Tag Archives: best cover songs

“You and I” (Dennis Wilson Cover)

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As the biggest Beach Boys fan (I mean, a true lover of their music- not just a big collector) under the age of 30, I pride myself on being a complete Beach Boys fan. Some people on Brian Wilson’s message board are JUST Brian Wilson fans- they only consider the golden years of the Beach Boys to be when Brian was writing the songs and calling the shots.

For me, that couldn’t be farther from the truth.

Yes, of course, I love the early Beach Boys music. I also love Pet Sounds. And, I’m even “okay” with “Love You” and “15 Big Ones”.

But, my favorite Beach Boys albums are the ones where everyone contributes. Nothing gets me excited than to find a new Bruce Johnston song, a Carl Wilson song, or especially a Dennis Wilson song. In fact, my brother Mike considers Dennis Wilson to be the best songwriter of all time. Okay, so maybe he doesn’t have an extensive enough catalog to prove that claim, but just one listen to songs like “Forever”, “Thoughts of You”, and “Cuddle Up” make the claim all the more believable.

I can sit here all night and rant about how much I love Dennis Wilson’s music. When I found out about the “Pacific Ocean Blue” album re-release for June of 2008, I was ecstatic, even though my family is one of the lucky few with both a CD and vinyl original version that we’ve had for many years. I’m always a fan of remastering old songs and I was especially excited about hearing a true release of his unreleased “Bambu” album. Of course, I even had a bootleg- I’ll admit- that I bought for Mike one year at Christmas. I considered it one of my greatest presents for him and he was so excited.

One thing I can say about Denny during his late 1970s period is that I get really sad listening to how much his voice deteriorated. He had a very nice, yet not perfect, voice in the late 60s and very early 70s. I just couldn’t believe that he had let life ruin his voice like that. Although, his scratchy voice really did lend itself to some powerful and emotional renditions of his solo work.

Tonight, I bring you the first of MANY Dennis Wilson solo songs to grace the Laptop Sessions. I’m very proud of this one, not only because it’s one my favorites off of “Pacific Ocean Blue”, but because I’m doing an acoustic guitar version of this otherwise keyboard-based song. It has an interesting new sound and the lyrics really stand out. Plus, isn’t that tune just infectious? This song, as simple as it is, seems to transcend time- it sounds new now, as I’m sure it sounded innovative then.

I hope you enjoy my first Dennis Wilson solo acoustic cover song here on the Laptop Sessions music video blog. My only hope is that this version can start to give Dennis’ songs the attention they’ve always deserved.

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“Everybody Out of the Water” (Wallflowers Cover)

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By Jeff Copperthite:

Good evening, and welcome to The Laptop Sessions for Monday, July 7th. Today’s song is dedicated to the youtube user who sent me a message simply asking “Why haven’t you done a Wallflowers song lately?”. Well, I aim to please, so here you go!

Today’s song is from The Wallflowers, from their album “Red Letter Days” (my personal favorite of thiers). We have covered songs from this album before, but given that each song is awesome, there’s no reason we can’t cover another! And the song is “Everybody Out of the Water”, which is unlike any other song on the album. It’s the 4th track, and the song before it is the soft piano medley “Closer to You”. That song and this song are the two extremes on the album. This is meant to be an angry song, and even though this song sounds best with the electric distorted guitar, I think the acoustic cover that I present to you is just as effective.

I hope you enjoyed today’s session and continue to enjoy the sessions overall!

Editor’s Note: Unfortunately, Jeff’s acoustic cover song music videos are no longer on YouTube, but we decided to keep his cover song blog posts up.  We figured these music blog entries would be good for posterity’s sake and because Jeff always gave such insightful posts each Session.  We hope to see Jeff’s impressive catalog of acoustic rock songs here on the Laptop Sessions cover songs and original music blog again in the future.  But, for now, please make sure to check-out hundreds of other acoustic cover songs from all of your favorite bands here on the Laptop Sessions music blog!

Editor’s Note: Unfortunately, Jeff’s acoustic cover song music videos are no longer on YouTube, but we decided to keep his cover song blog posts up. We figured these music blog entries would be good for posterity’s sake and because Jeff always gave such insightful posts each Session. We hope to see Jeff’s impressive catalog of acoustic rock songs here on the Laptop Sessions cover songs and origianal music blog again in the future. But, for now, please make sure to check-out hundreds of other acoustic cover songs from all of your favorite bands here on the Laptop Sessions music blog!

More Laptop Sessions covers

“Can’t Buy Me Love” (The Beatles Cover)

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By Jim Fusco:

Well, another night and another one of our Beatles cover songs here on the Laptop Sessions acoustic cover songs video series!

