0:00 Brian Wilson spent over seventy thousand dollars recording the backing tracks for 'Pet Sounds' in 1966, and his own band, The Beach Boys, barely played a note on them.0:12 Wait, seventy grand?0:14 That was a fortune then.0:16 And on our last episode, we talked about how studio accidents can define an album, but this sounds like the total opposite.0:25 It was the opposite.0:27 This wasn't an accident; it was an obsession.0:30 Brian had stopped touring with the band.0:33 So while they were in Japan playing "Surfin' U.S.A.", he was in Gold Star Studios in L.A.0:40 with a different group of musicians entirely.0:43 The Wrecking Crew.0:45 The Wrecking Crew.0:46 And it was...0:47 something else to see.0:49 You'd walk in, and the room would be packed.0:52 I mean, two bassists, two drummers, multiple guitarists, harpsichords, flutes, string sections.1:00 He was using them like an orchestra.1:02 He'd have, uh, someone like Carol Kaye playing this intricate bassline, and then another bassist just playing a single, droning root note underneath it all.1:14 So he was hearing layers that weren't there yet.1:18 He was composing in the studio, not just recording a song.1:22 Exactly.1:23 He had the whole arrangement in his head.1:26 He'd walk up to a seasoned pro, a guy who'd played on hundreds of hits, and hum a part to him.1:33 No sheet music.1:35 Just, "Can you make it sound like...1:37 this?" One time, for "You Still Believe in Me," the intro sound...1:42 it's a bicycle horn and a bell.1:45 He spent hours getting that right.1:47 A bicycle horn.1:49 So what happened when the actual Beach Boys got back from their tour?1:54 They walk into the studio, and Brian has essentially replaced them.1:59 That must have been...2:01 tense.2:01 Oh, it was beyond tense.2:03 I remember the day he played them the finished backing tracks.2:08 He was so excited, just buzzing.2:10 And he hits play, and this...2:12 this tidal wave of sound fills the control room.2:16 It's "Wouldn't It Be Nice," but with no vocals.2:20 Just this lush, complex, symphonic pop.2:23 And there's just...2:24 silence.2:25 Total silence?2:26 For a long moment.2:27 And then you could see it on their faces.2:30 Awe, for some.2:31 But for Mike Love, it was pure confusion.2:35 Maybe even betrayal.2:36 He famously asked Brian, "Who's gonna hear this stuff?2:40 The ears of a dog?" He wanted the formula.2:44 Cars, girls, surfing.2:45 And Brian was handing him this deeply personal, melancholy art.2:50 You know, it's a pattern you see everywhere, not just in music.2:55 It's the visionary founder who outpaces their original team.2:59 It's Steve Jobs coming back to Apple and demanding a level of design and perfection the company wasn't built for anymore.3:09 That's a great comparison.3:11 Brian was the founder, and he was trying to pivot the entire company.3:16 But here’s where the analogy breaks down a little.3:20 Mm-hm.3:20 A tech company is one thing.3:22 But a band...3:23 that’s supposed to be a gang.3:26 A brotherhood.3:27 And Brian was essentially saying, "I love you guys, but you can't help me build this next thing.3:34 Your voices are what I need, but your instruments aren't." He needed their harmonies to be the literal voices of angels floating over this complex orchestra he’d built without them.3:48 And that's the tragedy and the genius of it, right?3:52 The album wasn't a smash hit in the U.S.3:55 at first.3:56 It confused people.3:57 Capitol Records didn't even promote it properly.4:01 They were more excited about a greatest hits compilation.4:05 They absolutely were.4:07 But in England, Paul McCartney and John Lennon heard it and were floored.4:12 It directly inspired them to go and make 'Sgt.4:16 Pepper's'.4:17 So in a way, Brian lost the battle for the American charts in 1966, but he completely changed the war.4:25 He showed every musician what a recording studio could actually BE.4:30 It wasn't just a place to capture a performance.4:33 It was an instrument in itself.4:36 So he built this perfect, beautiful thing.4:39 This cathedral of sound.4:41 He did.4:41 But he almost ended up trapped inside it.
