The Beach Boys Today!

You could put this in a museum and say "listen kids, this is what preppy white boys did to get laid 100 years ago"

There's no denying that you only need to be listening to The Beach Boys for the time it takes you to say "oh fuck, it's The Beach Boys" to know it's them. The iconic harmonies, the voices that sound like they've trapped their bollocks in a car door, it's all very familiar. And for that - a solid 2 stars. Where I draw the line is that every song sounds the same, and every song has the same lyrics but in a different order. "There's a pretty girl, I wonder if she's into me" "If I look good, will that pretty girl notice me" "I wonder if we could get together and gang rape that woman" SING SOMETHING DIFFERENT FOR THE LOVE OF GOD Anyway, I'm sure the album was a popular classic at the time. It just aged like the crusty bed sheets of a brothel.

horro as i come to terms with the utter caucasity of my music taste

Pretty terrible. "Oh but the harmonies" - yes, what about the songs? Creepy vaguely misognyist crap sung as nursery rhymes by castrati. And, hey, harpsichords! Shite

Time is an interesting thing. When I was 8 years old, the Beach Boys sounded like yesterday's music to me, but they had been cutting edge only three years before. While the vocal sound of the Beach Boys has been appropriated by everyone from Van Halen to Animal Collective, this album is bound to a very specific cultural moment. So given all that, is it still worth listening to outside of its massive influence? Well, first of all, the vocals are still as gorgeous as ever, just in terms of the sheer beauty of the timbres. The brothers Wilson and Mike Love harmonize beautifully. We could use vocalists like them today. The disadvantage of the bell-like clarity of the vocalists is that the lyrics are all too discernable. They are simplistic bordering on moronic. At first glance, the music is just as simple. Certainly, the building blocks are, basic early 60s surf-rock melodies and chord progressions. But composer Brian Wilson throws in surprising harmonic shifts here and there, which provides some interest. The production has the bombast and echo so beloved by Phil Spector, which I loathe on general principle, but it's kind of appropriate for this kind of sunny California sound. So, how do you rate this sort of thing? I found the style boring 50 years ago, and I feel about the same now. That said, it's beautifully executed, and much more sophisticated than most music of its ilk. I'll hold my nose and give it 3 stars out of 5. 3/5

I was going to brush this off as an "Oh gee, we probably need a few more Beach Boys albums on the list" pick, but Brian Wilson's melodicism never deserts him, the boys don't try to make more out of material that's slight-by-design, and Help Me Rhonda buys a lot of good will. A great example of building an album around one terrific single, but probably not one of the 1001 best albums ever made.

The Beach Boys have always had gorgeous, sweeping harmonies, and I feel like they truly shine here. Weirdly, I really enjoy the studio noise at the very end of the record. A lot of beautiful sounds on this record. Favorite tracks: "Help Me Rhonda", "In The Back of My Mind"

It's a Beach Boys album, so you know what it's gonna sound like. Why this album though? There isn't even a stand out track. It feels like a collection of b-sides.

I don't get the Beach Boys...

This was horrible, the only thing that ran though my mind was the question "is Brian Wilson a pevert" creepy lyrics and a clunky sound. Used to love the beach boys but now they feel more like the peeping Tom's!

Very nice touch for the admin to nudge the Beach Boys into our daily albums today, clearly not a coincidence judging by Reddit! RIP Brian Wilson I tried to be objective even given the timings, but I do love the band. This has a nice mixture between what first made them big with the punchy and catchy rock 'n' roll songs and soaring harmonies with Frankie Valli style falsetto. Clearly the songwriting was starting to evolve beyond surfing and girls to some extent.. tracks like When I Grow Up were starting to explore different lyrical themes, and they were starting to introduce more variety of instruments. Not quite the baroque pop masterpiece of Pet Sounds but I loved this as well

The Beach Boys Today! is the eighth studio album by the American rock band the Beach Boys, released March 8, 1965 on Capitol Records. It signaled a departure from their previous records with its orchestral sound, intimate subject matter, and abandonment of car or surf songs. Side one features an uptempo sound, while side two consists mostly of introspective ballads. Supported by this thematic approach, the record became an early example of a rock concept album and established the group as album artists rather than just a singles band. It has since become regarded as one of the greatest albums of all time.

