Tag Archives: jeremy hammond

“City of New Orleans” (Steve Goodman Cover)

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By Jeremy Hammond:

My cover of “City of New Orleans” by Steve Goodman is influenced by Willie Nelson’s version of the song. The rhythm fittingly drives on like the wheels on a locomotive, and it has a fun chord progression.

** EDITOR’S NOTE **

This is one of those songs I feel like I’ve known forever.  The more likely time frame is since I was about ten or twelve, listening to my father’s seventies music cassette tapes.  Of course, I know the 1972 Arlo Guthrie version from his album, Hobo’s Lullaby.  It turns out Steve Goodman played it for Guthrie at a bar called the Quiet Knight in Chicago, after which Guthrie recorded his cover.

If the quality of a song can be judged by the caliber of people who have recorded it, then this is an outstanding tune.  It has been recorded by Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, John Denver, Judy Collins, and Jerry Reed, and has been performed most recently by Jimmy Buffett in 2005 and former Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante in 2006.

And now I’m thrilled to add Jeremy Hammond’s name to that long and prestigious list of cover song artists.  Jeremy’s music video performance is an excellent, entertaining, faithful rendition that anyone who knows this song will enjoy.  If this is your first time hearing the song, perhaps you’ll go out to a CD store (or at least YouTube) and check out the other versions.  Jeremy continues to select songs that fit perfectly into the acoustic cover song format, so hurry back soon for another installment of the Guest Sessions at the Laptop Sessions music video blog!

“Pigs on the Wing 1 & 2” (Pink Floyd Covers)

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** EDITOR’S NOTE: **

When I received two Guest Sessions videos from two different performers — within two weeks of each other(!) — I simply couldn’t resist putting together a great two-fer Friday for you.  For once, I’ll leave it entirely to Jeremy and Federico’s posts and videos below.

Happy Friday to one and all, and enjoy!

By Jeremy Hammond:

My cover of “Pigs on the Wing” Part I from Pink Floyd’s Animals album. A great acoustic song, I played it on my electric, just to mix it up a bit (and just to have an excuse to play my new Strat). Peace! Hope you like it.

By Federico Borluzzi:

Cover of the opening and the final song of Animals (Pink Floyd, 1977). I play the second part right after the first one. This was the first cover I uploaded on YouTube, so didn’t know the right places where I could put the camera…  That’s why my face is almost hidden!

“Back on the Train” (Phish Cover)

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By Jeremy Hammond:

My acoustic cover of “Back on the Train” by Phish, from the Farmhouse album. I intend to go back and overlay another track for the solos, but here’s the “single take” version with just rhythm and vocals.

** EDITOR’S NOTE: **

For Jeremy’s third Guest Session contribution, he has brought yet another new band to the Laptop Sessions cover song music video blog.  Somehow, Phish have slipped by these past couple years without ever being acknowledged by the Laptop Sessions crew.

No longer!

As per usual, this is a great video of an upbeat performance — Jeremy’s vocals are beautifully authentic to Trey Anastasio’s original lead.  And, of course, the chords sound quirky and, again, perfectly authentic to the Farmhouse track.  Farmhouse was their final record before they announced a hiatus, even if they have gone on to release new discs at a steady pace since then, including this year’s most recent Phish album, Joy.

“Mexican Hat Dance” (Traditional cover)

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By Jeremy Hammond:

I was just playing around and worked out a fun little arrangement for this traditional song that everyone will recognize.

** EDITOR’S NOTE: **

I couldn’t resist picking this as our Guest Sessions featured video of the week.  It’s a fun little song, and a fun little performance by one of our favorite contributors to the site.

We may know this popularly as the “Mexican Hat Dance,” but it is more formally known as “Jarabe tapatio.”  It was first compiled in Guadalajaran music professor Jesus Gonzalez Rubio as a medley of Mexican folk music.  It has since been honored by many as the national dance of Mexico.

This is your Guest Session electric cover song instrumental video.  We hope you’ll enjoy it and hurry back next week for another great contribution!