Well here we are with another collaboration with my good friend Lee Lucas and this one is probably a bit of a one off ...
Lee and I have both been fielding comments recently on our Genesis Tributes Project from a couple of our good friends and SoundCloud collaborators Cam and Mike aka Aedificium and Puppywolf along the lines of: "I reckon you guys should have a crack at a cover of one of Peter Gabriel's solo numbers, like Solsbury Hill or Red Rain maybe ..."
So, OK Lee and I have risen to the challenge on this occasion and we give you our respectful take on 'Solsbury Hill' and a lot of fun we had on the way as usual:))
Once again, Lee has done a terrific job on the vocals and once again has come up with a splendid piece of artwork to accompany the track ... cheers mate!
Hope we've managed to do this classic some justice ... oh, and you can blame Cam and Mike for all this!!:))))

(Original Lyrics and Music by Peter Gabriel)

Lee Lucas ~ Vocals 
Graham Lavallin ~ Guitars and arrangement 
Instrumentation: 
Fender Strat through Apogee Gio pedal board interface to access the onboard GarageBand amps and FX pedals for electric guitar. 
Ovation Celebrity electro-acoustic guitar through Roland Sonic Cell interface and custom acoustic guitar patches for acoustic guitar. 
AMG Rhodes Classic vst 
EWQL Solo Flute; Drum kits and percussion and acoustic guitar vst layers 
Roland Jupiter 50 strings and synth bass 
GarageBand synth vsts various

All recorded and mixed in GarageBand. 

Al lyrics and notes relating to the original Peter Gabriel track are to be found over on Lee's cloud I believe along with a free download on his BandCamp page at:

 http://lluc75.wix.com/lee-lucas#!the-genesis-tribute-project/cgab

Many thanks again for dropping by and giving a listen. All comments are greatly appreciated by us both as always:))

Lavallin & Lee Lucas ~ Solsbury Hill (Peter Gabriel Cover)

I've been a fan of Goldfrapp since their debut album 'Felt Mountain' appeared in 2000, probably my favourite album of theirs. I've had a tribute arrangement of my favourite track, 'Utopia', from that album in my DAW for ages, with the Alison Goldfrapp vocal parts done with EWQL 'Voices Of Passion' used in layers as an approximation, but of course it lacked the feeling of the original.
On a recent visit to my home, my good friend Martin Eve aka 4th Eden spotted this on my desktop and he suggested mutual friend Marianne Holland here on SoundCloud would love to do the vocals on this tribute as they are both Goldfrapp fans too. 
Marianne it turns out was actually unfamiliar with that first album and had picked up on the later ones, so she came to this tribute project having heard 'Utopia' for the first time when she heard my arrangement. She has done an absolutely first rate job on the vocals here and hits those impossibly high notes with apparent ease ... her vocal range is amazing.
Martin came in again at the end and completed our respectful tribute with a final mix and has done a top job. I hope we have managed to do the fabulous original some justice.


Original Lyrics and Music by Alison Goldfrapp and Will Gregory ~ Goldfrapp

Tribute Version:

Vocals ~ Marianne Holland
Arrangement ~ Graham Lavallin
Final Mix ~ 4th Eden

Many thanks for dropping by and giving a listen. All comments are greatly appreciated as always:))

Utopia (Goldfrapp Tribute) ~ Lavallin * Marianne Holland * (4th Eden mix)

This fine country and western style song is one of many written by my good friend Mark Courtnage, who has a fine voice also and always reminds me so much of Roy Orbison. Mark and I recorded this one last year and it was my first opportunity to have a go at putting an arrangement together from his demo recorded on his home keyboard and mike, with acoustic guitar.
Mark sent me the midi file of his demo recording and I was able to assign EWQL drum sounds and harmonium to the midi tracks of his drum and organ sequences and then record acoustic guitar, mandolin and electric guitar parts and finally remix the vocals and this is the result. 
Marks fine songs can be found over on his page at:  https://soundcloud.com/mark-howard-2
if you get a chance to stop by and have a listen ... any comments would be much appreciated by him I know :)
Cheers Graham 

The Hardest Game ~ Mark Courtnage arr. Lavallin

This favourite track from Jeff Wayne's epic 'War Of The Worlds' album invariably comes to mind at this time of the year ... this is an instrumental arrangement/tribute with some Strat guitar taking some of the vocal parts, melody  and fills ...

Forever Autumn (Jeff Wayne & Justin Hayward) Instrumental Tribute

In the spirit of doing something completely different and also in the spirit of Halloween, soon to be upon us, here's a funky instrumental cover/arrangement of the Michael Jackson classic 'Thriller' ... spooky!!:))

Thriller (Michael Jackson) Instrumental Cover/Arrangement

These instrumental cover versions of two favourite Yes tracks, I've put 'back to back' as one arrangement because they seem to fit.
'We Have Heaven' is an instrumental cover version of one of several short tracks to be found liberally sprinkled in with longer tracks on the 1972 'Fragile' album.
'Soon' was found at the tail-end of 'The Gates Of Delerium', the first of three long tracks which made up the 1974 'Relayer' album.
I used to always carefully lift the record player arm and try and cue the stylus to drop onto the beginning of this piece (usually unsuccessfully) so I could hear just that part alone. Years later I was so chuffed when it appeared on the 35th. Anniversary Yes Collection CD as a track in it's own right!
This cover arrangement is Fender Strat for the electric guitar parts and EWQL/AMG soft synths for all other parts ... with EWQL 'Voices Of Passion', respectfully if not accurately used as an approximation of the Jon Anderson vocals ... 

We Have Heaven ... Soon (Yes Tribute) Instrumental Cover

Well, it's Valentines Day, so I thought I'd upload an instrumental cover of  'Je t'aime …  moi non plus' ... for all the lovers:))

Originally a hit in 1969 for Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin, and featuring some steamy, breathy vocals from Jane Birkin in their original … I was courting when this song was in the charts, so this one brings back many happy memories ;-)

My own version here of this 'oldie but goldie' is a Strat guitar instrumental arrangement … thanks for stopping by and giving a listen:)) 

Je t'aime ... moi non plus (Serge Gainsbourg) Instrumental Cover

This respectful tribute to the music of Mike Oldfield is my cover/arrangement of two segued tracks 'Oceania' and 'Only Time Will Tell' which originally appeared on the 1994 album 'Songs From Distant Earth' … probably, along with 'Tubular Bells' and 'Ommadawn', my favourite Mike Oldfield album.

