Cypress Grove
STCD 007
Michael's latest release. His 4th CD album for Stella Records. CD booklet notes written by Michael Roach.
The recording of this CD started in May 2002. What brought it about were the thoughts of the passing of my good friend and mentor, John Jackson, in January at the age of 77. Therefore, I am dedicating this album to his memory. John was a kind man and anyone who would have met him could attest to this fact. I remembered him talking about how he would like to record a CD with all spirituals. When I booked the studio in May that was my intention, to record a CD of all spirituals. When the engineer started the tape rolling, I just played and played. In the end, I recorded 15 tracks, mostly on one take with no dubbing.
Upon driving home to listen to the tracks on my home stereo in the comfort of my living room, I thought about all the tracks that I did not record. This reminded me of how many songs I know. I noted that I must write down all of the songs that I should get back into the studio and record, if for only archival reasons. In the end, I recorded over 40 songs in 5 different sessions. Most of the songs were spirituals and some were blues.
After listening to all of the material, I found some blues songs sounding too good not be included. It was pleasing to feel that I captured the aesthetic of the blues and spirituals. So, I made a decision to mix it all up. This is the first time in my recording career that I chose to go with an original sound over the release of original material. Given such a large choice, I experimented with combinations of songs to maintain the continuity of tension, grief, humour, love and praise as well as sound likeness.
Upon looking back to my archives of unreleased recordings, I chose to include 2 tracks from a session in the year 2000 that are a departure from the other material, thus giving the album an overall variable sound. Bernie Marsden, the former guitarist and songwriter for the rock band Whitesnake, produced both tracks. One track is the first song that I ever wrote in 1984 and the other was written by Bernie.
I hope that this final combination of 13 songs will find appeal outside of the limitations of traditional non-commercial music. Good music should have no boundaries and I hope that you enjoy the album.
Tracks
1. Special Rider Download...
2. Born In A Red Dress Download...
3. Born 10,000 Years Ago Download...
4. On The Shore Download...
5. So Sweet
6. Lonesome Valley
7. What Month Was Jesus Born In Download...
8. Cypress Grove Download...
9. Brownsville Blues Downloads...
10. Go Tell It On The Mountain
11. Look At The People Downloads...
12. CC Rider Download...
13. Hard Times For The Working Man
Musicians
Michael Roach - Acoustic Guitar & Vocals (all tracks)
Bernie Marsden - Guitar (tracks 2 & 13)
Ian Briggs - Harmonica (tracks 3,5,10)
Helen Roach, Michelle Roach - Vocals (track 7)
John Vickers - Double Bass (tracks 2 & 7); Fiddle (track 6); Banjo (track 7)
Richard Dennery - Spoons (track 3)
Andrew Butler - Organ, Tambourine (track 2); Keys, Drums, Bass (track 13)
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