Tag Archives: cover

“Suspicious Minds” (Elvis Presley cover)

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By Jim Fusco

Welcome everyone to the first new Jim Fusco Laptop Sessions cover song video for over a year and a half!  I can’t believe it- doesn’t feel like that long ago AT ALL.  The last cover video I did was “What Am I Doing Hanging ‘Round” by the Monkees on February 7th of 2013.  Yikes.

As all fans of the music blog know, I’m releasing a new album called “The Easy Ways” in September!  It’s been the spark I needed to get back into recording more Laptop Sessions cover song videos.  I’ve compiled an incredible list of songs over the past 18 months and I can’t wait to get back into the full swing of it.  I’ll even be re-recording some of my older videos.  Yes, even I messed-up now and again, so I’m going to finally fix those mistakes and make the videos the best they can be.  I went back and listened to over 220 cover song videos I’ve done in the past and only found 14 that need to be redone.  That’s not so bad!  I may do a few others that were poorly lit (or when I didn’t shave, was in my pajamas, etc.), as well.

Speaking of lighting, I’m still trying to perfect it, but I’ve got a new lighting kit to go along with my new video recording process.  I’m now recording on my new iPad (should we change it to the “Tablet Sessions”?) with my trusty ZOOM H2 microphone.  I”m also doing the video editing on the iPad.  It’s so much faster and easier, but I’ve noticed a lot of features are lost on the watered-down mobile version.  Thankfully I’ve found workarounds for the issues I’ve found so far.  I hope there are updates to the app in the future that will allow me to enhance the colors in the video and normalize the audio better.

But these first few videos I’m doing came out pretty good and they took less than a quarter of the time it used to take me to record.  And that’s the biggest part- I’ll do many more videos if they’re easy to create.  That’s what was great about the Laptop Sessions in the first place: I could just open the laptop and hit record.  But now, I’ve got to light it properly, have a nice background, and even comb my hair!  I’ve noticed that people really like seeing a nicely lit frame with my electric guitars in the background and I think some of my older videos don’t get viewed much anymore because of their poor video quality.

So now, onto today’s video:

“Suspicious Minds” is a song by Elvis Presley that he debuted around the time of his big comeback special in 1968.  I really need to see that video- I heard he really knocked it out of the park.  Isn’t it so sad that the man was only in his early thirties and he already had to make a “comeback”?  That’s show-business, I guess.  Anyway, the song was a big hit for Elvis and it’s been a song I’ve known and loved for just about my whole life.  It’s a fun one to sing, too, as it has some real passion in that slower middle section.  I hope I did the song justice!

Stay tuned for an original song to come at you next Wednesday for my first Original Wednesday post for quite some time.  I’ll be alternating original songs and cover songs until my new album comes out.  In the meantime, you should be checking out http://jimfusco.com for previews of some of my new songs, plus the album cover artwork that will blow you away!  See you all again next week and enjoy, “Suspicious Minds”, originally done by Elvis Presley!

“Blueberry Hill” (Fats Domino Cover)

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By Jim Fusco:

And with the curveball out of left field, it’s Jim Fusco premiering a Fats Domino song!  I have a list of about 20 songs that I’m ready to record, but my raging cold didn’t allow for that.  You know, the best laid plans… But, I was listening to my new Genius Playlists in iTunes and this song came up.  It was the Beach Boys version from 15 Big Ones that I’ve known for so many years.  I mean, I heard the Fats Domino version on the local oldies station back when they actually played 50s music, but I knew all of the words because of the Beach Boys version.

I stayed true to the Fats Domino version for two reasons: 1, the Beach Boys version isn’t that great, and 2, it’s new bands weeks here on the best video blog on the internet and it only seemed fitting.

My current illness, which I’ve noticed is similar to most, allows me to feel much better as the day goes on.  When I first wake up, I can barely talk and before I go to bed, you wouldn’t think I was sick at all.  So, that’s why I recorded this video so late at night.  My voice still won’t hold up for any higher-register songs (no comments from the peanut gallery as to my NORMAL ability to sing those parts), so this tune, even though I remembered it the day before, moved 20 slots up my list and onto New Bands Week.

Honestly, this video may rank as one of my favorites in the future.  There’s a few Jim Fusco personal touches, including that C to Cmaj7 to C7 that I added during the middle 8.  There’s also that crazy strum pattern I’m doing.  Try to replicate it.  I’m playing over a full six inch span over the sound hole.  You’ll see the lower notes being played first, followed by the mids and highs.  The video doesn’t rush, either.  I did two full takes that were literally about a second apart from each other in length.  The video seems to capture that orignal Fats Domino feel to it, and I’m proud of how the song came out.  I think my voice, even though it wasn’t at its best, fit the song well.

