It's no secret Rivers Cuomo is a Beach Boys fanatic. Even without his open admissions, it would be readily apparent in a cursory listen to Weezer's catalog. Cuomo has recently made his fondness for all things Wilsonian explicit. In addition to playing songs from SMiLE before the start of performances on the group's current Memories Tour, Cuomo recorded his own version of the Beach Boys classic “Don't Worry Baby” for the second in his Alone series of solo home recordings. Now, Cuomo has released a YouTube performance of himself performing a solo piano-and-vocals version of “God Only Knows” from Beach Boys magnum opus Pet Sounds.
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Unless someone were truly untalented, it would be extremely difficult to mess up a song that is pretty much flawless. That said, the Weezer main man does a fine job with “God Only Knows” (said to be the all-time favorite song of Paul McCartney, another Cuomo demigod); he adapts the near-Baroque sound into a deceptively simple piano melody, and his voice (not always the strongest part of Weezer's tracks) is relaxed and warm. Clearly, this song–and the entire Beach Boys discography–means a lot to him. Here's hoping that inspires him to get back to his California pop-rock roots in future recordings, Weezer or otherwise.
