0:00:02 > 0:00:09This programme contains some strong language.
0:00:28 > 0:00:31TRAIN HORN
0:00:31 > 0:00:33We experimented on Pet Sounds.
0:00:33 > 0:00:35I tried to write something better
0:00:35 > 0:00:37than the surf songs and car songs.
0:00:37 > 0:00:42It taps into all those feelings that we have as we're growing up
0:00:42 > 0:00:46that somehow he's been able to express, musically and lyrically.
0:00:46 > 0:00:50# Wouldn't it be nice if we were older
0:00:50 > 0:00:54# Then we wouldn't have to wait so long... #
0:00:54 > 0:00:59Pet Sounds, to me, is this beautiful marriage of a childlike innocence,
0:00:59 > 0:01:01emotional vulnerability and
0:01:01 > 0:01:04an adult sort of musical genius.
0:01:04 > 0:01:09# I keep looking for a place to fit in
0:01:09 > 0:01:14# Where I can speak my mind... #
0:01:14 > 0:01:17It was totally different to anything that was going on at that time.
0:01:17 > 0:01:20It was the leader, and everybody followed that.
0:01:20 > 0:01:24# I know there's an answer
0:01:24 > 0:01:28# I know now but I have to find it by myself... #
0:01:28 > 0:01:30Brian was a master of the studio.
0:01:30 > 0:01:33No-one was his equal.
0:01:33 > 0:01:34It'll always be somewhere.
0:01:34 > 0:01:36As long as you can hear music.
0:01:36 > 0:01:40# If you should ever leave me
0:01:40 > 0:01:43# Though life would still go on, believe me... #
0:01:43 > 0:01:45One of the greatest songs I've ever heard.
0:01:45 > 0:01:46That's the genius of it.
0:01:46 > 0:01:50People think, "Oh, I can do that." But they can't.
0:01:50 > 0:01:53It's something that only Brian could do, you know.
0:01:53 > 0:01:58# God only knows what I'd be without you... #
0:02:04 > 0:02:07My dad played a lot of music.
0:02:07 > 0:02:08He taught me how to play...
0:02:08 > 0:02:10HE PLAYS BOOGIE WOOGIE
0:02:10 > 0:02:12That kind of a bass line.
0:02:12 > 0:02:14Like boogie-woogie music.
0:02:14 > 0:02:17He had a song called His Little Darlin' And You.
0:02:17 > 0:02:22# He must return to his queen bee
0:02:22 > 0:02:25# for his little darlin' and me... #
0:02:25 > 0:02:27He wrote that song.
0:02:27 > 0:02:30And then he said, "Do you like it? And I said, "I love it!"
0:02:30 > 0:02:34He had a father in Murry Wilson who was classic showbiz.
0:02:34 > 0:02:37There was a lot of pressure on him, on many levels,
0:02:37 > 0:02:39to keep the family business going.
0:02:39 > 0:02:42As children, Mike and Brian would
0:02:42 > 0:02:48frequent the family singalongs, even back when they were little tykes.
0:02:48 > 0:02:51You know, they'd be in the car together, singing the stuff
0:02:51 > 0:02:55on the radio and making up silly words, so it was automatic.
0:02:55 > 0:02:58Just like it was automatic when Dennis was tossed the drumsticks
0:02:58 > 0:03:00and became a drummer overnight.
0:03:00 > 0:03:02It's like all of it just fell in.
0:03:02 > 0:03:04Brian's cousin Mike would help him
0:03:04 > 0:03:06with the words in the very beginning.
0:03:06 > 0:03:09They had a lot in common with, you know, their taste.
0:03:09 > 0:03:13There were the earlier rock and roll hits that were an inspiration
0:03:13 > 0:03:15to so many of us.
0:03:15 > 0:03:18Chuck Berry, Little Richard, and The Everly Brothers.
0:03:18 > 0:03:21Those three were big influences
0:03:21 > 0:03:25on both The Beatles and The Beach Boys as well.
0:03:25 > 0:03:28We had the additional influence of The Four Freshman
0:03:28 > 0:03:30who did this amazing harmony.
0:03:30 > 0:03:34Brian loved The Four Freshman so much.
0:03:34 > 0:03:39# Day by day you're making all my dreams come true
0:03:39 > 0:03:44# So come what may, I want you to know... #
0:03:44 > 0:03:48The Four Freshman taught me how to sing, you know, like high falsetto.
0:03:48 > 0:03:53And Brian just melded that sweet vocal harmony kind of a thing
0:03:53 > 0:03:58into something that was just sensational.
0:03:58 > 0:04:00Mike was big into doo-wop,
0:04:00 > 0:04:03with the bom-boms and the doop-doops.
0:04:06 > 0:04:09It started when we were asked to do a folk song, and we said,
0:04:09 > 0:04:12"Well, we like folk music,
0:04:12 > 0:04:15"but we're really more into R&B and rock and roll."
0:04:15 > 0:04:17Brian and I got around the piano,
0:04:17 > 0:04:20and came up with the song Surfin', a very simple song.
0:04:20 > 0:04:23- # We're going surfin' - (Bom bom dip di dit)
0:04:23 > 0:04:28- # Surfin' - (Bom bom dip di dit)... #
0:04:28 > 0:04:32It was a R&B-influenced song with the bom-bom dip-di-dip-dit-dips,
0:04:32 > 0:04:34but it was about surfing.
0:04:34 > 0:04:38It was a way of life, a way of dress, a way of talking,
0:04:38 > 0:04:40an attitude, a lifestyle.
0:04:40 > 0:04:42Capitol were always looking for the younger acts.
0:04:42 > 0:04:46Murry Wilson there, The Beach Boys' dad, had sent in a demo record
0:04:46 > 0:04:49to Voyle Gilmore, who was then head of A&R at Capitol.
0:04:49 > 0:04:53And Voyle gave it to Nik Venet, who was one of our producers there,
0:04:53 > 0:04:56to listen to, and Nik came running into my office and said,
0:04:56 > 0:04:58"You got to hear this."
0:04:58 > 0:05:00I listened to it, it just knocked me out.
0:05:00 > 0:05:02And I said, "Oh, my gosh, we got to sign them right now
0:05:02 > 0:05:05"before we lose them," you know.
0:05:05 > 0:05:07And we did Surfin', and it did really well
0:05:07 > 0:05:09in about half a dozen markets.
0:05:09 > 0:05:14But then Surfin' Safari became a reasonably big hit.
0:05:14 > 0:05:16# Let's go surfin' now
0:05:16 > 0:05:18# Everybody's learnin' how
0:05:18 > 0:05:20# Come on and safari with me... #
0:05:20 > 0:05:23Well, the sun was always shining for a start.
0:05:23 > 0:05:27And everybody was gorgeous, and on the beach and all that.
0:05:27 > 0:05:30I never aspired to go surfing or anything like that, frankly,
0:05:30 > 0:05:33but just to be there and see all these people and, you know,
0:05:33 > 0:05:36maybe go on a date with a guy like that would be smashing.
0:05:36 > 0:05:38That's what we liked.
0:05:38 > 0:05:41I spoke to Brian about it after, and he said, "I love the lifestyle,
0:05:41 > 0:05:44"and I'm an observer, I love the sunshine and the whole
0:05:44 > 0:05:47"kind of fashion thing that go es with it, but I'm not into surfing
0:05:47 > 0:05:49"because I don't swim."
0:05:49 > 0:05:51That was a bit of a revelation.
0:05:51 > 0:05:55And then Surfin' USA in 1963 was number one.
0:05:55 > 0:05:56Surfing and girls.
0:05:56 > 0:05:58Girls, big on girls songs.
0:05:58 > 0:06:00And school.
0:06:00 > 0:06:03So it kind of appealed to everyone, really, didn't it?
0:06:03 > 0:06:06The Midwest...they didn't know from surfing.
0:06:06 > 0:06:09It was the hotrod songs that got those guys going.
0:06:09 > 0:06:11# Little deuce coupe
0:06:11 > 0:06:13# You don't know what I got
0:06:13 > 0:06:15# Little deuce coupe
0:06:15 > 0:06:16# You don't know what I got
0:06:16 > 0:06:20# Well I'm not braggin' babe so don't put me down
0:06:20 > 0:06:23# But I've got the fastest set of wheels in town
0:06:23 > 0:06:26# When something comes up to me he don't even try
0:06:26 > 0:06:30# Cos if I had a set of wings man I know she could fly
0:06:30 > 0:06:32# She's my little deuce coupe
0:06:32 > 0:06:35# You don't know what I got... #
0:06:35 > 0:06:36I mean, they loved the surfing records,
0:06:36 > 0:06:39they loved the hotrod records, I'm talking about the marketing guys
0:06:39 > 0:06:42and the promotion guys who had to go out and promote these things.
0:06:42 > 0:06:44But I can remember when Brian wanted to put out...
0:06:44 > 0:06:47I think it was Little Surfer Girl.
0:06:47 > 0:06:49And the guys, the promotion guys, went,
0:06:49 > 0:06:51"Oh, this is going to kill it, it's a ballad," you know.
