The Laptop Sessions with Jim Fusco is proud to announce that Jim has now reached one million YouTube video views on his acoustic cover song music videos!
This is a milestone for the Laptop Sessions site, as Jim set this goal when starting the acoustic cover song music video series over three years ago. Jim wanted to put an end to bad YouTube covers forever- a million views down and he’s well on his way!
Here’s hoping the million arrives ten times faster!
By Jim Fusco:
Welcome to The Laptop Sessions with me, Jim Fusco! I’m glad to be back with another acoustic cover song music video for you to enjoy. Tonight, I go back about fifty years and bring you Elvis Presley’s classic song, “His Latest Flame”. It’s a cool tune with a great beat. I love the bossa nova style used in the original recording. Of course, this video is just me and my guitar. But, I think it still captures the essence of the song. This song requires a lot of energy and I hope that shows in this cover song video.
“His Latest Flame” was written by the songwriting pair of Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman (you may remember the mention of their names in Ben Folds & Nick Hornsby’s “Lonely Avenue”). This song went all the way up to #4 on the Billboard charts. And clocking in just over two minutes, they proved that a catchy number, no matter the length, can be a big hit.
One thing I thought was interesting was the Del Shannon (of “Runaway” fame) originally recorded this song. Of course, his version wasn’t the hit. I imagine that happened to many artists once Elvis got a hold of a song. I, for one, would be pretty intimidated if Elvis Presley picked a song I had already recorded and made it his own. I think that would spell the end of the original version and the beginning of Elvis’ sure-fire hit in the late 50s and early 60s.
Of course, my cover version of “His Latest Flame” sounds its best because of my Martin MMV acoustic guitar. It’s just so clear and powerful- it makes anything I play sound better. I hope that my cover version helps keep this song alive for years to come and introduces it to a new generation of potential Elvis (and early rock’n’roll) fans.
On a side note, I’m still getting used to editing my Laptop Sessions cover song music videos with Final Cut Pro X. It’s really a pain in the neck and many of the functions just seem purposefully “dumbed-down” to make it easier to use. The problem is that it literally took me an hour searching online to find out how to fade in the video. Geesh! Plus, there’s a little skip in the audio at the end- I’m not sure why that happened, but there’s no way to fix it. Also, there’s a few seconds of black at the end- not sure how it got there or how to fix that in the future. But when the video takes literally HOURS to render at full 1080p high-definition resolution, I really only get one shot at it to get it right.
Finally for tonight, I wanted to mention the progress of my brand-new album, “Those Around Us”. It’s all recorded and mixed. Now, it’s in the loving hands of a mastering company. If everything turns out as well as I hope it does, I’ll be posting praise for that company soon enough- I just want to make sure first. 🙂 Anyway, it’s an album of 12 original songs. It’s 95% me, but there are a couple of nice collaborations on there. As you’ll hear once it’s released, it’s by far and away the finest work I’ve done so far. Every song is crafted with love and care down to each minute detail. The songs aren’t overproduced, but they don’t sound sparse, either. The vocals, now that I have a great Shure condenser microphone, are clear and pitch-perfect. I’m not tooting my own horn there- I spent countless hours making sure the timbre of my voice was correct on each harmony track. Also, the instruments really sound great. I utilized a sampled Wurlitzer electric piano (used in such hits as “Joy To The World” among many, many others) and this album features a real drum kit. Also, I have a vast array of different guitars, ranging from a 12-string electric to a lap steel. The variation of sounds makes each track on this album sound fresh and different- no two tracks have the same instrument setup. To me, that’s the mark of a diverse and interesting album.
I’ll be releasing more information on the album in the next few weeks. I’m hoping to get the album cover firmed-up soon and will hopefully get to post an in-depth look at how it was created. In the meantime, I’ll be back in two weeks with my next Laptop Sessions acoustic cover song music video. I’d love to read comments both here on the music blog and on YouTube. Take care and I’ll see you in two weeks. Enjoy “(Marie’s the Name of) His Latest Flame”!
