Beach Boys Pet Sounds Quandary: Original 1966 mono version or modern stereo remix?*

The vinyl re-release where it was packaged with "Carl and the Passions: So Tough" as a two-fer might be the one you are thinking of.
Sounds wonderful.

I probably have more versions of "Pet Sounds" than any other album in my collection. Long time absolute favorite of mine.
I am like a Scientologist with that album, pressing it on people and telling them that it will cure whatever ails them.

I find that for new listeners the stereo is the way to go.
I know this is sacrilege for those that deify Brian (and I am one of those) but I just LOVE the stereo mix. It opens up beautifully.
So stereo, not in lieu of the Mono but in addition to.

I am also a huge fan of the vocals only version on the "Pet Sounds" box set ... like goddam angels singing.

 

You're new here aren't you?

Evan

 

Per http://www.amazon.com/Pet-Sounds-The-Beach-Boys/dp/B00005ASHM

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com

"If you need some pointy-headed pundit to sell you on the merits of Pet Sounds, your money might be better spent on an ear specialist. Brian Wilson's gift to 20th-century music elevated this pop album into a beguiling musical and emotional cogency that still operates outside pop culture's fickle space-time continuum--and limited critical lexicon. There's never been another record to compare (Rubber Soul, its inspiration, is close; Sgt. Pepper's, its response, misses the point), and certainly no album has been as dissected, overanalyzed, and predigested for public consumption.

In 1997 Capitol Records devoted an entire four-disc box set, The Pet Sounds Sessions, to its thorough deconstruction. The techno-marvel centerpiece of that project--the album's first true stereo mix, painstakingly conjured out of multitape session sources by producer-engineer Mark Linett (under Wilson's supervision)--was at once heresy and revelation. Now the label has gratifyingly seen fit to offer both mixes on a single disc (along with alternate versions of "Hang On to Your Ego," the original title of "I Know There's An Answer"), an idea that should please the orthodox and heretics alike.

And while the album has always clearly been The Brian Wilson Show featuring the Beach Boys, David Leaf's concise new notes attempt to be more inclusive of a wider band perspective. The result (three of the five band members claim credit for the album title) sometimes resembles Rashomon. If Pet Sounds forever crystallized the band's various creative (in)differences, it also became Wilson's grand karmic joke on his band mates; its burgeoning reputation (Mojo magazine's panel of pop experts once elected it greatest album of all time) guaranteed they would sing its songs--and praises--until the end. And if putting two different versions of the same album on one disc seems like overkill, look at the bright side: it's a perfect excuse to listen to the glorious Pet Sounds twice." --Jerry McCulley

 

Good god, how wonderful is that?

Totally unaware that this existed, thank you!

 

I too was unaware of it, I stumbled on it the day I posted it.

After I googled Brian's name with George's....I found it soon after.

It's a gem to be treasured.

 

Apparently Brian had a change of heart. It took 30 years and probably a bit of convincing, but he consented and it happened. As someone else here stated, both the mono and stereo need to be heard, but again, I would play the stereo first, then the mono. If this newby then becomes so intrigued by it all, then he/she may want to run the gambit and find a duophonic version in the used record bins. My argument is; why do the fake when you now have the real thing?

 

Nope, the one with the brown border around the group photo.

 

Don't you just love how unassuming Brian really is? He's not full himself at all. He tells George that he made a better mix than his own while just fiddling around with the sound.

 

I believe that they are the same, but the brown cover was issued as a separate release in 1974-1975.

 

That video is just further proof that George Martin is one of the most badass British gentlemen of all time.

 

Just want to go on the record here that the 1990 CD version of Pet Sounds is absolutely horrible, a profound ear-gouging travesty. Exhibit A for bad digital. So whether or not it sounds better or worse than the turn-of-the-century mono version, it's to be avoided at all costs, and nobody should take JP Christian's comment as any sort of guidance that the 1990 CD is within the realm of the acceptable.

 

Did they actually locate the original second vocal or did they 'create' a second vocal from the first vocal? Thanks.

 

I don't think anybody really knows for sure. I don't believe Mark has ever commented on it either way.

 

It bugs me that George Martin refers to the multitracks as the "masters" though.

 

Whichever version you choose, be aware that for some folks this album is an acquired taste. It is one of my favorites now and I probably have more versions of it than any other album, but when I first heard it on the Capitol mono CD from the early 90s I didn't "get" it.

 

Along with Pet Sounds, I also tend to prefer Smile in stereo where possible (see "Vegetables", "Wind Chimes", "H&V", etc.), as well as the new Smiley stereo mix. Again, the stereo mixes open up the arrangements and let them breath more, allowing listeners to hear the little details more clearly.