0:06:51 > 0:06:55Brian said, "No, this is going to be..." You know. And Surfer Girl was a wonderful record.
0:06:55 > 0:06:58I copied the Four Freshman singer, the high singer.
0:06:58 > 0:07:01And I wrote Surfer Girl like...
0:07:01 > 0:07:04# Little Surfer...
0:07:04 > 0:07:07# Little one
0:07:07 > 0:07:14# Made my heart come all undone
0:07:14 > 0:07:17# Do you love me
0:07:17 > 0:07:22# Do you, surfer girl...? #
0:07:22 > 0:07:25So, you had your surfing and your beach life, your car songs,
0:07:25 > 0:07:28but also everybody had to go to school.
0:07:28 > 0:07:31So we wrote a song called Be True To Your School.
0:07:31 > 0:07:33# Hey, hey, take it away, get that ball and fight
0:07:33 > 0:07:34# So, be true to your school
0:07:34 > 0:07:36# (Rah rah rah rah sis boom bah)
0:07:36 > 0:07:38# Just like you would to your girl or guy
0:07:38 > 0:07:40# (Rah rah rah rah sis boom bah)
0:07:40 > 0:07:42# Be true to your school now... #
0:07:42 > 0:07:45I mean, we had our education pretty much set out for us.
0:07:45 > 0:07:47Brian was our music teacher,
0:07:47 > 0:07:50and just being on the road was our Rhodes scholar stuff.
0:07:50 > 0:07:53We were on the road 100 days a year or more,
0:07:53 > 0:07:55and in the studio that many.
0:07:55 > 0:07:57So it was getting tough.
0:07:57 > 0:07:59I think Brian went through a crisis.
0:07:59 > 0:08:03I mean, the end of '64, The Beach Boys had been touring relentlessly,
0:08:03 > 0:08:07as they did in those days. They used to work those bands so hard.
0:08:07 > 0:08:10And then the British invasion scared him to death.
0:08:10 > 0:08:12He thought, "It's all over,
0:08:12 > 0:08:14"The Beatles are going to take it
0:08:14 > 0:08:16"over and that's it, we're out of business."
0:08:16 > 0:08:18And he was the centre of this,
0:08:18 > 0:08:21because obviously he was the main man with The Beach Boys.
0:08:21 > 0:08:25So, in addition to doing all of the work in the studio and the writing,
0:08:25 > 0:08:31he'd have to do all the publicising and all the promoting.
0:08:31 > 0:08:33Look at all those jobs he had.
0:08:33 > 0:08:38And anybody would cave in at some point, it's too much.
0:08:38 > 0:08:42We observed him being quite unhappy being out on the road
0:08:42 > 0:08:46and away from home, and not everyone is suited for that life.
0:08:46 > 0:08:49He couldn't handle a lot of the things that went along with that,
0:08:49 > 0:08:53like the travelling, the loudness of it, it hurt his ear,
0:08:53 > 0:08:56he was having trouble hearing out of his... He's deaf in one ear.
0:08:56 > 0:08:59I saw him have a breakdown on an airplane.
0:08:59 > 0:09:02I was sitting right next to him, thinking,
0:09:02 > 0:09:06"Well, this is it, it's over. He's not going to recover from this."
0:09:06 > 0:09:11Well, I wanted to spend more time at my house, writing songs at home.
0:09:11 > 0:09:14And...
0:09:14 > 0:09:16So, I told the guys, "I'm going to stop touring."
0:09:16 > 0:09:20Nobody could sing like Brian in terms of that falsetto,
0:09:20 > 0:09:23and he played the bass with us in our live shows.
0:09:23 > 0:09:28So, it was not a happy occurrence to see
0:09:28 > 0:09:31him leave the live group.
0:09:31 > 0:09:34Capitol, on the other hand, was thinking,
0:09:34 > 0:09:37"Well, if he can make some more records, and make them as good
0:09:37 > 0:09:39"or better than they are, there's an up side to that, too."
0:09:39 > 0:09:43So, there wasn't a great deal of worry, as far as Capitol was concerned.
0:09:43 > 0:09:48Brian Wilson's decision to get off the road and to get into the studio
0:09:48 > 0:09:51is one of the most profound moments in rock history,
0:09:51 > 0:09:56because it really is when Brian Wilson, I think, intuitively decided
0:09:56 > 0:09:58that he was going to be an artist.
0:09:58 > 0:10:04That he could spend more time writing, arranging and recording
0:10:04 > 0:10:06the tracks, to which we would sing
0:10:06 > 0:10:08when we would come back off of a tour.
0:10:08 > 0:10:12He found that his instrument was the recording studio.
0:10:12 > 0:10:18You could really hear instrumentation that was unique to rock music.
0:10:18 > 0:10:22And I personally think the opening strands of California Girls
0:10:22 > 0:10:24is like an overture.
0:10:29 > 0:10:31It sounds symphonic to me.
0:10:31 > 0:10:34Just the whole dynamic of it, it's beautiful.
0:10:36 > 0:10:44# Well, East Coast girls are hip, I really dig those styles they wear
0:10:44 > 0:10:48# And the Southern girls with the way they talk
0:10:48 > 0:10:51# They knock me out when I'm down there... #
0:10:51 > 0:10:54Brian was growing exponentially,
0:10:54 > 0:10:57out of that three to four year time period since we started.
0:10:57 > 0:10:59He really blossomed.
0:10:59 > 0:11:02Everybody can see Brian evolve as a songwriter-composer.
0:11:02 > 0:11:05He even said so himself when our first album was just released,
0:11:05 > 0:11:08that he was already talking about down the road, when he was going to
0:11:08 > 0:11:10produce all of this wonderful music.
0:11:10 > 0:11:13And he just kept true to his word.
0:11:13 > 0:11:17# I wish they all could be California
0:11:17 > 0:11:23# I wish they all could be California girls... #
0:11:23 > 0:11:26The Beach Boys were, up till that point,
0:11:26 > 0:11:29sort of an embodiment of the California dream.
0:11:29 > 0:11:34And the success of girls/surf/cars/school
0:11:34 > 0:11:39brought in the ability to have budgets to keep recording and
0:11:39 > 0:11:42experimenting, and now he's got
0:11:42 > 0:11:46a pack of brilliant musicians in the studio.
0:11:46 > 0:11:48Most people know them as The Wrecking Crew, and they were
0:11:48 > 0:11:52basically the top LA session players, people who'd come up
0:11:52 > 0:11:57through the jazz scene, who played on everything from Sonny and Cher
0:11:57 > 0:12:01to Frank Sinatra to Mamas and Papas, and a lot of Phil Spector's records.
0:12:01 > 0:12:03They were on pretty much everything.
0:12:03 > 0:12:06He didn't rely on The Beach Boys' band so much any more,
0:12:06 > 0:12:08because he didn't have to.
0:12:08 > 0:12:10The minute those guys were on the road,
0:12:10 > 0:12:14he was really in the lab, experimenting.
0:12:14 > 0:12:18One of the tracks he did was Sloop John B, which...
0:12:18 > 0:12:20The idea for that came from Alan Jardine.
0:12:20 > 0:12:25Growing up as a teenager in Hawthorne, California, we were all
0:12:25 > 0:12:31mesmerised by this folk...this evolution of folk music that
0:12:31 > 0:12:34happened around the late '50s, early 60s.
0:12:34 > 0:12:38And here comes this amazing trio, The Kingston Trio.
0:12:38 > 0:12:41# We come on the Sloop John B
0:12:41 > 0:12:45# My grandfather and me... #
0:12:45 > 0:12:49So I wanted to share my joy of that with the guys.
0:12:49 > 0:12:53And I started messing around with some folk songs again.
0:12:53 > 0:12:58And, by golly, that darn old Kingston Trio stuff started coming back.
0:12:58 > 0:13:00# Well, I feel so break up
0:13:00 > 0:13:04# I want to go home... #
0:13:04 > 0:13:09Al Jardine loved folk music so much, and when he was in high school,
0:13:09 > 0:13:12he would sing the Kingston Trio music,
0:13:12 > 0:13:14and he always wanted to record it.
0:13:14 > 0:13:18Without Al's interest, I don't think Brian would have ever recorded it.
0:13:18 > 0:13:21I thought, "If I put it in his language, put it in a way that he'll
0:13:21 > 0:13:27"understand it, and give it a little oomph, a little power,
0:13:27 > 0:13:30"a little change, get off the folk rhythm,
0:13:30 > 0:13:33"get on to the Beach Boy rhythm...."
0:13:33 > 0:13:36He actually showed Brian the chords and so on, like that.
0:13:36 > 0:13:38This is probably how I played it.
0:13:38 > 0:13:40HE PLAYS UPBEAT RHYTHM
0:13:43 > 0:13:45A little more tempo.
0:13:49 > 0:13:52And here's the difference.
0:13:52 > 0:13:53HE PLAYS MINOR CHORD
0:13:56 > 0:14:00There's the key, there's the turnaround that actually makes the vocals work.
0:14:00 > 0:14:02They become magical.
0:14:02 > 0:14:04Because we've added a minor.
0:14:04 > 0:14:06And we did it together.
0:14:06 > 0:14:10I told him I would adapt the melody and make an arrangement to it.
