By Chris Moore:
I recorded this one “last night”!
Okay, too cheesy?
Seriously, this is a simple but fun one from the Traveling Wilburys. A little Tom Petty-esque lead and a special guest tribute to Roy Orbison…
Editor’s note: this post was originally published before December 2015; the exact original date is uncertain.
By Jeremy Hammond:
My cover of “Into the Great Wide Open” by Tom Petty. I play the main verse pretty much the way Petty does, as far as I can hear. I’ve re-arranged the chorus section a bit to try to closer mimic the multiple instrumental layers you hear on the album.
** EDITOR’S NOTE **
The title track to Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ 1991 album of the same name, “Into the Great Wide Open” may not have topped the charts, but is an excellent song that deserves appreciation. Even though it fell a full sixty-four slots shy of its predecessor “Learning to Fly,” Petty did manage to produce an outstanding music video for this song. And it even starred a young Johnny Depp as Eddie Rebel with supporting roles by Chynna Phillips (of Wilson Phillips), and Matt LeBlanc (of Friends fame).
They truly don’t make music videos like this anymore, so if you haven’t seen it, you should really take the time to do so. Go ahead, that’s what YouTube is for, right?
What makes “Into the Great Wide Open” such an excellent candidate for an acoustic cover? Well, there’s the catchy, powerful acoustic strumming before the chorus, never mind the fact that this is certainly a song that comes across well when played with a minimal arrangement.
As per usual, Jeremy has demonstrated great taste and considerable ability in his performance of this Tom Petty classic. I had forgotten how much I love this song and this album, and I’ve already watched Jeremy’s video several times over the past few days, enjoying this stripped down rendition. On behalf of the Laptop Sessions, I thank Jeremy for yet another wonderful video. Here’s to many more in 2010!
Editor’s note: this post was originally published before December 2015; the exact original date is uncertain.
By Jeff Copperthite:
It has been a great week here at guitarbucketlist.com’s Track 1 week. I had the privilege of opening it up with a U2 video that many have not found due to uploading difficulties. Thankfully, Chris & Jim have posted four awesome album openers during the week, and my U2 video is finally getting some more views.
Now I get to close out Track 1 week with what is probably going to be one of my favorite performances. I am going into the library of Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers and performing “Saving Grace” from their most recent album “Highway Companion”. I love the bluesy guitar riff and Tom Petty’s lyrical style. We also have this in the live library for The Laptop Sessions Live tour. We did play it at Testa’s back on April 12.
Speaking of the tour, we were on fire last night with our most recent live show at George’s II. There will be audio and pictures to come from that in the near future. If you’re a friend of mine on Facebook, though, you can see 5 images from the show right now.
I want to point out that I used to think/was taught that the instrumental riff went E-B-A-G, but upon closer listening to the song (oh, about 22 times), I figured out it actually is E-Bb-A-G, but the B chord going into the last verse is the correct chord.
This concludes track 1 week. We hope you enjoy it and in 2 weeks we get to break out another special week for you. Thank you again for being a regular visitor of guitarbucketlist.com!
Check out more great sessions by Jim Fusco himself in the archive!
Editor’s Note: Unfortunately, Jeff’s acoustic cover song music videos are no longer on YouTube, but we decided to keep his cover song blog posts up. We figured these music blog entries would be good for posterity’s sake and because Jeff always gave such insightful posts each Session. We hope to see Jeff’s impressive catalog of acoustic rock songs here on the Laptop Sessions cover songs and origianal music blog again in the future. But, for now, please make sure to check-out hundreds of other acoustic cover songs from all of your favorite bands here on the Laptop Sessions music blog!
By Chris Moore:
RATING: 3 / 5 stars
I’ll never forget the day I first read the biography of Mudcrutch.
It was a surreal set of circumstances — Mudcrutch was a band that had gone unnoticed by most and been forgotten by those few who had taken an interest during their five year run from 1970 to 1975. They had formed as a small town band, moved out to Los Angeles in pursuit of a record contract, and broken apart under the pressures of their record label and the departure of band members.
A year later, three of the Mudcrutch refugees would go on to form a band that you may have heard of…
It was a tantalizing tale, and I could barely contain my excitement for this music. In some small way, I felt like I would be able — for once! — to take part in the debut release of a band I felt truly passionate about. This was not simply the unveiling of a band’s first album; this was an opportunity to be transported back in time nearly four decades to an entirely different rock and roll landscape than I’ve grown accustomed to in the new millennium.
You get the idea.
And, at least initially, Mudcrutch held up to the hype.
Mudcrutch's self-titled debut (2008)
The first song that caught my attention was “Scare Easy,” a mid-tempo number that may have Petty’s trademark vocals on it, but is clearly not your typical Heartbreakers track. If anything, it sounds more like his previous solo album, but even then, it has a unique sound.
Other tracks on the album are standouts, even amongst the considerable catalog items that Petty, Campbell, and Tench have amassed over the years. Songs like “The Wrong Thing To Do” and “Bootleg Flyer” are unique, upbeat, and very promising. “Orphan of the Storm” may be one of the best examples of what this band sounds like, blending older country and blues textures with a seventies rock and roll mentality lurking in the backbeat.
These excellent tracks notwithstanding, there are a number of tracks that suffer from that middle-of-the-road, “so what?” stupor that few can induce like Tom Petty. In fact, most of the second half of the album is forgettable, populated by a pedestrian tune from Benmont Tench, a forgettable Tom Leadon track that confirms why he fell short of the success his brother (the former Eagle) and Petty achieved, “June Apple,” and “Topanga Cowgirl.”
In fact, two of the best tracks on the album are covers: “Six Days on the Road” and “Lover of the Bayou.” The former is a pretty straightforward number, but an exemplar for country rock. The latter, co-written by Roger McGuinn (of the Byrds) and Jacques Levy (popularly known for his collaborations with Bob Dylan on 1978’s “Street Legal”), is a candidate for the best Mudcrutch performance on tape to date. Even the traditional “Shady Grove” is beautifully translated as the perfect opener.
On first listen, Mudcrutch was a joy. Track by track, I loved it. It was only after repeated listens that it began to lose its luster and fade into mediocrity. This is a case where I think my excitement for the story surrounding the band colored my perception of the music they produced.
Each time I return to it, I try to feel what I did that first week after its release in 2008, but to no avail. Even though I’ve hesitated to admit it, Mudcrutch is a three star album from what could have been — and, at least, three fifths went on to be — a five star band.
Take note of that: in music, as in life, some combinations just weren’t meant to be, no matter how much you love the individuals. You may look back and ponder what could have been.
It’s perhaps better left to the imagination.