The Beach Boys - Today/ Summer Days (and Summer Nights)
|
List Price: Our Price: $4.26 You Save: $7.68 (64%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Music CD See more new music releases 
|
|---|
Buy this Music CD at online store in your country
Canadian Music Store
Canadian Music Store
Free Music Notes for Today/ Summer Days (and Summer Nights)
Free Music Review: The best American pop music ever produced
Hit: 5 Stars
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"
Free Music Review: Today!/Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!)
Hit: 5 Stars
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 Beach Boy leader/producer Brian Wilson tossing off the candy stripes to 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 plateau. Sure, it all ends rather oddly with the mock interview '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 a truly wonderful 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' and '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 the genre's golden era, the Sixties.
Free Music Review: Today and Every Day of the Year
Hit: 5 Stars
I played these two albums to death when I was a teenager, "Today" in particular. Some of my all-time favorite Beach Boys songs came from that album: Dance, Dance, Dance; and three of the best romantic ballads Brian produced -- Please Let Me Wonder; Kiss Me Baby; and She Knows Me Too Well. It's also been sweet to hear some of my favorites from "Summer Days...": Girl Don't Tell Me; Let Him Run Wild; You're So Good to Me; California Girls; and one of those signature a cappella Beach Boys masterpieces, And Your Dream Comes True.
Sadly, I have a feeling I'm preaching to the choir here, because it's mostly long-time Beach Boys fans who care about their catalog. But if you're one of the lucky ones who's just discovering the Beach Boys, you're in for a mindblowing experience with "Today." I agree with those who rate it up there with "Pet Sounds." On "Today," Brian refines his production techniques of changing key signatures in the middle of a phrase, utilizing orchestral instrumentation like tympani and strings with dense Phil Spectorish "wall of sound" arrangements, working ornate, jazz-based vocal harmonies into doo-wop songs, employing two different singers for vocal leads in the same song (usually himself and Mike Love taking turns) -- all the while maintaining the rhythmic drive of great rock 'n roll. Brian was overflowing with original musical ideas that added emotional depth to even the simplest sentiments about teenage identity crises and romantic angst.
Very important is the fact that Dennis Wilson sings two terrific leads on "Today": Do You Wanna Dance, and In the Back of My Mind. Dennis was a great talent, tortured, messed-up and tragically gone before he was 40. It's touching and wonderful to have these memories of his voice in strong, fine form.
It's also fun to hear the bonus tracks: alternate takes of Help Me, Rhonda; Dance, Dance, Dance; I'm So Young; and Let Him Run Wild. Brian was not only creating, but editing and improving his own work, as any great master would, and you can clearly hear how the final versions surpass the earlier takes.
I know I'm making "Today" sound really heavy and deep, and in a sense it is. But it's also a knock-your-socks-off collection of rock 'n roll gems. "Summer Days..." is not quite the masterpiece that "Today" is, which is understandable since Brian churned it out to fulfill the expectations of the record company. But hey, the stuff the Beach Boys churned out in a couple of months was better than what most bands could produce in a year.
As Brian or brother Carl Wilson might have said, "Gosh!" This is timelessly great music with that Beach Boys difference -- music I loved when I was 15, that I love now at age 55, and that with any luck, I'll still be rocking to when I'm 95.
Free Music Review: Pure Genius ---- Brian Wilson Reaching His Peak
Hit: 5 Stars
Absolutely the best two-fer in the Beach Boys' catalog, "Today/Summer Days & Nights", is sheer testimony to the genius that is Brian Wilson. This is Brian and the Boys flexing their musical muscle in 1965, going head to head with the Beatles, preparing to shatter the boundaries of pop with the release of "Pet Sounds" the following year.It is interesting, in hindsight, to hear the band's rapid development on tracks such as "Let Him Run Wild" and "When I Grow Up". The sophistication of these songs, as well as the startling single "The Little Girl I Once Knew", utterly confused the teenyboppers back in '65. In retrospect, however, it's obvious that Brian was headed for higher ground. Side Two of "Today" (tracks 7-11) is practically a preview of "Pet Sounds". The lush orchrestration of "I'm So Young" and "Kiss Me Baby" far exceeded anything the band had ever attempted. Side Two's crown jewels, however, are the ballads "Please Let Me Wonder" and "She Knows Me Too Well". Melodic and hauntingly beautiful, both songs would have fit perfectly on "Pet Sounds".
