10. "The King is Dead" by The Decemberists

“The King Is Dead” presents The Decemberists in a complete 180 turnabout from the conceptual ambitions of their previous album.  They’ve seemingly traded in the metal-tinged medieval fantasy leanings of 2009’s The Hazards of Love for a pair of cowboy boots, a harmonica and a fiddle.  This time around they’ve settled for good old fashioned SONGS rather than grandiose concepts.  While the latter certainly have their place, The King is Dead is a refreshing change of pace.  Not quite as many highlights as previous Decemberists albums (For my money, 2005’s Picaresque is the best thing they ever did) but a very listenable album right through.  If for some reason you were to attempt to get your mother into the Decemberists, this would be the album to start with.  That is meant neither as a compliment nor an insult but I suppose it could be both.

Favorite Albums of 2011

It's that time of year again when I like to reflect back on the music that meant something to me over the past 12 months.  And then I like to quantify and rank something that probably shouldn't be.  Putting two pieces of art up against each other and declaring one as "better" than the other is probably a futile exercise...and yet as humans it seems we love to do this.  And as it turns out, within the human race, I am no exception.  But rather than call this a "best" album list, lets just say these are the collections of music that meant the most to me personally.  Your mileage of course will vary, but I offer this as both a window into what inspires me as an artist and also a tool for anyone who's looking for some decent music.

This year I'll be distributing my list a little differently.  Starting tomorrow I'll post each day until the end of the year, counting down my top ten album choices.  This serves several purposes.  It drags the experience out for as long as possible and also allows for greater appreciation and exploration of each album that I post about.

So come back each day for the next 10 days to see how it's coming along.  Let me know if you've found something you like.  Or maybe you think I'm forgetting something.  Leave your thoughts in the comments.

See you tomorrow.

James

Update...5 Down, 3 to Go

7 months Later...

So...apparently I haven't blogged in a while.  Fortunately that doesn't mean that I haven't been working during all these months.  Sure, I can admit that this has taken longer than I thought it would...that I've seen self imposed deadlines come and go more than once.  Could I have been finished by now had I put in adequate time and effort?  Quite possibly.  But in reality life (and inspiration) just doesn't work that way.

Yes, there are times when I just don't have it in me to sit down at a computer at the end of a long day and pound out work on these same songs I've now heard hundreds of times.  That being said, I am still quite fond of this current batch of music and firmly believe this will easily be the best work I've ever done.  Creativity and motivation seem to come in spurts, and I try to get the most out of those periods before they disappear.

I'm now well past the halfway point.  5 of the 8 songs are finished.  4 of those have been listenable online for many months now.  If you haven't heard them in a while, it might be a good idea to go and check them out.  I've been quietly making changes and improvements to those online files.  Track #4, "You Can Never Go Home" has had the most substantial facelift compared to the first version I posted months ago.  I think it's really come together nicely.  In retrospect, I probably made it available for listening sooner than I should have.  Sometimes I just get too excited for people to hear new stuff.

I'm currently fighting the temptation to make some more music available for listening.  Track #5, "Save My Soul" could really be released today and I would be happy with it.  But my philosophy with this record has been one of "good is not good enough".  And so I find myself taking things that are good and trying to make them better.  As good as "Save My Soul" is right at this moment, I still have a couple of things I want to try that will improve it.  For example, at this point the song has no acoustic strumming whatsoever, and really I don't miss it that much and it may not need it...but I'd like to add it just to see how it sounds.  Also, the end of the song needs...I don't know...something.  I don't know what specifically, but I'll know it when I hear it.  And really it doesn't NEED it...it's really good as it is...but why not take that extra step toward greatness?

The remaining 3 songs are already recorded in very rough versions.  I could see them being finished very quickly but again, inspiration is fickle and comes and goes at her pleasure.  So really we're looking at early next year before it will all be ready for you to lovingly download onto you hard drive.  but I'll go ahead and say that I really believe that it's going to be something that people will enjoy and come back to.  Something worthy of your playlists.

Also, I'll try to keep the blog a little more current...in case there is anyone out there who actually cares and reads this.

