There WAS a Man
The Secret of Covering
I've had a handful of songs which rode along with me over the years and some have found their way into my live playlist. I have not recorded one for some time now but the idea cropped up recently mainly because I was asked to play this song at a private session. This isn't a well known song but rather flies under the radar as such.
The song was written by well known Irish songwriter John Spillane and for the life of me I cannot remember his version nor the first time I heard it. I've been playing it for a good few years but only occasionally though and usually with my trio as it is quite an intimate song. I think that the fact that I've played this over such a long period of time makes it almost become my own song but only the arrangement differs from the original. Its here that the secret lies. If you can create an arrangement that reflects your own style then it does in a sense become your own. Of course all copyright remains by the author.
I would assume that it would be outdated in this day and age as it firmly underlines the classical man woman relationship. In these feministic and multi gender times it would maybe be prone to criticism. I've had the occasional similar critique regarding my live show but I take that with a pinch of salt.
Anyway, it's a lovely song that Mr. Spillane brought into the world and I'm looking forward to putting out this version as an 'modern' alternative.
John Spillane
Its just one of those things. In the process of writing lyrics it is usually the case that mind wanders through various thoughts or words that can conincide with the music being played. In my case mostly the guitar. At the outset I seemed to have a fixed idea that for a few days just would not gel into something that I would pass for good. Parallell to this I had already started the producction which of couse also adds aura depending what instrmuents I use. So I suddenly scrapped the original plan and re-started.
I have a statue of St. Paul on my studio desk which up to recent times had been at my night table for years. I don't really see it anymore but apparently it pushed its way into my consciousness. The idea formed and had to be intertwined with the chorus which was easy for me to envision. The trimmings if you will fell into place with a fprom of loose meanings that matched my general idea of the song. It soon passed my personal level of acceptance. But only just. I left it for a week or two and eventually came back for a re-listen and was pleasantly surprised how it had consolidated into a do-able release.
I have always had a desire to do music videos. As a baby boomer I witnessed the rise and fall of MTV et al. From the the very basic studio clips to the amazing overly produced top cinematic productions. They slowly lost their value with the onslaught of the net/pcs/smartphones. With the arrival of AI it has become possible for artists further down the success ladder to create their own visions and in a sense pimp their songs. With this production I am amazed at the development since I made Salt of the Earth. Here, my partner in Morocco Hamza Amesguine was able to pretty much turn my story board almost one to one into this what you see. I was quite amazed with the quality. I think it befits the song and gives me pleasure to look at.
NEW RELEASE
TIME STOOD STILL
This song came about in the intention of writing about something else. Looking back I think it was the chorus that made it swing the way it did. The atmosphere changed as did my vocal approach and as the text developed more and more, it became something of an insight into a long hard life and dealing with big changes along the way. It was here that I leaned on the Saul/ St. Paul story without actually over suggesting it. This leaves room for listeners to apply the song to their own lives which is for me the real target in my song writing. Unfortunately I messed up the Spotify pitching and promo campaign, so this song will have to work its way on its own through time. For a while after it was finished I thought I would'nt put it out at all, but after a longer break when I eventually returned to it, I found that I quite liked it. I hope you do too.
