I quite like 'Pet Sounds', but I reckon the fact of the matter was that the most daring, imaginative, and downright clever bands in the western mainstream at that time were not American (although, arguably, a couple were on their way). Segeant Peppers and even Beggars Banquet (and I refuse to forget The Kinks and The Who) were Pommy (Limey) products, and national pride demanded that the Yanks have their own geniuses. So Wilson got the nod.
White skin, all-American aspirations (shagging Californians in T-Bird backseats), no explicit politics, the necessary gravitas bestowed by the Y-chromosome (more necessary then than now) and (I'm given to believe) Republican sympathies combined to produce the necessary requisites for a local candidate. Wilson did experiment a bit, and had ideas that almost transcended the Beachboys' tiresome vocal signature.
Almost.
Cheers, Rob
You'd written:
>A propos of absolutely nothing, can anyone tell what was the big deal
>about the Beach Boys, and the cult of Brian Wilson in particular? I hear
>them on the radio, and always try to reconcile what I am hearing with what
>I hear about Brian Wilson being mind bogglingly brilliant, but I can't.
>What am I missing?