Pet Sounds Podcast Hits #1!

By Michael DeMartin

How about that? The Pet Sounds Podcast Series has jumped to #1 on the iTunes Most Popular Music Podcast Charts. Something we never thought about, but it's great that fans are responding to the tune of literally thousands of streams per day. Of course we'd like to take credit for it, but really it's all about Pet Sounds and the incredible album that Brian put together with the boys. This album will live forever and no matter what configuration Capitol releases it in, we'll keep buying it.

Regarding the new package: It is really cool (I guess the green fuzzy cover is supposed to represent the Zoo) and the booket is great reading. The DVD is a lot of fun and though most of that content has been available before, it's great to have it in one place. Plus, Brian talking with George Martin about songwriting is worth the price of admission alone.

The package they're selling in iTunes is cool too: obviously there's no DVD (although you get a promo video you can watch on your video iPod) but they do have the box set up with all the alternate tracks as well as tracks-only and vocals-only versions. These are absolutely revelatory to those who haven't heard these tracks yet. Want to make records for a living? Just listen to this and it will have to inspire you - or make you want to quit making music forever.

Anyway, back to the Podcasts: Joe Vella (who co-produced) and I would like to thank the great guys at Capitol for letting us run wild with this. Thank you to Michael Ruthig, John Owen, Billy Smith for all your support and help. Thanks to Wendy and Dick at Toolshed for helping to get the word out. And, of course, thanks to Brian, Mike, Al and Bruce for being so supportive - you guys are the best.

But, stay tuned, because the series will continue to rollout throughout October 10 (see schedule at right) and the espiodes get better and better. Enjoy the Good Vibrations!

Pet Sounds 40th Anniversary Contest on Lighthearted Boy Blog

By Michael DeMartin

Cool blog post and contest information on Largehearted Boy. Here's the first paragaph:

I have not always been a fan of the Beach Boys. I remember going music shopping with my brother years ago, and having little spending money in our pockets (we were 10 & 11 at the time), we decided to dig through the bargain bins. My brother chose the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds, and I chose Neil Young's soundtrack album, Journey Through the Past. Even at that young age, I sensed we were moving in two different musical directions.

YOU CAN READ THE COMPLETE TEXT BY CLICKING ON THE TITLE OF THIS POST. IT WILL TAKE YOU TO LARGEHEARTED BOY BLOG AND CONTEST.

Bullz-Eye Pet Sounds Review

By Michael DeMartin

A great review (5-stars) of the new Pet Sounds CD/DVD due tomorrow from Bullz-Eye, a really great site. Here's the first few paragraphs and a link to the complete article:

Wouldn’t it be nice if labels stopped reissuing classic albums over and over, each time adding a little some different to make the fans buy it once again? Maybe if we think and wish and hope and pray, it might come true…but, in the meantime, it’s hard to complain too much about the 40th anniversary reissue of the Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds.

Capitol has done an exemplary job of making this particular reissue worth the fans’ while. Studio geeks will already have picked up the label’s multi-disc box set dedicated to the album, which offers the ins and outs of the creation of Brian Wilson’s masterpiece, but this provides a nice middle ground between the pre-existing single disc version and that four disc monstrosity. (Well, come on, let’s get real: you’ve pretty much gotta be some kind of 9th-level fanboy to love an album so much that you need four discs worth of it.) Included is the original album in mono, followed by the bonus track, “Hang on to Your Ego”; immediately following that, however, is the original album in stereo. Plus, there’s a bonus DVD enclosed this time around.

YOU CAN READ THE COMPLETE TEXT BY CLICKING ON THE TITLE OF THIS POST. IT WILL TAKE YOU TO BULLZ-EYE.

Pet Sounds Podcast Series Starts With A Bang

By Michael DeMartin

So far, so good. The first podcast episode of the series (Album Overview) is a hit on iTunes: It's #38 on the Top 100 of ALL podcasts and #6 on the TOP MUSIC podcasts. And, we're just getting started. Tomorrow, two more will be made available: "Wouldn't It Be Nice" and "You Still Believe In Me." Suprisingly, Mike has some beautiful things to say about the latter, and if you listen closely, you can hear him choke up a little bit. Bruce's story about "Wouldn't It Be Nice" is very cool as well.

So, if you haven't checked out the Podcast series yet, click the link at right to subscribe to the series in iTunes, and the episodes will automatically download to your computer / iPod.

One more note: The Pet Sounds Podcast Series is also THE featured podcast in AOL music. Check 'em out!