Personnel: Brian Wilson (vocals, keyboards); Jeffrey Foskett (vocals, guitar); Scott Bennett (vocals, keyboards, vibraphone, percussion); Jim Hines (vocals, drums); Taylor Mills (vocals, percussion); Andy Paley (guitar, percussion); Paul Mertens (flute, alto flute, clarinet, harmonica).

Wondermints: Probyn Gregory (vocals, guitar, trumpet, French horn, keyboards, tannarin); Nick Wallusko (vocals, guitar); Darian Sahanaja (vocals, keyboards, vibraphone).

Recorded live at The Royal Festival Hall, London, England in January 2002. Includes liner notes by David Leaf.

The Beach Boys' 1966 opus, PET SOUNDS, proved to be one of the most significant pop records of the 20th century, its influence growing exponentially with subsequent generations of musicians enamored of its sunny-but-sophisticated West Coast sound. More than 35 years later, after decades of fractious Beach Boys history, PET SOUNDS mastermind Brian Wilson performed the album in its entirety for a wildly appreciative audience, backed by a skilled and sympathetic group of younger musicians.

Virtually no detail was overlooked in arranging this mighty masterpiece for the concert stage. Intricate layers of horns, keyboards, percussion, and guitars are laced together with the utmost amount of craft and care. Naturally, Wilson's trademark vocal harmonies are in the foreground, their complex, elegant tapestries carrying the songs aloft with transcendent grace. Wilson's own voice is a tad rough around the edges, but that element just adds an endearingly human quality to these pristine musical landscapes.

Rolling Stone (7/11/02, p.112) - 3.5 stars out of 5 - "...Even with the weight of so much history, there's a spontaneity to these renditions from the album...shedding light on their mournful studio counterparts. You haven't heard Wilson sing this well in decades..."

Uncut (1/03, p.95) - Ranked #34 in Uncut's "100 Best Albums of the Year"

Uncut (9/02, p.123) - 3.5 stars out of 4 - "...there's no denying the sheer wonder of witnessing, reborn, magnificent music once deemed too complex for live reproduction."

CMJ (7/1/02, p.34) - "...Thirty years in the making, but we finally have a live version of one of rock's most influential albums..."