Customer Reviews

Today!/Summer Days

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I remember buying the original vinyl album (Today) a week after it was released and after a first listening thinking it was the finest piece of recorded vocals ever laid down. Now, over 35 years later, I am still convinced Brian Wilson's Today album rivals Pet Sounds as his classic. This CD has it all. From the opening riffs of "Good To My Baby" to the party great "Dance,Dance,Dance" to the all-time sing along chorus of "Help Me Rhonda", pure American rock n' roll just jumps off the CD. In "Please Let Me Wonder" and "Don't Hurt My Little Sister" you hear a pleading teenage boy trying to sort out adolescent feelings about himself, his friends and his family. The background vocals, amazingly recorded on four track recording, hauntingly asks us the questions we all needed answers to, only to find the answers too late in life. "When I Grow Up" Brian tells us he is afarid of what adulthood holds in store for him (and us) and wonders "what will I be". The five Beach Boys are at their vocal bests in these songs but the reason Today stands above the rest of the Beach Boy albums is the back-to-back duo of "So Young" and "Kiss Me Baby". In "So Young", Brian doesn't try to match Frankie Lymons falsetto, instead, he reworks the vocals to give the song a sound so unique that it could never be matched again in a recording studio. He pulls out all the stops with a textured sound, three chord changes, a spellbounding pause, soft percussion layer and a haunting vocal fade out that leaves you believing the Beach Boys will always stay "So Young."
"Kiss Me, Baby" is the other vocal classic that just defines perfection. The soaring opening chorus leads to the plea "please don't let us argue anymore!" and what follows is the most sensuous explanation of how a guy feels when he loves a girl. He doesn't want conversation, just to "please baby,kiss me like you never kissed before." Here all the Beach Boys get to show off their perfectly honed vocal talents, included Dennis whispering at the end of the song "Kiss Me." The song is just perfect.
"All Summer Long" has great hits like "California Girls" and the rest but listen to the rare studio version of "Graduation Day" and the tearful "Let Him Run Wild (I Don't Care). Two terrific classics that are timeless and reverent. Also, don't forget another party great "Your So Good To Me". (Just play it about halfway through any party and see the reaction) What is most intresting here are the 45 version of "Help Me Rhonda" and a second version of "So Young" with an over powering percussion layer that was rejected for Today.
While I have enjoyed these songs for years, I have rediscovered their timeless vocals with the remastered CD. Paul McCartney gave "Pet Sounds" to his kids. I gave mine "Today/All Summer Long"

I grew up in a strict, no nonsense Italian household in rural Connecticut. You just can't get any farther from the warm California sunshine, surfing, and the quest for the California dream than that. Our family summertime treks to the beach consisted of my brother and me loaded into back seat of the family Chevy wagon on a bumpy trip to " Long Island Sound " filled with mirky, seaweed laden water and rocky( read: ouch ) beaches. But then one summer, out of the blue, a song issued from my small transistor AM radio. The song was
" Surfin' Safari " and hence my dream of sunny California became closer to reality. I was no longer trapped in rural Connecticut. I was mesmerized by the song, and with maybe two quarters to my name, pedaled my way to the local department store and bought the 45 RPM record. The flip side was " 409 " and boy was I ever in heaven, having already been a full fledged greaser by age 12.
I bought everything the boys of summer put out,the Surfin' Safari Album, Little Deuce Coupe, Surfer Girl, Concert, and Surfin U.S.A.
What struck me profoundly were the harmonies and the melodies, which in my young mind made every other record put out by others seem amateurish and rudimentary in comparison. And the themes of the songs were right up my alley. Four decades later I feel the same way. By the time the Today album and Summer Days and Summer Nights album were released, I was in high school, and these songs took on new meanings to me, ( READ: Girl Crazy ). My father was a tyrant at times, he'd scream and yell at my brother and me, and would make me " go to my room " ( to study ) whenever my report card came- I always brought home poor grades. It was from lack of interest in school, and my great interest in cars and girls that killed my grades. I prided myself in never bringing home a school book to study. I would really dread the last report card before summer- because he'd usually " ground " me to my room to study all summer long. ( no pun intended. ) I never understood this, because I had no books to study for summer. When I'd remind him of this fact, he'd scream and say, " Then you'll go to the library and find the books for next year and bring them home and study them! "
So when I heard " I'm Bugged at My Old Man. " I felt a true allegiance to BIG BROTHER Brian. I felt that he knew some of the stuff I'd been going through. And I think that is what endures with respect to the Beach Boys and their music. Our relation ships, desires, fears, and longings are reflected in their music. More than once I've gotten shivers up my spine upon first hearing a new Beach Boys song,( that's what real harmony will do to you ) that's the kind of emotion it evokes. Just think of the turmoil we felt as teenagers. Who could we talk to? Who would listen and understand our deepest fears, our longing to be loved? You guessed it. Brian and the Boys. They were beyond hip as far as I was concerned, and while others turned their attention to the Rolling Stones, Jimmie Hendrix, and the British invasion groups ( especially the Beatles. ) my loyalty never wavered from " The Boys. " While everyone was cranking up " I wanna Hold your Hand " and " She Loves You ", I was cranking up " I get Around " and " When I Grow Up to Be a Man. " I often times wonder what my adolescent years would have been like if the Beach Boys never existed. We've been through a lot together, the Boys and me. They were there when I obtained my driver's license. They stood by me when I'd get a crush on a girl, ( and the subsequent heartache of unrequited love. ) They were there when my mom died of a heart attack at age 45 ( I was 17 ). And when my BIG brother Ted lost his battle with Cancer at age 27. They were there, holding me up, allowing the tears, and the pain, and the sorrow to issue from me, and then to be replaced by joyousness, the joyousness of being alive. They never failed me, those Boys of Summer. And they will not fail you.