Highlights from "Summer Days" include "California Girls" -- so familiar now, it's often considered the Beach Boys' signature tune. Listen, however, to its semi-classical introduction and try to imagine how innovative it must have sounded in 1965. It's difficult to imagine any current artist attempting to tackle such an ambitious musical interlude! Equally cool is the Beatlesque "Girl Don't Tell Me" which features Carl Wilson's first lead vocal (stellar of course...) and some killer drum fills. The hooky "You're So Good To Me" is the hit single that never was. (Nearly every Beach Boys album contains one of those!) It is interesting to compare the erratic album cut "Help Me, Ronda" (note the strange spelling) with the remake "Help Me Rhonda" which reached # 1 on the singles chart. If nothing else, the startling transformation of "Rhonda" proves how hard Brian & the Boys were willing to work in order to perfect their craft.
"Today/Summer Days" is a remarkable document of a band reaching its artistic peak. Like Dylan's "Highway 61" and the Beatles' "Rubber Soul" (which ironically inspired Brian to create "Pet Sounds"), "Today" was a mere springboard for better things to come. However, the thrill of actually hearing an artist developing the confidence that leads to such greatness is a rare experience indeed. This is a must for any serious music fan. Great stuff!!
Free Music Review: This is a must have classic CD!
Hit: 5 Stars
THE BEACH BOYS TODAY! was released as the band's 9th album in March 1965. This was the first BB album issued with the band's new arrangement (the band on the road, Brian Wilson home writing and producing music) and man, does it show! If PET SOUNDS never came out, this would be the album that would receive SOUNDS' acclaim. The first half is a stunning display of the band's up-tempo side "Do You Wanna Dance?", "When I Grow Up", "Help Me Ronda" (the original version) and "Dance Dance Dance" were all hits. It is the last half that makes the album the powerhouse that it is. Brian Wilson basically laid out the basic plan for PET SOUNDS right here: "Please Let Me Wonder", "Kiss Me Baby", "She Knows Me Too Well" and "In The Back Of My Mind" are lush, slow, mouth-watering, BRILLIANTLY-composed, performed and produced masterpieces that still can affect listeners today. After its release and success, Capitol Records asked Brian to return to simpler, more commercial themes. With gritted teeth, he did this (the last time he fell "into line" with his record company) and the result was SUMMER DAYS (AND SUMMER NIGHTS!!) in July 1965. Just a hair less classic than TODAY! (if only for Brian's progressive vision being sidetracked), the album is still one of the band's best. "The Girl From New York City" is the foot-stomping album opener and leads us through many highlights: "Then She Kissed Me", "Girl Don't Tell Me", "Help Me, Rhonda" (the # 1 hit single version), the follow-up smash "California Girls" and the astounding "Let Him Run Wild" (this is the only place you can get it) which is one of their best creations. "Summer Means New Love" is an affecting instrumental that pre-dates PET SOUNDS again and we get a lovely lullaby for an album closer in "And Your Dream Comes True". If all this sonic glory isn't enough, we get further bonus tracks detailing alternate versions, but the real ear candy here is the next single "The Little Girl I Once Knew", the last thing Brian Wilson did before starting PET SOUNDS which is an incredible song. One of the best songs they've ever released, full of complexities and brilliance. Are you catching on yet? If you haven't then I'll put it this way: What are you waiting for?! Buy this CD! Now! You're getting two of the most classic, influential albums ever made for the price of one and then some! Enjoy!