Update...2 Down, 6 to Go

It is a great feeling to have two new songs completed and out there for all to hear. I am happy with the positive feedback I've received on "Never And Forever" and "Come And Gone". People seem to be enjoying them. If you are one of those people, please don't hesitate to share with friends. I would like as many people as possible to hear this music.

I know I've mentioned "So Far Gone" a few times before. Well, it is almost completed and ready to debut. This is the song that I feel people will connect with the most. I mentioned in my last post that the song sounds a bit "samey"...meaning that it was interesting and beautiful but it kind of repeats itself and goes on without any real changes...not necessarily a bad thing, but could get monotonous. I've made some changes that I feel have taken this song to the next level. It has gone from being merely pretty great to mesmerizing and heart-rending...and it was all done with the addition of one simple guitar figure that embellishes the chorus.

I know what I like in music and this is it. And can't speak for the rest of you, but this new part completely makes this song into greatness for me personally. I hope when you hear it that it makes you feel the same way. I hesitate sometimes to talk up my own work because music is so subjective and I don't want to build too much expectation for what is essentially a very simple song. I'd rather just release it and have others talk it up for me ;-) . Of course that's not going to happen if something is not genuinely great. Anyway, I will upload it for all to hear once I get the mix sounding exactly as it should. Probably over the weekend.

As for the rest of the songs, they are in various stages of completion. "You Can Never Go Home" is probably the most complete, while "This Time" has not even been fully written yet (hence no lyrics online).

If you're reading this, thanks for paying attention. I'm grateful that people enjoy what I do.

James

Progress on "So Far Gone"

Been working on finishing track #2 from Never And Forever, titled "So Far Gone"...(not to be confused with "Come And Gone"). Added some additional harmony vocals for the verses. The mix is sounding really nice. Great song, but a bit samey. Needs some kind of catchy, standout guitar performance for the chorus, as well as a short solo and outro. I have a few ideas in my head but I am curious to see what happens once I plug in and start recording. The songs is actually quite passable as it is...but "good enough" is not good enough this time. We're going for greatness here. We'll see how that turns out.

Too busy tonight to get any recording done...but soon enough.

New Song - "Come And Gone"

In my last post I mentioned that I would have the title track online soon. That was the plan...and it is still very close to completion. But yesterday I decided to work on "Come And Gone" instead.

"Come And Gone" has been all but finished for over a month now, but there were a few problems that I didn't know if I could fix without re-recording some parts. Low and behold, with maybe an hour or so of mixing, I was able to fix everything that had been bugging me. I was so excited that it was finished that I immediately posted it.

Title track "Never And Forever" is still in need of a couple of backing vocal tracks. It is very good as it stands, but I need it to sound like I hear it in my head before it can go out to the world. It may take a few more days before I can get the recording done. Look for it to be out soon.

Never And Forever...It's About Time

If you follow my Facebook fan page you may have noticed a while back that I posted the Never And Forever artwork. It is a an image of a clock face that I found while searching the internet for ideas on how to visually represent the concept of "time". I was subsequently able to contact the photographer and receive permission to use the image for my album art. I have not altered the color at all. That is exactly as the original. My wife says it's a bit too much green, but I really like it. And so a special thanks goes out to photographer Katherine Gray, wherever and whoever she may be.

Over the past months, I've recognized a theme running through all of these songs...that being the passage of time...how it changes situations, individuals...for the better or for the worse. How it continues on and we are powerless to stop it, nor can we turn it back. Each of these songs deals with this subject in a different way. The past, regrets, things left undone, things that should have been left undone, things to do differently in the future...all of these ideas are touched upon through various stories and experiences both personal and/or observed in the lives of others.

I have re-designed my bandcamp page and created a page for the new album. There is no audio up just yet, but you can read through the lyrics if you're into that sort of thing. I hope to have the opening title track up in the coming days. It is very nearly finished, as are several other songs. Stay tuned for more info and audio as it becomes available.

Also, if you haven't done so yet, while your on my page, why not go and download the rest of my music in preparation for this new release. They are free if you want them to be, or you can pay what you want. I am completely fine with either amount.

Thanks for listening,

James