All I Have To Do Is Dream

 

Trust me #109
All I Have To Do Is Dream by The Everly Brothers

My Mum joined her church community choir earlier this year. This is different from the Sunday Morning Service choir, the focus is on pop songs, rather than hymns. 

A few months back, I was working from my local coffee shop and decided to pop round to my Mum's flat (close to the church) to see her. I was a little early, and as I knew choir was on until 2.30pm, I thought I would surprise my Mum and meet her at the church.

The main doors to the church were open, so I walked in to the sound of The Everly Brothers All I Have To Do Is Dream echoing from the back room and through the main hall. 

What a song.

Whenever I want you, all I have to do is dream

Dream, dream, dream

Dream

The Everly Brothers encapsulate the feeling of longing and lusting after someone out of reach in real life, but not in dreams. A feeling I'm sure that everyone reading this has felt before. How many hours, days, weeks and months (particularly as a teenager!) have I spent dreaming and fantasising about girls out of reach?!

But enough about this. Back to the church! 

All I Have To Do Is Dream is a hymn. And it was quite something hearing my Mum and her church community choir sing it. My Mum, by her own admission, isn't a great singer, but she loves the community choir. 

Released in April 1958, this incredible song is still finding an audience, still exuding life, still resonating ... still dreaming. Sometimes that is all we have to do. All we can do. 

When you talk about The Everly Brothers, you are primarily talking about harmony. Don and Phil Everly weren't just two brothers singing; they possessed an almost telepathic vocal bond.

All I Have to Do Is Dream is a masterclass in close-harmony singing .Phil's higher, softer voice weaves in and out of Don's lower, grounding tenor, their voices merging into a single, shimmering instrument. This technique set a new benchmark for duets and profoundly influenced everyone from The Beatles and Simon & Garfunkel to the Beach Boys.

There's nothing complex about this song - just a straightforward, yearning narrative backed by a sparse, gentle arrangement with lyrics capturing a universal teenage feeling - the joy of fantasy and dreaming.

When I want you in my arms

When I want you and all your charms

Whenever I want you

All I have to do is dream

As an added bonus, the song even gets gee whizz into it, with the rather cheesy line 

Only trouble is, gee whizz

I'm dreaming my life away

This is a beautiful song and hopefully the Uddingston Parish Church Community Choir are performing it this evening and on Sunday.

All I Have To Do Is Dream is added to my Trust Me playlist; search for Everything Flows - Trust Me on Spotify or CLICK HERE. Check below for all previous blogs in my Trust Me series.

