“Nights in White Satin” (Moody Blues Cover)

By Jim Fusco:

Well, in the world of Moody Blues songs, it doesn’t get much more popular than “Nights in White Satin”, written by the great Justin Hayward.

I wanted to do this classic song for the Laptop Sessions music video blog because I thought it would translate well to a solo acoustic performance. I hope you like my whistling flute solo! 🙂 I wasn’t gonna do it, but Chris and Becky egged me on, and I think I nailed it!!

I love the vocal exercise this song presents and I’ve always thought that Justin Hayward has one of the best singing voices ever.  He’s also one of the greatest songwriters ever and can play an amazing guitar.  As with most of my favorite musicians and songwriters, Justin Hayward doesn’t get the credit he deserves for his incredible talents.  His acoustic guitar work on songs like “Question” haven’t been reproduced since.  And his electric guitar work gets almost no attention, even though it’s amazing.  Have you heard the guitar on “Story in Your Eyes”?  It’s face-meltingly awesome!  The tone he gets and his style of playing belie the calm and proper British personality he portrays.  Well, even if Justin Hayward (or the Moody Blues as a band, for that matter) doesn’t get the credit he/they deserves, I’m still glad I can share some of his greatness with you, my loyal Laptop Sessions acoustic cover song watchers.

So, this is a high bar to rise above, but I’m such a big Moody Blues fan that I know the song backwards and forwards.  It would be great to record a version of this someday, but honestly, how can I improve upon perfection?  I think I’ll stick to classic songs like this on solo acoustic guitar for my posts here on the music blog.

Enjoy today’s Session!

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“Please Stay” (Indie Music by Songwriter Chris Moore)

By Chris Moore:

Welcome back for an all-new recording on guitarbucketlist.com! If you’ve been here before, then you probably know that today is “Original Wednesday,” and it’s my pleasure to bring you one of my favorite songs I’ve ever written, titled “Please Stay.”

I wrote this song a while back as a contribution for Masters of the Universe. My bandmate, Jim Fusco, helped me refine the chord structure and added in an incredible duo of guitar solos — that’s right, two distinct solos in one song! (If MoU ever releases Homestead’s Revenge, the fully-produced version will be on it.)

Of course, this is an acoustic performance, and you’ll hear the rarely-used third verse that replaces the second solo. I’ve never been entirely happy with the third verse, so I’ve amended it a bit for this recording. Without further ado, “Please Stay”!



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“Garden Party” (Rick Nelson Cover)

By Jim Fusco:

Welcome everyone to another edition of the Laptop Sessions! Glad to be here today, as I’m happy to present a great song from Rick Nelson, “Garden Party”.

I’ve been a fan of this song for a long time and I love the beat it has. It was a lot of fun to play on acoustic and it just has that “down-home” type of feel to it.

I’ll be going back to Rick’s more classic numbers in the future, but this song really makes me want to learn more about his work as a country-rock songwriter in the mid-70s.

I hope you enjoy today’s Session!

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“You’re Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go” (Bob Dylan Cover)

By Chris Moore:

Hello and welcome to another Laptop Session! I’ve been thinking about love songs quite a bit recently — as a songwriter, I’m not very good at writing them. I feel that I’m much better (and much more natural) at writing songs that express some issue in my life or concern. So, like any good Dylan fan, I went to Blood on the Tracks.

You might wonder why I would go to an album that is considered one of the best “break-up” albums ever. I figured , if it’s one of the best break-up albums, then it must have started with a passionate relationship. “You’re Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go” may not be a love song per say, since it’s all about the inevitability of a loved one departing. But, if you listen to the words, there is such a power that this woman has over Dylan/the narrator. It’s so hard to express this type of power that a loved one can have, and although it’s not a happy song, I think it’s a great love song.

So, I may not be any closer to writing a happy love song, but hey… 🙂

On a side note, I’m really excited that I have 35 subscribers as of today and that I’ll reach 4,000 views by early next week. Thank you so much to those who have been watching and commenting on the videos — it makes me all the more excited to keep finding good songs to record!


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