Tag Archives: music videos

“The Girl With No Name” (Byrds cover)

Posted on by
Reply

By Jim Fusco:

Okay, really obscure territory here on the music blog.

When my family was getting into the music of the Byrds back in 2000, we really went head-first and listened to every album they made throughout the 60s. Some were better than others because you could tell they were doing a lot of growing up, musically. Plus, many of their later-60s songs were very drug-tinged.

After Gene Clark left the band in late ’65 or early ’66, the band came out with one of their worst efforts, “5D”. I still liked most of the songs, but the playing was sloppy and they were high as a kite.

When we got to the superb “Younger Than Yesterday” LP (on Jim Fusco’s list of “Albums You Should Listen To”), I instantly gravitated to the songs of young Chris Hillman, bassist for the band. He is an amazing bass player, mostly because he was an accomplished mandolin and guitar player, so he took his soloing skills over to the bass for the Byrds.

I love his voice- it’s just so natural. There’s no weird accent. He doesn’t say the words in an odd way. He just sounds good, you know?  His voice is nice and clear and I was happy that he was getting a chance to write more music for the Byrds.  And, like in most bands, the songwriter usually sings his own original songs, so I was happier the more we listened to Byrds songs.

He wrote some of my absolute favorites: “Thoughts and Words”, “Have You Seen Her Face”, and “Time Between”, just to name a few. I plan on doing all of them in the future.

But for now, I give you this song off of “Younger Than Yesterday”, “The Girl With No Name”. It was a lot of fun to play and is a very short song. It’s funny that such a sweet sounding song was probably still influenced by drugs.  I’m just guessing here, but “The girl who had no name” could mean a couple things: For starters, maybe this lady lived on one of those hippie communes where they said, “Hey man, why do I need to be labeled with a name?  Can’t I just BE?”  That’s a possibility.  The other possibility, to me, could be that Hillman just didn’t bother asking for a name.  Whether he was under the influence of something that impaired his judgement at the time is something only he can attest to.

I think the Byrds are a great band to do acoustic cover song versions of.  Their songs had an interesting style.  You could almost tell that they wrote their original songs on acoustic guitar and then found a way to translate them into the psychedelic sound of the time.  “The Girl With No Name” is pretty straight-forward, so my acoustic version here for the music blog stays true to the original.  That’s another reason why I love doing the Laptop Sessions video blog.  In addition to reimagining popular songs acoustically, I like taking obscure songs and playing them for the world.  They’re great songs and they deserve some fresh attention.

I’m gearing up for next week’s big “#1 Week”, in which (other than Original Wednesday) we’ll be playing only cover songs that hit Number One on the Billboard charts.  Stay tuned for other great specialty weeks of cover song music videos coming soon, too!

How Songwriter Jim Fusco Writes a Song – Part 1

Posted on by
Reply

By Jim Fusco:

A few years ago, I did a video documentary for my MySpace blog showing how I go through the songwriting process.

This particular video shows how I develop a chord progression, a tune, and lyrics for a song from scratch.

Of course, I don’t write many of my songs this way- this was a long and tedious process. But, it’s interesting to see how I began the writing process in Part 1, completed the writing in Part 2, and played live for the first time ever (a few days later) in Part 3.

I hope you enjoy my mini-documentary and will check out my other “How I” videos, like “How I Record A Song” and “How I Develop A Song”!

For all of my original music, check out my website at http://jimfusco.com .

Also, check out the Laptop Sessions YouTube video series, where we cover your favorite artists unlike any other YouTube covers—good! 🙂 Our complete video site is at https://guitarbucketlist.com .

Music Review: Indie Music Songwriter Jeff Copperthite’s New Album “Greenlight”

Posted on by
Reply

RATING:  3.5 / 5 stars

By Chris Moore:

Typically, when an artist releases his first solo album, it lacks the polished sound that a more experienced artist would offer. However, this is certainly not the case with Greenlight, as Jeff Copperthite has been recording albums with his band Quilt since 2002. Although collaborator Scott Poglitsch wrote the majority of the songs on their first album, Patchwork, Copperthite wrote all the tracks for Expressions, their subsequent 2003 release. A solo record has been inevitable for some time.
Now, five years later, the aptly titled Greenlight has arrived.

The opening track, “Shadows of Your Dreams,” fades in to unveil Copperthite’s careful balance of guitar riffs, characteristic double-tracked lead vocals, subtle backing vocals, guitar solos, and drum fills. This is an excellent opener, setting the tone and laying the groundwork for what he is capable of.

Track two turns it up a notch, kicking off with a snare shot reminiscent of Bob Dylan’s infamous 1966 live version of “Like a Rolling Stone,” which was preceded by a taunt from a crowd member and Dylan’s command for the band to “play f***ing loud!” “Home” is far from angry, but it has all the energy of the aforementioned Dylan tune and is clearly the single of the album. Here, the vocals are even more honed and the guitar solos blend even more smoothly into the veneer of the track, providing accents and filling out the song.

As “Home” fades out, the title track begins tentatively with a minimalist arrangement, putting emphasis on the lyrics and eventually building up to include more prominent drums and acoustic guitars. The song details Copperthite’s journey, which can be taken either literally as a drive home (which is a nice follow-up to the previous track) or more symbolically. Each verse follows the progression of a traffic light—first red, then yellow, and finally green. In between he explains his journey, progressing from “Standing still in my life” to relating how “Inspired by the life I hold, I took the wheel and drove. I feel invincible; everything is manageable.” He seals the deal with another well-executed guitar solo.

“Jam Session” gives Copperthite the opportunity to focus on his instrumental skills, highlighting the piano and, as if he hadn’t already demonstrated his devotion to them, guitar solos.

