If anyone actually thinks anything else the Beach Boys have done even comes close to approaching Pet Sounds in its entirety, there is something wrong with that person. That album is nigh-perfect and there will never again be a time when every messy variable of life might line up again to produce such an album. No one is going to mention Sunflower or Wild Honey -- or even The Beach Boys Today! for that matter -- in the same breath as their masterpiece simply because there is not, it seems to me, a larger sense of unity among the album in terms of both music and lyrics to hold anything else they've done together in the same way. Pet Sounds was the product of a time and place and state of mind in the best possible senses of these terms and one that is not able to be replicated easily, if at all. It is telling, I think, that The Beatles's response to this album was one of technical prowess, but is lacking in that mercurial sense of emotional honesty imbued in the best Beach Boys songs (the exception would be "She's Going Home," I think, which is still not saying all that much). I do like The Beach Boys very much, but it's silly to think that they have more than one album that could be considered 'perfect.' I don't mean for this to sound as irate as it does, I'm putting off writing an essay that really must get done...

The band in general didn't use 4/4. Dennis was quite fond of 7/8.

This is also asserted in the song entry for "You're So Good To Me" -- that an unadulterated 4/4 beat is peculiar for the BBs -- on the surfermoon.com song archive. However, what I'd like to know is if there exists a list anywhere that groups BB/solo songs by time signature for ease of reference. For some more context about why I'm curious, if anyone cares: I was discussing how rare it is for Beach Boys songs to be in 4/4 time (because I had read that it was the case, not because I am any good at deciphering which songs are in 4/4 vs. 12/8 or 3/4 and so on). I played a couple songs for her and she claimed a majority of them were in 4/4. Obviously I am in no position to doubt her greatly because I know no music theory but I am wary since from what I understand this is simply not the case. Did I just pick ones that were (e.g. an assortment from Pet Sounds including "God Only Knows," "Hang On To Your Ego," and "Wouldn't It Be Nice," as well as "Surfer Girl," "Friends," "All Dressed Up For School," "In The Back Of My Mind," "California Saga: Big Sur," etc.), or is she rusty in her theory and couldn't grasp the true signatures?

I'm sorry if my question is insufferably base, by the way! I know it is at least very insignificant!

Is there a list anywhere of Beach Boys songs grouped into time signatures? For whatever reason I have it in my head that the BBs under Brian's direction did not utilise 4/4 much but I'm not good at music theory so I can't simply count this off for myself (and anyway, it'd be a lot of counting...) so if such a list existed that'd be quite helpful! Thanks in advance.