There Really Is Too Much of a Good Thing

*** 1/2 THE BEACH BOYS

“The Pet Sounds Sessions”

Capitol

“Pet Sounds” stands among the handful of true pop masterpieces--a song cycle that expanded both the emotional and sonic range of Phil Spector’s best singles to full album scope. Leaving behind teen seaside fantasies for the flush--and crush--of adult romance, responsibilities and self-discovery, Brian Wilson and chief lyricist Tony Asher crafted thematic and musical poetry that resonates today as much as then. This journey from the sunny promise of “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” to the dark, quietly pained “Caroline, No” is the “In Utero” of its time.

But does anyone really need a four-CD set filled out with alternate versions, nearly two hours of backing-track recordings and a vocals-only segment highlighting the Beach Boys’ incomparable singing? There are some fascinating things in this package, which starts with the first-ever fully stereo mix of the album and ends with a “bonus” disc of the original mono mix, all illuminated through detailed and entertaining notes in two accompanying booklets.

But it’s way too much of a good thing. For every revelation--an alternate take of “Sloop John B” with an arrangement that packs more punch than the hit version, the sound of Wilson directing studio musicians into unknown territory--there are long stretches where the insider subtleties will be lost on most fans. The only ones who will get full value are those as obsessive in listening to it as Wilson was in making it.

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Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two (fair), three (good) and four (excellent).