The Beatles And The Beach Boys
Battle For Perfection Via Rubber Soul, Pet Sounds and Sgt. Peppers
Sep 9, 2008
Popular music albums had up until the mid-1960s been uneven affairs. Most records would be built around two or three hit singles, with the rest of the material coming from subtle variations of the hits, covers of contemporary tracks, and old standards. As such, few long-players from popular music warrant attention in most 'Best Of' listings. Definitive records were mostly found outside of the mainstream, such as Kind Of Blue by Miles Davis or Brilliant Corners by Thelonius Monk.
The Beatles released their first album in March 1963, just over four months after The Beach Boys debuted with Surfin' Safari in October 1962. Both bands followed the usual pop template with these early releases, featuring mainly singles with the rest of the record filled up with covers and lightweight filler. A notable exception here is With The Beatles (1963), which sold over a million copies in Britain but did not produce any singles.
The Beatles: Rubber Soul
With each album, both bands developed. In 1964, A Hard's Day Night was released, featuring a track listing entirely written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney. The next year, Brian Wilson composed a side of dense, mature, and musically complex love songs for The Beach Boys Today! Both their albums and singles were selling in huge numbers, and with Rubber Soul the Beatles upped the ante again.
Again writing all their own material, and now featuring George Harrison tracks ('If I Needed Someone'), Rubber Soul featured the sitar, notable fuzz bass and more intellectual lyrics. Brian Wilson was inspired by the album, claiming it had no poor tracks, and was inspired to improve on this with his next project, the legendary Pet Sounds.
The Beach Boys: Pet Sounds
The success in the album's consistency lies in its structure - aside from 'Sloop John B' and its two instrumental cuts, the record details the course of a relationship, right from early glee ('Wouldn't It Be Nice') to a distant disappointment ('Caroline No'). Built on glorious harmonies, touching lyrics, and daring and inventive instrumentation, although not a huge commercial success initially, it pushed the Beatles on to newer heights.
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band arrived in 1967 with its iconic Peter Blake cover, and spent fifteen weeks on top of the Billboard chart. As expansive and inventive as Pet Sounds, the Beatles took in eastern sounds ('Lovely Rita'), LSD-influenced ideas ('Fixing A Hole') and production-laden narratives ('A Day In The Life') to create an advanced yet accessible record.
The Beach Boys: Good Vibrations
Brian Wilson had bridged the gap between Pet Sounds and the intended follow-up Smile with the single 'Good Vibrations', a million-seller in the United States. The track was intended for Pet Sounds but was not finished in time, instead taking six months to record in various studios and with numerous overdubs. Within its four minutes, the track featured ever-more complicated vocal arrangements, non-pop instruments such as a cello and theremin, and a production quality unheard of before.
Smile fell apart due to Brian Wilson's health issues, and instead cuts from the recordings appeared on several Beach Boys albums over the course of the next few years, notably 'Surf's Up' and 'Cabin Essence'.
With each Beach Boys record Wilson's influence faded, and so did the band's sales. The Beatles became increasingly embroiled in personal disputes and their albums, such as White Album and Let It Be lost the coherent nature of previous efforts. By 1970 they were no more, bringing to an end forever the friendly competition between the Beatles and the Beach Boys, which had lifted the pop album to heights it would rarely reach again.
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