Previous Trust Me blogs

1. Something On Your Mind by Karen Dalton

1A. Crimson and Clover by Tommy James and the Shondells

2. I Am, I Said  by Neil Diamond

3. Where's The Playground Susie?   by Glen Campbell

4. If You Could Read My Mind by Gordon Lighfoot

5. Gimme Some Truth by John Lennon

6. Gone With The Wind Is My Love by Rita and the Tiaras

7. In The Year 2525 by Zager and Evans

8. The Music Box by Ruth Copeland

9. The Ship Song by Nick Cave

10. Sometimes by James

11. I Walk The Earth by King Biscuit Time

12. Didn't Know What I Was In For by Better Oblivion Community Centre

13. When My Boy Walks Down The Street by The Magnetic Fields

14. The Man Don't Give A F**k by Super Furry Animals

15. All Flowers In Time Bend Towards The Sun by Jeff Buckley and Liz Fraser

16. Are You Lookin' by The Tymes

17. A Real Hero by College & Electric Youth

18. Feelings Gone by Callum Easter

19. Sunday Morning by The Velvet Underground

20. Did I Say by Teenage Fanclub

21. Don't Look Back by Teenage Fanclub

22. Your Love Is The Place Where I Come From by Teenage Fanclub

23. Belfast by Orbital

24. Clouds by The Jayhawks

25. Dreaming Of You by The Coral

26. Everlasting Love by Love Affair

27. Walk Away Renee by The Left Banke

28. Teenage Kicks by The Undertones

29. Shaky Ground by Sneeze

29. Rill Rill by Sleigh Bells

30. I Can Feel Your Love by Felice Taylor

31. The State We're In by The Chemical Brothers w/ Beth Orton

32. Sunshine After The Rain by Ellie Greenwich

33. Losing My Edge by LCD Soundsystem

34. Mondo 77 by Looper

35. Les Fleurs by Minnie Riperton

36. Rat Trap by The Boomtown Rats

37. How High by The Charlatans

38. I Can't Let Go by Evie Sands

39. Pop Song 89 by R.E.M.

40. Summertime Clothes by Animal Collective

41. There She Goes by The Las

42. We're Going To Be Friends by White Stripes

43. Autumn Sweater by Yo La Tengo

44. Sister Rena by Lomond Campbell

45. Revolution by The Beatles

46. Lazarus by The Boo Radleys

47. Wrote For Luck by Happy Mondays

48. American Trilogy by The Delgados

49. Loser by Beck 

50. Silent Sigh by Badly Drawn Boy

51. Comedy by Shack

52. Take The Skinheads Bowling by Camper Van Beethoven

53. Freakscene by Dinosaur Jr

54. Thank You For Being You by The Pastels

55. I Think I'm In Love by Spiritualized

56. Chestnut Mare by The Byrds

57. Cannonball by The Breeders

58. Like A Rolling Stone by Bob Dylan

59. You Make Me Weak At The Knees by Electrelane

60. Lucky by Radiohead

61. Strange Currencies by R.E.M.

61. I Am The Cosmos by Chris Bell

62. Like A Ship (Without A Sail) by Pastor TL Barrett and the Youth for Christ Choir

63. Nothing But A Heartache by The Flirtations

64. Made of Stone by The Stone Roses

65. Tonight In Belfast by Orbital, David Holmes, DJ Helen and Mike Garry

66. Anything by Adrianne Lenker

67. I Hold Something In My Hand by Bill Ryder-Jones

68. I Meant Every Word by Burnett Sisters

69. Dream Baby Dream by Suicide

70. Stove by The Lemonheads

71. Red Lady by Phil Cordell

72. Little Fluffy Clouds by The Orb

73. I Can Do It With A Broken Heart by Taylor Swift

74. Turnin' My Heartbeat Up by The M.V.P.'s

75. Razzle Dazzle Rose by Camera Obscura

76. Such Great Heights by The Postal Service

77. The Rat by The Walkmen

78. My God Has A Telephone by Aaron Frazer

79. Unfinished Sympathy by Massive Attack

80. Sweet and Tender Romance by The McKinleys

81. Hoppipolla by Sigur Ros

82. 69 Police by David Holmes

83. Hey Lisa by David Holmes

84. I Am A Rock by Simon & Garfunkel

85. Kung Fu by Ash

86. Kids by MGMT

87. Slight Return by The Bluetones

88. Give Peace A Chance by John Lennon / Plastic Ono Band

89. Cut Your Hair by Pavement

90. Race for the Prize by The Flaming Lips

91. Waitin' for a Superman by The Flaming Lips

92. Acquiesce by Oasis

93. This Is Music by The Verve

94. Lone Swordsman by Daniel Avery

95. Sparky's Dream by Teenage Fanclub

96. Common People by Pulp

97. Let Our Love Grow Higher by Eula Cooper

98. Regret by New Order

99. Keep On Keepin' On by Nolan Porter

100. Sit Down by James (Live at G-Mex) by James

101. Never Lose Your Sense Of Wonder by Yeti

102. Just When You're Thinkin' Things Over by The Charlatans

103. Life Is Sweet by The Chemical Brothers 

104. How Can I Tell You (To Love Me More) by Brooke Coombe

105-107. Wigan Casino - Three Before Eight - Time Will Pass You By by Tobi Legend, Long After Tonight Is All Over by Jimmy Radcliffe, I'm On My Way by Dean Parrish

108. Cobra by Geese

God Only Knows

Cover version of the month #102
Betty Everett covers The Beach Boys God Only Knows

It was The Avalanches that alerted me to this cover version of God Only Knows. A couple of years ago they posted a video of them playing this impeccable 7-inch single.

Many artists have covered this truly special song; Neil Diamond, Taylor Swift, David Bowie and Glen Campbell to name four. But I'm going to focus on this gem of a version by Everett.