0:14:10 > 0:14:12The next day, he had an arrangement done on it.
0:14:12 > 0:14:15He surprised the hell out of me.
0:14:15 > 0:14:19And he came up with quite a stunning track.
0:14:19 > 0:14:22Let's have the flutes one more time.
0:14:22 > 0:14:25Could I hear...?
0:14:25 > 0:14:27One more.
0:14:27 > 0:14:29Right there, don't move! Don't move.
0:14:29 > 0:14:32All right, let's make it. Here we go, Sloop John B.
0:14:36 > 0:14:40# We come on the Sloop John B
0:14:40 > 0:14:44# My grandfather and me
0:14:44 > 0:14:50# Around Nassau town we did roam
0:14:50 > 0:14:54# Drinking all night
0:14:54 > 0:14:59# Got into a fight
0:14:59 > 0:15:02# Well, I feel so broke up
0:15:02 > 0:15:07# I wanna go home
0:15:07 > 0:15:12# So hoist up the John B's sail... #
0:15:12 > 0:15:15Downbeats. Unheard of. Just downbeat.
0:15:15 > 0:15:17# Call for the captain ashore
0:15:17 > 0:15:21# Let me go home
0:15:21 > 0:15:22# Let me go home... #
0:15:22 > 0:15:26Building a track was something that Brian was very good at.
0:15:26 > 0:15:28It was a very simple part, obviously.
0:15:28 > 0:15:29It would get more elaborate.
0:15:30 > 0:15:36And, except for the intro, the horns and the flutes haven't played yet, they will come in here.
0:15:37 > 0:15:41# The first mate he got drunk
0:15:41 > 0:15:45# And broke in the captain's trunk
0:15:45 > 0:15:50# The constable had to come and take him away... #
0:15:50 > 0:15:55It's somehow the visualisation of being on that ship,
0:15:55 > 0:15:59watching those waves, watching the sails.
0:15:59 > 0:16:02To me, it's all visual.
0:16:02 > 0:16:08Just something to spice up the feeling of being on the ocean.
0:16:09 > 0:16:13So, we're towards the end of the song...
0:16:13 > 0:16:16and you'll see that Hal's part changes.
0:16:16 > 0:16:19DRUMS BECOME BUSIER
0:16:19 > 0:16:23"Now another 16 bars. We want it bigger."
0:16:23 > 0:16:25DRUMMING INTENSIFIES
0:16:25 > 0:16:28And it's still changing.
0:16:28 > 0:16:31So, the rougher seas, maybe.
0:16:31 > 0:16:33And it's getting bigger and bigger and bigger,
0:16:33 > 0:16:36and now I'm playing straight eighths.
0:16:36 > 0:16:38With two drums.
0:16:38 > 0:16:41Which is one of the tricks I always had with The Beach Boys.
0:16:41 > 0:16:44Snare drum and a floor tom-tom.
0:16:44 > 0:16:46So, you're getting the highs of the snare,
0:16:46 > 0:16:49the lows of the floor tom-tom.
0:16:49 > 0:16:50# So hoist up the John B
0:16:50 > 0:16:53# Hoist up the John B... #
0:16:53 > 0:16:55Of course, he didn't invite me to the session,
0:16:55 > 0:16:57which I thought was kind of rude.
0:16:57 > 0:17:00But, you know, I quickly forgave him, because, you know,
0:17:00 > 0:17:02he was on a roll, man.
0:17:02 > 0:17:05He was on fire. So I just backed off.
0:17:05 > 0:17:08I thought, "You know what? He got it. I got through!"
0:17:08 > 0:17:11And that was the main thing.
0:17:11 > 0:17:14What you see with The Beach Boys, right before Pet Sounds,
0:17:14 > 0:17:17is that rock and roll was about getting a hit.
0:17:17 > 0:17:21It was always about the next hit and just giving you something that maybe
0:17:21 > 0:17:24sounded enough like the last one to get another hit.
0:17:24 > 0:17:27Oh, man. We became like a touring jukebox.
0:17:27 > 0:17:29Yeah.
0:17:29 > 0:17:31We were like a jukebox band.
0:17:31 > 0:17:34Really, that idea of the rock and roll album was just beginning
0:17:34 > 0:17:37to exist, you know, it's really...
0:17:37 > 0:17:43The Beatles, around Rubber Soul, step up the game in a major way.
0:17:43 > 0:17:49Anything and everything The Beatles did was worth paying notice to.
0:17:49 > 0:17:53And it was an inspiration, Rubber Soul in particular.
0:17:55 > 0:17:57Brain Wilson is very introspective, melancholy.
0:17:57 > 0:18:00He might have been afraid to express himself that way.
0:18:00 > 0:18:03The Rubber Soul album by The Beatles, I think, might have
0:18:03 > 0:18:06sparked Brian, opened a little window for him.
0:18:06 > 0:18:09# Nowhere man, please listen
0:18:09 > 0:18:13# You don't know what you're missing
0:18:13 > 0:18:16# Nowhere man
0:18:16 > 0:18:20# The world is at your command... #
0:18:20 > 0:18:24"Maybe I can be, you know, introspective in my art and
0:18:24 > 0:18:27"express my melancholy through songs and stuff."
0:18:27 > 0:18:30You could see there that he was, you know,
0:18:30 > 0:18:33something's going on in this guy's head.
0:18:33 > 0:18:37It's not the average, "My girlfriend left me at the high school dance."
0:18:37 > 0:18:39There was something more going on.
0:18:39 > 0:18:43I experimented on Pet Sounds, I tried to write something better
0:18:43 > 0:18:45than the surf songs and car songs.
0:18:45 > 0:18:48Maybe my favourite Brian song of all time is
0:18:48 > 0:18:52I Just Wasn't Made For These Times. It's where he hits the truth.
0:18:52 > 0:18:57# I keep looking for a place to fit in
0:18:57 > 0:19:02# Where I can speak my mind... #
0:19:02 > 0:19:05The first line.
0:19:05 > 0:19:08How many people in this world haven't felt that way?
0:19:08 > 0:19:10I'm looking for a place to fit in.
0:19:10 > 0:19:12"I'm just looking for a place where I can speak my mind."
0:19:12 > 0:19:15I think that really crystallises
0:19:15 > 0:19:18a lot of the impetus behind Pet Sounds.
0:19:18 > 0:19:22Brian was finding a place to really express himself.
0:19:22 > 0:19:27# And I've been trying hard to find the people
0:19:27 > 0:19:31# That I won't leave behind... #
0:19:31 > 0:19:34That was like a social statement, like saying I thought that I was
0:19:34 > 0:19:36a little bit out of time.
0:19:36 > 0:19:39I thought I was a little ahead of my time.
0:19:39 > 0:19:43We had talked about that idea even before we did some of the other
0:19:43 > 0:19:47songs, so I think it was something that kind of up came up occasionally
0:19:47 > 0:19:50as we were discussing lyric ideas.
0:19:50 > 0:19:52They're not clever-clever.
0:19:52 > 0:19:55None of the lyrics on those, on Pet Sounds are clever-clever.
0:19:55 > 0:19:58They all just get right to the heart and say what they've got to say.
0:19:58 > 0:20:05# They say I got brains but they ain't doin' me no good
0:20:05 > 0:20:08# I wish they could... #
0:20:08 > 0:20:10It just had a feeling of, like,
0:20:10 > 0:20:13"I wish I could find people that could help me find a cooler place,"
0:20:13 > 0:20:15you know?
0:20:15 > 0:20:16It's a simple song.
0:20:16 > 0:20:20But when you hear the vocal stuff on it, it's not a simple song,
0:20:20 > 0:20:22it's not that easy to do.
0:20:22 > 0:20:27The harmonies are the distinctive quality of The Beach Boys' recordings.
0:20:27 > 0:20:32I think that's the one thing that is very, you know,
0:20:32 > 0:20:35unique to The Beach Boys, the refinement of the harmonies and the
0:20:35 > 0:20:37closeness of the harmonies,
0:20:37 > 0:20:40and the warmth of the harmonies, and the blend.
0:20:40 > 0:20:45There's something that is in their DNA, I guess, you know?
0:20:45 > 0:20:48They've got that... They come from the same heritage.
0:20:48 > 0:20:50Singing is an expression of your self, you know?
0:20:50 > 0:20:53Your feelings.
0:20:53 > 0:20:58And... So, me and my brothers sang together, because we're a family.
0:20:58 > 0:21:01Three brothers and my cousin Mike,
0:21:01 > 0:21:03so we blend together very well, very good.
0:21:03 > 0:21:09Al Jardine, Mike Love, Carl Wilson, Brian Wilson, Dennis Wilson.
0:21:09 > 0:21:14Those timbres. In fact, now slide me in there - zip! Now there's six,
0:21:14 > 0:21:18and listen to, on the Pet Sounds album, this track called
0:21:18 > 0:21:20I Just Wasn't Made For These Times.
0:21:20 > 0:21:22There's six of us singing!
0:21:22 > 0:21:26# Each time things start to happen again
0:21:26 > 0:21:31# I think I got something good going for myself
0:21:31 > 0:21:35# But what goes wrong?
