i'm not sure what inspired me to purchase this album. i owned a beach boys greatest hits album that had only 10 songs - their biggest surf hits - and i rarely listened to it. but something in me wondered what their studio work was like. some quick research pointed me toward pet sounds - an album considered by many to be one of the most influential recordings ever made.
a quick glance at the back of the cd case showed many songs i already knew ("wouldn't it be nice", "sloop john b"), including one of my favorite beach boy songs of all time - "god only knows"...
ah, i can't tell you how much i love that song. beautiful words, music, harmonies,.. it all comes together to create one perfect melodic work of genius. just seeing that this song was on this album would have sold me right there, but i was pleasantly surprised by everything else as well.
this album became the soundtrack to what i envisioned it would be like when we moved to california. i'll still pack it in the car when we drive along the coast, and pretend this is music and scenery i grew up with. but it speaks to me more because this beach boys album is more folky and less about the surf rock sound that made them famous.
i think this is precisely the reason a canadian boy was never really blown away by the greatest hits album that contained songs like "surfin' safari" and "i wish they all could be californian". it took more heart and depth to win me over to this classic band.
1. u2 - the joshua tree
2. dave matthews band - crash
3. cake - comfort eagle
4. blue rodeo - five days in july
