Samples Cuts from

Old Road New Ways

WITH ARTIST NOTES

Vampfire A bit on the dark side the Vampire has some fire. If there were lyrics for this song, it would be a rock ballad. The grumbling base line gives the growl needed to pump the song along. More of an ominous sound. The sweet lead guitar tones come from the overdriven telecaster with heavy strings. Some quiet sections of the song for reflection.  

Red Stripes The song title is inspired by the fine Red Stripe Lager, the "great Jamaican beer". This is my foray into Reggae music. It was a surprise to learn that performing this music is not quickly intuitive as it might seem. Perhaps because Reggae has evolved from multiple styles -- calypso, ska, rock steady and dancehall. I've listened to this music from the 1950s-1970s when Harry Belafonte (Jamaica Farewell), Bob Marley & The Wailers (Cry to Me), Paul Simon (Mother & Child Reunion) and Eric Clapton (I shot The Sheriff) popularized Reggae. Before learning how to play it, the Reggae style seemed like it would be easy enough to play. But the time is unusual. Bass 1/8 notes on the first 3 beats of 8. Short and low bass notes commanding a low register. A single kick drum on the 5th beat of 8. The electric guitar providing an offbeat scratching guitar strum in the background. The lead guitar weaving it's way through verse and chorus. While the style seems natural, it feels completely unnatural to play, initially. There's more to learn for sure!     

On The Other Hand  this song started out on a flat-top acoustic guitar. The guitar is tuned to DADGBD. There is a capo on the 6th position. Hence the song is in A-flat, played with open string chords in the style of the Mississippi Blues. Not to restrict the entire song to a single style, there is a hint of a broken Irish jig playing the lead guitar part in the choruses.     

Roadway E In the key of E-minor, Roadway E was composed and mixed exclusively with the XP-80 synth a few years ago. The song was originally featured on my first album, Cruising Lane II. In that version, there was a flute part, however it was synthetic. On Old Roads, Wendy Herbener Mehne returns to play the part with the Brannen-Cooper flute, creating a far superior rendition. I think she required one take - almost no studio time. That's a professional musician for you.  

Old Roads New Ways The title song is pure Rock & Roll,  played in a low and sort of grey register. It begins with a growling grunge-like chorus of three guitars and bass. Major chords with long sustain create a blue feeling around the song. Bold lead guitar with a lot of fingerboard noise at the end of long sustain phrases.  The raw lead guitar part was performed on the Gibson ES-175. This instrument supplies some of its own mechanical overdrive. Powerful resonance coming from the beautiful acoustic body often overloads the pickups. This works fine in a studio. On stage, the guitar would need to be replaced with a solid body because of the stage feedback issues.   

Notes to Carlos Written on the keyboard, the opening melody emulates the sound of a steel drum. The bass guitar line followed. Then the lead guitar part.  The song has a conversation that alternates, verse and chorus, in A-B fashion.  This was one of the fastest writes recently, with all parts being completed within an hour. Later on, the lead guitar part was modified. An ES-175 guitar was chosen, and modified to mimic the elegant sounds of the silk-strung Japanese Koto, a 13-string instrument. This was done by weaving layers of yarn through the strings at the bridge end of the guitar to dampen the G-B-E strings in the higher registers. The sound of the Koto adds mystique to the melody. Maybe it is the long history and folklore of the instrument, going back to before its 8th century import to Japan. It has also survived intense westernization.

Perioden der Sonne The song was earlier named "Periods of Sun", based on an experience I had in Bermuda. For the day, the weather forecast was "Periods of Sun". There were long cloudy grey spells, punctuated by a blast of sun and a blue sky. Then back to long cloudy grey spells. That seemed to describe the A-B verse-chorus structure of the song. A sort of grey verse melody in a minor key, followed by a bright chorus in a major key. The bright or major key choruses represented the periods of sun. But there was also a sort of "Teutonic" feel to the song, reminiscent of Berlin /EU Rock. I had a discussion about it with a dear friend and authority on J.S. Bach. She suggested that the style was part (left hand or bass) and counterpart (right hand or melody), a Bach method of composing and then performing on keyboard. There could be three integrated melodies on the organ, the pedal/bass, the left hand - melody2 and the right hand - melody1. Well, I have always loved Bach's music, and I also like the "Teutonic" rationale. So, I renamed the song to be Periods of Sun in German, or, Perioden der Sonne.

