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Post by Kapitan on Jan 3, 2022 12:17:48 GMT
1981 was a busy and relatively successful year for the Beach Boys ... considering they didn't release new music and their band was in shambles, personnel-wise. In November they followed up on their surprise July hit, "Beach Boys Medley," with another single of old songs to support their latest greatest hits album, Ten Years of Harmony.
"Come Go With Me," Al Jardine's cover of the Del Vikings' classic, was pulled from the 3-year-old MIU album for the A-side. it rose to #18 in the US, giving them their second Top 20 hit in 1981, albeit neither being a new song or recording.
The B-side, also from the greatest hits comp, was "Don't Go Near the Water," for its second go-round in that role. As had been the case 10 years earlier, it did not chart.
Please discuss and rate "Come Go With Me" backed with "Don't Go Near the Water."
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Post by jk on Jan 3, 2022 12:53:30 GMT
1981 was a busy and relatively successful year for the Beach Boys ... considering they didn't release new music and their band was in shambles, personnel-wise. In November they followed up on their surprise July hit, "Beach Boys Medley," with another single of old songs to support their latest greatest hits album, Ten Years of Harmony.
"Come Go With Me," Al Jardine's cover of the Buddy Holly classic, was pulled from the 3-year-old MIU album for the A-side. it rose to #18 in the US, giving them their second Top 20 hit in 1981, albeit neither being a new song or recording.
The B-side, also from the greatest hits comp, was "Don't Go Near the Water," for its second go-round in that role. As had been the case 10 years earlier, it did not chart.
Please discuss and rate "Come Go With Me" backed with "Don't Go Near the Water."
Here's you doing all the hard work, and then jk canters in on a high horse. "Come Go With Me" was written by Clarence Quick, bass singer with The Del-Vikings, who took it to #4 in the States in 1957. I like what Al does with it but once again I can't vote for this 45! It's a pair of album tracks in my book (which will soon be needing a second volume ).
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Post by Kapitan on Jan 3, 2022 13:02:25 GMT
1981 was a busy and relatively successful year for the Beach Boys ... considering they didn't release new music and their band was in shambles, personnel-wise. In November they followed up on their surprise July hit, "Beach Boys Medley," with another single of old songs to support their latest greatest hits album, Ten Years of Harmony.
"Come Go With Me," Al Jardine's cover of the Buddy Holly classic, was pulled from the 3-year-old MIU album for the A-side. it rose to #18 in the US, giving them their second Top 20 hit in 1981, albeit neither being a new song or recording.
The B-side, also from the greatest hits comp, was "Don't Go Near the Water," for its second go-round in that role. As had been the case 10 years earlier, it did not chart.
Please discuss and rate "Come Go With Me" backed with "Don't Go Near the Water."
Here's you doing all the hard work, and then jk canters in on a high horse. "Come Go With Me" was written by Clarence Quick, bass singer with The Del-Vikings, who took it to #4 in the States in 1957. I like what Al does with it but once again I can't vote for this 45! It's a pair of album tracks in my book (which will soon be needing a second volume ). What the hell am I drinking this morning? (Coffee, I swear. Nothing added but a little milk.) I'll edit that. Obviously, as the results show, I didn't exactly do any real work on this one... But even so, I don't know how I made that mistake. Maybe I had "Peggy Sue" on my mind.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Jan 3, 2022 13:11:53 GMT
Some of these late 70's/early 80's singles were...interesting...I'll give 'em that. Like I posted above about "The Beach Boys Medley", I was happy that the single got them a hit record and got the group back on the radio, but was ambivalent because this obviously wasn't the direction the band wanted to go - at least I didn't think so. While I appreciated the success of "The Beach Boys Medley", I didn't feel that way as much with "Come Go With Me". First, I didn't really like the song that much. I thought it was somewhere in the middle of the M.I.U. songs. Second, it felt like "enough is enough". Enough of the oldies. Enough going back in time. Enough not trying to move forward.
