Hello and welcome, one and all, to my favorite type of acoustic cover song — a collaboration with fellow Fusco-Moore Productions artist Jim Fusco. (I’ll be posting another one soon with Jim and his girlfriend — fiance, to be more precise! — Becky Daly.) Tonight, I’m happy to present our rendition of the Beach Boys’ “Getcha Back” from their 1985 self-titled release.
This is probably their last great record, as such. After this, Dennis’ absence is all the more profound and the overall quality of involvement and projects seems to decline. But this album should not be ignored, even taking into account how much it sounds like “eighties music.”
“Getcha Back” is the first track and sets the tone for the album as a whole. I used to turn this on, set it to repeat, turn off the lights in my room, and lay on the floor listening to it again and again. There’s so much running through Mike Love’s vocal and the instrumental accompaniment is both rocking and sad. It made me want to write and record a song that could be that simple, and yet that good!
Years later, I still love the track, and I feel privileged that Jim would relinquish his claim on a Beach Boys cover — one of my favorites — so that I could record it for the acoustic cover songs music blog. Not only did he let me record it, but he joined in to make it probably one of my favorite Laptop Sessions thus far. I hope you enjoy it too!
This song is from the Beach Boys self-titled 1985 album. It’s called “I’m So Lonely” and was Brian Wilson’s only solo lead on the album. Why would I pick such an obscure song? Well, for one thing, my roomate dared me to figure it out on my own, and this is also the way I’ve been feeling lately (bust out the violins). But can you blame me? I mean, living away from home is tough. Factor that in with just starting to work full-time for the first time. Plus, add in running a condo for the first time. When all of those things combine, you find that you don’t have a lot of time for yourself. But that’s where music comes in. Singing, playing and recording these cover song music videos for the Laptop Sessions music blog is a great way to keep the passion of music in my life without taking up too much time. Honestly, I don’t have that much time to take up anymore!
Most people don’t like the Beach Boys’ 1985 self-titled album. But, I don’t understand why. To me, this album has just about everything. It’s not without its flaws, but I’d love to hear a redone version of this album with real instruments. I think people would have a much different take on the album. But, it was 1985 and the Beach Boys were using cutting-edge technology to record their songs. They wanted to do all of their new songs digitally, so they went over to England. There, they found one of the only studios in the world with the equipment to pull off such a task. Maybe the Boys wanted to sound “hip” and not like they were a bunch of guys in their 40s. The result was one of the first albums released on compact disc- a revolution, but not well-received.
For one, the fans definitely noticed the change in style (except for “California’s Calling”, featuring real drums by Ringo Starr- the only person worthy enough to take Dennis Wilson’s place on a Beach Boys record). But, I like the style. Sure, I was born in 1984, but honestly, I love the style of these songs- especially Carl’s contributions. “Maybe I Don’t Know” is one of my all-time favorite songs. It features great lead vocals and an amazing mid-80s guitar solo. I’ll agree- it’s hard to believe it’s from a Beach Boys song.
With “I’m So Lonely”, the Beach Boys got Brian Wilson to contribute a song. You know, I think Brian sounds pretty good on the recording. He sounds passionate (unlike his lackluster performance in “Crack At Your Love”). The song is simple, but it’s great to hear Brian’s falsetto once again. If you haven’t listened to this album for a while, I strongly suggest you give it another chance.
This video is EXACTLY what the Laptop Sessions are all about. These acoustic cover song videos are meant to take songs and strip-down their production (in this case, the synthesizers of the mid-80s). I want to make videos where people say, “Wow, I never liked the studio version of that song, but since you just made it an acoustic version, it’s actually a really good tune!” I think I do the song justice and I hope you enjoy!
