By Chris Moore:
Well, I have finally posted one of my own! In the wake of Jim’s revival of lesser-known (and lesser-appreciated) tunes, I decided to try Bob Dylan’s early-70’s “Living the Blues.” It is certainly not the best (nor even among the best) of his catalog, but I’ve always loved it. And I hope you do too!
By Jeff Copperthite:
I love doing covers this day of the week. Why?
Because it’s Thumpin’ Thursday™! (Jim needs to learn how to insert special characters in the editor by the way)
And I always keep the solid beat songs in reserve for this day. Make you want to tap your feet if I can.
Well, I decided today to break out a really cool (and relatively recent) Bob Dylan song called “Things Have Changed”. The song itself is from a Soundtrack from the movie Wonder Boys. Originally, I thought it was released on a different album (Love & Theft, if you were wondering), but alas it was not to be.
I heard this song thanks to the Bob Dylan master Chris Moore. He also helped figure out that the song I had stuck in my head a few days back was this song. So if it weren’t for him, i’d have something else up here today.
I love the beat of this song, but as with all Dylan songs, he sometimes fits a lot of words into the same measure, or a few words. It can be tough to stay on top of that, and in this video you’ll notice me forgetting to change the chord for a beat. It happens to the best of us I guess.
And I managed to sing similarly to Dylan as well. The video works very nicely.
As with all Thumpin’ Thursday™ entries, I know you’ll enjoy this one. I’ll see you in 3 days for my next video!
Editor’s Note: Unfortunately, Jeff’s acoustic cover song music videos are no longer on YouTube, but we decided to keep his cover song blog posts up. We figured these music blog entries would be good for posterity’s sake and because Jeff always gave such insightful posts each Session. We hope to see Jeff’s impressive catalog of acoustic rock songs here on the Laptop Sessions cover songs and origianal music blog again in the future. But, for now, please make sure to check-out hundreds of other acoustic cover songs from all of your favorite bands here on the Laptop Sessions music blog!
Well, a year sure did go by quickly! Here I am with my girlfriend, Nicole, at what has become an important and fun annual event – the local Bob Dylan concert!
This year, Dylan’s summer 2009 tour has stopped at Rock Cats Stadium in New Britain as part of his ballpark series with Willie Nelson and John Mellencamp.
Somewhat surprisingly, Nelson is opening and is playing as I type — songs like “On the Road Again” and “Mamas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Cowboys.” Why so soon for the veteran country western singer? Earliest bed time of the bunch? Somehow, I doubt it! Anyway, I’m not a big fan, but his band is very solid and he sounds fantastic!
Okay, it’s back to the music for me, but I’ll be back with up to the minute Dylan set list updates as they come. I may need Nicole’s help to decipher the arrangements of the older songs, but I think she’s up to the task.
Mellencamp’s out now, and thanks to the graciousness of a somewhat tipsy fellow fan, we have much better seats (see above). The outdoor ballpark concerts really are nice, but you’re at the mercy of Mother Nature; thankfully, she was kind today.
Mellencamp opened with a song that we both know – “Ain’t That America.” I find his lyrical content a bit campy for my style, but I plan to reserve judgement until the concert is over. So far, so rockin’!
Upcoming: The Dylan Set List
1.) “Rainy Day Women #12 & 35”
2.) “Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again”
3.) “The Levee’s Gonna Break”
4.) “Tryin’ to Get to Heaven” – LAPTOP SESSION – CLICK HERE!
5.) “High Water (For Charley Patton)” – LAPTOP SESSION – CLICK HERE!
6.) “I Feel a Change Comin’ On”
7.) “Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum”
8.) “When the Deal Goes Down”
9.) “Highway 61 Revisited”
10.) “Ballad of a Thin Man”
11.) “Thunder on the Mountain”
12) “Like a Rolling Stone” – LAPTOP SESSION – CLICK HERE!
13) “Jolene”
14) “All Along the Watchtower” – LAPTOP SESSION – CLICK HERE!
By Chris Moore:
Now, this is truly a day of firsts for me. Three firsts, if I count them accurately. In order of occurrence: (1) I woke up on my own, on a Saturday, at a decent hour, and got right out of bed. Anyone who knows me on any personal level to any degree knows how amazing that truly is. (2) Then, I recorded my Saturday cover video in one take, including rehearsals. When it comes to these cover song sessions, I am probably more of a perfectionist than I should be. Thus, I repeatedly practice and record the music videos until I’m satisfied I could not do any better. Suffice it to say that usually takes anywhere between five and twenty-five takes. Today, one!! And, finally (3) I came upstairs from FMP Studios to find Jim, having just woken up, in an excellent mood. This is nothing against Jim — and I’m admittedly a bear (not one of those friendly, cuddly ones you might see at a show with a trainer, but one of those angry, blood thirsty ones that attack campers and hikers without provocation ala the John Candy movie The Great Outdoors) if you try to wake me from nodding off during a movie, etc. — but Jim’s just not a morning person. We sat and talked about the music blog, brainstormed some new ways to improve our views and content, and then laughed quite heartily about bathroom humor, the details of which I’ll spare you.
All told, really not a bad way to start a beautiful, sunny summer day!
But let’s get down to business. My acoustic cover song for today is Bob Dylan’s “All Along the Watchtower.” Ironically, you are probably more familiar with the Jimi Henrix’s cover version than you are of Dylan’s original music. And, even as a HUGE Dylan fan, I have to admit that Hendrix’s cover song is the definitive version. Even Dylan admitted as much — his live performances of the song still reflect Hendrix’s arrangement. That being said, Dylan’s original is heavily acoustic, so I felt that would be a better version for this acoustic guitar music video. So, I grabbed my acoustic guitar, dusted off my harmonica rack, and gave it my all. One take. Could it have been better, more polished? Yes, I suppose. But this is what the Laptop Sessions are all about — this is a snapshot in time, as though you sat down with me in my living room and I just played it for you, on a whim. I hope you enjoy it!
And, of course, don’t miss the unveiling of an all-new acoustic cover song from Jeff Copperthite — his next quality cover video will be posted here tomorrow…
See you next session!
**EDITOR’S NOTE: This video is no longer on YouTube, but please check out our other Bob Dylan cover songs here on the music video blog!
Bob Dylan Acoustic Rock Cover Songs and Free mp3 DownloadsWidely recognized as one of the best songwriters of his generation, Bob Dylan is an artist that redefined acoustic guitar music, especially original and even indie music. Certainly, Dylan grew up in a tumultuous time – the 1960s – before the time of video blogs. Whereas we may now turn to the internet to vent our feelings and to read the feelings of others, many in his time turned to his new acoustic music. Acoustic songs like “Blowin’ in the Wind” and “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right” made him famous and he created new rock music, most notably with “Like A Rolling Stone,” lauded my many music reviews as one of the best rock songs of all time. He has released new music as recently as the new millennium and continues to flex his muscle as a songwriter – the MTV Unplugged concert was a recent high point – as well as performing covers, such as a cover song version of “Mutineer” for the Warren Zevon tribute album. The songwriters of the Laptop Sessions have devoted many music video blog entries to his impressive and extensive catalog, including duets between Chris and Jim as well as a rare Triple Threat Tuesday event. |