The Beach Boy's Pet Sounds entry

Imagine a young white boy in California in the 1950's with a deep-seated passion for music and harmony. Brian Wilson was this boy, and together with his two brothers Dennis and Carl, a neighbor, Carl Jardine, and. Cousin, Mike Love, their transformational rock group, The Beach Boys, helped shape the future of music in the last half of twentieth century America and in the westernized world. However, accompanying every gift is a curse, and The Beach Boys were no exception. An oppressive, overbearing father, substance abuse, and a lifetime of legal disputes plagued this band, for their lifetimes. Brian Wilson, the primary creative and driving force behind this American legend band was most affected, to this day.

In his earliest years, Brian was considered musically gifted and he recalled being particularly moved by " Rhapsody in Blue", by George Gershwin. As a boy, Brian would frequently ask friends to his home in Hawthorne, California, to obsessively create and practice intricate harmonies in the style of one of the most influential musical groups of his youth, The Four Freshman. Interestingly, Brian was partially deaf in his right ear, by some reports as a result of blows to the head inflicted by his abusive father and later meddlesome manager and father, Murray Wilson.  Another early influence was the inventive rock and roller, Chuck Berry. Later he would be embroiled in a legal claim filed by Chuck Berry for utilizing his sounds in the song " Surfin’". Mr. Berry was awarded monies for this infringement. This was sign of things to come.

Brian Wilson was the primary force behind the early sound of The Beach Boys. One of their first songs introduced to the southern California surfer culture of the early 60's was "Sloop John B". It was a takeoff of the old folk song of the same name, but now imprinted with the vocal harmonies and rock beat of Brian's earliest inventive years. The significant influences of Chuck Berry and The Four Freshmen were evident. Southern Californians and an America embroiled in racial tensions were also hungry for a "white boy band" to compete with the significantly repressed but enormously popular black artists of the times such as Little Richard, The Ronnettes, Bo Diddly, Chuck Berry and Ray Charles. Elvis Presley had already made inroads in this regard.

The earliest recordings of The Pendletons, the name of Brian's initial band, were descriptive of life in southern California, particularly in the surfing scene, of which his brother, Dennis, was an active participant. This association prompted the initially unwelcome change of the band's name to The Beach Boys at the insistence of their first major record label, Capitol Records.

In a story not dissimilar to the path taken by many musical groups, the direction imposed by band members, the record label, and a misguided manager imposed enormous pressure on the creative center of the group, Brian. As a result, Brian left the band to concentrate on his creative nature at his own pace and without being encumbered by those individuals who at the time surrounded him. The result was " Pet Sounds", which has been considered by many critics to be a seminal musical creation in the history of rock and roll. Brian utilized layering different sounds, unexpected in the general world of recorded music at the time, such as unusual instrument combinations, such as cello and electric guitar, synthesizers, and barking dogs. By layering these sounds and incorporating Phil Spectre's "Wall of Sound", Brian was able to invent a new sound that particularly sounded "big" on the AM radios of the 60's. He was able to create a dynamic effect of reverb and layering not yet easily produced by the dynamic effect processing of the times. “Why Do Fools Fall in Love” is a perfect example of the Phil Spectre sound.  His " Pet Sounds" album was one of the first psychedelic rock albums of the times. Both his album and the Beatles' Revolver utilized the available technology of the time to achieve extraordinary results, quite similarly to the Mercury and Apollo space missions, accomplished with slide rules and spontaneous ingenuity and risk.  Of particular interest was his use of the theremin, an instrument that is played by the performer passing his or her hands in proximity of two antennae, thus producing an eerie processed sound, such as in "Good Vibrations".

Sadly, Brian Wilson continued to have addiction issues to the same drugs that may have early on given him a closer look at life, similar to the experience of The Beatles' acid trips. The highs were productive; however, the lows caused Brian to withdraw and engage in a continuum of legal battles regarding song rights and income derived from earlier hits of The Beach Boys.

Although Pet Sounds is considered a remarkable album in the development of early American rock, I am less moved as a listener when I compare this work to Revolver and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart Club Band.     

No question he is a musically gifted individual, but that gift alone doesn't create the legend. Early in his career he heavily emulated The Four Freshmen and Chuck Berry, even to the point of legal altercation. Later in his creative process, he began with the sound of Phil Spectre and built upon that effectively. America was in need of its own rock representatives. Elvis and The Beach Boys fit that bill. Unlike Lennon, McCartney, Harrison and Star, Brian Wilson did not have the " depth on the bench" with The Beach Boys. He was the Beach Boy. He didn't have a Sam Epstein or George Martin. He was writer, composer, arranger, and producer. Trying to do it all was too much to handle, even for Brian Wilson.

