Author Archives: Jim Fusco

About Jim Fusco

Jim Fusco is a singer, songwriter, guitarist, and all-around musician. Learn all about him and his creative works at http://jimfusco.com!

“What Am I Doing Hangin’ ‘Round?” (The Monkees Cover)

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By Jim Fusco:

Hello and welcome to a Valentine’s Day edition of the Laptop Sessions with Jim Fusco!  Tonight, I bring you a great song by the Monkees in “What Am I Doing Hangin’ ‘Round?”.  I’ve always loved this song, especially because of the great country-rock spin that Mike Nesmith put on it.  I was a little disappointed, though, to find out that he didn’t write it.  All these years I thought he did!

This is the final leftover video from last year’s recording sessions.  So, I guess it now means that I’m going to have to record some new videos this year!  I have a ton of ideas, it’s just about getting the time set aside to record them.  My ambition is growing, so that’s always a good thing!

I’ve always loved the songs that Mike Nesmith sang for the Monkees.  He is very similar to Gene Clark (of the Byrds) to me.  Nesmith was the first one who stopped touring with the Monkees, just like Clark.  And on future reunions, both Nesmith and Clark were the “flaky” ones that gave up on the projects before everyone else.  Their style of singing and musical styles are very similar, as well.  I consider them both pioneers in the “Southern Rock” category.  I think the most important similarity between the two musicians was their lack of recognition.  As everyone knows, the Monkees have never gotten the respect they deserved.  Everyone always just considered them a vocal band that did songs other people wrote.  That might have been true for a period of time, but it wasn’t necessarily their choice.  On albums like ‘Headquarters”, the members of the Monkees played almost all of the instruments.  And, Mike Nesmith was a very accomplished songwriter.  His song, “You Just May Be The One” is one of my Top 5 songs of all time!  And, Gene Clark, as great as he was, was never given the recognition he deserved, either.  He truly was one of the best rock songwriters of all time, claiming another one of my Top 5 favorite songs in “I’ll Feel A Whole Lot Better”.

I think a main difference between Michael Nesmith and Gene Clark is how they went about dealing with their fame and lack of recognition.  Nesmith kind of receded into the background and many people didn’t hear much from him for a long time.  Gene Clark, however, kept pushing on, but let the disappointment he felt from not regaining his Byrds popularity get to him.  Nesmith is still around, playing the occasional tour and Gene Clark has been gone for about 20 years now.

One frustrating thing about Nesmith is that he didn’t go on the reunion tour with the Monkees while Davy Jones was still alive.  And now that Davy is gone, Nesmith decided to go back on tour with the other two guys!  I really wish he could’ve had some more foresight and went out with the whole original group in tact.  Now, I’ll never get to see all four together.

I hope you enjoy today’s acoustic cover version of “What Am I Doing Hangin’ ‘Round” by the Monkees here on the Laptop Sessions acoustic cover songs music video blog.  Stay tuned, because we have many more Guest Sessions and future new Laptop Sessions cover videos with me, Jim Fusco!

“Poor Little Fool” (Ricky Nelson Cover)

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By Jim Fusco:

Hello everyone and a Happy 2013 to you!  I’m back with my first post of the New Year.  This is another leftover relic from last year’s sessions, which I like to call my “fat” sessions.  Why?  Because I’ve lost like 40 pounds since then and I look so much different in these videos!  I guess a 9-5 job and marriage got to me in the weight department a bit, but over the summer, I worked hard to get back down to a classic “Jim Fusco weight” and now I’m ready for the beach this year!  Oh, well there’s still the issue of my incredibly pale skin…

Tonight, I present Ricky Nelson’s classic song, “Poor Little Fool”.  I’ve always loved the music of Ricky Nelson.  His songs always put a smile on my face- even if it’s a sad song.  There’s such hope in his voice.  Ricky was a good-looking man, we all know that.  And some may write-off his music because of it.  They probably used to think about him the way many people currently think about KeSha, Katy Perry, and others in that same pop genre.  The difference between Ricky Nelson and the teen idols of today?  The man could SING!  I truly believe Rick Nelson had one of the best singing voices of all time.  His voice filled the speakers- it was so laid-back and country sounding, but still had a flair for pop music.  This was one immensely talented man.  And, in later years, he wrote some great songs.  Most notably, he wrote and performed “Garden Party”, which is also a favorite.

“Poor Little Fool” also features the great singing group The Jordanaires singing backup.  Yes, that’s the same backup band Elvis Presley used.  I wonder why Ricky decided to use that group to sing on his songs.  I imagine he would want to stay out of Elvis’ shadow and not be compared so much to him.  Don’t get me wrong- being compared to Elvis must’ve been an incredible honor.  But, think of it like Julian Lennon not wanting to be compared to his legendary father John.  After a while, you just want to be known for “you”, and not for some other person you sound like.

I was fortunate enough to record this Laptop Sessions acoustic cover song music video with my Martin MMV acoustic guitar.  The sound of this guitar brought the video to a whole new level.  Take away the HD video and the superb audio recording from my Zoom H2 microphone and you still have a good performance because of the sound of that guitar.  I think, over time, it will prove to be the best purchase I’ve ever made.  I hope I have that guitar forever!  Of course, and I’m letting my wife know this 20 years in advance so she won’t be shocked then, I’ll HAVE to get a 200-year anniversary Martin guitar when that milestone comes around in 2033.  I hope by then I can afford another one!

