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!

“Only A Dream” – an MoU Original Acoustic Rock Song

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By Jim Fusco:

For my first trick…

Welcome to my first Original Wednesday original acoustic song music video for the year 2009!  It’s Jim Fusco here with a great song that we chose to kick-off our (and by “our”, I mean the band Masters of the Universe, or MoU) second album, “Homestead’s Revenge”.  The song is “Only A Dream” and it’s a chorus I wrote the tune to, but never did anything else with.

I remember the day very vividly.  It was one of our band songwriting sessions and I remember finally fleshing-out the chorus with the help of Chris, Mike,  Becky, and Cliff.  Then, I ran over to the piano and started to work out chord progressions for the verses.  I came up with the very interesting Em7 to Bm chord progression and I really love the tune that goes along with it.  I remember sitting there working and hearing Becky and Chris deciding on words to go into the chorus of the song.

I took my ideas over to the rest of the band and we worked out the words.  We came up with this image of a man in a jail cell.  The conversation went something like this: “How about a man locked in a jail cell that’s dreaming about getting out?”  “Oh yeah- like he’s locked in there!” “Okay, let’s see- ‘Locked in solitary confinement…'”  “No, that doesn’t work with the tune…” “Locked in solidarity…” “That doesn’t make sense, though.” “Oh, but it does!  The guy is locked up AND he’s all alone!” “Perfect!”

And that’s how the writing session went- we scrutinized everything but were able to paint a very realistic image of the idea we were getting across.  Why don’t you just listen and find out what that message is?

I also remember Mike returning from the back room, playing his middle-8.  I love that part of the song and it leads right back into the chorus very well.  He did that on “These Streets” from the same album.  The lyrics are great on the middle-8 to “These Streets”- we were thinking about that kind of great fast-paced life you think you have in high school  and threw in, “Live like it’s 1999,” because I was a freshman/sophomore in 1999.

Also, I was very excited when we all did the vocals.  On the original (which you can hear by going to MoU’s Official Website), you’ll hear double-tracked vocals from each of the five members of the band on the choruses and backgrounds, PLUS the lead vocals.

Some fun facts: Chris, Cliff, Mike, and I recorded our vocals together and we dubbed Becky’s much softer voice later on two other tracks so I could handle it better in the mix.  It isn’t easy blending a female voice into four other male voices.  But, my voice must not be too far off from a female’s voice, which made it easier to mix.  Why do I say that?  Well, on the middle-8, you’ll hear the backing vocals come in.  I love that part.  Well, on that section, Becky doesn’t sing- it’s just Mike’s lead, then Mike, Chris, Cliff, and I on backing vocals.  I sang the high part (doing my best Becky impression) because we seamlessly wove the backing vocals around Mike’s lead, allowing us to use only four other backing vocal harmony parts.  I remember doing those backing vocals that night with the boys and we were all so incredibly excited.  After we finished each good take, we’d get so stoked about it.  The greatest backing vocals I think I’ve ever heard are during the second half of the second verse.  The way that some of the vocals move around and some stay the same…it’s really a stroke of genius on my part! 🙂  Want to hear just the vocals-only section?  Click HERE and you’ll go to the Albums page on the MoU website.  The clip of only the vocals from that section will play in the background.  Click around to the other pages on the site and you’ll hear more rare vocals-only clips from the album!

Well, I hope you enjoy this great original song.  It was truly a collaborative effort- a great, catchy song- that was the perfect album-starter.  Until next Tuesday, I hope you have a great week.  Make sure to come back tomorrow for your Jeff Copperthite Thumpin’ Thursday acoustic cover song music video!

“Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I’m Yours” (Stevie Wonder Cover)

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By Jim Fusco:

Here I am, baby, with another edition of Jim Fusco Tuesdays here on the best video blog you’ve ever seen!  How do I know that?  Well, I’ll give you a few minutes to look around, then come back…

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Back?  Yeah- I thought so.  We have the greatest selection of acoustic cover songs you’ll find ANYWHERE on the internet.  Where else can you find a Wilco song juxtaposed next to a Stevie Wonder song…done by two pasty white guys in Connecticut?  Well, I’ll tell you where- right here on the Laptop Sessions acoustic cover songs music video blog.

Onto tonight’s video:

For my Tuesday night edition, I bring you a special Inauguration song in honor of our new President, Barack Obama.  Yes, I’ve been a supporter of the man from the start of the race, but that’s not why I did this song.  As per the quite harsh comments I recieved on one of my original songs, I don’t think I’ll be bringing politics into the conversation anytime soon (join me next week for my exposé on religion…kidding!).  But, I think we should all come together as a nation right now under our inspirational new leader and try to fix what ails this economy and the world in general.

In honor of Motown’s 50th Anniversay (thank you, full page ad in Rolling Stone…), I’ll be doing this and another great Motown hit next week on Jim Fusco Tuesdays here on the music video blog.  I hope Chris and Jeff will help me sing some great Motown numbers, as well, as we’re also very rapidly approaching Black History Month in February.

If you remember Obama’s speeches during the primaries and election, then you’ve heard this song before.  Every time Obama won something, Stevie Wonder’s “Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I’m Yours” would play loudly to a group of screaming Obama fans.  “Signed, Sealed, Delivered…” was Barack Obama’s theme song of sorts.  It was always a great motivator that said, “Here I am- you’ve chosen me and I want to be here.”

