“Little Willow” (Paul McCartney Cover)

By Jim Fusco:

Hey folks!  Today, I bring you a favorite song of the Fusco family in “Little Willow” by Paul McCartney.  “Flaming Pie” is one of my favorite all-time albums and that’s because we listened to it CONSTANTLY when it came out, during vacation, and all throughout the summer.  It always brings back fond memories and I always play the album when I take my own vacations now.

It’s fitting that I’m presenting this song today, as we’re in the midst of Tropical Storm Hanna up here in Connecticut.  Hopefully it won’t be too bad because I have a video job (taping an anniversary party) up at the Mohegan Sun casino tonight.  Should be fun, but who wants to drive an hour in a tropical storm?

So, why is it so fitting?  Well, I read in the liner notes of “Flaming Pie” (which is the booklet I modeled the booklet to my first album, “With Or Without You”, after exactly) that this song, “Little Willow”, was written to calm people after a hurricane.  It’s such a great song- so simple, but it has a great calming effect.  I thought it was a perfect one to do while outside with my nylon string guitar.

There’s also “Heaven on a Sunday” off of this album that makes me feel so calm.  I guess that’s the point of the song, but it always reminded me of a particular summer when I went to Boy Scout camp in Camp Sequassen.  That must’ve been a busy summer.  No wonder I remember this album so well!  Anyway, I used to get to fish off of a row boat there.  Having “Heaven on a Sunday” (“cooling my fingers in the bay…”) stuck in my head while peacefully fishing was a zen-like experience.  I think of that moment and it takes me right back there.

On another topic, how about Jeff with his Beatles cover yesterday?  And Chris doing Hendrix?  Amazing, folks- you never know what you’re going to get next on this music video blog- the BEST music video blog in the universe!

For now, enjoy today’s music video!

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“Come and Get It” (Badfinger Cover)

By Jim Fusco:

Welcome, welcome to another video in the Laptop Sessions music video blog series!

Tonight, I bring you my 99th video- yes, my 99th video! It’s from yet another band we haven’t done yet: Badfinger!

This song was one of their first singles, written by Paul McCartney while he was still with the Beatles. A version exists of McCartney playing and singing this song himself on the Beatles Anthology Volume 3. Honestly, it sounds exactly the same. That, for me, lets me know why there were so many rumors that Badfinger was just the Beatles in disguise. Of course, that’s not the case. Badfinger’s members actually have a very sad biography- if you ever get a chance to read about it, I think it would be worth your while.

There are many songs from Badfinger that I’d love to do in the future, including “Day After Day”, “Baby Blue”, and “No Matter What”. Those are all great songs and really showed that this group wasn’t just a Beatles spin-off bunch, but a real musical force and a darn-good band.

Come back for more Laptop Sessions videos!

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“Can’t Buy Me Love” (The Beatles Cover)

By Jim Fusco:

Well, another night and another one of our Beatles cover songs here on the Laptop Sessions acoustic cover songs video series!

Tonight, I bring you a big hit in “Can’t Buy Me Love”, one of my more energetic Laptop Sessions. Of course, I’ve known this song for probably all of my 24 years, and am very excited about this cover song video. I think I got in a pretty good groove. Plus, with a song this short (“watch it!“) it grabs the viewer’s interest and keeps it there without getting boring. That was a specialty of the Beatles in the early 60s. John Lennon and Paul McCartney were masters of creating short and catchy songs. This particular song, “Can’t Buy Me Love”, is a McCartney-penned tune, though it’s credited to both him and Lennon (as all of their songs were). I tend to lean towards John Lennon’s style of writing. I truly believe that he and Brian Wilson are the greatest rock songwriters of all time. But, every once in a while, Paul’s songs amaze me, like this one. His talent as a songwriter usually came out in the form of love songs and slower ballads. That’s why “Can’t Buy Me Love” is such a unique McCartney song, at least for early in his career. When I think of great Paul McCartney Beatles songs, I think of “I Will”, “Yesterday”, and “Golden Slumbers”. Those songs have a very different feels than the fast-paced pop feel of “Can’t Buy Me Love”.

One thing I didn’t realize about “Can’t Buy Me Love” is how high-pitched it is. I found it to be difficult to sing, especially when done acoustically. Paul had the luxury of double-tracking his lead vocals on the recorded version of this song. On my acoustic cover video, though, it’s just me and my guitar. For a faster-paced song like this one, I chose to go with my standard steel-stringed acoustic guitar instead of the nylon stringed guitar I normally use for “softer” music videos. One thing that surprises me is how Paul McCartney can still sing this song fairly well into his late 60s. I suppose practicing for 45 years helped him out a bit, but I can only hope to sound as good as he does when I’m his age!

I’m unfortunately running low (“oh, another one- giddy up Keckster!”) on my last glut of music videos, so I’ll be doing a new set very soon. But the good news is that I’ll be using my new setup, complete with a Zoom USB microphone and brighter, higher quality video. But of course, you know that the Laptop Sessions music video blog always brings you something new and improved!

Stay tuned here to the video blog, as Chris has been a posting machine lately- with new music reviews and posts about every WCJM Free Internet Radio show, amongst others. Plus, Jeff’s been cranking out solid Sessions, too. And me? Well, you KNOW I’ve been going crazy with the updates and enhancements here on the music blog. Until the next Chris Moore Session, take care and enjoy “Can’t Buy Me Love” by the Beatles!

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“A Hard Day’s Night” (The Beatles Cover)

By Jim Fusco:

Welcome to my last contribution to “Title Track Week” here at The Laptop Sessions on https://guitarbucketlist.com !

Tonight, I bring you a CLASSIC Beatles cover song tune that everyone should be played as they’re coming out of the womb! 🙂 “A Hard Day’s Night” was reportedly a phrase coined by Ringo Starr. He kinda has that Yogi Berra thing going on where he says some great unique phrases and doesn’t even realize it.

This was a great Session for me because, again, I did it in one take. Actually, I recorded NINE videos last night, so I can finally focus on all the promotion we’ve been doing.

If you’re in the CT area, check out the Record-Journal newspaper on Sunday, June 1st for a feature article on The Laptop Sessions! It’s been rumored that we might even have a prestigious spot in the Sunday paper, but time will tell, I guess.

Come on back for Chris’ final entry into “Title Track Week” and, as always, come to https://guitarbucketlist.com for a new video!

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