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Brian Wilson: Pet Sounds Live in London

Brian Wilson: Pet Sounds Live in London

List Price: $24.98
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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Stunning
Review: A passionate performance of the classic album. The 5.1 mix is excellent, Brian's voice is strong and expressive, and the bonus features are nice too (a 40 minute documentary -- newly made for this release -- about the album, and a BW solo discography).

For the ill-informed: This show comes from his performances in England in 2002, when the overture from the U.S. 2000 Pet Sounds shows wasn't performed. None of the English shows had orchestras either.

And guess what? You're not missing much. I saw the orchestra and overture in Denver back in 2000, and they didn't contribute.

This isn't meant to replace the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds or anything like that. It's meant to show a modern day Brian Wilson reclaiming his most deeply felt and realized album in concert. And it does that handily.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: This show blew me away!!
Review: After listening to Brian and The Wondermints and the Roxy show on CD for so long, I thought I knew what to expect when I ordered this DVD. Boy was I wrong!! This performance still blows me away every time I watch it. I have listened to Pet Sounds for years and also have the Pet Sounds Sessions CD box set, but none of that comes close to matching the energy and love in this music as performed live at these London shows. The backing band and vocals in this show are far superior and all involved perform with loving sophistication and care. It is truly a blessing from God to have a live performance of these songs performed nearly 40 years after the albums release in digital video and sound seeing as Brian was probably set to have gone the way of Elvis, Jim Morrison and the other icons of rock history. The only thing that could possibly improve this performance would be the presence of the surreal vocal harmony of Brian, Carl, Al, Bruce, Dennis and Mike together. I am glad see that Brian and the Boys are finally being recognized for the fantastic work on Pet Sounds and anyone who even thinks they love music should have this show in their collection. No one is truly musically educated until they experience Pet Sounds and this DVD is a great place to start!! God bless Brian Wilson!!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: This show blew me away!!
Review: After listening to Brian and The Wondermints and the Roxy show on CD for so long, I thought I knew what to expect when I ordered this DVD. Boy was I wrong!! This performance still blows me away every time I watch it. I have listened to Pet Sounds for years and also have the Pet Sounds Sessions CD box set, but none of that comes close to matching the energy and love in this music as performed live at these London shows. The backing band and vocals in this show are far superior and all involved perform with loving sophistication and care. It is truly a blessing from God to have a live performance of these songs performed nearly 40 years after the albums release in digital video and sound seeing as Brian was probably set to have gone the way of Elvis, Jim Morrison and the other icons of rock history. The only thing that could possibly improve this performance would be the presence of the surreal vocal harmony of Brian, Carl, Al, Bruce, Dennis and Mike together. I am glad see that Brian and the Boys are finally being recognized for the fantastic work on Pet Sounds and anyone who even thinks they love music should have this show in their collection. No one is truly musically educated until they experience Pet Sounds and this DVD is a great place to start!! God bless Brian Wilson!!

