After seeing Pet Sounds in a couple of top ten lists for greatest albums of all time, AND after seeing such music afficionados such as Ruby, Medgar Evers, and Shafty write glowingly about it, I finally picked up the CD. There is no doubt that this is an extremely catchy record - "Wouldn't it be nice," "Sloop John B," ""God Only Knows," and "I Know There's an Answer" are all great. However, I'm not sure if Pet Sounds belongs in a class with the greatest of all time. Maybe it's that I just can't shake the image of the Beach Boys as being a poppy, summer band - as opposed to dark brooding geniuses (and I don't know why geniuses have to be "brooding")... maybe it's my bias. Anyway, Pet Sounds is a nice record to have in your collection, but it's not going to change your life.
