Tag Archives: acoustic rock

The Newest Video Blog – A Series by Songwriters!

Posted on by
2

By Jeff Copperthite:

I know you wonder how it is going with the Fusco-Moore Productions crew, so here is another update.

As you have seen, as of Saturday all members of FMP have contributed to the Laptop Sessions, and they are slowly gaining popularity among youtube viewers (as well as those reading this blog – like yourself. You’re a distinguished individual for reading this blog!), and hopefully other well known people.

However, you’ll notice Thursday was the last time I have done a session. There are two reasons for this.

One, I want to get to know the video software that came with my web camera, because Youtube quickcapture is a bit, well, slow. When you watch them, it looks like our strumming hand is one huge blur. That, and you can see us going to the computer to click “Save and Continue”. You’ll also notice Jim and Chris’ videos have titles to them. I want to learn how to do that, so that way, you can hear as little of my voice as possible.

The second is Friday night I injured my left index finger – falling up the stairs. Just when that people only fell down the stairs, I have defied yet another law of nature. That was all that happened, and thankfully it isn’t broken. It is a bit swollen right now, but I figure tomorrow or Tuesday it should be fine enough to play again.

Speaking of playing and recording, another song is almost done for the EP. Only the bass is left to record. I can’t wait to get to the other 3 songs to record. I can see the end of recording in sight. Baseball season is over as of Saturday, so now the weekends are now much more available.

When my finger does heal, I will be playing a couple of Jim Fusco originals on my laptop sessions installments. Hopefully Jim’s ears won’t cringe (or his eyes for that matter) when he hears them.

Until then…

“And Then I Kissed Her” (Beach Boys Cover)

Posted on by
Reply

By Jim Fusco

Here’s a great Beach Boys cover song originally done by The Crystals as “And Then He Kissed Me”. Brian Wilson loves Phil Spector’s music and re-did this tune (with Al Jardine on great lead vocals) with a Beach Boys touch. Of course, my version is stripped-down and it’s just me, but it’s a fun song to play and I think it sort of represents my project. Brian Wilson covered a song from his idol, and I cover songs from my favorite musicians here on the Laptop Sessions!

In 2013, Brian Wilson toured with Al Jardine and Al sang this song in concert.  You wouldn’t believe it, but Al (in his 70s) still sings this song great!  His voice is largely unchanged and he sings and plays it just like he did in the 60s.  It’s great to see him out there with his white Fender Stratocaster, just like he did so many years ago.  It’s actually a stark contrast from Brian Wilson himself.  I guess it just goes to show you that if you take care of yourself, you’ll still look and sound great later in life.  Paul McCartney seems to be that way, as does Ringo Starr.  But, guys like Ozzy Osbourne and Keith Richards choce the rockstar lifestyle back in the day.  Sure, they lived it up, but you can only stay that way for so long.  Their talent is still there, but it’s masked under a cloud of slurred speech and horribly wrinkled skin!

One thing about the Beach Boys is that they always did amazing cover songs.  From “Why Do Fools Fall In Love?” to “Cottonfields” and beyond, they always took songs and gave it the Beach Boys’ treatment.  Take “Sloop John B”, for example.  That was an old traditional song that Al Jardine brought to Brian Wilson’s attention.  Brian turned it into a pop song and it became a Top 5 hit!  The Beach Boys also had a Top 5 hit with their cover of Chuck Berry’s “Rock’n’roll Music” in the 70s, though that version isn’t too far of a departure from the original version back in the 50s.  Later on in the 80s, the Beach Boys collaborated with Roger McGuinn (formerly of the Byrds) to do a cover of the Mamas and the Papas’ “California Dreamin'”.  That version is a lot different from the original, mostly because of McGuinn’s amazing 12-string electric guitar (Rickenbacker) playing throughout.

So, sit back, relax, and watch my cover song version of the Beach Boys’ “And Then I Kissed Her” here on the Laptop Sessions acoustic cover songs music video blog.  I hope you enjoy and stay tuned for more!

NOTE: This video from 2007 has been remastered in 2020 for enhanced video and sound.

“Do You Want To Know A Secret” (Beatles Cover)

Posted on by
1

By Jim Fusco:

Hello everyone- time for another episode of “The Laptop Sessions”. Boy, do I have a lot of these in the works for you. I have two more requests for Beach Boys cover songs, plus Chris and I still have to do our Moody Blues song and another Beatles cover song. Somewhere down the line I’d like to throw in one of my original songs, too.  Oh, you didn’t know that I was a songwriter? 🙂  Well, that’s one of the reasons I do the Laptop Sessions acoustic cover songs music video blog.  I’m hoping that the people who like the cover songs I play will take a chance and listen to my original music, as well!  So far, it’s been a great success.

