Editing Pet Sounds (section)

===Reactions from bandmates===
{{quote box
| align = left
| width = 25%
| quote =[...] it took us quite a while to adjust [...] because it wasn't music you could necessarily dance to—it was more like music you could make love to.
| source = —Al Jardine{{sfn|Granata|2003|p=166}}
}}

''Pet Sounds'' is sometimes considered a Brian Wilson solo album,{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=106}}{{sfn|Bogdanov|Woodstra|Erlewine|2002|p=72}}{{sfn|Doe|Tobler|2009|p=20}} including by Wilson himself, who later called it his "first solo album" and "a chance to step outside the group and shine".{{sfn|Umphred|1997|p=31}} Except for Mike Love, who received phone previews of tracks from Wilson, other band members were not consulted during production,{{sfn|White|1996|p=254}} though Brian had played excerpts to Dennis and Carl during their time in Japan.{{sfn|Badman|2004|p=111}} Upon returning to the studio on February 9,{{sfn|Badman|2004|p=111}} the bandmates were presented with recordings that jarred with their expectations.{{sfn|Gaines|1986|p=149}}

[[File:Mike Love Pet Sounds.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|alt=A close-up of Mike Love smiling|Mike Love at a ''Pet Sounds'' vocal overdubbing session. He later rejected claims that he had disliked the album.<ref>{{cite web |last=Valania |first=Jonathan |date=May 27, 2015 |title=MIKE LOVE NOT WAR: Q&A With A Beach Boy |url=http://www.phawker.com/2015/05/27/incoming-mike-love-not-war/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210301110418/https://phawker.com/2015/05/27/incoming-mike-love-not-war/ |archive-date=March 1, 2021 |publisher=Phawker.com |orig-year=2012}}</ref>]]

Critiques among the band members focused on lyrics rather than music,{{sfn|Leaf|1978|p=85}} with additional concerns about replicating the complex arrangements in live performances.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Sky |first=Rick |date=November 2, 2016 |title=Brian Wilson Presents Pet Sounds – Royal Albert Hall, 28 October 2016 Live Review |url=http://www.contactmusic.com/brian-wilson/music/brian-wilson-presents-pet-sounds-royal-albert-hall-28-october-2016 |url-status=live |magazine=[[Contactmusic.com]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210119160423/https://www.contactmusic.com/brian-wilson/music/brian-wilson-presents-pet-sounds-royal-albert-hall-28-october-2016 |archive-date=January 19, 2021}}</ref> In his 2016 memoir, Brian claimed Carl embraced the album while Love and Dennis initially did not.{{sfn|Wilson|Greenman|2016|p=182}} Dennis, in 1976, dismissed rumors of dissent as "interesting", insisting no member matched Brian's talent or opposed his vision.<ref>{{cite interview |interviewer=Pete Fornatale |title=WNEW-FM |type=Interview: Audio |location=New York City |date=November 1976 |subject=Wilson, Dennis}}; {{YouTube|cVItbEJBkJM|Dennis Wilson – Pete Fornatale Interview 1976}}</ref> Carl rejected such reports as "bullshit", declaring universal affection for the project during its creation<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Robertson |first1=Sandy |date=April 19, 1980 |title=The Beach Boys: The Life of Brian |url=https://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/the-beach-boys-the-life-of-brian |magazine=[[Sounds (magazine)|Sounds]] |via=[[Rock's Backpages]] |url-access=subscription}}</ref> and later stating in 1996, "We knew that this was really good music."<ref name="Carl1997">{{cite AV media notes |chapter=Comments by Carl Wilson |title=The Pet Sounds Sessions |others=[[The Beach Boys]] |year=1997 |publisher=[[Capitol Records]] |type=Booklet|chapter-url=http://albumlinernotes.com/Comments_by_Carl_Wilson.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220427191940/http://albumlinernotes.com/Comments_by_Carl_Wilson.html |archive-date=April 27, 2022}}</ref> Love stated his sole objection targeted the original lyrics of "I Know There's an Answer".{{sfn|Love|2016|p=131}}{{refn|group=nb|Jardine described Love as "very confused" by the album's direction, calling him a "formula hound" dependent on clear [[hook (music)|hooks]].<ref name="Goldmine2000" />}}

Brian, in 1976, remembered arguments about the project being "too arty",{{sfn|Badman|2004|p=114}} while Marilyn later said that his bandmates had struggled "to understand what he was going through emotionally and what he wanted to create [...] they didn't feel what he was going through and what direction he was trying to go in."<ref name="Marilyn1997" /> Asher stated the bandmates—"certainly Al, Dennis, and Mike"—frequently voiced objections such as "What the fuck do these words mean?" and "This isn't our kind of shit!", recalling "those were tense sessions."{{sfn|Carlin|2006|p=83}} Notwithstanding such remarks, he added that the bandmates never "really challenged Brian" on his direction for the group because they had felt "they weren't talented enough" to make such judgments.{{sfn|Kent|2009|p=22}} He said Love's objections centered on the album's suitability for the Beach Boys' brand—reservations which Jardine shared{{sfn|Leaf|1978|p=84}}—rather than its artistic quality.<ref name="BDW">{{cite AV media |title=[[Beautiful Dreamer: Brian Wilson and the Story of Smile]] |medium=Documentary |year=2004 |people=Leaf, David (Director)}}</ref> Jardine recalled initial hesitance toward the stylistic shift, saying the material required adjustment{{sfn|Granata|2003|p=166}} but that he "grew to really appreciate it as soon as we started to work on it".<ref name="Goldmine2000">{{cite magazine |last1=Sharp |first1=Ken |date=July 28, 2000 |title=Alan Jardine: A Beach Boy still riding the waves |url=http://www.brianwilsonfans.com/page11.php |url-status=dead |magazine=[[Goldmine (magazine)|Goldmine]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130109022135/http://brianwilsonfans.com/page11.php |archive-date=January 9, 2013}}</ref>

According to Brian, his bandmates were concerned that he might depart for a solo career, as he dominated the album's artistic direction.<ref name="Lunch76">{{cite magazine |last1=Cromelin |first1=Richard |date=October 1976 |title=Surf's Up! Brian Wilson Comes Back From Lunch |magazine=[[Creem]]}}</ref> He acknowledged their resistance to his vocal prominence, stating he "wanted people to know it was more of a Brian Wilson album than a Beach Boys album."{{sfn|Umphred|1997|p=32}} Love later wrote that he had desired "a greater hand in some of the songs and been able to incorporate more often my 'lead voice,' which we'd had so much success with."{{sfn|Love|2016|p=135}} Brian conceded that tensions eased when the group accepted the project "was still the Beach Boys" despite being "a showcase" for himself: "In other words, they gave in. They let me have my little stint."<ref name="Lunch76" />{{sfn|Leaf|1978|pp=85–86}}