The Beach Boys - California Dreamin' (1986)

In 1986 The Beach Boys recorded a great cover version of The Mamas and The Papas' "California Dreamin" twenty years after their outstanding original became a huge hit.

The Beach Boys' single rocks more than the Mamas and The Papas' first chartbuster and features Roger McGuinn on 12-string guitar, the instrument the former Byrd made famous with his own band. The Boys' single never became the classic the 1966 hit was but it's almost as good, proving a great song will succeed under any circumstances. Carl Wilson and Alan Jardine starred on lead vocals and the rest of the group added their always superlative harmonies.

"California Dreamin'" peaked at # 8 on the Adult Contemporary chart but only reached #57 on Billboard's Hot 100 even though it was a thousand times better than the #1, Grammy nominated, "Kokomo," the hall-of-famers' last hit two years later.

The track was produced by Terry Melcher.

There are a couple of things to notice when you watch the excellent video. The sax playing preacher is one of the song's composers, Papa John Phillips, and the guitar player in the balcony is McGuinn. Ex-Mama, and former wife of Papa John, Michelle Phillips, makes an appearance too. She was co-composer of the song and was credited as Michelle Gilliam on her group's record.

The video and song are a perfect match.

Comments

  1. Jim Edwards10:12 PM, September 21, 2021

    I loved the original M & P version but as this review said the BB version rocks more and with this in mind I prefer this cover..

    ReplyDelete
  2. ambagrafix9:07 AM, December 12, 2021

    This Beach Boys version has an even more haunting power looking back in hindsight at the early deaths of two of the three Wilson brothers. For me, that jangly guitar intro and the vocals of Carl and Alan are mesmerizing. I can listen to this on an almost endless summer loop.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous8:19 PM, August 11, 2024

    Agree

    ReplyDelete

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