Fun!

Nice tribute to Brian Wilson getting this called up the day after his death. Good clean surf music. Better stuff to come.

Honestly, this is really not their best album. It's full of the oooeeeooo, falsetto, saccharine-sweet fluff tracks that they became popular for but has none of the brilliant deep cuts that made them legends.

There wasn't much to like about this one. Every song sounded the same and the singing wasn't even that good. It got very boring fast.

Well, I would say that this is the CRAZIEST coincidence in all of the album project, but I checked the 1001 Albums subreddit and everyone else got either a Beach Boys album or Brian Wilson Presents Smile, so forget that. I guess we're doing an intentional tribute. I can't blame the website runner though. Brian Wilson will undoubtedly go down in history as one of the most innovative minds in all of music. His production, lyricism, and musical visions have produced some of the greatest songs and albums in music history. I mean, the man was largely responsible for Pet Sounds. If that's not legacy, I don't know what is. And you know what? Many of the things that have led the Beach Boys to go down in history as one of the greatest bands of all time have their beginnings rooted in the band's 8th studio album, The Beach Boys Today! These guys weren't just singing about surfing and girls and surfing girls anymore. Well, they were still kind of singing about girls for some songs, but in a more refined way. I will say that this one of those albums with a noticeably better second half than the first half. The first half has good songs, sure, but the second half has "Please Let Me Wonder" so it wins. Amazing song. Maybe not as much of a masterpiece as something like "God Only Knows" or "Good Vibrations," but not many songs are, so a song as good as this will suffice. Of course, the things that make the Beach Boys so unique are still here. The vocals harmonies are as wonderful as ever. The instrumentation here is rich and I love it. One thing that really makes the best Beach Boys songs stick out is that they simultaneously feel melancholic and optimistic. I don't know how it's possible, but it is. Let's finish this review, shall we? Admittedly, by just about every metric possible, The Beach Boys Today! is the weakest of the three Beach Boys albums on the list. However, when the other two on the list are Pet Sounds and Surf's Up, that doesn't really say much, does it? The Beach Boys Today! is still a strong showing that doesn't overstay its welcome at all and shows off the talents that will soon go on to become the stuff of legends. I don't think I need to say much more. With their endlessly pleasing vocal harmonies, fleshed-out songwriting, and Brian Wilson's insane musical prowess, it's no wonder that the Beach Boys are considered one of the greatest bands of all time and that Brian's legacy has endured as strongly as it has. Light 4/5. R.I.P. Brian Wilson.

A stepping stone album that sounds equal parts early surf-pop Beach Boys and the later sonic experimentation Beach Boys, but just not quite as good as either.

So many songs to enjoy on this album. I love that their music captures a very specific era and vibe and - mostly - one single adolescent obsession - girls, girls, girls. And it makes the music truthful and sincere. The songwriting will evolve on later albums but this is a sign pointing towards even greater music to come.

Quite a coincidence to get this album the day after Brian Wilson died. Good clean fun but not a lot of substance (edit - I see from the date that a lot of people got this today. I ain’t even mad). Right after this I was compelled to listen to R.E.M.'s Dead Letter Office. I had completely forgotten that the song 𝘝𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘏𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘥 also mentions a Ronda! 𝘈𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘵, 𝘙𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘢 𝘔𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘨𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘌𝘹𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘱𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘰 𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 '𝘴 𝘙𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘢 ! 𝘈𝘯 𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘵 !

J'ai adoré la chanson Bull Session with "Big Daddy" dont le concept est de parler angais et de s'enregistrer.

There may be some underlying technical brilliance here that’s going over my head, but to me, it’s a pedestrian pop record I won’t be listening to again.

