“Say You’re Free” (Goo Goo Dolls Cover)

By Jim Fusco:

Wow, it’s really been two weeks since the last video?  Well, if you haven’t seen it, search at the top of the Laptop Sessions acoustic cover songs music video blog for “Elderberry Wine” and you’ll see what I’ve been up to lately!  It’s my second video back from a very long four-month absence.

Tonight, I bring you a video that shows you what the Laptop Sessions acoustic cover songs blog is all about.  It’s a song sung by someone with a raspy voice and it’s totally an electric, rockin’ song.  So, I took my non-raspy voice, sat down with my Martin acoustic guitar, and put a new twist on this tune!

It’s a song off of the Goo Goo Dolls newest album, “Something for the Rest of Us” from 2010.  Let me tell you, it’s a GREAT album.  I can’t stop listening to it.  Every song is single-worthy.  These guys have gotten so good at writing a catchy pop/rock song and it shows on this album.  Honestly, I think it’s my favorite from last year.  And there were a TON of albums I heard for the first time last year.

I’ve become quite the Goo Goo Dolls fan ever since I first heard some of their songs on WCJM Internet Radio shows.  My friend (and former Laptop Sessions contributor) Jeff Copperthite would pick a song for each radio show we did.  After a while, I noticed that I liked those songs, so I bought a couple of their older albums from the early 90’s.  Now, I have all of their albums and I love them all!  Well, I should say that I love all of their “rock” albums.  They actually started in the late 80s as a punk band!  I have one of those albums (“Jed”) and let me tell you- it ain’t great.  It’s hard to believe that just a couple of years later, they came out with my personal favorite, “Superstar Car Wash”.  That album is almost 20 years old now, but if you don’t have it (and like the Goo Goo Dolls), it’s really a neccesity.

Tonight’s song is “Say You’re Free”- it’s one of two Robby Takac songs that are on the new album.  In fact, that’s about the standard now, as it has been for the last three albums.  Back in the earlier days, Robby and Johhny would split the songs.  I really liked that format- it seemed like they were trying to outdo each other.  Of course, Johnny is the guy who wrote their most famous songs like “Iris”, so I suppose he’s considered the “better” songwriter.  But, as we’ve learned from SO many bands here on the music blog, popularity doesn’t necessarily mean greatness.  Now, I won’t sit here and say that I’m not a John Rzeznik fan- I absolutely am.  But, for some reason, I absolutely love Robby’s songs, too!  My favorite from him, other than the new stuff, is “Already There” from Superstar Car Wash- it’s a great tune with some really introspective lyrics.  That’s a bit surprising, considering his punk roots and his incredibly raspy voice.  Normally, I wouldn’t like that, but I don’t think he’s doing it on purpose.  For instance, you can just tell that John Mayer sings like that on purpose, so I can’t stand it.  Same with Dylan.  But, people like Dennis Wilson and Robby Takac just have raspy voices for one reason or another and can’t sing any other way.  That I can deal with.

I chose this song instead of the better tune, “Now I Hear” from the same album because I wanted to hear how this song would come out acoustically.  I love the results and I hope it shows how great of a song it is on its own.  And, I hope Robby somehow watches this someday- I want him to know that there are fans out there that love his songs and that want even more per album!  I hope you enjoy tonight’s Laptop Session and I’ll be back in a couple of weeks with another great new acoustic cover song music video!

“She Belongs to Me” (Bob Dylan Cover)

We’re looking for more Guest Sessions submissions! So, sit down, pull up your acoustic guitar and camera, post the video on YouTube, and CLICK HERE!

As I always say, it’s never too soon for another Bob Dylan cover video!  Personally, I’ve attempted to restrain myself from recording a comfortable, enjoyable Dylan cover this year.  However, tonight’s installment of the Guest Sessions is a Dylan cover song music video with an interesting twist.

First of all, this is a song from Dylan’s 1965 album Bringing It All Back Home.  This is perhaps one of his best albums, and it was a transition point for him, half of the album being full band renditions and the other half being classic acoustic-only compositions.  (For his next album, Highway 61 Revisited, he would dive deeply into the world of electric rock…)

So far, I’ve recorded two covers from this album — “Subterranean Homesick Blues” for the members-only area of the site and “Love Minus Zero/No Limit.”  No one here has yet dared to take on the more noteworthy songs, such as “It’s Alright, Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)” or the song that the Byrds launched to chart success, “Mr. Tambourine Man.”  This being said, I was truly impressed with the apparent ease with which Stan Denski, our guest tonight, played “She Belongs to Me.”  Granted, this is a fairly straightforward song, but he changed the tuning and plays in an interesting fashion.  His version is true to the original, yet very much his own and sung well.

Thank you, Stan, for sending this very entertaining video!

I’ll let him introduce the video — Stan writes,

This is a cover of Bob Dylan’s “She Belongs To Me.”  It is played on an old Guild 12-string tuned to an open D and played by barring chords from the top of the neck which allows the highest strings to ring open and create diminished chords.  It also uses a lot of harmonics struck at the 12th fret.

