If "Don't Worry Baby" was on Pet Sounds

Don't Worry Baby contains a change in recording variation that Al Jardine noted: (taken from Mojo, June 2012) "(Engineer) Chuck Britz got such a great sound on that song; the drums, the singing, the clicky sound on the Fender Precision bass. There's something about the way the track sat. Just about everything about it was an era-change for us." I'm astounded at the melancholic expression in it, which echoes strongly in future recordings found on Pet Sounds, and even Smile.

For the sake of discussion, lets pretend this was not released in '64 and instead held over until Pet Sounds. Would it come after Caroline No, with the train sound blending into the opening drum beat, extended a few more bars? Would it end Side One? I'm still deciding, but the sound of it certainly does carry over beautifully. Is there another revolutionary track from before the Pet Sounds sessions you would put on the album?

 

Definitely one of my favorite Beach Boys tracks that should've been a "A" side instead of a "B" side, IMO.

 

I never really stopped to consider it as fitting on Pet Sounds. Probably just because it works so well as a stand-alone track, but I do agree that it is one of Brian's/Roger Christian's crowning achievements, and one of the greatest pop songs ever made.

In fact, after "Wouldn't It Be Nice", the song is probably my second favorite Beach Boys track.

I believe I heard before that it was also Keith Moon's all-time favorite song.

 

I think it would have been great in place of Sloop John B., the only track on the album which, in my mind, doesn't quite fit. Stylistically DWB might have sounded a slight bit retro on Pet Sounds but melodically it would have blended in beautifully...and it's a far better song than Sloop John B. to boot.

 

Well said!

Sloop John B remains the only reason why even the album I consider "the greatest ever produced" can't be called perfect.

 

I'm too big a Sloop John B fan to consider substituting it, as I feel it solidifies the psychedelia on the album, however if it were to be DWB is certainly my first choice.

 

Not knowing the Beach Boys as well as others I thought by the thread title it was from the same sessions.

 

would have been killer!

 

Brian was consciously moving away from the car/surf subject for PS. The beauty and magic of DWB is undeniable, but it’s not a fit for Pet Sounds.

 

I actually concocted a top ten favorite album list of all time for myself which has remained constant for the last 25 years or so; Pet Sounds, after being initially turned off and even confused by it, has ended up at my number 7. The melodic content on this album guided by some of the most breathtaking arrangements on a Pop/Rock album ever (IMO) continue to make it a wholly worthwhile listening experience for me over and over. The album epitomizes the personified embodiment of "melody" within the heart and soul of the songwriter. Very emotional music.

 

Folks, Sloop John B fits perfectly on Pet Sounds.
It's the protagonist wanting to break out of the shell, hoping for adventure and to fit in.
But it doesn't exactly work out.

As far as Don't Worry Baby, I just don't see it fitting on the album, but it'd make a nice non album single backed with Guess I'm Dumb, which would also in my perfect world chart on its own.

 

"She told me, 'Baby when you race today...'"

Yeah, lyrically it would be out of place on Pet Sounds. Maybe the same song with different lyrics would have worked. Maybe a song about being nervous about going to a gig. "She told me, 'Baby when you play today, just take along my love with you.'"

But of course we could what if forever, lol.

 

Yes, absolutely. I've always said that I've never heard pop songs sound so beautiful that they ache. But Brian managed to really hit it on that album. The melancholy literally drips from the music, and the sound is just...wow! It's definitely an album that envelopes you, rather than one you analyze.

 

My dad once told me that he heard that the whole “car race” scenario was just a euphemism for losing his virginity. It’s interesting to listen to the song and think that (and that might actually work for PS), but I don’t think the analogy ends up working.

 

For some reason I've always thought "Let Him Run Wild" would fit well after "Don't Talk (Put Your Head On My Shoulder)", at least thematically.

 

I think for me, it would fit best at the end. It sums up the relationship and teenage angst of the album very well. It feels like a coda to the album. Also, very much like "Wouldn't it Be Nice", it would end as it opens, on a slightly faster tempo.

Despite starting this thread, I believe the original track listing is perfect as it. When it concludes with Caroline No, I feel as if I've gone on a journey.

 

My all-time favorite Beach Boys song, by far. Nothing else, not even on Pet Sounds, comes close...

 

I feel the songs music and word choice says more than the exact content. "I guess I should've kept my mouth shut
When I started to brag about my car, But I can't back down now because, I pushed the other guys too far" I don't for a second believe that this song is just about car racing, even if it was intended to be, it means and says so much more, which a lot of Pet Sounds does.

 

We get it. As I posted above, there are connotations that offer the possibility that it isn’t about a car race. But on the surface, it is, and Brian was past that during the PS Sessions.

 

I've said something similar before, on this forum I'm sure. The theme of "Sloop John B." isn't that different than the theme of "That's Not Me".
It absolutely belongs on Pet Sounds.

 

It would be the second best track on it. As is true of most of their 60s hits.

 

Great track, but I don't see how it belongs on Pet Sounds. It's great exactly where it is, pointing the way forward.

 

Very well could be. It would be fascinating to hear the whole story behind the song.

"Don't Worry Baby" was my very first favorite song. My sister gave me a brand new copy of Shut Down Vol. 2 for my 13th birthday a little while after it came out. I played that track over and over and over and over and over again. It was a hugely soothing balm for my troubled young teenage mind. It's still one of my very favorite songs.

 

It really is beautiful, I can't believe it took me so long to discover it!

 

"Leave Pet Sounds Alone!" que the crying man meme.