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Rating: On December 23, 1964, the Beach Boys are flying out of Los Angeles to embark on a short winter tour. That year, for the Hawthorne boys, was rich with achievements and successes. Number ones on the charts were not lacking ("I Get Around" and the album "Concert") and the album "All Summer Long" hinted at interesting developments in the group's music, whose image at the time was still tied to fashion and the world of surfing. Even the "Christmas Album," released recently, had become a small classic of the genre. A year full of hard work, especially for Brian Wilson, the musical leader and composer of the Beach Boys. Only the sudden success of the Beatles in the United States had slightly overshadowed their dominance in the national charts.
That night on the plane taking the band to Houston, Brian Wilson, singer, bassist, and musical genius who had composed and produced an incredible series of hit singles and albums in just a few months, breaks down in front of everyone and leaves the rest of the group due to a nervous breakdown. A few days later, Brian gathers his brothers Dennis and Carl, his cousin Mike Love, and Al Jardine to explain the new direction he wants to take the group's music. He wants to devote himself exclusively to composing and working in the recording studio, leaving the concert activity and life "on the road." The others, after a harsh reaction towards Brian, accept the bitter decision and decide to replace him on stage first with veteran Glenn Campbell and then with Bruce Johnston. This particular moment marks the beginning of a golden era for great songwriting. "Today" is the first product born from the mind of that Brian Wilson concentrated in the studio on production work. The album is released in 1965 and compared to the past shows greater sophistication both in composition and in the use of recording techniques.
"Today" introduces the Beach Boys to a new world and a new musical era: the era of "Pet Sounds" and the "Smile" project. The almost obsessive care of the arrangements desired by Brian is also a way to counteract the success of the Beatles, a group with whom the author often feels in musical competition. The Beatles replace in Brian's mind what Phil Spector had been in his early career: a rival. The first part of "Today" presents a sequence of rhythmic, very pleasant, and naturally rich vocal mixes. "Do You Wanna Dance?" is a cover of a Bobby Freeman piece here interpreted with confidence by Dennis Wilson. "Dance, Dance, Dance" and "When I Grow Up" are classics of the Californian band. "Good To My Baby" and "Don't Hurt My Little Sister" present a remarkable variety of harmonic choices. "Help Me, Ronda" is presented in an early unripe version. The second part of the album paves the way for future masterpieces like "California Girls" and "Pet Sounds". Brian, based on complex arrangements, creates small pocket pop symphonies. Everything is born spontaneously in the author's mind. Notes, melodies, and words blend perfectly like the colors of a rainbow.
"Please Let Me Wonder", "Kiss Me, Baby", "She Knows Me Too Well", "In The Back Of My Mind", are a series of splendid and profound pop ballads as perfect as they are delicate, where Brian explores new recording techniques. Personal tracks rich with interesting musical ideas. "Today" will be yet another triumph for the Beach Boys. Brian Wilson will live through all this with relative indifference, spending time in the relentless pursuit of musical perfection, awaiting the "Smile" nightmare. The release of the Beatles' "Rubber Soul" and the arrival of lysergic acid will open the doors to a new musical and cultural era. Brian Wilson, the George Gershwin of pop music, will be ready, seated at the console of his private recording studio.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
04 When I Grow Up (to Be a Man) (02:04)
When I grow up to be a 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?
Oooooo Ooooooo Oooooooo
Will my kids be proud or think their old man is really a square?
(eighteen nineteen)
When they're out having fun yeah, will I still wanna have my share?
(twenty twenty-one)
Will I love my wife for the rest of my life
When I grow up to be a man?
What will I be when I grow up to be a man?
(twenty-two twenty-three)
Won't last forever
(twenty-four twenty-five)
It's kind of sad
(twenty-six twenty-seven)
Won't last forever
(twenty-eight twenty-nine)
It's kind of sad
(thirty thirty-one)
Won't last forever
(thirty-two...)
06 Dance, Dance, Dance (02:01)
After six hours of school I've had enough for the day
I hit the radio dial and turn it up all the way
I gotta dance (dance dance dance now the beat's really hot) right on the spot
(Dance dance dance right there on the spot)
The beat's really hot
(Dance dance dance now the beat's really hot)
Dance (dance) dance (dance) dance (dance) yeah!
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 (dance dance dance now the beat's really hot) right on the spot
(Dance dance dance right there on the spot)
The beat's really hot
(Dance dance dance now the beat's really hot)
Dance (dance) dance (dance) dance (dance) yeah!
Ohby!
At a weekend dance we like to show up last
I play it cool when it's slow and jump it when it's fast
I gotta dance (dance dance dance now the beat's really hot) right on the spot
(Dance dance dance right there on the spot)
The beat's really hot
(Dance dance dance now the beat's really hot)
Dance (dance) dance (dance) dance (dance) yeah!
(Dance dance dance now the beat's really hot)
(Dance dance dance right there on the spot)
(Dance dance dance now the beat's really hot)
Dance (dance) dance (dance) dance (dance) yeah!
(Dance dance dance now the beat's really hot)
(Dance dance dance right there on the spot)
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