Puzzled !

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Background

Before we ever laid down a note, we discussed song titles for original compositions. Among them:

• AVT (Ants versus Thorne) - Carpenter ants' invading the house was an annual problem that required an exterminator, lots of pesticides and continual vigilance. I'm glad I can now say "WAS" a problem.
• Where's The One? - Ever perform in a band and lose the count, or everyone decides to play OFF the beat, or the band starts on the AND of 3 and you don't come in until the next measure?
• Barking for Sex - Inspired by watching seals' "barking" at a public aquarium.
• Poughkeespie Turkeys - Is it a death wish that they strut their stuff in the back yard every Thanksgiving?
• Where's My Bark? - Our German Shepherd Dog Quizzy went deaf in his later years and we think he barked just to hear himself...but couldn't !
• Planetary Down - As in "down" when training a dog. Very relevant as pertains to the behavior of homo sapiens on Earth.
• Squirrel Fugue for Quizzy - Quizzy loved chasing squirrels but poor guy never caught one.
• Musical Jihad - Yes, we are that religious about keeping music in our lives. Shouldn't everybody?

But composing the music became an exercise in procrastination after a few false starts. So we decided to try again but with covers, songs we both love, or at least felt they would be fun on which to play and sing, and to use the original recordings as a baseline but add musical twists to make the songs reflect some of our own musical sensibilities.

The Recording Studio

All guitars, basses and drums are performed or programmed by Thorne. Most keyboards are performed by Lin. Vocal duties are shared by Lin and Thorne. Drums are via drum programming which includes the use of a software synth (Addictive Drums) and placing all drum hits at specific locations in the music. Various compression, reverb, EQ and other effects were added on some tracks. Initially the Focusrite Scarlett 6i6 USB "sound card" was used, but various noise artifacts (which appear as clicks on some tracks) forced it to be replaced by an M-Audio Delta 2496 internal sound card. But then we figured out what the Focusrite problem was and started using it again as the component circuitry is superior to the M-Audio sound card (better analog/digital converters).

...And now, 5 years later...

The 2021-2024 Songs:

The 2016 Songs:

South Side of the Sky

Lin and Thorne took on a major piece of music for this iteration of our collaboration. It's a piece created by Yes and covered by Glass Hammer. From Yes' "Fragile" album, it's "South Side of the Sky." Lin shows her piano chops on this one and we got help from a good friend from my Yes tribute band (Apostle) days, Scott Harris, who added organ. Thorne took on drum (covering Bill Bruford was a bitch!), guitar (covering Steve Howe requires some pretty fast fingering!) and bass duties and the lower vocals. The wind makes it's debut in the form of a Winter storm.

You're No Good

One of the greatest voices in both female and male popular music vocals is Linda Ronstadt. Glen Frey summed it up well when he inducted her into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It is not just her powerful voice that spans Rock and Country genres but also her versatility and willingness to try new genres in an industry that can easily make a musician yesterday's news for the smallest impropriety. She recorded albums completely in Spanish in honor of her family heritage, and recorded albums with her vocal cohorts, Emmylou Harris and Dolly Parton, and albums with Aaron Neville and several other vocal artists. On our version, Lin performs all vocals, lead and background.

I Saw Her Again

The 1966 hit "I Saw Her Again" as recorded by The Mamas and Papas was a tough one for Lin and Thorne. The Mamas and Papas are 4 singers and they double track their voices on this song which means there can be as much as 8 vocals going at any one time. That's 8 vocal parts we had to figure out, assign to Lin or Thorne and organize on vocal tracks so that one person's part filled one track all the way through the song. Typically, Lin sang the Mamas parts and Thorne sang the Papas parts, but identifying which parts on the recording were sung by whom was incredibly difficult with all the reverb they use on their voices.

The album version is significantly different (and longer) than the single version. Instead of copying exactly the single version, we decided to take the best parts of the album version and make our own single version because the longer version has some nice parts we wanted in our version. In addition to all that, Thorne had to learn the bass part which has a lot of motion throughout the entire song, and also he had to learn drums, guitar and violins. And then mixing it all so that the vocals are balanced and clear, well, this one was no simple 2-day affair ! It was one of our toughest projects and we're happy with the way it turned out.

Trouble No More

On March 12 of 1971, Thorne attended a concert at New York City's Fillmore East. The headliner was Johnny Winter. The opener was Elvin Bishop's band. "Fooled Around and Fell in Love" was their 1976 hit with a lead singer, MIckey Thomas, who later was one of 2 lead singers in Jefferson Starship. The middle slot at that Fillmore show hosted an until-then little-known band named The Allman Brothers Band from Macon, GA. Well, The Allmans blew the doors off the place with their double drumming, electric guitar duo of Dickie Betts and Duane Allman, a premier slide guitar player, and the gravelly, passionate voice of Gregg Allman. Parts of this concert appear on "The Allman Brothers Band at Fillmore East" and "Eat a Peach," both 2-record sets.

