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Today!
Jan 1, 2019 20:53:00 GMT -5
Post by The Cincinnati Kid on Jan 1, 2019 20:53:00 GMT -5
The first of three albums released in 1965, Today was well received by the public and hit #4 on the charts. It also included three top 15 hits. Attachments:
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Departed
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Today!
Jan 4, 2019 9:02:42 GMT -5
Post by Deleted on Jan 4, 2019 9:02:42 GMT -5
Today! is beautiful album. Side 1 is a great collection of rockers. It really feels to me like Brian had taken a step forward with the production on these...even compared to All Summer Long I feel like the instruments breathe a little better on tracks like Dance, Dance, Dance and When I Grow Up To Be A Man. A little more variety in the instrumentation as well. But it's side 2 that makes this album an all-time classic. Kicking off with Please Let Me Wonder, an emotionally riveting number with some of the most angelic harmonies of the group's career. She Knows Me Too Well is a highlight for me as well... another powerful emotional song with very complex vocal harmonies. Some don't enjoy the closer, but for me it lands every time. Dennis' lead seems a little bit strained but man does he belt it out. It might be the most passionate lead of his beach boys career (my diane comes to mind as well). The production is absolutely brilliant...it's basically Pet Sounds-level. I think it's the perfect close to a near-perfect album. 9.5/10.
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Today!
Jan 5, 2019 12:12:16 GMT -5
Post by Deleted on Jan 5, 2019 12:12:16 GMT -5
9/10 for Today!
This is a beautiful album and I'm not sure I can really say anything different from what the general consensus has been. I think the fast/slow division works well. The songs are all wonderful and apart from some muggy sound the production is outstanding throughout. I wish Brian had taken the lead vocal on In the Back of My Mind, or at least had Dennis do another take.
Please Let Me Wonder has to be my favourite track off the album. Brian's vocal kills me. Kiss Me Baby is a very close second. That's the song that made me start paying attention to Brian's proclivity for having two different sets of lyrics running at the same time in a chorus. The way "kiss a little bit, fight a little bit" weaves around through the primary chorus of "kiss me baby, love to hold you" is one of my all time favourite Beach Boys moments in the entire catalogue.
Help Me Ronda gets a bad rap. It is the inferior version of that song, to be sure. But it still has its charms. The volume shifting stuff at the end is kind of funny, I don't even mind it that much.
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Today!
Jan 5, 2019 12:47:46 GMT -5
Post by Deleted on Jan 5, 2019 12:47:46 GMT -5
I see Today! as a masterpiece of an album with a few flaws. There are the obvious, often discussed ones like the tacked on Bull Session, the inferior Help Me Ronda, and Dennis' shaky vocal on In the Back of My Mind. But I also have to admit that Good to My Baby, Don't Hurt My Little Sister, and When I Grow Up are just ok songs to me. The rest are excellent though.
Dance, Dance, Dance is a great song that really moves. In a way, it seems like the sequel to I Get Around. Similar styles and arrangement.
Please Let Me Wonder, Kiss Me Baby, and She Knows Me Too Well are beautiful.
So, for these reasons, I give Today! a strong 9.
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Today!
Jan 5, 2019 13:38:22 GMT -5
jk likes this
Post by Deleted on Jan 5, 2019 13:38:22 GMT -5
It's only a small step below Pet Sounds and knocks its immediate successor, Summer Days, out of the water.
10
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Today!
Jan 14, 2019 1:43:29 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by kds on Jan 14, 2019 1:43:29 GMT -5
Today is great with the exception of Bull Session and In the Back of My Mind (a good song that could be great IMO).
Kiss Me Baby is an all timer. Please Let Me Wonder is a marvel. While it was a hit, I sometimes feel like When I Grow Up doesn't get enough credit.
9
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Today!
Jan 26, 2019 23:22:55 GMT -5
jk likes this
Post by lizzielooziani on Jan 26, 2019 23:22:55 GMT -5
I give this album a very strong 9. Don't Hurt My Little Sister isn't bad but doesn't do much for me. Help Me Ronda obviously needed to be redone to do it justice, although I really like the instrumental track. Side Two, save for that last spoken track, is a marvel. The instrumental track for In the Back of My Mind is achingly beautiful. A fantastic album overall.
