By Jim Fusco:

Hello everyone!  We begin week number two of free Christmas songs with another favorite of mine: “The Man With All The Toys” by the Beach Boys.  It sounds like a simple song on the surface, but there are some cool changes that Brian Wilson created for the chords.  The vocals, especially the cool “low harmonies” on the bridges, are difficult and really cool.

I tried to stay as close as possible to the original with the instruments, too.  I used my Fender Stratocaster on the neck pickup, just like Carl and Al did on the original recording.  For the lead guitar part, I actually had to re-record it because I didn’t originally put the echo effect on it, like the original had.  I also ended up recording two bass lines with slightly different sounds.  If you listen on headphones, you can hear one in each ear.  I never knew that there were two bass lines recorded for this song, but that’s how they got that cool “oomph” to the recording.  As always, the more I find out about the Beach Boys, the more I love them!

I hope this track adds to your enjoyment of the holidays (paraphrased from Christmas Vacation) and that you’ve taken the time to download the other seven tracks so far.  Stay tuned, because tomorrow I bring you Day 9!