This is a brief note to address a couple of issues. First of all, I let time slip away from me this beautiful Sunday afternoon and evening, so your regularly scheduled Weekend Review will now become the Temporarily Monday Review. In its place for now, I’m posting a “Yes, No, or Maybe So” review that I had originally planned to post later this week.
To further make up for the switch, I can promise you a full week here at the Laptop Sessions. This will be our first week in a while where there is a new post each day. This includes the Weekend Review, another one-sentence review, an Original Wednesday post, an article, a Guest Session, and next weekend’s usual festivities.
So, don’t blink, ’cause you’ll miss all the new material here at the blog.
So, can you tell I’m on a George Harrison kick? 🙂 It’s another edition of the Laptop Sessions with me, Jim Fusco!
One small piece of business before we get started: From now on, I’m going to try to post my videos at midnight on Thursday morning so you can wake up on Thursdays and see a new cover song music video or read an article. Lately, I’ve been staying up late on Thursdays and posting at like 1 am on Friday…that’s not really what I was going for with Jim Fusco Thursdays! So, make sure to grab a cup of coffee every Thursday morning and head on over to the Laptop Sessions acoustic cover songs music video blog for a great post each week. Now, onto tonight’s video!
On my way back from the Mets game I went to two Fridays ago, my friend John was flipping around to different radio stations in the car. He came across one station and I said, “Wow, I really think that’s George Harrison singing, but I’ve never heard this song before!” So, I whipped-out the Shazam app on my iPhone and it found the song: “It’s What You Value” from George Harrison’s solo album, 33 1/3. The song sounded great, so I decided to listen to the album. Well, I loved it and now I’m going to listen to all of his solo albums! I’m onto “George Harrison” (self-titled) now and I’m enjoying that one very much, as well.
“33 1/3” is not only an interesting title because of the RPMs of a vinyl LP on the turntable, but (as my father informed me) is also how old George was when he released the album! How cool! I guess I’ll have to come out with a vinyl single when I turn 45… 🙂
I’ve known “Crackerbox Palace’ since I was little. Back in the early 90s, I believe, they came out with George Harrison’s “Best of the Dark Horse Years” CD, which chronicled his greatest solo hits while on the Dark Horse label he created. So my father played it in the car all the time. That’s probably why I love George’s “Cloud 9” album more than any person should love an album: it’s embedded in my mind from when I was four! Getting back to the “Best Of” album, songs like “Crackerbox Palace” have been with me for a long time and it feels great to finally perform it.
I was surprised to learn that “Crackerbox Palace” is one of my brother Mike’s favorite George Harrison songs, as well. Plus, Becky seems to really love it, too. If you haven’t seen the original music video (that he did with the help of the folks from Monty Python), then you should really check it out. I think that’s why Becky likes the song so much now- it’s so lighthearted and fun.
On that note, I always look so serious when recording these songs- I just want them to sound right, so I forget to smile a lot of the time. On a lighthearted song like this, I hope it doesn’t detract from the general mood.
Okay, that’s all for me this week- make sure to stop back next Thursday for a great Moody Blues “Best Albums Ranked In Order” list my father came up with. Which album is the best? Or, maybe even more importantly, which album is the WORST? Find out next Thursday here on the music blog. Have a great week and see you then!
The Guest Sessions tonight comes at you with a great ELO tune written by the one and only Jeff Lynne. “Turn To Stone” is an ambitious tune and definitely one that’s hard to capture just using an acoustic guitar. But, my friends, Mr. Les Groby has done it here with this acoustic cover song music video. His sweet singing voice and solid playing have made this just the second ever Guest Session here on the Laptop Sessions music video blog!
Here’s what Les had to say about his submission:
“I love finding good songs hiding under complex arrangement and production. Solo performers rarely cover ELO, but under their lavish recordings are some good, simple songs that work well solo.”
And isn’t that the the essence of the Laptop Sessions right there? I tell you, Jim’s videos with the most views are the ones where he took a very lavish song and turned it into an acoustic solo performance. And that’s what Les has done here with this fine cover song. We hope that you’ll continue sending in your submissions, as a new video will be featured once a week here on the best music video blog ever created- the Laptop Sessions! Congratulations Les!
Welcome, everyone, to another Thursday edition of the Laptop Sessions with me, Jim Fusco! I’m back for my bi-weekly video and I’m in a great mood tonight. I have tomorrow off (going to a Mets game with my good friend, John) and tonight, I had a great dinner over the in-laws house, where I was fed all of my favorite dishes! I also got a cool new gadget for the guitar called the Voice Capo and basically, it allows you to pick any chord and then all you need to do is strum. At that point, you can experiment with other notes and “voicings” that let you expand on your guitar playing! Pair that with my new Martin guitar and you’ve got some major creativity happening over here!
