By Chris Moore:
Well, I have finally posted one of my own! In the wake of Jim’s revival of lesser-known (and lesser-appreciated) tunes, I decided to try Bob Dylan’s early-70’s “Living the Blues.” It is certainly not the best (nor even among the best) of his catalog, but I’ve always loved it. And I hope you do too!
By Chris Moore:
Welcome to my second installment for Number One’s Week here at https://guitarbucketlist.com ! I’m proud to bring you an artist that I haven’t covered before — Otis Redding. This is truly a classic song that deserved to be a true #1 — “(Sittin’ on) The Dock of the Bay.” It’s such a simple song with really basic chords and fairly basic lyrics, but there’s just so much emotion in them. I could never duplicate the sound that Redding put into his studio recording (especially considering that he used a piano instead of an acoustic guitar…), but I really enjoyed recording this session. It was probably the most fun I’ve had recording in weeks; I spent about ten minutes playing along to the real version, and then I hit record and finished in a couple takes.
Once again, I hope you enjoy it. There’s a special “first” for me at the end of the video; regular viewers of the Laptop Sessions will pick up on it…
On a side note, speaking of simple but great music, I’ve been listening to the new Mudcrutch album non-stop since Tuesday, and I’m enjoying it a little more each time. It’s so cool to see not only Tom Petty, but also Benmont Tench and Tom Leadon with lead vocals on a few tracks. As a big Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers fan, it’s also cool to have a Campbell/Petty collaboration — it only takes one listen to “Bootleg Flyer” to figure out who wrote that one! My review will be coming soon, but I just wanted to spread the good news — there is good new music out there! (You just need to wait patiently and watch closely for it…)
Once again, thanks for watching — I hope you’ll comment and/or rate this video. And don’t forget to tune in tomorrow for an all-new session from Jeff!
See you next session!
By Chris Moore:
Welcome back to another edition of the Laptop Sessions!
One of my favorite Tom Petty albums is the little-known 1999 album Echo. I found it used in an FYE about a year ago, and although it may not be his best album ever, it immediately grew on me. There are some really great tracks on it (out of 15 tracks, you’d hope so!), including the title track that I’m playing here. It took me a bit of practice to be comfortable playing this song without a cheat sheet in front of me — certainly not for the chords, but for the words, which change every chorus. In the end, it was a lot of fun, and I’ve been playing it pretty much every day since I recorded it.
Some day, I might get up the “balls” (as Tom Petty might sing) to play “Rhino Skin,” one of the best tracks on the album. Take a listen to it some time, and maybe you’ll see why I’m not quite there yet… 🙂
Don’t forget to look for another great Laptop Session with Jeff tomorrow, Jim the next day, and then [insert: Arnold Schwarzenegger voice] I’ll be back!
By Chris Moore:
I’ve recorded a series of Bob Dylan songs for the Laptop Sessions, and yet I haven’t recorded any songs from one of his best albums, Blood on the Tracks. From the moment I heard “Tangled Up in Blue,” I’ve always loved this song. I think it’s the story and how — even though it’s a classic structure of verse, bridge, chorus (repeat seven times) — the story shifts after every chorus. My favorite alternate version of this song is from his 1984 live album Real Live. I was caught off guard by this version, as Dylan changes a good portion of the lyrics and shifts the perspective of the narrator.
When Jim and I went to see Dylan a couple years ago in the rain in an open field (which was a less than pleasant way to spend $60!), the highlight of the show was probably when one of the band members broke out an acoustic guitar and Dylan sang a rockin’ “Tangled Up in Blue.” We were still soaked, but it helped make up for it…
I hope you enjoy tonight’s Bob Dylan acoustic cover song version of “Tangled Up In Blue” here on the Laptop Sessions music video blog. Stay tuned for even more music videos of your favorite songs from your favorite songwriters- all done acoustically!