And for the record, I am not a mono hater by any stretch. I generally prefer the Beatles and the Stones in mono, with some exceptions.

 

I'm not saying it's a good version at all, I said, and I quote: "even the 1990 CD sounds better than the 2000/2001 mono" - apart from the DCC Mono, I've never heard a good sounding version of pet sounds in mono on CD.

 

Yes, stereo done with skill and precision in this modern era trumps the early/mid sixties duophonic...although I still maintain duophonic was a worthwhile innovation in its time compared to the mono of the early to mid sixties.

Few may agree, but I still think the 2014 mono I'll Get You and She Loves You on the 2014 "Capitol US albums" that show up TWICE on the 2014 don't sound as good as the original 2004 Capitol Albums Vol I duophonic with reverb versions of these songs.

If I know Brian, he didn't need too much convincing to make a stereo Pet Sounds. Remastered higher quality CD's were coming on strong, the CD/recording technology kept improving from the late 80's through the 90's into the twenty first century... and he wanted it done right...in stereo. The time was right and I'm sure it wasn't just a matter of someone wearing him down and then him weakly and submissively "consenting".

He values quality and was probably thrilled with the result...the great stereo product that HE oversaw and supervised.

So it is OKAY to listen to the stereo Pet Sounds because Brian INTENDED the stereo product he supervised to be listened to and enjoyed.

Any of you who have had your doubts and qualms/guilty feelings about wanting to listen to Pet Sounds in stereo... you now have Brian Wilson's permission to listen to the stereo product HE supervised.

That he INTENDED for you to listen to.

Because he doesn't want his supervision of this stereo product to go to waste.

Don't miss the beauty, glory, and excellence of Pet Sounds in stereo.

It's not about mono AM radio anymore.

 

George Martin is STILL underrated.

 

Nothing George Martin refers to bugs me. And I never have a problem with how he says things.

Anyone that did what he did for the Beatles gets a pass from me on anything musical. He knows what he's talking about.

He's walked the walk and he can talk it anyway he feels like talking it.

But that's just me.

 

Stereo modern remix. That's how I got acquainted with the album. And that's my go to mix.

 

As much as I love the mono mix God and Brian Wilson ) intended, I actually think the modern stereo mix works better if you want to introduce this album to a young person who's not already familiar with The Beach Boys.
For better or worse, the modern stereo mix sounds pretty contemporary, while the mono mix sounds more like the 60's product it is.
I've known and loved the mono mix for about 20 years (I wasn't around when it was first released), but the stereo mix is quite tasteful and would be my choice if I wanted to introduce someone to the magic of Pet Sounds. I would of course tell that person that it's a modern remix and not the real thing, but very few people care as much as we do about those things.

 

I would play the novice the mono mix but not mention which mix it is. The first time I heard Pet Sounds (which was in mono) I would have sworn it was a stereo recording--to me that is one of the most amazing qualities of the mix--I've never heard such depth and separation in a mono recording. I'll bet the novice doesn't even notice it's mono!

 

"I would of course tell that person that it's a modern remix and not the real thing, but very few people care as much as we do about those things."
------------
Well, Brian supervised the modern remix and it's real to him, I'm sure. I don't think he classifies his work as either "the real thing" or "not the real thing but I'll release it in stereo anyway." He's not compromised in that way. He's an artist with integrity.

Also, many just cannot accept the FACT that Brian Wilson INTENDED for the stereo mix that he supervised to be listened to.

He cared about the stereo project enough to supervise it, put his name on it acknowledging he supervised it, and cared enough to release Pet Sounds in stereo. I don't think any of us care about it more than he does.

If he was okay about supervising and then releasing the stereo mix that is very well done, I don't think we should call it "not the real thing".

It's the real thing just like the original mono is the real thing.

Just because something is first doesn't make every improvement on the original Not The Real Thing.

Otherwise, mono AM radio is the real thing and FM stereo radio is not the real thing. Of course, there are probably AM purists who "care" so much that they put down FM stereo radio and any other advance in technology.

You can be an aficionado about mono and the original but that doesn't mean Brian Wilson's updated Pet Sounds stereo efforts are not the real thing and are not worth caring about.

Some 60's products are better than others. And some 60's products have been improved upon, remastered, remixed...ALL with the permission and go ahead by the musicians involved.

INCLUDING Brian Wilson's work.

As well as the Beatles.

I watched the Beatles on Ed Sullivan when I was 7 years old and care as much as anyone.

The Beach Boys were a part of my growing up in the sixties as well.

Even as THEIR music improved as the sixties progressed...as THEY grew up.

And as the technology improved.

 

DVD-A in 5.1