0:21:35 > 0:21:39# Sometimes I feel very sad
0:21:39 > 0:21:45# Ain't find the right thing I can put my heart and soul into
0:21:45 > 0:21:46# Sometimes I feel very sad
0:21:49 > 0:21:56There's a quality and a blend about the voices that they...
0:21:56 > 0:21:58that nobody has copied.
0:21:58 > 0:22:01I mean, there's been tribute bands who, obviously, copied them,
0:22:01 > 0:22:06but nobody has been able to reach that height of...
0:22:06 > 0:22:10To me, it's quite jazzy, and that's one of the reasons I like it.
0:22:10 > 0:22:14But that height of sophistication, musically, and the sound...
0:22:14 > 0:22:16It was unique.
0:22:16 > 0:22:22# I guess I just wasn't made for these times
0:22:22 > 0:22:26# I guess I just wasn't made for these times
0:22:26 > 0:22:33# I guess I just wasn't made for these times... #
0:22:33 > 0:22:37I Just Wasn't Made For These Times is kind of an artistic statement,
0:22:37 > 0:22:40saying, "I am not going to fit into my times,
0:22:40 > 0:22:43"I'm going to determine them." And he did.
0:22:43 > 0:22:47You know, he did, the Beatles did, and Bob Dylan, they all
0:22:47 > 0:22:52stopped trying to make pop music in the traditional sense and tried to
0:22:52 > 0:22:56make art, and that's why popular music became art.
0:23:00 > 0:23:05I met Brian Wilson the first time at Capitol Recording Studios.
0:23:05 > 0:23:07I was working for an advertising agency.
0:23:07 > 0:23:13It was part of my job, I was doing jingles and writing commercials.
0:23:13 > 0:23:17# Lucky Locket Kiddles Lucky Locket Kiddles. #
0:23:17 > 0:23:20That was it. That was the whole jingle. And it was two notes.
0:23:20 > 0:23:22And so effective.
0:23:22 > 0:23:26And so, I go outside the studio, and I walk down the hall, and I guess
0:23:26 > 0:23:30I just ran into Brian, and the two of us were standing there.
0:23:30 > 0:23:32We started talking. He said, "Hi, how are you?" You know...
0:23:32 > 0:23:34- IMPERSONATES BRIAN:- Hi, how are you?
0:23:34 > 0:23:36It's kind of a Brian thing.
0:23:36 > 0:23:38And I said, "Great, how are you? What are you working on?"
0:23:38 > 0:23:42And he said, "Oh, we're doing some stuff. Hey, you want to listen to this?"
0:23:42 > 0:23:46I was very impressed with some of the stuff I heard
0:23:46 > 0:23:49in that session, because they were not finished tracks.
0:23:49 > 0:23:51It was sublime.
0:23:51 > 0:23:54I mean, it was really... I couldn't have imagined anything better, you know?
0:23:54 > 0:23:57Tony was a very mellow person. He was a very nice guy.
0:23:57 > 0:24:00Kind of low-key, he wasn't a real peppy guy,
0:24:00 > 0:24:02he was kind of low-key.
0:24:02 > 0:24:05I went back to doing what I was doing and I didn't know
0:24:05 > 0:24:06if I would ever see him again.
0:24:06 > 0:24:08A few weeks later, I got a phone call.
0:24:08 > 0:24:11I was surprised, because I thought, "Why would he be calling me?"
0:24:11 > 0:24:14You know, I mean... Just to say,
0:24:14 > 0:24:16"Hey, it was fun the other day," or something, you know?
0:24:16 > 0:24:17It didn't seem to make sense.
0:24:17 > 0:24:20Well, he was good with words for those advertisements.
0:24:20 > 0:24:23I asked him if he could write lyrics, and he said, "Sure, I can write lyrics."
0:24:23 > 0:24:27And he said, "Well, I'm just sitting around at the piano, I thought maybe
0:24:27 > 0:24:30"you might want to, you know, do some stuff together.
0:24:30 > 0:24:36"The boys are in Japan." And he said, "I don't really have anybody to write with."
0:24:36 > 0:24:38So, he came to my house and we started writing Pet Sounds.
0:24:38 > 0:24:42# Wouldn't it be nice if we were older
0:24:42 > 0:24:46# Then we wouldn't have to wait so long
0:24:46 > 0:24:50# And wouldn't it be nice to live together
0:24:50 > 0:24:54# In the kind of world where we belong
0:24:54 > 0:24:59# You know it's gonna make it that much better
0:24:59 > 0:25:03# When we can say goodnight and stay together... #
0:25:03 > 0:25:07Tony Asher's contribution is fantastic.
0:25:07 > 0:25:10He is a marvellous writer.
0:25:10 > 0:25:12Well, I knew he was great, you know.
0:25:12 > 0:25:16He liked the way I wrote melodies, and I liked his lyrics.
0:25:16 > 0:25:20We wrote during the day, and he would come to my house, and he would
0:25:20 > 0:25:23have his paper and his pen, and I would write a little bit
0:25:23 > 0:25:25and then he would write a little lyrics.
0:25:25 > 0:25:29He must have just felt it was someone who would listen to him,
0:25:29 > 0:25:33and who could help channel him through lyrics.
0:25:33 > 0:25:36They're all great,
0:25:36 > 0:25:40and I really like the work that Tony Asher did.
0:25:40 > 0:25:44The fact that Brian just meets a guy who's in advertising and somehow
0:25:44 > 0:25:48ends up writing some of the most important lyrics of all time
0:25:48 > 0:25:52with this man, Tony Asher, that are timeless.
0:25:52 > 0:25:55It's just... It's kind of inexplicable.
0:25:55 > 0:25:58Well, he had the knack for making people feel good.
0:25:58 > 0:26:03I thought that was a nice, young idea for a song, which is...
0:26:03 > 0:26:06You know, "Wouldn't it be nice if we were older?"
0:26:06 > 0:26:09When I was 14 and I came into the business...
0:26:09 > 0:26:11Well, when I was 14 and whatever I'd have done,
0:26:11 > 0:26:13I thought I was so grown up.
0:26:13 > 0:26:15We were, the girls, anyway.
0:26:15 > 0:26:16The fellas...
0:26:16 > 0:26:19But we...we thought we were so grown up.
0:26:19 > 0:26:21And we wanted to be older, to be able to be free to do this
0:26:21 > 0:26:24and to do that, and not have our parents tell us, "No, you can't."
0:26:24 > 0:26:28Asher was clever in that way, and the way that he had an ambiguity
0:26:28 > 0:26:31to his lyrics which had essentially a very simple message
0:26:31 > 0:26:33taken at face value.
0:26:33 > 0:26:37But if you go into it, you find that there's a more...
0:26:37 > 0:26:42spiritual side to it, and a more complex message coming across.
0:26:42 > 0:26:49The album is the sound of him trying to explore becoming an adult.
0:26:49 > 0:26:54Because I think he may have had a sort of delayed go at that.
0:26:54 > 0:26:56Great song.
0:27:00 > 0:27:02There's the explosion...
0:27:04 > 0:27:07You're trying to get Hal to play the intro the way you want.
0:27:07 > 0:27:08Right.
0:27:08 > 0:27:10STUDIO RECORDING: Hal, here's how I want to do it.
0:27:10 > 0:27:13Take it... It's like this. Da-da-da-da-da-da-boom!
0:27:13 > 0:27:15- Two...three...four...- Boom.
0:27:15 > 0:27:17I wanted Hal to hit the drum as hard as he could
0:27:17 > 0:27:19so that we can get an echo.
0:27:26 > 0:27:30# Wouldn't it be nice if we were older
0:27:30 > 0:27:34# Then we wouldn't have to wait so long
0:27:34 > 0:27:38# And wouldn't it be nice to live together
0:27:38 > 0:27:41# In the kind of world where we belong...? #
0:27:41 > 0:27:44Everybody was doing that.
0:27:44 > 0:27:46You know, double voicing, double tracking.
0:27:46 > 0:27:49So, we tried it. We wanted to do it like everybody else.
0:27:49 > 0:27:51DOUBLE-TRACKED VOCALS
0:27:54 > 0:27:57The thing I've always loved about this track is that when you take the
0:27:57 > 0:28:03leads out and just play the backgrounds and the backing track,
0:28:03 > 0:28:06if you will, it's such an amazing...
0:28:08 > 0:28:11Where are the voices? In the background.
0:28:11 > 0:28:14There they are.
0:28:14 > 0:28:15The Beach Boys.
0:28:15 > 0:28:19# Wouldn't it be nice if we could wake up
0:28:19 > 0:28:23# In the morning when the day is new
0:28:23 > 0:28:26# And after having spent the day together
0:28:26 > 0:28:31# Hold each other close the whole night through...? #
0:28:31 > 0:28:32Yeah.
0:28:32 > 0:28:34Wouldn't It Be Nice?
0:28:34 > 0:28:35Total stress.
0:28:35 > 0:28:37Brings back good memories.
0:28:37 > 0:28:40That was one that was just never quite right.
0:28:40 > 0:28:43And it just...in his mind,
0:28:43 > 0:28:45he could not... He just didn't hear it. He wasn't hearing it.