Recorded and produced over March & April 1966, God Only Knows was a landmark recording for The Beach Boys. Brian Wilson wasn't just pushing boundaries, he was blasting them away, bringing in 20 session musicians to play clarinet, flutes, strings, French horns, upright bass, sleigh bells ... 

For reference, The Beach Boys previous album, Beach Boys Party released in November 1965, consisted mostly of cover versions. Wilson, only 23, decided to shoot for the stars and beyond with his next recordings.

The reason Wilson was determined to reach higher than ever before was because his mind had been blown by The Beatles Rubber Soul album. Copious amounts of marijuana helped as well! Nothing was off limits, including referencing God, not only in the song, but in the title. 

You can listen to a great deal of the God Only Knows (and Pet Sounds) recording sessions online. Wilson is in his element, conducting, cajoling, energising, encouraging ... there are hours and hours to dig into.

Brian Wilson - genius at work

Remarkably, God Only Knows was released just a month after completion, as part of the momentous Pet Sounds album. In a pre-internet age, this was an album spoken of in hushed and revered tones and it wasn't exactly easy to buy for a while. It's an incredible piece of work, the songwriting, singing, harmonies, production, musicianship, arrangements ... everything is just perfect. 

Carl Wilson takes on lead vocals, delivering an exceptional performance that plays on listeners heart strings in addition to the strings on the song. God Only Knows is only 2 verses, it's only 3-minutes long ... yet it says so much, it makes you feel so much, it's an outpouring of love in a way that love had never been portrayed before in popular music - lyrically and musically.

I may not always love you

But long as there are stars above you

You never need to doubt it

I'll make you so sure about it

God only knows what I'd be without you

If you should ever leave me

Well life would still go on believe me

The world could show nothing to me

So what good would living do me?

God only knows what I'd be without you

The verses are delivered in just over a minute. Brian Wilson then takes listeners on a magic carpet ride through the clouds, coming back to the second verse, then falling to almost nothing at 2-minutes before layering everything back up again.

Betty Everett's version was released in 1975 and you can immediately see why The Avalanches fell for it ... it is very Avalanche-y! The horns, the little twists and tweaks on the melody, the dreamy quality of the production, the heavenly backing vocals and the sublime arrangement. The vocals are simply stunning, the musicanship and production is absolutely first class. It's impeccable, gorgeous.

The instrumental from 2-minutes flows and floats, before Everett and her backing singers come back in to take the song to conclusion, driving things for a wonderful 48-second outro, their voices dovetailing over the top of each other.

God only knows, what I'd be with out you

God only knows, baby

(God only knows) God only knows, (what I'd be without you)

The Beach Boys masterpiece and the sublime Betty Everett cover version of God Only Knows are added to my Everything Flows Cool Cover Versions playlist on Spotify which also features all of the songs listed below. Search for the title or CLICK HERE

Previous covers of the month blogs

1. You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin' 

2. Going Back To My Roots

3. Nirvana play The Vaselines

4. Slip Inside This House

5. Top 10 covers by Teenage Fanclub

6. Only Love Can Break Your Heart

7. Time For Livin' 

8. Sound and Vision 

9. All Along The Watchtower

10. I Am The Walrus 

11. Guiding Star

12. You’ll Never Walk Alone

13. Hurt

14. This Guy's In Love With You

15. I Wish I Never Saw The Sunshine

16. California Soul

18. Wonder wall 

19. Dancing In The Dark

20. Always On My Mind

21. Ceremony

22. Heroes

23. Different Drum

24. Wild Horses

25. Respect

26. Mr Tambourine Man

27. I Heard It Through The Grapevine

28. Superstar

29. Twist and Shout

30. Purple Rain

31. Baker Street

32. Not Fade Away

33. Stop Your Sobbing

34. I Don't Want To Grow Up

35. Serious Drugs

36. Dancing With Myself

37. How Does It Feel To Feel?

38. Love Buzz

39. ABBA-esque
40. Jumpin' Jack Flash

41. Discoland

42. Varshons 2 by The Lemonheads

43. The Langley Schools Music Project
44. Witchi Tai To
45. Our Lips Are Sealed
46. Sunshine Of Your Love
47. Here Comes The Sun
48. I Think We're Alone Now
49. Don't Let Me Down 
50. It's Oh So Quiet
51. Alcoholiday 
52. Summer Holiday
53. Who Do You Think You Are?
54. Head On
55. Nothing Compares 2 U