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Laughable at best
Review: Call me over-critical, but this DVD and concert tour is possibly the worst career move i've seen Brian Wilson make for a long time. Shot in London's Royal Albert Hall, It features Brian Wilson accompanied by a large backing band playing a note for note rendition of Pet Sounds. To the band's credit, they faithfully transfer the impossible task of the album's harmonies and instrumental nuances to a live setting. I must say the Wondermints and crew do an amazing job vocally. The big problem lies with Wilson himself: HE CAN'T SING ANYMORE. Gone is his chilling falsetto of the 60s, replaced with some haggard elderly man trying to save face. Maybe a DVD with the full backing orchestra would have been more appropriate, as they could hide his own voice. The orchestra would also help in some of the band's more hollow moments, such as the opener "Wouldnt It Be Nice" and "God Only Knows" I can't see how the DVD would appeal to Wilson's hardcore fans, as this performance is just pitiful.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Laughable at best
Review: Call me over-critical, but this DVD and concert tour is possibly the worst career move i've seen Brian Wilson make for a long time. Shot in London's Royal Albert Hall, It features Brian Wilson accompanied by a large backing band playing a note for note rendition of Pet Sounds. To the band's credit, they faithfully transfer the impossible task of the album's harmonies and instrumental nuances to a live setting. I must say the Wondermints and crew do an amazing job vocally. The big problem lies with Wilson himself: HE CAN'T SING ANYMORE. Gone is his chilling falsetto of the 60s, replaced with some haggard elderly man trying to save face. Maybe a DVD with the full backing orchestra would have been more appropriate, as they could hide his own voice. The orchestra would also help in some of the band's more hollow moments, such as the opener "Wouldnt It Be Nice" and "God Only Knows" I can't see how the DVD would appeal to Wilson's hardcore fans, as this performance is just pitiful.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Breathtaking live rendition of the best pop album ever made.
Review: I was lucky to see Brian Wilson play live in Hamburg, Germany in January 2002 with this fantastic band, and he performed the entire Pet Sounds album there as well. I was moved to tears by the whole experience: the sheer brilliance of the music and the band, the timeless songs, the vocal harmonies, and the charm and charisma of Brian himself. It was a perfect night. Beforehand I had my reservations: seeing your idols in the flesh tends to spoil the magic and may even lead to disappointment, but this time it went the other way: this show exceeded all my wildest expectations, and this DVD takes me right back - it is a perfect, no-frills document of the Pet Sounds-sequence as he performed it on his six nights at London's Royal Festival Hall. The sound quality and the musicianship means that even the smallest details in the arrangements are brought to your attention in a way that even the Pet Sounds box-set fails to do. Whereas the "Brian Wilson On Tour"-DVD is more like a documentary, this one is music from start to finish. The 40 minute bonus footage on the original Pet Sounds sessions with interviews with key members of the Wrecking Crew is great too. Indispensable for Beach Boys/ Brian Wilson fans, and seriously recommended for any lover of great music. And now he's coming back to do Smile....!!!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Dream-concert by Brian Wilson
Review: Let's start this way. You are not going to believe what you are watching. Subtle bass lines, resourceful percussion and drums, devotional musicians (Wondermints) playing diverse instruments on stage, ranging from vibraphones to trombones, and harmonizing like the Beach Boys at their peak or better than that. And here is the man who has seen it all and returned from hell like Lazarus. If you are one of those wondering why Pet Sounds is the quintessential album of popular music all together this DVD is going to tell you why. These songs raised the status of pop music from mere entertainment to art. You may cry with "Don't Talk" or leap with joy with "Good Vibrations (encore) but there is no way to escape from the deep emotion of watching Brian (who is more confident than ever) on stage. The image is sharp and the 5.1 surround very effective. It also includes a bonus documentary featuring the original musicians who worked in the 1966 Pet Sounds album (Hal Blaine, Carol Kaye, etc.). Go and get it before it's too late. (Note: Brian did not stop here. Two years later -2004-, he released "Getting In Over My Head" including several songs from the unreleased "Sweet Insanity", and more significantly, he completed and released a full range new studio recording of the "Smile" album that he had abandoned back in 1967. Brian seems to have overcome all of his ghosts, heroes, and villains: Phil Spector, Mike Love, Dr. Eugene Landy. "Happy days are here again" indeed.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: great for hardcore fans
Review: This DVD is a live (patchwork) reproduction of Brian Wilson and his band performing the classic Pet Sounds album. Just the album tracks. It is not from his symphonic Pet Sounds tour. It does not contain any of the other songs from the shows it's been culled from (this DVD is about 1/2 a Brian Wilson concert). It does not contain the symphonic overture performed at many of the last Pet Sounds shows. This DVD would be great gift for any hard-core Brian Wilson fan, because they are probably not buying it for themselves due to the above shortcomings.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: great for hardcore fans
Review: This DVD is a live (patchwork) reproduction of Brian Wilson and his band performing the classic Pet Sounds album. Just the album tracks. It is not from his symphonic Pet Sounds tour. It does not contain any of the other songs from the shows it's been culled from (this DVD is about 1/2 a Brian Wilson concert). It does not contain the symphonic overture performed at many of the last Pet Sounds shows. This DVD would be great gift for any hard-core Brian Wilson fan, because they are probably not buying it for themselves due to the above shortcomings.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Amazing Performance.....
Review: To begin with I am a devoted Beach Boys fan who did not like Pet Sounds when it first arrived back in '66. Maybe because I was only fourteen at the time and I missed their surf and car music. As I grew older this album became my all time favorite. I did see this tour back in 2000 and it was marvelous. I know Brians vocals are not what they use to be, but again his presence on stage is a miracle in itself. The Wondermints are amazing.
This performance is awesome and a must for every Beach Boy fan.


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