I've used EWQL and AMG vst instruments and my Fender Strat and Vintage Les Paul guitars, but made no attempt to emulate Mike's very distinctive guitar tone … much as I admire his unique sound I am unable, as yet, to come close to achieving it. So instead, I've used my own guitar tones and also have omitted vocal loops, preferring to focus on the guitar arrangement while attempting to capture some of the spirit of the original tracks.

Thanks for listening:)) 

Oceania / Only Time Will Tell ~ (Mike Oldfield Tribute)

This being my 100th. track uploaded to SoundCloud, I've chosen a track recorded quite some time ago now, which seems to fit the bill...  i.e. '100 not out' in cricket terminology:) This was my first recorded effort using GarageBand rather than my old standalone Boss digital recorder and it's an instrumental tribute to the great Roy Harper and his song 'When An Old Cricketer Leaves The Crease', originally found on his 1975 'HQ' album. Roy is a dedicated cricket fan and his song captures the atmosphere of a village cricket match and is an elegy to the 'great game' as played during his (and my) youth. It has some lovely lyrics and has a nostalgic sense of what has passed, underlined by the rather beautiful Grimethorpe Colliery Band part, arranged by David Bedford, and it is of course, very English. If I was a singer I'd have loved to do a proper vocal cover ... but I've had to make do with just a guitar instrumental version to make my respectful tribute using the Ovation Celebrity electro-acoustic guitar and Fender Strat electric guitar and one or two bucolic field recordings, courtesy of freesound.org, to try and capture a little of the atmosphere of a cricket match on a village green, in Summertime.
I've taken the liberty of showing the lyrics below so as to help get the feel of the song, but I expect there are clips of Roy singing this live out there on  the inter-web on you tube somewhere ... anyway it's a lovely tune and a firm favourite of mine. Thanks for listening:))

This is probably an opportune moment also to say a big thank you to all who have taken time out along the way to listen and leave a comment or two on my page ... I very much appreciate your support, it makes it all worthwhile really:))
Also big thanks to all the fellow SoundClouders who I've had the pleasure and the privilege to work with on collaboration projects along the way ... you've made an old man very happy!!LOL Cheers now:))

'When An Old Cricketer Leaves The Crease' (Original Lyrics & Music by Roy Harper)

When the day is done, and the ball has spun, in the umpire's pocket away
And all remains, in the groundsman's pains for the rest of time and a day
There'll be one mad dog and his master, pushing for four with the spin
On a dusty pitch, with two pounds six of willow wood in the sun

When an old cricketer leaves the crease, you never know whether he's gone
If sometimes you're catching a fleeting glimpse of a twelfth man at silly mid-on
And it could be Geoff, and it could be John, with a new ball sting in his tail
And it could be me, and it could be thee, and it could be the sting in the ale
Sting in the ale.

When an old cricketer leaves the crease, well you never know whether he's gone
If sometimes you're catching a fleeting glimpse of a twelfth man at silly mid-on
And it could be Geoff and it could be John, with a new ball sting in his tail
And it could be me and it could be thee, and it could be the sting in the ale
The sting in the ale.

When the moment comes and the gathering stands and the clock turns back to reflect
On the years of grace as those footsteps trace for the last time out of the act
Well this way of life's recollection, the hallowed strip in the haze
The fabled men and the noonday sun are much more than just yarns of their days.

When an old cricketer leaves the crease, well you never know whether he's gone
If sometimes you're catching a fleeting glimpse of a twelfth man at silly mid-on
And it could be Geoff and it could be John with a new ball sting in his tail
And it could be me and it could be thee and it could be the sting in the ale
The sting in the ale.

When an old cricketer leaves the crease, well you never know whether he's gone
If sometimes you're catching a fleeting glimpse of a twelfth man at silly mid-on
And it could be me and it could be thee.

*The song mentions two England cricketers in its lyrics - "And it could be Geoff and it could be John" refers to Geoff Boycott and John Snow. Roy's song is dedicated to both of them.


When An Old Cricketer Leaves The Crease ~ (Roy Harper Tribute) Instrumental

I'm a long-time Marillion fan from the Fish era through to, and including, the current Steve Hogarth era and I approached  my good friend Mark (https://soundcloud.com/markjbennett )  a few months ago to suggest this Marillion song as a tribute/collaboration, assuming that he was a fan. It turned out that he knew very few Marillion songs and had never heard this one before, but he was rather taken with it and with typical self effacing reservations about his own ability to do the song any sort of justice, he agreed nonetheless to give it a go, providing I didn't expect him to emulate Steve Hogarth's sensitive but very powerful vocals on the original. I am enormously grateful to Mark both for agreeing  to tackle this beautiful but challenging song, but also for his sticking power, singing it repeatedly and trying to get the feel for it while still managing successfully to put his own spin on the song. I am grateful too for his great artwork to accompany our respectful collaborative tribute.
The original Marillion song, a personal favourite, is found on their 2001 album 'Anoraknophobia' and there are numerous live renditions of the song on youtube ... here is one link:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2h9stMs8rs (Preview)

Mark Bennett ~ Vocals and artwork (with a little help from Michelangelo Buonarroti)
Graham Lavallin ~ Guitars and arrangement.
Instrumentation:  Fender Strat through a Boss ME70 pedal board for all electric/slide guitars.  Ovation Celebrity electro-acoustic guitar through Roland Sonic Cell interface  for acoustic guitar.  EWQL Fretless bass; drums and percussion; Roland Jupiter 50 synths and strings.

All recorded and mixed in GarageBand.

Thanks for listening:))

'When I Meet God' (Marillion Tribute) ~ Original music and lyrics by Marillion ( Written by Mark Kelly, Peter Trewavas, Steve Hogarth, Stephen Rothery, Ian Mosley)
            
When I Meet God lyrics © BUG MUSIC
 
And if the bottle's no solution
Why does it feel so warm
And if that girl is no solution
Why did she feel so warm
And if to feel is no solution
Why do I feel
Why do I feel so tired
Why do I feel so broken
Why do I feel so outside
Why do I seem so blind
I'm so sick of feeling
It's ruined my life
 
If living rough is no solution
Why does it ease my mind
If looking back is no solution
Why are we all
Nothing but children
Children inside
 
Why do the Gods
Sit back and watch
So many lost
What kind of mother
Leaves a child in the traffic
Turning tricks in the dark
What kind of God?
 
