Regarding the Audio Fidelity version, May 6, 2009

There are some good and bad aspects of this release.Good:- The sound is much better than the official CD and marginally better than the bass-heavy DCC. If you like the DCC's sound, then save your $30. If you think the DCC is a little bottom-heavy, then splurge on this. It is more open and present, though one should keep in perspective the fact that we're talking about a mono recording from the '60s. It's no sonic marvel.- That's about it. Try before you buy on your local BitTorrent tracker to see whether the sound is for you.Bad:- A weird tape drop-out at the beginning of "I'm Waiting for the Day" that is not present in the DCC or any other CD versions.- A huge gap between "Sloop John B" and "God Only Knows" that supposedly mimics the time in between flipping a record. One of the nice things about listening to CDs is that you don't have to take time to get up and change sides. I have never noticed this on any other digital release...

I'm a Beatles connoisseur. A die-hard. I've walked across Abbey Road (with a cigarette in hand, though it was too brisk to go barefoot), quaffed pints in the Reeperbahn, and could point out fifty "Paul is Dead" clues. I've burned through a bookshelf of biographies about the band and I noticed that the Beach Boys' 1966 album Pet Sounds is continually mentioned whenever the end of the Beatles' touring days and the start of their `studio years' is discussed. With its 40th anniversary looming I started to wonder about Pet Sounds. I always dismissed the Beach Boys as a half-baked band who parlayed a bunch of sunny tunes into a bubblegum legacy. While Brian Wilson could be considered the group's only gifted musician, but the boys could definitely sing. Gorgeous harmonies filled their 45s, but their words were always about things which were alien to me like surfin' and California sunshine. So, why the hubbub surrounding Pet Sounds? "No one is educated musically until they've...

It sounds silly to say this, but the Beach Boys really did change my life...I'm not sure when exactly I discovered that they were more than the fun songs I heard on the oldies station when I drove somewhere with my parents. But, reading an editorial in my local newspaper one day, I noticed they mentioned that Brian Wilson was a musical genius. This greatly intrigued me, and I just had to discover who this Brian Wilson guy was...then I continued reading and found that he was the leader of the very familiar band, The Beach Boys. I immediately found the one Beach Boys c.d. that my dad had and put it on, this time listening deeper than I had ever before listened to The Beach Boys. I found that whoever wrote the newspaper editorial was correct...Brian Wilson was a musical genius...amazing vocal harmonies...outstanding instrumental use...a different and creative sound...and simply great songwriting! This epiphany occurred about two years ago, and has left me...