I expect that most people haven’t heard of this song from one of my favorite songwriters, Warren Zevon. “The Envoy” is the title track from his poorly-received 1982 album that led to his record label dropping him. Supposedly, he found out that he had been dropped by reading the article in a magazine. This, of course, led to a period of drinking and self destruction.
But I really love this album! Perhaps it’s because this is one of those albums that I feel very personally about, as though I’m one of the few to ever really appreciate it. The songs may not be his best, but there are certainly some fun ones, like “The Hula Hula Boys” and “Let Nothing Come Between You.”
Without further ado, here’s my acoustic cover song version of “The Envoy,” a song that is sadly still relevant, over twenty-five years later…
Welcome to Thumpin’ Thursday! I’ve returned with a classic band that I’m very used to covering – The Wallflowers!
Fronted by Jakob Dylan, this band has been around for what seems to be nearly 20 years and has always seemed to impress me in the variety of music they have written and recorded. There are songs for nearly every mood you can think of, and I have always been able to put this band on the Ipod (Yeah, i’ve got one now – review will be coming in the next week or two) regardless of my mood.
The song I have selected tonight is called “I’ve Been Delivered” from (Breach). This song is unique in that there is no bridge, and the song follows the unconventional chord progression/pattern of verse chorus rinse repeat. Naturally, like a lot of The Dylan family’s lyrics, the lyrics do not repeat.
I am very close to the 93K mark as of this evening, and I estimate that in two weeks I will tell y0u that I have joined the 6 digit club.
And tomorrow is my wife’s birthday. Only those who know me and her know how old she will be. But I won’t say it here.
Enjoy our latest cover video, and stay tuned for tomorrow’s guest session. I can’t wait to see who it is and what they’re covering!
Editor’s Note: Unfortunately, Jeff’s acoustic cover song music videos are no longer on YouTube, but we decided to keep his cover song blog posts up. We figured these music blog entries would be good for posterity’s sake and because Jeff always gave such insightful posts each Session. We hope to see Jeff’s impressive catalog of acoustic rock songs here on the Laptop Sessions cover songs and original music blog again in the future. But, for now, please make sure to check-out hundreds of other acoustic cover songs from all of your favorite bands here on the Laptop Sessions music blog!
It’s official: the Christmas season is upon us yet again! I, for one, found it difficult to concentrate on the work I brought home this weekend, choosing instead to listen to Christmas music — specifically that on Bob Dylan’s new 2009 holiday album Christmas in the Heart (see my review here!) — and playing some of my favorite seasonal songs on acoustic guitar. One of my new favorites is a song written by Hal Moore and Bill Fredricks titled “Must Be Santa.”
Now, before you get too excited, I should begin by making it very clear that tonight I am covering Bob Dylan’s rendition of “Must Be Santa” and NOT the performance “popularized” by Mr. Music and the Cool Kids Chorus.
Please don’t be disappointed…
Seriously, though, if you would like to hear that rocking version, you’ll just have to download it for yourself. Or the versions by Mitch Miller, Raffi, Point Sebago Resort, Glen Burtnik, Miss Lisa, Miss Molly, The Friel Brothers, The Angel Choir, The Holly Players Orchestra, The Hit Crew, Mary Lambert, Bob McGrath, Kids Sing’n, the Pokemon Christmas Bash band, or Lorne Greene with the Jimmy Joyce Children’s Choir — good luck finding that last one.
If you’re craving a good polka, then don’t miss out on the Brave Combo version (which, ironically, is the closest in style and arrangement to Dylan’s).
And who could forget the Kids Rap’n the Christmas Hits version?
