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Released on Capitol Records (T-2458) May 16th 1966
Produced by Brian Wilson
Highest U.S. Chart Position: 10
Wouldn’t It Be Nice (Wilson/Asher/Love) / You Still Believe In Me (Wilson/Asher)
That’s Not Me (Wilson/Asher) / Don’t Talk (Put Your Head On My Shoulder) (Wilson/Asher)
I’m Waiting For The Day (Wilson/Love) / Let’s Go Away For Awhile (Wilson)
Sloop John B (Trad/Arr.Wilson) / God Only Knows (Wilson/Asher)
I Know There’s An Answer (Wilson/Sachen/Love) / Here Today (Wilson/Asher)
I Just Wasn’t Made For These Times (Wilson/Asher) / Pet Sounds (Wilson)
Caroline No (Wilson/Asher)
Sleeve Photography : George Jerman & Dave Jampel
THE BEATLES HAD RELEASED “Rubber Soul” at the end of the previous year, Bob Dylan had just issued “Blonde On Blonde”, and The Byrds had “Fifth Dimension” pressed for imminent release, so as a 1966 Brian Wilson prepared his personal masterpiece for public consumption he was undoubtedly concerned as to how the listening audience would accept this new Beach Boys vinyl offering. The preceding single, “Sloop John B”, had been another enormous hit for the group, peaking at #3 in the Billboard charts at the start of May, and yet Capitol Records was showing little inclination to promote the new record, unsure as to the intense direction that Brian was taking the music, and subsequently his fellow band members. Mike Love had summed it perfectly on behalf of the company. “Don’t fuck with the formula” was the oft-quoted response from the groups’ front man upon first hearing the instrumental tracks that Brian was laying down in the studio. Yet Brian knew he had to change, had to evolve, simply to keep abreast of the new ‘happenings’ surrounding and infiltrating his domain.
In the long run, he needn’t have worried, for despite the initial lukewarm response to the subsequent album, “Pet Sounds” has stood the test of time … and beyond. The emotional warmth and delicate fragility of the music contained within the grooves of the record is widely recognised by many as the most inspired gathering of music to be issued since the birth of rock’n’roll … and that is saying something. However, one could argue that there is one aspect of this groundbreakingly beautiful album that shows weakness. Maybe Brian Wilson was still too focussed on his music to understand the full impact that the word ‘art’ was having upon the industry. Yes, the aching melodies that wove throughout “You Still Believe In Me” was art, as was the melancholy layering of vocals that drove the chorus of “I Just Wasn’t Made For These Times” … but the overall tendency to see the product through from start to finish was still lacking in one area of Brian’s work.
From the early days of the Beach Boys career, when they parked the rented woodie upon the golden sands of Paradise Cove the group had pretty much left the final presentation of their work to the guys “in the know”; the team of artists and designers high up in the Capitol Tower. They were the ones who presented the product to the public … and by early 1966 Brian still wasn’t fully adjusted to offering the entire package as he saw it. He was fully entitled to, but he appeared to stop once the studio work was finished. Subsequently, we now have in our hands the majestic beauty of the “Pet Sounds” album, packaged in … (shakes head and sighs) … an unforgivable, outdated, naïve outer sleeve. A downright embarrassment to the sheer genius of what it holds within. Or is it ?
Is that how it should be taken? Is that Brian’s fault? Can any blame be laid squarely at the doorstep of this once prolific musical genius, who was at that moment reaching the pinnacle his own musical creativity? Is there any fault to be placed at all? In truth, probably not. Brian knew no other route up until the moment that the finished product was first pressed into his hands, but one has to wonder … what was his reaction to that moment? We know that he had poured heart, soul … and life, into that record, and to see it finally reach fruition, packaged in the raw, in the strictest sense of the word, must have disappointed. He had fallen in love with the “Rubber Soul” album when it hit records stores of America during December of 1965 and the fish-eye lens photograph that adorned the sleeve must have struck a chord with him … and yet, for
whatever reasons, he still chose not compete with his British rivals on a presentation side …
“Brian said that the Beach Boys were a strange group; he said they had neglected many things, like artwork and pictures and press, but now that things had a shape and form and direction he could recognise and describe, he didn’t want things to get away from them. He wanted everything to come together. We decided to have new pictures taken, simple things in fields, without the striped shirts …”
Derek Taylor (Publicist)
So maybe Brian DID have a say in how the final artwork was delivered after all. Maybe this was simply a perfect example of Brian’s legendary humour. The overly complex musical arrangements, balanced out with the simplistic sleeve design. Fellow group member Alan Jardine feels otherwise
“One of my, pardon the expression, pet peeves is that album cover. Why the San Diego Zoo? It was too obvious. It looks like a bunch of people at the zoo. It doesn’t do the music justice …”
Alan Jardine (Beach Boy)
Whatever the reasons or stories behind the design of the front sleeve what IS clear is the location and session details that resulted in this much-discussed frame. On Thursday 10th February 1966 Capitol staff photographer George Jerman, who had had the group pose before his lens on many an occasion, met up with all six group members (including Bruce Johnston), and a number of selected journalists, at the San Diego Zoo in Southern California. Why the zoo ?
