Tag Archives: greatest hits

“When Love Comes to Town” (U2 & B.B. King Cover)

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For U2 chords and lyrics, CLICK HERE!   /   For B.B. King chords and lyrics, CLICK HERE!

By Chris Moore:

Hello and welcome to a brand new week.  Thanks for spending a little bit of it here on the Laptop Sessions music video blog with the latest edition of “Chris Moore Monday.”  No one understands the pressure I’m under!  I mean, there’s a lot riding on this video — if I’m good, I’m helping your week get off on the right foot.  If I’m not so good, then…  Well, let’s not even consider that option.

For tonight’s selection, I’m doing something that I’ve only done once before…

…make an enjoyable recording!  No, I’m just kidding.  (Not about the “enjoyable” part, I hope…)

This is only the second time that I’ve recorded a song by not only one but two artists whose work I’ve never played before.  Tonight’s subjects?  U2 and B.B. King.  (Jeff has already recorded U2, but B.B. King is a new addition to the blog.)  Why, you may ask?  Well, the big “New Music Tuesday” release of tomorrow, March 3rd, is No Line on the Horizon, U2’s first new studio album in five years.  It’s already making waves, having received a five-star rating from Rolling Stone magazine.  Now, I’m not often one to agree with Rolling Stone, but I am very curious about this album.  After all, Rolling Stone has never given U2 the five star salute.  Bono and company have come close, earning 4.5 stars for 1991’s Achtung, Baby, but this is the first time they’ve received 5 stars for an original studio release.

To be fair, this isn’t their first 5 out of 5 star experience — the band’s re-release of The Joshua Tree was granted 5 stars.  I just listened to that album last night for the first time, and although I wouldn’t give it five stars, I very much enjoyed it.  The first three tracks are a veritable U2 greatest hits, and there are several deep cuts that are great songs.

So, tomorrow is a new music Tuesday to look forward to.  To hold you over, I’ve gone back into the U2 catalog and hauled out an oldie but goodie.  “When Love Comes to Town” was originally released in 1988 on Rattle and Hum (a title that is taken from lyrics in the song “Bullet the Blue Sky,” from The Joshua Tree).  This is a song I have always loved — there’s such an energy between Bono and King’s vocals and the addition of King’s guitar to the instrumental mix.  I have always felt that the song had a timeless feel, and I would have loved to hear someone like Johnny Cash record a version of it.  So, for my cover song music video version tonight, I’ve slowed it down a bit and taken it down an octave (which is convenient, since my vocal chords are no match for Bono’s typical soaring range!).

The result?

Just like I thought, this song has such a classic feel to it that it lends itself to a stripped-down acoustic arrangement.  Still, my version is no match for the energy, emotion, and rocking presence of the studio version!  (And I can’t quite figure out what “catch that flame” means…  I sing “catch that plane,” which is what I’ve always thought he said, but the official U2 lyrics page says “flame.”  Oh, well…)

I hope you enjoy this U2 cover, and I hope it tides you over until tomorrow’s release of No Line on the Horizon.

See you next session!

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“Wichita Lineman” (Glen Campbell Cover)

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By Chris Moore:

For Glen Campbell Chords/Lyrics, click here!

Hello and welcome to my first cover song music video for the blog in just about two weeks!  Those of you who are acquainted with my work here on the Laptop Sessions blog will appreciate just how long a break from recording that is.  After all, I spent the entirety of 2008 — along with Jim and Jeff — recording a session every three days.  So, when you look at it this way, two weeks off is an eternity!

That being said, I’m back tonight with a song from a new artist to the blog — Glen Campbell.  Campbell is a name you’ve probably heard before, as he’s been working in the realm of popular music ever since the 1960s.  I first remember him from the story of the Beach Boys, as he filled in for Brian Wilson as a touring bassist in 1964 and 1965.  Having come from a family of twelve, a group with three brothers must have been a piece of cake for him to handle!

What I had forgotten about Glen Campbell is that he was a member of the famous Wrecking Crew, along with other studio musicians like Hal Blaine and Carol Kaye.  He has played guitar on such popular recordings as the Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds, the Righteous Brothers’ “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling,” and the Monkees’ “I’m A Believer.”  He also played on tracks by other artists such as Elvis Presley, Bobby Darin, Ricky Nelson, Merle Haggard, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Jan & Dean, the Mamas and the Papas, and many more.

What a resume!

So, why did I decide to record a Glen Campbell song out of the blue?  Why have I encroached upon the usual Jim Fusco territory of the 1960s?  The answer is simple — Glen Campbell is releasing a new compilation tomorrow entitled Glen Campbell: Greatest Hits , and I thought it appropriate to pay tribute to him.  I especially like “Wichita Lineman,” perhaps because it sounds like a cross between the Beach Boys and the Moody Blues.  I say this because it’s got that great, bassy surf guitar-ish sound on the solo, and it has very obvious Justin Hayward inflections, particularly in the vocals and the Moody Blues-esque flute sounds.  So, having decided on “Wichita Lineman,” I got in front of my laptop, searched the Glen Campbell official website for a clip, went to YouTube to watch Glen Campbell playing it, and set about transcribing and practicing.  I’m glad that I’ve decided to post chords (tabs / how to play) for all my songs this year, as I looked around for chords online and didn’t find any sites with correct chords and lyrics.  So, if you’re interested in playing the song, refer to the information you find here – it’s hot off the presses!

