Re: Floydy's All-Time Top 1000 Favourite Albums

No.62: “Pet Sounds” by The Beach Boys (1966)
Brian Wilson’s masterpiece, the record that sent him crazy amongst other rather dubious substances which were hanging around his brain at the time... and ‘Good Vibrations’ wasn’t even on the record.
Pet Sounds is wonderful, it’s all you need from a high school band who had had passed through the nadir of the “boy band surf scene” tag they were beginning to be lumbered with and they were growing up much in the same way – in fact, virtually exactly the same as a U.S. version of The Beatles in a sort of “1962-1966”transgression that both bands went through. I won’t compare the two albums, they are totally different (as is the comparison with Sgt. Pepper’s a year later) because quite simply they just happened to be both around at the same time, bands and albums. You could also add The Byrds, the Stones, the Kinks and The Who to the list. The 60’s must have been some fantastic decade to live through seeing all this stuff appear in the charts and on the radio. Wondrous!
To the album then after much digressing…and you get ‘Wouldn’t It Be Nice’ for starters – now that would have been worth the price of the album on its own but, I think it’s just best to follow right now with the track listing early (even before the sleeve for once) to stop me from being too over-excited in going through all the tracks. We’ll let the songs and videos do the talking. I’ll just say that ‘God Only Knows’ is awesome and gets to me deeply, such is the classiness of that song. ‘Caroline No’, ‘Don’t Talk…’ Wonderful... Brian Wilson is right up there with Lennon, McCartney, Dylan and the best of ‘em. What a record this is!

Track listing:
Side one
1. "Wouldn't It Be Nice"
2. "You Still Believe in Me"
3. "That's Not Me"
4. "Don't Talk (Put Your Head on My Shoulder)"
5. "I'm Waiting for the Day"
6. "Let's Go Away for Awhile"
7. "Sloop John B"
Side two
1. "God Only Knows"
2. "I Know There's an Answer"
3. "Here Today"
4. "I Just Wasn't Made for These Times"
5. "Pet Sounds"
6. "Caroline, No"

So how about that?! Let’s carry on in a more disciplined way…

Sleeve image, other images:



Videos:

Re: Floydy's All-Time Top 1000 Favourite Albums

I thought you might have had Night And Day for Joe Jackson. Both good albums though.

Good to see Pet Sounds - I would place it a little higher up, probably top 20.

Re: Floydy's All-Time Top 1000 Favourite Albums

Extra video(s):



Brian Wilson performing Pet Sounds and other material live in 2014:


Interview/Documentary:


Phew! That post took me almost as long to sort out as Brian Wilson's "Bed-in"!

Re: Floydy's All-Time Top 1000 Favourite Albums

No.61: “Astral Weeks” by Van Morrison (1968)
Yes, quite true Ffosse (a couple of days ago), there’s definitely more to Van Morrison than the three-minute pop – good as it is – of ‘Brown Eyed Girl’. Astral Weeks was recorded just shortly afterwards after Van got out of a recording contract that would have been his early downfall. Bert Berns and his Bang Records company had some disagreements (actually to do with Berns’ late wife who was upset about Morrison’s behavoir and tried to curtail any future recordings). But Morrison went away and came back with this thoroughly original album, a record so different from anything seen before in music he invented a whole new genre which only he was initially part of: Celtic Soul.
It’s a lovely piece of work. Just eight songs but some very lengthy and Van still digs out occasional tracks to play live – the remarkable Cyprus Avenue especially.

Sleeve image, other images:


Video:


BBC film/concert, 2016:

Re: Floydy's All-Time Top 1000 Favourite Albums

Full concert video from 2014, 2 hours:


Interview:


Part One: In The Beginning
1. "Astral Weeks"
2. "Beside You"
3. "Sweet Thing"
4. "Cyprus Avenue"
Part Two: Afterwards
1. "The Way Young Lovers Do"
2. "Madame George"
3. "Ballerina"
4. "Slim Slow Slider"

• Van Morrison — vocals, acoustic guitar
• John Payne — flute; soprano saxophone on "Slim Slow Slider"
• Jay Berliner — classical and steel-string acoustic guitars
• Richard Davis — double bass
• Warren Smith, Jr. — percussion, vibraphone
• Connie Kay — drums
• Larry Fallon — string arrangements and conductor; harpsichord on "Cyprus Avenue"
• Barry Kornfeld — acoustic guitar on "The Way Young Lovers Do"

We'll leave it there for today. Top 60 from tomorrow.

Re: Floydy's All-Time Top 1000 Favourite Albums

Night And Day is at No.108, Ffosse

Great album Pet Sounds, but for me this is just about the right placing for it. How many can we cram in to our favourite lists?
It's not as easy as it seems bud

Re: Floydy's All-Time Top 1000 Favourite Albums

Great album Astral Weeks - freeform Celtic soul. I have to be in the right mood, but he doesn't get much better than this.

Saint Dominic's Preview often gets played by me just before or after Astral Weeks - another classic Van album.

Re: Floydy's All-Time Top 1000 Favourite Albums

Joe Jackson, you have surprised me Floydy.

Re: Floydy's All-Time Top 1000 Favourite Albums

Sorry Ffosse, I have always called him Dreamy

Re: Floydy's All-Time Top 1000 Favourite Albums

These personnel lists are very interesting.I didn't realize that Mick Taylor was on that Stones LP for some tracks..Nothing wrong with Taylor or Wood but I prefer the Jones Stones.

Sloop John B ,not that I thought that much of it before,but for ever ruined for me by the British Lions Rugby team who took it up as their anthem.