The Beach Boys - The Pet Sounds Sessions Highlights [2LP]

Brian Wilson's studio genius comes into sharp focus on The Pet Sounds Sessions Highlights, a 180 gram double LP marking 60 years since Pet Sounds.

The selections come from The Pet Sounds Sessions, the 1997 box set that documented how the 1966 album was built, and gather a cappella mixes, alternate versions and tracking-session excerpts into one compact listen. The audio draws on both mono and stereo sources, offering a fly-on-the-wall view of the sessions.

Side one strips songs down to the vocals alone, and hearing Wouldn't It Be Nice and God Only Knows without instruments reveals just how intricate those harmonies really were. Elsewhere there are alternate takes and Brian Wilson's instrumental demo of Don't Talk (Put Your Head on My Shoulder), a delicate sketch of one of his most fragile songs.

The tracking-date highlights let you hear Wilson steering the session musicians, adjusting parts and chasing sounds only he could hear. The final side reaches into Good Vibrations, begun during the same period, with highlights from its tracking dates and a stereo backing track that shows just how much was going on underneath.

For anyone who has worn out their copy of Pet Sounds, it's a rare chance to hear how the magic was assembled, piece by careful piece.