Submitted for your approval: I just finished this one; this time I brought in a guest for the harp solos
My buddy Kritter,
plus my 320 scratchy rhythm guitar, 4001 pleasing me wildly with her bad self.
Martin D-16 rosewood, Behringer AC112, Behringer BX1800, GarageBand (cheers to Boldt software instruments)
Your comments are welcome
I don't know how the whole thing started
I just tried to sweeten my deal
there's no rest for the falsely-hearted
since I started to spin on the Catherine Wheel
one sweet lie never caused you sorrow
I'm looking out for the way that you feel
spin my tales and return tomorrow
then I'm taking my place on the Catherine Wheel
turn, turn, turn, and the flames keep dancing
there's no hope for the way that I feel
one day up and the next day down
when you pin your heart to the Catherine Wheel
Don't look now but the whole thing's snowballed
upside down where nothing is real
in my mind where the truth is so-called
I'll be seeing you 'round from the Catherine Wheel
turn, turn, turn, and the flames keep dancing
there's no hope for the way that I feel
one day up and the next day down
when you pin your heart to the Catherine Wheel
Wild, Kira! Not what I was expecting from you. Fascinating blend of Medieval folk and Good-Timey Southern folk influences with a Blues-driven harp on top. Very unique! What on Earth possessed you?
Thanks, Mark. That song started as a kind of half open-string riff that split into two versions for the chorus and verse. I was aware of it feeling a little celtic as it grew but the rest just kind of fit somehow as it resolved in GarageBand, if that makes sense. The way I distinguished the chorus was the pan flutes, which added further to the world feeling. The rest was familiar ground, the acoustic bluesy stuff.
My friend Kritter came in at the last minute to ace the solos. What a pro! He used a different harp for the middle verse than the other two, when I asked for one with a major feel.
I wrote the words in one draft, just singing improv words to the backing track over and over until some of it started to make sense. Then I went to the pad and finished the lyrics. It took about an hour or so, I guess. In this song as usual, I salute my heroes: "turn turn turn", "nothing is real". Lyrics are great fun for me.
I love world music, especially Celtic, and Greek Rebetika music, listened to a lot of it of for years when I wasn't playing a lot of rock. Foreign lyrics don't put me off (actually love French and Greek though I'm not fluent) so I'm open to just about anything if I like it. I won't be surprised if it begins to inform my songs along with my beloved psychedelia/folk/british invasion roots.
Lots more to come...
Last edited by kiramdear on Thu Oct 02, 2008 12:20 am, edited 1 time in total.
To add, I find The Catherine Wheel to be great. In addition to Mark's excellent comments, it has Wings' feeling to it as well for me. Thanks Kira. The bread certainly got a rise out of me.
Life, as with music, often requires one to let go of the melody and listen to the rhythm
Thanks, Peter. Wings have a special place in my heart. But I love Harrison's work the best of them, really. Since this my first original work since, well, decades, I can't say what to expect from the typical Kira song. All my roots will be laid bare.
Hey Kira- 'Catherine Wheel' and 'Be Bread' surprisingly different songs!
I don't know if it's the accompanying picture, but 'Catherine Wheel' seems to have something lurking beneath it's jolly, folky surface... it makes me think 'Whicker Man' or Lovecraft! What did you use for the tootling organ sound by the way? Love the acoustic guitar sound- I usually manage to make 'em sound like unplugged electrics
'Be Bread'- when it started off I immediately thought of 'Hang on Sloopy' (no offence!) but it twists its way through nicely Beatlesque pop territory till it gets to that rising guitar figure and the playout. A real grower. Very nice.
Hey, thanks for listening, Mark.
In Catherine Wheel I used two GarageBand software pan flutes on the chorus. The sound of them is surprisingly good, and I got a lot of comments on them. I have only one good mike, my SM58 which I used on everything including the vocals, amps & acoustic guitar, my amazing Martin D16. Some compression and one of the speech enhancement filters brought out a nice full clear sound on the Martin. I have a deposit down on a couple of condenser mikes that should make the near future recordings way better.
The lead guitar on Be Bread was miked and the tape transferred to the computer. Finding it still too clean, I dubbed it back really hot to the deck and transferred it back again. Then I mixed the two signals for a nice clear, yet warm overloaded sound.
Glad you enjoyed the music, really. Your comments mean a lot to me. Stay tuned for another one in a few days...
I must say that the diversity in your musical taste is very appealing to my ears. Be Bread is a wonderful song deep in mystery and powerful in delivery.
The Catherine Wheel therefore took me by surprise and then I realised that I was listening to a modern day pan Celtic ditty. Nicely done..........both of them.
“We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.” - Albert Einstein
"You do not really understand something unless you can explain it to your grandmother" - Albert Einstein
You guys are really great support. The Catherine Wheel is a morality play, which is what those old jigs and reels were when they had words, as well as 99% of all other popular media in those days. The contrast between the happiness of the music and the sadness of the lyrics was initial to the concept of the song.
Be Bread was conceived as a psychedelic social comment song, like those that I grew up with in the sixties. Maybe the opposite of the other, with the dark music and a more hopeful lyric theme. Fun word play. The music was a gift from my new 4001, the bass part which I wrote as soon as I got her. The instrumentation was all built around the bass.
Thanks for your good words!
Praise from me especially is only given if I feel it is deserved and you deserve it. No need to thank me in that context. Keep 'em coming. I am looking forward to the next one.
“We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.” - Albert Einstein
"You do not really understand something unless you can explain it to your grandmother" - Albert Einstein
