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!

“Ripple” (Grateful Dead cover)

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By Jim Fusco:

Welcome to an all-new season of the Laptop Sessions with Jim Fusco!  This time around, I’m bringing you a mix of cover songs and a selection of original music.  There will be original songs from my past albums, as well as my upcoming album, “Those Around Us”.  The whole album is mixed and pre-mastered…at least my first crack at it.  After that, I need to secure the album cover (hopefully another painting like “Halfway There”) and get the album professionally mastered.  It’s very exciting and I can’t help but draw parallels to the creativity and experimental style that I used on my second album, “My Other Half”.  If you haven’t heard “My Other Half”, you can listen to the whole album on my website for free!  Just click here to listen.

“Those Around Us” is not really a concept album like “My Other Half”.  With “My Other Half”, I wrote the album around the concept.  With “Those Around Us”, I just realized that I wasn’t writing about me, for a change.  I was writing about the people around me- the people I know and care about- and my interactions and feelings about them.  I’m convinced that this is my best effort yet- the best production value, songwriting quality, lyrics, vocals, and most of all- musicianship.  Plus, my brother Mike plays the drums on a few tracks, just like the old days.

I will try to update the Laptop Sessions acoustic cover songs music video blog as often as I can with new updates, but for the most part, I just update my official Twitter account @jimfuscomusic.  Remember, if you follow me on Twitter, I’ll send you a link where you can download five of my songs for free!

One more thing- you’ll notice the new “set” for my acoustic cover song music videos.  Since my new home studio is complete, I wanted to record my videos in front of my guitar collecxion, which proudly hangs on the wall behind me. 🙂

Onto tonight’s video- the first video this season!

Grateful Dead (or “The Grateful Dead”, as most people call them) have really become one of my mainstay bands.  I look forward to getting the rest of their studio stuff.  I know it’s weird- most Dead Heads love the band for their versatility on stage over thousands of concerts and bootlegs.  But, my love for the band started after getting a Best Of CD with all of their studio tracks.  They combine my favorite elements of a band- harmonies, guitar solos, and most of all: multiple songwriting band members!  I’m so happy my friend Bill turned me on to Grateful Dead a couple years ago.  I’m so excited to have another band I can explore.

Tonight’s video, “Ripple”, was written by Jerry Garcia (and a lyricist, as you can tell these aren’t the poetic words of Jerry…).  I’ve always liked this song, though it seemed out of place as the last track on that Best Of CD I have.  I guess this song was a mild hit (they never really had any big chart hits- they must’ve played these songs on early FM radio, where the Moody Blues and ELO would dominate the airwaves).  In fact, my father, who always has strong opinions of music, says this is his favorite Grateful Dead song, and I can see why.

It’s a nice melody and the lyrics instantly take you to the shores of a southern US river- I can see myself sitting on a rock with my Martin, gently playing this song.  I thought of doing this video when I heard it again at my sister-in-law’s wedding a couple weekends ago.  Both my wife and I were part of the wedding, as my (now) brother-in-law and I have become very good friends over the past few years.  Instantly, I thought doing “Ripple” would be a great tribute video to do for their new marriage and I hope I did the song (and their marriage, for that matter) justice.

I hope you enjoy tonight’s video, too!  I’ll be back every other Thursday for at least the next three or four months, as I’m really dedicated to making new music online while finishing my album.  I want everyone to listen to “Those Around Us” and (if the ambition carries me) I’ll stop at nothing to make that happen.  I’d love to hear your opinion of this song, my performance, and what your favorite Grateful Dead songs are in the comments section or on YouTube.  Thanks to all for your support as I begin my fifth year of the Laptop Sessions!

Video Blog: How Songwriter Jim Fusco Records A Song in His Home Studio

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By Jim Fusco:

Originally done in four parts, this remastered video (originally recorded in 2007 and remastered in 2020) is about the triumphs and pitfalls of recording a song in my home studio. You’ll see techniques, advice, and most of all, a bunch of bad luck. The song I’m recording is called “Go Back To Him,” written by Jim Fusco and Alberto Distefano.  The song was featured on my album “Halfway There”, available at http://jimfusco.com and on iTunes!  Make sure to stick around for the end of the video and check out the music video for “Go Back To Him”, complete with remastered stereo audio for the first time!  For those who saw the original video, you’ll recall how dark the video looked, as the overhead lighting in my home studio at the time was not conducive to great video quality.  Thankfully, through the magic of Final Cut Pro X, I’m able to breathe new life into this documentary, which captures what it was like to record a song at 4am (which was easily done at 23 years of age…).

“Everyone’s In Love With You” (Beach Boys Cover)

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By Jim Fusco:

Welcome to another edition of the Laptop Sessions with Jim Fusco!  A quick update: the recording for my new album has been a fun process and every day I’m more and more excited to hear the finished results.  If you haven’t been following my progress, either go to my website at http://jimfusco.com or directly to my music Twitter feed @jimfuscomusic.