I crawled around inside myself
It was a long way down
It was a mine and it was mine
And in the darkness
I saw a perfect mirror
Floating in space
 
When I meet God
I'm going to ask her
What makes her cry
What makes her laugh
Is she just stars and indigo gas
Does she know why
Love has no end
But it's dark-angel friend
Tearing women and men
Slowly apart
 
Listen
Stain
Don't do that
Scream
Don't do that
Fail
Never do that
Never do that
I want to go out
Don't do that
I want an adventure
Just stay
I want
Just stay in
I want to make love
 
And if the bottle's no solution
Why does it feel so warm
And if looking back is no solution
Why are we all just children inside
And if to feel is no solution
Why does the whole damn world feel so broken
So outside and out-of-sorts
 
A perfect mirror
Floating in space
Waves and numbers
But oh, such beautiful numbers
And oh, such waves…



When I Meet God (Marillion Tribute) * Lavallin * Mark J. Bennett

I thoroughly enjoyed working with my good friend Mark Bennett ( https:soundcloud.com/markjbennett ) on our last collab together with the Marillion Tribute 'When I meet God', so I was more than happy to embark on this latest journey with him. Mark asked me if I fancied the idea of doing a Phil Collins era Genesis tribute/cover which would be more familiar territory, as the Marillion song had been totally new to him. I had very basic arrangements of 'Entangled' & 'Ripples' in my DAW & I sent them over to Mark to try out and he went for 'Ripples' as his first choice, which happily was also mine. So we set to and Mark sent me his first vocal take which, despite his usual reservations, I thought was just right in feel and emotion for this beautiful song, with it's wistful theme of ageing.
The middle instrumental section, where there is not too much happening musically, was a bit of a challenge so I've gone for a watery, trippy feel with the guitar and synth parts here to suggest sliding into the pool, diving to the bottom and rising to the top again to join with the vocal build and onto the added fadeout ending ...   
Mark is a vocal treasure imho and this offering is very much a moving testament to his sensitive vocal abilities ... though, with his usual modesty, I know he would be the first to refute this:)) I am enormously grateful to him also for his great artwork to accompany our respectful collaborative tribute.

I understand that, unfortunately, due to a critical lack of minutes with his account as it stands, that Mark will not be submitting this track to his own cloud as is customary ...  but, I know he'll be listening in and I'd be very surprised if he does not reply here suitably, in his own inimitable way, to any comments and quite honestly I would welcome it ...  ;-) 

The original Genesis song, a personal favourite, is found on the 1976 album 'A Trick Of The Tail'.

'Ripples' ~ Genesis Tribute (Original music and lyrics by Genesis, written by Mike Rutherford & Tony Banks)

Mark J. Bennett ~ Vocals & Artwork
Graham Lavallin ~ Guitars, arrangement and production
Instrumentation: Fender Strat through Apogee Gio pedal board interface to access the onboard GarageBand amps & FX pedals for all electric/slide guitars.
Ovation Celebrity electro-acoustic guitar through Roland Sonic Cell interface and custom acoustic guitar patches for acoustic guitars.
EWQL Steinway D Piano, drumkits and percussion.
Roland Jupiter 50 synth strings and bass.
Arturia ARP2600 Arpolina lead synth.
AMG Arp Solina Strings
AMG Mellotron

All recorded and mixed in GarageBand.

Thanks for listening:))

Ripples lyrics © EMI Music Publishing

Blue girls come in every size
Some are wise and some otherwise
They got pretty blue eyes
For an hour a man may change
For an hour her face looks strange
Looks strange, looks strange

Marching to the promised land
Where the honey flows and takes you by the hand
Pulls you down on your knees
While you're down a pool appears
The face in the water looks up
And she shakes her head as if to say
That it's the last time you'll look like today

Sail away, away
Ripples never come back
Gone to the other side
Sail away, sail away

The face that launched a thousand ships
Is sinking fast, that happens you know
The water gets below
Seems not very long ago
Lovelier she was than any that I know

Angels never know it's time
To close the book and gracefully decline
The song has found a tale
My, what a jealous pool she is
The face in the water looks up
She shakes her head as if to say
That the blue girls have all gone away

Sail away, away
Ripples never come back
They've gone to the other side
Look into the pool
Ripples never come back
Dive to the bottom and go to the top
To see where they have gone
Oh, they've gone to the other side

Songwriters: BANKS, TONY/RUTHERFORD, MICHAEL
Ripples lyrics © EMI Music Publishing




Ripples ~ (Genesis Tribute) * Lavallin * Mark J.Bennett

A couple of weeks ago I asked my good friend Mark Bennett (https://soundcloud.com/markjbennett) if he would consider writing some lyrics and maybe doing the vocals, to some original pieces of music I had put together, all of which were dealing with human consciousness and metaphysical themes. One of these, ‘Lost Lake of Souls’, suggested to Mark a kind of Irish Folk meets Peter Gabriel feel, and he was instantly fired up but, perhaps more important, he made the connection to my recent visit to my 97 year old mother who is in a care home and suffers the condition of dementia and  he suggested we tackle the subject of Alzheimers Disease (a form of dementia) as the theme of the song and change the title to 'Lake Of Lost Souls' which I thought was a terrific idea. The next day Mark had most of the lyrics and I tentatively gave some more suggestions, which Mark incorporated into the final song but it was the first verse which touched me instantly, it was as if Mark had sat in on that visit and had read my thoughts as I held my mother's hand that day. This is an intensely personal song which has proved to be very cathartic and therapeutic in it's production process and it deals with both those affected by the disease but  also by those affected by that loved one's suffering. Sadly nowadays, almost everyone, knows or has known someone who has lost something of their identity and so much of their dignity to this terrible disease. Mark and I are aware that it demands much of the listener and we just hope it may strike a chord and touch others in the same way and hopefully draw attention to the plight of those affected.
 
This is the first of a collection of songs under the umbrella title ‘Between Two Worlds’, which I hope to work on with Mark in the coming weeks and months and I am greatly indebted to Mark for his invaluable, sensitive, lyrical, vocal and artistic input on this one. 
 
Here are some links if you need more information.
http://www.alzheimers.org.uk/
http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Alzheimers-disease/Pages/Introduction.aspx
 
Vocals, Lyrics and Artwork ~ Mark J.Bennett (https://soundcloud.com/markjbennett) 
All Music and Instrumentation ~ Graham Lavallin

Instrumentation: Fender Strat through Apogee Gio pedal board interface to access the onboard GarageBand amps & FX pedals for all electric guitars.
Korg Kronos and Roland Jupiter 50 synths
EWQL 'Voices Of Passion' layered backing vocals /choirs
Atmosphere loop

All recorded and mixed in GarageBand.

Thanks for listening:))

'Lake Of Lost Souls'  ( © Lavallin/Bennett 2014 )

I mourned you this morning,
Though you’re not yet gone,
This hand I am holding,
Used to belong,
To the one closest to my heart,
Distant now, forever drifting
On the lake of lost souls

Comfort and peace,
Sweet release.

