Rating: 
Summary: Who the heck are Publishers Weekly?
Review: Check out this quote from Publishers Weekly listed above... "In 1966, Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys released a revolutionary rock album that would influence the Beatles' Rubber Soul..." I find this very odd given the fact that Rubber Soul was released in December of 1965 and Pet Sounds wasn't released until May of 1966. Duh!
Rating:
Summary: bks
Review: didnt get a chance to read this one but did read heroes &villans it was good but couldnt really compare it to washington irving books or emily dickensons but it was good plot and theme subjective &objectively superiotious a-z&0-9...+_)(*&^%$#@!~
Rating:
Summary: bks
Review: didnt get a chance to read this one but did read heroes &villans it was good but couldnt really compare it to washington irving books or emily dickensons but it was good plot and theme subjective &objectively superiotious a-z&0-9...+_)(*&^%$#@!~
Rating: 
Summary: Oops, Publisher's Weekly!
Review: Haven't read "Wouldn't It Be Nice: Brian Wilson and the Making of the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds," but I intend to. I must point out a gross flaw in the Publisher's Weekly review, however. Brian's inspiration for Pet Sounds, in his own words from his autobiography, was the Beatles' magnificent Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band from 1966. Rubber Soul was issued more than a year before "Pepper" arrived. Brian was envious of the Beatles and their success, as they were the only band to seriously challenge the Beach Boys. Phil Spector was Brian's inspriation and mentor, he admits, but the Beatles brought out his competitive streak. In his autobiography, Brian tells of getting an early copy of "Pepper" and listening to it endlessly for days, breaking down the musical intricacies and production details. He told his band, "We've got to beat the Beatles." also a quote from his autobiography. They went to work and Pet Sounds was the wonderful product of his leadership, songwriting and producing abilities. I bet the reviewer hasn't cleared his/her 40th birthday yet!
Rating:
Summary: Oops, Publisher's Weekly!
Review: Haven't read "Wouldn't It Be Nice: Brian Wilson and the Making of the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds," but I intend to. I must point out a gross flaw in the Publisher's Weekly review, however. Brian's inspiration for Pet Sounds, in his own words from his autobiography, was the Beatles' magnificent Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band from 1966. Rubber Soul was issued more than a year before "Pepper" arrived. Brian was envious of the Beatles and their success, as they were the only band to seriously challenge the Beach Boys. Phil Spector was Brian's inspriation and mentor, he admits, but the Beatles brought out his competitive streak. In his autobiography, Brian tells of getting an early copy of "Pepper" and listening to it endlessly for days, breaking down the musical intricacies and production details. He told his band, "We've got to beat the Beatles." also a quote from his autobiography. They went to work and Pet Sounds was the wonderful product of his leadership, songwriting and producing abilities. I bet the reviewer hasn't cleared his/her 40th birthday yet!
Rating: 
Summary: Fantastic book
Review: I bought this book 4 days ago and began reading it immediately upon getting home. I threw Pet Sounds on a loop and read the first half of it in one sitting. I just could not put it down. I read the next half the following day, and then started it over immediately. I've already read it twice.Its about 250 pages long, which means that unlike most music bigraphies I read, it is the kind of book you'll want to read several times in a row. Its like my new "Breakfast of Champions". It starts off talking about Brian's early life, the beginning of the Beach Boys, and their early albums (which I have very little interest in, but it was interesting to read Brian's development.) Then it begins talking about the writing with Tony Asher, including analysis of the songs structure and lyrics (very well done, with quotes from Tony Asher... i've read this section about 10 times already.) and then goes into the actual recording dates, first with the instrumental tracking sessions (lots of great quotes from the session musicians and talk of how it all developed) and then a chapter on the recording of the vocals. This is followed by an ending that was a bit disappointing, but still very good. I was hoping for more indepth technical analysis (i'm a big music geek and would have loved more talk about production techniques, equipment used etc). The last section is about Pet Sounds revival in the past decade, Brians pet sounds live, live at the roxy, pet sounds sessions, and Mark Linnet's remastering work. All in all, a fantastic book to accompany one of my favourite albums.
