Editing Pet Sounds (section)

===Wall of Sound and ''Rubber Soul''===

Commentators frequently cite ''Pet Sounds'' as a [[concept album]], with some considering it the first such work in rock music.{{sfn|Lambert|2007|p=249}}{{refn|group=nb|Author Carys Wyn Jones attributes this characterization to the record's "uniform excellence" rather than an explicit narrative or musical motif,{{sfn|Jones|2008|p=44}} while Lambert acknowledges the album's "unifying threads of melodic figures and harmonic devices".{{sfn|Lambert|2007|p=250}} }} Wilson had sought to create "a complete statement" with ''Pet Sounds'', inspired by [[the Beatles]]' ''[[Rubber Soul]]'', released in December 1965.{{sfn|Jones|2008|p=44}} The American edition of ''Rubber Soul'', reconfigured by Capitol to emphasize a cohesive folk rock sound,{{sfn|Granata|2003|p=72}} struck Wilson as a unified work free of [[filler (media)|filler]] tracks—uncommon at a time when albums primarily served to promote singles.{{sfn|Fusilli|2005|p=80}}{{sfn|Schinder|2007|p=114}}{{refn|group=nb|The absence of a single on the North American release further reinforced its identity as an artistic whole.<ref name="LeafPerspective" />}} Contrasting the Beach Boys' earlier albums, which sometimes included lighter material,{{sfn|Fusilli|2005|p=80}} Wilson viewed ''Rubber Soul'' as a challenge to elevate his approach,{{sfn|Schinder|2007|p=114}} declaring to his wife, "I'm gonna make the greatest album! The greatest rock album ever made!"{{sfn|Carlin|2006|p=75}}

[[File:Phil Spector with MFQ 1965.png|thumb|right|alt=Spector standing around musicians in the studio|[[Phil Spector]] (center) at [[Gold Star Studios]], where he developed his Wall of Sound method (1965)]]

Carl highlighted his brother's greater admiration for [[Phil Spector]] over the Beatles,<ref name=HimesSurf/> with Brian frequently crediting Spector's methods as foundational to his own production style.{{sfn|Granata|2003|pp=120–121}}{{sfn|Lambert|2007|p=225}} Brian identified ''Pet Sounds'' as an "interpretation" of Spector's [[Wall of Sound]] formula,<ref>{{cite web |title=INTERVIEW WITH BRIAN WILSON OF THE BEACH BOYS IN EARLY 1980'S |publisher=Global Image Works |url=http://www.globalimageworks.com/clip-brian-wilson-interview-beach-boys-1874_023?id=45092 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140726074318/http://www.globalimageworks.com/clip-brian-wilson-interview-beach-boys-1874_023?id=45092 |archive-date=July 26, 2014 |url-status=dead |access-date=July 18, 2014}}</ref> with the production informing the album's intended "concept".{{sfn|Tunbridge|2010|pp=173–174}} He stated: {{blockquote|If you take the ''Pet Sounds'' album as a collection of art pieces, each designed to stand alone, yet which belong together, you'll see what I was aiming at. [...] It wasn't really a ''song'' concept album, or ''lyrically'' a concept album; it was really a ''production'' concept album.{{sfn|Tunbridge|2010|pp=173–174}}}}

Musicologist [[Michael Zager]] contrasted ''Pet Sounds'' with ''Rubber Soul'', writing that the former more closely aligns with Spector's Wall of Sound through its incorporation of the technique's hallmarks.{{sfn|Zager|2012|p=218}} Wilson said that he was especially fascinated with combining [[tone color|color tones]] to create new [[texture (music)|textures]], aiming to emulate those aspects of Spector's productions.{{sfn|Moorefield|2010|pp=16–17}} In a 1988 interview, he framed the Beach Boys via ''Pet Sounds'' as "messengers" of Spector's work, stating his goal was to expand upon Spector's innovations.{{sfn|Lambert|2007|p=225}}

Wilson later credited ''Rubber Soul'' as his "main motivator" for ''Pet Sounds''.{{sfn|Cunningham|1998|p=76}}{{refn|group=nb| Asher recalled Wilson playing him the album and declaring a desire to surpass it,{{sfn|Badman|2004|p=104}} while Johnston remembered Wilson praising its thematic cohesion after a Christmas 1965 listening session.<ref>{{cite web |title=Exclusive – Bruce Johnston on the Making of Pet Sounds |url=http://www.udiscovermusic.com/exclusive-bruce-johnston-on-the-making-of-pet-sounds |website=uDiscover Music |date=May 16, 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210620124210/https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/exclusive-bruce-johnston-on-the-making-of-pet-sounds/ |archive-date=June 20, 2021}}</ref> In a 2002 foreword for ''Mojo'', Wilson wrote that although he had already begun working on some of the songs, the urge to express his feelings after hearing ''Rubber Soul'' led to his decision to seek out a new lyricist.{{sfn|Wilson|2002 |pp=4–5}} Conversely, he told David Leaf in 1996 that he believed he was introduced to the LP by Asher.<ref name="BrianWilson1997" /> In 2009, he said he wrote "God Only Knows" with Asher the morning after listening to the album for the first time.<ref name="rubber09"/>}} He explained that while inspired to create music "on the same level" as ''Rubber Soul'', he was not interested in replicating the Beatles' sound.<ref name=HimesSurf>{{cite web|last1=Himes|first1=Geoffrey|author-link=Geoffrey Himes|title=Surf Music |work=Rock and Roll: An American History |publisher=teachrock.org |url=http://teachrock.org/media/essays/surf_himes_with_maia_edits_2.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151125223127/http://teachrock.org/media/essays/surf_himes_with_maia_edits_2.pdf |archive-date=November 25, 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2009, Wilson said that although "''Rubber Soul'' didn't clarify my ideas for ''Pet Sounds''", the Beatles' use of [[sitar]] had inspired his choice of instrumentation for the album.<ref name="rubber09">{{cite news |last=Carlin|first=Peter Ames |author-link=Peter Ames Carlin |url=http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/beatles/article6818698.ece |work=[[The Times Online]] |date=September 12, 2009 |title=Brian Wilson on the Beatles' Rubber Soul}}{{dead link|date=September 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> In a 1966 interview, he contrasted their approaches, suggesting his arrangements would have expanded tracks like "[[Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)|Norwegian Wood]]" with orchestration, "background voices", and "a thousand [other] things".{{sfn|Granata|2003|p=72}}