56. Hey Jude

57. Seven Days Too Long

58. L.O.V.E Love

59. Into Your Arms

60. Heart Of Glass

61. Take Me To The River

62. We Can Work It Out 

63. Talking In My Sleep

64. Lola

65. Lost In Music

66. My Little Red Book

67. Isn't It A Pity

68. Walk On By

69. Walk Away Renee

70. Tainted Love

71. Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

72. Listen The Snow Is Falling

73. Mrs Robinson

74. He's Gonna Step On You Again

75. In My Life

76. Caravan Of Love

77. The Only Way Is Up

78. Dancin' Round & Round

79. With A Little Help From My Friends

80. Killing Me Softly

81. Ain't No Mountain High Enough

82. Drop

83. Sittin' On The Dock Of The Bay

84. Sympathy For The Devil

85. I Bet That You Look Good On The Dancefloor

86. Love Will Tear Us Apart

87. Indian Rope Man + bonus Strawberry Fields Forever + This Wheels On Fire

88. Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You

89. Love The One You're With

90. Cum On Feel The Noize

91. Addicted To Love

92. Valerie

93. Ride On Time

94. Let's Dance

95. It Must Be Love

96. I Fought The Law

97. For What It's Worth

98. Do Your Thing

99. I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself

100. Don't Leave Me This Way

101. Shout!

Pacific Ocean Blue

Pacific Ocean Blue is an album that I return to regularly. It is like a fine wine, getting better with every passing year....and I find more in it every year....like it grows with me. (the Spotify link is at the end of this blog).

Wilson's voice is incredible; beautiful, yet hurt and broken at times, rich and raw but also soulful and soothing. The lyrics pull you in, the guy has loved and lost, he still loves and he wants to tell all. River Song and Rainbows are my favourites, just sublime.

Released in 1977, Pacific Ocean Blue was the debut album by Beach Boy Dennis Wilson (indeed his only album as the follow up Bambu was unfinished at the time of his death in 1983).

Two of the best songs from the sessions for the album were unreleased - the stunning Only With You, one of the best love songs you will ever hear - and the beautiful instrumental Holy Man.

One of the best love songs of all time

Dennis had written Only With You for The Beach Boys Holland album, but the lead vocals were taken by Carl. The rich rawness of Dennis' vocal on the Pacific Ocean Blue album take it to another level.

Incidentally, this was the song that turned me on to Pacific Ocean Blue. Norman Blake from Teenage Fanclub recorded it for a tribute album Caroline Now - The Songs of Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys. That and I think Bobby Gillespie mentioned the album in an interview.

The opening piano riff to River Song that leads to Dennis backed by a gospel choir sends a spine tingling shiver of joy every time I hear it.

Dennis' voice is throaty, raspy and soulful as he talks of being struggling to breath in the city and longing for the river; this leads to a glorious break before a beautiful middle eight (below) before the faded ending that sounds like it could otherwise have gone on forever with Dennis urging You've got to run away, you've got to run away

It breaks my heart to see the city

I wonder why it ain't so pretty

Oh I want to cry, I want to cry

Come on you've got to do it, do it, do it

River Song is simply stunning, the perfect introduction to Pacific Ocean Blue, but over too soon at 3 minutes 38 seconds. You just have to go back and listen again - it is that good. And just to check Dennis really does pack all those changes and soul into that short space of time?

Pacific Ocean Blue has so much to offer. Wilson has the blues (bad!), losing himself in music and singing of it in songs like Dreamer. Just wait for the break to

Oooh let the wind carry your blues away

That's all we're trying to say

How about a better day

Fall in love

Be warned, your heart may ache and break. Moonshine will move you and just wait for the incredible lyric; It was you who said there won't be tomorrow, you said you love me now in another way

Thoughts Of You will break your heart. Just listen to Wilson's soulful voice straining, breaking and sounding so fragile and true over piano right from the off. The melody is absolutely gorgeous.

