Tag Archives: the beach boys

Ranking every Beach Boys album and song: “Surfin’ USA” LP (by Songwriter Jim Fusco)

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By Jim Fusco:

ALBUM – SURFIN’ USA

Farmer’s Daughter – 6 (early promising song)
Surfin’ USA – 6 (catchy, but also a stolen melody, so it loses some points)
Lana – 5
Lonely Sea – 7
Shut Down – 7 (this is a great bluesy song)
Finders Keepers – 6 (endearing)
Let’s Go Trippin’ – 4 (filler)
Stoked – 3 (see last song)
Misirlou – 2 (because at this point in the album, I am sick of instrumentals!)
Noble Surfer – 6
Honky Tonk – 1 (why all the instrumentals!!)
*The Baker Man – 1 (probably the most ridiculous song they did next to Ding Dang)
Surf Jam – 1 (we get the idea)

** Here’s another album I like, but I think it’s a step back from their first. I know they were trying to make music people could dance to at parties, but the instrumentals don’t stand up now. They come across as a lack of effort. They have so much vocal talent- it’s a shame there’s not more songs with vocals! **

Ranking every Beach Boys song/album: The Beach Boys Christmas Album (by Songwriter Jim Fusco)

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By Jim Fusco:

BEACH BOYS CHRISTMAS ALBUM:

We Three Kings of Orient Are – 9.5
*Little Saint Nick (single) – 10
Little Saint Nick (album) – 9.5
*Our Father – 5
*Auld Lang Syne (alternate) – 5
Santa’s Beard – 7 (LOVE the chord progression and the combination of Mike’s low part and Brian’s high part on “He wants to meet old Santa Claus”)
Christmas Day – 6
I’ll Be Home for Christmas – 7 (I consider this the standard for this song)
The Man with All the Toys – 7.5 (The same reason why I like this song is the reason why it gets docked some points. It has this “dark” sound to it that kinda doesn’t sound very Christmas-song like. However, I like the darker sound because I love those dark Christmastime nights)
Blue Christmas – 6.5
White Christmas – 6
*Little Saint Nick (alternate) – 6.5
Merry Christmas, Baby – 7
Santa Claus is Coming to Town – 5
Frosty the Snowman – 5
Auld Lang Syne – 4 (They couldn’t have done ONE more take to let Dennis have another chance?)

** This is one of my favorite albums. That doesn’t mean it’s the best by any means, but this always makes me SO happy. I have 200 Christmas songs and know how to play most of them. I love Christmas and everything that goes with it. This album contains songs that make me SO happy every time I listen to them, that it automatically brings back memories. I love Elvis’ first Christmas album because of that, too. Something about that innocence and that late ’50s, early ’60s Christmas time vibe… I’ll never live in that kind of world. I’ll never get to experience that, seeing as I grew up in the ’90s (and still growing, in fact, at 23). I hope to give my future children Christmases like that, and that’s why every note on this album is like gold to me. I listen to it about 50 times a year- more than any other album. I know the songs aren’t perfect and the recording sounds a bit rushed, at best. But, they’re voices are at top-notch form here. Classic. **

Ranking every Beach Boys album and song: “Surfer Girl” LP (by Songwriter Jim Fusco)

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By Jim Fusco:

ALBUM – SURFER GIRL

Hawaii – 7
Surfer Girl – 9
In My Room – 9
Catch A Wave – 8
Little Deuce Coupe – 8 (great blues song)
Surfer Moon – 8
Surfers Rule – 5
Our Car Club – 6 (I like it better on the Little Deuce Coupe album!)
Boogie Woodie – 3
Your Summer Dream – 7
The Rocking Surfer – 2
South Bay Surfer – 1 (ugh)

** Other than a little flakiness at the end of the album, this is a GREAT one- some classics on Side One and the songs I like, I like a LOT. **

“She Knows Me Too Well” (Beach Boys Cover mp3) by Jim Fusco

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By Jim Fusco:

Ladies and gentlemen- I give you a brand-new recording!!

This is a cover of the Beach Boys’ classic song “She Knows Me Too Well” off of the “Today!” album from 1965.

I got some new equipment, so I wanted to try to match the original recording the best I could (with a little more flair on the drums, no disrespect to Dennis Wilson). I used my new Shure SM57 mic, Epiphone Les Paul Special II with P-90 pickups, and my Samson 7-piece drum mic set. I rounded-it out with my Fender Stratocaster, Fender Jazz Bass, electric piano, and ten vocal tracks, recorded with my Shure SM27 condenser mic.

I really hope you enjoy all the hard work I put into this and hope you’ll share it with all of your friends, too!

http://jimfusco.com/audio/sheknowsmetoowell.mp3

And here’s a special “vocals-only” version for you super-fans:

http://jimfusco.com/audio/sheknowsme-vocals.mp3

Stay tuned for even more Beach Boys cover songs coming your way on the Laptop Sessions cover songs music blog!