Between two worlds 
Now is time to let go
Is but a fleeting domain,
Your spirit will always be free.
Now is time to let go
Between two worlds

Comfort and peace…
Distant now, forever drifting
Comfort and peace…
On the lake of lost souls

Distant now, forever drifting
Comfort and peace…
On the lake of lost souls
Comfort and peace…

I mourned you this morning,
Though you’re not yet gone,
This hand I am holding,
Used to belong,
To the one closest to my heart

Songwriters: Graham Lavallin and Mark J. Bennett ( © Lavallin/Bennett 2014 )

Lake Of Lost Souls ~ (Lavallin) feat. MarkJ.Bennett

We are in the centenary year of the outbreak of the Great War of 1914~18, and August of this year marks the 100th. birthday of perhaps the most enduring urban legend of the 20th.Century ~ 'The Angel Of Mons', an inspiring tale once described by the eminent historian A.J.P.Taylor as 'the greatest wartime mystery of the twentieth century'.
Two weeks after the outbreak of the First World War, a force of 30,000 British troops became trapped and surrounded in the Belgian town of Mons by a massive German Army, three times as strong. But at the very moment they expected to be annihilated, the German attack was suddenly halted, allowing the British force to escape to fight another day.
On the Home Front, the escape of the British Expeditionary Force was proclaimed as a 'miracle' by patriotic newspapers whose readers believed the Germans had been stopped not by armed force but by supernatural forces ~ angels and bowmen led by the English patron saint, St. George, brandishing a fiery sword.
During the remainder of the war, soldiers and nurses came forward to claim they had personally witnessed the miracle at Mons. The legend captured the imagination of thousands across the world, brought hope to those who had lost loved ones on the Western Front and was resurrected again to inspire a new generation following the retreat from Dunkirk in 1940.
This is the 4th. track from 'The Great War 1914~18  Centenary Suite', set against the backdrop of the 'war to end all wars' and the cultural shift heralded by that cataclysmic conflict.
My 'partner in crime' in this challenging but exciting venture is my good friend Mark J. Bennett who is currently working on several vocal tracks with me and will be bringing his invaluable lyrical and vocal talents to bear in crafting songs, hopefully of strong emotional and healing quality.
Mark is a huge inspiration and has fired my enthusiasm for this project completely and I am greatly indebted to him for his invaluable input and support. We will be joined on one track also by the lovely Marianne aka StarGrace, contributing both bass guitar and her wonderful vocals. 
I'll be making a playlist/set for the album project and the track list is as follows: 

'The Great War 1914~18 Centenary Suite' (LAVALLIN) feat. StarGrace & Mark J. Bennett:

            (i) Oh To Be In England ... (Instrumental)
           (ii) Cold Wind In Sarajevo  (Instrumental)
          (iii) The Lamps Are Going Out All Over Europe ...
                   The Ballad Of Harry Patch (feat. Mark J. Bennett)
          (iv) The Angel Of Mons Suite (Instrumental)
                   * Waiting In The Wings * Over The Top
                   * Against The Odds * The Angel Apparition
                   * March Of St. George
           (v) Lament For The Fallen (feat. StarGrace 
                  & Mark J. Bennett)
          (vi) The Spirit Lives (feat. Mark J. Bennett) 

Instrumentation for Angel Of Mons Suite:

Korg Kronos and Roland Jupiter 50 Synths
AMG VST Mellotron 
EWQL VST Drums, Percussion, VOP Vocal Layers, Orchestral Instrumentation
Fender Strat Guitar through Boss ME70 Multi FX and Echoes Of The Past Delays
FX Loops and Atmospheres

All recorded and mixed in GarageBand. 

My apologies for the extraordinary length of the track notes in this instance (and this track itself ... all the others are much shorter)  and I thank you for your endurance and patience in listening :))
  
 

The Angel Of Mons Suite ~ (Lavallin)

This piece, the third track from 'The Great War 1914~18  Centenary Suite', started out as one of three tracks I sent to my good friend Mark J. Bennett  soundcloud.com/markjbennett to add lyrics and vocals to. This one was originally titled 'Queen Of Light', with a repeating hammered dulcimer synth line and electric guitars and opened with the striking match. Mark heard a marching sound with it and talked of soldiers marching and letters home to loved ones and really had me fired up and thinking along the lines of a WWI theme and as he'd expressed a desire to revisit my earlier piece 'Lament For The Fallen, then the idea of the WWI Centenary Suite was born. But this track has evolved into what we have now by the inclusion of spoken word parts by Mark for the intro 'Lamps Going Out' inspired by 'Lord Grey's speech on the eve of the war and also Mark picking up on the theme of the Kaiser's speech with the repeated lyric 'We'll be home for Christmas, just you wait and see' and recording multiple vocal tracks, not in perfect sync to emulate the sound of rookie soldiers singing and marching slightly out of time and I've added the sound loop of the soldiers marching to reinforce this feel. However when I set to to record spoken parts myself, using written accounts of soldiers experiences in WWI, I came across these recorded clips of  Private Harry Patch's testimony of his experience of the Great War and this piece took another turn entirely ... 
  
Harry Patch, 'the last fighting Tommy', born in Somerset in 1898,  the same year as my own father, was a remarkable man. He is famous as being the last British 'Tommy' survivor of the Great War, dying peacefully in 2009 aged 111 years old. He was of course feted by the great and the good and those who would bask in the reflection of his stardust in countless photo opportunities and his funeral was a state affair with several dignitaries in high profile attendance. But, Harry in life would have no truck with that nonsense and had no hesitation in putting many of them firmly in their place and sent many of them scuttling away in bruised indignation ... for though Harry had volunteered for King and Country at age 16 'to do his bit', he and 4 other pals vowed that they would never kill their foe, preferring instead to stop their man and bring him down without killing him. Of course they knew that what their little band of brothers were in a pact to do would be regarded by the authorities as an act that would lead to court martial and summary execution and whenever he mentioned it all those years after the event he would give a nervous conspiratorial chuckle as if he might still be held to account for his deeds.
Harry's thin raspy voice and age-worn Somerset accent exudes the emotion and horror of those desperate times in the trenches and his accounts are so deeply moving ... this track is dedicated to him and his little group of five as much as to the millions of others who laid down their lives for their country in the Great War of 1914~1918: 

'The Great War 1914~18 Centenary Suite' (iii) ~ The Lamps Are Going Out ... The Ballad Of Harry Patch' ( © Lavallin/Bennett 2014 )

Spoken word:

'The lamps are going out all over Europe ...we shall not see them lit again in our lifetime' ~ Lord Edward Grey's famous speech on the eve of the Great War.

