I'm a big fan of the Beach Boys, which means that I must also love Pet Sounds, and I do. I was thinking that maybe somebody here would also be a fan of the album and was wondering if anybody here has bought the Pet Sounds Sessions Box Set? I was thinking of buying it myself, but I wanted to know the contents of the cd's and what you thought of the whole set before I do buy it. Thanks.

If Pet Sounds is one of your all-time favorite albums, this box set is a must-have.

Of each song it has:
- The original mono mix
- A stereo remix
- The instrumental backing track
- A vocals only mix
- Recording session highlights

And there are alternate versions of several tracks. Some with different lyrics, some with different lead vocalists, some with overdubs that were later deleted, etc.

Thanks a bunch. I'm definitely going to get it now. I wanted to know if there was a vocal only version and an instrumental only version of the album, so I'm going to get it now for sure. Thanks.

I reckon looking at Pet Sounds gives us an insight as to why The Beatles were so successful.
The covers- while Revolver straight away lets you know that something new and exciting is inside, Pet sounds is naff beyond belief. In an age of experimentation and the merging of art and rock this looks like it's from 1962. Absolutely no imagination or style at all. Awful. No hint of it being anything other than another collection of songs.

The music - while I acknowledge Pet Sounds influential status, I actually find it a quite dull listen. Apart from the odd exception there is a sameness in style and pace to the songs. Revolver benefits from the band having 2.5 songwriters and singers. The variety this gives the album lifts it out of the ordinary.

As with most things it shows that The Beatles were masters at taking influences from other artists and remodelling and packaging them in such a way as to make them suitable for a mass market (and again I don't mean this as a negative - it took great talent and skill no one else could do it.)

That's the way I used to feel about Pet Sounds, but after many many listens, I grew to love the album to the point that it is one of my favorite albums I own. I never listened to the intricate sounds the vocals or instruments were doing and the beauty in it. If there is an album that can make me tear up, it's this one.

I don't have the Pet Sounds special box, but I have a one-off CD of Pet Sounds session materials that came with the 4-cd Beach Boys box-set.  It's really cool to hear Brian producing--he gets exactly what he wants out of his session guys.  Amazing.  

There's really just one good way to listen to Pet Sounds: in complete darkness, over a pair of headphones, the volume fairly loud, and preferably in the stereo mix. If you're still not overwhelmed if you listen to it that way... Well... No offense, but than I can only feel sorry for you. To me that's really an overwhelming experience every time, no matter how often I hear it. It bring tears to my eyes, it makes me forget reality and makes me want to quit making music forever because I will never have even half the musical talent in my whole body that Brian Fucking Wilson had in his little toe at that time. Even listening to just the instrumental backing track or just the vocals is an amazing experience, and if you listen to both of them combined... Wow... Just wow... You hear about 20-30 instruments and 4 or 5 voices, and all of them are making heartbreakingly beautiful sounds at the same time. There are lots of really, really good albums out there, but to me nothing is even close to the league that Pet Sounds is in. Nothing, not even any of the Beatles' albums.

Quoted from Joost

There's really just one good way to listen to Pet Sounds: in complete darkness, over a pair of headphones, the volume fairly loud, and preferably in the stereo mix. If you're still not overwhelmed if you listen to it that way...

I shall take your advise and report back.

Quoted from Kevin

I shall take your advise and report back.

Have you got the stereo mix Kevin? If not, give me a shout and I'll upload it for you - it really does sound amazing, especially God Only Knows.

I bought this wonderful boxset a couple of years ago as i'm a huge
Pet Sounds nut!! this is my kinda thing listening back to the sessions