It was Lin's idea to record "Trouble No More." She's been to a few Allmans concerts. Lin picks most of the songs we record and her batting average for songs that are good picks for us is way up there. Our implementation of "Trouble No More" features Thorne on slide guitar using, for the 1st time, a Les Paul Custom; Lin gives us a fine Southern Rock vocal, and a first for our recordings - double drumming (panned left and right).

What's Goin' On

Marvin Gaye had always been a great singer, but he really came into his own with his "What's Going On" album and its title song of the same name. It was released to the public in May of 1971. We lost Marvin way too soon. We're lucky to have such a great song. We tried our best to reach deep down for the passion with which Marvin sang it.

Pleasant Valley Sunday

In 1966 if you were 13 or younger, there was one band that was more popular than The Beatles. They had their own TV show before The Beatles and sold more records during that time than The Beatles. In the TV show they were hired as actors playing in a fictional TV show band. However, what they wanted was to be musicians in a band who were acting in a TV show. It was this difference in direction that became the undoing of the band and the TV show. It is rumored that Boyce and Hart wrote the majority of their music and they didn't play their instruments on their records, allowed only to sing. Despite everything, The Monkees do get a place in the history of Rock n Roll and "Pleasant Valley Sunday" is one of Lin's and Thorne's favorite Monkees songs.

Middle of the Road

From the Pretenders we recorded our version of "Middle of the Road." It has two firsts - Thorne plays harmonica! And Lin imitates a cat! Lin also demonstrates in a major way her Rock n Roll voice.

Wrapped Around Your Finger

"Wrapped Around Your Finger" is a tale of interpersonal relationship with mythological references ending in a turn of control when the "servant becomes the master." It was a hit song for The Police, a group that rose quickly to fame in the late 1970's. In 1983 they released their last album, "Synchronicity," which spawned 4 hit singles including this one. At that time they were considered the biggest draw in the world. But despite such a rating, they lost out to Michael Jackson's "Thriller" for best album of the year at the Grammys. In June of 1986 the Police played their last concert together, and for the last song, handed their instruments to the members of another band that would become the biggest draw, U2. For our cover, Lin plays the keyboards (except for strings during the choruses which are played by Thorne) and sings backup. Thorne does his best screaming as lead vocalist.

Sunshine of Your Love

"Sunshine of Your Love" is from super group Cream's 2nd album, "Disraeli Gears," and what a great album it is. Three of England's most-revered musicians playing the Blues like nobody's business. Such a simple song has become an iconic Rock and Blues hit. From Ginger Baker's off-beat drumming, to Jack Bruce's pounding bass, to Eric Clapton's soaring guitar riffs, it's a song that any amateur band can easily include in their repetoire to enter the world of Rock bands. Our version takes the tempo a bit slower and gives the backing guitar work a slightly heavier treatment. And Lin's vocal is pure Rock n Roll !

Call Me

"Call Me" is a song by 1970's punk group Blondie. It's not the greatest song and ended up being rather "blase" for us so we didn't release it publicly.

Hello It's Me

"Hello It's Me" is a song by musician extraordinaire Todd Rundgren. It was a big hit on his 2nd album in 1972, "Something/Anything." The story is that it was the first song he ever wrote in 1967. It was first recorded by his earlier band, Nazz, in 1968. It's a song with which anyone can identify who has been in a relationship breakup or just a bad relationship. The song is quite personal for Thorne who in 1973 was the perpetrator in such struggling relationships. The song was meant to be recorded with Lin on piano and vocals, but as Thorne was recording the backing tracks, he just took off and completed the recording in one day.

Throughout

"Throughout" is a song by great singer Petra Haden and fabulous guitarist Bill Frisell. It's a personal favorite of Lin's. Its complex vocal arrangement and finger-picking guitar work in both left and right stereo channels really put our talents to the test. Here it is, the mixing of 4 ethereal vocal tracks and 2 guitar tracks. We are pleased with the results and so release it to the Universe.

19th Nervous Breakdown

One of the many #1 hits from The Rolling Stones. We've taken the original and added our own Ventura touch to it with thanks to Petra Haden and Bill Frisell. We've covered Petra Haden before and it was nice to find out she's the daughter of Charlie Haden, one of the great Avant Garde Jazz bassists. And what can one say that hasn't already been said about the great guitar work of Bill Frisell?! Here is "19th Nervous Breakdown." All background vocals by Lin, instruments played by Thorne.

