G-d only knows why it’s taken this long. On November 17, Chuck Vosganian will host the next chapter of his popular Rochmon Record Club, with a virtual Zoom listening party for and discussion of The Beach Boys’ groundbreaking 1966 album, Pet Sounds, at Caffè Lena in Saratoga Springs.
The proto-concept album, which was recently repositioned at No.2 on Rolling Stone‘s reimagined 500 Greatest Albums list, has taken on a new luster for music-lovers and musicians alike over the past few decades. At the time of its release, it was certainly looked down upon, reaching a disappointing No.10 on the Billboard charts—an abject failure for a band that had been a perennial hit single machine. (Beach Boys’ singer Mike Love apparently hated it.) But hindsight is 20-20, right? It doesn’t hurt that The Beatles’ Paul McCartney has said that Pet Sounds‘ “G-d Only Knows” is the “greatest song ever written,” and that the band’s producer, George Martin, used it as a template for, maybe, the Fab Four’s greatest feat, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.
The event is free and runs from 7pm-8:30pm. Despite it’s free-ness, interested parties must register for the stream in advance, which can be done so here. Viewers will also have the opportunity to donate via Caffè Lena’s virtual tip jar during the show.
The Rochmon Record Club has been geeking out on famous LPs for the past three years, and has featured deep-dives of everything from Janis Joplin’s Pearl and Bruce Springsteen’s Born to Run to Paul Simon’s Graceland. “The show I love to do was developed at Caffè Lena,” says Vosganian. “The family atmosphere and sense of history in that wonderful room feels like going home.”
