The Beach Boys Today!

The Beach Boys Today!
Studio album by The Beach Boys
Publication (s)	1965
Label (s)	Capitol Records
Format (s)	LP, CD
Genre (s)	Rock , surf rock
Title (number)	12
running time	28 min 54 s
occupation	Vocals / Bass / Keyboards : Brian Wilson Singing: Mike Love Singing / guitar : Carl Wilson Singing / guitar: Al Jardine Drums : Dennis Wilson
production	Brian Wilson
Studio (s)	Western Recording Studios, Hollywood , California Gold Star Recording Studios, Hollywood, California
chronology The Beach Boys' Christmas Album (1964) The Beach Boys Today! Summer Days (And Summer Nights !!) (1965)

The Beach Boys Today! is the ninth studio album by the Beach Boys . It was released on March 1, 1965 and was released by Capitol Records .

Emergence

1964 was a very successful year for the Beach Boys, at times five of the band's albums were in the charts at the same time . TV appearances, sold out concerts and a European tour showed the great popularity of the group. Brian Wilson collapsed on an airplane towards the end of the year . The rest of the tour had to be done by the other Beach Boys alone.

During this time, Brian Wilson was under great pressure to succeed. He refused to do further tours with the group, but saw his job primarily in writing and producing new songs. Glen Campbell replaced him on the band's later appearances.

He started working on Beach Boys Today songs earlier in the year ! to work. While the Beach Boys were on tour, he worked with the session musicians on the new songs. The entire production was led by him, as always supported by Chuck Britz, his sound engineer . Eight songs on the album are compositions by Brian Wilson, the remaining three songs are cover versions , and the album also contains an interview excerpt as a final track.

The album contains the typical Beach Boys rock songs on side A and predominantly melancholy ballads on the second side. Furthermore, this is the first album on which Brian Wilson writes self-critical topics and tries lyrically to deal with his psychological problems. His development as a songwriter can be seen on this album. Many critics have described the album as the first step on the way to Pet Sounds .

success

The album was a huge success, reaching number 4 on the US Billboard charts and number 6 on the UK album charts. It was also the Beach Boys' first album to hit the German charts (at number 14). It achieved gold status in the USA . It is considered the first Beach Boys album that met the demands of both critics and fans and shows the Beach Boys as a serious and demanding band.

Track list

1. Do You Wanna Dance? (Bobby Freeman) - 2:19
2. Good to My Baby (Brian Wilson / Mike Love ) - 2:16
3. Don't Hurt My Little Sister (Brian Wilson / Mike Love) - 2:07
4. When I Grow Up (To Be a Man) (Brian Wilson / Mike Love) - 2:01
5. Help Me, Ronda (Brian Wilson / Mike Love) - 3:08
6. Dance, Dance, Dance (Brian Wilson / Carl Wilson / Mike Love) - 3:08
7. Please Let Me Wonder (Brian Wilson / Mike Love) - 2:45
8. I'm So Young (William H. Tyrus Jr.) - 2:30
9. Kiss Me, Baby (Brian Wilson / Mike Love) - 2:35
10. She Knows Me Too Well (Brian Wilson / Mike Love) - 2:27
11. In the Back of My Mind (Brian Wilson / Mike Love) - 2:07
12. Bull Sessions with "Big Daddy" (Brian Wilson / Carl Wilson / Mike Love / Al Jardine )

Additional information about the songs

Do You Wanna Dance? was a 1958 hit by Bobby Freeman . The Beach Boys released a single of their version, which hit number 12 on the Billboard charts. The B-side Please Let Me Wonder reached number 52.

Don't Hurt My Little Sister was originally written for The Ronettes , Phil Spector changed the song to Things Are Changing (For the Better) . Brian Wilson was supposed to play the piano on recording, but was transferred by Spector. It was the only collaboration between Wilson and Spector. The Blossoms later recorded the song for a commercial.

When I Grow Up was released as a single and reached number 9 on the charts. It reached number 29 in the UK. The song is about the process of getting older and the fears and worries that come with it. For the first time Brian Wilson addressed his mental health problems here. With In the Back of My Mind another self-critical song can be found on the album.

Help Me, Ronda was the second time Al Jardine took on lead vocals (first time on Christmas Day from the previous album ). The song was released as a single in a newly recorded, shorter version and with a different spelling ( Rhonda ) and can also be found on the follow-up Summer Days (And Summer Nights !!) . This new version became a huge hit for the band.

Dance, Dance, Dance reached number 8 on the US singles chart.

I'm So Young was written by William H. Tyrus and published by doo-wop group The Students.

Bull Sessions With "Big Daddy" is an excerpt from an interview with Earl Leaf , nicknamed "Big Daddy". He worked for the California "Teen Set" magazine. The interview, from which the excerpt comes, is about the European tour in autumn 1964.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c} Booklet of the CD Beach Boys Today! / Summer Days (And Summer Nights !!) , Capitol Records 2001
2. ↑ ^{a b} http://www.warr.org/brian.html#Today
3. ↑ ^{a b} Song info for When I Grow Up in the Allmusic Guide
4. ↑ John Moores: Hidden Treasures. Archived from the original on May 20, 2007 ; accessed on June 17, 2014 (English). 
5. ↑ ^{a b c d e} album info in the Allmusic Guide
6. ↑ ^{a b} http://www.everyhit.com/
7. ↑ http://www.charts-surfer.de/musiksuche.php
8. ^ RIAA .