This cover project is being put together in much love for my daughters, so they can remember the songs they heard their father singing as they were growing up. He is doing all the instruments and all the vocals. They are the inspiration behind this. What awesome people they are!
Special thanks to my wife, Nancy, for being who she is.
Special thanks to Peter Mengaziol for the wonderful gift of his friendship, his guidance in choosing Apple G4/Mac OS X (10.3), and his many presents to me that help me on my way.
Special thanks to Sally Wright, my pastor and beloved sister in the Lord, also for being who she is, and for her gift of the awesomely beautiful Ovation 12-string that makes its appearance herein. What an incredible instrument!
Very Special thanks to my Boss, who's my Hero, Savior, Redeemer, Rescuer, Buddy, et cetera. He warned me about trying to 'fix in the mix' to cover up mistakes, and He's keeping me honest. The flaws really only bother my ego anyway, about which He is not overly concerned. Of course, I get to fix things that are downright offensive to my ear, such as it is. But even some of those will be left in.
Very, very special thanks to my children, Anna, Lisa, and Christina, for being the awesome people they are. I'm the most blessed father on the planet.
Now, if I could only keep the band from breaking up over differences in creative direction...(thanks to Jay Lipp for that line)
| Song | Original Artist | Original Date | Status/Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Go And Say Goodbye | Buffalo Springfield | @1966 | Pending re-do |
| Questions | Buffalo Springfield | @1968 | Pending re-do; problems with vocals, bass, timing, ending |
| See The Changes | CSN | @1977 | Not sure |
| Tell Me Why | Neil Young | @1970 | Some timing errors in the beginning; Possible re-mix of vocals |
| Matthew | John Denver | @1978 | This is one of my most beloved songs. I originally forgot some of the words, so I went back and 'punched' them in. That was an experiment in editing for me. I didn't have time to redo the entire song, so I created a gap, copy-and-pasted the music to fill it in, and just sang the words I originally forgot. G-Band is awesome. |
| Yas Yas Yas | Dave Van Ronk | @1970 | Thanks to Frank and Mike, my old friends and bandmates or a sort from Brooklyn. |
| Sugar Mountain, versions One and Two | Neil Young | @1971 | I played this song in one of my very early performances, way back in high school!!! |
| Needle And The Damage Done | Neil Young | @1971 | Same as Sugar Mtn. I believe that Sugar Mountain was the 'B' side of Needle and the Damage Done, or vice versa. I actually had the 45 at one time. Yes, I'm that old. |
| I Want To Feel Your Love | Neil Young | @1990 | I fell in love with this song during a very rough patch in my life. Most of it became a prayer for me. |
| Baal T'shuvah | Michael Hedges (whose music I dearly love) | @1996 | I love the music of Michael Hedges. I was devastated by the news of his untimely death back in 1996. I am so glad that there are many wonderful musicians around to keep Michael's music alive. I suppose I could be called presumptuous for including this tune, but I cried the first time I heard it and it has been in my heart ever since. I, like many others, am in Michael's debt because of his wonderful approach to the guitar. Incidentally, the jet noise, one of the charms of home amateur recording, is provided courtesy of Liberty International Airport(Newark). |
| Lullaby | me | 2004 | This isn't a cover. One night around 1:30 AM I was reminscing about putting my kids to bed when they were young. Like every parent, I feel that time of our lives ended much too soon. Anyway, I was simply strumming, trying to calm myself down from the day. The Lord meets me in these times, and some sweet things (to my ear, that is) sometimes happen -- things that bring me comfort and His peace, and help me fall asleep. So this is my musical lullaby for my now-grown children. Good night, my lovlies. Your father is thinking of you. |
| The Boy From The Country | John Denver | 1974 | This is one of my all-time favorite songs. It was one of John Denver's most simple, beautiful songs, and also one of the most profound. I've known several 'boys from the country' in my life, and this is for them. |
| Eight Miles High | The Byrds | 196? | I didn't sing this for my kids, but this is also one of my all-time favorite songs, so I thought I'd throw it in the mix.
The music is simply temporary accompanyment. The real stuff comes later.