Lyric:

We'll be home in time for Christmas, just you wait and see (3X)

Spoken word:

'You will all be home before the leaves have fallen from the trees' ~ The Kaiser's speech to departing troops in August 1914

Narrative:

'A private soldier from Somerset, Harry Patch, became the very last 'Tommy' who actually fought in the trenches of the western front'.

Harry Patch:

'You could hear the guns ... you never knew when one was going to fall short ... that was the bugger of it!'

'We heard the shell burst, saw the flash and I went down ... how long I stayed there I don't know' ... (gunfire & explosion)

Narrative:

'Harry was badly wounded and three of his friends were killed'.

Harry Patch:

'There was nothing ever found .......... (long pause) .... I was lucky. (big sigh) 'I've tried for eighty years to forget it ... but I can't. If any man tells you he went over the top and he wasn't scared ... he's a damn liar!!'

'I had no inclination to fight anybody ... I mean, why should I go out and kill somebody I never knew ... for what reason?'

'When I joined the Army, I swore I would serve my King and Country and by some reason or other it flashed into my mind, when Moses came down off Mount Sinai ... the sixth commandment he brought down ~ "Thou shalt not kill" ~ and I can't kill him. I had about five seconds to make my mind up ... I shot him above the ankle and above the knee and I brought him down ... I didn't kill him'.

Lyric:

We won't be back in time for Christmas ...

Harry Patch:

'The five of us were a little group together and that's what worried me most, when three, four and five were killed'.

Narrative:

'The pact's members, and those whose lives they'd saved, would now be joined by one who'd spent 111 years as a living testimony to the priceless virtue of none of it ever happening anymore ... if Harry patch could help it. 
Wars will cease when men refuse to fight. By his giving it the firmest possible shine, it had made him and his old friends greater than anything that had taken place in that so called Great War ~ that serial enormity ...

Lyric:

We won't be back in time for Christmas ...

Harry Patch:

'I picked up a piece of shell about two inches long, half an inch wide ... jagged edge to it ... right in the groin! (gunfire & explosion)
Doctor came along and he said "Would you like me to take that shrapnel out?"
And the pain from it was terrific, and he said "Before you say yes, I've no anaesthetic in the camp whatsoever ..."
I said "How long will you be?"
He said "Well about two minutes ..."
So I thought for a minute and I said "Go ahead with it" and, in those two minutes, I could have killed that bloody doctor!!'

Narrative:

'Every Remembrance Day the Nation falls silent to honour the millions of men who fought and sacrificed themselves in the Great War of 1914 ~18'

Lyric:

We won't be back in time for Christmas ...

Narrative:

'The name of Harry Patch, the very last fighting 'Tommy', will live on forever with them ...'


With grateful thanks to Alan Cox and Bernard Hill for tenure of the text of the narrative and of course the deeply moving account from Harry himself.

This is the latest of a collection of songs from a WWI Centenary Suite ‘Between Two Worlds’, which Mark and I are currently working on and which is part of the forthcoming 'Healing Hands Of Time' album. I am greatly indebted to Mark for his invaluable, lyrical, vocal spoken and artistic input on this one.


Vocals, Lyrics, Spoken Word and Artwork ~ Mark J.Bennett (@markjbennett)
Spoken words and testimony of Harry Patch ~ Harry Patch 
All Music and Instrumentation ~ Graham Lavallin

Instrumentation: Fender Strat electric guitar through Apogee Gio pedal board interface to access the onboard GarageBand guitar amps and FX pedals for all electric guitars.
Korg Kronos X synthesiser for main keyboard arrangement
EWQL Voices Of Passion vocal layers and choirs and atmospheres.

All recorded and mixed in GarageBand

Many thanks for dropping by and listening and all comments are greatly appreciated as always:)) 
     

The Lamps Are Going Out … The Ballad Of Harry Patch * Lavallin * Bennett

Some time ago now, my good friend Sean aka Lasaril aka CinderMan ( https://soundcloud.com/cinderman )very generously uploaded several tracks on SoundCloud for fellow Soundclouders to use as they wished ... adding instrumentation or vocals as a collaboration with a free hand. He had worked on them all to a point, but felt they needed a certain something and regarded these tracks as 'waifs and strays' looking for a good home. I have been a big fan of Sean's music for a good while now and many of his songs and compositions have become firm favourites with me and I've enjoyed working with many of his 'waifs' and gratefully giving them a good home. 
This is the last of that series of tracks I have had the honour and privilege to contribute to and it's a downtempo instrumental with a cinematic feel to it that reminds me of David Lynch films and 'Twin Peaks' in particular. The uploaded track was an instrumental arrangement, but I had an earlier rough mix version with a vocal too and I have plundered that rough mix to pull out a couple of vocal lines and played some Fender Strat electric guitar improvs to that resultant mix to get to what you hear in this mix. Sean is far too much of a perfectionist I suspect to let this out of the bag without much more knob twiddling, but I quite like it as it stands and therefore put it out as a 'rough mix' and hope he likes it too :))

Thanks for listening:))     

Perfect Machine ~ Lasaril * Lavallin

'A Salty Dog' (Procol Harum) Cover/Arrangement ~ Lavallin * Bennett

I've long been a fan of Procol Harum, so when I heard my good friend Mark Bennett (soundcloud.com/markjbennett ) was also, well, it was only natural that at some point the idea of a cover of one of their classic numbers would come up. So, when Mark suggested 'A Salty Dog' as a possible, well, I jumped at the chance.
Many people will have heard ‘A Whiter Shade of Pale’ although few people will be as familiar with this equally beautiful and unforgettable song. The band Procol Harum is recognized as an influential force in the development of Progressive Rock, and this song has many prog elements with it's orchestral arrangement and unfathomable poetic lyrics delivered in the original version in unmistakeable style by the wonderful Gary Brooker. 
It probably, as Mark pointed out early on in the game, is one of those songs that should have a warning label on it saying ' Do Not Attempt To Cover This Classic Song As It Will Only End In Tears!' But we are both such staunch fans of Procol's music that we just could not help ourselves and so we of course ignored this sound advice and, with much reverence, did it anyway!
We very much hope however, that we did this classic song some justice along the way, as well as putting our own spin on it perhaps ... many thanks for listening :))

Mark J. Bennet    ~ Vocals and artwork
Graham Lavallin ~ Guitars, arrangement, production
Instrumentation:     Fender Strat through Boss ME70 pedal board and Magic Stomp pedal.
                               EWQL piano, drums and percussion, orchestral cello section, orchestral legato cellos,
                               orchestral bass section, orchestral viola section, orchestral violin section, tremolo strings,
                               pizzicato strings.
                               Synth orchestra deep bass and synth flute.
                              AMG mellotron strings.
                              Atmospheres.

