Tag Archives: acoustic

“Disney Girls (1957)” (Beach Boys Cover)

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By Jim Fusco:

Welcome to the Laptop Sessions on your Friday night!  It’s another late night for us here, as we’ve just completed a grand game of Trivial Pursuit Genus III, which I won, of course.  But, just barely.  I’d love to have them play with my father, “The Old Quizzmaster”, as he’d probably beat us in one turn.

Tonight’s song is from The Beach Boys, whom I haven’t done a song from in quite some time.  Actually, tonight, I’ll be doing a song written by Bruce Johnston.  It’s clearly the best song he’s ever written: “Disney Girls (1957)”.  Yes, he did write “I Write The Songs” (one of the most famous songs of all time, sung by Barry Manilow), but I think this really is his best song.

I’ve always identified with this tune from the great “Surf’s Up” album.  I’ve always wished for “better” or more pure times.  I’ve always loved older music and even the vision of Christmastime in the 50s.  Of course, now those values instantly are associated with political leanings, as Bruce has been vocal in the recent past about his political views.  I never really made the connection between “the good old days” and the politics of those days.  Personally, I believe that things were “simpler” back then only because that’s the way our memories work.  Things probably weren’t as rosy as they seemed.  But when you’re a kid, you don’t have to worry about money, taxes, property, family, etc.  You just get to have a good time and experience life.

Anyway, I think I gave the video my best Bruce tenor, and I think it’ll stand as one of my more ambitious videos.  I hope you enjoy my video tonight and I promise I’ll make up for this extremely short post next time!  Stay tuned for more Beach Boys cover songs coming at you right here on the Laptop Sessions acoustic cover songs music video blog!

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“Tuesday Afternoon” (Moody Blues Cover)

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By Jim Fusco:

Wow, “Tuesday Afternoon” posted on a Tuesday afternoon!  Okay, well, a Tuesday evening, but still.  I swear I didn’t even plan it and even just realized as I was beginning to type my post.  But, it fits so well!

I love this song and the Moody Blues, of course.  “Tuesday Afternoon” is the afternoon section of the Moodies’ first album with their second lineup (after the addition of Justin Hayward and John Lodge and the subtraction of Denny Laine and Clint Warwick).  The album is “Days of Future Passed” and stands as one of the classics.  It has reached classic status because it’s one of the first true concept albums.  It also is the first real fusion of a rock band with a classical orchestra.  It’s almost surreal listening to the album.  This album alone (not to mention the ten great albums they did AFTER this one) should’ve given them a one-way ticket into the Rock’n’Roll Hall of Fame.  It’s so stupid that they’re not in.  I heard that the Hall doesn’t consider them a “rock” group.  Are you serious?  Have they ever even heard “Story in Your Eyes”?  Or, I don’t know, “I’m Just a Singer in A Rock’n’Roll Band”????  That doesn’t give it away?   My God, and they’re discounting the fact that the Moody Blues had some of the best musicians ever in Justin Hayward on guitar, John Lodge on bass, Graeme Edge on drums, Mike Pinder on piano and mellotron (which he truly pioneered as an instrument rather than just an effects machine), and Ray Thomas, who played a brilliant flute.  This issue always makes me so angry.  The Hall of Fame uses the same argument for not letting Chicago in.  Are you freakin’ serious?  Those guys had more hits than Muhammed Ali!  I just don’t get it.

Anyway, this song falls in the mid-point of the album, as the album takes the listener on a trip throughout an entire day.  I love that concept.  It’s so original.  Of course, the album ends with one of the all-time great songs in “Nights in White Satin”, but “Tuesday Afternoon” was a big hit in its own right.  In fact, I even heard it today while waiting in line at Subway for lunch.

By the way, in case anyone’s being keeping track, I got a new job.  It’s great: a nice atmosphere, professional collegues (what a change from my last job), and I’m getting paid 33% more than I ever have.  It took me three long months to land it, and I know I won’t let anything screw it up this time around.  I have a nice outlook now, especially because it’s good to be a part of a company that’s actually hiring in these economic times.  That’s a good sign for me…and for getting my loved ones Christmas presents, too!  I’m looking forward to a nice holiday season now.

I hope you enjoy this video as another Tuesday afternoon passes us by.  I was back on Friday with yet another acoustic cover song from the Beach Boys, whom I hadn’t covered in a very long time.  That one was from a composer I hadn’t covered yet — “Disney Girls (1957)”!

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“Bad, Bad Leroy Brown” (Jim Croce Cover)

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By Chris Moore:

Hello and welcome to your Sunday, Sunday, Sunday installment of the best acoustic cover song blog on the web today!  After a couple of nineties covers, I’ve decided to go back a bit further… to 1973 with Jim Croce’s “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown.”  This is a song that I remember hearing for the first time when my father bought an audio tape (that’s a hint at how long ago it was…) and played it for me, along with “You Don’t Mess Around with Jim,” explaining that he always liked the story in the songs.  I instantly agreed, thinking that the way Croce described Leroy Brown and his lifestyle was really funny and catchy.

