Editing Pet Sounds (section)

===Progressive music, art rock, and album format===
{{Further|Album era|Proto-prog}}
{{See also|Classificatory disputes about art}}
[[File:Queen News Of The World (1977 Press Kit Photo 02).jpg|thumb|''Pet Sounds'' anticipated the [[progressive pop]] of bands like the Beatles, [[Queen (band)|Queen]] (pictured), [[the Alan Parsons Project]], and [[Supertramp]]]]

''Pet Sounds'' is recognized for its role in the emergence of progressive pop, a genre that preceded [[progressive rock]].<ref name="progpopguide">{{cite web |last1=Reed |first1=Ryan |date=November 20, 2019 |title=A Guide to Progressive Pop |url=https://tidal.com/magazine/article/a-guide-to-progressive-pop/1-57187 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220308120247/https://tidal.com/magazine/article/a-guide-to-progressive-pop/1-57187 |archive-date=March 8, 2022 |website=Tidal}}</ref> It is also cited as a pivotal work in establishing the album as a primary format for rock music.{{sfn|Stanley|2013|p=214}}{{sfn|Starr|2007|p=330}}{{refn|group=nb|According to critic [[Gary Graff]], the album was pivotal in ushering in the "album era" of the late 1960s, alongside Dylan's ''[[Highway 61 Revisited]]'' (1965) and ''Blonde on Blonde'',<ref>{{cite news|last=Graff|first=Gary|author-link=Gary Graff|title=Brian Wilson Celebrates 50th Anniversary of Landmark 'Pet Sounds'|date=September 22, 2016|newspaper=[[List of newspapers published by Digital First Media|Daily Tribune]]}}</ref> whereas Stanley cites ''Pet Sounds'' alongside ''[[The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan]]'' (1963) and ''Rubber Soul''.{{sfn|Stanley|2013|p=214}}}} Though ''Rubber Soul'' had recently popularized the idea of cohesive albums over collections of singles, it largely maintained fidelity to the live ensemble sound. Wilson expanded its "album-centered" approach by crafting music that wholly transcended traditional rock instrumentation.<ref name="Sommer2016">{{cite web |last1=Sommer |first1=Tim |author-link=Tim Sommer |date=May 16, 2016 |title=This Is Your Brain on 'Pet Sounds' |url=http://observer.com/2016/05/this-is-your-brain-on-pet-sounds/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210510021842/https://observer.com/2016/05/this-is-your-brain-on-pet-sounds/ |archive-date=May 10, 2021 |website=[[The Observer]]}}</ref>{{refn|group=nb|Hoskyns contrasted ''Pet Sounds'' with ''Rubber Soul'', stating that while the latter signaled pop music's maturation, ''Pet Sounds'' represented a "quantum leap into the unknown".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hoskyns |first1=Barney |author-link1=Barney Hoskyns |title=Hang On To Your Egos: The Beach Boys at 50 |url=https://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/hang-on-to-your-egos-the-beach-boys-at-50 |website=[[Mojo (magazine)|Mojo]] |date=June 2012 |url-access=subscription}}</ref>}} Doggett, in his 2016 book ''Electric Shock'', called ''Pet Sounds'' "[[teen pop|teenage pop]]'s first viable rival to the thematic records of [[Jean Shepard]] and Frank Sinatra",{{sfn|Doggett|2016|p=372}} while Howard identified it as pop's first true song-cycle.{{Sfn|Howard|2004|p=64}}{{refn|group=nb|Sommer writes that "''Pet Sounds'' proved that a pop group could make an album-length piece comparable with the greatest long-form works of [[Leonard Bernstein|Bernstein]], [[Aaron Copland|Copland]], [[Charles Ives|Ives]], and Rodgers and Hammerstein."<ref name="Sommer2015">{{cite news |authorlink=Tim Sommer|last1=Sommer |first1=Tim |date=July 21, 2015 |title=Beyond the Life of Brian: The Myth of the 'Lesser' Beach Boys |work=[[The New York Observer]] |url=http://observer.com/2015/07/beyond-the-life-of-brian-the-myth-of-the-lesser-beach-boys/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220319050605/https://observer.com/2015/07/beyond-the-life-of-brian-the-myth-of-the-lesser-beach-boys/ |archive-date=March 19, 2022}}</ref> According to Fusilli, it raised itself to "the level of art through its musical sophistication and the precision of its statement".{{sfn|Fusilli|2005|pp=116–119}}}} The ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' reported in 1968 that Wilson had become a leading figure in "[[art rock]]" following the album's release.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Nolan |first1=Tom |title=How Goes It Underground? |url=https://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/how-goes-it-underground |website=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=February 18, 1968 |url-access=subscription}}</ref>{{refn|group=nb|Asked in a 1968 interview about the Beatles' role in rock's "progress toward an art form", [[Led Zeppelin]] founder [[Jimmy Page]] responded, "I think the Beach Boys tried to do it first. I think there were lots of Beach Boy things on the ''Revolver'' album. Especially, the vocal harmony. Wilson really said a lot in his ''Pet Sounds'' album."