All recorded and mixed in GarageBand

'A Salty Dog' ~ Procol Harum 1969

All hands on deck, we've run a float,
I heard the Captain cry.
Explore the ship, replace the cook,
Let no one leave alive.
Across the straits, around the horn,
How far can sailors fly?
A twisted path, our tortured course,
And no one left alive.
 
We sailed for parts unknown to man,
Where ships come home to die.
No lofty peak, nor fortress bold,
Could match our captain's eye.
Upon the seventh seasick day,
We made our port of call.
A sand so white, and sea so blue,
No mortal place at all.
 
We fired the guns, and burned the mast,
And rowed from ship to shore.
The captain cried, we sailors wept,
Our tears were tears of joy!
Now many moons and many Junes,
Have passed since we made land.
A Salty Dog, the seaman's log,
Your witness, my own hand.
 
Songwriters: KEITH REID, GARY BROOKER
A Salty Dog lyrics © ESSEX MUSIC INTERNATIONAL C/O THE RICHMOND ORGANIZATION

A Salty Dog (Procol Harum Cover) ~ Lavallin * Mark J.Bennett

The Fountain Of Salmacis (Genesis Tribute) ~ Lavallin & Lee Lucas (original Lyrics and Music by Genesis)

Well here we go again with the 18th. and latest offering from the ongoing Genesis Tributes Project with my good friend Lee Lucas (soundcloud.com/lee-lucas). Here we have our respectful version of 'The Fountain Of Salmacis', originally found on the 1971 Genesis album 'Nursery Cryme'. I've been waiting in sweet anticipation for this one to finally surface and I think that Lee has done a terrific job on vocal duties with this one and also has come up with some great artwork for our collaborative tribute. We hope as always that we have done the superb original some justice and many thanks for listening:))

Lee Lucas ~ Vocals & artwork
Graham Lavallin ~ Guitars and arrangement based around a midi sequence authored by Simon Goodwin.
Instrumentation: Fender Strat through Apogee Gio pedal interface to access the onboard GarageBand amps & FX pedals & also through Boss ME70 pedal board for all electric guitars.
Ovation Celebrity electro-acoustic guitar through Roland Sonic Cell interface and custom acoustic guitar patches for acoustic guitars.
EWQL '72 Rickenbacker bass; drums and percussion; mixed choirs and VOP layered background vocals; solo flute.
AMG Hammond Rock Organ
AMG Mellotron Strings
AMG ARP Solina Strings

All recorded and mixed in GarageBand.

All lyrics and notes relating to the original Genesis classic track are to be found over on Lee's cloud as always ( https:@lee-lucas ) and there is a free download available on Lee's BandCamp page:

lluc75.wix.com/lee-lucas#!the-ge…bute-project/cgab

Many thanks for dropping by and listening and all comments are greatly appreciated as always:))



Lavallin & Lee Lucas ~ The Fountain Of Salmacis (Genesis Tribute)

This 'mini rock opera' as it seems to have become, started out as an instrumental, which I wrote for a good friend who had just suffered a tragic loss, that of his only son. My good friend Mark Bennett had listened to the instrumental and been very affected by the sentiment expressed and asked me if I would consider revisiting the track again, which I readily agreed to. His initial idea was to pen just a couple of lines of lyrics and approach fellow SoundClouder Marianne Holland, to possibly do some vocals. I'd collaborated with Marianne on several projects before and very much enjoyed working with her and I really love her vocal style and admire her incredible range, so she was a natural choice for this track.
From this initial idea from Mark and several e-mails of further ideas for this track from Mark, I had the idea to put together The Great War Centenary Suite ... now complete ... it seems very fitting that the same track that started it all should be the one to complete the project it gave birth to in the first place.

I am greatly indebted to both Mark, for his vision, his lyrics, vocals and his boundless enthusiasm and Marianne for her wonderful soaring vocals and backing vocals as ever, but also for her additional instrumentation and input and I am enormously grateful to my good friend Lee Lucas for kindly offering to put together a YouTube vid to accompany this track which is brilliant and at such short notice as well ... big thanks Lee mate!! ;-)

The YouTube link for the video is:  http://youtu.be/7X98olTPtfM

It is my proud pleasure to be able to upload this final track for this centenary suite for this special Remembrance Day weekend and as always I thank you so much for listening:))

MarkJBennett ~ Vocals, Lyrics, Artwork   soundcloud.com/markjbennett
Marianne Holland ~ Vocals, Backing Vocals, Electric Bass Guitar, Synth Violin
Lee Lucas ~ Video Production   soundcloud.com/lee-lucas 
Graham Lavallin ~ Original Instrumental, Arrangement & Production

Original Instrumentation: Korg Kronos synth, Mellotron Tape Violins & Drums & Percussions
                                          Roland Jupiter 50 synth 'Trumpeteer'
                                          Fender Strat electric guitar improvisations     

'Lament For The Fallen' ~ Lavallin * Bennett © 2014

Intro: Just two lines of Harry Patch, the last 'Fighting Tommy', reading an extract from the Laurence Binyon Remembrance Day poem at the Menin Gate, Ypres on 29/07/2009. Harry prefaced his full reading of the poem by first saying:  'Let us remember, those who fell, on both sides of the line' ...

Harry Patch: 
                    When the sun goes down, and in the morning,
                    We will remember them ... (We will remember them)

Soldier:
                     I made a promise
                     That I'd always be yours
                     I've only ever been yours ...

                     Through it all
                     You'll always remain

Sweetheart:
                     You'll always remain
                      Just a boy

Soldier/Sweetheart:
                     
                      In my heart ...

Sweetheart:
                      Just a boy, in my heart
                      I made a promise
                      That I'd always be yours
                      I've only ever been yours
                     ( You're just a boy, in my heart)
                      Just a boy, in my heart ... in my heart ...

                      Just a boy, ....
                      Just a boy, ....
                      Just a boy, ....                   fadeout ....

