Tuesday, June 22, 2021

Two Versions of “Summer Breeze”

Seals and Crofts “Summer Breeze”

Their first big hit of many — both the single and the album went gold. 

The bridge is what really cranks this up to 11 — the lyrics:

Sweet days of summer
The jasmine's in bloom
July is dressed up and playing her tune
And I come home from a hard day's work
And you're waiting there
Not a care in the world

It’s slightly past halfway through the video above.

These lyrics aren’t exactly poetry but they do paint a nice visual image in your mind, by far the most important attribute of good lyrics.

Isley Brothers version

A very different version, slightly superior in my book, due to the amazing vocals and beautiful electric guitar from Ernie Isley. That 2 minute guitar outro is amazing.  

More on this classic Isley Brothers album “3 + 3” in a future post — one of the best albums released in the 70s. They caught lightning in a bottle with that one.

Both versions are great and they aim for and accomplish different things, and I will turn up either version loud on the car radio. 

Back to Seals and Crofts for a very good live version.