By Jim Fusco:
Welcome to the Laptop Sessions acoustic cover songs music blog for Monday! I’m back with a video that’s not only one of my best performances (if I do say so myself) but one of my favorite tunes. This song, “If This Is It”, is an underrated song and Huey Lewis and the News are a very underrated band.
I think Huey Lewis loses points in many reviewers’ minds because he doesn’t write the songs he sings. But, there are members of his band (you know, the News!) that write the songs he sings. It’s kind of like a Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons thing. So, when you look at the band in that light, Huey Lewis is just a really cool guy and a good singer, too! I love the style of their songs- it’s kind of like my music, but back in the 80s. You can tell that the songwriters loved a bygone era of music (especially with the doo-wop style of “If This Is It”) but updated it for the times. Obviously, “If This Is It” wouldn’t have sounded right in 1956, but somehow the song gives off that vibe while still sounding fresh…for 1983, that is…
The whole “Sports” album is very entertaining to me. I know songs like “The Heart Of Rock & Roll” have actually been put on “Worst Song Ever” lists in the past, but I’ve always liked that tune! Plus, “Heart and Soul” is one of my absolute favorite songs of all time. And, you’ve even got the song that was stolen for the Ghostbusters theme song in “I Want a New Drug”! If you’re into music from that era, please give “Sports” from Huey Lewis and the News a shot. You’ll be glad you did!
“If This Is It” wasn’t the easiest song to learn- the chord changes and the special strumming pattern made it a tough one to get correct while singing. But, the singing wasn’t too easy, either. I recall messing up near the end of the song on a couple of occasions. Why? Because Huey Lewis had (and still does) an amazingly powerful voice. Of course, he wasn’t playing guitar at the same time during his performances!
I always thought this would be the perfect album closing song. It just has that “ending” feel to it, even though it’s not a slow song like most albums feature at the end. The sentiment here is that a person knows all of the telltale signs of a relationship ending are there and that person wants the truth. But, what makes this song great is the hesitation- yes, he may know it’s over, but he still doesn’t like that fact. He knows he should save himself from more heartache, but he wants her to be the person to break it off.
I hope you all enjoy tonight’s acoustic cover song, played on my nylon stringed acoustic guitar, as our week of brand-new bands to the Laptop Sessions continues! This Huey Lewis and the News song is one of my favorites and I knew it would be a great pick for another cover song music video here on the best music blog around: The Laptop Sessions!
