Rob's Album 2 Diary
Song 1 – Commotion
I finished writing the lyrics for this song on June 2nd, early in the morning. Lyrically the song is about feeling like things are just too hectic and you’re starting to feel helpless and overwhelmed. I sent the lyrics over to Simon that morning and he did his magic, writing the music of the tune. He sent the song back to me on Friday the 5th, and I got to work writing the keyboard parts on Saturday the 6th. After a couple hours I had just the part I was looking for and recorded it, and once again sending it back to Simon. He gave the final go-ahead on the very first mix, and song number 1 for our second album was officially in the bag. This is one of my current favorite Liberty’s Exiles songs.
Song 2 – Somewhere Else
Lyrically, this song is about a person who is with someone that he knows he is not meant to be with, but stays anyway, because he knows that is what is expected of him. I sent the finished lyrics to Simon on Friday the 5th of July, and had the song back to me on Saturday. I spent some time listening to the song and recorded my keyboard parts after work on Monday morning, the 8th of July. This song is a real scorcher. And another great in the Liberty’s Exiles library.
Song 3 – Heart And Soul
On July 9th, I received a very pretty song from Simon called “Heart And Soul”, just an amazing piece of music that I fell in love with right away. From the moment I heard it, I knew that strings would be the way to go on this one. After a few hours of playing around with it, I had something that complimented the song quite nicely. Some very nice moments in this song!
Song 4 – Anything Can Happen
I finished the lyrics for this one on July 9th. This one is a personal one to me, lyrically. It deals with thinking that I would never achieve my dream of being involved in the writing/recording of music. And then, thanks to Simon, I achieved that dream with Liberty’s Exiles. It’s been fun, and I love what Simon did musically for this song. When I got it, I wasn’t sure what to do, but I went back to my old standby, “Rocking Mogue”, and I think it turned out pretty good (despite a power outage taking away the first draft… I can’t remember if I liked the first version more or not). This was also the first time that I added more than one sound to a Liberty’s Exiles song (just something a bit quieter for the verses). Another great one. This album is shaping up to be killer!
Song 5 – Dreams Dreamers Dream
Simon sent this gem on July 13th while I was working on finishing up “Anything Can Happen”. I decided to tackle it one half at a time. The first half, the quieter half, I went with some simple piano and strings, to keep the delicate mood that Simon had created. The second half, the heavy half, was a bit more of a monster to tackle. In the end, with the second half of the song, I really liked what Simon had done already and went with the “less is more” school of thought. I still really like the bit I came up with though. This is a very proggy tune, and one I’m quite fond of! After sending it off, Simon asked that I simplify the piano parts in the first half of the song. He was right. It was way too busy. After cutting back the piano bits, it sounded very cool.
Song 6 – Went Too Far
“Went Too Far” is a song that Simon sent me on July 16th, a damned cool song, and one that I had agonized over. I could hear cool parts in my head, but had a lot of trouble figuring out the right sound. I kept my playing sort of sparse on this one, because I really felt the song didn’t call for all that much input from me. I really didn’t hear much for myself to do. It was damned good on its own.
Song 7 – Forever Bleeding
This is the longest piece of music that I’ve ever been a part of, and I think it turned out amazing. The lyrics tell the story of Hell literally spilling out onto Earth. With demons and the Father of Lies taking over the planet and enslaving the human race. The lyrics came together rather quickly, and were written slightly out of order. I had finished the lyrics when I went back and added some things here and there, and completely wrote “Evil Forces”. When I sent the lyrics over to Simon, I also sent this “theme” that had been running around in my head since 2002. Just this cool bit of music that I had never been able to do anything with. Something got a bit screwy when Simon started sending the pieces he had finished. So I heard the last 4 parts of the song before the first part. I finished writing my bits for “Troubled Chaos” and “Evil Forces” on the evening of July 22nd. I sent the lyrics and “theme” to Simon on July 16th. I can’t believe how quickly this tune came about. There are some amazingly beautiful moments in this song (“Forever Bleeding” and , “Evil Forces”), and some incredibly creepy moments (“Torture”, and “Ascend”). I am so amazed that I had a part in writing a progressive rock epic, and I can’t wait for others to hear it.
Song 8 – Say You Care
After the epic song “Forever Bleeding”, I wasn’t sure if there were going to be any more songs on this album, but Simon sent this cool song over on July 24th, and hit it out of the park again. Sure a sweet groove in this song. I added some gritty sounding keys to put my mark on this one. The perfect song to follow up the epic piece.
Song 9 – Fate
Just before I got the file for “Say You Care” from Simon, I sent the lyrics for the song, “Fate”. The lyrics for this one are about a path that should have been, but simple freewill changed that destiny completely. Each verse starts with the second line of the previous verse. Something I borrowed from Rush’s “The Larger Bowl”. I had envisioned this one as total ballad, but what Simon sent back was much better than I had imagined. Such a beautiful piece of music. He called it an “anthem”… I’d have to agree. Great number.