Oh, Today!? The day after Brian Wilson’s death? That's convenient. I have as much passing familiarity with The Beach Boys as any active music fan my age. That's to say: I am aware of their hits, saw the cameos on Full House, have heard them praised countless times for their influence, and only partially blame them for the Tate-LaBianca murders. To me, The Beach Boys have always been the quintessential "We have The Beatles at home" band. The waspy goody two-shoes appearance and falsetto harmonies quickly get cloying, and somehow make The Beatles’ Ed Sullivan performance feel edgy. I’m sure Pet Sounds will be on this list because that's always cited as their most influential album, so knowing this is (at most) their 2nd most influential album doesn't help my opinion of it. If I'm apathetic about side 1, I'm actively disinterested in side 2. (Sorry Brian, Rest In Peace)

Moldin’ Oldies.

The worst of the Beach Boys, if we're being honest. Best track: She Knows Me Too Well

I don't really get why this is on the list. I'm not a huge Beach Boys fan, and never got into their albums in a big way. I just like their most famous songs, and none of them were on here. I didn't find any of the tracks particularly memorable or innovative whatsoever. Overall a miss for me, looking forward to listening to some of their other albums though.

No

5 stars. Love them. Hits the spot on a day like today. RIP Brian Wilson

Great music. RIP Brian Wilson.

RIP Brian Wilson he passed away yesterday, nice this album coming up today

ay :( brian wilson :(

I love the Beach Boys, they are my favorite 60s band. This is an interesting album for us to get first. It has none of their most famous hits, and scant reference to boats or surfing. They still reference "my baby" a whole lot, so at least that hasn't gone anywhere. The lyrics on this album are more substantive than their previous outings. "Don't Hurt My Little Sister" is a banger. "When I Grow Up To Be A Man" is funny. They don't want their kids to view them as squares. Unfortunately, some number of the Beach Boys are now weird Trump-heads, so their kids almost certainly think they're squares. "Bull Session with 'Big Daddy'" is a hell of a name for a track. Despite it's pornhub-worthy name, it's just a fun conversation between the band members. European bread is FAR better than American bread, and I thank the Beach Boys for spreading the word. I love everything about the Beach Boys. The songs & albums are nice iPad kid lengths. The sound is awesome. This record shows a different side of them than their top played hits may. Not that different though, they're still on their same shit. 9/10

Given that the Beach Boys are neck-and-neck with the Beatles for the title of my favorite band, I think it’s an absolute TRAVESTY that there isn’t another BB album on the list. Today is supposed to represent the BB’s early work, but in reality it’s a transitional record. I think that Surfer Girl or even Summer Days… And Summer Nights should have made the list as well. Anywho, I thought I was going to give this only 4 stars because on every pre-Pet Sounds BB record, there’s like 5 beautiful songs that make you want to cry, and 5 of the dumbest novelty songs you’ve ever heard. Yet even the songs on side one are amazing! I enjoyed “Do You Wanna Dance?” just as much as “Please Let Me Wonder”. Brian and the boys earned their five stars here.

Love The Beach Boys. This might not be their most mature or developed offering but it sure puts me in a good mood.

I was unfamiliar with 8 of the 12 tracks on the original disk. It's 29-minutes of Beach Boy joy. Fun, lyrical, melodious. I would have been a fan if I wasn't only 9-months old when this album was released. Added.

This was really cool! Got it recommended in this site the day after Brian Wilson's passing :( Really complex and beautiful harmonies. Relatively innocent lyrics that I found poignant at times.

Really enjoy the surf rock tracks, less inclined to go for the ballads, but all in all, this is pretty classic.

