The Beach Boys – Pet Sounds

If you buy a new copy of this album in stereo in 2025, this is probably the version you'll receive. It's not actually a bad cut - the vinyl has no discernable background noise, there's no distortion or sibilance, and it tracks perfectly to the end of each side. The sleeve looks decent, especially the front cover photo, and it comes with a poly-lined inner. It's an enjoyable listen, and I'd happily have kept it had both copies I tried not been quite badly dished. As there were no unaffected copies in the shop, I thought I might as well splash out a bit more for the Analogue Productions.

The sound of the two records is strikingly different - one reason I didn't go for the AP initially is I figured they were both cut from the same 90s digital mix, so how different could they be? But whatever it is, I guess the extra tape transfer stage and the final mastering, the AP offers a much more coherent stereo field. The Takt press has the various tracks sounding somewhat isolated - an example being the percussion in the left channel of Wouldn't It Be Nice, which really sticks out in the Takt cut. It's still panned left in the AP master, of course, but it's much more integral to the sound and no longer sounds like it's out on its own. If anything, the AP is a little less flashy with the stereo field, and instead sounds warm and enveloping. Sidenote but the pictures on the back are less cropped on the AP which suggests a little more care has been taken over the reproduction of the original sleeve, too.

So in conclusion, if you have the opportunity to get the AP for a decent price, it's worth it, but the Takt pressing is still a nice record.

Mine has "Made in Polland" printed on the top right of the back the cover.

If you want a great sounding version of this album in stereo but don't want to pay $70 or more for an Analogue Productions pressing, this release pressed by Takt (EU) is a great choice.

My personal choice was between this release and the Record Industry (EU) pressing. When I was able to get this release new in shrink wrap from Amazon for 16 Euros, I just had to pull the trigger. For that incredible price, you will get a great sounding record pressed on quiet, flat and centered vinyl. It comes in a faithful reproduction of the original stereo cover printed on a regular cardboard jacket and a poly-lined inner sleeve. No Stoughton Tip-on jacket or QRP rice paper inner sleeves. But you can't expect this level of packaging for ONLY 16 Euros.

One more thing: AVOID THE RAINBO PRESSING AT ALL COST!!!! You can read the awful reviews for this release in its Discogs page with ID # 8627508. No wonder this pressing plant is now defunct!

Absolutely nothing crisp about this version. Sound like a low quality mp3 file with no dynamics. Avoid

The record sounds great, but it was pretty dirty even though I bought it new.

Received this version due to a mistaken discogs listing that went by just the barcode. I was intending to purchase the 50th anniversary edition https://discogs.librosgratis.biz/release/8645720-The-Beach-Boys-Pet-Sounds because it was phenomenally good to my ears, but this press doesn’t live up to it. The stereo mix largely misses the mark, haphazardly separated resulting in a hollow stereo image with dead space between elements. Hard to quantify really but doesn’t sound right to me. That said, it’s far from a bad pressing, and most wouldn’t be disappointed. My comparison is to a particular mix & master I’m quite fond of.

Lots of negative comments about the US pressing. This Poland-pressed version is crisp and clean. Wish I could find out more about the provenance and mastering though. I'm guessing it's from a digital source.

Sounds great, for the most part. Some sibilance is present and the vocals sound a tad loud, but the rest sounds fantastic

I’d only ever heard my dads mono version growing up. I picked this up mainly for the memories and because I always enjoyed this album as a kid. I am really enjoying the stereo version. Sounds great and fairly quiet pressing.