Percussion is brought to you by a tabletop, two pens, and an old 2-liter bottle of ginger ale. Technical note: I finally figured out why microphone-based stuff is always so problematic. I had the gain on the little Eurorack mixer I use maxed. Duh. I was starting to wonder why even though I'm practically whispering, the signal still gets too hot. So I redid the vocals with a touch of compression(try #2). I was much happier. Please excuse the "charmingly" amateurish engineering. |
| Horse With No Name | America | 1970 | This one's especially for my grandson, Derek. He started singing it one day, and I thought I'd record it for him. I loved that group, and used to perform some of their songs. |
| Cowgirl In The Sand | Neil Young | 1970 | One of my all-time favorite songs. Anna dug this recording out for me. Thanks, honey. |
| You Don't Have To Cry | CSN | 1970 or so | One of the tunes that exemplifies CSN's fabulous ability to harmonize and blend voices and acoustic guitars in a truly magnificent way. This was a very influential song for me. |
| Southern Cross | Stephen Stills | 1982 | This one is especially for Anna, who egged me on to do it. This is a test version. The whole thing will be redone. I just wanted to get something done on it before too much time went by. |
| Love Song | Elton John | 197? | One of the first songs I did at a live performance, accompanying a fellow who's since gone on to be an actor in Hollywood. |
| Johnny's Garden | Stephen Stills/Manassas | 197? | This song still makes me cry. It's a beautiful tribute to John Denver, in a way. I guess Stephen Stills was living in Colorado at the time, and appreciated its beauty. |
| Bound To Fall | Stephen Stills/Manassas | 197? | As a young guitar player, this song blew me away. I never forgot it. It's actually a cover of a Brewer and Shipley song. I love their version, but this one is modelled after Manassas. I had a great deal of trouble with this, and the first guitar came out funky, but again, I didn't have too much time to spend on it, so here it is. I don't think my kids ever heard this either, but it was very influential on me early in my playing life. |
| You've Got To Hide Your Love Away | The Beatles | 1965 | My all-time favorite Beatles song |
| Children | America | 1972 | This is the first song I recorded after many of my instruments were stolen (see below). I basically took a year off after that. As to the piece itself, it was on America's debut album, right before "Horse With No Name". I found it moving, and never forgot it. I hadn't heard it in years and years, but it was still in my heart, so out it came. I did it as a test project, in order to refamiliarize myself with the whole process of recording again, so it's all one-or-two-take tracks -- not a great deal of polish. My wife, Nancy, said it came out pretty good, though, so here it is. It's not one the kids have heard, but I hope they enjoy it. |
| Lotus Feet | John McLaughlin | 19?? | This is a cover of an incredibly moving, evocative piece, that could never do the original versions any sort of justice at
all. Actually, that's rather freeing, because the original was so far beyond me that I was under no obligation to even think about it. I don't know
who the original was written for, but when I thnk of Lotus Feet, I see a picture of the Feet of Christ, with a nail through them, nailed to the Cross.
I'm listening to it as I write this, and am in tears, realizing that such sacrifice was made for the likes of me. There are many who can i
relate to the sentiment.s I recorded this because I came upon a website of an old friend who I had betrayed in a bitter, horrendous way -- just as Judas betrayed Jesus. The memory was crushing -- and yet the pictures came together for me -- betrayal and Forgiveness -- bitter sin and Glorious Redemption -- evil completely swallowed up by Good. The Cross bespeaks the magnitude of sin (my sin) and what it cost Jesus to pay for it so that I wouldn't have to. I know that this man is experiencing healing and wholeness in his life now. He was and is a truly extraordinary man. This is dedicated to him. |
| Shine So Strong | Brewer & Shipley | 1974 | My buddy Jimmy and I played this B & S tune at various venues "back in the day". Playing this reminded me of Jimmy and
our musical adventures together. Jimmy and I have been friends since sophmore year in high school ( some 38 years ago now ). His voice and
guitar are missed on this. Maybe I could coax him into recording some of our old tunes with me. I didn't have a harmonica in the right key so I whistled the part instead. This song is dedicated to Nancy, who shines out the love of God for me each and every day of our lives together. |
| Early Morning Rain | Gordon Lightfoot | ? | |
| Heart Of Gold | Neil Young | ? | |
| In My Dreams | CSN | ? | |
| I'd Rather Be A Cowboy | John Denver | ? | |
| Grandma's Feather Bed | John Denver | ? | |
| Don't Let It Bring You Down | Neil Young | ? | One of my favorite Neil songs. |
| Thank God I'm A Country Boy | John Denver | ? | Took me long enough to do this. I've been wanting to for a long long time. |
| Thoroughfare Gap | Stephen Stills | ? | One beautiful song. |