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The Beach Boys: Pet Sounds 40th Anniversary |
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Tuesday, 24 October 2006 |
 The Beach Boys: Pet Sounds 40th Anniversary
This landmark album represents Brian Wilson at the top of his game. And we are all the better for it, regardless of the inner demons that would soon overtake him. With songs like “Wouldn’t It Be Nice,” “Don’t Talk,” “Sloop John B,” “God Only Knows,” and “I Just Wasn’t Made for These Times,” among others, Wilson projected his musical genius to the stratosphere and stood shoulder-tall in the musical world of the ’60s.
Those who remember DVD Etc.’s review will ask, “Why revisit?”—but it’s obvious: There’s so much contained on this edition that it’s worth the second go-round. For one thing, the CD contains both mono and stereo mixes, as well as a bonus track (“Hang On to Your Ego”—an early version of the album’s “I Know There’s an Answer”). Moving to the DVD, now 5.1 surround is available, along with film and video that includes a documentary and even promotional clips in color for “Good Vibrations” (also being re-released separately). Audio can also be found as hi-res 24-bit PCM. How does it all sound? As purists for mono, we think it’s as clean and solid as the day it was first presented and, having grown up with stereo, as good as we remember from our school days––and as proponents of surround, we are amazed by the ambience and color that are now presented.Don’t forget the suede-like feel of the packaging either: It’s oh-so-soft to the touch and super groovy, baby.
Capitol Records, Technical Rating: A |
Audio Reviews 