Songwriters: Graham Lavallin & MarkJBennett © 2014

Lament For The Fallen ~ (Lavallin) Feat. MarkJBennett & Marianne Holland

This Great War 1914~18 Centenary Suite was written with the intention of being one continuous piece of music, and with wonderful  contributions from my good friends and fellow SoundClouders MarkJBennett and Marianne Holland, I feel it should be presented as such.
I am proud to be uploading this full version on this special Remembrance Sunday as it is meant to be listened to, in reflective mood, as it was produced in that manner also.
I'm making this piece available as a free download in it's entirety to be listened to in the way I intended and I thank you all for listening :))There is also a Free Download with artwork available on my Bandcamp page at this link: https://lavallin.bandcamp.com/album/the-great-war-1914-18-centenary-suite-lavallin-feat-mark-j-bennett-and-marianne-holland  or by clicking on the tab under the track here on SoundCloud ;-)
*Full descriptions of each track may be found in the playlist version here on my page and the track list is as below:

The Great War 1914 ~18  Centenary Suite: (LAVALLIN)
feat. Mark J. Bennett & Marianne Holland    © 2014

  (i)  Oh To Be In England ... (Instrumental)
 (ii)  Cold Wind In Sarajevo  (Instrumental)
 (iii) The Lamps Are Going Out All Over Europe ...
          The Ballad Of Harry Patch (feat. Mark J. Bennett)
 (iv) The Angel Of Mons Suite (Instrumental)
                    * Waiting In The Wings * Over The Top
                    * Against The Odds * The Angel Apparition
                    * March Of St. George
  (v)  Lament For The Fallen (feat. Mark J. Bennett &  Marianne Holland)

Thanks so much for listening :))

Free Download

The Great War 1914~18 Centenary Suite ~ (Lavallin) feat. Mark J.Bennett & Marianne Holland

This instrumental track 'The Waiting Room/Council Of Elders', from 'The Healing Hands Of Time' album in progress, is inspired by the book 'Journey Of Souls' by Dr. M.Newton. It's about 'that stage of the soul's journey where we meet with the Council Of Elders and review our previous life, going into more detail about our experiences on earth and the lessons learned from the life just lead. As individual souls we have the freedom of freewill choice always, we are never judged, instead we judge ourselves, with the help of our personal guide, who may have been with us for thousands of earth years and many lives ...'

The cover illustration is a detail from a painting 'S4 League ~ Hanging out in the Waiting Room' by Wingrider92 

This track is a Korg Kronos synth jam with a downtempo beat and with some improv Fender Strat lead lines played over ...

*Mastered by Patric Farrell aka theFisherKing

Thanks so much for listening :))    

The  Waiting Room/Council Of Elders  ~ (Lavallin) ... Mastered by Patric Farrell aka theFisherKing

'Procession Of Souls', from 'The Healing Hands Of Time' album in progress, is inspired by the book 'Journey Of Souls' by Dr. M. Newton. It is the product of the latest collaboration with my good friend Mark J.Bennett and I am extremely indebted to Mark for his terrific vocals as ever, but also for his patience in working with me with such esoteric subject matter ... between us we've thoroughly enjoyed the fruits of a true collaboration once again.

This track is about this following section of the souls journey:
                                                                                                   'Having completed our 'light shower' or 'car wash of the soul' and feeling rejuvenated we are moved on by an unseen magnetic pull, while before us we see a mega-hub of souls at the same stage, moving through beautiful tunnels of light to their destination. There is no darkness, just pure light as we glide effortlessly along to meet up with our soul family, souls at a similar stage in their evolution and with whom we have shared past lives with. These are souls that we keep reincarnating with, over and over again, playing various roles with each other in each earthly life, as partners, brothers & sisters, parents, children etc. in order to develop and evolve at soul level here on earth ... '

Perhaps, on a universal level, this celebratory song is simply about the elation of finally returning home ... 

Mark JBennett ~ Lyrics, vocals, inspiration & patience    soundcloud.com/markjbennett
Graham Lavallin ~ Lyrics, backing vocals, music & instrumentation, artwork, production
Instrumentation:
Korg Kronos Synth (main arrangement and drums)
EWQL Voices Of Passion (additional vocal element)
EWQL Anvils, Tubular Bells and various percussion elements

All recorded and mixed in GarageBand

Thanks so much for listening :))


'Procession (Of Souls)'  (© Lavallin/Bennett 2014)


Short instr. intro:

Drawn to the source,	
Moving in time in myriad line
Procession of Souls

All is light,
No darkness here and nothing to fear
Just wonder ...

Feel the force,
Go with the flow, to where I don't know
Procession of Souls

Streaming Souls
Converge as one, a swirling white cone	
Just drifting ...

Feel the pull
Away from convention, kind of ascension
To those I hold dear

I'm coming home,
Coming alive,
All is well,
All is peace, oh such peace

Reaching to me,
Catch the tail of their kite, my spirit takes flight,
Just soars...

A homing urge (one last surge)
As if upstream drawn, feels like being reborn 
We are home... I am home

I feel such peace, 
Never want to leave here again
I am home ... I am home ...
I am home ... I am home ...
I am Home ...

Songwriters: Graham Lavallin and Mark J. Bennett (© Lavallin/Bennett 2014)


Procession (Of Souls) ~ (Lavallin) feat. MarkJ.Bennett

The cover image to this track, 'The Weight Of Time' by Julie-de-Waroquier, gave me the idea for the title for both this track and the current album in progress of the same name ... 'The Healing Hands Of Time'. This instrumental piece, written as it was just after 'Lament For The Fallen', is not part of the journey of souls story on this album, but it's everything to do with those left behind here on Earth. It's about that period of time that is so very necessary for the bereaved to come to terms with their loss ... the time needed for the healing process.
This is the first track I've managed to complete entirely in Logic and was played and recorded 'on the fly' while I was waiting for the huge library of instruments to download in the then new version Logic X. I've used only the instruments, amps and FX from the Logic X library, played on my 49 key controller keyboard and through my Apogee Gio on my Fender Strat. It has a 70's Greenslade feel to it I believe ... just replaced the earlier upload with a newly Mastered version by my good friend Patric Farrell aka theFisherKing:  soundcloud.com/thefisherking-1

Instrumentation: (Logic X)
70's Funk Clav
Picked Bass
Vintage Synth Strings
Progressive Organ
Reverse Engineering (Synth)
Slow Synth Brass Swell
Vintage Verb Hybrid (Electric Guitar)
Cool Jazz Combo (Electric Guitar)
Wind-up Clock sample

Thanks so much for listening :))

The Healing Hands Of Time ~ (Lavallin) ... Mastered by Patric Farrell aka theFisherKing