Song 10 – A Laughing Tear
On July 27th, Simon sent me “A Laughing Tear”, and I was in love with this song from the moment I heard it. I couldn’t imagine a better way to close this album, than with this amazing song. I added some simple strings and some piano bits to what Simon had crafted. It’s so melodic, and just a perfect way to close up this chapter in Liberty’s Exiles.
And there you have it. In less than a month the second Liberty’s Exiles album was started and completed. I absolutely adore this album, and am so proud to have been a part of it. I had so much fun working with Simon once again, and it has truly been a dream come true. I hope you enjoy listening to this album as much as I did in helping create it. I think these ten songs are some of the best songs I have heard in my life. Okay, that might be a bit obvious, as I was involved in their writing, but they are really great songs. And if you are reading this, then the album is out there, and I hope you give it a few listens.
I would like to thank and dedicate my work here to just a few people: To my wife (Janae) and kids (Robbie, Selena, Samantha), whom I owe everything in the world, my parents for bringing me up around music, to my brothers Nick, Dereke, and Kevin, for putting up with me growing up, to my sister-in-law (Tonya), nieces and nephews (Alyssa, Kaleb, Sophia, Leia, Zane), cousins (particularly Brandy, who has always been such a good friend to me), aunts, and uncles, and all of the friends (TJ, Heath, Ert, Chris & Sarah to name a few) who have helped me along the way, and to my Aunt Marlo (I wrote the lyrics for “Forever Bleeding” for you, and am so happy to have you in my life), my SH Rock Brothers (Jim, Richard, Jordan, Gary, and the whole gang), the slew of internet friends I’ve made (Doreen, My RUSH brother Chris, my very good friend, and queen of the gingers: Sheri, Martin, Kim, Perry, and so many more than I could ever count), to all of those I’ve lost along the way (my father-in-law, my Uncle Casey, Uncle Mike, and Grandpa Dail), and of course, to everybody who is reading/listening to this album, thank you all so much. To anybody I have forgotten… my bad. I’m sorry. I love you all. Also, to the almighty Rush, for being the band that has always kept me listening to music. And finally, to Simon, for all of the great music and a chance to be a part of this great band. WANDL.
I finished writing the lyrics for this song on June 2nd, early in the morning. Lyrically the song is about feeling like things are just too hectic and you’re starting to feel helpless and overwhelmed. I sent the lyrics over to Simon that morning and he did his magic, writing the music of the tune. He sent the song back to me on Friday the 5th, and I got to work writing the keyboard parts on Saturday the 6th. After a couple hours I had just the part I was looking for and recorded it, and once again sending it back to Simon. He gave the final go-ahead on the very first mix, and song number 1 for our second album was officially in the bag. This is one of my current favorite Liberty’s Exiles songs.
Song 2 – Somewhere Else
Lyrically, this song is about a person who is with someone that he knows he is not meant to be with, but stays anyway, because he knows that is what is expected of him. I sent the finished lyrics to Simon on Friday the 5th of July, and had the song back to me on Saturday. I spent some time listening to the song and recorded my keyboard parts after work on Monday morning, the 8th of July. This song is a real scorcher. And another great in the Liberty’s Exiles library.
Song 3 – Heart And Soul
On July 9th, I received a very pretty song from Simon called “Heart And Soul”, just an amazing piece of music that I fell in love with right away. From the moment I heard it, I knew that strings would be the way to go on this one. After a few hours of playing around with it, I had something that complimented the song quite nicely. Some very nice moments in this song!
Song 4 – Anything Can Happen
I finished the lyrics for this one on July 9th. This one is a personal one to me, lyrically. It deals with thinking that I would never achieve my dream of being involved in the writing/recording of music. And then, thanks to Simon, I achieved that dream with Liberty’s Exiles. It’s been fun, and I love what Simon did musically for this song. When I got it, I wasn’t sure what to do, but I went back to my old standby, “Rocking Mogue”, and I think it turned out pretty good (despite a power outage taking away the first draft… I can’t remember if I liked the first version more or not). This was also the first time that I added more than one sound to a Liberty’s Exiles song (just something a bit quieter for the verses). Another great one. This album is shaping up to be killer!
Song 5 – Dreams Dreamers Dream
Simon sent this gem on July 13th while I was working on finishing up “Anything Can Happen”. I decided to tackle it one half at a time. The first half, the quieter half, I went with some simple piano and strings, to keep the delicate mood that Simon had created. The second half, the heavy half, was a bit more of a monster to tackle. In the end, with the second half of the song, I really liked what Simon had done already and went with the “less is more” school of thought. I still really like the bit I came up with though. This is a very proggy tune, and one I’m quite fond of! After sending it off, Simon asked that I simplify the piano parts in the first half of the song. He was right. It was way too busy. After cutting back the piano bits, it sounded very cool.