So, it appeared that the proverbial light bulb went on in some CBS/Caribou executive's head, and "Come Go With Me" was born...or reborn. Hey, it worked. They got their hit. Finally, another record company other than Capitol got to cash in. CBS/Caribou also got a song to promote the "new" album, though I don't know how much "Come Go With Me" contributed - good or bad - to Ten Years Of Harmony's success or lack of.
"Don't Go Near The Water"? A terrible choice for a B-side considering how many other better songs were available from the Ten Years Of Harmony double-album. I realize several of those songs were already used as A-sides and B-sides - "Don't Go Near The Water" was! - but I can still think of a few better choices.
In addition to "going oldie again" being interesting or questionable, I also find that this single being "no-Brian" as interesting, too. Jumping on the Brian Wilson train has always been tempting for record companies. I do remember when this single came out. I remember feeling "meh". I guess I feel the same way today. A 6.
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Post by Kapitan on Jan 3, 2022 13:13:14 GMT
I am not a huge fan of this single, to say the least. Releasing old songs as singles for hits comps--and in this case, not even hits or previous singles--is not my favorite idea. But then that it's not even old-old, but rather just old enough not to be fresh, and it's a cover besides, just doesn't appeal to me.
And that said, it was a hit for them. So god bless, I guess.
But that's the decision-making, not the song or recording itself. One thing I have to say to its credit is, unlike a lot of what they'd been doing over the past few albums, the core band of this recording was apparently the Beach Boys: Dennis Wilson on drums; Al Jardine on bass and rhythm guitar; Carl Wilson on lead guitar. The band doing background vocals. Brian even contributed a horn arrangement. We had just been talking recently ("Livin With a Heartache") about how so many of the tracks had been entirely outsourced, so it's nice to see that.
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Post by Kapitan on Jan 3, 2022 13:35:04 GMT
In case you're curious, the last time prior to "Beach Boys Medley" and "Come Go With Me" that the Beach Boys had two consecutive Top 20 hits on the Billboard charts was in 1966-67, with "Good Vibrations" (#1) and "Heroes and Villains" (#12).
Those two singles capped a string of either nine or--if you exclude holiday singles--13 consecutive Top 20 hits stretching back to "Surfin' USA."
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Post by kds on Jan 3, 2022 15:36:17 GMT
Come and Go with Me is one of the better Beach Boys covers that emerged from the late 1970s, and is well sung by Al.
Don't Go Near the Water is, IMO, a fine album track from Surf's Up, and not a great choice for a single.
I'll give this a six.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Jan 3, 2022 16:08:47 GMT
I can't remember, but I'm wondering if The Beach Boys were even performing "Come Go With Me" in concert when the single came out. Obviously they did after that, and it actually became kind of an early-in-the-show highlight.
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Post by Kapitan on Jan 3, 2022 16:41:18 GMT
I can't remember, but I'm wondering if The Beach Boys were even performing "Come Go With Me" in concert when the single came out. Obviously they did after that, and it actually became kind of an early-in-the-show highlight. I know setlist.fm is not entirely reliable, but it does look like it was included in the setlist by December 1981, and possibly before. (The shows from November, when the single was released, do not have setlists posted.)
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Jan 3, 2022 17:01:43 GMT
I have to say again how interesting I found/find some of these Beach Boys' singles. Look at "Come Go With Me" for example. The song couldn't even make the cut on 15 Big Ones, and that's pretty bad when you look at some of those oldies on that album. Then it's resurrected for the M.I.U. Album, but wasn't chosen as a single, being bumped by "Peggy Sue". As I said in my above post, I only consider "Come Go With Me" a middle-of-the-pack song on that album, and certainly nothing special. Then, three years after the M.I.U. Album is dead and buried, somebody - and I'll bet it was the brainchild of just one person - says, "Hey, let's release "Come Go With Me" as the leadoff single for the new album", an album mostly comprised of more artistic songs (that was part of the intent/appeal of Ten Years Of Harmony, to highlight some of the more obscure, contemporary material), and this throwback single goes almost Top Ten. And, this is after all of those frustrating attempts at getting a hit record with new material since, well, "Heroes And Villains" and "Do It Again". Only in the world of The Beach Boys! You can't make this stuff up.