Mr. Soul

From one of Thorne's all-time favorite albums, "Buffalo Springfield Again," comes "Mr. Soul," a strong backbeat with lyrics about a man's struggling with the personification of fame and staying true to one's self. A band with Neil Young, Steven Stills and Richie Furay (of Poco fame), how bad could it be?! Our cover has a guitar army - 6 tracks of electric guitar !

Money

"Money" is a song written by Laura Nyro. Laura Nyro attained fame by writing songs for other people that made her songs #1 on Billboard Charts. Between 1968 and 1970 "Stoned Soul Picnic" and "Wedding Bell Blues" were hits for The 5th Dimesion; "Stoney End" was a hit for Barbra Streisand; "And When I Die" was a hit for Blood, Sweat and Tears; "Eli's Coming" was a hit for Three Dog Night. The list goes on and on. Nyro was a dedicated Feminist, felt at home with peace and womens' movements, and supported several human rights movements. She recorded 10 studio albums between 1967 and 1993. She didn't tour very much. She was posthumously elected to the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2010. She was praised for her emotive vocal style and her 3-octave mezzo-soprano vocal range. Nyro performed at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967. Reports of her being booed off the stage there are completely false. On a personal note, Laura Nyro was a huge influence on Lin's musical development and it comes out in her strong lead vocal on this song.

Josie

"Josie" is from Steely Dan's "Aja" album. There's a cute back story for this one. When Lin and I first started dating, she came to my house and wanted to hear my guitar playing. I knew that Lin knew several music business people and that she had dated guitarists before so I was quite nervous figuring the bar was high. I had recently been learning and playing on guitar and piano songs from "Aja," especially "Josie." But I was so nervous that when I started playing, I faced toward the wall instead of toward Lin! Luckily, I passed the audition ! Lin plays piano on this one and I'm playing slap bass.

Isolation

"Isolation" is from John Lennon's first solo album after The Beatles official demise, "John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band," released in 1970. Despite his promotion to musical god by his adoring public, Lennon sings that he is just as isolated from all the world insanity and joy as everyone else and that we are put there by our own devise and perhaps eventual demise. It should be a plea we should understand about where we are so that we can fix it, but the way things are going, unfortunately, isolation is increasingly more prevalent. Lin's passionate vocal gives it the vehemence the message deserves. And the 5-guitar army behind her amplifies it.

Minute by Minute

This song was part of the new, improved Doobie Brothers which occurred when Michael McDonald, with that golden voice, joined the band. This was one of 2 hits from their first album with McDonald, the other being "What a Fool Believes," co-written with Kenny Loggins. Lin played electric piano on this one and I gave the interlude my best falsetto voice.

Who Knows Where the Time Goes

This song was written by Sandy Denny, a former member of the 1960's British Folk Rock group Fairport Convention and follow-up band, Fatheringay. The song is a staple in the Folk genre and has been covered by several other artists such as Judy Collins, Nina Simone and 10,000 Maniacs. Lin puts all her heart into singing this song.

These Boots Are Made For Walkin'

In 1966, Nancy Sinatra, daughter of Frank, had a #1 hit with this song. On Memorial Day weekend Lin and I hung with family in Vermont. It came out that one of the guests sang and acted this song in something like a 3rd grade play and she reenacted it for us while I played guitar. We were hysterical. And that's why we decided to make our own cover of this song.

Windy

1967's "Windy" is one of the many great hits by 6-piece band, The Association. "Cherish," "Never My Love" and "Everything That Touches You" were all such great love songs with rich vocal harmonies. The story goes that it was The Wrecking Crew that played the instruments on "Windy" even though The Association did play their own instruments. The story is their previous album, "Renaissance," showed poorly in sales so their producer, Bones Howe, decided better musicians might change that. The song did hit #1 on the Billboard charts.

You're All That I Need to Get By

A cover of the Morgan James version of an Ashford and Simpson song, originally recorded by Marvin Gaye and Tammy Terrell. Just simple acoustic guitar and 2 voices in harmony.

I'll Supply the Love

"I'll Supply the Love" was the first hit song from 1970's LA studio musicians band, Toto. It's our 2nd cover of a Toto song. After we saw them with Journey on their 2022 world tour, we were jazzed. Although only one original member remains (Steve Lukather), over 50 years of recording and touring and they still sound amazing. Lin contributes some kick-ass vocals and piano work on our version and Thorne continues as our one-man backing band.

Would I Lie To You

In the 80's the music team of Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart formed a duo called The Eurythmics. They had a few hits including 1983's "Sweet Dreams," "Here Comes the Rain Again" and this one, "Would I Lie to You," a real rocker. In honor of their 2022 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, we present our cover.