0:28:45 > 0:28:48You know, "Come on, guys, you can do better than that."
0:28:48 > 0:28:54Brian was between a hipster and...
0:28:54 > 0:28:57one of your famous British Generals that was tough.
0:28:57 > 0:28:58He was tough.
0:28:58 > 0:29:01He demanded everything from everybody.
0:29:01 > 0:29:05Wouldn't It Be Nice is upbeat and fabulous, it's a great arrangement.
0:29:05 > 0:29:09We worked many hours doing...
0:29:09 > 0:29:12perfecting the harmonies on that one.
0:29:12 > 0:29:14That was a labour of love.
0:29:14 > 0:29:16That's for sure.
0:29:16 > 0:29:19Do you remember why you decided to put Mike back in the bridge
0:29:19 > 0:29:21on Wouldn't It Be Nice? To back up...?
0:29:21 > 0:29:24Yeah, because I wanted him to take part in that song.
0:29:24 > 0:29:27# Maybe if we think and wish and hope and pray
0:29:27 > 0:29:30# It might come true
0:29:32 > 0:29:38# Baby then there wouldn't be a single thing we couldn't do
0:29:38 > 0:29:43# We could be married... #
0:29:43 > 0:29:48I was stunned, sometimes, by how much he...
0:29:50 > 0:29:53had going on in his head that I never dreamed was there,
0:29:53 > 0:29:55because, you know, you can't hear it until you can hear it.
0:29:55 > 0:29:59I wanted to record Wouldn't It Be Nice at Gold Star
0:29:59 > 0:30:01because it has a good echo chamber, and I like the echo.
0:30:01 > 0:30:05Be My Baby, Brian has probably listened to that more than he's
0:30:05 > 0:30:09listened to any other song, or songs combined.
0:30:09 > 0:30:12He would play it repeatedly, incessantly.
0:30:12 > 0:30:16He was mesmerised by Be My Baby by The Ronettes,
0:30:16 > 0:30:18but produced by Phil Spector.
0:30:18 > 0:30:20And then the bass line...
0:30:23 > 0:30:28It had a great bass line and a great melody and a great singer, Ronnie.
0:30:28 > 0:30:30# So won't you please
0:30:30 > 0:30:32# Be my, be my baby
0:30:32 > 0:30:33# Be my little baby
0:30:33 > 0:30:36# My one and only baby
0:30:36 > 0:30:37# Say you'll be my darling
0:30:37 > 0:30:39# Be my, be my baby
0:30:39 > 0:30:42# Be my baby now
0:30:42 > 0:30:44# Whoa-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh... #
0:30:44 > 0:30:47Phil had a huge impact on him.
0:30:47 > 0:30:52Brian loved that "wall of sound" that Phil Spector had,
0:30:52 > 0:30:55and he loved the records that Phil Spector made,
0:30:55 > 0:30:57and Phil was a genius, too, you know,
0:30:57 > 0:30:59he was making hit after hit after hit.
0:30:59 > 0:31:02# Be my, be my baby
0:31:02 > 0:31:04# Be my little baby
0:31:04 > 0:31:07# My one and only baby...#
0:31:07 > 0:31:09Phil Spector got word about us,
0:31:09 > 0:31:14and Phil came and we started working at Gold Star for Phil.
0:31:14 > 0:31:19Almost everything we touched with Phil Spector became giant hits.
0:31:19 > 0:31:20Big hits.
0:31:20 > 0:31:23And he was calling us the Wall of Sound.
0:31:23 > 0:31:26There would be four or five guitar players,
0:31:26 > 0:31:30three or four piano players, always one drummer.
0:31:31 > 0:31:34Two bass players, he liked to use an upright bass player
0:31:34 > 0:31:36with a Fender bass player.
0:31:36 > 0:31:39And then he would have a percussion section, and that was it.
0:31:39 > 0:31:40We were all in one room.
0:31:40 > 0:31:42But it made a wonderful sound.
0:31:42 > 0:31:46And Brian fell in love with that sound.
0:31:46 > 0:31:50He wanted the same enthusiasm,
0:31:50 > 0:31:53he wanted the same musicians.
0:31:53 > 0:31:56There were four or five of us who were always with Brian.
0:31:56 > 0:32:00The Wall of Sound, you have to give Phil Spector credit for building it.
0:32:00 > 0:32:04But I think the wall that Brian built was more textured,
0:32:04 > 0:32:06and much more subtle.
0:32:06 > 0:32:11There's just sort of a musicality to Brian's work that goes beyond
0:32:11 > 0:32:13what Spector ever dreamed of.
0:32:24 > 0:32:29# I came along when he broke your heart
0:32:29 > 0:32:32# That's when you needed someone
0:32:32 > 0:32:34# To help forget about him... #
0:32:34 > 0:32:38Well, I wanted to mix up a love song with a happy song.
0:32:38 > 0:32:39Put the two together.
0:32:39 > 0:32:43It's too easy to give all the credit to Brian and Tony Asher.
0:32:43 > 0:32:45I'm Waiting For The Day is great, and that's not Tony Asher,
0:32:45 > 0:32:48that's an example of Mike having real skill as a writer.
0:32:48 > 0:32:52We were dealing with emotions, and Waiting For The Day is a
0:32:52 > 0:32:56beautiful way of saying that you find something special in someone
0:32:56 > 0:33:00and they may not be ready at that moment in time to engage.
0:33:00 > 0:33:04But you find that they're worth waiting for.
0:33:04 > 0:33:10# I kissed your lips when your face looked sad
0:33:10 > 0:33:13# It made me think about him
0:33:13 > 0:33:16# And that you still loved him so... #
0:33:16 > 0:33:20Brian is such an artist that he allowed the genius of these players
0:33:20 > 0:33:22to also come into the equation.
0:33:22 > 0:33:25No-one appreciated these great players more than Brian.
0:33:25 > 0:33:30This was the very beginnings of rock and roll, remember.
0:33:30 > 0:33:34Many musicians refused to play rock and roll music.
0:33:34 > 0:33:37They said it's junk, it's garbage, it's rotten, it's dirty.
0:33:37 > 0:33:40Because they were always in suits and ties, you know, very straight.
0:33:40 > 0:33:43No smoking, you know.
0:33:43 > 0:33:48Who knew that we were going to move in and take over this kind of thing?
0:33:48 > 0:33:52And then the guys that were doing all the movie calls, the film calls,
0:33:52 > 0:33:55said, "Those guys are going to wreck the business."
0:33:55 > 0:33:58The tracking was fun, I think, for him,
0:33:58 > 0:34:02because he got to hang with The Wrecking Crew, and just experiment
0:34:02 > 0:34:05to heck, and spend as much money as he wanted, you know.
0:34:05 > 0:34:08He was like a kid in a candy shop.
0:34:08 > 0:34:14These players could play anything, and Brian just had this
0:34:14 > 0:34:19baby symphony pool of amazing musicians to work with.
0:34:20 > 0:34:28# I'm waiting for the day when you can love again. #
0:34:35 > 0:34:37It was extremely unusual to see
0:34:37 > 0:34:40a female musician working in the studios.
0:34:40 > 0:34:44Carol Kaye was a standout woman in her own right in that capacity.
0:34:44 > 0:34:48She was the best, she was better than any men around, so, you know,
0:34:48 > 0:34:50why not use the best?
0:34:50 > 0:34:52WALKING BASS
0:34:52 > 0:34:54I always love that walking line.
0:34:55 > 0:34:57STUDIO RECORDING: In fact, go like this...
0:34:57 > 0:35:01Dun-doo-de-doo-de-doo-de-doo-de-doo- de-doo-de-doo-de-boom!
0:35:01 > 0:35:04WALKING BASS
0:35:07 > 0:35:09Carol Kaye's bass sound
0:35:09 > 0:35:14is a really subtle undertone to a lot of Pet Sounds.
0:35:14 > 0:35:17But it's there like an anchor. It's there in I'm Waiting For The Day.
0:35:17 > 0:35:22Quite driving guitar and drums, really pushing the song along,
0:35:22 > 0:35:27and then you've got her cool bass notes in there, just anchoring it,
0:35:27 > 0:35:29you know, keeping it grounded.
0:35:29 > 0:35:32Well, she was very creative, and she played right on the beat, you know.
0:35:32 > 0:35:37She wouldn't, like, flub up, she would play right on the beat.
0:35:37 > 0:35:41When we used to record in those days, we made decisions.
0:35:41 > 0:35:42Nothing was left until later,
0:35:42 > 0:35:45because we only had three to four tracks.
0:35:45 > 0:35:48If you were putting the rhythm all on one track, and when you got your
0:35:48 > 0:35:53sounds, you put your delays in, you did your echo, you did it live,
0:35:53 > 0:35:54and that's the sound I hear in my head,
0:35:54 > 0:35:56that's what I want, let's record it.
