...and the rest of the song is also good! ;)

sheer perfectness - super balanced, timeless songwriting. Hoping to hear more from Joseph Houck & co soon

Country rock with a bluegrass flavor. I am liking this. Great songwriting, singing, and instrumental performance.

sipping this lyricism like a Jack Daniels on rocks

Classic songwriting done with a honest and authentic delivery!

My 2nd full-length album is a mix of folk, rock, and country in moods of magic, mischief, and melancholy.

www.josephhouckmusic.com

Congeries

Nuku Nuku Nurmilintu is traditional Finnish Lullaby. This track is my attempt to arrange and reharmonize this tune.

Nuku Nuku Nurmilintu (Finnish Lullaby)

During my recuperation after illness, I wanted something lightweight to create music with that didn't require breathwork, which counted out my newly-bought Native American flute. I'd hankered after a lyre, ended up buying a 22 string harp because I thought I wanted more strings. I was wrong. My beautiful lyre came from the States, is made from spalted red oak and maple and I'm rather in love with her. As energy returns, I'm looking forward to doing more with her. Here's her first outing - a 12th/ 13th century tune from the Orkneys.

Nobilis Humilis

Crow Hill Company have made another beautiful instrument - "Dulcet Voice" - using the lovely vocals of Dot Allison. It's been much anticipated and was indeed worth the wait. This my first track using it. I find her voice mesmerising, hence the title!

Hope you enjoy it. :)

There is a video to go with this track at: https://youtu.be/QT1WJVBBmYk

Mesmerised

This track was composed in response to a challenge from the Crow Hill Company to create a piece of music in whatever style was personal to the composer, but using only the 6 free instruments currently available in Crow Hill's Vaults Beta collection, those being:
Drum studio; Chorus synth; Attic Grand; R + D strings; Celest-a-Tone; Shimmer Guitar.

Anyone who knows my previous compositions will realise that I have a wide musical taste and don't stick to any one genre. However, as I have been working on tracks under the "Clutha Project"  heading for a while now, I decided to re-visit a theme already used twice in that collection, namely "Lichen & Rust". These tracks are all linked to my childhood memories and family connections in the area of the River Clyde in Scotland; trying to capture the essence of them before they (and my memories) fade away.

There is a video to go with this track: https://youtu.be/dLP-CKVlxtc

The images used in this video are all stock images and none (as far as I know) link directly to the Clyde, but the decline and fall of the old industrial ports and shipbuilding yards is much the same no matter which country you take the images in. The feel of something lost, something departed, or something slowly ebbing away is the same in any language.

Enlimila - Lichen & Rust Reprise (Clutha Project)

Things To Learn

This is my version of "Famous Blue Raincoat", written by Leonard Cohen. It was released in 1971 on the album "Songs Of Love And Hate"
I tried to keep the arrangement as simple as I could with just two guitars and strings. Cohen is a great inspiration for me, and I hope that I'm able to make some justice to this masterpiece. 

Lyrics:
It's four in the morning, the end of December
I'm writing you now just to see if you're better
New York is cold, but I like where I'm living
There's music on Clinton Street all through the evening
I hear that you're building your little house
Deep in the desert
You're living for nothing now
I hope you're keeping some kind of record
Yes, and Jane came by with a lock of your hair
She said that you gave it to her
That night that you planned to go clear
Did you ever go clear?
Ah, the last time we saw you you looked so much older
Your famous blue raincoat was torn at the shoulder
You'd been to the station to meet every train
You came home without Lili Marlene
And you treated my woman
To a flake of your life
And when she came back
She was nobody's wife
Well I see you there with the rose in your teeth
One more thin gypsy thief
Well I see Jane's awake
She sends her regards
And what can I tell you my brother, my killer
What can I possibly say?
I guess that I miss you, I guess I forgive you
I'm glad you stood in my way
If you ever come by here, for Jane or for me
Well your enemy is sleeping, and his woman is free
Yes, and thanks, for the trouble you took from her eyes
I thought it was there for good so I never tried
And Jane came by with a lock of your hair
She said that you gave it to her
That night that you planned to go clear
Sincerely, L. Cohen

Famous Blue Raincoat - Leonard Cohen cover

My latest composition with vocals, piano, bass, percussion, erhu and synths. 
Mastered by my lovely Sander. 😊❤️🎶❤️

Not A Moment Too Soon

Mark says - 
In the 5 years I have been working with Rod, I have been encouraged to reach as far as my experience allows me to, with complete support at all times. So far we have completed 11 songs and have experimented with several others that made for a great learning curve for me, with several more at other stages of development... Watch this space, however as we are methodical and patient, therefore it may take some time to get them off the ground.