Tonight’s video is one from The Beach Boys- my favorite band of all time.  This song is from one of their most liked albums among fans.  Unfortunately, I don’t fall into that category.  “15 Big Ones” is an interesting album.  Sure, it’s the album where the other members finally got Brian Wilson back into the studio, but to me, it spelled the end of a once-great band.  You see, in the years leading up to “15 Big Ones”, the Beach Boys (the members other than Brian) were writing and producing some amazing music.  IN fact, “Sunflower” may be my favorite album from them.  But, as the nostalgia of the Beach Boys’ #1 greatest hits album, “Endless Summer”, grew in popularity, the band decided to get Brian back to the forefront.  Of course, Brian wasn’t really ready.  He’d been locked away in his room, listening to old music he loved from Fats Domino, Freddy Cannon, etc.  These were songs he loved as a kid and were what got him into rock’n’roll.

So, Brian wasn’t that interested in writing new songs- he ended up going into the studio and having the Boys record many of his old favorites, such as “Rock’n’Roll Music” and “Blueberry Hill”.  Those are the good ones on the album- I’m pretty sure they could’ve left off “A Casual Look” and made it “14 Big Ones” instead.

But, the pun in the title was because the Beach Boys had been a band for 15 years.  And, if I’m not mistaken, this was considered their 15th album.

It’s not a bad album, but it’s definitely dated now.  The synthesizer, brought to even more prominence on “Love You” from the next year, is hard to play for someone right now.  Playing “Palisades Park” for someone and saying, ‘This is from an album considered one of their best” doesn’t really make much of a case for potential fans.

Anyway, there are some great tracks on “15 Big Ones” though, including “It’s OK”.  Actually, I’ve already covered “Blueberry Hill”, “Just Once In My Life”, “Palisades Park” – I must like this album after all!  But, “Everyone’s In Love With You” is my favorite.  It’s definitely Mike Love at his best.  His vocals are sweet and it’s got a great melody.  Songs like this make me wish he had written more (that is, as long as they aren’t “Summer Of Love” from 1992).

I’ve always wondered if “Everyone’s In Love With You” had a bit of a racy meaning to it.  I mean, if you just literally listen to the words, you’ll see what I mean.  But, Mike has said the song is about transcendental meditation, which he was really into at the time.  It’s more of a feeling that everyone shares “love” with each other and individuality takes a back seat to a collective well-being.  At least, that’s what I’ve gained from the whole thing over the years…

I hope you enjoy this song- maybe it’ll prompt you to give “15 Big Ones” a shot someday.  It’s definitely worth a listen, I’ll say that.  I’m pretty busy for the next couple of weeks, but I won’t forget about the music blog.  I’ll be back with another great video soon, so stay-tuned!

“Never My Love” (The Association Cover)

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By Jim Fusco:

Welcome to another edition of The Laptop Sessions with Jim Fusco!  I said it last time and I’ll say it again tonight- I simply can’t believe how fast time is flying.  It’s been two weeks since I posted a video ALREADY!?!?!  Well, I’m still glad to be back and doing these Sessions again on a regular basis.  A couple of updates- I’m climbing towards the million mark on my YouTube views, so please keep watching!  Also, recording on my new album is in full swing now.  I’m not rushing it, so not a whole heck of a lot is done yet.  Though, I’d say we’ll have about five songs completely done in the next two weeks.

Onto tonight’s video!  Tonight, I bring you a classic (and great) song originally done by the Association in “Never My Love”.  I think this is finally one that everyone will know.  It’s a classic 60s song that I’ve heard many, many times on the radio growing up.  There’s something about the tune of this song that just catches you- it’s tough to describe.  The harmonies, the whisper-like singing, and those awesome major-7th chords contribute to the overall feel of this song.

A long time ago, I wanted to record this song, but was blocked by another member of the site.  Well, I can only wait so long (I think three years is a pretty good statute of limitations, don’t you?) and figured it was about time I did this video myself.  Hey, we’ve had multiple people do the same song here on the music blog before, so why not?

One of the things I truly love about the concept of the Laptop Sessions is doing all of these songs in the original key.  We went to see the band America at Mohegan Sun for their Wolf’s Den Hall of Fame induction over the weekend.  As usual, they played an amazing show.  We noted that they still do all of their songs in the original key(s).  There’s really something to be said about that- it doesn’t make them seem “old”, even though they’ve been touring for over 40 years now.

You might have noticed that almost all of my recent videos have featured a capo.  That allows me to play and sing with a bit more ease, because a lot of these songs I’ve been doing are in tough keys to play on acoustic guitar.  The capo allows me to make some of the chords easier to play (less painful on the hands) and still do the song in the original key.  I solemnly promise that every single Laptop Sessions acoustic cover song music video I do (and there have been over 225 already) will be in the original key.  To me, the songs just don’t sound quite right unless they’re played in the original intended key.  Plus, it gives me an opportunity to see if I can sing the song with the same aptitude that the original artist(s) had.

Well, that’s all for me tonight.  I’ll be back in two short weeks with another new acoustic cover song for you, plus updates on my new album.  Remember, you can follow me on Twitter @jimfuscomusic and I’ll send you a link to download five of my original songs for free!  That’s a pretty good deal, wouldn’t you say?  I’ll catch you next time here on the music blog- enjoy “Never My Love” by the Association…in the original key!