Enjoy tonight’s Laptop Session cover video- I hope to be back soon with more videos.  I have plenty of ideas, it’s just sitting down and getting them on video I’m having trouble with!  I’m also working on a bunch of new original songs, aided by my awesome “new” drum set (new sparkle green wraps, custom Pearl snare, and Sabian Pro hi-hats), vocal monitor, and tone pins for my Martin.  I hope 2013 will be a musical year!

“Follow You Home” original song by Jim Fusco from “Those Around Us”

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By Jim Fusco:

A little late with the post this week- I think I just decided that I write much better during the day and not at 2 am.  🙂  I’m still on a “Those Around Us” kick and I’m pretty sure those that have purchased the album are, too!  Remember, the CD version of my latest album is available on my website at http://jimfusco.com/albums/those-around-us.html.  And, it’s also available on iTunes HERE!

Today’s video is an original song that I wrote on piano- I haven’t had a piano-driven song like that since “What About Today?”, as all of the songs on “Halfway There” were piano-based.  I wanted to get back into using the piano again, but only got one song out of it.  It’s a pretty serious song, too.  I had this idea of someone that got in a car crash and lost their memory.  At that point, all of his friends and family would try to make him remember his life.  And, he didn’t remember where he lived, so he had to “follow you home”.  Most of the songs on “Those Around Us”, as I’ve mentioned here on the music blog in the past, don’t deal with actual things or people in my life.  The songs’ subject matter is derived from ideas I’ve had and conversations I’ve had with the people closest to me.  I think somewhere along the line I realized, “Hey, I’ve surrounded myself with good, level-headed people.  There’s not enough to write about!”  So, I took a new direction and thought of some other topics.  Then, I applied my feelings about the matter- almost an exercise in how I would react to a situation.  I like that concept- it makes me think outside the box a little.

I really like the production on the recorded version of “Follow You Home”.  I got to use a great new Native Instruments sampled acoustic piano that I bought, so it sounds really great.  Plus, I didn’t have to mic the real piano we have upstairs- that’s always more trouble than it’s worth.  Also, I got to use the 12-string electric guitar to great effect in this song- I really like the idea of using the 12-string as a sort of second bass line- kind of like a riff that runs through the whole chorus.  The harmonies on the chorus took some time to get right.  On the second time around the chorus, I go to a minor chord (I love that change).  But, it’s such a slight difference in the vocal note- it definitely took a few takes to nail it.

On a personal note, I cannot tell you how happy I am that the Beach Boys are reuniting this year.  This Sunday, they’ll be playing at the Grammy Awards- I can’t wait!  Also, I just bought the tickets to see them live at Mohegan Sun arena.  I know it’ll be a great show and I hope they throw in a few surprises for us hardcore fans.  I’ll definitely be hitting up the merchandise table that night!

I’m always looking for new avenues to distribute my album and for some places to play live.  If any of the loyal readers of my Laptop Sessions music video posts have any suggestions, I’ll be happy to hear them.  I’ll be back with a cover song music video in a couple weeks, so to tide you over until then, order yourself a copy of “Those Around Us”!



Ranking the Best Moody Blues Albums in Order- A Comprehensive List from a Lifetime Fan

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By Jim Fusco:

Welcome to this special report for the Laptop Sessions acoustic cover songs music video blog!

A few weeks ago, I had a conversation with my father about the best Moody Blues albums.  My father is very opinionated and we had a nice argument about the subject.  He decided to make a list.  I’m not sure if it’s because we were arguing and he knew I had some differing opinions, but I couldn’t believe how similar his answers were to what mine might have been!  In fact, there’s very few on this list I would disagree with (I’d put “Every Good Boy…” lower and definitely “December” a lot higher…).  So, without further ado, here’s my father’s list of Best Moody Blues albums…including solo albums!

Moody Blues albums:

  1. On the Threshold of A Dream
  2. Every Good Boy Deserves Favour
  3. To Our Children’s Children’s Children
  4. Long Distance Voyager
  5. Strange Times
  6. Question of Balance
  7. The Present
  8. In Search of the Lost Chord
  9. Seventh Sojourn
  10. Days of Future Passed
  11. Octave
  12. This is the Moody Blues (A really good Best-Of compilation, mixed like a real Moody Blues album.  However, if a compilation album lands here, you can only imagine how…not great…the albums below it must be!)
  13. Prelude (Another compilation, but this is of their early stuff before “Days of Future Passed”)
  14. Caught Live +5 (I’ve always been a fan of the five unreleased songs at the end, myself)
  15. Keys of the Kingdom
  16. December
  17. The Other Side of Life
  18. Sur La Mer

Moody Blues Members’ Solo Albums:

  1. The Promise – Mike Pinder
  2. View From the Hill – Justin Hayward
  3. Blue Jays – Justin Hayward and John Lodge
  4. Among the Stars – Mike Pinder
  5. From Mighty Oaks – Ray Thomas
  6. Kick Off Your Muddy Boots – Graeme Edge
  7. Natural Avenue – John Lodge
  8. Songwriter – Justin Hayward
  9. Hopes Wishes Dreams – Ray Thomas
  10. Paradise Ballroom – Graeme Edge

Now that we’ve had our say, we’d love to hear what you think!  What would you change about this list?  Turn it upside down?  A few tweaks?  Let us hear from you in the comments section below!