The Beach Boys Today! is a transitional album, and you can really hear it. On one hand, you’ve got that early surf-pop charm still bubbling through songs like “Do You Wanna Dance?” and “Dance, Dance, Dance” — catchy, fun, and full of youthful bounce. But then the second half slows things right down and hints at something more thoughtful, more emotionally layered. That shift is what makes the album interesting. For me, the more introspective songs like “Please Let Me Wonder” and “She Knows Me Too Well” are where things get properly engaging. You can feel Brian Wilson beginning to explore deeper textures and arrangements, planting the seeds that would later blossom into Pet Sounds. But it doesn’t quite get there yet. The album is caught between two worlds — the sunny, simple innocence of the early 60s and the richer, more complex pop to come. I enjoyed it, even if I wouldn’t rush to call it a masterpiece. It’s like a polaroid of a band mid-transformation. Not all the songs stick, but there’s just enough here to show the potential and charm that kept The Beach Boys at the forefront. A solid listen that hints at something greater just around the corner.

Tender songs, about confusion and uncertainty, with backing and arrangements that became the new LA Standard - timpanis, glockenspiels, layers of harmonies. The maestro of vulnerability - RIP Brian Wilson. This LP was presented for my listening on the day after the news came that Brian had moved on from this plane, making this even more of a bittersweet listen than it would have been.

The band that sang like a bunch of ghosts are now, mostly, ghosts. Though Mike Love will always be a ghoul. There are a couple of great ones here, tricky arrangements housing sticky choruses and lyrics that stare at you unblinkingly from that wholesome white-picketed house’s bedroom window. Was David Lynch a fan? Brian Wilson died yesterday, and I now turn to my comrade’s review; I’ve been looking forward all day to watching a friend kick a skeleton. No quarter to corpses, Simon!

First, the list gave us The Queen is Dead the morning after Queen Elizabeth died. Now, the list gives us Beach Boys the day after Brian Wilson dies…. And gives us an album where you can hear Brian’s personality as he’s chatting with the other Boys on *checks notes* “Bull Session With ‘Big Daddy’”. I sometimes get a surreal feeling when listening to music from artists that have passed away. It feels like you’re hanging out with ghosts, their spirit and soul being captured in the vessel of the music. Sadly, some songs don’t reach their peak of meaning _until_ the artist dies. I think of Mac Miller on Malibu “I might die before I detox” — once Mac died from a drug overdose, this song’s meaning morphed from a sad, yet tongue-in-cheek snapshot of his mental health into a morose past-premonition of current realities. I think of Jason Molina’s many indie-blues projects that emanate an atmosphere of depression, and how those same demons of which he shared a snapshot on his albums are those that dragged him down into an early death from alcoholism and its complications. Luckily, it’s not as sad with Brian Wilson. On the last track here (I refuse to call it by its name again), you can feel the happiness and the love that these young men have for life and for each other. You can almost feel their smiles through the dialogue captured on the track, and can hear that their lives are, in reality, just as fun and free-spirited as their music. Accordingly, as I listen to Brian Wilson (and his band’s) creations after he’s passed, I don’t feel any sadness. Instead, I think “what a life!”. He and The Beach Boys sang about and lived a life of girls, beaches, and surfing, they were both widely popular and critically acclaimed, and their music is known and instantly recognizable across generations and across the globe. Most of all, I’m grateful that many of the snapshots of Brian Wilson from his music that will endure over time are ones of pure joy, sun, laughter, love, and friendship. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could all leave a legacy like this? R.I.P. Brian Wilson

Solid 4 RIP Brian Wilson

Interesting. Nice digestible album length. A transitional sound that gets you to Pet Sounds. Some fun pop songs. Odd song, Don't Hurt My Little Sister; is this the only song from this pov? This belongs here, I'm just confused by them overall. The song craft and production is so high level for the time and obviously influential. Brian Wilson, stuck between the music business and art, but he may have needed the constraints to keep him focused.

