Paul McCartney told Mike Love what he thought about The Beach Boys’ album covers. Subsequently, Love told him The Beach Boys had an own approach to album art distinct from The Beatles‘. In the same vein, Love discussed what he thought of the cover of The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.
Mike Love compared the cover of The Beatles’ ‘Sgt. Pepper’ to the cover of a classic Beach Boys album
During a 2013 interview with Rock Cellar Magazine, Love discussed a conversation he had with Paul in India. “He said, ‘Mike, you really ought to take more care with your album covers,’” Love recalled.
“Here’s the mastermind of Sgt. Pepper and that brilliant album cover they did with the costumes and the various people, Gandhi and whomever, and our Pet Sounds album cover was a photograph taken of us at the San Diego petting zoo,” Love added. For context, Gandhi does not appear on the final version of the Sgt. Pepper cover.
Mike Love compared The Beatles’ image to The Beach Boys’ image
Love revealed how he responded to Paul’s comment “When he said we needed to take more care with our album covers, I said, “You’re absolutely right, but we’ve always felt what went inside the sleeve was more important” so it was like a touché moment,” he recalled.
Despite this, Love felt the “Ebony and Ivory” singer had good intentions when he offered his advice. “It’s kind of intimidating when Sir Paul says that,” Love opined. “He was trying to be helpful and advise us.”
Love then compared The Beach Boys to The Beatles. “We being the boys next door from Southern California we weren’t as together as The Beatles were in showing the evolution of the band,” he said. “If we had proper management and PR savvy, I don’t think the world and Capitol Records would have perceived us that way.”
How ‘Sgt. Pepper’ and ‘Pet Sounds’ performed on the charts in the United States
The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper became a huge hit. It topped the Billboard 200 for 15 weeks, staying on the chart for 233 weeks in total. Aside from Abbey Road, none of the Fab Fours’ other albums lasted longer on the chart. Sgt. Pepper became the basis for the film Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band starring the Bee Gees and Peter Frampton.
Pet Sounds became a more modest hit. Pet Sounds reached No. 10 on the Billboard 200, remaining on the chart for 47 weeks altogether. The film Love and Mercy covers the creation of the album.
Pet Sounds remains one of the most acclaimed albums ever — even if Paul wasn’t a huge fan of its packaging.
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