0:35:56 > 0:36:00# It starts with just a little glance now
0:36:00 > 0:36:04# Right away you're thinking about romance now
0:36:04 > 0:36:08# You know you ought to take it slower
0:36:08 > 0:36:12# But you just can't wait to get to know her
0:36:12 > 0:36:17# A brand-new love affair is such a beautiful thing
0:36:19 > 0:36:21# But if you're not careful
0:36:21 > 0:36:24# Think about the pain it can bring... #
0:36:24 > 0:36:27it's very much the album of someone in their 20s.
0:36:27 > 0:36:31That youthful exploration of love.
0:36:31 > 0:36:33And there's existential angst in there.
0:36:33 > 0:36:39I was experiencing, you know, love and...
0:36:39 > 0:36:41having those kinds of...
0:36:41 > 0:36:44You know, it was that time in my life, you know.
0:36:44 > 0:36:49The quest of the mid-'60s was to define what love is.
0:36:49 > 0:36:52That's what the counterculture was all about.
0:36:52 > 0:36:56It feels genuine to me, when I listen to that stuff.
0:36:56 > 0:37:00# Right now you think that she's perfection
0:37:00 > 0:37:04# This time is really an exception
0:37:04 > 0:37:08# Well, you know I hate to be a downer
0:37:08 > 0:37:11# But I'm the guy she left before you found her... #
0:37:11 > 0:37:15We experimented with the musicians a lot, you know.
0:37:15 > 0:37:20It was all experimentation, and it went on and on for about two months
0:37:20 > 0:37:22to get the album recorded.
0:37:22 > 0:37:26He had different relationships with different people, from the best I can tell.
0:37:26 > 0:37:30And that's why he would go from studio to studio
0:37:30 > 0:37:33searching out a particular feeling that he was looking for.
0:37:33 > 0:37:34And that was a real departure,
0:37:34 > 0:37:37because all the other Capitol artists had to record at Capitol,
0:37:37 > 0:37:39or it was a slap in the face at Capitol.
0:37:39 > 0:37:42But we let him record where he wanted to record.
0:37:42 > 0:37:44He was bringing in great records.
0:37:44 > 0:37:47Brian never came in before two o'clock.
0:37:47 > 0:37:52It was almost always at Western Studios, Studio Three,
0:37:52 > 0:37:54which was a small studio, and
0:37:54 > 0:37:57he'd say, "I have a new song.
0:37:57 > 0:38:01"I'm writing a new song, and I want to record it."
0:38:01 > 0:38:06He would start out... He basically knew where it was going to go.
0:38:06 > 0:38:08A lot of times, we didn't know,
0:38:08 > 0:38:10and you've got to remember that we were looking at songs
0:38:10 > 0:38:12that didn't have titles on it.
0:38:12 > 0:38:14It was just the chord sheets,
0:38:14 > 0:38:17or maybe a few sketched out lines that Brian would write.
0:38:17 > 0:38:20I would hand them all their manuscript papers that I wrote,
0:38:20 > 0:38:23then I'd take each guy and say,
0:38:23 > 0:38:26"Let me hear the bass player play it for a minute." We'd get them.
0:38:26 > 0:38:30Then I'd do the guitar players, the pianos, and the horns.
0:38:30 > 0:38:34I talked to them individually and collectively.
0:38:34 > 0:38:36They were all good, good for it, for me.
0:38:36 > 0:38:41He would sing parts to the guys, and they would write it down.
0:38:41 > 0:38:44He would lay out the rhythm the way that he wanted it,
0:38:44 > 0:38:46and the bass lines.
0:38:46 > 0:38:48I mean, he would work the chart in the room
0:38:48 > 0:38:50before he went into the control room.
0:38:50 > 0:38:52Because he had it up here.
0:38:52 > 0:38:54They took my direction.
0:38:54 > 0:38:57I would tell them what to play and they'd play it.
0:38:57 > 0:38:58That's organ...
0:39:00 > 0:39:02tack piano together.
0:39:02 > 0:39:05There were always three pianos.
0:39:05 > 0:39:11And it was a special tuning that we arrived at.
0:39:11 > 0:39:14I worked with the piano tuner to try different things, and I did put
0:39:14 > 0:39:18tacks on the head of each hammer,
0:39:19 > 0:39:23and Brian immediately was attracted to it,
0:39:23 > 0:39:26and it became kind of a signature sound.
0:39:32 > 0:39:34TACK PIANO PLAYS
0:39:34 > 0:39:37# Love is here
0:39:37 > 0:39:40# Today, and it's gone
0:39:40 > 0:39:43# Tomorrow, it's here
0:39:43 > 0:39:49# And gone so fast... #
0:39:49 > 0:39:53They knew he was a special guy, musically.
0:39:53 > 0:39:58And sometimes they'd help him write something down in a part,
0:39:58 > 0:40:01but it was all up here in his head,
0:40:01 > 0:40:05and he somehow communicated it to all the players, and sometimes...
0:40:05 > 0:40:08"Brian, you can't do that." And then they'd play it and you'd get,
0:40:08 > 0:40:11"That's pretty good, Brian." You know, it was so cool.
0:40:11 > 0:40:13I would try to develop the arrangement
0:40:13 > 0:40:15to fit the song, the melody.
0:40:15 > 0:40:17You know, I would write the melody and then I would try to make the
0:40:17 > 0:40:20arrangements kind of like surround the melody.
0:40:20 > 0:40:23And we started getting reports about it.
0:40:23 > 0:40:26"Brian's doing something really special, guys.
0:40:26 > 0:40:27"He really is."
0:40:27 > 0:40:29But we were on tour in Japan.
0:40:29 > 0:40:31As soon as we got back, we began to listen to the material.
0:40:31 > 0:40:34I mean, he couldn't wait for us to get down to the studio.
0:40:34 > 0:40:37He didn't care about jet lag or any of that stuff.
0:40:37 > 0:40:40It didn't mean anything to him.
0:40:40 > 0:40:43But it was... It was sobering.
0:40:43 > 0:40:45We had to really buckle down.
0:40:45 > 0:40:48Now, in the case of Here Today, and about half of Pet Sounds,
0:40:48 > 0:40:52Brian cut the vocals at CBS up the street.
0:40:52 > 0:40:56I think, primarily, because they had the only one-inch eight-track in town.
0:40:56 > 0:40:59A couple three-tracks of backgrounds.
0:40:59 > 0:41:03# Right away you're thinking 'bout romancing... #
0:41:03 > 0:41:07HARMONY VOCALS
0:41:07 > 0:41:10- Again, they're probably doubled or tripled.- Doubled, yeah.
0:41:10 > 0:41:12I think he's a visionary.
0:41:12 > 0:41:16He is a musical visionary, as well as a social...
0:41:16 > 0:41:19In a social context as well, a visionary.
0:41:21 > 0:41:24He sees things I don't think the rest of us see.
0:41:24 > 0:41:28You know, and hears things, certainly, that we don't hear.
0:41:28 > 0:41:30So, he's one of those special...
0:41:30 > 0:41:35He's got a special receiver going on up there in his brain.
0:41:35 > 0:41:41Brian truly is the most gifted music person that I've ever met.
0:41:41 > 0:41:45I hate it when they call him genius, because... And they're right, but
0:41:45 > 0:41:49don't do that, that's too big of a load to carry on your shoulders.
0:41:49 > 0:41:50But he's so gifted.
0:41:50 > 0:41:55He didn't realise his talent.
0:41:55 > 0:41:57I still think he doesn't.
0:41:57 > 0:42:02One of the magical things about Brian is he was able to describe
0:42:02 > 0:42:04without having it on the written page
0:42:04 > 0:42:07exactly the sound that he heard.
0:42:07 > 0:42:10Boy, then you'd hear them as they were
0:42:10 > 0:42:13transformed, really, in that process.
0:42:13 > 0:42:16It was staggering.
0:42:16 > 0:42:18And when he heard it, that was it.
0:42:18 > 0:42:20And that was The Beach Boys' sound.
0:42:20 > 0:42:22I don't know what your definition of genius is,
0:42:22 > 0:42:25but he certainly might be.
0:42:25 > 0:42:27I think genius just means clever.
0:42:27 > 0:42:30I don't think it really has any real meaning.
0:42:30 > 0:42:33It just means you're good at something, genius-like, you know.
0:42:33 > 0:42:36Like Albert Einstein was a genius.
0:42:36 > 0:42:40# Hang on to your ego
0:42:40 > 0:42:45# Hang on, but I know that you're gonna lose the fight
0:42:47 > 0:42:50# They come on like their peaceful
0:42:50 > 0:42:56# But inside they're so uptight
0:42:56 > 0:43:01# They trip through the day and waste all their thoughts at night
0:43:04 > 0:43:09# Now how can I say it
0:43:09 > 0:43:11# And how can I come on
0:43:11 > 0:43:14# When I know I'm guilty...? #
0:43:14 > 0:43:17There was a lot of LSD around.
0:43:17 > 0:43:21Brian heard that sometimes the acid
0:43:21 > 0:43:27gives you certain colours that you didn't know existed, et cetera, et cetera.
0:43:27 > 0:43:30Well, I think he was experimenting a little bit then, too.
0:43:30 > 0:43:33He told us that he was doing acid during California Girls,
0:43:33 > 0:43:35so... "Oh."
0:43:35 > 0:43:38I was very sceptical about doing any of that stuff.