The Beach Boys Today! I’ve never really delved into the Beach Boys albums pre Pet Sounds, I kind of assumed due to the quantity of them and the duplicated songs on some of them that they would be musically all over the shop - much better to listen to a best of. This album confounded that idea though. Do You Wanna Dance, I’ve always loved this, it is a brilliantly joyful pop song. It wasn’t till I was reading after that I learned this was a cover. I love the hook at the start of each line being replicated in the chorus though, and the ‘hit’ of music and vocals and harmonies at the chorus is just a fantastic moment. I listened to the original out of curiosity and the BBs version really does lift what is quite a flat song. Good to my Baby feels a little early Beach Boys by numbers in comparison, as does Be Good to My Little Sister, although the drop in ‘why don’t you love her…’ part elevates it, a really lovely little melodic and harmonic moment. When I Grow Up to be a Man is really interesting, lyrically and thematically not standard fare for early 65 and you can see how this might have influenced (and been influenced by) John to write even more personally - In My Life followed not long after this. Help me Rhonda is a greatest hits staple that you can easily overlook, but it’s great, the modulating sound level into the chorus is great, and as you’d expect, brilliant harmonies. Dance, Dance, Dance is a bit of I Get Around clone, albeit a fun listen, and does feel a bit like the filler I was expecting. Please Let Me Wonder, however, feels very very different, with a tenderness and maturity standing in stark contrast to Dance, Dance, Dance. This clearly feels like a turning point, noticeably more interesting melodically and musically. The bass is great throughout and all the different instrumental hooks. Superb. I’m So Young sounds great too, but again I didn’t realise this was a cover until after. It is a nice tune and arrangement but isn’t massively different from the original and is a little bit filler-y. Kiss me, Baby, really beautiful and tender, similar to Please Let Me Wonder. I love the ‘up and downess’ of it, little peaks and troughs and a gorgeous sounding chorus. Lovely. She Knows Me Too Well, another beautiful and wistful song, but with a kind of fragile tension to it, a little bit of uncertainty thematically and musically. The jealousy theme also must have resonated with Lennon. In The Back of My Mind, what a song. Again this must have been hugely influential, with a lovely vocal. It’s really sad and has a loneliness to it, and melodically/harmonically it’s really interesting, a similar skill that the Beatles have in creating a musical feeling that matches or contests the lyrics. I really do like a lot of their albums post Pet Sounds, there are some absolute gems and a lot of brilliant stuff on Smiley Smile, Holland, Friends, 20/20, Wild Honey etc, but I’ve tended to struggle with Pet Sounds itself, finding it hard to get into, but I wonder if this might help, in the way that Help feeds into Rubber Soul and Rubber Soul into Revolver. I was really surprised how good this was versus my expectations, and that feeling of a change happening as you listen to the 2nd side, a branching out and a maturity. In terms of a score I think it’s a 4, just due to the unevenness and ‘throwbacknees’ of the 1st side, although the contrast between the surf pop and the introspection is pretty cool. It doesn’t feel as complete in the way Rubber Soul does - and I think we are comparing the Beach Boys to the Beatles here, holding them to a slightly higher standard than other groups of the time - so a 4 it is. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

An incredible record by one of the most important and influential pop/rock bands out of the 60s.

Beach boys incredibly influential and this record was a revolution in mic technology. Awesome

Good and enjoyable? Certainly. Ingrained in my memory since childhood? Oh yes. One of the all time greatest albums? My modern ears can't hear it, I'll have to take their word for it. Certainly influential though, and apparently an early example of a concept album.

The Beach Boys harmonies are great and certainly a signature sound but after a handful of songs, harmony fatigue starts to set in. There are a lot of doo-wop sounds here. Overall this was OK.

I absolutely love this style of music - but, as with many good things, you can have too much. And for me, an album of bubblegum surf-pop is a little deadening to the joy of it, like binging 4 Wes Anderson movies in a row. (To be fair, the half-way shift helps this, and so does the nice addition of the final track.)