The thoughts of you fill my heart with joy again

I'm sorry

I miss you

The song then takes off on a psychedelic trip before coming back to the original melody and Wilson's incredible vocal.

Loneliness is a very special place

To forget is something that I've never done

Silently, silently you touch my face

Wilson puts his heart out on Time, talking of being the type of guy who messes around before singing I love you, I really do with incredible feeling and soul. His voice is sensational, the break into the hold on takes things to another dimension and it sounds like Wilson is giving himself advice.

Did I mention heart ache and break? Farewell My Friend will rip your heart out. It was the song played at Wilson's funeral following his death at the age of just 39 following years of alcohol and drug abuse that eventually saw Dennis homeless.

Rainbows is one of my favourite songs, all of a sudden Wilson sounds positive and full of love. The surging melody and build to And I want you to know, I love you, I love you so leads into the glorious second verse with the backing vocals just lifting things higher.

The album finishes with the appropriately named End Of The Show. Just listen to Wilson's voice in the thank you very much section. Pure emotion, pure soul.

Here we are

With our dreams in the sky

We all have our dreams

It's wonderful to know we're alive

At the end

It's over

Rather incredibly, the album sold less than 5,000 copies upon release in 1977, quickly becoming out of print and a cult album. The 2008 deluxe double edition CD of Pacific Ocean Blue and Dennis' unreleased follow up Bambu shone a light on a remarkable album and that light deserves to shine.

The 3 additional songs added to the Pacific Ocean Blue CD were Tug Of Love, the aforementioned Only With You and the truly stunning instrumental masterpiece Holy Man. Wilson had recorded vocals but deleted them as he felt he couldn't get the melody quite right. The music stands up on its own.

I'll write a blog on Bambu another time, but for now, please dig in and treasure this masterpiece.

10 great love songs

Happy Valentine's Day.

Here are 10 of my favourite love songs.

My Love Is Your Love (Forever) - The Isley Brothers

Flows superbly, gorgeous strings. 'Now girl, now that I found you, come closer girl, I wanna put my arms around you.

Only With You - The Beach Boys

Does it get any more beautiful than this?

'I wanna spend this life with you, only with you, yes it's true, all I wanna do, is spend my life with you.'

Don't Let Me Down - The Beatles

Lennon is so hopelessly in love that he says four words rather than three. Incredible middle-eight 'I'm in love for the first time, don't you know it's gonna last, it's a love that last forever, it's a love that has no past'.

I'm Thinking Of You - Sister Sledge

Disco heaven, this was sublime when Chic played it at Wickerman last summer.

'Without love, there's no reason to live, without you, what would I do with the love I give?'

'I'm thinking of you and the things you do to me, that make me love you, now I'm living in ecstasy'.

Mellow Doubt - Teenage Fanclub

I listened to this a lot before I proposed to Lynn.

'There is no choice, in what I must do, nothing is greater, than to be with you'

I Love Every Little Thing About You - Stevie Wonder

Stevie has written some inspirational love songs. Has he ever sounded so head over heels?

'I'm here to say, I love you every day, and I just wanna tell the world I love you so…'

Ladies and Gentleman We Are Floating In My Space - Spiritualized

From the truly exceptional album of the same name. J Spaceman is on a different level with this gorgeous lysergic lullaby.

I will love you till I die and I will love you all the time,

So please put your sweet hand in mine, 

We'll float in space and drift in time

I'm Sticking With You - Velvet Underground

Childlike vocals by Moe Tucker. The section when Lou Reed comes in is just stunning, flows superbly.

I'll do anything for you, anything you want me to, 

I'll do anything for you, woah-oh I'm sticking with you

Everywhere - Fleetwood Mac

Can you hear me calling, out your name,

You know I'm falling and I don't know what to say

Something's happening, happening to me

My friend's say I'm acting peculiarly 

Divine. 

Baby, I Love You - The Ronettes

Simple, heartfelt and soulful. This was our first wedding dance. Spector at his very best.

Have I ever told you

How good it feels to hold you

It isn't easy to explain