By Jim Fusco:
Welcome to another edition of the Laptop Sessions with Jim Fusco! A quick update: the recording for my new album has been a fun process and every day I’m more and more excited to hear the finished results. If you haven’t been following my progress, either go to my website at http://jimfusco.com or directly to my music Twitter feed @jimfuscomusic.
Tonight’s video is one from The Beach Boys- my favorite band of all time. This song is from one of their most liked albums among fans. Unfortunately, I don’t fall into that category. “15 Big Ones” is an interesting album. Sure, it’s the album where the other members finally got Brian Wilson back into the studio, but to me, it spelled the end of a once-great band. You see, in the years leading up to “15 Big Ones”, the Beach Boys (the members other than Brian) were writing and producing some amazing music. IN fact, “Sunflower” may be my favorite album from them. But, as the nostalgia of the Beach Boys’ #1 greatest hits album, “Endless Summer”, grew in popularity, the band decided to get Brian back to the forefront. Of course, Brian wasn’t really ready. He’d been locked away in his room, listening to old music he loved from Fats Domino, Freddy Cannon, etc. These were songs he loved as a kid and were what got him into rock’n’roll.
So, Brian wasn’t that interested in writing new songs- he ended up going into the studio and having the Boys record many of his old favorites, such as “Rock’n’Roll Music” and “Blueberry Hill”. Those are the good ones on the album- I’m pretty sure they could’ve left off “A Casual Look” and made it “14 Big Ones” instead.
But, the pun in the title was because the Beach Boys had been a band for 15 years. And, if I’m not mistaken, this was considered their 15th album.
It’s not a bad album, but it’s definitely dated now. The synthesizer, brought to even more prominence on “Love You” from the next year, is hard to play for someone right now. Playing “Palisades Park” for someone and saying, ‘This is from an album considered one of their best” doesn’t really make much of a case for potential fans.
Anyway, there are some great tracks on “15 Big Ones” though, including “It’s OK”. Actually, I’ve already covered “Blueberry Hill”, “Just Once In My Life”, “Palisades Park” – I must like this album after all! But, “Everyone’s In Love With You” is my favorite. It’s definitely Mike Love at his best. His vocals are sweet and it’s got a great melody. Songs like this make me wish he had written more (that is, as long as they aren’t “Summer Of Love” from 1992).
I’ve always wondered if “Everyone’s In Love With You” had a bit of a racy meaning to it. I mean, if you just literally listen to the words, you’ll see what I mean. But, Mike has said the song is about transcendental meditation, which he was really into at the time. It’s more of a feeling that everyone shares “love” with each other and individuality takes a back seat to a collective well-being. At least, that’s what I’ve gained from the whole thing over the years…
I hope you enjoy this song- maybe it’ll prompt you to give “15 Big Ones” a shot someday. It’s definitely worth a listen, I’ll say that. I’m pretty busy for the next couple of weeks, but I won’t forget about the music blog. I’ll be back with another great video soon, so stay-tuned!