"Let's Go Away for Awhile" is an instrumental by the American rock band

the Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and frie ...

from their 1966 album ''

Pet Sounds ''Pet Sounds'' is the 11th studio album by American rock band the Beach Boys, released on May 16, 1966, by Capitol Records. It was initially met with a lukewarm critical and commercial response in the United States, peaking at number 10 on the ...

''. It was composed and produced by

Brian Wilson Brian Douglas Wilson (born June 20, 1942) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often called a genius for his novel approaches to pop composition, extraordinary musical aptitude, and m ...

, and performed by uncredited session musicians later known as the Wrecking Crew. The track is the first of two instrumentals that appear on the album, the other being its title track. The piece was intended to have a vocal, but Wilson ultimately decided that it did not need one. He later called it his favorite instrumental that he ever wrote, and commented that it was possibly influenced by

Burt Bacharach Burt Freeman Bacharach ( ; born May 12, 1928) is an American composer, songwriter, record producer and pianist who composed hundreds of pop songs from the late 1950s through the 1980s, many in collaboration with lyricist Hal David. A six-time Gr ...

's music. Several months after the album's release, the track was issued as the B-side to the band's single "

Good Vibrations "Good Vibrations" is a song by the American rock music, rock band the Beach Boys that was composed by Brian Wilson with lyrics by Mike Love. It was released as a single on October 10, 1966 and was an immediate critical and commercial hit, toppi ...

Background and composition

"Let's Go Away for Awhile" was composed by

and provisionally titled "The Old Man and The Baby". Wilson surmised that he may have subconsciously based the

chord progression In a musical composition, a chord progression or harmonic progression (informally chord changes, used as a plural) is a succession of chords. Chord progressions are the foundation of harmony in Western musical tradition from the common practice ...

on the music of

.''The Pet Sounds Sessions: "The Making Of Pet Sounds"'' booklet (1996) Bacharach's " Are You There (With Another Girl)", in particular, may have directly influenced Wilson to write "Let's Go Away for Awhile". Musicologist James Perone wrote of the track: An early full working title was "Let's Go Away for Awhile (And Then We'll Have World Peace)"—the parenthetical being a reference to

Del Close Del Close (March 9, 1934 – March 4, 1999) was an American actor, writer, and teacher who coached many of the best-known comedians and comic actors of the late twentieth century. In addition to an acting career in television and film, he was ...

and John Brent's 1959 comedy album '' How to Speak Hip''. Tony Asher explained:

Recording

The bulk of "Let's Go Away for Awhile" was recorded on January 18, 1966 at

United Western Recorders United Western Recorders was a two-building recording studio complex in Hollywood that was one of the most successful independent recording studios of the 1960s. The complex merged neighboring studios United Recording Corp. on 6050 Sunset Boule ...

String String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...

and flute overdubs were recorded the next day. Wilson stated: "We used dynamics like

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...

. You know, Beethoven, the dynamic music maker." In 1966, Wilson considered the track to be "the finest piece of art" he had made up to that point, and that every component of its production "worked perfectly". A year later he expounded, In 1995, it emerged that the final ''Pet Sounds'' session was originally intended to add vocals to "Let's Go Away for Awhile", but Capitol insisted that the session date be the only one used for the album's entire mixing.

Reception

'' Cash Box'' said that it is "a moody instrumental track."

Other releases

*It was included as the B-side of the Beach Boys' October 1966 single "

". *It appears on the

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Fu ...

soundtrack album ''

Journey Through the Past ''Journey Through the Past'' is a double LP soundtrack album from the film of the same name by Canadian / American musician Neil Young, released in November 1972 on Reprise Records, catalogue number 2XS 6480.''Journey Through the Past'' double L ...

'' as the closing track. *It is featured on the soundtrack to the 2017 film ''

Baby Driver ''Baby Driver'' is a 2017 action film written and directed by Edgar Wright. It stars Ansel Elgort as a getaway driver seeking freedom from a life of crime with his girlfriend Debora ( Lily James). Kevin Spacey, Jon Hamm, Eiza González, ...

''.

Personnel

Per Alan Boyd and Craig Slowinski. Session musicians (also known as " the Wrecking Crew") The Sid Sharp Strings

Cover versions

* 1995 – Sean Macreavy, ''Dumb Angel'' * 1998 –

John McEntire John McEntire (born April 9, 1970 in Portland, Oregon) is an American recording engineer, producer, drummer and multi-instrumentalist, based in Chicago, Illinois. He is a member of both Tortoise and the Sea and Cake. McEntire started playing dr ...

, ''

Smiling Pets ''Smiling Pets'' is a multi-artist tribute album consisting of experimental/alternative cover versions of Beach Boys songs from ''Pet Sounds'' (1966) and the never-finished ''Smile'' project. It was released exclusively in Japan by Sony Records in ...

'' * 2002 –

, '' Pet Sounds Live'' * 2012 –

Neil Cowley Trio Neil Cowley (born 5 November 1972) is an English contemporary pianist and composer. He has also released music as part of Fragile State, the Green Nuns of the Revolution, and the Neil Cowley Trio. With his trio, he appeared on '' Later... with ...

, ''

MOJO Presents Pet Sounds Revisited ''MOJO Presents Pet Sounds Revisited'' is a multi-artist tribute album compiled by the monthly journal '' MOJO'', released for their 223rd issue in June 2012. It comprises various alternative British musicians cover versions of tracks from the Be ...

'' * 2013 – Fairmont, ''Mint 400 Records Presents The Beach Boys Pet Sounds''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Let's Go Away For Awhile 1966 instrumentals 1966 songs The Beach Boys songs Songs written by Brian Wilson Song recordings produced by Brian Wilson Lounge music