It stinks that New Bands Week is over for me.  I always look forward to doing new artists.  You’ll be seeing PLENTY from me in the coming weeks, especially as my voice gets back to normal again and I don’t have coughing fits after a take.  Enjoy today’s video and join me on the edge of my seat as we wait to view Chris and Jeff’s final entries into New Bands Week 2.0.  Oh, and two last things: wasn’t Jeff’s original tune great yesterday?  And second, I love Jeff’s new trademarked “Thumpin’ Thursday”, but today’s mellow number doesn’t really fit that bill.  But then again, I won’t say what went on over on Blueberry Hill…

“Society” (Eddie Vedder Cover – Song by Jerry Hannan)

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For Eddie Vedder chords & lyrics, CLICK HERE!

By Chris Moore:

Hello and welcome to the first installment in a fresh new week of brand new material at the Laptop Sessions, the best cover song music video website in the universe!

I was FINALLY able to find the Into Thin Air soundtrack on sale — thank you, Best Buy — so I’ve been listening to it all week.  Although I have discovered several other songs that I like very much, Eddie Vedder’s cover version of Jerry Hannan’s “Society” is still my favorite track on the album.  It was very disappointing for me to discover that it is a cover, but it’s such a great track that I have to stifle my desire for original material, at least temporarily.

I first heard this track from my friends and colleagues Dan and Larry over the summer as we played some music of our own.  At the time, I had not yet immersed myself in Pearl Jam, but I was immediately drawn to Vedder’s simple but powerful vocals on this track.  Apparently, as they told me, Vedder had contributed eleven songs (9 originals and 2 covers) to the soundtrack of the film Into Thin Air, based on Jon Krakauer’s book of the same name.  Although some of the songs are very short and there are two tracks without lyrics, the Into Thin Air soundtrack is essentially an Eddie Vedder solo album — his first full length solo project since he began singing with the other members of Pearl Jam.

Whether you’re a Pearl Jam fan or not, I think everyone here at the Laptop Sessions will be able to appreciate this great acoustic tune.  It was a pleasure to record, from beginning to end.  In fact, I ended up with several early takes that I could have settled for, but kept playing and playing until I arrived at this version, which I felt was most loyal to the original version.  (Well, maybe not the original version — rather, the Eddie Vedder version of the Jerry Hannan original.  Although, Hannan provided background vocals and guitars for this track, so it’s closer to an original than your average cover.)  When I finished recording, I had the sort of sadness I always get when I’ve figured out a song and yet, the recording being finished, don’t have any real reason to keep playing it.

The bright side here is that I’ll get to play it a little bit today during school, as I’m bringing my guitar in to practice for our big Writing Club / Creative Writing open mic night.  This is the first time (at least since I’ve been at the school) that the Writing Club has teamed with the Creative Writing classes to put on the open mic.  The result?  To begin with, we’re in the theater instead of the cafeteria and it promises to draw a more significant crowd.  The only downside — and it’s a significant downside, if only for me — is that the show runs from 6 to 10pm…  This Thursday.  And Thursdays mean baseball, fast food, and wrestling with my friends.  We had originally scheduled the show for a Friday — which I was excited about — but there was a scheduling conflict and the best available day for everyone else was Thursday.

Either way, it’s only one week and it’s for a good cause.  With some luck, I’ll be able to catch the second half of wrestling.  If not, there’s always the iTunes download if I hear I’ve missed a great episode (as last week’s was!).  Until next Monday, I hope you have a great week.  Don’t forget that you’ve got at least two things to look forward to: Jim Fusco Tuesday and Jeff Copperthite’s “Thumpin’ Thursday.”

See you next session!

“A Matter Of Trust” (Billy Joel Cover)

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By Jeff Copperthite:

Oh yeah here we go. Welcome to your Monday edition of The Laptop Sessions, and i’m posting today earlier than usual since I am fortunate to have the day off. Easter Monday ftw!

Today I introduce another new artist to the Laptop Sessions, and I know that he is a popular one. The song I have chosen is “A Matter of Trust” by Billy Joel, from his 1986 album “The Bridge”. This was his most popular single off this album, and translated well to an acoustic version. The song itself made it as high as #3 on the charts when it was released as a single.

You can tell I had a lot of fun doing this song. Ever since I heard it I became an instant fan, and the more I like a song, the more I enjoy performing the session. I hope the enthusiasm is apparent and makes the video a positive one for you to watch.

I’m hoping to hit 7k views by next Monday. If you like the video, comment on it, rate it, favorite it, subscribe, or pass it on. Thank you for being a regular visitor to The Laptop Sessions!

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!