I Heard It Through the Grapevine

"I Heard It Through the Grapevine" was a hit for 2 Motown artists - Marvin Gaye had the slower version, and Gladys Knight and the Pips made a faster version. The Miracles also recorded a version of it. The song was written by the Motown hits team of Whitfield and Strong. Gladys Knight's version was released first, but Marvin Gaye's version garnered much more popularity and in 1998 the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame for "historical, artistic and significant" value. Lin gets the lead vocal; Thorne did all the background voices and instrumentation.

Talk to Ya Later

The Tubes had one of the zaniest shows in their "White Punks on Dope" days. Costumes, motorcycles on stage, dancers, a very kinetic show. But it wasn't until 1981's "Talk to Ya Later" that The Tubes got more recognition. With some searing guitar work from Toto's Steve Lukather, it's a real rockin' tune.

Roam

When you hear B-52s, what do you think? It's not about bombers for us. It's about one of the most danceable Pop bands from the 80's. They came to fame with "Rock Lobster" in 1979 and much later hit it big with "Love Shack" in 1989. This is their 1990 hit, "Roam."

I'm The Man

If you're asked to name a song by musician Joe Jackson, your mind may draw a blank. But you probably know of his early hit songs "It's Different for Girls," "Look Sharp!," "Is She Really Going Out With Him?" and "Sunday Papers". And this is Thorne's favorite from those days, "I'm The Man," a real all-out rocker.

Whiter Shade of Pale

"Whiter Shade of Pale" is a 1967 hit song by Procol Harum.

White Sister

"White Sister" is a song by Toto from their 3rd album, Hydra. It's a prime example of why Thorne loves the guitar playing of Steve Lukather. It's an all balls out rocker and shows Lin's new-found Rock n Roll vocalizing.

Heroes

One of the many great David Bowie songs. An army of guitars and vocals. Our rendition of a fantasy life where we are our own heroes. This is the first time I've used a contraption called the Ebow to play that great guitar drone. Turn it up and do your dance. We are all "Heroes".

Funk Medley

Actually parts of 4 songs in one medley of Funk. (gotta be careful with that word!) The songs are:

• "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)" by Sly and The Family Stone
• "Play That Funky Music" by Wild Cherry
• "Brick House" by The Commodores
• "Baby I Love You" by Aretha Franklin

It took 18 tracks to get in all the instrumental and vocal parts. It took a little creativity to segue the songs together since they're in different keys, at different tempos and we didn't want just to glue them together without some way to tie them together musically. Since neither Lin nor Thorne have much experience playing Funk music, this medley was a fun adventure. It's some rhythm slapping, bass growling, and vocal shouting grooves, sprinkled with a little Soul.

Walk On By

One of the great pop hits by Burt Bacharach and Hal David. Lin on piano.

Don't Let It Bring You Down

Instrumentation. 2 tracks of drums and percussion, 1 electric guitar, 2 electric bass tracks, 1 synthesizer bass, 3 vocal tracks and piano by Lin.

This Neil Young song is a favorite of ours. It's one of Neil's earlier songs from the early 70's and hence became part of the soundtrack of our growing up. Our version has quite the heavy Rock flavor (yes, we stole some ideas from Annie Lennox). Always loved how Neil once introduced this song at a concert... "Here's a song that's guaranteed to bring you down. It's called Don't Let It Bring You Down."

It Won't Be Long

Instrumentation. 4 tracks of drums and percussion, 3 tracks of electric guitars, electric bass, 3 vocal tracks.

"It Won't Be Long" is from the first USA Beatles album on Capitol records ("Introducing the Beatles" on the VeeJay label was released before "Meet the Beatles" on Capitol and a stereo version of that VeeJay album is worth $12,000 according to record collecting books!). In the UK the song was on their 2nd album, "With the Beatles." We wanted to do something a little different so we stuck a surprise 2nd Beatles song in the middle of "It Won't Be Long." We think it fits perfectly.

Along Comes Mary

Instrumentation. 2 electric guitar tracks (one with the flute solo), 1 electric bass track, 1 harpsichord track, 3 tracks of programmed drums & percussion, 4 vocal tracks.

"Along Comes Mary" is the 1966 hit by The Association. What was very challenging was singing the lead vocal which at times must be 10 syllables per second ! They have to be sung so that the last few words fit into the time alloted to each verse. Harpsichord and electric guitar are panned hard left and right to cover the chords and a synthesizer preset was used to cover the piccolo (?) solo. This song was banned on some AM radio stations because it was thought that Mary was a disguise for Marijuana and in 1966 Marijuana was still being demonized as a seriously addictive and harmful drug. Even 1963's "Puff The Magic Dragon" was subjected to the same thinking. For goodness sake, it is a child's song!

