“Where the Streets Have No Name” (U2 Cover)

By Jeff Copperthite:

I would like to wish all of you a Happy Mother’s Day out there, and I would like to thank you for taking time out of your day to visit www.guitarbucketlist.com. I am proud to introduce another specialty week, and it is “Album Starter Week”. All this week (except Wednesday of course) we will be playing songs that are album openers. A good album knows how to draw a listener in, so you know bands always want the first song to be a real good one.

We will kick off album starter week with another song by U2. One of their most famous albums is “The Joshua Tree” and the song “Where the Streets Have No Name” is the perfect opener. It has a long fade-in with a nifty lead guitar by Edge. It does exactly what it is supposed to do.

I really enjoyed playing this session and I really feel this is a great solid cover. Again, I comment about Bono’s vocal range and how I have to strain my voice a bit to hit some of the notes Bono can hit regularly. Still, it is a “live” cover and I think with all things considered, I sing my heart out on this one.

I chose to close the song with the chords rather than the lead guitar because I thought that it sounded “empty” without the bass backing that the album version has. It works quite well though so I have no complaints.

I also did this song in one take, and it is the 4th Laptop Session in a row that I have completed in a single take.

Well anyway, Happy Mother’s Day to everyone out there. Make sure you check back EVERY DAY to see the songs we have selected for Album Starter Week. Jim will bring you his first song tomorrow, so make sure you visit https://guitarbucketlist.com/ to see it!

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!

“Bob Dylan’s Dream” (Bob Dylan Cover)

By Chris Moore:

Thanks for coming to the best acoustic cover song music blog on the Internet!  Today, our featured cover is “Bob Dylan’s Dream.”  Bob Dylan, believe it or not, is the original songwriter.  Who would have guessed?  Well, I guess anyone could have…

This song was originally released on Dylan’s early folk album The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan and it is what you would call a deep track, as it was never a hit, no one that I know of ever covered it for an album, and it never appeared on any live compilations.  At least, not official ones.  But, regardless of how little attention it has received, I think that it is a perfect candidate for the Laptop Sessions treatment.  First, it’s originally acoustic, recorded once as a “live-in-the-studio” recording, which makes it easily translatable to an acoustic cover song.  Second, it has a really nostalgic feel to it.  By nostalgic, I don’t mean that it sounds like an oldtime song or anything like that.  Rather, I mean that it really makes you think about your own “first friends” — those people that you spent your youth with, engaged in simple activities that brought indescribable happiness.

Well, those “first friends” very rarely make it into your future.  And while it’s always nice to look back and remember them, it can be very sad to think about the exits they took from your life.  Like Bob Dylan, I would pay a good deal of money to go sit “simply in that room again.”  But you can never go back…

…you can only write and sing songs like this one that describe the feeling!  Another thing I love about the song is that it starts off with the line, “While riding on a train going west…”  It gives the feeling of someone nodding off as a train barrels on down the tracks, and as that person just drifts off, these memories of his life come rushing back to him.  I think that’s a great way to start the song.

While this is certainly not my first Bob Dylan cover song — it’s one of many Bob Dylan songs I’ve learned and performed — it is one of the few that I haven’t known for years.  Many times, when I record a Dylan music video, I just dig back to a song that I used to play all the time and re-learn it.  This song was new to my acoustic cover song repetoire, so it was really fun to learn it.  And, of course, a little harmonica on a Dylan song goes a long way…

I hope that you’ve been noticing and enjoying all of the changes and additions to the blog these past few days.  The home page has been rearranged a bit to make it easier for newcomers and longstanding fans alike to find the band categories and search for their favorite material.  In addition, the first seven volumes of the new and improved Laptop Sessions FREE MP3 albums are avaiable in the left column.  Finally, last week saw the addition of a truckload of new live music from the Fusco-Moore team.  All you need to do now is go to the Fusco-Moore Store and choose which concert you want to listen to — some music is FREE and some is avaiable for a low, low price.  I really hope you’ll go over and check it out.  We really worked hard to make some quality sets, and it’s interesting to be able to look back now.  Well, listen back — there’s no video, but it’s really the sound that matters, right?

That’s it for me for now, but don’t forget to hurry back tomorrow for another all-new acoustic cover song music video from our very own Jeff Copperthite.

See you next session!



“Wishful Thinking” by Wilco – Chords, Tabs, and How to Play

“Wishful Thinking”
Wilco

D     F#m     Bm     E     G     D     G

Em                                 D
Fill up your mind with all it can know;
G                                      Em
Don’t forget that your body will let it all go.
Em                                    D                             G
Fill up your mind with all it can know…
D                         Bm              G                   D
What would we be without wishful thinking?

F#m     Bm     E     G     D     G

D                                          F#m
Chambers of chains with red plastic mouths,
Bm                             E
The inside of outside… No one has found
G                              D                        G
How to unring the bell, it’s just as well.

The turntable sizzles, the casting of spells,
The pressure devices… Hell in a nutshell.
Is any song worthy singing if it doesn’t help?

Fill up your mind with all it can know;
Don’t forget that your body will let it all go.
Fill up your mind with all it can know…
‘Cause what would love be without wishful thinking?

Open your arms as far as they will go.
Take off your dress; an embarrassing poem
Was written when I was alone in love with you.

I shook down these lines to shine up the streets,
I got up off my hands and knees to thank my luck stars
That you’re not me…

D                         Bm                G                D
What would we be without wishful thinking?
Am                      Em                G                D
What would we be without wishful thinking?
Am                      Em                G                D           Bm
What would we be without wishful thinking?

Am     Em     G     D     F#m     Bm     E

** These chords and lyrics are interpretations and transcriptions, respectively, and are the sole property of the copyright holder(s). They are posted on this website free of charge for no profit for the purpose of study and commentary, as allowed for under the “fair use” provision of U.S. copyright law, and should only be used for such personal and/or academic work. **

“Improbable Fantasy” (New Music by Indie Music Artist Jeff Copperthite!)

By Jeff Copperthite:

Welcome to another Laptop Sessions’ original Wednesday, where the we at Fusco-Moore Productions present one of many songs that we have written, and play it for you!

This marks the first time I have played one of my original songs here on the Laptop Sessions, and it is a great pick if I may toot my own horn.

The song is called “Improbable Fantasy”, and it is from Quilt’s 2003 album “Expressions” (available at www.fusco-moore.com’s store). It is a bit on the longer side (in this video I did shorten the middle section a bit from it’s original version), but has a catchy progression, and it tells a true story.

In 3 weeks I will be back for another original wednesday (with regularly scheduled covers in between), and you will most likely hear a song from my new album which comes out February 24th. I’m very excited, and I hope you will be when you hear it as well!

Until then, keep checking https://guitarbucketlist.com/ for more from Chris, Jim, and myself!

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!