0:43:38 > 0:43:41I looked askance at anything
0:43:41 > 0:43:46having to do with that kind of drug culture influence.
0:43:46 > 0:43:50# Hang on to your ego
0:43:50 > 0:43:56# Hang on, but I know that you're gonna lose the fight... #
0:43:56 > 0:44:02Mike disagreed on Hang On To Your Ego, which allegedly is...
0:44:02 > 0:44:05if you take LSD, you have to hang on to your ego.
0:44:05 > 0:44:08You know, and he didn't really think that fit the image
0:44:08 > 0:44:11of The Beach Boys to allude to that.
0:44:11 > 0:44:13To me, that...
0:44:13 > 0:44:16that was a little too drug-influenced.
0:44:16 > 0:44:19You know, this track has been subject to all kinds of speculation
0:44:19 > 0:44:24and contention that, you know, this was the track that got fought over
0:44:24 > 0:44:27and that Mike didn't like the lyrics.
0:44:27 > 0:44:30ISOLATED VOCAL TRACK: # They come on like they're peaceful
0:44:30 > 0:44:34MOCKING: # But inside they're so uptight... #
0:44:34 > 0:44:36Why don't I do a Jimmy Durante?
0:44:36 > 0:44:41They come on like they're peaceful, but inside they're so uptight!
0:44:41 > 0:44:43OK, I'm sorry.
0:44:43 > 0:44:44- We'll do another take for our own, OK?- OK.
0:44:44 > 0:44:47- Another take like that as soon as we're done, OK?- Check.
0:44:47 > 0:44:51All I was saying is I would make my feelings known if I felt it was
0:44:51 > 0:44:54going too far out on a limb lyrically,
0:44:54 > 0:44:58or conceptually, having
0:44:58 > 0:45:02some relationship to some kind of drugs and stuff like that.
0:45:02 > 0:45:04I didn't know what an ego was at the time,
0:45:04 > 0:45:06but I learned very quickly.
0:45:06 > 0:45:08So, I came up with an alternative lyric
0:45:08 > 0:45:10called I Know There's An Answer.
0:45:10 > 0:45:14# I know there's an answer
0:45:14 > 0:45:20# I know now, but I had to find it by myself... #
0:45:32 > 0:45:34But the two exist.
0:45:34 > 0:45:38But I Know There's An Answer is what came out on the Pet Sounds issue.
0:45:38 > 0:45:44It is my great suspicion that the experimentation that had to happen
0:45:44 > 0:45:46for Brian to become the great artist that he was
0:45:46 > 0:45:48had nothing to do with chemicals.
0:45:48 > 0:45:52If drugs made you a genius, we'd have a lot more Pet Sounds,
0:45:52 > 0:45:54and we do not.
0:45:54 > 0:45:59He didn't necessarily explain what it was he was trying to do,
0:45:59 > 0:46:01but he acknowledged that this was different stuff.
0:46:01 > 0:46:04He said, "I don't want to keep doing the same stuff over and over."
0:46:04 > 0:46:07If you went back and looked at all of The Beach Boys' stuff
0:46:07 > 0:46:12that was created prior to that, there was a sameness to it.
0:46:12 > 0:46:16And it was good, very good, and it wasn't like anybody was getting
0:46:16 > 0:46:19tired of it, really, I don't think,
0:46:19 > 0:46:23but, you know, what Mike said, "Don't fuck with the formula."
0:46:23 > 0:46:25He said, "Why are we trying to...?
0:46:25 > 0:46:30"We've got this great thing, and until somebody can show me that it's
0:46:30 > 0:46:33"not working, why are we
0:46:33 > 0:46:35"fumbling around trying to find something else?"
0:46:35 > 0:46:37Well, that's not a crazy question,
0:46:37 > 0:46:41I mean, that's a reasonable question to ask.
0:46:41 > 0:46:43But Brian saw it a whole different way, which was,
0:46:43 > 0:46:46"God, I've done that, it's boring, I'm tired of it."
0:46:46 > 0:46:49And that was something that would never have occurred to Mike.
0:46:49 > 0:46:51And he said, "Don't mess with the formula,"
0:46:51 > 0:46:55and I said, "I want to advance to a better music place."
0:46:55 > 0:46:59We wouldn't have had as good an album if I didn't. You know?
0:46:59 > 0:47:06Part of that, I think, led to me getting a bad rap for,
0:47:06 > 0:47:11quote-unquote, not liking Pet Sounds or something, which is absolute...
0:47:11 > 0:47:15You know, it's just an absolute falsehood.
0:47:15 > 0:47:19Because not only did I name the album Pet Sounds,
0:47:19 > 0:47:23and went with Brian to present it to Capitol Records,
0:47:23 > 0:47:27but I sang on every single song that was sung on.
0:47:27 > 0:47:29I was very satisfied. Tony was, too.
0:47:29 > 0:47:31We both were.
0:47:31 > 0:47:34We both thought we'd really achieved a good album.
0:47:34 > 0:47:36Brian and I went off to Capitol Records to
0:47:36 > 0:47:41play it for Karl Engemann, who was the A&R man for Capitol Records.
0:47:41 > 0:47:43Capitol Records loved The Beach Boys.
0:47:43 > 0:47:48I mean, they didn't criticise them in any way, except they thought that
0:47:48 > 0:47:51maybe going in the direction that Pet Sounds wasn't something that...
0:47:51 > 0:47:54It wasn't going to be as wonderful as
0:47:54 > 0:47:56the hotrod records,
0:47:56 > 0:47:58the surfing records, those kinds of things.
0:47:58 > 0:48:02Well, I couldn't understand why they didn't like it. I said, "This is good music."
0:48:02 > 0:48:04They said, "But it's not commercial music."
0:48:04 > 0:48:06Brian thought it would never be released,
0:48:06 > 0:48:12because Capitol wanted that surf thing, that's what was selling.
0:48:12 > 0:48:14So they didn't release it, and a little bit later,
0:48:14 > 0:48:17a few weeks later, they said, "OK, we'll release it."
0:48:17 > 0:48:21So, they released it on the market, and it didn't sell very good.
0:48:21 > 0:48:25It hadn't gone the same height on the charts as some of the prior
0:48:25 > 0:48:29records, so Capitol, right away, in order to make quota,
0:48:29 > 0:48:32they went and put out a Best Of The Beach Boys.
0:48:32 > 0:48:35We were in competition with our history.
0:48:35 > 0:48:37The faith of the label was right there, everybody.
0:48:37 > 0:48:39"We have Pet Sounds out!
0:48:39 > 0:48:43"By the way, we're going to put out Best Of The Beach Boys, Volume One."
0:48:43 > 0:48:45Can you believe that?
0:48:45 > 0:48:47It's just so asinine.
0:48:47 > 0:48:49And it didn't do as well as some of the other albums,
0:48:49 > 0:48:52and it might have if there had been more of a spirit
0:48:52 > 0:48:55within the company of, "No, this is great and we're going to
0:48:55 > 0:48:57"push this thing and take it right to where it should be."
0:48:57 > 0:49:01Well, it's not what we were expecting. I would say we were actually grateful for that.
0:49:01 > 0:49:04My God, you know. Why do you want only what people expect, you know?
0:49:04 > 0:49:06That's... How sad, you know, that is.
0:49:06 > 0:49:09They just didn't understand it, you know.
0:49:09 > 0:49:10The direction...
0:49:10 > 0:49:14They didn't know what to do with it. They're a marketing firm.
0:49:14 > 0:49:17How do you market The Beach Boys with Pet Sounds?
0:49:17 > 0:49:19"Well, we'll send you down to the San Diego Zoo
0:49:19 > 0:49:22"and we'll photograph you with a bunch of damned goats."
0:49:22 > 0:49:24I mean, what's that all about?
0:49:24 > 0:49:27That was the biggest miscarriage of justice of all.
0:49:27 > 0:49:29MUSIC: Pet Sounds by The Beach Boys
0:50:17 > 0:50:22After the album was mixed, Bruce is off to England.
0:50:22 > 0:50:25I took two copies of Pet Sounds with me.
0:50:25 > 0:50:29With the sole intention of promoting the album
0:50:29 > 0:50:31and playing it to people for the first time.
0:50:31 > 0:50:33You know, and Derek Taylor was our publicist,
0:50:33 > 0:50:38and he just set up about 25 interviews for me.
0:50:38 > 0:50:41I got to meet him at the Waldorf Hotel.
0:50:41 > 0:50:43Journalists came over.
0:50:43 > 0:50:45I think that's where I met Keith Altham.
0:50:45 > 0:50:48And one of his people came and said,
0:50:48 > 0:50:51"Oh, Lennon and McCartney are in your room.
0:50:51 > 0:50:54"They want to hear the album. Can you go up and play it to them?"
0:50:54 > 0:50:58I played them the album, and they heard it two times,
0:50:58 > 0:51:00and they were delightful.
0:51:00 > 0:51:02And he played it to them twice. They loved it.
0:51:02 > 0:51:05Paul McCartney said God Only Knows was the perfect song.
0:51:05 > 0:51:11STUDIO RECORDING: This will be take one. Take one. God Only Knows.