Have You Heard

Instrumentation. 1 electric guitar track, 1 electric bass track, 2 piano tracks, 2 tracks of programmed drums, 1 vocal track, 2 tracks of synthesizer.

"Have You Heard" is a Jazz tune by Pat Metheny. He is my (Thorne's) favorite all-time guitarist who has inspired me to be a better player every time I listen to his playing. He has played with groups and solo and produced music. He has played all different styles and even performed solo shows with automated instruments that he programmed using MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface). I don't like everything he's done, but when he improvises his energetic guitar solos, I am mesmerized and inspired so deeply. This is my attempt to show my enjoyment of my favorite Pat Metheny composition. Lin had to stand on the sidelines while I put this piece together. I had to learn how to play the piano chords and spent many hours trying to get my best Rock Jazz soloing stamped on it.

Conduct

Instrumentation. 5 electric guitar tracks, 1 electric bass track, 1 Acoustic guitar track, 2 tracks of programmed drums, 1 piano track, 3 vocal tracks, 1 track of strings, 1 track of synthesizer.

"Conduct" is a song by The Cranberries from their "Roses" album.

Badge

Instrumentation. 3 electric guitar tracks, 1 electric bass track, 2 tracks of programmed drums, 1 piano track, 1 vocal track.

Lin makes her debut performing improvised piano on this song duing the guitar solo. The song is from Cream's 1969 "Goodbye" album which preceded their disbanding. Most notable is that George Harrison cowrote and played guitar on the song. What's funny is that Harrison and Clapton were sitting across from each other when Harrison was writing the lyrics and Clapton saw "Bridge" upside down and asked "What is badge?" And that's how the song got its name!

Sunshine Superman

Instrumentation. 3 electric guitar tracks, 1 electric bass track, 2 tracks of programmed drums, 1 harp track, 4 vocal tracks.

One of the coolest singers in the 60's was Donovan Leitch. He wrote cool songs about fantasy and love and had a unique voice. The Allman Brothers' "Mountain Jam" is based on Donovan's "There is a Mountain." Some of his best known songs are "Hurdy Gurdy Man" and one that we cover here, "Sunshine Superman." Lin plays synthesized harmonica on this one.

All My Life

Instrumentation. 2 electric guitar tracks, 1 acoustic guitar track, 1 electric bass track, 2 tracks of programmed drums, 1 piano track, 3 vocal tracks, 3 synthesizer tracks for horns & violins.

"All My Life" was written by Karla Bonoff, but it was Linda Ronstadt and Aaron Neville who recorded the more widely-known version on which our version is based. Thorne's vocal is all falsetto, an experiment that turned out well since it required relaxing his voice in order to stay on pitch. The song won the award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal at the 1991 Grammy Awards.

Angry Eyes

Instrumentation. 2 electric guitar tracks, 1 acoustic guitar track, 1 electric bass track, 2 tracks of programmed drums, 3 vocal tracks, 1 synthesizer track for horns.

"Angry Eyes" is a Loggins and Messina song. This one was Lin's suggestion (we try to alternate who chooses the songs) and it took a few listens and recording some initial tracks for Thorne to catch on. With a Yamaha Motif ES7 synthesizer added to our instrumental arsenal, we now have a wider variety of synthesized instruments to add. Thorne got to let loose with some improvisation using drums, horns, rhythm and lead guitars.

Hazy Shade of Winter

Instrumentation. 2 electric guitar tracks, 1 electric bass track, 2 tracks of programmed drums, 6 vocal tracks, 1 synthesizer tracks.

"Hazy Shade of Winter" is a song written by Simon and Garfunkle. It was a hit single decades later by The Bangles. Our version is a combination of the 2 versions but mostly a Bangles cover. The song was requested by Facebook friend and Westbury fan of my Westbury bands, Jerry Maio, who is always appreciative of our work.

Shh

Instrumentation. 3 electric guitar tracks, 1 electric bass track, 2 tracks of programmed drums, 4 vocal tracks, 4 synthesizer tracks.

"Shh" is a song by Frou Frou whose members include Imogen Heap, a performance artist much like Laurie Anderson. Imogen uses special gloves she designed that are used to generate the sounds heard by an audience. It's really something to see as she creates layer upon layer of sound, weaving it all into arrangements to which she vocalizes. This song fits in the genre known as Electronica.

Love Song

Instrumentation. 1 acoustic guitar, 1 electric guitar, 1 electric bass, programmed drums, 5 vocal tracks.

