A More Affordable Edition of the Beach Boys’ ‘Pet Sounds Sessions’: Review

Relatively few albums warrant expansion into boxed sets that deconstruct their development with alternate takes and mixes, outtakes and demos. But if any LP merits such treatment, it’s the Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds, Brian Wilson’s 1966 masterpiece, which is widely and deservedly regarded as one of the half dozen or so best albums of the entire rock era. Inspired by Phil Spector’s productions and the Beatles’ Rubber Soul, Wilson masterminded a pop-rock collection that is so inventively arranged, melodic, and alluring that Paul McCartney said it influenced his group to create Sgt. Pepper.

Pet Sounds got the boxed set it deserved in 1997, when the group’s label issued The Pet Sounds Sessions. The four-CD set, which came with a 42-page booklet and a 128-page book, featured 90 digitally remastered tracks. Among them: the album’s original mono mix, its first-ever genuine stereo mix, numerous alternate versions and demos, and lots of project components, such as the backing tracks for “Sloop John B.” and “Good Vibrations,” the string overdub for “I Just Wasn’t Made for These Times” and vocals-only recordings of the classic “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” and “God Only Knows.”

That Grammy-nominated box represents must-hear material for Beach Boys fanatics, but it’s probably a bit much for casual fans. Moreover, the collection has been unavailable from the label for quite some time, so if you wanted a copy, you had to hunt around on eBay and open your wallet very wide.

The good news is that, to mark the original album’s 60th anniversary, the Beach Boys released The Pet Sounds Sessions Highlights on May 15, 2026, as a two-CD set and in multiple vinyl versions. Moreover, the original 90-track box will now be available from streaming services and for download.

One of the Highlights editions will probably suffice for most fans. The two-CD set includes 24 recordings (though it contains 25 tracks, because one inexplicably appears on both discs). Among them are a cappella versions of many of the original album’s songs and assorted other oddities, such as a sax-spiced rendition of “God Only Knows,” an instrumental demo of “Don’t Talk (Put Your Head on My Shoulder),” a version of “Sloop John B.” with the first verse sung by Carl Wilson and an alternate mix of “Hang On to Your Ego,” the song that evolved into Pet Sounds’ “I Know There’s an Answer.”

Various formats are available to order in the U.S. here, in Canada here and in the U.K. here.

Related: Our review of a 2016 Brian Wilson concert featuring the music from Pet Sounds