Tag Archives: Jim Fusco Songs

“Everyone’s In Love With You” (Beach Boys Cover)

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By Jim Fusco:

Welcome to another edition of the Laptop Sessions with Jim Fusco!  A quick update: the recording for my new album has been a fun process and every day I’m more and more excited to hear the finished results.  If you haven’t been following my progress, either go to my website at http://jimfusco.com or directly to my music Twitter feed @jimfuscomusic.

Tonight’s video is one from The Beach Boys- my favorite band of all time.  This song is from one of their most liked albums among fans.  Unfortunately, I don’t fall into that category.  “15 Big Ones” is an interesting album.  Sure, it’s the album where the other members finally got Brian Wilson back into the studio, but to me, it spelled the end of a once-great band.  You see, in the years leading up to “15 Big Ones”, the Beach Boys (the members other than Brian) were writing and producing some amazing music.  IN fact, “Sunflower” may be my favorite album from them.  But, as the nostalgia of the Beach Boys’ #1 greatest hits album, “Endless Summer”, grew in popularity, the band decided to get Brian back to the forefront.  Of course, Brian wasn’t really ready.  He’d been locked away in his room, listening to old music he loved from Fats Domino, Freddy Cannon, etc.  These were songs he loved as a kid and were what got him into rock’n’roll.

So, Brian wasn’t that interested in writing new songs- he ended up going into the studio and having the Boys record many of his old favorites, such as “Rock’n’Roll Music” and “Blueberry Hill”.  Those are the good ones on the album- I’m pretty sure they could’ve left off “A Casual Look” and made it “14 Big Ones” instead.

But, the pun in the title was because the Beach Boys had been a band for 15 years.  And, if I’m not mistaken, this was considered their 15th album.

It’s not a bad album, but it’s definitely dated now.  The synthesizer, brought to even more prominence on “Love You” from the next year, is hard to play for someone right now.  Playing “Palisades Park” for someone and saying, ‘This is from an album considered one of their best” doesn’t really make much of a case for potential fans.

Anyway, there are some great tracks on “15 Big Ones” though, including “It’s OK”.  Actually, I’ve already covered “Blueberry Hill”, “Just Once In My Life”, “Palisades Park” – I must like this album after all!  But, “Everyone’s In Love With You” is my favorite.  It’s definitely Mike Love at his best.  His vocals are sweet and it’s got a great melody.  Songs like this make me wish he had written more (that is, as long as they aren’t “Summer Of Love” from 1992).

I’ve always wondered if “Everyone’s In Love With You” had a bit of a racy meaning to it.  I mean, if you just literally listen to the words, you’ll see what I mean.  But, Mike has said the song is about transcendental meditation, which he was really into at the time.  It’s more of a feeling that everyone shares “love” with each other and individuality takes a back seat to a collective well-being.  At least, that’s what I’ve gained from the whole thing over the years…

I hope you enjoy this song- maybe it’ll prompt you to give “15 Big Ones” a shot someday.  It’s definitely worth a listen, I’ll say that.  I’m pretty busy for the next couple of weeks, but I won’t forget about the music blog.  I’ll be back with another great video soon, so stay-tuned!

“Sometimes A River” (String Cheese Incident acoustic rock cover version)

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By Jim Fusco:

Boy these weeks go fast.  So, here we are again with another Laptop Sessions acoustic cover song done in a solo acoustic format with me, Jim Fusco!  I’m back with a great song for you, but first, I just want to give a couple of updates.  First, I want to say that this blog will no longer feature any personal life details about me- I’ve realized this needs to be about the music…and that I don’t really want everyone out there knowing my life story and what I’m up to each week.  So, we’re going to stay more on topic from now on.  I’m not a big fan of re-writing history, but I’m seriously considering going through all the old posts and removing those sections of my posts.  Remember- we’re here for the MUSIC!

My other bit of business is this: I’m in full-scale ambition mode, so I’ve been working on promoting my original music again.  After all, I started doing these cover song music videos in hopes that people with similar tastes would like my videos and want to hear my original songs.  It’s worked on a handful of occasions, but not nearly as well as I envisioned.  So, I’m trying some new avenues to connect with potential fans…by giving my music away for FREE!!  Yes, that’s right- just follow my music account on Twitter (@jimfuscomusic) and I’ll send you a link to download a FREE 5-song EP of my original music!  That way, once you download (and love) the songs, I can keep in contact with you to tell you about…

MY NEW ALBUM!!  Yes, it’s been a while, but I’m back with an amazing set of songs that I’m so excited about, I simply cannot wait to record them any longer.  The album will be masterfully done- I assure you of that.  No shortcuts will be taken.  So, it may take me a while to finish it.  But, those that know me know that when I start something…it gets finished!  So, I’ve decided to do status updates on my Twitter account so you can keep track of the progress.  I’ll be posting videos, photos, and even sneak-peak audio clips along the way.  So, stay tuned- it starts NOW!

Onto tonight’s video:

I know what you’re thinking, “The String Cheese Incident?”  I’ll admit, it’s one of the stranger band titles I’ve covered a song from here on the music blog.  This is another artist (along with Brett Dennen) that my boss/friend Bill turned me on to.  “String Cheese Incident” is categorized as a “jam band”, but honestly, I don’t get that vibe from their recorded material.  They’re just really solid songs from a very talented group of people- incredible musicians, in fact.  They don’t necessarily have the greatest vocals, but they do have a trait I really love in bands: multiple songwriters!

