris V), Friday, 31 January 2003 15:47 (twenty-three years ago)

Why does Pet Sounds sound so poor in terms of recording quality next to, say, Rubber Soul? The arrangements are great, of course, but it seems like the Beach Boys albums were engineered badly, esp. when they got experimental in the mid-'60s.

― Mark (MarkR), Friday, 31 January 2003 15:53 (twenty-three years ago)

Hey Nick, if I were you I'd spend the money on something else off that huge list of stuff you wanted to check out. But then I'm not much of an audiophile...

― Tim (Tim), Friday, 31 January 2003 15:55 (twenty-three years ago)

The Beatles' stuff badly needs remastering in the face of the recent Stones reissues.

― Nick Southall (Nick Southall), Friday, 31 January 2003 15:57 (twenty-three years ago)

I have the remastered stereo LP, and it sounds fine.

― Sean (Sean), Friday, 31 January 2003 16:01 (twenty-three years ago)

Pet Sounds was in mono not because Brian was deaf in one ear (he in fact would go on to produce stereo records soon afterwards), but because he felt it gave him more control over what the listener would hear, regardless of stereo equipment or their position in the room.

― dleone (dleone), Friday, 31 January 2003 16:04 (twenty-three years ago)

Much as I love the idea of mono, I think Pet Sounds does actually sound great in stereo, so get the mono+stereo version (nowadays I think it's the only version you can get in the UK, boxset aside.) The two instrumentals sound so much more deep & wide in the new mix. If you can stretch to the box set, you should, as the vocal-only tracks are simply remarkable. Many's the time I've been reduced to tears by the 'run run wee-ooo' in Wouldn't It Be Nice'.

Or buy something new. There's plenty of music in a similar vein on this list: looking for more 60s pop

Mark: Pet Sounds sounds mediocre because Brian had used up the recording budget on the actual sessions; meanwhile Capitol had a schedule to work to, leaving Brian about half a day to do the final mixdown. Hence the spurious noises, chatter, iffy fades etc. Another reason why the remix is justified, I'd say (tho' the interruptions have a charm of their own, of course).
The LPs from Smiley-Friends sounds bad partly because by this stage they were recording on a set-up in Brian's house, & partly because they were all too high to be able to operate a tape machine.
Sunflower is the best sounding record ever made, in my book. Endless shimmering.

DLeone is right about Brian's reasons for mixing in mono, but none of the stereo Beach Boy records (either before or after Pet Sounds) were mixed by Brian (either Chuck Britz or Steve Desper).

― harveyw (harveyw), Friday, 31 January 2003 16:56 (twenty-three years ago)

harveyw, would you say Desper is as much responsible for their sound post-Friends as Brian or Carl were?

― dleone (dleone), Friday, 31 January 2003 18:15 (twenty-three years ago)

Pet Sounds doesn't sound bad, unless you don't like Phil Spector's "Wall of Sound." After all, that was the model.
I have the mono/stereo version and I prefer the stereo one, even though Brian Wilson didn't originally intend it for my ears. "Wouldn't It Be Nice" is absolutely glorious in stereo (and sounds clearer than the mono version too). Crank it up!

― jazzbo (jmcgaw), Friday, 31 January 2003 19:04 (twenty-three years ago)

Rubber Soul is my favorite Beatles album, but I hate the stereo separation. Vocals, like drums, should be in the middle, not on just on channel. So, I don't agree that it was so finely produced.

― jazzbo (jmcgaw), Friday, 31 January 2003 19:06 (twenty-three years ago)

That should be "one" channel. Sorry.

― jazzbo (jmcgaw), Friday, 31 January 2003 19:06 (twenty-three years ago)

Yeah I hear on re the mix on Rubber Soul -- I'm talking more about the clarity & fidelity of each of the elements in the production. The actual tracking & editing on the Beatles albums seems so much more careful. I mean, the overall effect of those Beach Boys records is great, I just always though they sound kind of fuzzy & lo-fi, all things considered. Maybe you're right re Phil Spector influence.

