The Beach Boys "Today!" (1965)

              I recently did a write up of the album “Friends,” and called it the best album, start to finish, that the Beach Boys released post “Pet Sounds.”  I thought I would follow up with my second Beach Boy post and write about the best album, start to finish, pre “Pet Sounds.”  “Today!” is a beautiful album with a rock and roll themed Side One and a mellow/introspective Side Two. 

                I got this album on CD back in the winter of 2001.  I have very strong memories of driving around in my silver Volvo station wagon listening to it just as it was getting cool out.  A strange thing I discovered about this time was that my dad actually really liked The Beach Boys.  He’d gotten me into Led Zeppelin, Frank Zappa, and even tried to get me to listen to “Sweetheart of the Rodeo." Unlike most teenagers in 1997, I had actually heard of the band “The Flying Burrito Bros.” However, it would take me another decade to realize how good they were. So why not The Beach Boys? 

                I hate to say it.  I really do, but The Beach Boys are not cool for some reason.  I am sure my dad was not feeling self conscious or anything, but it just never came up.  It is only in certain music circles that the Beach Boys are considered amazing anyway.  When I tell people that my favorite band is The Beach Boys, I always get a peculiar look.  I always interpret it as people saying, “I guess that’s super cool.”  If I said my favorite band was the Beatles, no one would bat an eye.  Of course they are amazing.  It’s almost like people know The Beach Boys are great, but can’t understand how they could be your favorite band.  Why would someone brag about that? 

                Like I said, my dad and I never talked about them back then.  The funny thing is though, is that we talk about them all the time now. It’s safe to say that we have spent a large chunk of our relationship talking about Brian and The Beach Boys.  It’s not like we’re done talking about them either.  It is not a rare occurrence for me to go to my folk’s house and see sheet music to “Girls on the Beach” printed out.  We’ve talked about the double modulation at the end of that song, at least once a year for the past 10 years.  The Beach Boys are pretty much a building block of our relationship, and “Today!” is one of the early albums we talked about.   

                If you gave “Today!” to someone who only had a passing fancy with The Beach Boys, it would be hard for them to be disappointed.  Every song has a great hook and the production is second to none.  Take a song like “When I Grow Up To Be a Man.”  The chords are very strange, but not in a way that is distracting.  Brian was so good at making complex stuff sound simple enough.  Not simple, just simple enough.  The harpsichord (which has a very nice prickly quality to it) was an innovative choice of instrumentation.  This is 1965 pre-psychedelic music, and I’m sittin’ here trying to think of another song that featured it before this album.  Let me know if you can name one. 

                “Dance, Dance, Dance” is a roller coaster of a song: lots of excitement and surprises.  It starts with a rippin’ bass line.  Brian has the 12 string guitar double the line, but only after the first half.  This detail really makes the beginning of the song shine.  Then he does the same trick, only with vocals.  Mike sings lead, and it isn’t until the second half of the line that the background vocals kick in.  Brian’s falsetto sits right on top of the song and flies over the chorus.  There is a funky 12 string solo that is glassy and buzzy at the same time.  The most exciting part is the modulation after the solo.  Brian uses the same trick in a third and different way.  The first half of the verse is in the original key, but modulates IN THE MIDDLE OF THE VERSE!  Brilliant and exciting.  I love it every time I hear it.                   

       

         The second side of the album has been described as a precursor to “Pet Sounds,” and I think that is accurate.  It’s quite tender and introspective.  “And please forgive my shaking, can’t you tell my heart is breaking.”  What a line from “Please Let Me Wonder.”  It’s emotionally raw and Brian really puts his very sensitive heart out there.  For those of you who ever had an “on again, off again” relationship in high school or college, “Kiss Me, Baby” is the song for you.  I remember breaking up with my high school girl and feeling like the world was truly over.  It was crushing.  I remember lying in bed at night and wondering “were you still awake like me?”  I wish I’d had this song back them.  Dennis closes out the record with “In the Back of My Mind.”  The manly heartthrob of the band sings, “So happy at times that I break out in tears.  Back of my mind, I still have my fears.” It takes guts to write and sing those lines, and both were done beautifully. 

The last track on the records isn’t even that.  It’s just the boys talking and fooling around.  I’m not sure why it’s even on here.  As far as I am concerned, the album ends after “In the Back of My Mind.”

Tones:  There is a nice bit of guitar and organ interplay in the bridge of “Please Let Me Wonder.”  The tape echo on the guitar draws out the guitar note in a way that feels like the note is falling away from you.  As I mentioned earlier, there is a lot of 12 string guitar, both acoustic and electric.  When I think 12 string, I think Roger McGuinn and the Byrds.  The interesting thing is that it is used in an entirely different way.  It sounds nothing like them.      

Cover Note:  Nice sweaters guys. 

Price Paid:  $5.00 for a nice original copy.  It was open, but still had shrink wrap on it. 

Botton Line:  At this point in their career, The Beach Boys were still selling lots of records.  This is great because there are still a lot of nice clean records out there to find, and you can get ‘em cheap.  I wouldn’t pay over $6.00 for this though.  Just keep an eye out and you’ll probably find something cheaper than that.  Play it for your high school sweetheart.  I can’t imagine her not being impressed by side two.  It’s is a no brainer. This is beautiful heartfelt music.

One more thing.  Talk to your dad, or son for that matter, about The Beach Boys.  There is a lot of stuff to talk about.