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Post by lonelysummer on Jan 3, 2022 21:25:00 GMT
It's a good recording of an oldie, very good vocal from Al; loved at the time seeing my guys get another hit; these days, it's nothing special to me. Good, but not great. So why was there no followup single? Would have been a good time to put out a more artistic single...River Song...Long Promised Road...Till I Die...This Whole World....but I suspect if they had released a followup, it would have been Woncha Come Out Tonight or She's Got Rhythm. Horrors! Another 6.
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Post by B.E. on Jan 3, 2022 23:54:05 GMT
I have to say again how interesting I found/find some of these Beach Boys' singles. Look at "Come Go With Me" for example. The song couldn't even make the cut on 15 Big Ones, and that's pretty bad when you look at some of those oldies on that album. Then it's resurrected for the M.I.U. Album, but wasn't chosen as a single, being bumped by "Peggy Sue". As I said in my above post, I only consider "Come Go With Me" a middle-of-the-pack song on that album, and certainly nothing special. Then, three years after the M.I.U. Album is dead and buried, somebody - and I'll bet it was the brainchild of just one person - says, "Hey, let's release "Come Go With Me" as the leadoff single for the new album", an album mostly comprised of more artistic songs (that was part of the intent/appeal of Ten Years Of Harmony, to highlight some of the more obscure, contemporary material), and this throwback single goes almost Top Ten. And, this is after all of those frustrating attempts at getting a hit record with new material since, well, "Heroes And Villains" and "Do It Again". Only in the world of The Beach Boys! You can't make this stuff up. We disagree significantly on the merits of "Come Go With Me". I love the original and the cover. It's one of the two highlights of MIU (along with "My Diane"). I'd rate it a minimum of a '9'. That the group didn't feature it on 15 Big Ones, or as a single in 1978, is only an example of their poor decision-making, IMO. It absolutely deserved to be included on Ten Years of Harmony and I'd say its choice as a single was inspired! It's probably the ONLY song that would have charted (w ell, that or "School Days"). And therefore, aside from making money off the single, their best chance at getting people to buy Ten Years of Harmony. "Don't Go Near The Water"? A terrible choice for a B-side considering how many other better songs were available from the Ten Years Of Harmony double-album. I realize several of those songs were already used as A-sides and B-sides - "Don't Go Near The Water" was! - but I can still think of a few better choices. Here - we agree. I like the song a lot, and I think it's worthy of being included on the compilation, but it has ZERO hit potential. Not to mention, it was already the lead off track of Surf's Up AND the B-Side to "Surf's Up". On top of all that, it's just a terrible pairing. If they wanted to put another potential hit on the B-side, a song that they hadn't already released as such, they could have tried "School Days" or "Rolling Skating Child". If, instead, they wanted to feature a more artistic track, then here's the perfect opportunity to release "Feel Flows" as a single. "Disney Girls (1957)" is an option, too. And a track that I would have been tempted to give a second chance is "Forever". But, the group left it off the compilation! Hard to explain that. 7
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Post by The Cincinnati Kid on Jan 4, 2022 0:46:15 GMT
It's a fine single. Come Go With Me is really well done and enjoyable later era cover. I prefer it to the original. The B side is questionable choice for 1981. 6/10
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Post by Kapitan on Jan 4, 2022 19:04:25 GMT
I think I'm going to go with a 6, though honestly the music itself rates 7ish. I really like "Don't Go Near the Water," but as a B-side a decade after being released (including as an unsuccessful B-side), it's not a great idea. And I already commented on "Come Go With Me" along the same lines--the decision of it--being too old to be new and too new to be old, not to mention being a kind-of boring choice, as a cover.