“Sometimes A River” is off of their latest studio album, “One Step Closer”, from 2005.  It’s sung by the “leader” of the group, Michael Kang.  That man plays a MEAN mandolin, by the way.  Bill says that he likes the live version of this song better.  I’ve heard it and he has a good point.  But, those that have read the Laptop Sessions music blog posts for a while know I love a polished studio version- the sounds and the vocals are just right, you know?

Please give this song a chance- it’s an opportunity to hear a song you’ve never heard before and to open your mind to a new artist.  The String Cheese Incident has been around for close to 20 years- that kind of staying power in a band is rare, so they have to have that “something”.  I really, really like this song- especially that minor chord change in the last chorus- listen for it.

Thanks for watching and, remember- I’m in the Countdown to a Million YouTube views!  I’m trying to reach my goal as soon as possible and I hope you’ll help me out on that mission.  Visit http://youtube.com/jimfusco and watch as many cover songs and original music videos as you can!  See you in two weeks with another acoustic cover song music video!

Jim Fusco Reaches 900,000 YouTube Video Views!

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Another milestone for Jim Fusco, founder of the Laptop Sessions, as he reached 900,000 YouTube video videos recently.  He has recorded over 225 cover songs and original music videos so far, with more new videos arriving bi-weekly.  Jim is excited to reach his goal of a million views on his music videos.  For over four years, Jim has given his new take on songs by turning them into acoustic versions.  The artists he covers range from the Beach Boys to Jack Johnson and many, many others.

Jim hopes you’ll join him in making the countdown to a million go quickly, so please visit Jim’s YouTube site by clicking HERE!

“Say You’re Free” (Goo Goo Dolls Cover)

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By Jim Fusco:

Wow, it’s really been two weeks since the last video?  Well, if you haven’t seen it, search at the top of the Laptop Sessions acoustic cover songs music video blog for “Elderberry Wine” and you’ll see what I’ve been up to lately!  It’s my second video back from a very long four-month absence.

Tonight, I bring you a video that shows you what the Laptop Sessions acoustic cover songs blog is all about.  It’s a song sung by someone with a raspy voice and it’s totally an electric, rockin’ song.  So, I took my non-raspy voice, sat down with my Martin acoustic guitar, and put a new twist on this tune!

It’s a song off of the Goo Goo Dolls newest album, “Something for the Rest of Us” from 2010.  Let me tell you, it’s a GREAT album.  I can’t stop listening to it.  Every song is single-worthy.  These guys have gotten so good at writing a catchy pop/rock song and it shows on this album.  Honestly, I think it’s my favorite from last year.  And there were a TON of albums I heard for the first time last year.

I’ve become quite the Goo Goo Dolls fan ever since I first heard some of their songs on WCJM Internet Radio shows.  My friend (and former Laptop Sessions contributor) Jeff Copperthite would pick a song for each radio show we did.  After a while, I noticed that I liked those songs, so I bought a couple of their older albums from the early 90’s.  Now, I have all of their albums and I love them all!  Well, I should say that I love all of their “rock” albums.  They actually started in the late 80s as a punk band!  I have one of those albums (“Jed”) and let me tell you- it ain’t great.  It’s hard to believe that just a couple of years later, they came out with my personal favorite, “Superstar Car Wash”.  That album is almost 20 years old now, but if you don’t have it (and like the Goo Goo Dolls), it’s really a neccesity.

Tonight’s song is “Say You’re Free”- it’s one of two Robby Takac songs that are on the new album.  In fact, that’s about the standard now, as it has been for the last three albums.  Back in the earlier days, Robby and Johhny would split the songs.  I really liked that format- it seemed like they were trying to outdo each other.  Of course, Johnny is the guy who wrote their most famous songs like “Iris”, so I suppose he’s considered the “better” songwriter.  But, as we’ve learned from SO many bands here on the music blog, popularity doesn’t necessarily mean greatness.  Now, I won’t sit here and say that I’m not a John Rzeznik fan- I absolutely am.  But, for some reason, I absolutely love Robby’s songs, too!  My favorite from him, other than the new stuff, is “Already There” from Superstar Car Wash- it’s a great tune with some really introspective lyrics.  That’s a bit surprising, considering his punk roots and his incredibly raspy voice.  Normally, I wouldn’t like that, but I don’t think he’s doing it on purpose.  For instance, you can just tell that John Mayer sings like that on purpose, so I can’t stand it.  Same with Dylan.  But, people like Dennis Wilson and Robby Takac just have raspy voices for one reason or another and can’t sing any other way.  That I can deal with.

I chose this song instead of the better tune, “Now I Hear” from the same album because I wanted to hear how this song would come out acoustically.  I love the results and I hope it shows how great of a song it is on its own.  And, I hope Robby somehow watches this someday- I want him to know that there are fans out there that love his songs and that want even more per album!  I hope you enjoy tonight’s Laptop Session and I’ll be back in a couple of weeks with another great new acoustic cover song music video!