Welcome to another edition of the Laptop Sessions!
Tonight, I give you one of the Beach Boys’ greatest and most famous songs, “Surfer Girl”!
Of course, the Boys’ version has those great harmonies, but imagine this version as if Brian Wilson was the only one singing. Plus, it’s fun to sing the harmony parts while listening back to it.
I love the chords- those old-fashioned chords that rock music just doesn’t have anymore. It was fun to learn and Chris and I have been playing this for months.
Actually, I love playing this on Chris’ Fender electric, but I think it translates well on the nylon strings.
Hopefully I do this song justice because playing a huge hit like this always means there’s pretty big expectations. Enjoy and stay tuned as the “Laptop Session a day” in 2008 rolls on!
Hello all! I’m working on a Laptop Session right now (we’re using a new compression technique that takes longer, but also works on our iPhones), and you’ll understand why I’ll be posting it just after midnight!
Also, you should note the new https://guitarbucketlist.com permanent address. After hours of troubleshooting and stumping many overseas tech support agents, the address no longer forwards to the blog, but actually LIVES on guitarbucketlist.com! So, let the search engine crawls begin! 🙂
Well, make sure to catch our post, plus look out for new ones every day from Jim and me!
Hello everyone- tonight’s session is a Moody Blues song that’s always been a favorite of mine. I’ll be the first to admit that most of the Moodies songs aren’t exactly “rockers”, but when they do come out with one, it’s AWESOME. “Story In Your Eyes”, “Ride My Seesaw”, and “I’m Just A Singer in a Rock’n’Roll Band” come to mind as great songs with a rock sound and some amazing lead guitar playing by Justin Hayward. I honestly believe that Justin Hayward is one of the most underrated rock guitarists out there. The man can absolutely shred on the guitar and he plays it perfectly every time- even in concert. Have you heard the beginning to “Question” on 12-string acoustic guitar? Even playing that half-speed on acoustic guitar is difficult. Hayward is the man, and that’s all there is to it.
The Moody Blues song I’ve chosen for tonight’s cover song music video, “It’s Up To You”, has a great guitar riff, classic Justin Hayward introspective lyrics, and just a great melody. “It’s Up To You” my favorite song off of the “Question of Balance” album. That album, to me, is a bit faster paced than any of the other “first seven” albums they did. But, I think the songs aren’t nearly as good (as a whole) as the songs on albums like “Every Good Boy Deserves Favour” and “To Our Children’s Children’s Children”.
One thing about Justin Hayward’s lead guitar playing I love is his double or even triple-tracking of the lead guitar. It’s so unique. George Harrison used to do it with his famous slide guitar solos. But, Justin Hayward is a fan of more distortion on his guitar solos and riffs. So, it’s a different sound. Hayward triple-tracks the lead guitar for two reasons, in my opinion. First, he wants to make the part sound more powerful. You have to imagine that little thin high E string on a guitar. Now, strum it with a piece of plastic. It’s going to need a lot of power to cut through drums, bass, and a synthesizer. So, triple-tracking the lead guitar (that’s recording it three times) is a great way to make it stand out from the rest of the sounds in the band. Another reason why Hayward did it is the reason why I think it’s so cool: harmony! He would take the lead guitar part and then play it three times. Except, each time he’d play a different note of a chord. Played all together, you get a great sound that’s full and unique. I did that on some of my songs, too. For instance, on “Give and Take” from my album “What About Today?”, I did a three-part lead solo. Listen to that song online on my website at http://jimfusco.com.
I hoe you enjoy tonight’s Moody Blues cover song! Keep checking back for more music videos because we are determined not to miss a day in 2008! We’ll see how long it lasts, but let’s just say I’ve already got enough cover song videos for the next couple weeks!
Back again with another edition of the Laptop Sessions!
This time I finally get to do a Moody Blues song. I just got the urge to do this one yesterday, so it gets first billing. It’s not my favorite of theirs, but it does remind me of listening to it while riding in the car when I was little.
I think it’s got a great beat and a cool chorus (especially how they do the drums in concert), but my father thinks it sounds a bit too much like “Dragging the Line” by Tommy James. I have to agree.
Anyway, this is the first of MANY Moodies songs to come, so stay tuned!
