The project seemed destined to fail. But last January, the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson came to London, performed Pet Sounds in its entirety and bowled over the fussy Brits. How could an album so richly orchestrated and delicately revolutionary — regarded as one of the ultimate achievements of studio recording — make it to the stage thirty-six years later and not be a pale shadow of itself?

The captured results may not improve upon the Boys' 1966 achievement, but neither are they mere nostalgia. Even with the weight of so much history, there's a spontaneity to these renditions of "Wouldn't It Be Nice," "God Only Knows" and other beloved classics that sheds warm light on their mournful studio counterparts. You haven't heard Wilson sing this well in decades. He sounds healed, not only in his head but also in his heart, as if he could finally let back in the love he gave us.

“1999”

“I don’t consider myself a great poet,” Prince told Rolling Stone. “I just know I’m here to say what’s on my mind.” In the case of the apocalyptic party anthem “1999,” he was worried about then-president Ronald Reagan’s foreign policies. The song’s melody is based on a riff borrowed from the Mamas and Papas’ “Monday, Monday,” and Prince originally envisioned the first verse with three-part harmony but later split the vocals between himself and members of the Revolution. Because Warner Bros., with whom Prince was locked in a contractual battle, owned the original’s masters, Prince rerecorded the song and appropriately released that version in 1999.