I hope you got to see the Inauguration today.  My brother Mike was saying that he actually felt bad for former President Bush when the crowd started singing “Na, na, na, na… Na, na, na, na… Hey, hey hey… Goodbye…” as his helicopter exited Washington D.C.  He’s served his time.  He had a lot of bad luck and said some things he really should’ve thought about a bit more before saying and his legacy is…well, we’ll leave History up to that one…

So, I’m happy to honor our new President tonight with this classic Stevie Wonder song.  If you love Barack Obama, or you still need to warm up to him as President, I hope you’ll realize that we’re all in this together and that Obama is here, signed, sealed, delivered and ready to work as President of the United States.  This is a very hopeful day for America and I think that’s something this country sorely needed.  Goodnight and I’ll be back tomorrow with a great Original Wednesday song from MoU!

“Blue World” (Moody Blues cover)

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By Jim Fusco:

Welcome, welcome to another version of Jim Fusco Tuesdays here on the best music video blog ever created: the Laptop Sessions!

My special guest is coming, I promise, but we’ll have to wait at least another week.  But, it’ll be a great performance and I’m really looking forward to it.

So, I had to do an impromptu video tonight.  I have been practicing this song for many months now, but I always had other Moody Blues songs cued-up so I never got to it.  But, I had to do this video tonight up in my room because it’s just simply too cold in the studio now and I don’t wanna wait for the heat to kick in.

So, the video doesn’t look that great, but the sound is there, and that’s the most important thing, isn’t it? 🙂

Tonight, I bring you a great song by the Moody Blues from their album “The Present”.  This might be considered the last great Moody Blues album, because they were still popular, relevant, and had all four members contributing in a significant way.  I, of course, love the “Strange Times” album, but I definitely feel like I’m the only person in Connecticut (other than people I know personally) that knows of that album.

“Blue World” is a well-done song and has a classic Justin Hayward sound to it.  I love the chorus and I even love that over-the-top Pat Moraz keyboard/synth work.

The only problem with this song is the introspective lyrics that Hayward is so accustomed to writing.  He’s like the Mike Love of the band.  I mean, in this song, Hayward mentions his songs “The Voice” and “Fly Me High”.  He’s done this in other songs, as well.  But the thing is that “The Voice” was from the PREVIOUS album!  It’s not like he had a lot of time to reflect on the message of that song…

Well, I hope you enjoy tonight’s entry into the Laptop Sessions’ catalog.  Chris and I are going to have a battle to the death to find out who’s stuck with Original Wednesday tomorrow, but I may guilt him into it, seeing that I’ll be away on business for the first time!  I may be back in time and I’ll have stories to tell.  I’ve never been to New York City alone before, so tomorrow should be interesting!  Have a great one and I’ll be back sooner than you think!

“Livin’ With A Heartache” (The Beach Boys Cover)

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By Jim Fusco:

I kick off the year with a new Beach Boys acoustic cover song.  I bribed Chris (by making clams and spaghetti for dinner) tonight to do this video with me.  He was a welcome addition and really helped to fill-out this song.

Carl Wilson wasn’t the most prolific songwriter, but when he did come out with a new tune, he made it count.  He really took over the role as “leader” of the Beach Boys in the 70s and 80s.  When “Keepin’ the Summer Alive” came out in 1980, he had to juggle his brother Brian’s worsening condition and his brother Dennis’ increasingly tragic lifestyle.

It’s no surprise that I love this album.  Something about it… The Boys just knew what they were doing.  Yes, it’s really cheesy at points, but it’s a really diverse album.  The only true disappointment for me is the lack of ANY Dennis contribution at all.  Oh, wait, I take that back- I think he plays the tambourine on one song…  That’s especially disappointing because Denny had such an amazing contribution to LA (Light Album).  Those songs were supposed to be for his ill-fated (until recently) Bambu album, but even his vocals on Carl’s amazing “Angel Come Home” made the album that much better.  “Love Surrounds Me” is also an incredible song- to me, it just sounds EXACTLY like a song from 1979 should- with elements of rock, blues, disco and mostly funk.  Of course, Bruce Johnston took the “disco” part waaaaaayyyy too far on the horrible (and horribly long) rendition of “Here Comes the Night”.

Anyway, Carl’s best “albums” (meaning albums where he contributed the most) were “The Beach Boys (1985)” and this one, “Keepin’ the Summer Alive”.  These albums will forever remind me of the last day of school each year, as my father would pick us (my brother and me) up from school in the Camaro and we would go have fun on our first day out.

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve grown to love “Livin’ With A Heartache” more and more.  At times, Carl had a bit of a tendency to sound a bit over-dramatic and kind of like a lounge singer (“It’s Over Now” comes to mind), but that may have been just a style of the time.  In this song, Carl sounds angrier and his voice is in perfect form.  I love the country-tinge to this song- another trait I’ve gotten to like more and more as time’s gone on.

I hope you enjoy my first entry for the year.  I hope to bring you a very special duet next week with a new guest to the Laptop Sessions.  We’ll be doing a great Beatles tune, so make sure to come back each and every Tuesday for Jim Fusco Tuesdays!  Oh, and by the way- make sure to check out all the great new sections on the site.  As Chris mentioned yesterday, we have a new homepage design that makes all of the important information and links easier to find.  I hope that the site in its current form will welcome new viewers to the blog better than ever before.