The subject matter of this song may be based on a different scenario but it is also a token of my gratitude to my inspirational collaborator and friend Rod, who has given me much confidence to rise to the ambition of his musical creativity and meticulous arrangements. Thank you all for giving this song your time.

Rod says - 
This song was conceived a long time ago to be sung in Spanish, but Mark did a magnificent adaptation with his English lyrics, and the meaning is 100% faithful to the original spirit, even though he hadn't heard the original song in Spanish. Technically, there are three voices together, consolidating a multi-vocal performance. The synth sounds emulate my old analog and FM synths, and the guitars were routed through an old console to achieve the vintage sound I was looking for.

Rodolfo Planes - Music composition, instrumentation, arrangement, production and mix - @rplanes
Me - Vocals and lyrics
Image by Douglas Corrance

Thank You (Rodolfo Planes/Mark J Bennett)

I would like to tell you just how grateful I am,
And also how important you’ve been here in my life.
I know I don’t need to draw you a diagram,
Thank you for being there all this time as my wife.
I have to tell you just how good you’ve been for me,
And I hope that I have also been there for you,
When you needed me through all this trouble and strife.
 
No need to show me all of your gratitude,
I already know how much you show that you care,
When you were prepared to move to my latitude,
Then I was convinced I was ready to share,
My life with you whatever it threw at the both of us.
I know that it’s true, no matter what you care to say.
I’ll always need to express all of my thanks to you 
This will always be true on that I swear.
 
I would like to tell you just how grateful I am,
And also how important you’ve been in, in my life.
I have to tell you just how good you’ve been for me,
And I hope that I have also been there for you,
When you needed me through all this trouble and strife.
Then I was sure that I was ready to share,
My whole life with you, whatever that meant for the both of us.
I know that it’s true, whatever you say.

This song on Continental Collision's own cloud - https://soundcloud.com/user-517923604/thank-you

Also available on Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/album/5pfvPjop9XCJPrVL9a60U0

Thank You - Continental Collision (Rodolfo Planes & Mark J Bennett) on Spotify

Here's one from my forthcoming album "Congeries."  "The Mountain" features several talented artists who kindly lent a hand. 

Drums- Bryan Ciliberto
Piano- Martin Lucas
Pedal Steel- Matt Wilson
Backing Vocals- Anna Houck
Guitar, Bass, Organ, Vocals- Joseph Houck
Mixed by Jon Huxtable

Photo by Laura Rash


Lyrics:
Going up on the mountain
Don't know when I'll be back
All my old friends and lovers
They welcome me back
They welcome me back

And some say the New River
Is as old as the Nile
Like that name they give her
I hope to stay young awhile
Through the last brackish mile

Going up on the mountain
O'er the valleys and hills
Reaching out for new beauty
In the palms of old thrills
As it drains from the hills

Going up on the mountain
No, I ain't coming back
Leaving old cares behind me
Like a ramshackle shack
On a hill gray and black

The Mountain

Good morning, friends! My new album "Congeries" goes live today! It's a mix of country, folk, and rock in moods of magic, mischief, and melancholy. It's available on CD and digital download at Bandcamp.com and other online locations. It's been years in the making, and I got to work with talented individuals to make it happen! Thank you all so much for supporting my music, and I hope enjoy this latest offering!

Visit my website to listen and buy:
http://www.josephhouckmusic.com

Here's track 5 "On That Hill"

Martin Lucas: piano
Joseph Houck: vocals, guitars, bass, organ

Mixed and Mastered by Jon Huxtable

Lyrics

Swathes of leaves on that well-worn path 
In their earthen gully graves 
The woods grow dim, the beasts come out 
From their hidden mountain caves 

His old plank shack in shadows black 
In sweat and pride was built 
Veiled in vines, the once straight lines 
Did sag and drag and tilt 

Chorus: 
The grass grows high 
And in the wind it sways 
And the sun beats down on that hill 

On that hill they call his grave: 

