The glass is always half-full. Tomorrow is a new day. It’s going to be a bright, sun shiny day. The words that ignite a fire in our hearts are often best put to song. The Side Deal have joined the world in spreading positive thoughts and vibes. On any given day, no matter the year, the lyrics in “I Can See Cleary Now” mean something different to each listener. No matter what the listener is going through, these timeless lyrics never stop reaching hearts.
A litany of artists have taken on this 1972 hit from Johnny Nash. The Side Deal follows a remarkable list that includes the likes of icon Ray Charles in 1978, Jimmy Cliff’s take in 1993 and Eagle Eye Cherry’s rendition in 2008. The Side Deal dabble their unique mixture of California rock with a tinted haze of country folk.
The 2020 version has some serious guitar riffs and punching bass lines. What The Side Deal really succeeds at is finding a balance between the version everyone loves (a toss-up between Nash’s version or Cliff’s reggae dub version from Disney’s Cool Runnings) and clearing the slate to make the song their own. One thing that can’t be denied is drummer Stan Frazier’s influence. His percussion and drum shapes are so California, so him. I also really had a strong sense that Frazier, a founder and former member of Newport Beach legends Sugar Ray, instilled his personal touch on the beats. Bassist Charlie Colin, who garnered a Grammy in his tenure and co-founder role in Train, has this under current that gives an added boost to the lyrics oh, yes I can make it now the pain is gone, all of the bad feelings have disappeared, here is that rainbow I’ve been praying for.
Humming along, the guitars have a stark difference to the Nash original. The Owen brothers, Joel and Scott, from the duo PawnShop Kings, take on the guitars and give the sound more of an Eagles meets the Flying Burrito Brothers meets Jesus Jones. So, in other words, it’s awesome. The movement of the song is invigorating and just as powerful as waking up in the morning and pushing yourself to do the Rocky stair sprints (everyone does that, right?). The tones are bold and the guitars just caress the listener in a way that Nash or Cliff couldn’t possibly do.
Listeners will be pleased to know that The Side Deal created a lyric video to “I Can See Clearly Now”. Featuring a roundup of smiling people of all ages, winning in sports and even some pretty amazing beaches, The Side Deal denoted the lyric video is dedicated to first responders and front line workers. “I Can See Clearly Now” is released via Goldie Records. Previous The Side Deal singles include “Ghost” earlier this year. On the band’s YouTube page they have several videos of performances of Train classics like “Drops of Jupiter”, Sugar Ray’s “Fly” and even a Doobie Brother classic that they performed with original Doobie Jeff “Skunk” Baxter “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number”.
Loretta Kim