#466 The Beach Boys, 'The Beach Boys Today!' (1965)

In their early years, The Beach Boys were primarily known as a singles band, singing about surfing, girls and cars. When it comes to albums, it’s hard to look past ‘Pet Sounds.’ That album was such a landmark record, that it almost overshadows everything else they ever did. ‘The Beach Boys Today!’ is the album that actually cemented them as an “albums” band.

In December 1964, Brian Wilson suffered a nervous breakdown on a plane following a particularly stressful year. He was physically and mentally exhausted. The next month he announced to the band that he was resigning from touring, rather focussing his attention on writing and recording. He had recently been enamoured by Phil Spector and became obsessed with being a better producer than him.

With this album, Wilson was determined to take it to the next level. He hired sessions musicians to take the parts of his band on this record, leaving the band only needing to contribute their famous harmonies. The session was he chose was none other than The Wrecking Crew (if you’ve been paying attention, you might remember that they were the very band that Phil Spector assembled).

You’d be forgiven for thinking that the first half of this record is a Beach Boys Greatest Hits compilation. It’s hit after hit. The second half focusses more on ballads, but as a whole, this record is perfect and it paved the way for ‘Pet Sounds.’

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