These cover songs range from boring to funny to vomit-inducing and back again. This brings me to the Bob Dylan version, which is a breath of fresh air when played beside these other covers. Dylan’s “Must Be Santa” is a frantic, polka-inspired three minutes of Christmas spirit, accordions, and bright choral vocals built up around Dylan’s gruff lead. Recorded nearly half a century after Mitch Miller first recorded the song in 1961, it is interesting to see how our image of Santa and the general sound and style of Christmas music (i.e. both sets of chord changes as the song progresses a la so many other seasonal favorites) really haven’t changed much in all this time.
Of course, it doesn’t hurt that Dylan’s album — and his recent work in general — is an homage to a simpler time in American popular music.
That is perhaps why Dylan’s new album, time-ravaged vocals and all, has slipped in so quickly among my favorite Christmas albums of all time. Although it was recorded earlier this year, there is a sense of nostalgia and even timelessness in each of its tracks. Somehow, he has managed to record the songs in a style that seems very natural from his current studio band. Indeed, Dylan has seemingly reached further and further into the past for the styles of his past several albums. In this sense, 2009 was the ideal year for him to record an album of traditional favorites and holiday songs from earlier in the century.
I don’t think any music will ever usurp the positions that The Beach Boys’ Christmas Album and the Moody Blues’ December currently hold in my heart. The Barenaked Ladies’ Barenaked for the Holidays, Brian Wilson’s What I Really Want For Christmas, and America’s Harmony are certainly the next runners up. Some of my attachment to this music is admittedly due to my own personal memories, such as listening to the Beach Boys each year as my family decorated the tree and attending a Moody Blues Christmas concert with two of my dearest friends several years ago. That being said, there is also a universal element to the music on these records that I can’t imagine any fan of rock music being able to deny. Somehow, these aforementioned bands have managed to incorporate religious hymns, classic rock Christmas songs, and originals into unified works that I look forward to dusting off each and every year.
For now, I’m wading into the music of season via this new Dylan album. After all, this is the punchline of a joke I’ve been making for as many years as I’ve loved Bob Dylan — “Imagine if Dylan recorded a Christmas album!” My friends and I would laugh, but I was always privately jealous that their favorite bands — the Beach Boys, the Moody Blues, etc. — had recorded Christmas albums or at least a Christmas song or two.
Now, I have my secret wish, and I couldn’t be happier!
Yes, Dylan’s voice is rugged, and truth be told, I was a bit hesitant to embrace this album when I gave it one listen upon its release a month ago. However, it only took a second listen for me to get hooked.
Whatever music you may enjoy listening to at this time of the year, I hope you’re enjoying it, and I hope you’ll come back throughout the week for Jim’s music video tomorrow, a guest session(!) on Friday, and another installment of Weekend Review.
Happy Friday and happy 4th to everyone! I hope today finds you ready to celebrate and watch some fireworks, eat some hamburgers and hot dogs, and just relax and enjoy the long weekend. I’m happy to see that you have selected guitarbucketlist.com as a place to visit today, and we thank you for that.
And no, I don’t have a cheesy patriotic song to bring you today, but I do have a cool cover song video to show you today. For the second time, I am covering a song by The Byrds called “All The Things” from their untitled album. I kid you not, that’s the name that is known by – (Untitled). It is a collection of live and studio tracks, and this is one of the studio tracks.
I first heard this song on a WCJM radio show called “Song for the New Millenium” which was a countdown style show that this song won. It really is a good tune and I think it has a good message for the holiday today.
Again, enjoy your holiday and come back tomorrow for another session by Jim Fusco. By the way, if you haven’t watched his original song from Wednesday, do so. It really is something else!
Editor’s Note: Unfortunately, Jeff’s acoustic cover song music videos are no longer on YouTube, but we decided to keep his cover song blog posts up. We figured these music blog entries would be good for posterity’s sake and because Jeff always gave such insightful posts each Session. We hope to see Jeff’s impressive catalog of acoustic rock songs here on the Laptop Sessions cover songs and original music blog again in the future. But, for now, please make sure to check-out hundreds of other acoustic cover songs from all of your favorite bands here on the Laptop Sessions music blog!