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Today!
Mar 19, 2019 12:09:17 GMT -5
Post by aquarius on Mar 19, 2019 12:09:17 GMT -5
A bit dated for the teen themes but the best songs on it are transcendent. 9/10
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Post by Jason (The Real Beach Boy) on Mar 28, 2019 11:19:11 GMT -5
10. So what if it has Bull Session? This was the tightest, most inventive set they had come up with to this point and Brian was intent on surpassing himself with every new idea. Some of Mike's best vocals and lyrics to be found here.
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Today!
Mar 28, 2019 20:53:13 GMT -5
Post by jdbw on Mar 28, 2019 20:53:13 GMT -5
Just wonderful.
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Today!
Mar 29, 2019 7:21:00 GMT -5
jk likes this
Post by filledeplage on Mar 29, 2019 7:21:00 GMT -5
10. So what if it has Bull Session? This was the tightest, most inventive set they had come up with to this point and Brian was intent on surpassing himself with every new idea. Some of Mike's best vocals and lyrics to be found here. Great post! The Bull Sessions (other tracks as well) humanize the band and i see nothing wrong with them. Some freak over them and suggest it destroys the purity of the recording. I figure it is "only a movie."
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Today!
Jun 17, 2021 15:31:44 GMT -5
Post by dauber on Jun 17, 2021 15:31:44 GMT -5
Flying my review in from PSF:
Despite its popularity, I don't rank The Beach Boys Today! as highly as probably most fans; I "only" gave it a 7 on the poll.
Don't get me wrong, Brian's production had certainly advanced by this time, but I think it hadn't yet reached the maturity that it did on Summer Days...
Some of the material...well...also kind of immature..."When I Grow Up" sounds too childish to me, and I don't like the production. I'm not a fan of "Do You Wanna Dance" in any capacity, although I dare you to find me a better version than this one.
Love "Good To My Baby" and, believe it or not, I actually much prefer the misspelled "Help Me, Ronda" over its properly-spelled re-recorded version; sounds more beachy, sunny, exciting to me; the newer one sounds too strict and formal.
When The Mrs. and I got married, "Please Let Me Wonder" was our "first dance." 'Nuff said.
"She Knows Me Too Well" -- if that tune doesn't just scream about what's coming up with Pet Sounds, then man...I don't know what does.
"In The Back Of My Mind" -- what's there not to love?
"Bull Session With the Big Daddy" -- I probably enjoy this more than a lot of people do, especially since the Sea of Tunes Unsurpassed Masters set that has the session recording that (sort of) spawned this reveals that it wasn't just thrown together. Brian knew exactly what he wanted with this, as evidenced by the session tape. I have a feeling that rather than being just filler, this was Brian doing some kind of experiment.
That album cover, though...wow. The Mrs. once said that, with a few exceptions, the quality of the album cover on a Beach Boys album is inversely proportional to the quality of the music...boy, does that ring true with this album. (One very notable exception to the rule: Surfin' USA. Great cover, great album.)
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Post by boogieboarder on Jun 4, 2022 8:30:40 GMT -5
In 1965 I recommended this album to a friend, who bought it, but said he didn’t like the album because “Help Me, Ronda” wasn’t the hit single version he was familiar with. That seems so silly today, since the hit version wasn’t even recorded until after the album came out and was included on their very next LP.
In the meantime, you got three major hit singles “Do You Want to Dance,” “When I Grow Up,” and “Dance Dance Dance.” These three songs still get standing ovations 60 years later at live concerts. This during a time when many albums by most artists had one hit single and a lot of filler.
Not to mention 11 of the 12 songs on the album are really classic Beach Boys, so if you are a fan, there’s a lot to enjoy. “Please Let Me Wonder,” “Good to My Baby,” “Kiss Me Baby,” and “She Knows Me Too Well” are standouts in particular. You could almost get away with calling this a compilation of the Best of The Beach Boys to an unfamiliar new fan, and they’d never know the difference.