Well, that’s it for me tonight.  I’d love to write more, but after my double posting yesterday, I’m pretty worn out!  Seriously though, I hope you’ve checked out my posts about the Grammy Awards and the TNA Pay-Per-View.  If you haven’t, I think that at least the Grammys post is worth a read for any fan of rock music.

Without further ado, here’s my latest cover song music video.

See you next session!

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Super Bowl Halftime Show: Bruce Springsteen’s Set List

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By Chris Moore:

Hello, football fans. More specifically, hello Super Bowl XLIII Halftime Show rock music fans! I’m writing this post mid-game, anticipating Bruce Springsteen and his Halftime Show songs.

Yes, as I’m sure you’ve heard, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band are performing a 12 minute set at the half time of tonight’s big game. For those of you who don’t know me, it’s those twelve minutes of Springsteen live songs that I’m eagerly anticipating. Some people bet on the game and who will win. Me? I try to guess which songs the Boss will decide to play.

Luckily, Jim invited me to his parent’s home, which hosts a big screen television and lots of snack food — the best of circumstances for watching the game!

My bet? I’m personally predicting (and hoping) that Springsteen’s set list of songs will include four tracks — three greatest hits and one from the new album, “Working on a Dream.” With only twelve minutes to work with, it seems like four songs will be a tight squeeze, but we’re talking about a crowd of football fans and party-goers with predictably short attention spans. Also, even though the great majority of Super Bowl fans won’t recognize the new songs, playing a new song just might interest some of the viewers of Super Bowl XLIII to buy “Working on a Dream.”

Okay, so here’s the predictions for specific songs, understanding of course that I don’t expect any of these to necessarily come true.

Hits: “Born in the USA,” “Brilliant Disguise,” & “Hungry Heart.” Maybe “My Hometown” as a fall back. Pretty random guesses here from a recent Springsteen fan, so take these for what they’re worth…

New Song: “My Lucky Day” or maybe “Working on a Dream” (the former is the single, but the latter IS the title track…)

Some other predictions from the Laptop Sessions peeps:

Mike and Jim agree: “Born to Run,” “Born in the USA” and “Dancing in the Dark”; something from the new album.

My bet is that they’ll be more accurate with the hits; they’re usually amazingly intuitive and/or logical with these types of music trivia and predictions.

And now, courtesy of the WordPress app on my iPhone…

The Super Bowl XLIII Bruce Springsteen Halftime Show Songs (Set List):
1) “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out”
2) “Born to Run”
3) “Working on a Dream”
4). “Glory Days”

Well, I couldn’t have been more wrong in my predictions, but I was right about one thing – Springsteen and the E Street band ROCKED! He really gave it his all. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more energetic performance from anyone at any age, never mind a rock legend pushing 60 years of age…

See you tomorrow for my all-new “Chris Moore Monday” Laptop Session music video!

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“That Was Then, This Is Now” (Monkees Cover)

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By Jim Fusco:

Welcome to your Saturday dose of The Laptop Sessions, brought to you by me, Jim Fusco!

Today, I’m doing a fairly-unknown song that’s technically only by Mickey Dolenz and Peter Tork, but billed as the Monkees. This song was on their first greatest hits CD in the late eighties and actually continues to make appearances on “Best Of” albums. I love this song and I’ve known it for many years now. Actually, the Monkees were my favorite band before I found out about the Beach Boys. I LOVED that Monkees Greatest Hits CD when I was like 4, and I find that I still love all the songs today.

They didn’t write this song, but in a few weeks, I’ll be putting another Monkees song that they did write (by Michael Nesmith) on https://guitarbucketlist.com .

We also did a radio show on our free internet radio station, WCJM Internet Radio at http://wcjm.com , called the “That Was Then, This Is Now” Show. This show not only featured this song, but also featured songs (and comedy skits) that give a look at bands both then and now.

I think this Session may fall under the same category that my most famous, “I’m So Lonely”, video falls under: the over-produced and way-too-eighties-sounding songs that I took and made into an acoustic song. These versions always tend to come out the best because you can just LISTEN to the real song and cut through the production.

That’s why I’m always a big fan of people that use production to make the song the best it can sound, but not just “make” the song. That’s why Brian Wilson is so great: he wrote (and writes) great songs, then uses the production to make them shine even better. But, they’d still be great songs without all the instrumentation, which is what I try to prove with these cover songs on the Laptop Sessions.

On a slightly different note, I think it’s obvious by now that we’re doing all of these cover songs because we’re songwriters and the only way we can think of people showing interest in our original music is to play other people’s songs right along with it. I figure, if you like the same songs I like and I write similar songs to the songs I like (in general, of course), you’ll like my music by the transitive property!

With that said, I hope you’re checking out our weekly “Original Wednesday” songs and going to my original music website at jimfusco.com. We have some pretty great stuff- we’re not looking to make a fortune, although we are looking for people to pay….attention!!

Thanks for watching today’s Laptop Session!

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