By Jim Fusco:
If you know me, you know this is big news: Michael, the Admin for Brian Wilson’s Official Website, put a link to the guitarbucketlist.com homepage there to showcase the Brian Wilson/Beach Boys videos!
And below is a screenshot of the page- look at where my link is placed- right below his BAND MEMBERS! 🙂 Of course, I blew up the description of my link so it could be seen easier. Thanks to Michael and everyone for making this such a beneficial project!
By Jim Fusco:
ALBUM – LITTLE DEUCE COUPE
A Young Man is Gone – 6 (very beautiful sounding, but I was always a bit bored by it- don’t kill me, Mike!)
Little Deuce Coupe – 8
Be True to Your School (single version) – 4 (the only Beach Boys song I consistently skip past- I just never liked school enough to be “true” to it)
Be True to Your School (album cut) – (3)
No Go Showboat – 7 (love Brian’s great high voice here and the humor in Al’s lines)
Custom Machine – 7 (love the chorus and especially Mike’s bass singing!!)
Car Crazy Cutie – 6 (enjoyable)
Cherry, Cherry Coupe – 7 (I really like those chords and I love Dennis’ harmony part)
409 – 3 (never been a big fan of this song)
Our Car Club – 7 (I love the drums and vocal breaks! Also, really cool sounding)
Shut Down – 7
Spirit of America – 3 (not a big fan)
Ballad of Ole Betsy – 7 (great harmonies- the stereo separated vocals really show off the quality here)
*I love this album. To me, this is the happiest the Boys sounded on record. They are just so youthful and this album always reminds me of summer. The songs are great and the production, as minimalist as it is, just fits for these lighthearted songs about, well, cars! Plus, I always tell everyone it was the first “concept” album! Well, not really, I guess. Now, I was born in 1984, so any visions I have of the 60s come from the music I love. So, this album has always served as a window into that early 60s cars, girls, and teenage fun lifestyle that I never really got to replicate growing up in the 90s and 2000s. This album makes me reminiscent of a time that I wasn’t even alive! That’s pretty powerful stuff.*
By Jim Fusco:
Hello all, and welcome to your weekend edition of The Laptop Sessions acoustic cover songs music video blog with me, Jim Fusco. After two strong outings from Jeff and Chris, I decided to pull my ace-in-the-hole and do a Beach Boys song. I always have good luck doing a Beach Boys cover song, as growing up, I would constantly sing these while in the car. After a while, I think my voice just grew into the Beach Boys tone, so I’m able to bring you fairly accurate cover song videos here on the music blog!
This is an earlier Beach Boys song that doesn’t have way too much emphasis on the background vocals, so it was a nice transition into Laptop Sessions form. Normally, I like to take more produced songs and turn them into cover song videos, but tonight, I’m taking a lesser-known song and bringing it to the public’s attention again.
I love the way Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys sings this song. It’s like he’s semi-screaming it at some points, but he’s singing about how someone is “so good” to him! I think this might have been an attempt to sound a bit more “macho” on Brian’s part, and if I were in his shoes, I would completely understand. Of course, I think the “macho” aspect goes away on the falsetto, “And I love it, LOVE it!” line. That’s okay, though, as it’s my favorite part of the song. I’ve noticed lately that one of Brian Wilson’s strengths as a songwriter (and there are many) is his ability to write a great bridge. Those catchy transition periods between the verses and choruses are usually my favorite parts of a song. I’ve been putting a lot of focus on them in my original songs, as well. For instance, in “Good Enough” off of my album, “Those Around Us”, I love the way the bridge came out. It features really cool harmonies and a catchy tune. Plus, I like the line, “And now my heart is hardened like a heart of gold.”
I hope everyone likes this one, even though it doesn’t have my favorite Mike Love low part in there. Gotta get Chris to stop correcting high school English papers one of these nights and do some more collaborations! Actually, this cover song video doesn’t feature any of the background vocals. The “la-la-la” part in the chorus can be considered annoying by some people. In fact, it took away from my love of the song until just recently. I guess it grew on me. But, here I give you a version with no background vocals for the acoustic cover songs music video blog so you can hear just what a great little song “You’re So Good To Me” is!
See you Tuesday with another Session, but stay tuned for Chris and Jeff’s entries over the next two days! Haven’t missed a day in ’08!
By Jim Fusco:
Welcome to your Friday edition of The Laptop Sessions acoustic cover songs music video blog! After two strong Sessions from Chris and Jeff, I’m glad I can follow up with a song that I’ve been playing for a long time now, Barenaked Ladies’ “Brian Wilson”.
This song is very important to me, as it was the song that initially got me into BNL because a friend played it for me thinking I would like the Brian Wilson references. Of course, I did. But, I loved the song, too.
I now own all of BNL’s albums, have met them and got them to sign their latest (and greatest) album, and they are now my second favorite band of all time behind the Beach Boys at a permanent #1 spot.
I love the way Masters of the Universe did this song- I had the privilege of singing lead on their version. We did five part harmonies on the chorus. There’s a live version of it here on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0rBfLk70vU
So, you have a song by my second favorite band ABOUT my favorite ever songwriter! Doesn’t get much better than that.
So, here’s my solo acoustic version- I could play this one with my eyes closed, so the performance is very smooth and comfortable, if I do say so myself! 😉
Let me tell you why I love Barenaked Ladies (the band, of course), the Beach Boys, the Moody Blues, the Byrds, and bands like that so much more than I like the Wallflowers, Ben Folds, and Dylan. I love all of their music, but I gravitate towards the first set of bands. You see, I love bands where every band member gets a chance to contribute. Many bands only have one front man and the rest are just background guys. Take “Matchbox Twenty” for example. Rob Thomas is the lead. Now, someone name another band member. That’s right- Thomas IS the band! Sure, there are other guys that play his music, but he’s the guy who writes the songs and sings them, too. If you take a band like the Beach Boys, you might think the same thing: “Oh yeah, it’s just Brian Wilson and a bunch of other guys.” Sure, that was kind of true before 1967. But after that, Brian faded into the background and the other band members (his brothers, his cousin, and a friend) had to take over. They all began writing songs. The best example was the album “Sunflower”. Every member had a hand in writing and singing on that album- it’s one of my favorites as a result. That way, you get such a great variety.
Enjoy “Brian Wilson” by Barenaked Ladies. It’s such a great song. And even though I couldn’t get the Jim Creegan bass solo in there, I still think this live acoustic version does the song justice. Stay tuned for more great acoustic cover songs from the Laptop Sessions music blog!