Alone with You (Sunnyboys song)

"Alone with You" is a song by Australian band Sunnyboys.[1] It was written by lead singer-guitarist, Jeremy Oxley,[2] and was the second single released in October 1981, on Mushroom Records, from their self-titled debut album, which had appeared in the previous month.[3][4] The single was produced by Lobby Loyde[5] and engineered by Colin Freeman at Alberts Studios, Sydney. "Alone with You" reached No. 28 on the Kent Music Report singles chart.

"Alone with You"
7-inch vinyl single
Single by Sunnyboys
from the album Sunnyboys
B-side"Stop and Think", "To the Bone"
ReleasedOctober 1981 (1981-10)
Recorded1981
Alberts Studios, Sydney, Australia
Length3:59
LabelMushroom
Songwriter(s)Jeremy Oxley
Producer(s)Lobby Loyde
Sunnyboys singles chronology
"Happy Man"
(1981)		 "Alone with You"
(1981)		 "You Need a Friend"
(1982)

In January 2018, as part of Triple M's "Ozzest 100", the 'most Australian' songs of all time, "Alone with You" was ranked number 48.[6]

History

In October 1980, Sunnyboys recorded four tracks produced by Lobby Loyde: "Love to Rule", "The Seeker", "What You Need" and "Alone with You". They appeared on the band's self-titled and independently released 7" EP via Phantom Records in December that year.[7][8] The initial pressing of 1,000 copies sold out in two weeks; it was later remixed and reissued as a 12" EP.[7][8]

After signing with Mushroom Records "Alone with You" was re-recorded and issued as their second single in October 1981, which reached No. 28 on the Kent Music Report singles chart.[3] It was included on their eponymous debut album, which had been released that September.[7][8][3]

In the liner notes of the compilation album, Sunnyboys, Our Best of (December 2013), Jeremy Oxley wrote "'Alone With You' was picked as the second single off the album although I always thought it was the song with the most potential to be a hit. It was written at Longdown Street in between going to Art School and rehearsals... It was partly about a chick I knew and partly a generalisation about the pent up feelings of teenage lust and love."[9]

The song was one of two the band performed during a November 1998 reunion for the Mushroom 25 Live concert to celebrate the label's 25th anniversary.[10][11][12] Mushroom re-released the single in 1998 following the concert as part of their limited edition Classic Mushroom Singles series.

Critical reception

Garry Raffaele of The Canberra Times reviewed Sunnyboys and felt that "'Happy Man', the single, is still, in my view, their best. Closely followed by 'Alone with You'."[13]

Craig Mathieson in 100 Best Australian Albums describes it as their "signature song" and states that it "captures the excitement and trepidation of a first date, but the naive charm of the moment is undercut by the darkness of lyrics... The result is a great pop song that is equal parts tension (in the verse lyrics) and release (the catchy chorus, the great harmony vocals and blistering outro guitar solo)."[14]

Cover versions

In June 1999, Jimmy Little, recorded a cover version of "Alone with You" for his album, Messenger.[15] For the 2000 feature film, Sample People's soundtrack The Superjesus delivered a "vibrant recording" according to Brad Green of Urban Cinefile; he continued that it "might have been great, but fails because it's clearly been mixed by the guitarist's mother."[16] Dragon and Jenny Morris provided an acoustic rendition for the various artists' compilation, The best of acoustic. Volume one, in 2006.[17]

On 6 March 2006 Off the Hip Records released Happy Man: Tribute to the Sunnyboys, with 18 cover versions of the group's tracks by various artists, including "Alone with You" by Brisbane-based group, Shifter.[18][19] In March 2015 Adalita performed a duet with Jack Davies as their version of "Alone with You" for Neighbours: 30 Years, album by various artists.[20]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Jeremy Oxley,[2] unless otherwise shown.

