The Beach Boys

The "Beach Boys" sound was crafted around the typical teenage lifestyle of the early 50's and 60's and late 60's (Howard, 2004, p. 49). Their photos gave me the idea that the image they were going for was something along the line of the typical blonde hair and blue eyes type of guy. Brian Wilson was like the central powerhouse of the band. He wrote and self produced most of their music. His production style and outlook on creating music is what helped set the band apart from the rest. He did this by becoming a student of his craft. Phil Spector was the one guy whom Brian looked up to most and helped to shape him as a producer. Phil Spector's "Be My Baby" came on the radio one day while Brian was driving down the road and he instantly had an epiphany and later studied the song so much until he wrote his own version called "Don't Worry Baby" (Howard, 2004, p. 56, 57).  Marijuana and LSD played a great role in Wilson's career as a producer and writer. These drugs opened his mind to new musical inventions and song construction. This type of drug experimentation plus the release of "The Beatles" new album "Rubber Soul" later led to the creation of the album entitled "Pet Sounds".  The sound of this album was unlike any other music out during this time period. Wilson crafted and orchestrated a new sound by using and experimenting with new instruments. The song arrangements were pieced together in a very unusual but creative way that seemed to give the album its unique sound and qualities. A lot of session players were used instead of the normal group members as on most of their previous releases. The lyrical content of the album is what really sets it apart. It changed from the fun surfer music to a more deep and heartfelt sound content wise. From a listener standpoint, the album was very entertaining and kept my attention. As an industry professional, I was amazed by all the different tempo changes and carefully orchestrated arrangements. This was a truly well crafted piece of art.