Regards,

Tony

This Capitol "two-fer" CD combines two remarkable, five-star Beach Boys albums released in 1965 at the height of Brian Wilson's youthful genius and creativity. Both "Today" and "Summer Days" rank among the ten greatest albums ever recorded, and when they are combined on a single CD with the great 45 track "The Little Girl I Once Knew" and several other unreleased tracks, well, then you have the best CD ever put out by a record label.

Many Beach Boys/Brian Wilson fanatics rank "Today" as their second favorite album after "Pet Sounds," and who could argue with such an assessment? Side one features great BB rock and roll, including "Good to My Baby," "Don't Hurt My Little Sister," and the classic "When I Grow Up." The original version of "Help Me, Ronda," is interesting and I think unfavorably maligned. Side two of "Today" is truly mindblowing: "Please Let Me Wonder" is one of BW's greatest songs ever, and "Kiss Me Baby" and "She Knows Me Too Well" are not far behind. "I'm So Young" is incredible as well; though a cover, Brian truly made it his own with the brilliant harmonies (such as the fade-out tag) and the awesome echoing guitar. Finally, the cool, jazzy "In the Back of My Mind," sung with great feeling by Dennis, should be appreciated more than it is.

Side two of "Today" holds up, listening after listening, decade after decade. "Summer Days" is sometimes maligned as a step back for the group, mostly because it features less of the introspection of "Today" side two. But what "Summer Days" does better than ANY Beach Boys album is flat-out rock. From the opening sax-and-drums of "The Girl from New York City," this album has always brought a smile to my face and had me tapping my toes. The aforementioned "Girl," "Amusement Parks, USA," and "Salt Lake City," (with its killer guitar intro) while not introspective, have great lyrics, classic harmonies, and phenomenal instrumental grooves (arranged by BW of course). "Girl Don't Tell Me" features the Beach Boys on instruments and Carl Wilson on vocals -- another great rocker. "Help Me, Rhonda" is a classic, and "California Girls" is probably one of the ten most famous rock songs ever recorded (deservedly so). "Let Him Run Wild" is almost the greatest thing Brian has ever done (he was reportedly never happy with his vocal, and I have to agree -- a touch too much falsetto over the chorus). "You're So Good to Me" is as catchy and infectious as can be, "Summer Means New Love" a worthy companion to the Pet Sounds instrumentals, and "I'm Bugged At My Ol' Man" is hilarious and yet touchingly autobiographical at the same time. And the album ends on the perfect note -- "And Your Dream Comes True," a breathtaking a cappella song, just over a minute, that presages the simlarly breathtaking "Our Prayer" from SMiLE (the single greatest album ever recorded, released or not).

Bottom line -- if I'm condemned to a desert island and I only get one disk to bring with me, this is the one.