There’s a creek runs down, springs from the ground 
Not too far, where he would drink 
In the summer heat he’d soak his feet 
And rest awhile and think 

And he held the girl he called his wife 
They tilled and grew their crop 
And when the harvest finally came 
She was about to pop 

Chorus 

There he died at a ripe old age 
His son grown, his wife gone 
Next to her he was buried 
On that hill they both called home 

His shack--no room-- an empty tomb 
And the trail would disappear 
But the spring would flow, and it would know 
At last that he was here 

Chorus

On That Hill (featuring Marty Lucas)

Feathertop

And with these words 
I breathe the spark of being 
Upon my latest design 
Dressed so neat 
a pipe, a hat and feather, 
And a coat so fine 
And a coat so fine 

Wooden arms start to animate 
His pipe begins to glow a flame 
He feels hunger he can’t satiate 
He likes the fact he’s got a name 

The papers show our newborn star 
“Hay Man Sweeps the Countryside” 
He stumps in cornfields near and far 
With promises to change their lives 

One day a wind comes and blows right through him 
(His cares had long blown away) 
And left him feeling 
hollow, torn, and jumbled 
So he had nothing left to say 
Ah yes, he threw it all away 

Blind seers exposing the lies 
They hate to say they told you so 
“Couldn’t we see through the disguise?” 
“He’s nothing but a scare-crow!” 

In dried-up cornfields near and far 
Now the crows do as they please 
The papers show our fallen star, 
Riots burning effigies 

An instant heap of sticks and straw 
Has left a sense of innocence 
Perhaps more human than us all-- 
This paragon of emptiness 

The papers show our risen star 
Lit up on holy funeral pyre 
An elegy called “Straw Martyr” 
Is carved into his sepulchre 

And with these words 
I breathe the spark of being 
Upon my latest design 
Dressed so neat: 
a pipe, a hat and feather, 
And a coat so fine 
And a coat so fine


Lyrics loosely based on the Nathaniel Hawthorne story "Feathertop: A Moralized Legend."

Written and performed by Joseph Houck
Mixed and Mastered by Jon Huxtable
Photo by Laura Lee Rash

Song featured on my new album "Congeries" out now! 
Find it here: www.josephhouckmusic.com

Feathertop

You took my hand 
And away we went 
Along the trail 
As the twilight hit 
In the wooded hills 
Where chaos sleeps 
And our souls are kept 
Where the love runs deep 

And your mildness is 
March’s dawning hold 
On a barbwire fence 
That is now turned old 
But it looks alright 
By the living stream 
Where the trees grow high 
Toward stars that gleam 

And all the Springs we’ll see 
On our ancient hill 
While your eyes they shine 
As they always will 
And you plant yourself 
Right next to me 
And the sun goes down 
Here we’ll always be 

You took my hand 
And away we went 
Along the trail 
As the twilight hit 
In the wooded hills 
Where chaos sleeps 
And our souls are kept 
Where the love runs deep

Track four from the album "Congeries"
Available at www.josephhouckmusic.com

Along The Trail

Here's track one from my latest album CONGERIES, featuring Jeff Martin on bass, drums, and backing vocals.

Mixed and mastered by Jon Huxtable (smallfishrecordings).

Lightning-bolts and Hurricanes 
(last verse includes words from “Barbara Allen” Trad. and 
Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 18” and "Romeo and Juliet") 

Little Darling, 
Who is it wears the ball and chain? 
Take these shackles from my neck 
That I might breathe again 

A storm is raging, 
The ceiling drips with rain 
But summer breaks through 
With lightning bolts and hurricanes 

Now, on the pastures, 
The prairies, and the plains 
Sunlight bathes the lowing cows 
And dries the window panes 

"It's one or the other," 
Old man leans upon his sugar cane 
He says, "Pour us another round 
Of lightning bolts and hurricanes" 

The green buds swellin' 
In the merry month of May 
Rough winds shake my darling, true 
But life teems from decay 

These violent delights 
Must end with violent pangs 
For summer breaks too 
With lightning bolts and hurricanes

www.josephhouckmusic.com

Lightning Bolts And Hurricanes

It Changes

Vainer

Singer songwriter from the mountains of North Carolina

New EP "Blue Ridge Mountain Waterfalls" out now (Sept. 18th, 2025)

www.josephhouckmusic.com

Lightning Bolts And Hurricanes

Joseph Houck

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