When it comes to the greatest innovators in 1960s rock music, most people seem to agree that the two are The Beatles and The Beach Boys. Even the rock ‘n’ rollers who, more or less, competed with them agree, as many of them have openly acknowledged the two parties as the most progressive musical thinkers of the decade. One of those musicians is Peter Townshend, who believes that one Beatles album and one Beach Boys album absolutely redefined music in the 20th century. Also, you can probably guess which albums he’s mentioning.
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Pete Townshend and The Who were certainly innovators in their own right. However, they didn’t get big until the mid-60s; thus, their predecessors, the ones who showed the world that limits could be pushed, were, of course, The Beatles and The Beach Boys. Although the albums Townshend holds in such high regard are not albums that came before The Who’s time. Rather, they were albums that came out during The Who’s major entry onto the scene. In your mind, have you guessed what albums Townshend is talking about? Well, if you haven’t the answer is Pet Sounds and Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.
Why Pete Townshend Holds The Works in Such a High Regard
In his 2012 memoir, Who I Am: A Memoir, Pete Townshend wrote, “For me, Sgt. Pepper and The Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds redefined music in the 20th century: atmosphere, essence, shadow, and romance were combined in ways that could be discovered again and again.” “Neither album made any deep political or social comment, but ideas were not what mattered. Listening to music had become a drug in itself.”
“I loved smoking a little grass and listening to my two favorite albums, Sgt. Pepper and Pet Sounds, and every time I listened I heard something new, but I wish I could say I heard something important,” continued Townshend. “These two great albums indicated the future, but passed on no tools, codes, or obvious processes that would lead to a door. I ached for more than just a signpost pointing to the future, which is what these albums were to me.”
Townshend’s take is certainly not a hot one, as many other musicians often view these albums in a similar light. Nevertheless, this opinion has to be arguably one of the more objectively correct ones in music history. Yes music and objectivity is somewhat of an oxymoron, but due to the plethora of opinions supporting this take and the actual track record of the experimental music that followed, we believe Townshend’s perspective is pretty spot on. Do you?
Photo by: Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty Images
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