Hello everyone and welcome to another edition of the Laptop Sessions and another in our series of Beach Boys cover songs videos!
I’m very excited about todays video for two reasons- I think it’s one of my best performances so far, plus it only took me one take to do it! I just kept practicing over the past few days and it really clicked.
Today’s song is a seldom-heard one from the Beach Boys called “Goin’ South”, written mainly by Carl Wilson.
I thought of doing this song when I heard about the impending snow storm we got last night here in CT. So, it was nice to record a song about “going south for the winter” while it was actually snowing!
I hope that everyone enjoys today’s session and that winter, in fact, does end soon. Because it IS gettin’ mighty cold and I’m hoping it gets mighty warm very soon.
Welcome, welcome to another edition of the Laptop Sessions and Original Wednesday! Today, I pay tribute to Jeff Copperthite’s brand-new album, “Greenlight”, by doing a Session of the song I wrote for the album, called “What Not To Do”.
Actually, Becky Daly helped me with the lyrics because I was having a hard time saying what I wanted to say without it sounding too blunt.
But, I’m pretty proud of this song- I think it’s unique and has a good beat. Plus, it’s a message that I’ve been preaching for a long time- PLEASE learn from other’s mistakes and don’t just say, “Ah, it won’t happen to me.” But, saying things like that to someone will only make them mad. Even in my close-knit group of friends and family, I can think of three specific instances of this issue coming up. And ALL THREE times, me telling them, “Don’t do it!” didn’t work.
So, without further ado, I give you this tune as my tribute to Jeff.
Well, “New Bands Week” is over, but I have a hard time letting go…so I bring you yet another new band to the Laptop Sessions acoustic cover songs music video blog!
Tonight I give you a band fronted by a great producer, songwriter, and singer: Jeff Lynne. The band is Electric Light Orchestra (E.L.O.) and the song is “Evil Woman”, a favorite of mine for a long time.
This song is originally done on piano, but I’ve adapted it for acoustic guitar. It’s got great vocals and a great chord progression. I love the way the drums come in- it’s what I miss the most when I play it solo. Many say that Jeff Lynne, as a producer, kind of “over-produces” his music. I actually kind of like it. I love a large chorus of vocals, plus Lynne always throws in some interesting instruments (like a violin) into his songs. And, sure, when he was with the Traveling Wilburys, he had all five members play acoustic guitar. But, to me, that just showed how everyone was participating.
Jeff Lynne not only had a ton of hits with E.L.O., he produced many hit albums. Roy Orbison’s “Mystery Girl” is a stand-out and brought the Lynne co-written song “You Got It” to the world. He even produced the mega-smash album “Full Moon Fever” for Tom Petty, which had classic songs like “Running Down A Dream”, “Free Fallin'”, and “Won’t Back Down”. I think I like Jeff Lynne’s producing style because it’s the style of music I grew up with. I mean, both of the albums I mentioned were from the late 80s. And one of my other favorite albums, “Cloud 9” by George Harrion, is also produced by Jeff Lynne…and also from the late 80s! You can’t go wrong with any of these albums and I have to give a little credit to Jeff Lynne on that.
I hope tonight’s Electric Light Orchestra cover song will be the start of many other E.L.O. songs for the Laptop Sessions music blog. I can’t wait to do “Sweet Talkin’ Woman”, too. That’s another one that’s a bit over-produced, but when it was recorded in the 70s, people were pushing the envelope with the sounds they could create. In the 60s, you only had four or eight tracks to work with. And in the 70s, the technology leaped forward, allowing many more tracks to be used without a reduction in sound quality. Jeff Lynne has always struck me as a technical musician of sorts- he knows the craft of recording a song and applies it to the music he makes and the music he produces for other bands.
“Evil Woman” is also a fun song to do a cover of because of the cool falsetto parts in the chorus. It’s that kind of range that made E.L.O. stand out to me and I’m happy to present my stripped-down version here on the music video blog!
Enjoy tonight’s acoustic cover song music video, and make sure to come back on Wednesday to see my Original Wednesday cover song tribute to Jeff Copperthite’s great new album, “Greenlight”. Aw, heck, why don’t you just come back on Monday and Tuesday, too?
The day has arrived! After months of recording, writing, and late nights, my first solo album has been released today!
I am very proud of this work, and I hope that you give it a listen and buy it if you like it. I have looked forward to this day since I announced the project.
It is hard to describe music in words, so the best recommendation I have for you to is to listen to it yourself – head on over to the store and preview it, and for $4 you can experience a fresh new album anywhere you want on your mp3 player.