Tonight, I bring you a big hit in “Can’t Buy Me Love”, one of my more energetic Laptop Sessions. Of course, I’ve known this song for probably all of my 24 years, and am very excited about this cover song video. I think I got in a pretty good groove. Plus, with a song this short (“watch it!“) it grabs the viewer’s interest and keeps it there without getting boring. That was a specialty of the Beatles in the early 60s. John Lennon and Paul McCartney were masters of creating short and catchy songs. This particular song, “Can’t Buy Me Love”, is a McCartney-penned tune, though it’s credited to both him and Lennon (as all of their songs were). I tend to lean towards John Lennon’s style of writing. I truly believe that he and Brian Wilson are the greatest rock songwriters of all time. But, every once in a while, Paul’s songs amaze me, like this one. His talent as a songwriter usually came out in the form of love songs and slower ballads. That’s why “Can’t Buy Me Love” is such a unique McCartney song, at least for early in his career. When I think of great Paul McCartney Beatles songs, I think of “I Will”, “Yesterday”, and “Golden Slumbers”. Those songs have a very different feels than the fast-paced pop feel of “Can’t Buy Me Love”.

One thing I didn’t realize about “Can’t Buy Me Love” is how high-pitched it is. I found it to be difficult to sing, especially when done acoustically. Paul had the luxury of double-tracking his lead vocals on the recorded version of this song. On my acoustic cover video, though, it’s just me and my guitar. For a faster-paced song like this one, I chose to go with my standard steel-stringed acoustic guitar instead of the nylon stringed guitar I normally use for “softer” music videos. One thing that surprises me is how Paul McCartney can still sing this song fairly well into his late 60s. I suppose practicing for 45 years helped him out a bit, but I can only hope to sound as good as he does when I’m his age!

I’m unfortunately running low (“oh, another one- giddy up Keckster!”) on my last glut of music videos, so I’ll be doing a new set very soon. But the good news is that I’ll be using my new setup, complete with a Zoom USB microphone and brighter, higher quality video. But of course, you know that the Laptop Sessions music video blog always brings you something new and improved!

Stay tuned here to the video blog, as Chris has been a posting machine lately- with new music reviews and posts about every WCJM Free Internet Radio show, amongst others. Plus, Jeff’s been cranking out solid Sessions, too. And me? Well, you KNOW I’ve been going crazy with the updates and enhancements here on the music blog. Until the next Chris Moore Session, take care and enjoy “Can’t Buy Me Love” by the Beatles!

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Music Review: John Mayer’s New Live Album is Not So New, Not So Desirable

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By Chris Moore:

This live album by Mayer is perhaps, in terms of new music, the biggest disappointment of the year for me.  Being a John Mayer fan from the beginning, I have never quite been able to understand the degree of praise he has received for going back to the blues roots.  Yes, he is an excellent guitarist, and I am happy that more people are giving him the respect he deserves.  But he was always an energetic, talented guitarist – recall “Neon” as merely one of many examples.  I was unimpressed with the John Mayer Trio – its minimalist setup and apparent reference to the great rock trios of the seventies (Jimi Hendrix Experience comes to mind) has always seemed out of place to me when considering the depth of Mayer’s vocals and instrumental components on his studio recordings.  Then, Continuum was released, and I was truly befuddled.  It wasn’t so much that I disliked this new album – though I did and do find it lackluster at most turns – but this new album garnered such an exaggeratedly positive response.  Based on Rolling Stone magazine’s review, one might expect that this was John Mayer’s most amazing album to date and perhaps one of the most significant albums of the year.

This brings us to current day, 2008, and the release of Where The Light Is: John Mayer Live in Los Angeles.  As I entered my local music retail store, I headed for the CD section, knowing that the live album had just been released.  I had decided the night before, when I first learned of its release, that I would not purchase it.  I made this decision, knowing full well that, once I enjoy one or two albums from any given artist, I usually end up buying all their subsequent releases.  However, I thought to myself, what if they lose my interest entirely?  In the case of John Mayer, it wasn’t so much a branching out and changing of his style that concerned me – it was and is my perception that he has regressed as a songwriter.

When I saw the live album, I almost bought it.

The packaging itself is solid – a live concert in three sections: an acoustic solo set, a John Mayer Trio set, and a full band set.  The acoustic set alone intrigued me; “Stop This Train” is one of my few favorites from Continuum, “Daughters” would work perfectly in this type of arrangement, and Tom Petty’s “Free Fallin’” is one of my favorite songs.

So, I had picked it up, and looking it over, the desire to buy it was creeping in.  Then I read the second section – the Trio set.  Five of the eight songs in this portion were featured in the John Mayer Trio live album.  What could be so significantly different about these performances?  Of the final nine songs in the full band set, all but two were songs from Continuum.  The other two included “Why Georgia,” one of my favorite songs by Mayer, and a Ray Charles cover.  Why would I want to hear a live set of songs from an album that I was unimpressed with?

Saddened and, truthfully, disappointed, I placed the CD back on the rack.  I can’t say I will never listen to Where The Light Is, but I can say with certainty that I will not purchase it myself.  And that makes me very sad, as Mayer had quickly become one of my favorite new music artists on the scene a few years ago.  For perhaps the first time in my young, CD-collecting life, I have left an artist behind.  He may be off to new work with the blues community, but I’m off to listen to his lesser-appreciated work – the charming and spirited Inside Wants Out EP, the instant hit Room For Squares, and even the follow-up effort Heavier Things.  For me, those albums had it all – solid songwriting and great guitar work.

At most, I may return to Continuum and try to figure out what exactly it is that I have missed.

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