This is one of those songs that the very first time you hear it, it strikes a chord in your heart. "Love Song" was written by Leslie Duncan and covered on 2 Elton John albums. We had 2 different visions for how this song would play. Since we alternate who picks each song and this song was Thorne's turn, the song is more of how Thorne wanted it. Thorne was thinking protest song for the planet to get more Love in the world; Lin was thinking it's a love song from one person to another. It's true that music is subjective and a song can mean anything to anybody.

Easy Time

Instrumentation. 3 electric guitars (2 rhythm and 1 solo), 1 electric bass, programmed drums, 2 vocal tracks.

Here's a special song from Lin and Thorne. It's called "Easy Time" and what's special, at least for Thorne, is that it is completely improvised. The guitar and bass parts on the original recording sound improvised and so we decided to keep that spirit of improv. That is we have no version of the song to copy the instrumental parts like with our other tunes. Lyrics are by Jesse Harris; Music by John Zorn.

I Got You Babe

Instrumentation. 1 rhythm guitar, 4 electric guitars, 1 electric bass, programmed drums, 3 vocal tracks.

Written by Sonny Bono, "I Got You Babe" was the first big hit for Sonny and Cher in 1965 and remained their signature song. If you're old enough to remember the daytime Rock show "Where the Action Is" you'll remember that their song was a staple on that show. The Wrecking Crew played all the instruments on their record. On a cruise Lin and Thorne took, they joined in on Karaoke night and performed this song. All the orchestral instruments (piano, oboe and xylophone) are played on guitar.

More Today Than Yesterday

Instrumentation. 1 rhythm guitar, 3 electric guitars, 1 electric bass, programmed drums, 3 vocal tracks.

"More Today Than Yesterday" was a "one hit wonder" for the group Spiral Staircase in 1969. It was written by their lead singer, Pat Upton. The idea for the lyrics allegedly was based on a French poem by Rosemonde Gérard, "L'éternelle chanson" ("The Eternal Song").

Baby Blue

Instrumentation. 3 electric guitars, 1 acoustic guitar, 1 electric bass, programmed drums, 2 vocal tracks.

"Baby Blue" is a song recorded by Badfinger, the band most people recognize as Paul McCartney's discovery and one of the first bands signed to The Beatles' new Apple label.

What Is and What Should Never Be

Instrumentation. 3 electric guitars, 1 electric bass, programmed drums, 3 vocal tracks.

This one is dedicated to my brother Doug who remarked about our previous song uploads "How about something that doesn’t need LSD???" Doug is a big Led Zeppelin fan so Doug, we hope we've done justice for ya. We have a "bonus track" version that has dueling guitars during the coda.

A Beautiful Morning

Instrumentation. 1 acoustic guitar, 1 electric guitar, 1 electric bass, programmed drums, MANY vocal tracks.

Here's the story. Lin and I have this small town in "Massatwoshits" we go for romantic weekends. One morning we walked out into the day and it was just a gorgeous day. Without any advance notice Lin and I broke out into the same song at the exact same time and that song was "A Beautiful Morning" by the Young Rascals. So in honor of all the beautiful mornings this wonderful planet has to offer, here's our tribute.

Fun Fun Fun

Instrumentation. 1 acoustic guitar, 2 electric guitars, 1 electric bass, programmed drums, organ solo played on guitar and SEVEN vocal tracks.

After the sad "Warmth of the Sun" we needed something snappy and uplifting. "Fun Fun Fun" is definitely full of fun. And it was fun recording and mixing it.

Warmth of the Sun

Instrumentation. 1 acoustic guitar, 1 electric guitar, 1 electric bass, programmed drums and EIGHT vocal tracks.

"Warmth of the Sun" was written by Mike Love and Brian Wilson the day that JFK was shot. The story is that they were as sad as were we all and wanted to write a song. The lyrics aren't about the shooting, but the sadness is very apparent. Perhaps the message is that in the midst of all the horrible things that we humans do, there is still the warmth of the sun that no one can take away. Lin and I worked hard to get these beautiful harmonies right. I hope we've done it justice.

Floaty

Instrumentation. 1 acoustic guitar track of Gibson Hummingbird, 4 electric guitar tracks using a Fender Strat all played through a Boss GT-1000, 1 track of Fender Precision electric bass, 3 vocal tracks.

"Floaty" was written by The Foo Fighters. Our version was inspired by the version recorded by Bill Frisell and Petra Haden.

No Time

Instrumentation. Programmed drums, electric bass, acoustic guitar, 3 electric guitars and 3 vocals.

And while we're recording, Thorne decided to record one of his all-time favorite songs, "No Time" by The Guess Who. Lin does not perform on this song.

Building a Mystery

Instrumentation. Programmed drums, electric bass, acoustic guitar, 3 electric guitars and 3 vocals.