This can't have been random. What if I don't like it. Wall Of Sound much. Help me Rhonda bangs.. Hm idk it doesnt have their best on here the songs get kinda samey, but those songs are good . Hits it with my big inflatable 3 Stars hammer

Ah well, there you go - less than 24 hours after Brian Wilson's death was announced and this pops up for me. In the mixed-up Beach Boys UK release chronology, this album directly preceded Pet Sounds, with Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!) not hitting British shelves until after that release. Not that it matters too much - only California Girls and Let Him Run Wild from the latter might have clued listeners in to what was coming next. As it stands, Today! is a collection of smart rock 'n' roll surf-pop which sees Wilson still seemingly trying to emulate his hero Phil Spector for much of the first half of this record. The complex vocal arrangements and effortless key changes are, as can be said of much of The Beach Boys' pre-Pet Sounds output, wasted on such lightweight material for the most part, effective though it is. The second half - the original LP's flip side - is where the album really shines for me. Please Let Me Wonder is the album's stand-out track, and from thereon in, Today! is more mature and laid back, working as a suite of moody pieces of music rather than memorable individual tracks. While the songwriting doesn't quite match the ambition at this stage, Wilson's studio genius is still evident, as it is in the formulaic but fun tracks on the first side, albeit slightly less so. Despite all this, The Beach Boys Today! sounds incredibly clean-cut and immature in the context of everything else that was happening in 1965. A gentle step up in production values by their own standards rather than a giant leap, by the time of it's release, many of their peers were making much bolder and exciting statements with albums.

reminds me of being a kid. almost gave it a 4, but the end is pretty bad.

It's ok. I guess they were "Beatles wanna be" around this time before Pet Sounds. I just don't like that this sounds like stereotype white music. RIP Brian Wilson.

I’m a certified Beach Boys hater, but this was better than most of their work that I’ve heard so far Best Song: Help Me, Rhonda Rating: 6/10 Stars: 3/5

Wow for timing, RIP Brian Wilson. I enjoy their vocals, but their lyrics are basic. Highlights: do you wanna dance, dance dance dance

Instantly recognizable. Iconic. Unfortunately a little repetitive.

How fitting that this album should come up next on my list after the announcement that Brian Wilson passed away yesterday. I've always liked the beach boys, especially the goated Pet Sounds album. However, I never really ventured to listen to much outside of this. This album has some very fun, 60s poppy songs. "When I grow up" is genuinely a great song, and I'll be listening to that one frequently. "Do you wanna dance" is fun, and "Help me, Rhonda" is one of my favourite beach boys songs, though I confess to preferring to the single version. Overall, this is a fun, catchy album. Easy, short listening, and rarely got bored throughout. What let the album down for me was the totally unnesscary outtake included at the end.

Lots of Phil sector influences via Brian Wilson, however it's still early Beach boys so the lyrics are a bit juvenile.

RIP Brian. I got this on the day the great man died. Feels wrong to say anything bad about him, however it's still fine to slag Mike Love off so that's good. Pop melodies are becoming more complex and hints at the staggering works of genius Brian was to write are beginning to appear. We also have the elements of misery and darkness juxtaposing with the catchy ear-worms, again hints that there was something deeper going with Brian than what others may have noticed at the time. But really, that's what this album is. Hints. I'm not sure it should be here as they were really a singles band at this point. Best Tracks: Do You Want To Dance?; Help Me, Rhonda; Please Let Me Wonder

This was my listen the day after Brian Wilson passed. As far as I can tell, he was 99% of The Beach Boys, and their lasting influence would be little to nothing without him at the helm. I listened to the mono cut of this record for him. I don't know much Beach Boys beyond Pet Sounds, Smile Sessions, and their early singles. This album seems to sit somewhere in a transition from the surfy hits to the lush arrangements of Pet Sounds. Almost like an appetizer to Brian Wilson's masterpiece. For that, it was more of a historical intrigue rather than an inspiring listen for me. It was good, but not something I'd probably seek out again. The stand out track is definitely "She Knows Me Too Well" which feels like it could've been on Pet Sounds. The final track "Bull Session With 'Big Daddy' #1" seems to serve no purpose except maybe to hit a time quota. Even then, the album is under 30 minutes. It is also one of the ugliest album covers I've seen. Nothing like a solid brown block taking up a third of the art to really draw the eye in.

