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Johnny Cash’s “American VI: Ain’t No Grave” (2010) – Yes, No, or Maybe So
Saturday, February 27th, 2010
Johnny Cash’s American VI: Ain’t No Grave (2010) – MAYBE SO
Johnny Cash's "American VI: Ain't No Grave" (2010)
(February 23, 2010)
Review:
This may be the final posthumous Johnny Cash release and its tracks may be refugees from American V, but this is perhaps his tightest, most thematically cohesive album — these are admittedly not the most impressive songs he has chosen to interpret, and yet Rick Rubin’s arrangement adds substance to these performances, which are among Cash’s finest.
Top Two Tracks:
“Ain’t No Grave” & “Redemption Day”
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Massive Attack’s “Heligoland” – Yes, No, or Maybe So
Friday, February 26th, 2010
Massive Attack’s Heligoland (2010) – MAYBE NOT
Massive Attack's "Heligoland" (2010)
(February 8, 2010)
Review:
Somebody pass me the Rosetta Stone of rock — it turns out that I’m not quite ready for trip hop, although even I can admit there are a couple of bright spots on “Heligoland” that transcend background music.
Top Two Tracks:
“Pray for Rain” & “Saturday Come Slow”
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“Baby I Need Your Loving” (Four Tops and Johnny Rivers Acoustic Cover Song) – The Laptop Sessions
Thursday, February 25th, 2010
By Jim Fusco:
Wow, finally I get to post my video. I hate when this happens- now it’s going to feel like such a short time until my next video! Anyway, I’m very proud to bring you tonight’s acoustic cover song music video of a classic song in, “Baby I Need Your Loving”.
Written by three of the Motown Records songwriters, “Baby I Need Your Loving” was the first big hit for the Four Tops back in 1964. And let me tell you, this falls into my category of “perfect recordings”. It clocks in under two minutes, but the vocals and instrumentation are just perfect. The song gives me chills. The Tops had such a unique vocal blend. The lead vocalist recently passed away, as I heard. When I saw them in concert a few years ago, there were only two original Tops left, but I still enjoyed the concert very much. Hey, there’s only two original Beach Boys left in the band…and one isn’t even technically an original!
Anyway, you may also know this song from the Johnny Rivers version in the late 60′s. His voice fit well with this classic tune, as well. But, there’s one big difference between his version and the one done by the Four Tops: the title! Johnny decided to title the song after what the chorus really says: Baby I Need Your Lovin’. Note that apostrophe? The Four Tops had the more grammatically correct version for theirs.
I had so much fun recording this- in one take, mind you. And now for my slightly melodramatic “personal” update for the week:
I really hope I can find more time to post on the blog, as I have a lot of ambition, but it keeps getting thrown to the side. Work, both during the day and at night, has helped my wife and I accomplish so much more than anyone else our age I know. But, that does come at a cost- we’re both tired and the time we do have off becomes “necessary” rather than leisurely. What do I mean by that? Well, when you don’t do anything for yourself during the week, you feel like you need to cram in a TON of fun on the weekend. Most times, that ends up in disappointment because it’s so much pressure!
But, the good news is that we’re managing things a lot better now than we were. Personally, I’m still working on the whole “friends” issue. I’ve recently realized that all my friends are gone, either taken away by disagreements, girlfriends, wives, rifts, or even just a marred past. But, it’s tough finding new friends when everyone you work with is twice your age and doesn’t have time for friends. Also, it’s tough when you don’t have time for friends yourself! Thankfully, I still have Dana to get breakfast with me each week, and I’ve been spending a lot of time with my family (both my immediate family and my in-laws). But, it would be nice to find someone that wants to hang around with me that doesn’t feel obligated because of their relation to me!
All I know is that I will never move backwards- going back to old friends and acquaintances is not the answer. I’ll be the first (and probably only) one to admit when there’s too much “history” between two people. It’s kind of like how you can’t really be friends with an ex-girlfriend. It’s just never the same. I always thought that I would want things to go back to the way they were with some of my old friends, but that cannot be farther from the truth now. I plan on doing what some of those folks could never do (with me or with any “significant” others in their lives)- MOVE ON.In closing- I hope the friend train stops at my station soon, for where there are friends, there is fun. Enjoy tonight’s video and make sure to come back for more, y’all!
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Look out above
Wednesday, February 24th, 2010
Well, I was hoping my next post a) wouldn’t take so long, or b) would be about something else, but here goes.
Corporate bigwigs can go play in traffic.
I’m specifically talking about the hooligans at Cass County Music, who recently have filed a copyright infringement complaint about my cover of The Eagles’ song “Best of My Love” (http://laptopsessions.com/archives/254). If you go to Youtube and try to watch this video, you are out of luck.
However, watching it through this site still works somehow.
But anyway, seriously. Why the heck would a company not want you to watch user created covers of these songs?
What’s next? No more cover bands at lounges unless royalties are paid for each song played?
It’s pretty ridiculous. I even got a Youtube email saying that further copyright infringements may lead to account banning.
Whatever. I’ll deal. You guys that come to our site are so wonderful that I am not going to take down my 170 video catalog just because one guy in a ten gallon hat in a shack thought my cover version somehow was causing them to lose money.
Hopefully it won’t be a big deal.
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Choose Cover Songs from over 100 Bands: Welcome to the Laptop Sessions music video blog! Here, you'll find cover songs, original music, & music reviews updated every weekday! We hope you enjoy the acoustic covers, free mp3s, chords, tabs, and music reviews here on the site! |
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