By the end of 1964 the Beach Boys had had twelve Top 40
hits! Late that year Brian Wilson quit
touring with the group due to a mental breakdown. For a short time Glen Campbell took his place
on the road, and then it was Bruce Johnston.
Brian stayed at home writing and working on tracks. David Leaf writes: “Working with one
instrument at a time, Brian taught each musician his or her part”. Leaf adds: “Brian was fascinated by and
obsessed with new sounds...Production-wise, Brian Wilson was way ahead of almost
every other contemporary recordmaker”.
In March of 1965 the group released TODAY! (Captitol Records). It peaked at #4 on the U.S. Billboard 200
Albums Chart. In the original album
liner notes Dick Clark wrote: “Today they still care about the same things
their audiences care about. Fame is
important to them, but not as important as their music and their fans towards
whom they feel a true allegiance”.
The opening song is a peppy rock ‘n’ roll one called ‘Do You
Wanna Dance’. It’s a cover of a 1958 Bobby
Freeman hit, with drummer Dennis Wilson on lead vocals here. It finds a guy propositioning a gal: “Do you
wanna dance and hold my hand?/Tell me baby I’m your lover man/Oh baby, do you
wanna dance?/Do you wanna dance under the moonlight?/Hold me baby all through
the night/Oh baby, do you wanna dance?”
‘Good to My Baby’ is one of eight co-writes between Brian Wilson and
Mike Love. They share lead vocals here. It’s about a strong relationship: “Some guys
may think they’d be better for her/But she knows just what she wants for
sure/And when we’re out with our friends now/You know that we never have to put
on a show/And we stay together while other couples come and go/She’s my girl
and I’m good to my baby (2X)/And I know she’s happy with me/Good to my baby
(2X)”. ‘Don’t Hurt My Little Sister’ is
a rock ‘n’ roll song from the perspective of a protective big brother: “There
she goes, she ran in her room/She’ll probably stay in there the rest of the
day/It sounds like it must have been something you said/You know she’s awful
used to getting her way/Why don’t you kiss her?/And while you kiss her tell her
you miss her/Why don’t you treat her nice?/Don’t hurt my little sister”.
‘When I Grow Up (To Be A Man)’ is a great song that makes
use of the harpsichord and harmonica.
It’s a song of reflection: “When I grow up to be man/Will I dig the same things that turn me
on as a kid?/Will I look back and say that I wish I hadn’t done what I
did?/Will I joke around and still dig those sounds?/When I grow up to be a man/Will
I look for the same things in a woman that I dig in a girl?/Fourteen,
fifteen/Will I settle down fast or will I first wanna travel the
world?/Sixteen, seventeen/Now I’m young and free, but how will it be?/When I
grow up to be a man”. Al Jardine sings
lead on the LP version of ‘Help Me, Ronda’.
It’s a danceable rock ‘n’roll song about heartache: “She was gonna be my
wife and I was gonna be her man/But she let another guy come between us and it
ruined our plan/Well, Ronda you caught my eye and I can give you lots of
reasons why/You gotta help me Ronda/Help me get her out of my heart”. ‘Dance, Dance, Dance’ was the highest
charting single from the album. It
reached #8 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart. Mike Love sings lead and sleigh bells are
used: “When I feel put down I try to shake it off quick/With my chick by my
side the radio does the trick/I love to dance right on the spot/The beat’s
really hot!”
‘Please Let Me Wonder’ is the ballad of a fellow yearning
for a certain lady: “For so long I thought about it/And now I just can’t live
without it/This beautiful image I have of you/Baby/Please let me wonder/If I’ve
been the one you love/Please let me wonder/If I’m who you’re dreaming of/Please
let me wonder, love”. ‘I’m So Young’ was
penned by W.H. Tyrus Jr. It was
previously recorded by the Students and then the Ronettes. It begins with these timeless words: “I have
a girlfriend/She says I’m her only one/We wanna get married but we’re so young,
so young/Can’t marry no one/They say our love is just a teenage affection/But
no one knows our hearts’ direction”.
‘Kiss Me Baby’ is a post argument ballad: “As I drove away I felt a
tear/It hit me/I was losing someone dear/Told my folks I would be alright/Tossed
and I turned, my head was so heavy/Then I wondered as it got light/Were you
still awake like me?/Woah baby, kiss me baby/Woah baby, love to only”.
Brian sings lead on ‘She Knows Me Too Well’ which again has
timeless lyrics: “I get so jealous of the other guy/And then I’m not happy til
I make her break down and cry/When I look at other girls it must kill her
inside”. The oboe is one of the
instruments used on the fifth ballad in a row, ‘In the Back of My Mind’. It’s a song that expresses vulnerability: “In
the back of my mind I still have my fears/I live my life with her/Love her true
she knows I’m sure/I make her happy just living so plain/In the back of my mind
I’m ‘fraid it’s gonna change”. Last up
is ‘Bull Sessions With Big Daddy’.
According to David Leaf, this one’s about the band and Earl Leaf (no
relation), a rock ‘n’ roll publicist, reflecting on the 1964 fall tour of
Europe they’d went on.
On the 2001 CD re-issue of TODAY! and SUMMER DAYS (AND
SUMMER NIGHTS!!) there are five bonus tracks.
Two are alternate takes of ‘Dance, Dance, Dance’ and ‘I’m So
Young’. The latter includes flute which
isn’t used on the album version of the song.
In 1964 the group had performed the Four Freshman classic ‘Graduation Day’
on their CONCERT record. Here, we have a
studio recording of the sentimental song: “There’s a time for joy/A time for
tears/A time we’ll treasure through the years/We’ll remember always/Graduation
day/At the senior prom we danced ‘til three/And there you gave your heart to
me/We’ll remember always/Graduation day”.
This is an interesting Beach Boys album. There is nary a mention of surfing or
cars. There are three happy rock ‘n’
roll romantic relationship songs, but the vast majority of the songs here are
sad songs about love. One could argue
that instead of putting five ballads back to back at the end of the record,
they should have been interspersed with the more upbeat songs. As presented here, they sound a bit the
same. Nonetheless, the group’s vocal
harmonies are great as usual and collectors such as I will want to make sure
they have this album. I’m rating it
84%. For more info visit:
www.thebeachboys.com.