52. The Beach Boys - The Beach Boys Today! (1965)

1. Do You Wanna Dance?

2. Good to My Baby

3. Don't Hurt My Little Sister

4. When I Grow Up (To Be a Man)*

5. Help Me, Ronda

6. Dance, Dance, Dance

7. Please Let Me Wonder

8. I'm So Young

9. Kiss Me, Baby*

10. She Knows Me Too Well*

11. In the Back of My Mind

12. Bull Session with the 'Big Daddy'

A-

So this is another two-for-one special. The first half is all big, bold pop songs more in the vein of what people expected from the Beach Boys at the time, but with a bit of a twist - none of the songs are about cars or surfing, instead dealing with more mature and introspective themes. The second half of the album, on the other hand, is like nothing else at the time - gorgeous, melancholy ballads that have more in common with the lush pop of the yet-to-come Pet Sounds. So I guess I'll deal with the album as it's presented, side by side.

Well, the first side is pretty good, but it doesn't boast anything to match the Beach Boys' best pop singles. There's no "Don't Worry Baby", "California Girls", "I Get Around" or "Fun, Fun Fun". There is an early draft of "Help Me, Rhonda", but it's not very well-recorded and for some reason Brian Wilson decided to screw around with the volume at the end of the track, so that it gets quiet and then loud in an odd way that made me think I was listening to a messed-up version of the track (a pity, as it really damages the song, which has one of the most glorious choruses in pop). "Do You Wanna Dance?" is a fun song, but I really think the Ramones did it better. I like "Don't Hurt My Little Sister", because I have a little sister who makes terrible romantic choices, although it's a bit creepy as the lyrics verge on the incestuous. The real standout is "When I Grow Up (To Be a Man)", which sees Wilson ruminating on the changes that aging may put him through and whether growing up is a good or a bad thing. It's a smart, engaging song, and really quite unusual for the time.

So that's side one - a pretty good collection of songs but kind of a let down when you consider just how good the Beach Boys could be at writing fun pop. Side two is a different matter entirely. 

I really can't think of anything like it, before or perhaps since. Apparently Brian Wilson started smoking pot around this time, and it really shows. The songs are all slow, ethereal, and densely layered. The arrangements are more orchestral and the vocal harmonies are complex and gorgeous. The subject matter of the songs is pretty strange, too. "Please Let Me Wonder" is about a guy with a crush on someone, who prefers to remain in doubt as to their reciprocation of his affections rather than risk rejection by asking them outright. "I'm So Young" is about a couple who want to marry but are only kids, and all the uncertainties that entails (It also features an absolutely beautiful coda of wordless voices and gentle instrumentation that prefigures the astonishing breakdown at the end of "God Only Knows"). "Kiss Me, Baby" is a simple song about quarrelling lovers, elevated by complex harmonies and a gorgeous, slow and gentle hook. 

And then you have "She Knows Me Too Well". This song is capital "d" Dark. The narrator basically admits that he's a godawful person and treats his girlfriend like shit, that he wouldn't put up with any of that crap from her, and then cinches the whole "angels singing about killing yourself" vibe with the revelation that she will never leave him, because she knows deep down that he loves her. It's an astonishing song, both musically and lyrically. It really captures an essential truth about so many toxic relationships, and at the same time manages to sound like something you'd play at a wedding. It's pretty heart-breaking, and really presages the complexity of Pet Sounds, and Brian Wilson's willingness to examine the murky complexities of relationships while remaining committed to making truly beautiful music.

The only real misstep on this album (and boy is it a big one) is the baffling inclusion of the track "Bull Session with the 'Big Daddy'. I mean, it kind of makes sense to include a little interview at the end of an album.  Maybe it could have been interesting to hear the group's thoughts on the making of the album, and where they were coming from. But what we got instead is two minutes of them ordering grilled cheese sandwiches, debating the merits of kosher pickles, and then shooting the shit about what they liked best about their recent tour of Europe (I'll save you the trouble of listening to it - it was the bread). It's utterly pointless, faintly annoying, and coming at the end of such a wonderful sequence of songs it threatens to derail the entire enterprise. So if you happen to acquire this album digitally, maybe delete the last track. You're really not missing anything important.