Speaking of creativity, this past weekend, I had my first writing session with a new collaborator. He helped me try some new things and we worked on two songs. One of them, I’m still working out, but the first one we did is AWESOME! If I finish the lyrics to it, I’ll make sure to do an Original Wednesday Laptop Session for you!
Regarding the Laptop Sessions, I’m sure by now that you’ve noticed some changes. Well, I got to thinking- why did I do over 200 cover song music videos here on the blog just to have them get “old” and fall off the face of the Earth? So, I found a great way to refresh the old posts and bring them back to the front page again. The best part is that, according to the search engines, these posts seem “new” and thus get back in the search engine results! I have to say- this site has more traffic than New York City on a weekday morning now! Honestly, on my birthday, April 29th, the Laptop Sessions music video blog had close to 10,000 views! Now that’s what I call progress!
And, speaking of my birthday, boy, did I make out good. I got more than I could’ve hoped for, mostly due to my father’s incredible bargain-hunting skills. I’m now enjoying a new TV for our kitchen, a surround-sound bar for the living room, and even a new lawnmower! Now, all I need is the lawn… Anyway, my brother Mike got me Hulk Hogan’s autograph and MLB 2010 for PS3, which I’m really enjoying playing online with my new friend Mike from work. Add to that the gifts that my wife got me (Dumb and Dumber on Blu-Ray, a George Harrison record set- see below), my new extended family (on Becky’s side), and my cousin, I’d say it was a great 26th! We also went out to two great dinners- one on my actual birthday with my family, and the other the next night to my favorite restaurant, Jimmie’s in West Haven with my friends from college.
Now, back to that George Harrison album… Well, as you might have read previously here on the music blog, I’ve been buying record albums (LPs) lately. I love them- they’re collectible and are fun to find in stores and flea markets. I just completed my Moody Blues collection last weekend! Anyway, Becky went on eBay and got me an original copy of George Harrison’s 3-record set of his first solo album, “All Things Must Pass”. It’s such a cool collector’s item and I’m proud to own a copy. Becky’s always very perceptive on stuff like that. She saw me drooling over a new vinyl copy of the remastered version and thought it would be cool to get a vintage one for me. What a girl! 🙂
So, I decided to record my first Laptop Session acoustic cover song music video using my new Martin MMV acoustic guitar tonight! The vocals are a bit muted in this version, but that’s because I wanted to focus on the sound of this new guitar. The harmonics are just great- they sing themselves! The guitar is bright and loud, but maintains such a clear bass that I can’t stop playing once I pick it up! It just looks like a normal guitar, but you can see the logo on the headstock- it’s a Martin for sure. I’d love to hear what you think of the new sound!
George Harrison, like most famous guitar players, owned a Martin acoustic, and I wanted to play “I’d Have You Anytime”, which is the first cut off of “All Things Must Pass”. He co-wrote “I’d Have You Anytime” with Bob Dylan, too. It’s a short song, but has such a cool sound. George was so laid-back and made everything sound effortless. “I’d Have You Anytime” is a perfect example of a fairly simple song that’s stood the test of time because of its sound and its style.
Okay, that’s enough from me tonight- I hope you all have a great week and I’ll catch you next Thursday for another update. Make sure to check back in two weeks for another cover song music video from yours-truly!
Cover Songs & Original Music Videos By Laptop Sessions Songwriters
The Laptop Sessions music video blog is a great combination of acoustic cover songs and original music. This website features cover songs from many of rock music's greatest bands, including the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and Bob Dylan. The blog is updated every day with another acoustic cover video, how-to video, or article about music. We only play the best cover songs from the best rock bands of all time.
Here at the Laptop Sessions, we don't just sit down and do a bunch of cover songs- we make them our own. Yes, each cover will sound like the original, but it will also have a new, fresh sound to it. One of our specialties is taking a song from say the eighties and stripping-away the production. Then, we're left with just the song- simple (and most times, much better). We then record an acoustic version of that song and put it on this music video blog for all music fans to watch.
But, Laptop Sessions Music Blog is much more than just videos. There are informative blog posts, including the chords and lyrics to your favorite songs, recording tips, and much more. Plus, you can buy Jim Fusco's original songs right here on the music blog!
Right from the start, the Laptop Sessions Acoustic Cover Songs & Music Video Blog set out to be different. We wanted to give the best music blog for the world to enjoy. We wanted to put an end to bad YouTube cover videos forever. We wanted to bring great rock music back to the forefront with our great cover songs and original music. And, we guarantee we'll keep it this way- free videos that are updated constantly for your musical enjoyment. If you're looking for the best cover songs, the most exciting new music, and the most informative music articles, look no further than right here: home of the world-famous Laptop Sessions.