― Mark (MarkR), Friday, 31 January 2003 19:40 (twenty-three years ago)

Quantity might have something to do with it. *Rubber Soul* is a very sparse record, instrumentally speaking. I think if you compare *Pet Sounds* (with all its orchestral bits and percussionists, etc.) to earlier Beach Boys records you'll also notice a loss of clarity and a mix that's considerably more at the low end of the spectrum. The Spector stuff is beset (besot?) with the same problem, if you consider that a problem (though Motown, at least from a DJ perspective, always struck me as having the opposite effect--too tinny, not enough mid-range). I wonder if Brian Wilson stopped using the car test by the time of *pet sounds*? (playing back his tracks on a car radio to get the proper 'hit' mix).

― s woods, Friday, 31 January 2003 20:19 (twenty-three years ago)

I think the better comparison would be between Pet Sounds and Sgt Pepper, and again, I'd say the Beatles found a way to make a great big mess sound better than almost anyone else -- and in fact, the stereo Pet Sounds does alleviate a lot of the claustrosonic experience.

― dleone (dleone), Friday, 31 January 2003 20:30 (twenty-three years ago)

I agree on the sound quality of Pet Sounds (could've been much better). The Dave Clark 5 two Cd set sounds much better. I always thought DC never got the props as a producer that he deserved.

― lawrence kansas (lawrence kansas), Friday, 31 January 2003 20:50 (twenty-three years ago)

my god that was poorly worded

― lawrence kansas (lawrence kansas), Friday, 31 January 2003 20:51 (twenty-three years ago)

Hey Nick,

Pet Sounds is my favourite album and IMO the version you have (with 'Hang on to Your Ego') is the best version available. The Phil Spector style production was intentional and how the album was meant to be heard!

― CretanBull (CretanBull), Friday, 31 January 2003 21:13 (twenty-three years ago)

dleone:
Interesting question. I think he's definitely responsible for the unique sound of Sunflower & Surf's Up; certainly a recording like 'All I Wanna Do' is 10% song, 90% sound. And what a sound! Like being beautifully suffocated by a pillow. I'd guess the Boys were the first pop group to list microphones/tape machines/cutting lathes on their sleeves too, probably under Steve's suggestion. Cool.

Apparently Steve D has recently self-published a book regarding the recordings he made with the Beach Boys (look! Here's a link! http://community-2.webtv.net/askswd/bookorderinginfo/). I'd buy this like a shot if I thought it was worth the patently ludicrous price he's asking for it.
If you want to continue any of this, email me off board. Or keep it on board & we'll talk Neumann U67s.

Lawrence Kansas is OTM re Dave Clark 5. 'Any Way You Want It' is thee most compressed song ever. Put it on, the needle hits red & doesn't move one iota til the fade.

― harveyw (harveyw), Saturday, 1 February 2003 00:01 (twenty-three years ago)

Perhaps the high price is justified by the inclusion of the 'unique device' which soups up your stereo and magically makes apparent the previously inaudible yet crucial part played in the recording process by the woodland creatures which had made their home in Mike Love's beard at the time.

― PJ Miller (PJ Miller), Saturday, 1 February 2003 23:34 (twenty-three years ago)

harveyw, keep all talk of Neumann U67s ON BOARD please?
(I wanna nerdsdrop on it)

― mei (mei), Sunday, 2 February 2003 12:33 (twenty-three years ago)

Harvey totally OTM as usual. Get the stereo/mono one Nick.

― Dr. C (Dr. C), Monday, 3 February 2003 10:06 (twenty-three years ago)

two years pass...

I just got the mono/stereo one in the HMV sale. Listening to it for the first time. So weird to hear it in stereo for the first time. I'm not sure I like it. But certainly I'm hearing certain things a lot more clearly.

― Alba (Alba), Thursday, 7 July 2005 21:45 (twenty years ago)

The most major difference between mono and stereo PS is "You Still Believe In Me". I think one of the vocal tracks was lost, so on the stereo mix, the sole vocal track rather desperate and lonely if you will, rather than feeling more lush like on the mono version. Otherwise, the other tracks pretty much sound like enhanced stereo mixes of the previous versions. It comes off as a revelation only because "You Still Believe In Me" is the first non-single track on the album, and therefore it kinda stands out and leaves a stronger impression than had, say, "Here Today" lost a vocal track. (And many wish it did, given who's lead on it.. haha)

― donut e- (donut), Thursday, 7 July 2005 22:03 (twenty years ago)

of the versions I've heard I think the gold cd is the best; the mono mix on the mono stereo a close second. the stereo mix is weird.

― kyle (akmonday), Thursday, 7 July 2005 22:52 (twenty years ago)

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