'Today!"

My first ever recorded and packaged album I ever owned was the second volume of The Beach Boys' greatest hits.

I wore that tape out. I still love the Beach Boys as much as I did in the late-1980s. On that tape was a song titled "When I Grow Up," which I always kinda liked but I never gave it a ton of attention. It was never quite my favorite and considering the tape itself was volume II of their hits, it didn't include the obvious songs like "God Only Knows," "I Get Around" and "Good Vibrations."

Having listened to "Today!" featuring "When I Grow Up," I realize now how great of a song it really is. The lyrics are great as Brian Wilson thinks about the future and even takes time to how he behaves today. Mike Love's California dude verses are bookended sweetly with Wilson's falsetto through the pre-chorus and chorus.

It's a very beautiful arrangement with typical rock band set-up plus a harpischord. Playing live, Carl Wilson replicated the harpsichord with a 12-string Rickenbacker.

The rest of the album, I can take it or leave it.