The outpouring of love — in both directions — was palpable Aug. 18 during Brian Wilson’s Pet Sounds 50th Anniversary Tour featuring nearly flawless performances of the songs from, arguably, the greatest-ever rock album. 

The band’s sound was of almost symphonic quality, highlighted by lush harmonies — and each song ended with an artistic flourish during the concert in downtown Asheville’s Thomas Wolfe Auditorium.

The 12-piece band included six guitarists, three keyboard players, two percussionists and a horn/harmonica player. 

Wilson, 74, who never before had visited Asheville, sometimes sang lead, but often was assisted by others, who sang the high parts. Sometimes, he rotated leads during songs, taking the lower registers.

Between 1,200 and 1,300 people — mostly in in their 40s, 50s, 60s and older, but a surprising number of 20-somethings — attended.

The Beach Boys’ “Pet Sounds” (released on the same day in May 1966 as Bob Dylan’s “Blonde on Blonde”) continues to lead critics’ polls of the best album of all time. Even the Beatles spoke of the “genius” of Wilson’s “Pet Sounds” and said it was the primary inspiration in the making of “Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” a year later.

The concert’s two 55-minute sets were split by a 20-minute intermission. Besides Wilson, one other original member of the Beach Boys was in the show, Al Jardine, a guitarist and vocalist. Another group member for a time in the 1970s was present, too — Blondie Chapman. In addition, Jardine’s son, Matt, sang many of Wilson’s songs requiring falsetto — or in the higher vocal ranges.

The first set featured a variety of Top 40 Beach Boys’ hits — about cars, surfing and sun-tanned girls — for which Wilson was the main songwriter.

The second set included the entire songbook from his magnum opus album, “Pet Sounds,” Wilson’s quintessential introspective musical statement — aided by Tony Asher’s lyrics. (Wilson’s obsessiveness to achieve artistc perfection in the studio led to his descent into LSD use in the 1960s. He suffered breakdowns, became a recluse, but later re-emerged as a greatly diminished and damaged figure.)

During the second set, Wilson introduced “God Only Knows” by saying, “Here’s the best song I ever wrote.”

The regular show ended with “Caroline, No,” the “Pets Sounds” album’s emotional closer. The song centers on Wilson’s crush, as a teenager, on a cheerleader at his high school. His lyrics rhapsodize about her beautiful complexion and long dark hair — and general irresistibility.

As he sang the last of the “Carolina, No” lyrics, but before the song was completed, Wilson arose from behind his grand piano and strode off stage.

The band finished the song — and the regular show — and left the stage to a sustanined standing ovation.

Five minutes later, the group returned to the stage for an encore, beginning with the Beach Boys’ best-known hit (and a non-”Pet Sounds” song) “Good Vibrations.” The mega-hit had most of the crowd on its feet — and the standing continued until the end of the show.

Other encore songs that followed included the Beach Boys’ classics “Help Me, Rhonda,” “Barbara Ann,” “Surfin’ USA” and “Fun, Fun, Fun.”

The encore finale, “Love and Mercy,” was the title song in a 2015 film about the ups and downs of Wilson’s life. (The film starred Paul Dano and John Cusack, who portrayed Wilson at different ages.)

The song’s performance drew a standing ovation, but this time the group left the stage permanently, although Jardine and a few others hung around to sign autographs and shake hands with fans.

The first set opened with “Heroes and Villians,” followed by “California Girls,” “Dance, Dance, Dance,” “I Get Around,” “Shut Down,” “Little Deuce Coupe,” “Little Honda,” “In My Room,” “Surfer Girl,” “Don’t Worry, Baby,” “Do It Again, “Wild Honey” and the first set closer,  “Sail on Sailor.”

With a note of pride, and to cheers from the crowd, Wilson introduced “Surfer Girl” as a song “I wrote when I was 19 years old.”

The group left for the stage for the intermissin to a rousing standing ovation from the crowd.

The second and final set, Wilson announced, would feature just songs from his “Pet Sounds“ album, as the band launched into “Wouldn’t It Be Nice,” followed by “You Still Believe in Me,” “That’s Not Me,”  “Don’t Talk (Put Your Head on My Shoulder),” “I’m Waiting for the Day,” “Let’s Go Away for Awhile,” “Sloop John B,” “God Only Knows,” “I Know There’s an Answer,” “Here Today,” “I Just Wasn’t Made for These Times,” “Pet Sounds” and “Caroline, No.” 

Among the loudest applauses of the night came after Wilson sang his highly introspective, “You Still Believe in Me,” with the crowd showing its moral support of Wilson, who has had his ups and downs with drug and psychological problems during most of his adult life.

The shows in the current tour are being billed as the last time Wilson will perform “Pet Sounds” in its entirety.

Four days before the tour concludes in mid-October, his memoir, “I Am Brian Wilson” will be published. Wilson wrote the 336-page memoir with co-author Ben Greeman.

Former Beatle sings praises of artistry of ‘Pet Sounds’

From Staff Reports

Regarding the “Pet Sounds” album, former Beatle Paul McCartney said in a 1990 interview, it “blew me out of the water.”

Elaborating, McCartney saidd, “First of all, it was Brian's writing... I love the album so much. I've just bought my kids each a copy of it for their education in life — I figure no one is educated musically 'til they've heard that album. I was into the writing and the songs.

"The other thing that really made me sit up and take notice was the bass lines on Pet Sounds. If you were in the key of C, you would normally use — the root note would be, like, a C on the bass (demonstrates vocally). You'd always be on the C. I'd done a little bit of work, like on 'Michelle,' where you don't use the obvious bass line. And you just get a completely different effect if you play a G when the band is playing in C. There's a kind of tension created.

"I don't really understand how it happens musically, because I'm not very technical musically. But something special happens. And I noticed that throughout that Brian would be using notes that weren't the obvious notes to use. 

“As I say, 'the G if you're in C — that kind of thing. And also putting melodies in the bass line. That I think was probably the big influence that set me thinking when we recorded Pepper, it set me off on a period I had then for a couple of years of nearly always writing quite melodic bass lines.”

McCartney also has been quoted as saying “God Only Knows” (from “Pet Sounds”) is the greatest song ever written.