7" vinyl version
No.TitleLength
1."Alone with You"3:59
2."Stop and Think"2:18
3."To the Bone"2:14
Total length:8:31

Charts
Chart (1981) Peak
position
Australia Kent Music Report Singles Chart[3] 28

Release history
Region Date Label Format Catalogue
Australia October 1981 Mushroom 7" vinyl K-8476
November 1998 CD single MUSH01823-2

Credits
Sunnyboys
Production
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gollark: Why are you subdomaining so much?
gollark: Also general stability.
gollark: Monopsony™ can support remote terminals over ender chests.
gollark: Didn't you read the GTech™ procedures manual?

References
  1. Tulich, Katherine (4 April 1983). "Sunnyboys' new songs, new facets". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 19 July 2015.
  2. "'Alone with You' at APRA search engine". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Archived from the original on 17 November 2015. Retrieved 19 July 2015. Note: User may have to click on 'Search again' and provide details at 'Enter a title:', e.g. Alone with You; or at 'Performer:' Sunnyboys.
  3. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book Ltd. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. Note: Used for Australian Singles and Albums charting from 1974 until ARIA created their own charts in mid-1988. In 1992, Kent back calculated chart positions for 1970–1974.
  4. Coupe, Stuart (17 June 1984). "Sunnies back on the right track". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 19 July 2015.
  5. "Lobby Loyde". Australian Rock Database. Archived from the original on 29 September 2013. Retrieved 19 July 2015.
  6. "Here Are The Songs That Made Triple M's 'Ozzest 100'". Musicfeeds. 27 January 2018. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
  7. Holmgren, Magnus. "Sunnyboys". Australian Rock Database. Archived from the original on 9 October 2012. Retrieved 19 July 2015.
  8. McFarlane, Ian (1999). "Encyclopedia entry for 'Sunnyboys'". Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop. St Leonards, NSW: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1-86508-072-1. Archived from the original on 30 September 2004. Retrieved 19 July 2015.
  9. Oxley, Jeremy (6 December 2013). Sunnyboys, Our Best of (liner notes). Sunnyboys (performers). Warner Australia. p. 9. FEST601022. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
  10. "Mushroom 25 Live [videorecording]". Trove. National Library of Australia. Retrieved 19 July 2015.
  11. McFarlane, Ian (1999). "Encyclopedia entry for 'Independent Record Labels'". Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop. St Leonards, NSW: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1-86508-072-1. Archived from the original on 28 August 2004. Retrieved 19 July 2015.
  12. Jenkins, Jeff; Meldrum, Ian (2007). "Mushroom Records – Magic Mushroom". Molly Meldrum presents 50 years of rock in Australia. Wilkinson Publishing. pp. 87–94. ISBN 978-1-921332-11-1.
  13. Raffaele, Garry (5 October 1981). "Rock Music: 'Jive' Lacks the Drive". The Canberra Times. ACT: National Library of Australia. p. 3. Retrieved 19 July 2015.
  14. O'Donnell, John; Creswell, Toby; Mathieson, Craig (2010). 100 Best Australian Albums. Prahran, Vic: Hardie Grant Books. p. 116. ISBN 978-1-74066-955-9.
  15. Birchmeier, Jason. "Messenger – Jimmy Little". AllMusic. All Media Guide. Retrieved 19 July 2015.
  16. Green, Brad. "Sample People: Soundtrack". Urban Cinefile. Retrieved 19 July 2015.
  17. Gamble, Hammond; Morris, Jenny; Stevens, Jon; Reyne, James; Seymour, Mark; Moss, Ian; Diesel; Hello Sailor; Dragon; Church; The Black Sorrows; The Choirboys; Mental As Anything (2006), The best of acoustic. Volume one, Liberation Music, retrieved 19 July 2015
  18. "Various – Happy Man: Tribute to the Sunnyboys". Real Radio. PBS 106.7FM (Progressive Broadcasting Service). 2008. Archived from the original on 1 November 2008. Retrieved 19 July 2015.
  19. The Barman. "Reviewed: Happy Man – A Tribute to the Sunnyboys – Various Artists (Off the Hip)". I-94 Bar. Archived from the original on 15 July 2015. Retrieved 19 July 2015.
  20. "Get Musical for the 30th". 30 Years Of Neighbours. 7 March 2015. Archived from the original on 21 July 2015. Retrieved 19 July 2015.
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