YOU WERE ON MY MIND - WE FIVE

Released 5.4.64. This song was written by Silvia Fricker (of Ian and Silvia) and included lyrics about getting drunk and sick that the We Five left out cuz they thought it was "too much" for a 1964 audience to handle. We put them back in while changing the chords structure and the overall tone. And yeah, that’s We Five’s singer Beverly Bivens mixed into the song-–as well as the original We Five guitar thingy at the end the song.

Just Like Me - Paul Revere and the Raiders

Released 5.6.62. We played the music pretty much the same as PR&Rs. But Brian changed 95% of the lyrics--flipping the POV and making it much darker/meaner. Brian says the lyrics aren’t autobiographical, but anyone who knows him knows that they are.

Hide Your Love Away - The Beatles

Released 6.17.64. We switched up the chord structure and chorus. John Lennon’s lyrics are fairly sinister—-so we thought putting some jump into the groove would be an interesting juxtaposition. Hey You!

I know a Place - Petula Clark

Released 11.1 60. Hmm. Well, we screwed with this one a lot, adding new sections and cranking up this little pop wonder. And yeah that’s Petula Clark singing in the chorus. Let’s go to let go!

Get Off My Cloud - The Rolling Stones

Released 9.5.63. This is the first of five songs that fall into our Addition By Subtraction paradigm. Basically we kept the music kinda the same but took out the “get off my cloud” from the chorus, thus rendering the singer to just the helpless, existential plea of “Hey, I said hey motherfucker!” It’s a cruel world. 

Can't Find My Way Home - BlinD Faith

Released 12.17.64. Well, a bit of Addition By Subtraction here, taking out some of the lyrics to bang home our take on the song. Stevie Winwood seems to be implying in the song that “home” is finding The Lord. We thought the song was simply about getting too wasted. And to heighten the point (or to hammer it over your head), we added Jefferson Airplane's "White Rabbit" into the song.  

Season of the Witch - Donovan

Released 2.21.64. Here is another Addition/Subtraction song. Without the lyric “the witch,” the song is now just the Season of the Oh No! Kinda like how the world is right now, oui? And yeah, that’s some of the original song's guitar in the mix (sped up) as well as Donovan himself singing at times. We added The Doors' “People Are Strange" cuz...well, people are strange. Oh no!

Come See About Me - The Supremes

Released 5.6.62. Some Addition/Subtraction lyric/music-wise. And yeah, that’s The Supremes singing in the chorus.

I Go To Pieces - Peter and Gordon

Released 8.26.6.4. P&G's version is so damn sweet, such beautiful harmonies, why would we fuck with it? But like lots of songs from the 60s, the girl was the reason for the heartache. And as we do often with these songs, we switched the POV and deconstructed the lyrics to emphasize his part in the heartache/tears. We also wanted the music to reflect a bit more of the darkness of the lyrics so we pulled up the shadows a bit. And we cut the bridge--who needs a bridge when there's a wall of sound.

Anyway You Want It - The Dave Clark 5

Released 8.3.65. We changed the chords a bit and 80% of the lyrics on this one. What was once a love song now is...hmm. A song about creating your own reality?: “You want truth/you want mud/you want joy/you want blood/anyway you want it, that’s the way it will be.” Yeah, that’s the way it will be.

God Only Knows - The Beach Boys

Released 12.1.67. Brian Wilson is turning over in his grave, and he's not even dead yet. A beautiful love song we switched into a melancholic mess of morose.  Addition by Subtraction again, we took out the “without you” refrain and focused on the “what good would living do me”—-now more of a statement than a question.  God only knows.

I will Follow Her - Little Peggy March

Released 3.16.61. In 1961 Little Peggy was 15 years old and the youngest person ever to have a Billboard #1 song. What was a sweet pop love song now becomes a menacing metal tale of...stalking? A love too dark? Recorded live somewhere in Texas. We can’t remember where. Or maybe just don’t want to.