The Beatles song that Brian Wilson said “blew me away”

In a creative environment, a certain amount of rivalry can be extremely fruitful. Without the Beatles album from the mid-1960s Rubber coreWilson might never have fathered Pet noisesand without Pet noises, revolver And Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band was perhaps not quite as innovative. “Brian Wilson turned out to be a really amazing composer,” Paul McCartney praised in a 2013 interview with Ronnie Wood. “I was into chords, harmonies and stuff at the time, and we ended up having a kind of rivalry. We’d put out a song, Brian would hear it and make one.”

McCartney continued to describe the rivalry as “nice,” noting that a similar atmosphere was developing within the Beatles. “John and I were constantly trying to outdo each other,” he said. “But (Wilson) eventually came out with ‘God Only Knows,’ which was a sound stomper on Pet noises. I just think it’s a great song…melody, harmony, lyrics.”

Ironically, McCartney’s earlier creativity was a major factor in the creation of this object of envy. In an interview with The Beatles StoryWilson admitted that Pet Sounds was an attempt to recreate the work of the Fab Four on Rubber core“It had such a cool vibe and I wanted to do something similar and that’s how I came up with Pet Sounds,” he praised.

Of all the other tracks on the 1965 album, Wilson loved the most was “Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown),” a John Lennon song inspired by Bob Dylan and underpinned by George Harrison’s pioneering use of the sitar. “‘Norwegian Wood’ is my favorite,” Wilson once revealed in an interview with TLS. “The lyrics are so good and so creative, right from the first line: ‘I once had a girl/ Or should I say she once had me.'”

The song was a transitional moment in Lennon’s lyrical outlook. Inspired by Beat Generation writers and Bob Dylan’s recent work in abstract folk-rock, Lennon attempted for the first time to confuse his listeners. “It’s so mysterious. Is he into her or is she into him? It just blew my mind,” Wilson continued. “And at the end, when he wakes up and she’s gone, he lights a fire. ‘Isn’t that good? Norwegian wood.’ Is he setting her house on fire? I didn’t know. I still don’t. I thought that was fantastic.”

Whether the Beatles won their war against the Beach Boys is a matter for each fan to judge for themselves, as it depends on several factors and a lot of subjectivity. However, Wilson believes the Beatles left the table with more chips. If “Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)” blew him away, “Strawberry Fields” left him on the floor in irretrievable pieces.

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