60th anniversary of The Beach Boys’ ‘Pet Sounds’ to be celebrated with new releases

May will mark the 60th anniversary of The Beach Boys’ iconic album Pet Sounds, and the milestone is being celebrated with a whole host of new releases.

On May 15, fans will get a glimpse of the making of the album with the release of The Pet Sounds Sessions Highlights, featuring material from the 1997 four-CD box set The Pet Sounds Sessions. The new release contains 25 alternate takes, a cappella versions and tracking sessions, all of which are making their vinyl debut.

The Pet Sounds Sessions Highlights will be released as a two-CD set or two-LP set. The LP versions will be released on standard black vinyl and limited-edition splatter/color variants. Also on May 15, the original 90-track The Pet Sounds Sessions will be released to digital services.

As a preview of the new set, a three-track EP featuring different versions of the Pet Sounds song “Sloop John B” is out now.

The Pet Sounds 60th anniversary will also be celebrated with the release of a Vinylphyle Edition of the album on 180-gram black vinyl, and cut from the original mono and stereo analog tapes. Interscope-Capitol’s Definitive Sound Series will also release a limited-edition pressing of 6,000numbered copies of the album in the original mono configuration.

Released May 16, 1966, Pet Sounds is often considered one of the best albums of all time. Recorded a year after Brian Wilson quit touring and suffered a breakdown in 1964, the album featured such classic Beach Boys songs as “Wouldn’t It Be Nice,” “God Only Knows” and “Sloop John B.”

The album peaked at #10 on the Billboard Album chart; in 2004 it was chosen by the Library of Congress for inclusion in the National Recording Registry.

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