The fifth track, “What Not To Do,” begins with bass, minimal drums, and then acoustic guitar, soon followed by the most prominent backing vocals of the album. This is not a surprising choice of arrangement, considering that this is a cover of a song penned by labelmate Jim Fusco, who is known for his Brian Wilson-esque devotion to harmonies, and his girlfriend, Becky Daly. (The song was specifically written to be given to him and was part of a musical swap that the two participated in.) An acoustic guitar solo continues the trend to good effect.

Copperthite gets angry for “$500,” directing his distortion guitars and biting lyrics at his former landlady, as he explains in the digital booklet. This is a great placement for this song, as it infuses new energy into the track listing. It is the oldest of the songs—recorded in 2004 when he had first considered a solo project—but adds a new, emotional dimension to the album that is further explored in “Aware.” The seventh track is not angry; rather, his concern is, “Oh I’m not able to see what goes on without me; here I can only be aware of what is around me.” While he concedes that “Perhaps I am scared of something that’s not there,” he is still concerned and can’t quite get the thought out of his mind. In a sense, this song focuses on his acute awareness that he simply cannot always be aware of what is happening.

“Searcher,” the eighth track, is Copperthite’s arrangement of a song originally composed by Yasuaki Fujita for “an old Nintendo game.” He writes in the liner notes that this was the first song he recorded before beginning to write new material for Greenlight—perhaps it was this song’s driving beat or combination of distortion-heavy guitars and piano riffs that inspired Copperthite to continue to write.

The final song is a healthy blend between slow ballad and upbeat rocker, opening with subdued electric guitar and vocals and gradually building up with drums, bass, and distorted guitars to the chorus, which can in and of itself be connected thematically to many of the album’s other tracks.

It is apparent that Copperthite put his heart, soul, and sweat into the creation of Greenlight, and for that reason, it is one of those rare albums that authentically exposes the songwriter, for better and for worse. In a year filled with superstar releases—Ringo Starr, R.E.M., and Sheryl Crow, among others—this is an essential album, if only for its celebration of honesty and of all the components of great rock’n roll.

“You May Be Right” (Billy Joel cover)

Posted on by
Reply

By Jim Fusco:

Okay, so here’s a bit of an anomaly. Most of us cast members of WCJM.com Free Internet Radio will be surprised, if they’re not listening to the shows as often as I do, to find me playing a Billy Joel song. I want to take this opportunity to clear the air.

If you listen to the Beach Boys’ music through the ages, you’ll hear a progression in the music. The styles may be different as the years go on, but most of it is just building on what was previously there.

Conversely, you can listen to Paul McCartney or the Moody Blues through the years and notice that their song/music styles change with the TIMES. For instance, in the seventies, songs got longer, then got disco-y, then got electronic once they reached the eighties. Around 2000, you heard drum loops and “new age” production on albums from both McCartney and the Moodies.

But, their SONGS and the general “type” of music (rock or pop) stayed pretty constant. I’m not giving any free passes for horrible disco versions (Beach Boys fans can goan at “Here Comes the Night”) or electronica from the early 80s, but at least you still knew it was a “Paul” song or a “Moodies” song.

Billy Joel, for me, falls into two categories, both of which I’ll briefly address:

1. Overrated:

As you’ll note with the bands I like, I tend to stay away from bands that are generally “overrated”. Yes, the Beatles are lauded all the time, but it’s pretty clear they’re the ONLY band that deserves the accolades they get. But, Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys NEVER won a Grammy for their songs (unless you count “Best Instrumental” for “Mrs. O’Leary’s Cow” a few years ago- what an insult). The Moody Blues STILL aren’t in the Rock’n’Roll Hall of Fame. I don’t think America’s had a decently reviewed album in Rolling Stone since their first one.

But, look at who gets ALL the attention:

– Bruce Springsteen
– Elton John (who sells concert tickets like Tickle-Me-Elmos did the day after Thanksgiving)
– Bob Dylan, whom I’m convinced can fart on the microphone and earn a Five Star Rolling Stone review. Don’t get me wrong, I love the man, but he is overrated, as well.

Now, Billy Joel is playing TEN, yes TEN shows at Mohegan Sun Casino here in Connecticut and sold them all out. The man hasn’t done an album in like 15 years and is more popular than ever. I swear more people go to his concerts than have EVER bought his music. And THAT’S the kind of crowd that makes someone so overrated. The “Starbucks” crowd that loves what all the other soccer moms love.

The theme here: It’s not Billy Joel’s fault. I really don’t blame HIM for my dislike of his music.

2. He changes the TYPE of music he plays ALL THE TIME.

As I said earlier, bands I like have changed their styles through the years, either through progression, or just keeping up with the times. But, again- a Beach Boys song was a Beach Boys song, you know?

Now, Billy Joel:

Sometimes, he’s the crooner, singing in that horrid “holier than thou” voice about “regular people” from New York and their stories.

Then, out of nowhere, he’s formed a barbershop quartet in “For The Longest Time”.

Then, he’s some teeney-bopper singing “Uptown Girl”.

Then, 80’s rocker while singing “We Didn’t Start the Fire”.

And, finally, he’s a good old fashioned rock’n’roller on tunes like this one, “You May Be Right”.

What style of music IS this man? Epic piano numbers? Guitar-based rockers? Vocals-only diddies? What?

That question, I cannot answer. And maybe I’m being a bit too general here, as since I’ve noticed this trend, I’ve never gotten past the Greatest Hits.

In closing, I love this song, I love the style, and I wish this was the REAL Billy Joel. I hope you enjoy my rip-roarin’ rendition of this Billy Joel song! (What a rant…)