So, I spent the better part of last evening comparing this latest mono mastering by Kevin Gray at his Cohearent Audio mastering facility, with: 1) a mint original Capitol issue, 2) the Brothers Records "twofer" with Carl and The Passions' So Tough (2MS 2083), 3) The Brothers Records stand-alone reissue (MS 2197), 4) The DCC Compact Classics reissue mastered by Steve Hoffman (cut by Kevin Gray) and the Capitol reissue of a few years ago. i agonized over which pressing to get for years...until the AP came out. thanks in part to this review! This record has so often been written about and reviewed that all I want to do here is get to the sound of this recent reissue mastered by Kevin Gray from the original analog tape, and compare it to previous issues.

Pet Sounds (1966, Los Angeles Pressing The Beach Boys – Pet Sounds (1966, Los Angeles Pressing

Band [The Beach Boys] – Al Jardine*, Brian Wilson, Bruce Johnston, Carl Wilson, Dennis Wilson (2), Mike Love Yes, I once declared the DCC Compact Classics edition best but I think that was before I heard the Carl and the Passions twofer! Now it's no contest. On my pauper’s system ~ Technics SL Q3, Audio Technica (model??), DCM CX-17 bookshelf pair, and Denon crap AVR ~ my NM minus minus DCC copy has got body. I think KG & SH brought out the lows.Wilson spent almost a half-million 2015 dollars producing the record to his definition of musical and sonic perfection, mixing it to mono, his preferred format, in part due to his hearing in mono.

Pet Sounds (2017, 200 Gram, Gatefold, Vinyl The Beach Boys – Pet Sounds (2017, 200 Gram, Gatefold, Vinyl

Flawless strings and brass and percussion and absolutely gut-churning bottom end with a tight and symphonic feel.

Over at Hoffman's forums there are serious rumblings of discontent towards Acoustic Sounds/Analog Productions owner Chad Kassem, and even one consumer who professed to be a fan of Kassem's products suggesting that he needs to administered some "tough love" by his customers, and referred to Mr.Kassem as "A Greedy Bugger". The more recent Capitol edition mastered by Ron McMaster definitely captures the spirit of the original, but the bass is soft and squishy and the distinct instrumental layers are softened and mushed together. but you are mistaken that it is necessarily "difficult to master and reproduce at home" - an 18 year old kid from australia did it a few years ago!

Pet Sounds From Analogue Productions | Analog Planet Pet Sounds From Analogue Productions | Analog Planet

It has a crazy dated and needless LH (Large Hole) 1 1/2" die-cut finish, what's wrong with a 4 prong OC (optional Centre) Dinked Centre ( Didn't EMI-Bovema finally realise the needless USA Large Hole die-cuts and go with Dinked OC centres!) Absolutely phenomenal in all regards. Great soundstage, wonderful bass response…. all in all a very well balanced and emotionally gripping recording. Acoustic Sounds' L.P.'s may feature heavier album covers than regular Capitol L.P.'s, but it's not the album cover that you play. As for the idea that Analog Productions' pressings area necessarily better than regular Capitol vinyl, that may not always be true. Some people on the Steve Hoffman forums who bought Analog Productions' mono vinyl reissue of "Pet Sounds" have reported off-center grooves on "Side One", and have stated that it is audible. The big no no is the limited edition repro Holland EMI-Capitol 7" of God Only Knows/Wouldn't It Be Nice in yellow vinyl that has come out as a tie in/teaser 45 and is discounted when bought with the vinyl album. I originally owned the AP 33 rpm Stereo (200g) and that sounded fantastic except for the IGD near the end of Sloop John B. Decided to pony-up for the 45 rpm and does take care of that issue. Although don't love 45's and the breaking-up of an album's flow, it does win out over the 33 purely on sonics.I've heard several songs from that album, but like yourself I haven't heard the whole album in its entirety. Unbelievable pressing—simply the best sounding record in my collection and one of the best I've ever heard. The stereo 45RPM of Pet Sounds is perfect in every way for all the reasons already stated previously by others.

Again: Pet Sounds 50th anniversary box set on the way Do It Again: Pet Sounds 50th anniversary box set on the way

And then there are the vocals that include Brian’s most poignant ever performance on the sublime, ‘Caroline No’, Mike Love on ‘Here Today’, as well as Carl Wilson’s heart-stopping tour de force – ‘God Only Knows’. The fourth CD features a capella versions of the songs on the album and this is where The Beach Boys collectively shine. The soaring harmonies of ‘Wouldn’t It Be Nice’, the beautiful harmonic counterpoint of ‘I Know There’s An Answer’, and ‘I Just Wasn’t Made For These Times’ are all surf-soul music This record was the lynch pin around which the recent Brian Wilson bio-pic "Love and Mercy" spun. I highly recommend that movie to anyone who is a Wilson or Beach Boy fan. As for the stereo vinyl debuts of "The Beach Boys Today", "Summer Days...and Summer Nights", "Beach Boys Party" & "Smiley Smile", there is no reason why Capitol Records themselves couldn't offer those stereo mixes on vinyl. Capitol owns the recordings, after all.The blu-ray features the hi-res 5.1 surround sound mix, which has been out before of course, but additionally contains a new hi-res instrumental version of the album