It is interesting to listen to "Pet Sounds" in mono and stereo. Ideally, I would like to listen to the mono tracks on an AM car radio in order to appreciate the technology of the time. I greatly preferred the stereo tracks on my stereo headphones, for that is how the technology is currently designed. For the 1960's, Pet Sounds was ahead of its time. Despite appreciating the album for its accomplishments, to me it will not as an entire album have the lasting impact that Revolver or Sgt. Pepper has had.

Bibliography

The Bob Edward’s Interview with Peter Ames Carlin, Author of Catch A Wave: The Rise, Fall and Redemption of the Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson, The Bob Edwards Show, Audible.com August 2009

The Beach Boys - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (2012, January 7). Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved January 8, 2012, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Beach_Boys

Brian Wilson - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (2011, December 26). Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved January 8, 2012, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Wilson

Chuck Berry - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (n.d.). Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved January 8, 2012, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Berry

The Four Freshmen - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (2011, November 7). Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved January 8, 2012, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Four_Freshmen

Pet Sounds - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (2011, January 5). Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved January 8, 2012, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pet_Sounds

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Welcome Entry - Rudolph Rustin

Welcome to my Music History Blog.  My name is Rudolph Rustin.  I am from Charleston, South Carolina and I am an avid lover of the auditory and visual arts.  I grew up in Charleston, South Carolina and Raleigh, North Carolina and as a young child I was introduced into the world of acoustic folk and bluegrass music. I can remember when I was about 5 years old, my neighbor was Ray Blouin. He was one of the “Wayfarers”, a folk trio that was a contemporary of the Kingston Trio and The Brothers Four. They played throughout the United States and were wonderful and personable people. Ray was the banjoist and lead tenor. The guitarist and baritone was also a neighbor, Dick Bailey. He had a captivating voice. They frequently involved me as a child listening and singing along, as this was a popular form of family entertainment in the 60’s. There was no Internet, video gaming, texting, or computing to distract families. Of course there was Vietnam, Kennedy, Nixon, and abundant availability of drugs as we entered the 70’s. Our generation was never short on vices.   Folk music was popular, and I would participate in family gatherings where we would trade songs and stories. The times with my family and Ray Blouin imprinted the love of music into me forever. This is still a popular part of the music culture in southwest Virginia and the Carolinas today. At age 13, I began to play the guitar and had to learn by listening to records, lifting the needle, and re-playing the song, over and over. I was finally able to get a phonograph player that had a 16 speed, allowing me to play the music at half the tempo of the 33 speed recordings. This became particularly handy when I picked up the 5-string banjo at age 14 and got Pete Seeger’s banjo album of popular favorites.  I had no formal instruction, for when I was twelve I lived in the country in North Carolina. There were no radio stations in the area – talk about painful! I would go to the “Western Auto” store and wait for the new 45’s to arrive and try them out.  My first purchase was “Hello Goodbye”, The Beatles. The flip side was “I Am The Walrus” – all for the grand total purchase price of 30 cents!

I was actively playing until age 20-32, what I call “the gap”. I entered the medical profession and playing music was all but abandoned due to the time commitment of training. Remember the 10,000-hour rule? It really applies in surgery, and that time is stamped out in a time span of about seven years after college and medical school.

After finishing residency and moving back to Charleston, I re-invented my interest in music, stimulated by a visit to a friend and guitar luthier in Mouth of Wilson, Virginia. Spending a weekend at his house created a spark in me that will never again be extinguished. I began playing, writing, recording, and engaging other artists. It has continued to develop in a positive way.  In 2008, I took an aptitude test in Atlanta, Georgia, at The Johnson O’Connor Institute, at the behest of several of my medical colleagues that as well had a passion in areas outside of medicine. After the O’Connor experience, I decided to put in my 10,000 hours and develop a second career in music. So here I am. I see music production today as a team effort. There is an ever-burgeoning development of independent artists, producers, writers and studios that will constantly challenge the paradigm of major label and major artist development. I do not see myself entrenched in that industry. Instead, I want to develop a regional niche in production and songwriting by developing a team of several songwriters, musicians, instructors, promoters and producers to develop local musicians and artists successfully in advertising, local performances (house concerts of the 60’s) and partnering with local businesses interested in loco regional success with their neighbors. Our community is abundant in great talent that is thirsty for nurturing and development. I just need to remember “no” will not always be the answer as long as I can further develop a meaningful product during my 10,000 hours.

Rudolph