Tag Archives: laptopsessions

“Bell Bottom Blues” (Eric Clapton / Derek & the Dominoes Cover)

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By Chris Moore:

Well, I can hardly pass up an opportunity to extend “New Bands Week” just one more day…

The song I bring you tonight is “Bell Bottom Blues” by Derek and the Dominoes, the 1970’s band fronted by Eric Clapton and better known for “Layla.” Supposedly, Clapton purposely named this band to avoid the media and fan attention that he was getting at the time, such as when a fan scrawled on a billboard “Clapton is God.” I also read in an interview that Clapton suggested the purpose of the band name was to give himself an excuse to write about Pattie Boyd (former wife of George Harrison) under the guise of Derek singing about “Layla.” I’m not sure how well the ruse worked at the time, but with songs like these, it must have been hard to keep things under wraps.

Without further ado, I give you my version of “Bell Bottom Blues,” a song that I’ve loved since I heard it years ago and that received the heaviest attention from me during high school when I was drawn to the emotion of the song. I hope you like it as well!

Don’t forget to check out Jeff’s new album Greenlight. I downloaded my copy yesterday and have already listened to it twice. (“And,” to quote Maxwell Smart, “lovin’ it!”)

“World Gone Wrong” (Traditional, Bob Dylan Cover)

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For Bob Dylan chords & lyrics, CLICK HERE!

By Chris Moore:

As a general rule, I’m not a big fan of traditional folk songs. Most often, I’d rather hear original songs from the artist. No one really remembers Dylan’s first album, which was comprised of almost all covers of traditional songs; it was his second album and his original songs that were groundbreaking. But, in the end, it really isn’t a hard and fast rule. For instance, I love both Johnny Cash’s and the Band’s 1968 versions of “Long Black Veil,” and one of my favorite tracks on Johnny Cash’s posthumous A Hundred Highways album is the traditional “God’s Gonna Cut You Down.” However, when Dylan came out with two back-to-back acoustic-only albums of traditional folk songs, it wasn’t an exception, at least in my opinion. They’re the only two albums of his that I never really got into.

That being said, there were two songs that I really did get into, both from 1994’s World Gone Wrong. Thus, I decided to cover the title track for today. (Seeing as how Bob Dylan is my most-covered artist here on the Laptop Sessions, I figured I wouldn’t feel so bad if I wasn’t technically covering another Dylan song…)

It seems like we can’t express it enough — the collaboration and the taking-turns schedule we’ve adopted this year works for so many reasons, not least of all that it helps us feel like we’re all in it together. I’m really excited for the release of the free “The Laptop Sessions: Volume One” mp3 download, coming later this month. It will, of course, remind me of how I really was the last one to hop aboard the Laptop Sessions train, though… (If memory serves, I think I posted one session out of the first fifteen.) That’s all the more reason to keep posting now!

Don’t forget to check back tomorrow for an all-new Laptop Session from Jeff!

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

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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!

Jeff will be back tomorrow on guitarbucketlist.com for an all-new session!


“It Don’t Come Easy” (Ringo Starr Cover)

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By Chris Moore:

Hello and welcome back to another brand-new Laptop Session! Jim and I have been laughing this week about how funny it is that Ringo has used his classic phrase “it don’t come easy” in at least one song for his past three albums. This is, of course, a reference to his early hit “It Don’t Come Easy,” one of the first solo Beatles singles. I figured, why not go right to the source? So, here I am singing this great Ringo tune!

I just bought his new album, Liverpool 8, last week, and I have really been enjoying it. I was hesitant to buy it, since I had heard that he severed his working relationship with Mark Hudson. However, I was excited to see that Ringo, Hudson, and the Roundheads (Ringo’s studio band) co-wrote all but one of the songs on the album. And it had a lot to live up to — after all, Ringo Rama and Choose Love are great, if underrated, albums. In the end, I have to recommend it, whether you’re a fan of Ringo and/or rock ‘n roll. I’ll certainly be recording a Laptop Session for “If It’s Love That You Want” — track 10 — if not others in the future. And I’m not going to say much more than that about the album, but look for an article from me about Ringo’s and George Harrison’s solo careers in the coming weeks!

As always, thanks so much for listening (and reading)… I hope you enjoy it! Don’t forget to come back to guitarbucketlist.com tomorrow for an all-new session from Jeff!