Here on the Laptop Sessions, I give you my favorite song of all time: “I’ll Feel A Whole Lot Better” by the Byrds. Gene Clark, the writer of this song, wrote MANY great songs over his career, and you’ll be hearing a lot of them on the Laptop Sessions in the months to come. But, this song is just PERFECT to me, and here’s why:
It’s got everything I love in a song. It’s got a great guitar sound (courtesy of Roger (Jim) McGuinn), a cool riff, great words, chorus harmonies, and a killer jangly guitar solo. I love everything about this tune and hopefully I’ve done this song justice.
Of course, in order for me to give the song the respect it deserves, I recruited Chris Moore ( http://www.youtube.com/user/chrismooremusic ) to help me with harmonies and rhythm guitar.
My first official laptop session of the new year! I’ve been listening to 1970’s George Harrison this week–Thirty Three and a Third and George Harrison–but I was reminded today of this track off of his 2001 posthumous release Brainwashed. It’s such a simple song, but it was easy to learn and fun to play, so here it is!
Hello everyone- tonight’s session is a Moody Blues song that’s always been a favorite of mine. I’ll be the first to admit that most of the Moodies songs aren’t exactly “rockers”, but when they do come out with one, it’s AWESOME. “Story In Your Eyes”, “Ride My Seesaw”, and “I’m Just A Singer in a Rock’n’Roll Band” come to mind as great songs with a rock sound and some amazing lead guitar playing by Justin Hayward. I honestly believe that Justin Hayward is one of the most underrated rock guitarists out there. The man can absolutely shred on the guitar and he plays it perfectly every time- even in concert. Have you heard the beginning to “Question” on 12-string acoustic guitar? Even playing that half-speed on acoustic guitar is difficult. Hayward is the man, and that’s all there is to it.
The Moody Blues song I’ve chosen for tonight’s cover song music video, “It’s Up To You”, has a great guitar riff, classic Justin Hayward introspective lyrics, and just a great melody. “It’s Up To You” my favorite song off of the “Question of Balance” album. That album, to me, is a bit faster paced than any of the other “first seven” albums they did. But, I think the songs aren’t nearly as good (as a whole) as the songs on albums like “Every Good Boy Deserves Favour” and “To Our Children’s Children’s Children”.
One thing about Justin Hayward’s lead guitar playing I love is his double or even triple-tracking of the lead guitar. It’s so unique. George Harrison used to do it with his famous slide guitar solos. But, Justin Hayward is a fan of more distortion on his guitar solos and riffs. So, it’s a different sound. Hayward triple-tracks the lead guitar for two reasons, in my opinion. First, he wants to make the part sound more powerful. You have to imagine that little thin high E string on a guitar. Now, strum it with a piece of plastic. It’s going to need a lot of power to cut through drums, bass, and a synthesizer. So, triple-tracking the lead guitar (that’s recording it three times) is a great way to make it stand out from the rest of the sounds in the band. Another reason why Hayward did it is the reason why I think it’s so cool: harmony! He would take the lead guitar part and then play it three times. Except, each time he’d play a different note of a chord. Played all together, you get a great sound that’s full and unique. I did that on some of my songs, too. For instance, on “Give and Take” from my album “What About Today?”, I did a three-part lead solo. Listen to that song online on my website at http://jimfusco.com.
I hoe you enjoy tonight’s Moody Blues cover song! Keep browsing the archive for more music videos- there are plenty of cover songs to go around!
Part 2 of this four part Laptop Sessions extravaganza comes to you with a song from the Traveling Wilburys, one of my favorite bands of all time.
I grew up listening to their music and find myself going back to their two albums over and over again.
This song is a great one to do acoustically, and like the last one, is sung by Bob Dylan. Watch for the cameo harmonica appearance by Chris Moore in this video!
I’ll be doing PLENTY more Wilburys songs on these sessions, so stay tuned! Now, onto part 3!
