Tag Archives: acoustic

“Listen to the Music” (Doobie Brothers Cover)

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By Jim Fusco:

They said it couldn’t be done!  But, here I am, covering yet another “new” band to the Laptop Sessions and one that has two Number One hit singles to its credit: The Doobie Brothers!

No, I didn’t do one of their Number Ones, but this song was a huge hit itself.  “Listen to the Music” is a classic rock masterpiece.  I love how catchy this song is.  There was a time a few years ago when I couldn’t get enough of the Doobies.  If we started doing the Laptop Sessions music blog back then, the Doobie Brothers would’ve been the first band I c0vered.  Alas, it wasn’t meant to be.

I always felt bad for the writer of this song, Tom Johnston.  You see, his fellow bandmates Pat Simmons and (later) Michael McDonald both scored Number One hit singles with their songs “Black Water” and “What A Fool Believes”, respectively.  But, even though Johnston had a bunch of hits himself (this one, “China Grove”, “Rockin’ Down the Highway”), he never got a Number One.  But, I keep the popularity of this song alive here tonight on Jim Fusco Tuesdays!

On a personal note, tomorrow night, I turn 25 years old.  A quarter century.  I’ve always loved birthdays, though.  I’m still a kid, really- I collect baseball cards and still force all my friends to go out and play baseball with me.  I’ve grown up in so many ways that it seems my childish side tries to find ways out.  Lately, it’s been indulging in things I love, like going on day trips and video games.  I just think I’ll always be a kid at heart- I can’t imagine these urges to always buy and try something new will go away anytime soon.  So, I’m not sad about hitting the quarter-century mark.  I like things the way they are now and can only hope they last for a good long time.

Of course, I’m very tired, so I think I’ll leave it at that tonight.  In the future, I’ll be doing more Doobie Brothers songs and, of course, bringing you many more bands in which you’ll say, “Wow, I can’t believe they haven’t done a song from that band yet!”  Until next week (as Chris has already called Original Wednesday for this week), have a great one and enjoy tonight’s acoustic cover song music video!

“Woman” (John Lennon Cover)

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By Jim Fusco:

Let’s have a little contest here- go ahead and find me a better solo acoustic performance of this song.  I’ll wait…

…

I didn’t think so! 🙂  Tonight, I bring you one of my personal favorite performances.  I’ve been practicing this song for many months now.  I wanted to get it right.  To me, John Lennon’s “Woman” is an example of a perfect song.  Yes, it’s about Yoko Ono, but if you look past that, you get a truly amazing song.  If you haven’t heard it before, get ready to have a new favorite song.  It’s probably my favorite love song of all time.  The songwriting, the words, the tune, and even the production of the original version is simply unsurpassed in my mind.  This came on the radio this morning- what a way to wake up.  And I knew it was a sign that it was high time I did this song on the place for great acoustic cover song music videos: The Laptop Sessions blog!

“Woman” appears on “Double Fantasy”, which is an album that should’ve been titled, “Half Good”.  John wrote half the songs and Yoko…wailed her way through the other half.  But, this was John’s comeback album- he hadn’t done one in years before Double Fantasy came out.  Of course, it turned out to be his last- it was released only weeks before he died.  That makes songs like “Beautiful Boy” all the more poignant.  That song is amazing, too- listening to Double Fantasy proves that John Lennon is one of the absolute best songwriters of all time.  He had the perfect mix of genius and wacky, out-there “artist” to him.  Songs like “Watching the Wheels” and the number one hit “(Just Like) Starting Over” (which I also covered- search for it in the John Lennon category) round out some great hits for John from Double Fantasy.  He even had some other obscure, but equally great, songs on the album including “Cleanup Time” and “I’m Losing You”.

I tell you right now that this song will play at my wedding on July 25th.  I will ball my eyes out.  Something about the way he sings it and how he admits, “I’ve been a jerk in the past, but I am sooooo appreciative.”  In the end, it all adds up to, “I love you.”  Of course, if you know my tastes in music, you know that I love a good, “Yeah, yeah” or “Well, well” in a song.  And we all know that John Lennon is the originator and master of that (“She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah” = genius!).

I’m glad to bring this acoustic cover song music video tonight.  I am very hopeful that soon my YouTube video views will increase by leaps and bounds.  You know I’ll keep you updated!  Enjoy Jim Fusco Tuesday for this week and make sure you come back for Jeff’s Thumpin’ Thursday in only two days!

“Brilliant Disguise” (Bruce Springsteen cover)

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By Jim Fusco:

Welcome, welcome to another edition of Jim Fusco Tuesdays here on the Laptop Sessions acoustic cover songs music video blog!  Views have been increasing by leaps and bounds here on the blog, fueled by posts by Chris that were picked up by popular Bob Dylan sites in anticipation of his new album, “Together Through Life”.  I’ll be picking that album up in a couple weeks when it comes out, but for now, I hope you’ll consider tiding-yourself over with my brand-new album, released just one week ago, “Halfway There”.  I’m very proud of it and it’s been getting some great reviews.