Tonight’s cover song video is the Beatles song, “Do You Want To Know A Secret”, originally sung by the great George Harrison. This is a fun song to play and sing, especially because it’s got those minor 7th chords that make it sound a bit “old fashioned”.  People just don’t write songs like this anymore.  It’s one of the earliest Beatles songs released, so it was written during their period of relative innocence (you know, before the drugs).  John Lennon wrote this song and gave it to George to sing.  His heavy British accent really comes through on this track.  I sang, though, in my normal New England American accent, as I do with all my cover song videos.  My goal here at the music blog is not to imitate the artists I cover, but to reimagine my favorite songs in a stripped-down acoustic solo performance.

I chose to go with my nylon-stringed acoustic guitar for this song.  Why?  Well, for one, it’s much easier to sing over than a steel-stringed guitar.  For this cover video, I wanted to sing a bit softer and sweeter (just like George Harrison did!), so I thought this guitar was the right choice not to overpower my voice.  Also, and I’ve gotten a lot of compliments about this, the strumming pattern I used works so much better on this guitar than steel-string acoustic guitar.  Because I don’t have the solid drumming of Ringo Starr behind me, I had to come up with a way of playing that incorporated the unique beat of “Do You Want To Know a Secret” while playing by myself.  The “hops” that are in the chord progression really move the sog along well and I found it to be an easy way of switching chords, as well.  Plus, sliding down like that gave my version that cool retro sound I was talking about before.  It sounds like a song from the 40s when played that way!

Of course, requests are welcome for any other Beatles or George Harrison song you’d like to hear!  Everyone knows pretty much all of the Beatles songs, so my “to-do list” is pretty extensive at this point.  I hope you enjoy tonight’s cover song video and stay tuned for more Laptop Sessions music videos in the coming days!

“Girl Don’t Tell Me” (A Beach Boys Cover)

Posted on by
Reply

Well, another day and another installment of the “Laptop Sessions.” This is one that I learned a long time ago and forgot about playing until tonight. Anyone that knows me will know that I admire Brian Wilson’s songwriting the most. His song, “Girl Don’t Tell Me” is truly one of his finest works. Plus, his brother Carl sings an amazing lead vocal that I can only hope to emulate in my version.  This is one of Carl’s earliest lead vocals and I’m glad Brian gave Carl the opportunity to sing it.  Carl knocked it out of the park and had a voice much more suited to this style of music.

I think my Laptop Session acoustic version of this song actually sounds a lot like the original because it was done with acoustic guitars. “But,” you say, “many songs are done with just acoustics!” Well, Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys really used piano as their driving instrument, plus Al Jardine and Carl Wilson took the rhythm and lead guitars (respectively) on electrics almost all the time. Of course, I’m talking about the early records when the Boys recorded the instruments themselves. After a while, Brian and the others decided to have studio musicians come in, which allowed Brian to experiment more while the others were on tour.  I think one of the last vestiges of the Beach Boys playing on their own music (in the earlier years, at least) was their Christmas album.  One the first side (the original songs), you can hear the Beach Boys playing all of the instruments.  Those songs represent some of my favorite recordings of all time.  They’re simply perfect (to me).

But, enough of the Beach Boys history for the time being. But, I will say that you’ll notice how this song sounds more like a Beatles song than a Beach Boys song. Well, with the production done the way it was on the original (like I mentioned before, with acoustic guitars rather than a piano), one can only assume that this Beatle-esque sound was done purposely!  Of course, this acoustic video flies in the face of the logic I was trying to explain regarding the Laptop Sessions cover songs series.  You see, my idea is to strip-away the various instruments in a song to get to the simplest form.  That way, you can hear the song for what it is.  So, songs that you might not necessarily have liked can be given new life here on the music blog.  With “Girl Don’t Tell Me”, however, that’s not really the case.  I just did a straight-up cover of an acoustic song.  My defense?  It’s a great song- shut up and listen! 🙂  But seriously, another function of the Laptop Sessions acoustic cover songs music video blog is to introduce you (or even re-introduce you) to songs you’ve never heard before (or forgot you knew).  And that’s just as important.

This song is really a favorite of mine and I know a certain group of people are going to go, “Oh, wow!” when they see I did a version of this forgotten song! I hope you enjoy and stay tuned for more from The Laptop Sessions!