So it's the day after Brian Wilson's passing and it seems like everyone got assigned a project he worked on as a tribute to his contributions to music. RIP to a legend. I've never been that into The Beach Boys myself, though I wouldn't say I've ever disliked a song from them. They've always struck my as one of the typical "massively influential for their time, but not quite for me" bands. I'm 100% certain this will be a pleasant time though. Hoping for some catchy hooks and some solid harmonies. Do You Wanna Dance? A cute, likeable song with a simple premise and a catchy chorus. Has some great harmonies and a chipper atmosphere that puts you in a good mood. Decent. 3.5/5 Good To My Baby More of the same. Pleasant and likeable with a lot of great melodic moments. Very charismatic and bright. Decent. 3.5/5 Don't Hurt My Little Sister Strange title. Love the vocal arrangement of the chorus. Sweet concept. Fun guitar playing. Decent. 3.5/5 When I Grow Up (To Be A Man) Great high notes. Pretty lyrics. Love the nostalgia of it. Good. 4/5 Help Me, Rhonda Classic chorus melody. Really catchy. The instrumental trucks along nicely, love the addition of the harmonica. Another fun and likeable track. Good. 4/5 Dance, Dance, Dance Don't got much to say. It's a solid execution of what they're going for. Fine. 3/5 Please Let Me Wonder Impressive vocals. The lyrics are kinda touching. Great keyboard break. Decent. 3.5/5 I'm So Young Idealistic. Decent concept. Well executed harmonies. Fine. 3/5 Kiss Me, Baby Amazingly arranged. The chorus is very powerful. Sweet lyrics. Good. 4/5 She Knows Me Too Well Doesn't really have much setting it apart from previous songs. Not exactly unimpressive, just a bit forgetable compared to other songs on here. Fine. 3/5 In The Back Of My Mind Kinda depressing. Feels very personal and real. Great lyrics. Love the way it ends. Good. 4/5 Bull Session With "Big Daddy" A fun way to end the album. Feels very informal and unserious. Shows a different side of the band. Unrated/5 Pretty much what you'd expect from The Beach Boys. Simplistic love songs, sometimes about yearning, sometimes about loving who you got, and sometimes about getting over someone you lost. It's perfectly inoffensive and pleasant, but doesn't really stretch beyond that. Of course the vocal arrangements are stunning with beautiful harmonies and solid buildups. It's simple, it's pretty, but also very samey. The individual quality of each song is pretty consistently good, but they do feel like variations on the same few ideas. This makes the album lack depth causing it to be a bit predictable and sterile. It's fine for what it is, and for 60s pop it's certainly charming at times. 3.5/5 rounded down to 3/5.

Crank up the reverb and roll out the vocal harmonies. Good timing on this one (RIP Brian Wilson). Couple of familiar tracks, and even the tracks I haven't heard are unmistakeably The Beach Boys. Like em or hate them, undeniably influential group that always evoke a specific place in Americana for me.

I like a good number of BB songs but I didn't know most of these. The album kicks off with a cover, and includes an inferior version of "Help Me, Rhonda". "Dance Dance Dance" sounds like every other song they ever did. I like them, but this album doesn't sound any differently than any that came before or after, other than maybe it's not about cars and surfing. Entertaining, the band is legendary & influential, but this album is not a standout to me. 3 stars.

I understand why this band gets dunked on for being very twee. Clearly super influential, there's all sorts of bits in here that show up elsewhere but oof I don't think you're supposed to sit and listen to the Beach Boys, but be doing something else that takes most of your attention, like dancing or driving to the beach.

Cool in the context of The Beach Boys development and I guess pop music itself since they were so influential. Still though, I would rather listen to any of The Beach Boys albums right before or after this one. None of the tracks didn’t do much for me the first time I listened to it and on this listen as well Rating: 3.0

I'm not sure why this would be an album that everyone should listen to, unless the reasoning is that Brian Wilson was influential on all Rock & Roll? Anyway, this is kind of a standard rock album of the mid-60s in that it has 2 top 10 songs and 8 filler tracks. Its fine, I guess. 3/5

This is probably sacrilege, especially two days after Brian Wilson passed away, but I don't really care for the Beach Boys. To me they're the musical equivalent of cotton candy. Sure a bite or two is fun, but if you keep on eating that stuff your teeth are going to hurt from the cloying sweetness. Not to say they don't have some wonderful songs. They do! But not on this album, unfortunately.

