By Jim Fusco:

Well, then- welcome to the first Jim Fusco Thursday here on the Laptop Sessions acoustic cover songs music video blog! 🙂  I’m happy tonight, as it was a day of getting things done.  Actually, the past two days were all about getting things done and that always gives me a good feeling.  I need to cover a few topics before I get started tonight:

1. My album, “Halfway There” is now on iTunes and available for download!!  I’m very excited about this.  I just signed up for some promotion.  If I get any kind of response, I’ll gladly do a bigger campaign.  Go check it out: http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/halfway-there/id361828586 Please, it would mean so much to me if you would sign-in to iTunes, rate, and comment on the album.  The more popularity it gets from the loyal music blog followers, the better chance it has at succeeding!
2. Next up, I’m going to be releasing the classic second (and last) album by MoU, “Homestead’s Revenge”.  And, just like everything else in that band, I’ll be covering the cost of this submission myself…
3. I recorded three “episodes” of the Laptop Sessions tonight, so that ensures three weeks of all-new videos coming up!
4. Speaking of “episodes”, I had a thought tonight.  I’m afraid that there’s so many Laptop Sessions videos that they’re becoming meaningless.  Honestly- I don’t even remember some of the songs I’ve done!  So, I’ll continue for a while on the once-a-week plan, but I really think I should do a “season” of them, much like a TV show.  I think once every two weeks, or 26 “episodes” would be good for the year.  That way, each music video would be a special event.  And it would probably give me more time to promote the site.  I used to worry that there wasn’t enough content to promote, but now I know that there’s SO much content that too much work went into it all with little return.  I’ll keep you posted on my thoughts.
5. Finally, I want to mention the passing of rock legend Johnny Maestro of the Brooklyn Bridge.  I was going to record “The Worst That Could Happen”, but I realize that, other than the chorus, it’s not one I know too well.  I’ll keep listening and maybe I’ll bust it out someday.  R.I.P., Johnny.

Onto tonight’s video!

This video, “Real Love” by the Beatles, came out so great that I wanted to push it ahead of my planned video for tonight, which will now air next week.  I love this song so much and even though it’s played on piano in the recorded version, it translated very well to my nylon stringed acoustic guitar.  And playing it on the 3rd fret capo really made it sound like the original.  Now, when I say “original”, I actually mean the version done by the remaining Beatles (over John’s home recording) in 1996.  John’s demo version does appear on one of his “Best Of” solo albums, but the lyrics are slightly different.  The Beatles version from the Anthology in 1996 is simply perfect.  The vocals are stunning (even though John’s voice sounds very ghostly and distant due to the original source tape they used, it works to a much better effect here than on “Free As A Bird”) and the guitar solo is so great.  It’s George at his rock best- a biting and wailing solo over such a great love song.

And last night, I arrived at a pretty big conclusion: In my opinion, John Lennon is the best songwriter of all time.  Yes, Brian Wilson is still (and will always be) my favorite songwriter, I have to admit that there was no one better than John Lennon.  He wrote some of the best songs of all time- and some earlier than all the other 60s bands!  He had a knack for the hooks (like, “Yeah, yeah, yeah”), but also wrote some of the best ballads ever.  “In My Life”, “Woman”, and “Real Love” are three amazing examples.  Okay, so Paul McCartney is a great songwriter, but his great songs are great and his less-than-great songs STINK!  Even John Lennon’s less-than-perfect songs are good.  He just had that gift.  He was a great lyricist and wrote some of the most unique melodies ever.

So, with that in mind, I went to record “Real Love”.  I remember when it came out- watching the Beatles Anthology on TV when it first aired in 1996.  It was awesome.  Especially because, at that point, I still thought I was the only Beatles fan in my generation.  So, having that kind of special on TV was pretty big for me.  And two new songs just made it a perfect situation.

I hope you enjoy tonight’s rendition of “Real Love” by the Beatles.  I know it’ll go down as one of my favorite videos simply because I realized that it’s one of my favorite songs.  It’ll always make me wonder, “What if the Beatles endured and somehow got to play into the 90s?”  I think we all know it would’ve been awesome, despite what critics might have said at the time.  It always bugged me that everyone expected bright, pop songs- but think about it: if the Beatles had continued playing from where they left off with “Abbey Road” (“Let It Be” was recorded earlier), the songs would’ve sounded very similar to “Free As A Bird” and “Real Love”.  And that’s just fine by me.  Until next Thursday, I hope you enjoy your weekend!  Make sure to check out all of our Beatles cover songs here on the music blog!