“Hey Love” (Better Than Ezra Cover)

By Michael Brading:

This is an acoustic cover of the song “Hey Love” by Better Than Ezra.

** EDITOR’S NOTE: **

It’s been nearly a year and a half now since Jeff posted our first — and only — Better Than Ezra acoustic cover, so I jumped at the chance to feature this version of “Hey Love,” a track from 2009’s Paper Empire.  I was actually shocked to see that this song came from such a recent album, as this latest Better Than Ezra effort slipped past me entirely.  And I’ve made it my business to be in “the know” on new music releases since January of 2008, so that’s saying something.

It is on this note that I am happy to welcome Michael Brading back to the Laptop Sessions blog for his second highlighted appearance.  As you’ll see and hear, he has done an outstanding job here translating “Hey Love” to an entirely acoustic solo performance. He has “cheated” the LS formula a little with the subtly double-tracked lead vocal, but I have to admit that it’s to great effect.

Even as I write this, I’m still humming the song to myself, which is a sure sign that Michael not only picked out a great track, but also performed it well!

Here’s to a strong return to the blog for Michael, and to a relaxing Friday evening for us all.  Browse the archives for more from the Laptop Sessions blog.

More Laptop Sessions covers

“Fa Fa” (Guster Cover)

By Jeff Copperthite:

And now, to bring New Bands 2.0 to a close, I bring you…what else?  Another new band!  I hope you have enjoyed us exploring some more musical libraries and contributing them to the sessions.  We’re always thankful for more to cover as well, allowing us to approach our 366 day goal (leap year naturally – nice going Chris) more readily.

With that said, I can guarantee you’ll hear another song by this band before the year is out.

When I was a young student at the University of Connecticut, we were fortunate to have a really awesome, but somewhat unknown band perform named “Guster”.  My roommate Andy insisted they were really good and we were going to enjoy them a lot more than…who else played that night?  (I honestly don’t remember!).

I remember seeing two young guys with guitars, and a…percussion player.  Yes that’s right – he’s not a drummer, he plays various percussion entirely with his hands.  And they had a rocking sound that caused my wife to buy the album that today’s session comes off of called “Lost and Gone Forever”.

The song you’re about to hear was, unknown to me, their first single from the aforementioned album.  It is titled “Fa Fa”, and the title sounds like a song that belongs in the “They Might Be Giants” library.  However, it is a Guster song, and a great one at that.

During this session, I tried to keep a “rhythmic acoustic” strumming going, but missed a couple of chords and a bit of some lyrics due to my trying to keep that strum going.  Doesn’t change the fact that i’m quite proud of this session given the amount of times I had to practice it.

And today closes out “New Bands Week 2.0”.  I hope you enjoy it, and if you are new you stay a fan.  Explore the archives for more sessions from us!

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 original 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!

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!

More Laptop Sessions covers

“A Matter Of Trust” (Billy Joel Cover)

By Jeff Copperthite:

Oh yeah here we go. Welcome to your Monday edition of The Laptop Sessions, and i’m posting today earlier than usual since I am fortunate to have the day off. Easter Monday ftw!

Today I introduce another new artist to the Laptop Sessions, and I know that he is a popular one. The song I have chosen is “A Matter of Trust” by Billy Joel, from his 1986 album “The Bridge”. This was his most popular single off this album, and translated well to an acoustic version. The song itself made it as high as #3 on the charts when it was released as a single.

You can tell I had a lot of fun doing this song. Ever since I heard it I became an instant fan, and the more I like a song, the more I enjoy performing the session. I hope the enthusiasm is apparent and makes the video a positive one for you to watch.

I’m hoping to hit 7k views by next Monday. If you like the video, comment on it, rate it, favorite it, subscribe, or pass it on. Thank you for being a regular visitor to The Laptop Sessions!

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 original 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!

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!

More Laptop Sessions covers

“Like A Rolling Stone” (Bob Dylan Cover)

By Chris Moore:

For those of you who haven’t heard, Jim has been having computer trouble, so I’ve been feeling the need to keep updating our site. We didn’t post on Thanksgiving and I got busy and forgot to post yesterday, but I’m back with a six minute song, so that should make up for it!

“Like A Rolling Stone” is quite the intimidating cover, considering it’s one of Dylan’s best and most rocking songs, but I had to try! I’ve always loved playing this one, but I definitely miss having a full band to back the song.

Thanks again to all who have been tuning in to listen to the laptop sessions… There’s much more to come!

More Laptop Sessions covers