
Looking for a fresh modern-sounding recording with roots in the golden California sound that's highlighted by two voices which often soar in tight harmony? Singer, songwriter, and mainstay of the Bay Area music scene Jeff Larson and longtime collaborator Gerry Beckley-known mostly as half of the Grammy Award-winning multi-platinum-selling rock group America with co-founder Dewey Bunnell-have created exactly this with the album JEFF LARSON WITH GERRY BECKLEY.
The album was just released and contains the irresistibly melodic new single "Oh Wow!" with Brian Young (Fountains of Wayne) guesting on drums. Listen to the album and single here.
"'Oh Wow!' is a song about discovery, wonder, innocence, and fun! I tried to keep it free from 'grown-up' concerns and to approach it more from a child's perspective," says LARSON. "I'm sure that, when it was written, I had probably worked on too many songs in a row where the mood was melancholy or resigned. Musically, it is a harmony-driven slice of power pop, inspired by various influences from that genre.
"Once the basic song was in place," he continues, "I sent it to Gerry, and he added bass, piano, backing vocals, etc. We had Brian Young (Fountains of Wayne) on drums, which was right up his alley. Gerry did the final mix so it would share the same feel as the other songs on the album. Fun is a good thing."
"Oh Wow!" follows the album's first single "C'mon Home" (released in mid-September).
The Beckley-Larson composition possesses distinctive twin lead vocals, glistening harmonies, ringing guitars, and lyrics that movingly offer a guiding hand to someone who's lost their way: "Where you gonna run to now boy/When you're all alone?/Riding like a lonesome cowboy/You were born to roam/...Why don't you come on home."
"'C'mon Home' was the last song to be added to this project," says Larson. "I think we knew we had a strong set of songs but maybe lacked one more to fill it out. Gerry sent me a track he was working on that I could tell already had a vibe and a hook with the slide part he did. He had the initial verse lines and chorus idea, so he asked if I would fill the lyric in and sing it. To me this is classic Gerry Beckley production with hooks all over. It seems to have almost written and sung itself."
Beckley says that "after retiring from my life of touring a couple years ago, I discovered that my love for writing and recording has not abated. If anything, this extra daylight in my schedule has allowed me to focus even more on this part of my creativity. This latest collaboration with Jeff I think stands as a great example. We have been writing and recording together for years now and I feel this is some of our best work ever."
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