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Delehant |first1=Jim |title=Jimmy Page's New Yardbirds |url=https://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/jimmy-pages-new-yardbirds |website=[[Hit Parader]] |date=December 1968 |url-access=subscription}}</ref> ''Pet Sounds'' is viewed as the first work of art rock by Leaf,{{sfn|Leaf|1978|p=74}} Jones,{{sfn|Jones|2008|p=49}} and Frith.<ref name="Frith/HistoryOfRock"/> ''Rolling Stone'' writers described the album as heralding the art rock of the 1970s.<ref name="flopped">{{cite magazine |date=May 16, 2016 |title=14 Classic Albums That Flopped When They Were Released |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/14-classic-albums-that-flopped-when-they-were-released-20160516 |url-status=live |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220130061741/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/14-classic-albums-that-flopped-when-they-were-released-67275/ |archive-date=January 30, 2022}}</ref> Academic Michael Johnson said that the album was one of the first documented moments of ascension in rock music.{{sfn|Johnson|2009|p=197}} Bill Holdship said that it was "perhaps rock's first example of self-conscious art".<ref name="Holdship">{{cite web |last=Holdship |first=Bill |url=http://music.uk.launch.yahoo.com/read/review/12038027 |title=Album Review: Pet Sounds |publisher=[[Yahoo! Music]] |access-date=March 29, 2013 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130329201536/http://music.uk.launch.yahoo.com/read/review/12038027 |archive-date=March 29, 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref>}} Journalist Troy Smith later referred to "Wouldn't It Be Nice" as "the first taste of progressive pop" subsequently elaborated upon by bands such as the Beatles, [[Queen (band)|Queen]], and [[Supertramp]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Smith |first1=Troy L. |date=February 28, 2018 |title=250 greatest Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Songs: Part 3 (#150–101) |url=https://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/2018/02/250_greatest_songs_by_rock_rol_3.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201110091655/https://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/2018/02/250_greatest_songs_by_rock_rol_3.html |archive-date=November 10, 2020 |access-date=November 10, 2020 |website=[[Cleveland.com]]}}</ref>

Ryan Reed, writing for ''Tidal'', highlighted the album's incorporation of non-rock instruments, alongside intricate key changes and vocal harmonies, as foundational to progressive pop.<ref name="progpopguide"/>{{refn|group=nb|Reed also noted Wilson's fusion of symphonic arrangements with "breezy melodies", inspired by Spector, and acknowledged the Beatles' contributions through works like ''Sgt. Pepper''.<ref name="progpopguide"/>}} [[Bill Martin (philosophy)|Bill Martin]], an author of books about progressive rock, described the album as a turning point in rock's evolution from [[dance music|dance-oriented music]] to a more complex listening experience, marked by innovations in harmony, instrumentation, and studio technology.{{sfn|Martin|1998|pp=39–42}} Covach observed that ''Pet Sounds'' and subsequent recordings by the Beach Boys and the Beatles legitimized rock as a serious art form, prompting record labels to enable more experimental approaches among other artists: "Because these bands were so successful, Capitol and EMI gave them a certain freedom to experiment. When these experiments produced hit singles and albums, other groups were given greater license as well."{{sfn|Covach|2015|p=260}} Its influence extended to Pink Floyd bassist [[Roger Waters]],<ref>{{cite web | last = Forrest | first = Ben| title = The two albums Roger Waters said "completely changed everything"| website = Far Out Magazine| date = June 17, 2024  | url = https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/albums-roger-waters-said-changed-everything/ | access-date = March 23, 2025}}</ref> producer [[Tony Clarke (record producer)|Tony Clarke]]'s orchestral-rock fusion on [[the Moody Blues]]' ''[[Days of Future Passed]]'' (1967),{{sfn|Pinch|Trocco|2009|p=155}} and [[Nick Drake]]'s ''[[Bryter Layter]]'' (1971).<ref>{{cite web|title=An interview with Robert Kirby|url=http://www.nickdrake.com/Robert_Kirby_Q__A.html|accessdate=March 22, 2014}}</ref>

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| quote = While many may struggle to see the direct link between the bright, bouncy tones of ''Pet Sounds'' and bands like the Beatles, [[Jimi Hendrix]] and countless prog-rock bands, there was simply no precedent for the way that notes moved and vibrated across the record.
