My father in law is the most meticulous man I’ve ever met. He kept all of his childhood baseball cards and comic books in mint condition. (One Christmas, he gave me a framed set of the 1957 Pirates and his son a framed set of the 1957 Yankees. It’s weird to get an amazing gift while also we insanely jealous of someone else’s amazing gift).
Anyway, the one bad thing is that he had kind of lousy taste in music, because he kept his LPs in pristine shape. I have a vinyl collection and he did give me a nearly mint quality version of Pet Sounds on mono. Listening to that vinyl on headphones is a near religious experience.
I agree that the Wrecking Crew made the early stuff sound a step above Jan and Dean. But the difference is that Brian Wilson understood what he had with the Wrecking Crew and was able to maximize their abilities. Once he figured out how to really use a studio, he needed more than they could offer.
And then he went nuts.
Actually, the big difference to me with Pet Sounds is that Brian realized that Mike Love was a very limited lyricist who was only interested in the beach, cars, and girls stuff of the “classic” BB. Tony Asher took his stuff to a new level.
And then, of course, he went nuts.
Regarding the NBA player, Stan Love had his own fascinating life:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stan_Love_(basketball)
#1 draft pick who had a pretty short career, but then made a pretty good living as everyone’s bodyguard/Mike’s attack dog. Stan is who ended up with “custody” of Brian when they all sued Eugene Landy.
There has never been a more talented/more insane family than the Wilsons/Loves.
(Part of what makes Kevin Love such a unique player is the fact that Stan used to make him watch old tapes of Bill Walton at UCLA and channeled his game towards that. It’s why he’s the only guy in the league who can throw an accurate outlet pass).
Tony Asher was the real genius behind Pet Sounds and, as you noted, lifted up Brian’s creation from bubblegum to something with more substance.