There is no better album to listen to when you first wake up. The Beach Boys will put you in a great mood the entire day. And there's no more fitting place to listen to this album than its birthplace, sunny California.
Like The Beatles' earlier stuff, this music appears unnaturally innocent, where the worst thing that could possibly ever happen is your girl won't go steady. But The Beach Boys have this other level to them. Besides capturing the essence of harmonic euphoria, they provoke a sense of real substance. Maybe it's their controversial history with Charles Manson, the use of acid, or the fact that Brian Wilson's bipolar illness caused him to hear voices, but whenever I listen to them I get the feeling there's something much heavier going on than the lighthearted music suggests. I'm convinced of the rumor that "Help Me, Ronda" is about a prostitute that helps the singer cure a broken heart.
I go back and forth on whether I prefer this album or Pet Sounds more. I recognize that Pet Sounds is a more sophisticated and artistically important manifestation of Brian Wilson's genius, but when it boils down to it, I think I just enjoy this album more. The Beach Boys' vocal harmony embodies the style I love them for the most on Today!. Also, I love that the record ends with an interview with the Beach Boys, majority of which is spent listening to them eat hamburgers.
favorite song: "I'm So Young"
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