The greatest two-fer CD in the whole Beach Boys catalog.
The Beach Boys Today! is a fantastic album, as we get to hear the wonderful results of Brian Wilson tossing off the candy stripes and follow his muse. In many ways, this is the quintessential Beach Boys album because it covers both the extroverted, good timin', rock n' roll spirit of the band taken to new heights on side one, plus, more importantly, the introverted, maturing, genius heart of Brian with the string of sophisticated ballads on side two. Songs from previous albums like 'The Warmth of the Sun' and 'We'll Run Away' were gorgeous and really unlike anything in pop at the time (including the Beatles), but Today! gems such as the romantic, searching 'Please Let Me Wonder', the majestic 'Kiss Me Baby', the breathtakingly complex 'She Knows Me Too Well', and the moody, jazzy 'In The Back of My Mind' (my favorite song from the album)take it to another plauteu. Sure, it all ends rather oddly with 'Bull Session With Big Daddy', but that's okay - considering the tremendous stress Brian was on to deliver product quickly, it's a still a wonder this album is as rich as it is, really. 'Guess I'm Dumb', a lovely single Brian cowrote and produced for Glen Campbell around this time would have fit perfectly instead. An unforgettable album, and second only to Pet Sounds, in my opinion.
Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!), as many fans have noted, is a bit of a pulling back from the themes developed on the Today! album, being filled with just a little more fun summer tunes, but it's still an absolutely faboulus album. The absolute highlight has got to be 'Let Him Run Wild' (my second favorite Beach Boys song), a brilliant, beautiful song with an exciting chord progression and maybe my favorite Brian lead vocal, a pleading falsetto. No one writes songs like these, even now. A few of the group's biggest hits appear here, 'California Girls' amd 'Help Me Rhonda', both of which feature bright, exuberant arrangements, especially 'California Girls'' symphonic intro, which Brian has said is his favorite piece of music he ever wrote. The idea of combining catchy, sing-along pop with more deeper, symphonic dimensions is something he'd perfect a year later with 'Good Vibrations'. Speaking of symponic, check out the gorgeous 'Summer Means New Love', which along with 'Let's Go Away For Awhile' from Pet Sounds, is my favorite Beach Boys instrumental. It's so fascinating to hear Brian paint scenes with colors such as vibraphones, french horn strings, and a reverb-drenched guitar. Very unique for a 1965 record. Also included on the CD is the non-album autumn '65 single 'The Little Girl I Once Knew', which is a startling, even daring production, and a clear bridge to the Pet Sounds album.
Anyone wanting to get into the Beach Boys and the craft of Brian Wilson, I emphatically recommend the Today!/Summer Days two-fer, along with Brian's masterpiece, Pet Sounds. Simply the best pop of pop's golden era, the sixties.

Although it not easy to categorise what make the Beach Boys such a highly regarded band, when there are so many elements to shouldn't appeal to a British audience...(a throwback for the early 60's/ American boy band whimsy / singing about sunshine grooves)...their music has that undeniable catchy elements that, is hard to mistaken (or to ignore), and yet having produced so many albums (and compilations cd's) the idea initially doesn't sound that appealing. But it's a credit to their exceptional singing/songwriting capabilities that such concerns are negligible at best. And coupled with their unparalleled ability to belt out a monstrous rock & roll song or two....the Beach boys, even if you have one of their many albums, require closer investigation. Listed here is a release that combines two of their albums on one disc (along with several bonus tracks), that bring the running order of the list of tracks up to a whopping 29 tracks...so you'd be forgive for thinking that there are a lot of dud tracks amongst those 29 songs. But the two albums are actually among two of their best albums combined on the one disc, so its actually a quite fantastic retrospective of some of their popular & lesser known tracks, that firmly rubs shoulders with their best ever album "Pet Sounds". And with Tracks such as "Dance Dance Dance, California Girls, Then I Kissed Her, Do You Wanna Dance, Help Me, Rhonda", all making part of the running order, it blend of infectious sunshine grooves make this as essential a purchase as their "Pet Sounds" album.

The Beach Boys broke the mold during a time when teens were trying to find their own music, and they were fresh and FUN-FUN-FUN. This Cd is a wonderful blend of Beach Boys songs. In true Beach Boy fashion their harmony is "soulful" and they use their vocals like musical instruments. Brian and Mike are certainly talented composers as well as vocalists, but all of the guys (Brian, Mike, Al, Carl, and Dennis) make the Beach Boy sound that I can get lost in.