Onto tonight’s music video- a cover version of Bruce Springsteen’s classic song, “Brilliant Disguise”.  This is a simple, yet great, tune that actually took me a few weeks to perfect.  The choruses are very similar each time, but have very important differences, so I had to practice when each one came in.

Funny story- when my brother Mike and I were growing up, we always thought he said, “Brick in disguise”.  Of course, it probably didn’t help that our father would always sing, “Brick in the sky”.  We were never quite sure whether he was messing up by accident or on purpose.  I think the general consensus is that he just loves messing with us! 🙂

I love the recorded version of “Brilliant Disguise”- that perfect clean sound that starts off with the drums and then comes in with just the right amount of synthesizer and guitar.  To me, this is what a great song should sound like.  I love the chorus, too- not only the tune, but the words.  That last time through the chorus, “You better look hard and look twice…” is so well-worded, it gets me every time.  And, it’s true- with many people at many times in our lives, we have to ask ourselves whether we’re seeing the really person or just a “brilliant disguise”.

It’s been a long week- we finally got away for a night in Providence, RI (went to the Providence Place mall and saw “Monsters vs. Aliens” in 3-D) and had a very nice time.  But, I had to do so much video work over the next three nights that it completely wiped-out any happiness I had built-up over that tiny vacation.  I can’t wait to go again.  Couple that with two incredibly busy and stressful days at work and you get, ‘All work and no play makes Jimmy a dull boy” syndrome.  Hopefully the second half of the week will be a bit better- I hear we’re getting nicer weather and that just gives me more of an excuse to school Chris for the um-teenth time in baseball.

Have a great night and I’ll see you in a week’s time.  Enjoy this Bruce Springsteen cover!

“On For Miles” (Jim Fusco Original Song)

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By Jim Fusco:

Why doesn’t anyone post Original Wednesdays anymore?  Well, I’ll just chalk it up to the fact that my brand-new album is coming out in less than two weeks- “Halfway There”!  If you’ve been to the music video blog before, you’ve probably seen advertisements for it.  You may have even heard a bit.  I hope you’re liking it so far- it’s a loooooong time in the making!  If you’ve been here before, you’ve probably also noticed that we cover almost 200 bands- a new video three times a week.  You may not know that on a weekly basis, we post original songs, as well!

Tonight, I bring you track 3 from the upcoming “Halfway There” LP.  On the album, you’ll notice that this song is much punchier and has a more modern sound to it.  Okay, so maybe it doesn’t have a modern sound, but it’s as modern as you’re gonna get from me! 🙂  The song has some cool effects and features a very intricate five part harmony on the chorus- it’s so cool to listen to it in the car because the chorus seems to “widen” the speakers as soon as it kicks in.  It does that on the first chorus of the song “Halfway There”, as well- I’d love to hear reactions when the album comes out!  I got this effect because of the new mastering techniques I learned.  No longer does it sound like a wet burlap sack is draped over the speakers when listening to a recording of mine.  I’ve actually even remastered my last album, “What About Today?”, in the same way- you should HEAR how much better it sounds!  One of these days, I’ll get a digital copy up on the FMP Store.

Anyway, “On For Miles” is supposed to be “single-worthy” in the sense that it’s the third song on the album, but it does follow two superb ones (if I do say so myself) in “Go Back To Him” and “Our Love Doesn’t Translate”.  I knew I needed to follow-up those songs with something really catchy, as well, but that also got you into the feel of the whole album, rather than listening to a collection of singles.  It’s tough to describe.

So, this version, which is only me and an acoustic guitar, has a much different vibe- but that’s when a cover song on acoustic guitar is really interesting.  It’s never interesting to take a song that was done acoustically in the first place and just do it live in front of the camera.  It’s fun to take a fully-produced song and pare it down to the bare bones and play it just as a “song” and not a production.

I hope you enjoy tonight’s original song and I hope you’re as excited as I am about the release of “Halfway There”.  I just got the UPS tracking number for the shipment- looks like I’ll be getting them a week earlier than expected, but you’re still going to have to wait until the 7th to get your copy! 🙂  I live for anticipation.

Have a great rest of the week and I’ll be back with only my second Beach Boys tune for the year on Tuesday.  I figure once a quarter is good to keep the loyal fans happy!  The only question is, “Which one?”  You’ll have to wait and see for that, too!  Geesh, I’m just teasing everyone tonight, huh?  Oh, wait, I guess I did just post two videos in a row…so, you can afford to wait a few days!  See you then.