Add to the fact that The Beach Boys released five albums in 13 months, The Beach Boys Concert, The Beach Boys Christmas Album, The Beach Boys Today, Summer Days (And Summer Nights), and The Beach Boys Party - it’s unbelievable. And that string was followed by Pet Sounds!
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Post by Awesoman on Aug 17, 2023 7:52:15 GMT -5
It's the band's best pre-𝑃𝑒𝑡 𝑆𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑠 album greatly detailing their musical progression into deeper territories. The first half is mostly great including the following: a stellar cover of "Do You Want To Dance", the thematically progressive "When I Grow Up (To Be A Man)", and the certifiable hit that is "Dance, Dance, Dance". I'm less thrilled by the first side's other material especially the first version of "Help Me, Ronda", but those songs aren't bad either.
It's side two where things get deeper and more interesting though with a string of mostly ballads that really showcases where the band was headed musically. "Please Let Me Wonder" through "She Knows Me Too Well" are all fantastic and would not feel out of place on 𝑃𝑒𝑡 𝑆𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑠. "In The Back Of My Mind" is pretty good too although I admit I never really got into that one. The only real misstep is closing the album with that bewildering "Bull Session" interview that provides a jarring conclusion to an otherwise near-flawless album.
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Today!
Aug 17, 2023 9:21:22 GMT -5
Post by boogieboarder on Aug 17, 2023 9:21:22 GMT -5
I once thought that Brian should not have put all the fast songs on side one and the slow songs on side two, but instead should have mixed them up like a regular Beach Boys album. So I made my own version, alternating the fast and slow songs. But for some reason, the album sounded worse that way. Either Brian was a genius for sequencing the album the way he did, or it’s just that I am used to hearing it like that.
I don’t think Brian ever sequenced an album like that again.
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Post by Mopp on Aug 17, 2023 10:03:56 GMT -5
I once thought that Brian should not have put all the fast songs on side one and the slow songs on side two, but instead should have mixed them up like a regular Beach Boys album. So I made my own version, alternating the fast and slow songs. But for some reason, the album sounded worse that way. Either Brian was a genius for sequencing the album the way he did, or it’s just that I am used to hearing it like that. I don’t think Brian ever sequenced an album like that again. I think Love You has a similar side split. Most of the upbeat songs are on side 1, while the slower ones are on side 2.
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Post by E on Aug 17, 2023 10:18:51 GMT -5
Okay, it has a daft filler track, but I can live with it. Could have been worse; could have been Louie Louie. Ten for the album!
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Post by Will/P.P. on Aug 19, 2023 12:36:21 GMT -5
I give The Beach Boys Today! a 10/10, as well. "Bull Session With The "Big Daddy"" was a "getting to know the group" cut back when that was still needed. It may not be viewed as such today, but when released most people wanted to hear them talk. Was enjoyable. I always let all the talk tracks play out. Brian stuck it at the end so not to offend the fans. And fans were not offended, as they weren't offended when the party album was released. Everybody I knew loved it when they goofed around on Tv, movies, and on stage. Why do you think the concert record was such a hit?
I knew people who thought the album version of "Help Me Ronda" was great. For those who didn't, Brian fixed it up right quick. Now, I don't believe the single version should have been put on the next record - that was common enough in the U.S.A. - the singles had to go on the albums, tho Brian didn't always do that. He was the boss, not Capitol.
The big hits played at all the sock hops (7th grade '64/'65, for me) were "Dance, Dance, Dance" ('64) and in early '65, "Do You Wanna Dance", then "Help Me Rhonda"/"Kiss Me Baby" (April '65). This was when The Beach Boys were actually famous, so most all of the earlier hits were played, too. Mostly used the singles, rarely the albums.
As a kid I liked Side 1 more. Side 2 of the album became more important to me as an adult. In my Top 5 Beach Boys records.
Today, my favorite songs are: "Dance, Dance, Dance" (yes, #1), "She Knows Me Too Well", "Kiss Me Baby" (Brian and Mike at their very best), "Please Let Me Wonder" and either "Do You Wanna Dance" or "Good To My Baby" at # 5 - 'cording to how frisky I'm feeling. If I'm playing the Cd, I mix the tracks up. Always kicking off with "Dance, Dance, Dance" > "Do You Wanna Dance".
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