By Chris Moore:
Welcome to another video blog in the Laptop Sessions music video series! Today, I bring you a cover song that was written in the 1950s and was covered on two separate occasions by two of my favorite artists — Johnny Cash and the Band. Cash recorded it most famously on his Folsom Prison concert and the Band included it on their 1968 album Music from Big Pink. Both are great albums, and this is a fun song. I hope you like it…
See you next session!
By Jim Fusco:
Thanks for stopping by for your Tuesday edition of the Laptop Sessions acoustic cover songs music video blog!
Today, I bring you a song written by Neil Young, “Cowgirl in the Sand”. Not only is this song one of his most famous, but it’s also generally well-known among country-rock music fans.
The version I’m doing is derivative of the version the Byrds did on their reunion album from 1975. That album isn’t wonderful by any means, but Gene Clark’s contributions are, of course, superb. He sings a great lead on this song, too. Gene Clark just had a great timbre to his voice. He could sing rock’n’roll music and country/western music with the best of them. Of course, Gene Clark was a great songwriter, too, both with the Byrds and on his own solo recordings. While searching around here on the music blog, be sure to click on Gene Clark’s category to see the other cover songs I’ve done written by him. If you’re not a fan now (or haven’t heard of him), I guarantee his original songs will get your attention.
This is one song that I never planned on doing, but came into my head one night, so I just sat down and did it! I think some people were a bit surprised that I busted this one out at our first live show as a trio the other day. My favorite aspect of the Byrds’ version of “Cowgirl In The Sand” is the harmonies on the chorus. I really hope that we can get those harmonies right in future performances, as I think that’s the flare the Byrds added to make the version their own.
Considering how the Byrds first started, it’s a bit surprising that they gravitated over to country rock like they did. They were initially marketed as a folk group, electrifying Bob Dylan songs like “Chimes of Freedom” and “Mr. Tambourine Man”. But, the band members of the Byrds, especially Chris Hillman, started out loving folk music in a different way- the classic, down-home country style. Chris Hillman is actually an accomplished mandolin player, and there is no better country guitarist than Roger McGuinn. Basically, they just threw an electric bass in Hillman’s hands and a 12-string electric Rickenbacker guitar in McGuinn’s hands, and they had a big hit band. In later albums, the band members of the Byrds would write original songs that had a country flare to them, including Chris Hillman’s “The Girl With No Name”, which I’ve also done a cover song music video of here on the music blog.
You may also notice the “incredible fluctuating hairdo” of myself- I recorded this song before getting a haircut, as you saw in the “Aware” cover video (of an original song) from last week.
I hope to do more Neil Young songs in the future and I hope this cover song video attracts some new viewers and music lovers to the Laptop Sessions live acoustic music video series!
By Chris Moore:
I’ve been listening to the Counting Crows’ new album Saturday Nights and Sunday Mornings all week now (up until MoU’s new album, Homestead’s Revenge, came out! — You can buy the high quality mp3s or the CD version. Here’s the web address: http://jimfusco.com/albums.html ).
I’ve really enjoyed listening to the Counting Crows, and it reminded me of my favorite songs of theirs from years past. Thus, I decided to record “A Long December.” Although it’s a piano-based song, I think it translates well to acoustic. If I was smart, though, I would have waited until the end of the year to record it…
This song was one of their biggest hits, but that’s not why I love it. I love the lyrics and the tune, and it’s one of those songs that will forever be etched in my memory, synonymous with my youth. I remember my seventh grade science teacher, Mr. Olayos, playing the radio during a quiz, and this song was on. This song really triggers a lot of happy — and, of course — not so happy memories from my past.
I hope you enjoy today’s Laptop Session and decide to comment or rate it!
And don’t forget to check out Jeff’s Counting Crows cover at https://guitarbucketlist.com too!
By Chris Moore:
Okay, it’s time to separate the Dylan fans from the fanatics… If you’re familiar with this song, you’re probably in the latter category. For your pleasure (I hope), I decided to record “Little Sadie,” a very simple but fun song from Bob Dylan’s Self Portrait album. This is, of course, not to be confused with “In Search of Little Sadie,” the song two tracks earlier on the album with essentially the same lyrics but a different arrangement. Now, Dylan is known for never performing a song the same way twice, but he doesn’t usually record two different versions on the same album…
I know that Self Portrait is considered perhaps his weakest and most disappointing album (aside from Dylan, which wasn’t even released on CD!), but I’ve always loved the simple and soothing feel of the recordings. True, some are throw-aways, but I actually recorded my very first Laptop Session last year with “Living the Blues.” He does a couple great covers — Gordon Lightfoot’s “Early Mornin’ Rain,” for instance. His cover of Paul Simon’s “The Boxer” is just about the only recording I’ve ever heard where he double-tracks his voice. If you listen carefully, it sounds like one voice is the gruff Dylan and one voice is the “Lay Lady Lay” Dylan. Interesting…
Without further ado, I really hope you enjoy this song and please rate and/or comment on it!
Check back at https://guitarbucketlist.com for more great sessions from Jeff!