By Jim Fusco:
Welcome to an all-new season of the Laptop Sessions with Jim Fusco! This time around, I’m bringing you a mix of cover songs and a selection of original music. There will be original songs from my past albums, as well as my upcoming album, “Those Around Us”. The whole album is mixed and pre-mastered…at least my first crack at it. After that, I need to secure the album cover (hopefully another painting like “Halfway There”) and get the album professionally mastered. It’s very exciting and I can’t help but draw parallels to the creativity and experimental style that I used on my second album, “My Other Half”. If you haven’t heard “My Other Half”, you can listen to the whole album on my website for free! Just click here to listen.
“Those Around Us” is not really a concept album like “My Other Half”. With “My Other Half”, I wrote the album around the concept. With “Those Around Us”, I just realized that I wasn’t writing about me, for a change. I was writing about the people around me- the people I know and care about- and my interactions and feelings about them. I’m convinced that this is my best effort yet- the best production value, songwriting quality, lyrics, vocals, and most of all- musicianship. Plus, my brother Mike plays the drums on a few tracks, just like the old days.
I will try to update the Laptop Sessions acoustic cover songs music video blog as often as I can with new updates, but for the most part, I just update my official Twitter account @jimfuscomusic. Remember, if you follow me on Twitter, I’ll send you a link where you can download five of my songs for free!
One more thing- you’ll notice the new “set” for my acoustic cover song music videos. Since my new home studio is complete, I wanted to record my videos in front of my guitar collecxion, which proudly hangs on the wall behind me. 🙂
Onto tonight’s video- the first video this season!
Grateful Dead (or “The Grateful Dead”, as most people call them) have really become one of my mainstay bands. I look forward to getting the rest of their studio stuff. I know it’s weird- most Dead Heads love the band for their versatility on stage over thousands of concerts and bootlegs. But, my love for the band started after getting a Best Of CD with all of their studio tracks. They combine my favorite elements of a band- harmonies, guitar solos, and most of all: multiple songwriting band members! I’m so happy my friend Bill turned me on to Grateful Dead a couple years ago. I’m so excited to have another band I can explore.
Tonight’s video, “Ripple”, was written by Jerry Garcia (and a lyricist, as you can tell these aren’t the poetic words of Jerry…). I’ve always liked this song, though it seemed out of place as the last track on that Best Of CD I have. I guess this song was a mild hit (they never really had any big chart hits- they must’ve played these songs on early FM radio, where the Moody Blues and ELO would dominate the airwaves). In fact, my father, who always has strong opinions of music, says this is his favorite Grateful Dead song, and I can see why.
It’s a nice melody and the lyrics instantly take you to the shores of a southern US river- I can see myself sitting on a rock with my Martin, gently playing this song. I thought of doing this video when I heard it again at my sister-in-law’s wedding a couple weekends ago. Both my wife and I were part of the wedding, as my (now) brother-in-law and I have become very good friends over the past few years. Instantly, I thought doing “Ripple” would be a great tribute video to do for their new marriage and I hope I did the song (and their marriage, for that matter) justice.
I hope you enjoy tonight’s video, too! I’ll be back every other Thursday for at least the next three or four months, as I’m really dedicated to making new music online while finishing my album. I want everyone to listen to “Those Around Us” and (if the ambition carries me) I’ll stop at nothing to make that happen. I’d love to hear your opinion of this song, my performance, and what your favorite Grateful Dead songs are in the comments section or on YouTube. Thanks to all for your support as I begin my fifth year of the Laptop Sessions!
By Jim Fusco:
Originally done in four parts, this remastered video (originally recorded in 2007 and remastered in 2020) is about the triumphs and pitfalls of recording a song in my home studio. You’ll see techniques, advice, and most of all, a bunch of bad luck. The song I’m recording is called “Go Back To Him,” written by Jim Fusco and Alberto Distefano. The song was featured on my album “Halfway There”, available at http://jimfusco.com and on iTunes! Make sure to stick around for the end of the video and check out the music video for “Go Back To Him”, complete with remastered stereo audio for the first time! For those who saw the original video, you’ll recall how dark the video looked, as the overhead lighting in my home studio at the time was not conducive to great video quality. Thankfully, through the magic of Final Cut Pro X, I’m able to breathe new life into this documentary, which captures what it was like to record a song at 4am (which was easily done at 23 years of age…).