Brian Wilson credits the Beatles' inspiration for "Pet Sounds"

Brian Wilson says that like most of the songwriters and producers of the '60s the Beatles pushed him to do his best work. Wilson told the avclub.com that his inspiration to create the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds was due to feeling direct competition with the "Fab Four," recalling that, "I heard Rubber Soul one night in my house here in L.A., and I was so blown out that I said, 'I have to record an album as good or better than Rubber Soul. If I ever do anything in my life, I'm going to make that good an album.' And so we did."

Wilson said that he knew while recording Pet Sounds that he was creating a rock and roll masterpiece: "I knew when we were recording it. I knew it was going to be a milestone in musical history. And I knew we were on to something very, very good. The love vibes in Pet Sounds were very good."

Brian Wilson told us that he included the band's then-current single "Sloop John B." on Pet Sounds at the Beach Boys' record company's request: "No, I wanted it to be a single but when they said 'album,' I said 'fine,' that was okay with me. I said it would help the album. Y'know, it would help it sell and it would fit perfectly."

Pet Sounds was released on May 16th, 1966, and featured such Beach Boys classics as "Wouldn't It Be Nice," "God Only Knows" "Caroline No," "I Just Wasn't Made For These Times," and "Sloop John B."

The Beach Boys have just released a deluxe double disc version of the Pet Sounds album. The set includes newly remastered mono and stereo mixes of the album, as well as a DVD featuring a 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround sound mix and several featurettes, including an extended cut of the 1997 promotional film The Making Of Pet Sounds.

Brian Wilson will be performing a series of Pet Sounds 40th anniversary shows with Beach Boys co-founder Al Jardine as his special guest. The mini-tour kicks off on November 1st in Los Angeles at Royce Hall at UCLA.

In addition to the L.A. date, Wilson and Jardine have shows scheduled in Boston, Washington D.C., Glenside, Pennsylvania, and New York City.

http://www.therockradio.com/
2006/09/brian-wilson-
credits-beatles.html