Getting this the day after Brian Wilson died, is this random or planned? Not going to lie... this is kinda dreary.

I know other people love them. But I don’t. And this is early on where they really don’t stray from the formula. So it’s alot of the same. Oh shoot, just saw we all got The Beach Boys today because Brian Wilson died. Sorry my man, RIP.

Not my preferred Beach Boys.

critically acclaimed, very influential band but I just couldn't get excited about this album. sure, must of sounded pretty cool in it's time but all very predictable and a little dated these days.

trash

Pretty terrible. "Oh but the harmonies" - yes, what about the songs? Creepy vaguely misognyist crap sung as nursery rhymes by castrati. And, hey, harpsichords! Shite

Rubbish

Ok, this is silly. The worthy pre Pet Sounds album is Summer Days with California Girls etc etc. This is the epitome of the K Tel type of cobbled together type of record they put out back then, not worthy of consideration as a record. I'm not impressed.

There’s just something very sickly about this group. They have some decent songs, none of this album, but mostly they have a similar feeling to the smell of grandmas sofa. Just old and lacking in any dynamism. Avoid.

hmm maybe iam to young

Nope!

yllättyin kuinka paska albumi, ei voi sanoa että odotin mitään rohkelikko tyyppistä musiikkia tietenkin turvallista radio soopailua... harmoniaa huhhuh joo mutta ei sama paska joka biisinnypäkässä pelasta albumia.. ja sitten joku kolmen minuuten burgeri bloopperi kohtaus,, ette ole vittu relatable saatanan miljönöörit tiedän että keikkojen jälkeen painelette alaikäisiä tyttöjä vittu en halua tietää että syötte ruokaa,+lyrisismi taas sellasta... arvaappa mitä olin antamassa kahta tähteä koska populääri mielipiteet positiiviset mutta sydän sanoo mitä sydän sanoo jos on paska niin paska arvosana do you wanna dance

The songs were short, so you don't need to listen to them for very long...

old hits, yah. not my thing tho.

Not my jam

I weep for the people who had to listen to this album because it was popular

boring

Boring!

just way too much serotonin

A classic album and a fitting tribute to Brian Wilson!

Nice

Crazy that I got this album a day after Brian Wilson died. It’s a 5. Easy.

The Beach Boys never miss.

a band i can't really be unbiased about. i grew up on the beach boys and brian wilson's music and i will always have a soft spot for the pre-pet sounds era of the beach boys, and this album in particular. for me, this is really the first big step towards the complexity of pet sounds in terms of songwriting and production for brian and the beach boys. the added complexities here over songs like "fun fun fun" are great, but still below where brian wilson would take the group in the upcoming years. that's not to say that there aren't more "poppy" pop songs here - "do you wanna dance" and "dance, dance, dance" are beach boys classics in their own right - but what i always come to this album for are tracks like "when i grow up to be a man," "she knows me too well," "in the back of my mind," and especially the constantly criminally underrated "please let me wonder." the only dings i will give this album are the inferior version of "help me, r(h)onda" and "bull session with the big daddy" which is a skit track that is sort of an expected "feature" of their previous albums. but the harmonies here are as good as ever and the production is, of course, fantastic. to me, this is the pinnacle of the first "era" of the beach boys. better things to come, for sure, but a great album in its own right.

What a great album & how timely with the loss if the great Brian Wilson

I was going to listen to them anyways for bw.

Simon!

It’s nice

RIP Brian Wilson Great album. Nothing else to say.

Rest in peace, Brian Wilson. 10/10

Totally great! That's all

RIP Brian Wilson. Thank you.

I love it