Ridin' Out  This is a very short song at only 1:10. It was originally recorded on my first album, Cruising Lane II.  As with Roadway E, there was a flute part in the original song, however it was synthetic.  Again, with Wendy on flute, the song is much improved.  All parts were replaced with new performances. The keyboard sound is called "poly-brass", and provides a raspy tail to the phrases and also the song ending.  A warm vibraphone works alongside the flutist. I've been playing the song on piano since 1970.

July 32  People ask me "Why did you name this July 32?". Exactly. It is just an oxymoron. If for no other reason, it's out there to prompt the question. Maybe it is a periodic adjustment to the calendar, like Leap Year, to align the earth calendar with our planetary cycle. Or a simple typo. Or Global Warming, as the summer season is extended.

The song strives to provide an old world style of music, and festive. Perhaps a small composition, written and performed for a person of royalty and/or wealth. The early version of July 32 sounded Midieval (not that we could truly know that sound) with simple string, flute and drum sounds. The song begins with some recorded sounds from Orchestra Hall in Chicago. The song itself was not taped there, but the Hall piece would prove to lend a live feel to the song performance. You can hear the patrons chatting away and instruments practicing their parts. The concertmaster leads the tuning of instruments. Finally, the tap of the conductor's  baton - and there is quiet. The bongo taps three times, and music begins.

The intro section of the song is also the song's chorus or part "B" played in D-minor. The first verse, or "A" part brightens to a D-major chord. There are quite a few instruments involved, two rhythm acoustic guitars, a lead guitar (the Ovation), the flute (played expertly by Wendy Herbener Mehne), the trombone, bongo drums, and lastly, it is framed with the fender bass. I had been working on the song for a couple of years, looking for the right sound for the melody. Originally the melody was played as a duet, with lead guitar and viola. I then experimented with the flute for the melody part. Working with the lead guitar and the trombone and the flute to form the melody, these new sound took shape. Notably, after the flute part was added , everything else needed some improvement.

Alfresco Row Another song that was laid down in four parts within a couple of hours. The four parts are Lead guitar (Ovation), Acoustic Bass (Fender Jazz Bass with on-board EQ), a Brush Drum Set and Rhythm Guitar (Ovation) with a capo on 6 (B-flat). Following the recording there were very few adjustments to the parts, an attempt to preserve the spontaneous sound. It is a jazz guitar melody, with an attempt to mimic the sound of a nylon-strung classical guitar. The song can provide an ambiance about it like that of a small circus band. Perhaps even better, this could be performed in the format of a jazz quartet. To this day, I believe that somehow this song is not new, rather it is a pre-existing jazz standard from my subconscious, and that one day I will have an encounter with the copyright owner or with the song itself. Fans tell me they have never heard this melody, and that it must be a Brian Frederick original, and to "keep composing".  The song name?  In Brussels, in the cobblestone alleys just off the Grand-Place or 'de grote Markt', starting in the late afternoon, a gastronomic paradise, with dozens, maybe hundreds of serious restaurants offering alfresco dining. Very competitive. An endless row of alfresco tables, complete with white tablecloths, canvas awnings and infrared heating.  

Sashimi Bliss Played in the key of F-minor, this song started with the piano providing the melody and bass lines.  A lead part was added for guitar, played on the ES-175. A synth trombone part also has a lead part, and works closely with the guitar lead line. This is a very laid-back sound. The song title came from a once-frequent dinner routine that included abundant quantities of sashimi and Japanese beer - such a simple but excellent pairing. Laid back.  But the lead guitar has a driving sustain sound, assistance provided by the overdriven pickups of the jazz large body guitar.

Underground Originally recorded on the Lakeshore Nights album, underground was recovered from the "bit archives", remixed and re-mastered.   I had been listening to that work, which was assembled in 2003, and wanted to give some new light to this piece. Looking at it a few years later, it still has appeal as a story told through a melody   

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