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Songwriting is one of the most powerful of all my life's wonderful experiences. It starts with a fleeting feeling and then translates into words and music on the guitar, and sometimes on the piano.
Rick Rubin has been a major influence on my musical work, serving as a literal sounding board for many of these songs, and helping me to choose the best of my efforts. To record these songs I organized musicians for stuio sessions. The L.A. recordings of Rosemary, The City's Always Open, Karolina and Twice in One Lifetime included drummer Brad Wilk and guitarist John Frusciante.
My lead vocal is solo on Red Wine Cork, and backed by Jonny Polonsky on Younger Than Ever, Marianna and Taste My Dream of You. Jonny does lead vocals for the rest of the L.A. recordings, including We All Need and Secret Lover. Jonny's musical genius also shines through in many aspects of arrangement and production, and he plays various combinations of drums, bass guitar, lead guitar and keyboards on most songs. Nashville vocalist Stevie Bower got on the piano after a long session and we recorded Better Days in one take. He also sings lead on Oh, Bethasia.
I had great engineers - Nashville's David Ferguson, who introduced me to the recording world, and Dana Nielsen in L.A. recorded some sessions. Ken Sluiter engineered most of the songs in L.A., including the final mixing and mastering of this album.
Music is one of the most potent of therapies, and can put the brain into an alpha state. The healing power of songs such as those on this album can be demonstrated by brain waves in the listener. These alpha waves are calming and significantly health-promoting. Try it - lie back, close your eyes and listen - in a few minutes you'll feel better! |
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