I just learned that Jim Croce’s life was sad, though, as he died the same year that this song (considered his biggest single) was released.  I found it really interesting to learn, according to Wikipedia, that he was the third singer/songwriter to score a posthumous #1 single (for “Time in a Bottle”), after Otis Redding and Janis Joplin.  What is even more sad, I think, is that he died in a plane crash.  I’ve got to be honest here — I don’t consider myself a superstitious person, but if I ever get a record contract and any degree of fame, I’m not setting foot on an airplane…

One of the best parts of doing so many Laptop Sessions this year is that I’ve had a chance to learn so much about great singer/songwriters and to remember so many great songs like this one.  Now, you may wonder how I learned this song if I haven’t heard it in so long.  Well, one of the best parts about having over 11,000 tracks available at my fingertips on my iPod is that I have access to a lot of songs that I have forgotten over the years.  In fact, one of my favorite things to do is to set my iPod to shuffle and just wait to see what great music will come up.  Unfortunately, there are just as many if not more not-so-great tracks that come up in search of the great ones…

But, as they say, it’s the journey and not the destination, right?

If you didn’t already, you should read Jim’s post from yesterday.  He pretty much summed up our day that led to an as-usual great performance by Dewey Bunnell and Gerry Beckley, aka the band America.  Not only was the show great, but they are really nice guys.  After the show, they signed autographs and shook hands with the fans.  I got the chance to tell Dewey that, when teaching the Transcendentalism unit in my English class (Emerson and Thoreau, “Nature” and “Walden,” etc…), I used the Here & Now track “Walk in the Woods.”  He seemed interested, as Gerry smiled and said that he’d been thinking about playing that song in concert so they could do the whistling part!  We all laughed, and for a brief moment, it felt like Jim and I had broken the usually solid barrier between fan and artist.  Cool moment.

I have looked forward to their shows ever since the first time Jim took me to go see them several years ago, and I’ve regretted missing any opportunity to see them.  He had initially gotten into the band because of such songs as “Sister Golden Hair.”  As with many bands he’s gotten into, I felt like I was missing out on something and had no choice — I had to get into them too!  My only past experience with them had been their hit single “A Horse With No Name” that I first heard as a kid (where else?) on a seventies tape that my father had.

And so this session comes full circle!  I present to you an acoustic cover of a song my dad played for me as a kid, and not 24 hours after going to a concert by a band that I first heard in my father’s music collection.

See you next session!

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“Searching For A Heart” (Warren Zevon Cover)

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By Jim Fusco:

**I hit 120,000 YouTube video views today!  It’s another milestone and another testament to the popularity and success of the Laptop Sessions!**

Sorry for the late post tonight, but the video has been up on YouTube now for over 24 hours.  I had to record the video late last night and publish it because I had a very, very busy day today.  At least it wasn’t work!  I had my usual “Luncho Marx”, followed by a trip to Becky’s house, a trip to my cousin Louie’s house, a trip to get my cousin Sarah (and see my cousin Gerry, of course), and then finally a trip up to Mohegan Sun casino for shopping, gambling, and a concert with one of my favorite bands: America!  I got to get a t-shirt signed by Dewey Bunnell and Gerry Beckley- always exciting!

I had fun playing on the new Star Trek slot machines, but not nearly as much fun as Chris “I win at everything I try except for PS2 baseball” Moore, who won big.  I then had the task of dropping everyone off and am finally home.  We had a great dinner tonight, too, at Sol Toro restaurant, which is a great authentic Mexican place.  They have the best guacamole you’ll ever taste.  The lime and the cilantro made it for me.

Tonight’s song is a great, albeit sad, one from Warren Zevon.  Unless you’re a fan of his “Best Of” compilations and some of his albums, you’ve probably never heard of this song.  It’s my favorite from him.  I truly only listened to the “Best Of” CD, but I listened to it a lot.  This song stood out the most.

One thing that I DON’T like about the song is one line in the chorus.  He says, “Searching for a heart…searching everyone…they say love conquers all…you can’t start it like a *****…you can’t stop it with a gun.”

Okay, I bleeped out the word (don’t worry- it’s not a swear).  Now, you would think by reading that line that the words “everyone” and “gun” would rhyme.  They do!  Now, that would leave the other two lines to rhyme: “conquers all” and the word in asterisks.

For me, I always thought that word was “call”.  The idea I had was that love isn’t just something you can start up instantly like making a phone call.  “Call” rhymes with “all”, so I thought it made sense.

As usual, I’m wrong, but I can’t understand why.

Instead, Zevon says, “You can’t start it like a car”.  Same sentiment as mine, right?  You can’t just turn love on like a light switch…or like starting a car…or like picking up the phone.

But it doesn’t rhyme!  Since when does “all” rhyme with “car”?  So, when I found that out, I was a little disappointed.  But, it doesn’t take away the fact that I love this song and that it’s got a great message to it.  Yes, I may have rhymed differently, but no one ever said Zevon was an “ordinary” guy like I’d like to think I am when it comes to matters like this.

Okay, I think I’m making less and less sense now, seeing that it’s 4 am.  It’s time for bed and I have to just pray that tomorrow’s lunch meeting (our usual Burger King lunch today was halted by the fact that they LITERALLY had a sign on the door that read, “No beef or grilled chicken”) doesn’t begin with a call from Stuffy D. Bear at 10:30 am saying, “I’m hungry” over and over again! 🙂  Enjoy the video, folks — yours truly, Jim Fusco.

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