Rating:
Summary: Whoops, you're both wrong.
Review: I haven't read the book yet, but Wilson's inspiration for Pet Sounds was the Beatles' Rubber Soul, while the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper was subsequently influenced by Pet Sounds. When Pet Sounds was released, the Beatles were already working on Revolver, their album between Rubber Soul and Sgt. Pepper.
Rating:
Summary: The Pet Sounds Bible
Review: I loved this book! I have been a PET SOUNDS diehard for six years now and nothing I've read on the album so far has answered all the questions I had. This book does that and more. He explains why this album was so brilliant. He explains wonderfully the collaboration process between Brian Wilson and Tony Asher. He gives a pre-Pet Sounds examination of the Beach Boys catalog to show how Brian grew artistically as well as a post-Pet Sounds examination of Brian's random spouts of greatness. This book has everything you could want. It is written by a man who truly loves PET SOUNDS and understands every fans need to personally thank Brian for this gorgeous album that changed our lives.
Rating:
Summary: Superb study of a fabulous album!
Review: I've been eyeing this title since it was announced, and lo and behold I found a copy of the British version at HMV in London while on a business trip (it has the same cover but a different title). I read it on the trip home and though I was familar with Granata's work (from his book on Frank Sinatra), I was awed by its thorough analysis of how Brian Wilson made the best music of his life. As a musician, I appreciated the lucid 'start to finish' description of how Pet Sounds came to be, and the detailed information provided by the writers and musicians. Although I am familiar with the story (what musician isn't?) no one book has ever brought the whole story together as Mr. Granata has here. Beach Boys devotees will be familiar with the Pet Sounds Sessions CD set, and while the booklets included in that set were revealing they pale in comparison to the cohesive story found in this book. Instead of doing what the editors did on the Pet Sounds box set (simply reprinting every interview with every musician - ad nauseum repetitions and verbal stumblings included), the author has selected the most salient points and emphasized them with pertinent quotes that support each topic he discusses. With major commentary from lyricist Tony Asher and others who participated in the sessions, Granata's fresh approach results in one of the most compelling and enjoyable reads on Brian Wilson and his music. Unlike other Beach Boys books that reflect way too much of the writer's self-absorption (the horrid 'Add Some Music to Your Day') or ones that concentrate more on the sensational aspect of the Beach Boys ('Heroes and Villains'), this one hits the mark squarely in the center, focusing on Brian's genius, and how he managed to make his musical ideas a reality. My only gripe is that I wished Granata had included more of the technical details relating to recording and the studios that Brian used. Kudos to Charles Granata for FINALLY bringing disparate elements of the Pet Sounds story together in a readable and erudite volume. This is destined to become THE word on what is definitley the ultimate musician's album. I agree wholeheartedly with Bruce Johnston, who is quoted on the cover: this book is 'Intelligently researched and beautifully written.' In a nut shell: musicians and Brian Wilson fans will LOVE it.
Rating: 
Summary: You mean you don't already have the "Sessions" box set?
Review: Most of the "meat" of this book seems to be drawn from that priceless little green book in "The Pet Sounds Sessions" box set. Why would we be buying this book, if we hadn't ALREADY bought the box set, and rapturously devoured every word of interviews with Wilson, Asher, Britz, et al? I was expecting more of a nuts'n'bolts dissection -- i.e., some MUSICOLOGY (in the style of Phil Rose's "Which One's Pink") A little something for us musicians. C'mon -- This is one of the most musically groundbreaking pop albums of the 20th century! No, instead we get -- *descriptions*. Descriptions of the music, descriptions of the lyrics. Descriptions are an insult and a waste. You can't do justice to art by describing it -- a common trap art writers fall into. As an aside, I was taken aback when another, happier reviewer said, "Now I know why Spector recorded in mono!" Look, enjoy the journey, buddy, wish ya the best -- but for those of us who started that journey a *long time ago*, this book doesn't have much new stuff to offer. Heck . . . Maybe the subject's been finally written out. (Well, at least SMiLE is finally on the way!!!)
|
