(Credits: Far Out / Alamy / Tom Petty)
Wed 20 August 2025 17:00, UK
2025 has been a bad year for the greatest songwriters in the world. We lost Sly Stone, Ozzy Osbourne, and the composing genius that was Brian Wilson, all within the space of a few months.
When Brian Wilson passed away, it sent shockwaves throughout the music industry that resonated with everyone remotely connected to it. It doesn’t matter what kind of music you’re into, the fact remains that on some level, Brian Wilson and the beautiful music that he made with The Beach Boys, will have touched you at some point.
In fact, the other day I was reading an interview with Ian Anderson from Jethro Tull where he spoke about his indifference towards the Beach Boys. I suppose it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the flute-wielding prog rocker might not have been prone to a bit of surf music, but that interview remains one of the only negative comments I’ve ever read about Wilson’s musical prowess and overall talent of The Beach Boys.
The Beatles and The Beach Boys were famous for their healthy rivalry. As the two were both climbing the charts throughout the ‘60s, they were constantly going toe-to-toe, attempting to overtake each other. When The Beach Boys released Pet Sounds, they truly set the bar for this rivalry, as the album was recognised by the public, critics, and anyone within earshot as one of the greatest pieces of music ever written.
The Beatles wrote Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band in response to this high quality piece of music. Paul McCartney admitted that he was listening to Pet Sounds so much it was impossible for its influence to not bleed into the Beatles classic. However, when John Lennon was speaking about the records, he said that he didn’t think the Beatles offering came close to Brian Wilson’s masterpiece. After calling Wilson when he first heard the record to tell him it was perfect, Lennon continued to throw praise on Pet Sounds whenever he got the chance.
“It’s called the first concept album,” he said when discussing Sgt Pepper, hardly sounding enthusiastic by his band’s creation, “It doesn’t go anywhere […] But it works because we said it worked, and that’s how it appeared.” When comparing the record to the Beach Boys offering, Lennon admitted, “It’s not as put together as Pet Sounds, and it doesn’t have a concept.”
Tom Petty agreed with John Lennon. He was a fan of both Sgt Pepper and Pet Sounds, but said that he thought Wilson and Co’s offering came out on top when you compared the two, especially with the power of hindsight. While he was a big fan of what the Beatles did with Sgt Pepper, he was of the opinion that Pet Sounds was about as close to perfect music as anyone could come.
“Well, I like both,” admitted Petty, “But these days, I’d probably play Pet Sounds. I can hear Sgt. Pepper without playing it. But frankly, I don’t think it wears that well into the ’80s.”
When speaking of Wilson specifically and how the word genius seemed to follow him like a shadow, Petty said he felt the brain behind the Beach Boys was one of the greatest musical talents to ever walk the earth. “I don’t think you’d be out of line comparing him to Beethoven, to any composer,” he said, “The word genius is used a lot with Brian. I don’t know if he’s a genius or not. But I know his music is probably as good as any music you can make.”
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