Song 6 – Went Too Far
“Went Too Far” is a song that Simon sent me on July 16th, a damned cool song, and one that I had agonized over. I could hear cool parts in my head, but had a lot of trouble figuring out the right sound. I kept my playing sort of sparse on this one, because I really felt the song didn’t call for all that much input from me. I really didn’t hear much for myself to do. It was damned good on its own.
Song 7 – Forever Bleeding
This is the longest piece of music that I’ve ever been a part of, and I think it turned out amazing. The lyrics tell the story of Hell literally spilling out onto Earth. With demons and the Father of Lies taking over the planet and enslaving the human race. The lyrics came together rather quickly, and were written slightly out of order. I had finished the lyrics when I went back and added some things here and there, and completely wrote “Evil Forces”. When I sent the lyrics over to Simon, I also sent this “theme” that had been running around in my head since 2002. Just this cool bit of music that I had never been able to do anything with. Something got a bit screwy when Simon started sending the pieces he had finished. So I heard the last 4 parts of the song before the first part. I finished writing my bits for “Troubled Chaos” and “Evil Forces” on the evening of July 22nd. I sent the lyrics and “theme” to Simon on July 16th. I can’t believe how quickly this tune came about. There are some amazingly beautiful moments in this song (“Forever Bleeding” and , “Evil Forces”), and some incredibly creepy moments (“Torture”, and “Ascend”). I am so amazed that I had a part in writing a progressive rock epic, and I can’t wait for others to hear it.
Song 8 – Say You Care
After the epic song “Forever Bleeding”, I wasn’t sure if there were going to be any more songs on this album, but Simon sent this cool song over on July 24th, and hit it out of the park again. Sure a sweet groove in this song. I added some gritty sounding keys to put my mark on this one. The perfect song to follow up the epic piece.
Song 9 – Fate
Just before I got the file for “Say You Care” from Simon, I sent the lyrics for the song, “Fate”. The lyrics for this one are about a path that should have been, but simple freewill changed that destiny completely. Each verse starts with the second line of the previous verse. Something I borrowed from Rush’s “The Larger Bowl”. I had envisioned this one as total ballad, but what Simon sent back was much better than I had imagined. Such a beautiful piece of music. He called it an “anthem”… I’d have to agree. Great number.
Song 10 – A Laughing Tear
On July 27th, Simon sent me “A Laughing Tear”, and I was in love with this song from the moment I heard it. I couldn’t imagine a better way to close this album, than with this amazing song. I added some simple strings and some piano bits to what Simon had crafted. It’s so melodic, and just a perfect way to close up this chapter in Liberty’s Exiles.
And there you have it. In less than a month the second Liberty’s Exiles album was started and completed. I absolutely adore this album, and am so proud to have been a part of it. I had so much fun working with Simon once again, and it has truly been a dream come true. I hope you enjoy listening to this album as much as I did in helping create it. I think these ten songs are some of the best songs I have heard in my life. Okay, that might be a bit obvious, as I was involved in their writing, but they are really great songs. And if you are reading this, then the album is out there, and I hope you give it a few listens.
I would like to thank and dedicate my work here to just a few people: To my wife (Janae) and kids (Robbie, Selena, Samantha), whom I owe everything in the world, my parents for bringing me up around music, to my brothers Nick, Dereke, and Kevin, for putting up with me growing up, to my sister-in-law (Tonya), nieces and nephews (Alyssa, Kaleb, Sophia, Leia, Zane), cousins (particularly Brandy, who has always been such a good friend to me), aunts, and uncles, and all of the friends (TJ, Heath, Ert, Chris & Sarah to name a few) who have helped me along the way, and to my Aunt Marlo (I wrote the lyrics for “Forever Bleeding” for you, and am so happy to have you in my life), my SH Rock Brothers (Jim, Richard, Jordan, Gary, and the whole gang), the slew of internet friends I’ve made (Doreen, My RUSH brother Chris, my very good friend, and queen of the gingers: Sheri, Martin, Kim, Perry, and so many more than I could ever count), to all of those I’ve lost along the way (my father-in-law, my Uncle Casey, Uncle Mike, and Grandpa Dail), and of course, to everybody who is reading/listening to this album, thank you all so much. To anybody I have forgotten… my bad. I’m sorry. I love you all. Also, to the almighty Rush, for being the band that has always kept me listening to music. And finally, to Simon, for all of the great music and a chance to be a part of this great band. WANDL.