This is our cover of Sarah McLachlan's song. There are so many versions of it that we decided to borrow from all of them and add our own flavors. Lin gets the vocal duties except for a chorus background vocal from Thorne. All instruments played by Thorne.

Sunday Will Never Be the Same

Instrumentation. Programmed drums, electric bass, acoustic guitar, electric guitars and 4 vocals.

This is our cover of a song written by Gene Pistilli and Terry Cashman (of ""Talkin' Baseball"" fame) and recorded in 1967 by Spanky and Our Gang. Lin gets the lead vocal duties; Thorne sings all the background vocals. All instruments played by Thorne.

Cinnamon Girl

Instrumentation. Programmed drums, electric bass, 3 electric guitars and 3 vocals.

From Neil Young's "Everybody Knows This is Nowhere" album, we added this balls-out rocker. This one is fun to listen in headphones (think dueling guitars). Lin and Thorne share lead vocal duties; All instruments played by Thorne.

Stormy

Instrumentation. Programmed drums, electric bass, acoustic guitar, electric guitars and 4 vocals.

This is our cover of a song recorded by the Classics IV. Thorne gets all vocal duties; All instruments played by Thorne including the sax solo (which isn't a real sax).

I See the Rain

Instrumentation. 1 acoustic guitar track of Gibson Hummingbird, 1 rhythm guitar track using Fender Strat, 1 lead guitar using a Fender Strat (both Strats played through a Line6 Pod XT), 1 track of Fender Precision electric bass, 2 tracks of programmed drums, 5 vocal tracks.

"I See the Rain" is by Marmalade from 1967. The dense, vocal harmonies over a driving bass in the chorus really make this song. We completed this one in 2 days.

Lyrics:
Beautiful day, I'd like to lie on the green lawn
The ducks are congregating round and round the lily pond
And the cows have all gone
Runnin' home to put their coats on
Stay indoors while it pours 'til tomorrow
I see the rain again, I must complain again
Why does the rain let me down?
Will you try to make it sunny in the morning?

Five to ten, now it's time for the weather
Sun will shine and in its time get better
But it won't last for long
Clouds are spreading over London town
Stay indoors while it pours 'til tomorrow
I see the rain again, I'll take the blame again
I see the rain lets you down
But I'm gonna make it sunny in the morning

Crown of Creation

Instrumentation. 2 rhythm guitar tracks, one a 12-string Rickenbacker and the other a Paul Reed Smith Custom 24, guitar solo track was played using a Les Paul Custom, 2 tracks are Fender Precision electric bass, 3 tracks are programmed drums, 2 vocal tracks (with 3 vocals).

"Crown of Creation" is a cover of the Jefferson Airplane song from the album of the same name. Recording this song was a challenge because the song starts in 4/4, then changes to 5/4, back to 4/4 and then ends with a rather free-form vocal arrangement. Creating the drum tracks had to be done part by part since a single MIDI 4/4 drum track at the same tempo would not suffice.

The day we completed this song we found out its composer, Paul Kantner of Jefferson Airplane/Starship fame, had died. Making our rendition public on youTube was our way of honoring Paul. The first comment most people made when hearing this song was about how Lin sounds like Grace Slick.

Lyrics:
You are the crown of creation.
You are the crown of creation,
And you've got no place to go.

Soon you'll attain the stability you strive for,
In the only way that it's granted:
In a place among the fossils of our time.

In loyalty to their kind
They cannot tolerate our minds.
In loyalty to our kind
We cannot tolerate their obstruction!

Life is change.
How it differs from the rocks.
I have seen their ways too often for my liking.
New worlds to gain.
My life is to survive and be alive for you.

Some background on the lyrics which is in part taken from John Wyndham's SciFi novel, The Chrysalids:

The song "Crown of Creation" by Jefferson Airplane was inspired by the novel. Its title and lyrics are drawn from the text and plot with permission from Wyndham.[16] One example lifted almost verbatim from the text reflects a philosophical explanation by the Sealand woman: "But life is change, that is how it differs from rocks, change is its very nature." This line is rendered in the lyrics as "Life is change—How it differs from the rocks." The portion of the song that reads: "In loyalty to their kind / they cannot tolerate our minds. / In loyalty to our kind / we cannot tolerate their obstruction" is from an explanation by the Sealand woman that asserts the inevitability of conflict between a more advanced species and its less advanced progenitors. (The book's original phrase is "they cannot tolerate our rise.")

Triad

Instrumentation. 4 rhythm guitar tracks and one guitar-solo track were played on a 12-string Rickenbacker, 2 tracks are Ibanez 5-string electric bass, 2 tracks are programmed drums, 5 vocal tracks.