Well, as to be expected, not all details are forthcoming. Possibly it just seemed like a good location with which the group could relax and have fun … or possibly the truth lies in the title of the proposed album ... "Pet Sounds" ... and all zoos have a 'petting corner' as such. There was even the possibility that an ealier working title for the new release was “Remember The Zoo?” - a misguided suggestion that was banded around the fan circuit during the 1990's to much consternation - but which came first ? The photo session or the title connection ? Yet, another undocumented saga in the long-running Beach Boys story …
Interestingly, California’s second most-famous surf-act, Jan and Dean, also used San Diego Zoo that very same month when shooting a pilot for their proposed TV series, “Jan & Dean On The Run”, and scenes of the duo fooling around the location feature in the final edit (along with guest star Elizabeth "Bewitched" Montgomery). Needless to say, the subsequent events of April 12th 1966 put paid to any further such plans the duo had …
Nevertheless, a large amount of photographic film was used on Jerman’s camera the day that the Beach Boys visited the zoo, and the session ran into the late afternoon, with both group and individual members posing with a vast array of the expansive animal collection on show, although only one would appear on the sleeve itself. There are in the region of twenty various shots from this outing currently circulating in various books, magazines and librettos, and undoubtedly more are still stored in the Capitol Photo Studio archives. The main focus of the shoot took place in the afore-mentioned children’s 'petting corner' of the zoo, where the group members were pictured feeding a hungry herd of goats, eager to snatch the food out of the hands of the amused musicians. In addition to the shot that finally graced the cover at least ten other frames were reeled off in front of the lens from this part of the zoo. Some were five-man group shots, snapped literally seconds either side of the recognised frame, whilst others were individual pictures, some featuring Bruce Johnston, who quite clearly recognised that his former recording contract with one of Capitol’s rivals would still not let him appear on the album front cover.
“The goats were horrible. They jump all over you and bite. One of them ate my radio. The zoo said we were torturing the animals but they should have seen what we had to go through. We were doing all the suffering …” Bruce Johnston (Beach Boy)
Other locations around the zoo resulted in individual camel shots for Mike and Dennis, and group pictures next to both the elephant and giraffe paddocks, with the group shot in front of the two inquisitive, lumbering pachyderm, offering potentially the most artistic shot of the day, but the six-man pose, framed under the giant palm trees, clearly vetoed the frame from the sleeve. One final photograph saw Brian, cherubic round face under a mop of long brown hair, gazing heaven bound as if asking for divine inspiration … or was it simply just a tall giraffe ? The photo shoot finished, the band then boarded a 530 flight back to LA ...
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Those other surfin' dudes
party on at the Zoo
February 1966
For the rear of the “Pet Sounds” album sleeve Capitol Records chose to put together a collage of frames highlighting the importance of the group as they liked to see them. The candy-striped shirts were back in evidence, guitars in hand, mixed in with a number of stills taken during the Japanese leg of their recent concert tour. This was almost suggesting that this was their way of showing that the album was their boys together … not merely a frontage for Brian’s strong-minded dominance of the music within.
Whilst Brian had been recording the instrumental tracks for the new album, using Los Angeles’ finest collection of studio session musicians, and prior to the boys laying down the vocals, the remaining five-piece band had been performing a 15-date tour of Japan, followed by a one-off return journey show, on Saturday 29th January, in
Above: Two noteworthy publications dedicated to the efforts of Brian Wilson
Honolulu. Eleven of the fifteen pictures that graced the rear sleeve were taken during this tour, four of which featured Mike, Alan, Carl, Dennis and Bruce dressed out in traditional Japanese costume, pictured during a promotional visit to Kyoto's famous Samurai studios on January 10th. The remaining tour pictures featured the band on stage, dressed in traditional Beach Boy costume. Striped shirt and white pants, Capitol Records undoubtedly smiling silently in the background, although judging by the picture of Carl wearing a Hawaiian flower Lei around his neck they are taken from a variety of the shows from the tour. Japanese-based photographer and writer Dave Jampel is credited with being the man behind the lens for this series of pictures, and at least Bruce once again made the rear cover …
“I think that album is my favourite, and it drove me crazy that I couldn’t get my picture on the (front) cover because I was still signed to CBS, from the days when Terry Melcher and I were producing for them. I couldn’t get a clearance to be on the front cover, but I’m on the back … but I’m so proud just to have been able to sing on that record …”
Bruce Johnston (Beach Boy)
PET SOUNDS
Photographic Credits
George Jerman
Dave Jampel
Capitol Photo Studios
1965/1966
GO TO "PET SOUNDS" : PART TWO
All rights reserved : No part of this text may be copied, stored or reproduced without written consent of the author. Pipeline Publications (UK) 2006
