“Wouldn’t It Be Nice,” vocals only

As the post title says. Music by Brian Wilson, lyrics by Tony Asher. In the released version, Mike Love sings the bridge. Here Brian sings lead all the way through.

I once played this vocals-only version (from The Pet Sounds Sessions) for a freshman lit class. We were reading our way through a lifetime, beginning with William Blake’s “Infant Joy” and “Infant Sorrow” and ending, probably, with John Donne’s Holy Sonnet 10 or David Rakoff’s monologue “The Invisible Made Visible.” Cross my heart: when the harmonies kicked in, you could feel a shiver go through the room. And a few understandable giggles at 1:33 and 1:37.

Related reading
All OCA Brian Wilson posts (Pinboard)