I Get So Excited - Real McCoy (1968) Vs I Get So Excited - The Equals (1968)

"I Get So Excited" has been recorded by many artists including Geno Washington, Don Fardon, The Grass Roots, Brownsville Station and even Captain Sensible. My favourite interpretations of the song are the original version by the Equals and the one by The Real McCoy, which incidentally was the first recorded cover, came out in released two months after the original.

The Equals

The Equals version is pure Hard Pop. Less soulful and more beaty than those recordings made by other artists in the following years, their version, like most of the bands recorded output is bursting with a driving energy. Equally(!) good is the flip side "The Skies Above", check it out here. This single was the Equal's fifth and like the four before it, flopped like a fish. Their defining single "Baby Come Back" was released just two months later. There's loads of hidden gems among the Equals back catalogue that will interest readers of this blog and I'd recommend you dig a little deeper into the works of Eddy Grant and Co.

The Real McCoy

The Real McCoy's version brings out the Bubblegum-ness from the track and is more melodic thanks to the vocal harmonies throughout. Rhythmic acoustic guitar and hand claps pad out the song and some over the top phasing which is used almost all of the way through, giving it a psychedelic tint. The B-side. "Somebody's Taken Maria Away", is a Chris Andrews penned tune which sounds rather like The Hollies circa 1965. This was the bands first of seven singles on the rarely seen Target record label and made it to number 68 in their native Irish Chart. The single also got a UK release on PYE but it failed to chart. There is an LP on the Marble Arch record label that was released in 1970 that brings together both sides of their first five singles. I've never seen a copy but would be interested if anyone out there has one to sell.

...So if I had to choose my favourite out of the two I'd most likely go with the Real McCoy version, mainly for its killer phasing!

Check it out...