This is my first original track and one that proved, to me at least, the saying about “5% inspiration, 95% perspiration”. The basic idea came to me quite quickly but turning a tune in my head into an eight track stereo recording was quite a different matter. The worse part was the middle eight (the bit before the key change) which was really, really difficult.

This originally had the working title “Rhodes to Nowhere” since the piano sound used is an emulation of the Fender Rhodes electric piano used a lot in the 70’s. If you want to hear this instrument used at its best (IMHO) then listen to “Letter to Britannia from the Union Jack” by Ian Hunter.

One of my best mates is a professional musician. When he heard the first version of this he suggested a few changes. I’ve implemented two of them. I’ve edited out a “harmonic glitsch” and added a synthesiser part which emulates a string section to “fill out” the piece.

Completely new territory for me with this one and I ended up trying two new things at once. It started out as my attempt to do something with the Lydian mode, a scale much loved by jazz musicians and rock guitarists like Joe Satriani and Steve Vai. While I was about half way through the track I figured out how I could get the synth sound I wanted and, believe it or not, I was after a sound reminiscent of “Baba O’Reilly” by The Who. As usual, things didn’t turn out quite how I intended but I’m quite pleased anyway.