0:51:11 > 0:51:14One, two...
0:51:14 > 0:51:17INSTRUMENTAL TRACK
0:51:19 > 0:51:21Nice. Nice, Don...
0:51:39 > 0:51:45OK, could we go to the spot where the ba-dah, duh-dah, doo-doo-doo...
0:51:45 > 0:51:46That spot?
0:51:46 > 0:51:48Well, that part was...
0:51:48 > 0:51:54HE PLAYS LONG NOTES
0:51:54 > 0:51:56And it was bothering Brian.
0:51:56 > 0:51:59And we had done it a number of times.
0:51:59 > 0:52:01And my suggestion was,
0:52:01 > 0:52:03"Brian, why don't we play it short?"
0:52:03 > 0:52:05He said, "What do you mean?"
0:52:05 > 0:52:09HE PLAYS SHORTER NOTES
0:52:09 > 0:52:10Almost pizzicato.
0:52:10 > 0:52:11- Brian?- Yeah.
0:52:11 > 0:52:14Why don't we do it short, like this?
0:52:14 > 0:52:17HE PLAYS TACK PIANO
0:52:22 > 0:52:25We'll try it.
0:52:26 > 0:52:27Yeah, I remember that.
0:52:27 > 0:52:30Bom-bap! Yeah.
0:52:30 > 0:52:34- Don Randi kind of came up with that...- Right.- ..to play it staccato.
0:52:34 > 0:52:38It's so musical that it's a pleasure to play with it.
0:52:38 > 0:52:41I don't think Brian ever realised that what he was doing was
0:52:41 > 0:52:44so incredibly wonderful.
0:52:44 > 0:52:47God Only Knows makes a deep love song, because Tony Asher had
0:52:47 > 0:52:50a lot of love and his heart, and he wrote great love lyrics.
0:52:50 > 0:52:53A match made in heaven for those two.
0:52:53 > 0:52:58The could evolve something like that into such perfection.
0:52:58 > 0:53:00One of the greatest love songs of all time begins with
0:53:00 > 0:53:02"I may not always love you," which is, you know,
0:53:02 > 0:53:06the antithesis of what people want in a love song.
0:53:06 > 0:53:09We held each other up to a certain standard, and said,
0:53:09 > 0:53:12"You know, we don't want to do that same old stuff,
0:53:12 > 0:53:15another love song, "I love you because..." You know, whatever.
0:53:15 > 0:53:17So, that's how...
0:53:18 > 0:53:23When I would come up with a line like "I may not always love you,"
0:53:23 > 0:53:28Brian might have said at the time,
0:53:28 > 0:53:30"What?" You know.
0:53:30 > 0:53:31But he would only have said it once.
0:53:31 > 0:53:35And if I said, "Don't worry about it, Brian, that's a good line," he would have said, "OK,"
0:53:35 > 0:53:38and then he would listen to it a few times and say, "Yeah, I like it."
0:53:38 > 0:53:42I think "I may not always love you" was the great line that he wrote.
0:53:42 > 0:53:46# I may not always love you
0:53:46 > 0:53:50# But long as there are stars above you
0:53:50 > 0:53:54# You'll never need to doubt it
0:53:54 > 0:53:59# I'll make you so sure about it
0:53:59 > 0:54:05# God only knows what I'd be without you... #
0:54:05 > 0:54:08I'm surprised Brian didn't sing it himself.
0:54:08 > 0:54:11But he wanted Carl to have it.
0:54:11 > 0:54:15# Though life would still go on, believe me
0:54:15 > 0:54:19# The world could show nothing to me
0:54:19 > 0:54:23# So what good would living do me
0:54:23 > 0:54:29# God only knows what I'd be without you... #
0:54:29 > 0:54:32Carl had an ethereal voice. Beautiful.
0:54:32 > 0:54:37Brian understood the great character of the voices in The Beach Boys,
0:54:37 > 0:54:40and wrote to those characters beautifully.
0:54:40 > 0:54:44And it's not like Brian was the best voice for all of his songs.
0:54:44 > 0:54:49I remember when I first ever heard the record of God Only Knows,
0:54:49 > 0:54:51when that came out, I was blown away.
0:54:51 > 0:54:55Again, the harmonies, the intricacy of the arrangements.
0:54:55 > 0:54:58It was wonderful, and to actually be asked to go on tour with them
0:54:58 > 0:54:59was a thrill.
0:54:59 > 0:55:02And now come the backgrounds.
0:55:02 > 0:55:07ISOLATED HARMONY BACKING VOCALS
0:55:17 > 0:55:23# God only knows what I'd be without you
0:55:25 > 0:55:28# If you should ever leave me
0:55:28 > 0:55:32# Though life would still go on, believe me
0:55:32 > 0:55:36# The world could show nothing to me
0:55:36 > 0:55:41# So what good would living do me?
0:55:41 > 0:55:47# God only knows what I'd be without you... #
0:55:47 > 0:55:49I think they liked the lyrics,
0:55:49 > 0:55:51because it's a great love song and a great love lyric.
0:55:51 > 0:55:54They all told me they liked it. They said, "I love this song!"
0:55:54 > 0:55:56They told me that.
0:55:56 > 0:55:57There's Bruce.
0:56:02 > 0:56:05- # God only knows what I'd be without you...- #
0:56:05 > 0:56:07And there's the part you didn't use.
0:56:07 > 0:56:09- Bam-bop-bop...- Right.
0:56:10 > 0:56:12Although I always liked it.
0:56:12 > 0:56:14- I didn't use that.- No.
0:56:14 > 0:56:19The first time I really got what he was doing was God Only Knows.
0:56:20 > 0:56:21We talked about...
0:56:23 > 0:56:26something very esoteric, within, like a family,
0:56:26 > 0:56:30a brother has a secret but allows you to know it in an art form.
0:56:30 > 0:56:36He was able to organise his thoughts to a point where they were
0:56:36 > 0:56:41hypnotic, but yet entertaining, meaningful, and spiritual, too.
0:56:41 > 0:56:43For want of a better phrase, it's where rock and roll
0:56:43 > 0:56:45becomes a religious experience.
0:56:45 > 0:56:49This sentiment in it, that he has in it, towards...
0:56:49 > 0:56:52God only knows how much I love you, you know, only God knows,
0:56:52 > 0:56:54because it's a feeling within myself,
0:56:54 > 0:56:57that nobody else can know except God.
0:56:57 > 0:57:02# God only knows what I'd be without you
0:57:02 > 0:57:05# God only knows what I'd be without you
0:57:05 > 0:57:06# God only knows... #
0:57:06 > 0:57:09# God only knows what I'd be without you... #
0:57:09 > 0:57:12I was so inspired that I wrote a great album.
0:57:12 > 0:57:14I knew people would like it. I knew they would.
0:57:14 > 0:57:17Half a century later, we're still reckoning with this record
0:57:17 > 0:57:23because Brian went as deep as pop music can go.
0:57:23 > 0:57:25It put the standards up.
0:57:25 > 0:57:28It said, "This is how good it can be, and you better go away and think
0:57:28 > 0:57:31"about it, Mr Lennon and McCartney,
0:57:31 > 0:57:33"Mr Jagger and Richards, Mr Townshend.
0:57:33 > 0:57:36"You better go away and think about what you're doing next,
0:57:36 > 0:57:38"because it could be this good."
0:57:38 > 0:57:40It was...
0:57:40 > 0:57:43Something that hadn't been done before,
0:57:43 > 0:57:45and everything else came after that.
0:57:45 > 0:57:47It took 20 years for it to go platinum.
0:57:47 > 0:57:50It was ridiculous how long it took.
0:57:50 > 0:57:53And yet, at the same time, it was regarded so highly.
0:57:53 > 0:57:55One of the great albums of all time,
0:57:55 > 0:57:57maybe the greatest album of all time.
0:57:57 > 0:57:59It's a piece of art.
0:57:59 > 0:58:02Sonic art, vocal art, that'll last forever.
0:58:02 > 0:58:04It has everything in it.
0:58:04 > 0:58:08It has really fabulous chord structures, arrangements,
0:58:08 > 0:58:11performance, great songs to sing.
0:58:13 > 0:58:15Yeah, he did something in Pet Sounds, all right.
0:58:15 > 0:58:18He opened the door for a lot of people.
0:58:18 > 0:58:20But especially me.
0:58:20 > 0:58:22A lot of people are uplifted by it.
0:58:22 > 0:58:25He grew immensely during that time,
0:58:25 > 0:58:28and he's being rewarded for it now, 50 years later.
0:58:28 > 0:58:29Isn't that nice?
0:58:29 > 0:58:32My love for music inspires me.
0:58:32 > 0:58:33I love music.
0:58:33 > 0:58:37# I had to prove that I could make it alone now
0:58:37 > 0:58:41# But that's not me
0:58:41 > 0:58:45# I wanted to show how independent I'd grown now
0:58:45 > 0:58:50# But that's not me
0:58:50 > 0:58:54# I could try to be big in the eyes of the world
0:58:54 > 0:58:58# What matters to me is what I could be
0:58:58 > 0:59:02# To just one girl... #