One thing that has improved with time on this project is the flow of ideas. This weekend's rehearsal and recording sesh's were no exception. This was the first of two weeks of trying to squeeze in three songs each, so I knew we'd have our work cut out for us. The three songs for this section were a soulful adaptation of the Negro Spiritual Were You There?, Brian T. Murphy's arrangement of Out Of The Deep I Call, and the Christmas classic, O Come O Come Emmanuel. Our rehearsal was comparatively brief and was dampened by foul moods and the closest thing to drama that I've seen during this project. I was not overly positive coming into last night's recording, therefore.
Thankfully, I was pleasantly surprised by our nearly obstacle-free evening. We managed to nail down Were You There in three takes, which quickly lifted spirits. Out Of The Deep I Call proved to be a nostalgic trip for several of the band members, and ended up resembling something between Shawn Mullins and Sugar Ray. I am enjoying this tune simply because we were able to find the perfect niche for some of Garret Myers' more creative piano touches. The song did not come together as quickly as the previous one, but the tastefulness of the arrangement more than compensated for it.
I stated that the recording was almost free of bumps, and that was the case until the group came toe to toe with O Come O Come Emmanuel. This hymn is a critical portion of the Far Beyond Rescue track list because it is written in a minor key. Transforming it into something that was more musically relevant and less 18th Century high church proved to be a somewhat daunting task, however. The group stalled out after a couple of times through the chord changes until Evan Schubarth (percussionist) talked the group through an alternate arrangement. The final result was quite pleasing, and can be loosely described as:
Johnny Cash + U2 + The Talking Heads = O Come O Come Emmanuel
Thankfully, I was pleasantly surprised by our nearly obstacle-free evening. We managed to nail down Were You There in three takes, which quickly lifted spirits. Out Of The Deep I Call proved to be a nostalgic trip for several of the band members, and ended up resembling something between Shawn Mullins and Sugar Ray. I am enjoying this tune simply because we were able to find the perfect niche for some of Garret Myers' more creative piano touches. The song did not come together as quickly as the previous one, but the tastefulness of the arrangement more than compensated for it.
I stated that the recording was almost free of bumps, and that was the case until the group came toe to toe with O Come O Come Emmanuel. This hymn is a critical portion of the Far Beyond Rescue track list because it is written in a minor key. Transforming it into something that was more musically relevant and less 18th Century high church proved to be a somewhat daunting task, however. The group stalled out after a couple of times through the chord changes until Evan Schubarth (percussionist) talked the group through an alternate arrangement. The final result was quite pleasing, and can be loosely described as:
Johnny Cash + U2 + The Talking Heads = O Come O Come Emmanuel
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