| source = —Journalist Joel Freimark, 2016<ref>{{cite web |last1=Freimark |first1=Joel |title=Brian Wilson tours to celebrate 50th anniversary of 'Pet Sounds' |url=http://www.deathandtaxesmag.com/278325/brian-wilson-pet-sounds-50th-anniversary-tour/ |website=Death and Taxes Mag |date=January 26, 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171117090620/http://www.deathandtaxesmag.com/278325/brian-wilson-pet-sounds-50th-anniversary-tour/ |archive-date=17 November 2017}}</ref>
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By the early 1970s, the LP had become rock's primary medium, a shift Starr attributes partly to ''Pet Sounds''.{{sfn|Starr|2007|p=330}} This coincided with a growing cultural preference for self-contained artists over collaborative processes, as orchestration became increasingly associated with older generations.{{sfn|Stanley|2013|p=187}}{{refn|group=nb|According to Stanley, though works such as ''Pet Sounds'', ''Sgt. Pepper'', and Webb's "[[MacArthur Park]]" (1968) had offered potential blueprints for 1970s music, their approaches were later "junked" by the music world at large.{{sfn|Stanley|2013|p=187}}}} By the mid-1970s, more melody-focused songwriters adapted the progressive rock genre for mainstream radio, leading to a progressive pop resurgence.<ref name="progpopguide"/> Musician and journalist [[Andy Gill]] suggested that ''Pet Sounds'' ultimately inspired rock bands to "get clever" and experiment with orchestration and time signatures, remarking: "Before you know it, you've got Queen."<ref name="CoSJune2016">{{cite web |last1=Brennan |first1=Colin |last2=Corcoran |first2=Nina |date=June 18, 2016 |title=The Genius of Pet Sounds: Artists Reveal Their Favorite Aspects of The Beach Boys' Classic |url=https://consequence.net/2016/06/the-genius-of-pet-sounds-artists-reveal-their-favorite-aspects-of-the-beach-boys-classic/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210417034534/https://consequence.net/2016/06/the-genius-of-pet-sounds-artists-reveal-their-favorite-aspects-of-the-beach-boys-classic/ |archive-date=April 17, 2021 |website=[[Consequence (publication)|Consequence]]}}</ref> [[Eric Woolfson]] of [[the Alan Parsons Project]] remarked that the Beach Boys became "the classic example of a band moving [...] to phenomenally progressive stuff."{{sfn|Romano|2010|p=6}} Composer and journalist [[Frank J. Oteri|Frank Oteri]] recognized the album as a "clear precedent" to the birth of [[album-oriented rock]] and progressive rock.<ref name="Oteri2011">{{cite web |last1=Oteri |first1=Frank J. |date=December 8, 2011 |title=SOUNDS HEARD: THE BEACH BOYS—THE SMILE SESSIONS |url=http://www.newmusicbox.org/articles/sounds-heard-the-beach-boys-the-smile-sessions |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220521192216/https://newmusicusa.org/nmbx/sounds-heard-the-beach-boys-the-smile-sessions/ |archive-date=May 21, 2022 |access-date=March 14, 2016 |website=New Music Box}}</ref> By 2010, ''Pet Sounds'' was listed in [[Classic Rock (magazine)|''Classic Rock'']]'s "50 Albums That Built Prog Rock".<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Classic Rock (magazine)|Classic Rock]]|title=The 50 Albums That Built Prog Rock|date=July 2010|issue=146}}</ref><ref name="ProgRockRoots">{{cite web |last=Bjervamoen |first=Harald |title=RockStory – Progressive Rock Roots |url=http://www.rockprog.com/04_RockStory/RootsProgressive.aspx |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203021551/http://www.rockprog.com/04_RockStory/RootsProgressive.aspx |archive-date=December 3, 2013 |access-date=May 6, 2014 |work=RockProg}}</ref>