“Odds and Ends” (Bob Dylan Cover)

For Bob Dylan chords / tabs / lyrics, CLICK HERE!

By Chris Moore:

Well, it may not have been recorded in my basement with an as-yet-unknown Canadian rock band, but this is the best version of “Odds and Ends” you’re going to get out of me!  I’ve always loved this song.  It sets the tone nicely for the 23 songs that follow.  Indeed, “Odds and Ends” encapsulates the spirit of The Basement Tapes: often absurd lyrics sung over raw yet warm instrumental tracks.  For Dylan, this set of songs signified his retreat from the “wild, mercury sound” of Blonde on Blonde and the wild world tour of 1966.  At the same time, you can listen as the Band begins to really gel and find their collective voice.

The primary reason I chose this song tonight — one of two that I will post tonight — is in honor of Dylan’s brand-new album being released tomorrow.  It is titled Together Through Life, and I’ve already recorded a Laptop Session of the lead track, “Beyond Here Lies Nothin.'”  There is at least one other song that’s been leaked online, but I’d rather save the other nine tracks for my first listen to the album as a whole.

Instead, I’ve gone back to this 1975 release of these 1968 recordings.

Why choose The Basement Tapes to cover now?

The answer, quite simply, is that I was too busy with other videos and writing to be able to record these songs a couple weeks ago when several Dylan albums — The Basement Tapes, New Morning, Dylan and the Dead — were reissued in digipack format.  I saw them in the stores, and although I really don’t see why anyone who already owns these albums would want to buy the updated versions (aside from sound quality, of course), I can’t help but feel it necessary to celebrate any and all attention that Dylan’s back catalog is given.

It hasn’t been all that long since I would scan the CD racks at stores like Sam Goody, FYE, Best Buy, Borders, and a host of others, looking for Dylan albums to complete my collection.  For a while, I would buy two at a time in an attempt to satiate my thirst for new Dylan material.  Although I don’t feel that same urgency for Dylan’s releases when I walk into a CD store, I have lost none of my passion and respect for his music.

As Jim knows and is probably already thinking (and he’s right), I’ll jump at any excuse to record a Dylan song!!

Okay, that’s it for the first post.  I need to save something to write about in my second post of the night, coming very shortly…

See you next session!

“Soulful Old Man Sunshine” by the Beach Boys – Chords & Lyrics : Ask the Musician

By Jim Fusco:

I received an email today from Mike H., who just watched my cover song music video of the Beach Boys’ semi-unreleased song, “Soulful Old Man Sunshine”.  What a great song it is- it’s hard to believe they put so much effort into a song and then canned it for years.  Anyway, Mike was wondering what the chords to the song were.  So, I decided to post them here on the music blog for all to see!  Also make sure to check out my cover song video of “Soulful Old Man Sunshine” below the chords and lyrics.  Thanks for writing, Mike, and I hope this helps!

..........Am7..Gm7......F
In that soulful ol’ man sunshine

F................Bb6................F...............Bb6
She looks so fresh and sweet, keeps herself soft and tender
Am7.............Dm7...........Gm7............Gm7/C..C7
No wonder that I can sing a song about my baby
F................Bb6.....F..........Bb6
She looks so healthy, I feel so doggone wealthy
Am7.............Dm7...........Gm7............Gm7/C..C7
No wonder that I can sing a song about my baby

Dm.........G7........Bb......Bb/C..........Am7..Gm7......F
So happy, together love is better in that soulful ol’ man sunshine
F..Cm7..Bb..F
Do-do-do

F.................Bb6.............F..........Bb6
She wakes up singing songs, of happy everafters
Am7..............Dm7.................Gm7........Gm7/C..C7
Well let me just tell you ‘bout my ever-lovin’ lady
F.................Bb6.....F..........Bb6
One bright September, I can remember
Am7................Dm7..............Gm7.............Gm7/C..C7
The morning we walked together laughin’ in the sunshine

F.............................Cm7
Hey old man shine your love on me
F.............................Cm7
Hey old man shine your love on me
F............................................Cm7
Soulful old man sunshine shine your light divine on me
F.............................Cm7
Hey ol’ man shine your love on me
........Gm7..........Am7...........................Bb6................C6
Then suddenly the light shines through and I see you there standing before me
Gm7........Am7.............Bb6...................Gm7/C........C7..C/D
Today the world is new I feel so high and so far within you, yeah

G................C6........G.............C6
Morning and evening, my love is weaving
Bm7.............Em7...........Am7............Am7/D..D7
A magical thread of joy that joins our hearts together
Em.........A7........C.......C/D...........Bm7..Am7......G
So happy, together love is better in that soulful old man sunshine

 



“Lady (Fallin’ In Love)” (The Beach Boys Cover)

By Jim Fusco

Welcome to another edition of the Laptop Sessions with Jim Fusco!  It’s been a long time since my last video blog post.  Before my new season of cover song videos begins, I decided to post a few leftover cover songs that I recorded a few months ago.  I guess I never got around to posting them!  Life can get busy…

Now that school is starting up again (my wife is a teacher, so she’s really busy 10 months out of the year)I should have a bit more time to focus on my musical endeavors.  I’m excited to bring The Laptop Sessions Acoustic Cover Songs Music Video Blog to new heights this year!  I just signed an agreement to promote my existing cover songs and I hope that these efforts will allow me to expand the website even further.