Summer Days (and Summer Nights!!) is an incredible album, and it's where we really start to see the genius of Brian Wilson. Today! is worth the purchase if merely to have "She Knows Me Too Well", a beautiful song not found on other Beach Boys "hits" collections. On Today!, there are songs like "Please Let Me Wonder" and "Kiss Me Baby" that indicate a new direction for the Beach Boys. Brian is doing more and more producing and experimenting, and we can hear this on songs from Summer Days like "Let Him Run Wild" and the bonus single "The Little Girl I Once Knew". Other greats are Carl Wilson's "Girl Don't Tell Me" and Al Jardine's "Help Me, Rhonda". One of my favorites is "You're So Good To Me", recently covered by Brian's daughters with Chynna Phillips as Wilson Phillips reunited at the Brian Wilson tribute...look for that version as it is so beautifully done. And most of all, Summer Days includes "California Girls", which is probably Brian Wilson's favorite Beach Boys tune. Here's a song to listen to over and over and over...you'll be listening to it for the hundredth time and you'll still hear something new in it. From this point, Brian started the "Pet Sounds" project. We're lucky to have the option of hindsight--we can see and hear the birth of "Pet Sounds" on these 2 albums.

Brian Lives.

This two-album package represents the finest compilation of Beach Boys music, during the period when the band was actively competing with the Beatles for the top slots on the pop charts.

Looking back, it must have been rather daunting for other songwriters of that era to mount a challenge to the two reigning pop kings of the early 1960s, Brian Wilson and Paul McCartney.

Although there are a few duds on this collection (most notably, "In The Back of My Mind" and "Amusement Parks USA"), most of the tracks are vintage Brian Wilson classics. From the heartache of "Please Let Me Wonder" to the emotional and direct "Let Him Run Wild" and "The Little Girl I Once Knew," the listener hears the Boys at the peak of their powers.

Soon, with the release of "Good Vibrations," "Pet Sounds," and "Smile," the blue-water-at-sunset innocence of the Beach Boys would disappear forever. But listen with satisfaction to music that evokes the sounds of summer like no other, before or since.

I bought "Today" at a garage sale back in the 70's when my fasincation with the Beach Boys was beginning because of the successful 2-Fers "Endless Summer" and "Spirit of America" which were getting a lot of play on my bedroom stereo. "Today" has been a favorite of mine for a long long time and along with "Pet Sounds" it never sounds dated and tired.

These two albums were the transistion bridge between the simpler recordings of 1962-3 (Surfer Girl - Fun Fun Fun) and Pet Sounds and is a must-have if you are learning about how that classsic album became to be. Brian had just "retired" from touring the group and now had the time to write, arrange and produce songs the way he wanted to like his Idol/Hero Phil Spector.

A lot of Beach Boys put-down "Summer Days (and Summer Nights!)" because of the return of the fun/sun/girls formula. But even weaker songs like "Amusement Parks USA" and "Salt Lake City" come off brilliant. Dont pay much attention to the lyrics - just dig and be amazed at all the intricate parts, the great studio session players, the arrangements of the group's vocals and especally the bass work (played by ace Carol Kaye on many tracks) and how they all fit together to make one huge sounding recording. Also "Let Him Run Wild" is one of the Beach Boys most underated and overlooked recordings - everything is 100% perfect on this song.

The new remastering is a huge improvement over the 1990 release. (PS: thanks to the remastering engineers for fixing the bad tape splice on "Do You Wanna Dance" right before the guitar break!) Now I wish Mark Linett and company could put together a "Today/Summer Nights" sessions disc - some parts of sessions and stereo remixes have popped up on other compilations (Endless Harmony, Hawthorne USA) but I would love to hear a new stereo remix of both albums!

This twofer covers the period leading up to Pet sounds. Some of the tracks were cut in 1964 but most date from 1965. Do you wanna dance was the first big hit of the period. It a rock'n'roll classic that Brits first heard when Cliff Richard had a hit with it, but it was originally an American hit for Bobby Freeman. Another cover hit was Then I kissed her, an adaptation of the Crystals' Then he kissed me.

Original songs yielded four American A-side hits, these being When I grow up, Help me Rhonda (a number one), California girls (one of their most famous songs) and The little girl I once knew.

I could have done without Bull session with the Big Daddy - it is just the Beach boys and a journalist chatting to each other. This sort of thing is fine for liner notes, but I don't want it on a CD. Still, its only one track and can easily be skipped.

Alternate recordings are included of some songs. Perhaps the most interesting is the original Help me Ronda (note the spelling of Ronda) which appeared on the Today album. It was substantially changed musically before being released as the single Help me Rhonda (with the spelling change also) - that version was included on the Summer days album.

All the other tracks are typical Beach boys music of the period - two classic albums from one of the most important sixties groups.