"Triad" was written by David Crosby. Our arrangement is based on the Jefferson Airplane version from their "Crown of Creation" album. Lin's lead vocal certainly makes the song her own. Our love of polyphonic "close" vocal harmony and unusual chord resolutions is evident on our rendition.

Lyrics:
You want to know how it will be
Me and him OR you and me
You both stand there your long hair flowing
Your eyes alive your mind still growing
Saying to me "What can we do now that we both love you?",
I love you too. I don't really see
Why can't we go on as three

You are afraid, embarrassed too
No one has ever said such a thing to you
Your mother's ghost stands at your shoulder
Face like ice, a little bit colder
Saying to you "you cannot do that, it breaks all the rules
you learned in school"
I don't really see
Why can't we go on as three

We love each other, it's plain to see
There's just one answer that comes to me
Sister, lovers, water brothers
And in time, maybe others
So you see, what we can do is to try something new
If you're crazy too. I don't really see
Why can't we go on as three

Everybody Wants to Rule the World

Instrumentation. 1 guitar-solo track played using a Fender Strat, 2 rhythm-guitar tracks using a Fender Strat, 1 very short track of acoustic guitar using a Gibson Hummingbird, 1 track of Ibanez 5-string electric bass, 2 tracks are programmed drums, 1 keyboard track using a Kurzweil SP4-8 "Fender Rhodes" preset, 1 keyboard track with a synth preset, 1 keyboard track for the flute sounds, 3 vocal tracks.

"Everybody Wants to Rule The World" was written by Tears for Fears from their second album, "Songs from the Big Chair", released in 1985. It wasn't easy playing a rock-steady, well-articulated, shuffle bass track for 4 minutes.

Lyrics:
Welcome to your life
There's no turning back
Even while we sleep
We will find you
Acting on your best behaviour
Turn your back on mother nature
Everybody wants to rule the world

It's my own design
It's my own remorse
Help me to decide
Help me make the most
Of freedom and of pleasure
Nothing ever lasts forever
Everybody wants to rule the world

There's a room where the light won't find you
Holding hands while the walls come tumbling down
When they do I'll be right behind you
So glad we've almost made it
So sad they had to fade it
Everybody wants to rule the world

I can't stand this indecision
Married with a lack of vision
Everybody wants to rule the world
Say that you'll never never never never need it
One headline why believe it?
Everybody wants to rule the world

Black Friday

Instrumentation. Base drum track and drum fills track, electric piano, Ibanez 5-string bass, 4 tracks (3 rhythm and 1 solo) of Fender Strat through a Line6 PodXT, 3 vocal tracks.

"Black Friday" was written by Steely Dan from their "Katy Lied" album. I (Thorne) went bezerk for the guitar solo. I got pretty hopped up by our rendition.

Lyrics:
When black Friday comes, I'll stand down by the door
And catch the gray men when they dive from the fourteenth floor
When black Friday comes, I'll collect everything I'm owed
And before my friends find out I'll be on the road
When black Friday falls you know it's got to be
Don't let it fall on me

When black Friday comes, I'll fly down to Musswellbrook
Gonna strike all the big red words from my little black book
I'm gonna do just what I please, gonna wear no socks and shoes
With nothing to do but feed all the kangaroos
When black Friday comes I'll be on that hill
You know I will

When black Friday comes, I'm gonna dig myself a hole
Gonna lay down in it 'til I satisfy my soul
Gonna let the world pass by me, the Archbishop's gonna sanctify me
And if he don't come around I'm gonna let it roll
When black Friday comes I'm gonna stake my claim
I guess I'll change my name

Click here for background about the song

Time of the Season

Instrumentation. Base drum track, 3 acoustic guitar tracks one of which is slide acoustic, 4 vocal tracks, 1 electric bass track, 1 programmed synth track.

"Time of the Season" was written by Rod Argent, a member of The Zombies at that time, and hit the radio air waves in 1969, 2 years after it was recorded for their "Odyssey and Oracle" album. We slowed it down to give it a more soulful feeling, emulated the original percussive sounds using programmed drums and added our own instrumentation on top of it. It's hard to go wrong when playing over a great groove and Rod Argent and The Zombies created just that on this song.

Lyrics:
It's the time of the season
When love runs high
In this time, give it to me easy
And let me try with pleasured hands
(To take you in the sun to) Promised lands
(To show you every one)
It's the time of the season for loving

What's your name? (What's your name?)
Who's your daddy? (Who's your daddy?)
(He rich) Is he rich like me?
Has he taken (Has he taken)
Any time (Any time)
(To show) To show you what you need to live?
(Tell it to me slowly) Tell you what
(I really want to know)
It's the time of the season for loving