I was showing a friend how to play this version and he videotaped it and, later, stuck it up on YouTube.

Stan Denski, Indianapolis

“Wonderwall” (Oasis Cover)

By Jeff Copperthite:

Welcome to your wonderful Monday edition of The Laptop Sessions!

Wait, did I use the words “wonderful” and “Monday” in the same sentence?  Why, yes I did!

I woke up this morning to the awesome news of there being a 90 minute delay to the start of my school day.  Always good news to wake up too.  Then, all I had to do today was finish one lesson I started Thursday, and give a quiz to two classes (one of which was very adamant in not taking the quiz today, despite the multiple times I mentioned to them Thursday that the quiz would take place on the next school day).

Well, despite that, I close out today with a great new band to add to our session library.  It’s a band that has been around for almost 20 years now.  The band is Oasis, and today’s song is possibly their most popular song called “Wonderwall”.

Here’s a song that i’ve known how to play for some time.  One thing that always bugged me is a person I used to know (was a boyfriend of a family member) who also played a cover of this song, but repeated the verse chords throughout the whole song, and couldn’t realize the fact he was doing it wrong!  Ugh, it was hard sitting through that.

So i’m glad I can provide you with a solid version of the song tonight.  It’s one of my better videos, despite my forgetting the 4th and 5th words of the final chorus.  Oops.

But regardless, it’s here for you and I hope you enjoy it.  I’ll be back for your holiday edition of The Laptop Sessions (my first one of the year ironically) on Thursday.  Each of us has 3 videos to go for the year!

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!

“The Wrestler” (Bruce Springsteen Cover)

By Chris Moore:

(For the chords to “The Wrestler,” go here: The Wrestler Chords)

Hello and welcome to a brand-new week of cover song music videos here at your source for the best of the best — the Laptop Sessions!

But, as much as we like to brag, we really are trying every day to fill this site with a ridiculous number of cover song material — our daily video posts, chords/tabs to your favorite songs, and much more.  We even sneak in a Fusco, Moore, and/or Copperthite original every Wednesday or so…

For today, I’m skimming off the top of the new music / new album current events pool.  Tomorrow is the official US release date of Bruce Springsteen’s 16th studio album.  It’s been less than two years since number 15, so this is exciting news!  I think his previous album, Magic, was one of the best albums of 2007 and certainly my favorite Springsteen album to date.  Now, to be fair, I’ve only listened to his more recent albums, so I reserve my right to change my mind sometime down the line…

But, back to the present.  His new album, Working on a Dream, is coming out amidst a whole lot of Springsteen mania.  For one, there’s his upcoming appearance during the half time show of Super Bowl XLIII on February 1, 2009.  Following in the footsteps of such classic acts as Tom Petty and the Rolling Stones (who were also called out ostensibly to prevent any potential wardrobe malfunctions that may befall a younger, female act!), Springsteen’s album sales are expected to rise directly following the show.  This is opportune timing, then.  Also, two months ago, he released a greatest hits album exclusively at Wal-Mart.  Now, I must admit that I was aggravated when I heard this in the news.  After all, Springsteen is famous and much-respected for his disavowal of corporate sponsorships or endorsements.

Then, as I read some more of the article about this, I realized that it makes perfect sense.  First of all, there’s the statistic that (reportedly) 15% of his recent CD sales have come from Wal-Mart.  Also, there’s the whole Super Bowl business.  I have to admit I can’t blame him and/or his people for pushing a greatest hits out now.  I’m typically disgusted by these sorts of 12-track, almost-all-repeat-tracks-from-his-previous-greatest-hits sorts of releases.  And yet, this is what people will be looking for!  So, as Ben Folds might sing — “You’ve got to give the people what they want!”

Also, the disc is only $9.99, and it’s a limited release item (not part of his official catalog).

I find this stuff fascinating…

But, to come back to tonight’s video, let me explain why I’ve recorded “The Wrestler.”  This is the title track to the film starring Mickey Rourke that has gained the spotlight during various recent award shows.  I have yet to see the film, but I had heard that this track would be a bonus song on the new album.  Thus, I set out to learn it, loved it, and had to record it.  For those of you listening to this song now for the first time, I hope you’ll like my version and want to hear the real one.

I can’t actually vouch for the new album, as I have yet to hear anything other than the song titles from the track listing.  However, I am ecstatic for this, the first new music release of 2009 that I’m really excited for.  I’ll be out during lunchtime tomorrow or as soon as I get out of work to get it.  And, who knows, I may just push myself to write a review tomorrow night.

Crazy?  I know, but that’s what this whole Laptop Sessions thang is all about!

Oh, and before I forget, don’t miss the chords that I just posted a few hours ago here on the site.  Now you can listen AND learn to play the song yourself!

Okay, I’m off to snuggle up with a couple of my dearest friends — one, the Fusco-Moore Experience copy of the latest Rolling Stone (complete with Bruce Springsteen, aka The Boss, on the cover — predictable?  I know, but I couldn’t care less!) and my stack of midterm exams that are ripe for the grading…

See you next session!