Tonight, I bring you an obscure song from The Beach Boys.  Well, it’s not really The Beach Boys- this is a Dennis Wilson solo project put under the Beach Boys’ name.  In the early 70s, Dennis Wilson was creating music at a very fast pace.  “Sunflower”, one of the Beach Boys’ best albums, shows a large contribution from Dennis.  In my opinion, his songwriting was second to only Brian Wilson in the band and after Brian slipped away from participating in the band, Dennis filled the void the best.  I think there was a time when the band decided to push Dennis as the front man of the band.  But, Dennis’ songs didn’t catch on commercially and eventually, they went back to the Brian Wilson formula once again (before he was ready, but that’s a whole different story).  Honestly, I’m not sure if the move away from Dennis as the face of the Beach Boys was due to his songs not receiving critical acclaim, or because of Dennis’ lifestyle.  Like Brian, it’s been said that Dennis had a hard time seeing projects through to the end.  Even though he was prolific during this period, I have a feeling he would get bored with projects very quickly and either not finish them or simply get them done and move on.

“Lady (Fallin’ In Love)” is an interesting song.  Dennis had a great way of taking a simple sounding song and making it lush and beautiful.  “Lady” isn’t the hardest song to play or sing, but the string orchestration (most likely done by Daryl Dragon of Captain & Tennille fame) is breathtaking.  That’s one of the reasons, though, that I wanted to do a solo acoustic cover version of “Lady”.  I wanted to show people what the song would sound like in it’s bare-bones form.  I think it’s still a really moving song.

Dennis’ voice on the original recording is so nice- it’s such a shame that he let it deteriorate so much.  I can only imagine the songs he could’ve come out with if he didn’t allow his personal demons to overtake him.

“Lady (Fallin’ In Love)” was actually the flip side of a solo Dennis Wilson single, which is fascinating to me.  “The Sound of Free” was the A-side.  Of course, the single didn’t go anywhere, but up to that point, only Brian had released a solo single in “Caroline, No” four years earlier.  I’m glad the Beach Boys and Capitol Records finally got it together to release “Lady” on their Summer Love Songs compilation.  This song deserved a new audience.

Enjoy tonight’s Dennis Wilson/Beach Boys cover song music video here on the Laptop Sessions video blog!  Stay tuned for more videos very soon with me, Jim Fusco!

WCJM Free Internet Radio Station: “The Complaining Show” – 2003

By WCJM Free Internet Radio:

This show was a reunion for the WCJM free Internet radio cast in 2003. Jim wanted to get the cast back together for one last time before everyone went back to school. Unfortunately, Dave cancelled at the last minute, preventing a complete reunion of the cast. However, a new addition to the show, Becky Daly, joined up with Chris, Jim, Mike, Alberto, Matt, and Jeff for this show.

This show is based on the fact that it seems like all the skits on WCJM are complaining about something! Whether it’s the Food Critic complaining about food, Matt complaining about the world in his stand-up comedy segments, or Dr. K just complaining about his life (and height), the skits always give something to laugh at, so WCJM’s Morning Show decided to make a show completely devoted to complaining.

All the songs on this show are also about complaining. There’s Live’s “What Are We Fighting For?”, the Beach Boys’ “I’m Bugged At My Old Man”, and J Geils Band’s “Love Stinks”, just to name a few. This gave the cast a chance to pick some unique songs and, of course, fit within WCJM’s “Every show has a theme” model.

This show has to be the funniest Morning Show to date because the cast was so comfortable with writing skits and laughing at them, too! Matt’s two Subway skits were perfect in writing and delivery, Jim’s usual World Report and Food Critic segments featured Jim finally working out the “filler” in his act, Jeff gave his funniest Ronco promo ever, and Chris even wrote his own, hilarious, skit with Mike playing Dave! Stuffy D. Bear is the poster bear for complaining and his memorable appearance on this show will go down as one of the edgiest segments ever on a WCJM broadcast. Even though Mike had a lack of material for this show, the laughing between him and Alberto always gave a good background and a good mood!

The Complaining Show is also in stereo, so listen with headphones to hear EVERYTHING that’s said between all seven members of the WCJM free internet radio team. Enjoy this stupid show- oops, got into the complaining theme a little too much- and be prepared to laugh!