That said, I did give CGWM a fresh listen, and it's pretty dang solid. The song is the song, so no version is likely to exactly blow me out of the water. It's a classic, but a fully known quantity. And they did a good job of it, especially Al's lead.
It's just the whole situation. No new material, throwing out old stuff, a band in turmoil. It affects my vote.
So yeah, for the time being at least, 6, which feels generous considering my crankiness about it all.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Jan 4, 2022 22:09:00 GMT
I have to say again how interesting I found/find some of these Beach Boys' singles. Look at "Come Go With Me" for example. The song couldn't even make the cut on 15 Big Ones, and that's pretty bad when you look at some of those oldies on that album. Then it's resurrected for the M.I.U. Album, but wasn't chosen as a single, being bumped by "Peggy Sue". As I said in my above post, I only consider "Come Go With Me" a middle-of-the-pack song on that album, and certainly nothing special. Then, three years after the M.I.U. Album is dead and buried, somebody - and I'll bet it was the brainchild of just one person - says, "Hey, let's release "Come Go With Me" as the leadoff single for the new album", an album mostly comprised of more artistic songs (that was part of the intent/appeal of Ten Years Of Harmony, to highlight some of the more obscure, contemporary material), and this throwback single goes almost Top Ten. And, this is after all of those frustrating attempts at getting a hit record with new material since, well, "Heroes And Villains" and "Do It Again". Only in the world of The Beach Boys! You can't make this stuff up. We disagree significantly on the merits of "Come Go With Me". I love the original and the cover. It's one of the two highlights of MIU (along with "My Diane"). I'd rate it a minimum of a '9'. That the group didn't feature it on 15 Big Ones, or as a single in 1978, is only an example of their poor decision-making, IMO. It absolutely deserved to be included on Ten Years of Harmony and I'd say its choice as a single was inspired! It's probably the ONLY song that would have charted (w ell, that or "School Days"). And therefore, aside from making money off the single, their best chance at getting people to buy Ten Years of Harmony. "Don't Go Near The Water"? A terrible choice for a B-side considering how many other better songs were available from the Ten Years Of Harmony double-album. I realize several of those songs were already used as A-sides and B-sides - "Don't Go Near The Water" was! - but I can still think of a few better choices. Here - we agree. I like the song a lot, and I think it's worthy of being included on the compilation, but it has ZERO hit potential. Not to mention, it was already the lead off track of Surf's Up AND the B-Side to "Surf's Up". On top of all that, it's just a terrible pairing. If they wanted to put another potential hit on the B-side, a song that they hadn't already released as such, they could have tried "School Days" or "Rolling Skating Child". If, instead, they wanted to feature a more artistic track, then here's the perfect opportunity to release "Feel Flows" as a single. "Disney Girls (1957)" is an option, too. And a track that I would have been tempted to give a second chance is "Forever". But, the group left it off the compilation! Hard to explain that. 7 Yeah, B.E. I don't think I could approach a 9 for "Come Go With Me". Don't misunderstand, I didn't say I disliked the track. It's just that I had it in the middle-of-the pack, but middle-of-the-pack could go as high as "above average". I could see that. I have included "Come Go With Me" on various BB Greatest Hits comps in the past; not so much recently. Oddly, I think the Beach Boys' version lacks energy, especially for a rockin' doo-wop song. I find it too laid back which was rare for that period with the band. And, also don't misunderstand, I actually GIVE CREDIT to whoever chose it for a single. I never would've done that and I would've been wrong. But, yes, while it was a successful single, I still don't think it represented the tenor of Ten Years Of Harmony. On the other hand, you're right. If they would've gone my route and released an "arty" single, it probably would've tanked. On a side note, I also think the Beach Boys were trying to channel the Beatles' White Album with the Ten Years Of Harmony album cover.
At least we agree on "Don't Go Near The Water" and the other possible B-side choices - and with the non-inclusion of "Forever". Too bad Stamos hadn't surfaced yet. In the end, I gave this single a 6 and you gave it a 7. Not too much of a difference.
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