Just a couple of days ago my good friend Mark Bennett sent me a link to Gianni's open collab track 'Gianni's Mad Jazz Orchestra' which I loved instantly on first listen. Mark suggested I have a go at submitting some guitar for the open collab ... he had great confidence I could contribute something ... I felt a bit daunted as I'm just an ear player who improvises and this one seemed like quite a challenge. 
Anyway, yesterday I had a go and sent the results of a jam session to Gianni who remixed it and sent it back today for me to OK, with the title as it is here and after a couple of message back and forth, Gianni has sent me Vlad's great artwork to accompany the track and he's urged me to upload it here and I understand he'll be following me soon after and uploading on his page too, where a wealth of his great music can be found here:

https://soundcloud.com/fugaaa

This has got to be the swiftest turnaround I've ever done on any collab and I thank Gianni for taking me on board with this version of the open collab and I have to say I am greatly honoured to be playing on another fine Fugaaa composition ... my head's still spinning but it's sure been such a lot of fun:))

Thanks so much for listening :))

Gianni's Crazy Modern Jazz Orchestra Meets Graham Lavallin (guitars)

This instrumental piece, featuring Strat lead guitar parts, is inspired by the description of an important stage in the soul's journey, in the book by Dr. Michael Newton, 'Journey Of Souls' (Case Studies Of Life Between Lives), the inspiration for the ongoing album in progress, 'The Healing Hands Of Time' ...
         
This stage of the journey is where the soul enters the circular space of life selection known as the Ring Of Destiny ... 

'Here the entire space is surrounded by banks of interactive screens where the soul is able to immerse in, and interact within, a chosen environment which they could experience in their next chosen life. It is possible to select major turning points in that life's pathway, involving important decisions. Though it is very difficult to believe, it is possible within this space to essentially move time forward, backward and pause it like some  kind of highly sophisticated computer programme! The life viewed is still conditional while viewing in the Ring ... we are not shown all the possible endings to a scene ... parts of lives are obscured to us. The Ring sets up different life experiments to choose from ... on Earth we try to resolve them. The souls who set up the screening room in the Ring know in advance what to show us because of the thoughts in our minds as we contemplate our return to Earth in our next life. On this basis we are shown those elements which we already have considered ourselves as possible choices and therefore we are not disappointed in the choices offered.'

As I said at the beginning of this description, this instrumental piece is only inspired by this descriptive narrative in the book ... the listener does not in any way have to accept any of this philosophy described, in order to hopefully enjoy this track ... pretty fantastic, especially as this book was original published in the early '70's, long before the advent of virtual reality, widescreen HD TV screens and interactive computer programmes ... but it does make you wonder!:)))

As always, many thanks for taking time to listen:)

Korg Kronos synth and drums played in one 'live' take; then improv Strat guitar lines played over in two passes to layer the guitar in places and give a spontaneous feel overall ... hopefully evocative of the descriptive narrative. All recorded in GarageBand.
*Newly mastered 14/01/2015 by Patric Farrell aka theFisherKing  soundcloud.com/thefisherking-1 

Cover art from a detail from a painting by Alex Groseth entitled 'Ring Of Destiny 2'  

Ring Of Destiny ~ (Lavallin) ... Mastered by Patric Farrell aka theFisherKing

This rather abstract instrumental piece is inspired in part by a jam session on the Korg Kronos synth with a combi entitled 'Time's Signature', with improv Strat guitar parts & FX loops added later. It follows on immediately after the 'Ring Of Destiny' instrumental on 'The Healing Hands Of Time' album and hopefully has a timeless quality that is in keeping with the last part of the 'Journey Of Souls' ... that of the soul's return to Earth, ready to embark upon the next chosen life and all that life experience has to teach us ...

The track that follows this one on the album in progress is 'Moving On' ... presently an instrumental version in the current playlist here on SoundCloud. Over the next couple of weeks or so, my good friend Mark Bennett and I will be revisiting that last track on the album and adding lyrics and Mark's vocals to complete that one, hopefully as a fully-fledged song, to close the album and complete what has been an immensely satisfying project for us both.

*Newly Mastered by Patric Farrell aka theFisherKing ... many thanks again Patric my good friend ;-)


As always, thanks so much for listening :))

Time's Signature/Rebirth ~ (Lavallin) ... Mastered by Patric Farrell aka theFisherKing

'Moving On' originally started out as a short instrumental piece written as a possible theme for a drama series, similar to that of the same title recently shown on TV ... later, I was planning to end the 'The Healing Hands Of Time' album in progress with this instrumental ... it has since been Mastered by my good friend Patric Farrell aka the FisherKing and will appear at the end of the album as a bonus track.
My good friend Mark J.Bennett @markjbennett , whose vocals are featured on that album, suggested adding some lyrics and vocals and making it an uplifting song to end the album. I extended the arrangement and Mark sent me a guide vocal and lyrics which seemed to me to give the song a Robert Wyatt feel and the lyrics put me in mind of my son's situation, being in hospital for coming up for a year now. I added more lyrics and sang the main vocal with him in mind, though the lyric is pretty universal really.
Mark has been the main driving force behind making this instrumental track into a fully fledged song and I am greatly indebted to him for all his input and inspiration as always ... he is a joy to work with ... I'm no singer and probably would not have attempted to do this song had he not persuasively steered me, in this direction. Sadly he is out of time on his account again and cannot post this latest collaboration on his page, but I have no doubt he will be replying to any comments directed his way and as always I thank you for listening and all comments are greatly appreciated :))

Mark J.Bennett ~ Lyrics, Vocals & Inspiration
Graham Lavallin ~ Music, Arrangement, Vocals/Lyrics & Production

'Moving On' ~ Lavallin * Bennett © 2015

Instrumental Intro:

What do you say,
when life don't go your way?
What do you need, when nothing you do ever succeeds?

Keep calm,
Away from harm,
Be strong,
Moving on ...

When you feel down,
and there's no-one around,
who would help you feel,
that life is meaningful and real

Keep calm,
Away from harm,
Be strong,
Moving on, 
Moving on, Moving on ...

We all get tired,
disillusioned, uninspired.
We all need a lift,
from someone who really has that gift.

Keep calm,
Away from harm,
Be strong,
Moving on ...

What do you say,
when things don't go your way?
What do you need,
when nothing you do ever succeeds?

Keep calm,
Away from harm,
Be strong,
Moving on, Moving on,
Moving on ...

Instrumental break:

Just keep moving on ... you see ... you see ...
Hold your head up high,
Keep moving ... you'll get there you see ...
Just moving on ...
... away from harm,
Be strong,
Moving on

Instrumental break:

Keep calm,
Away from harm,
Be strong,
Moving on ...

Instrumental Outro:



Moving On ~ Lavallin * Bennett

Well here we are again and we've come to number 22 on the menu of the ongoing Genesis Tributes Project with my good friend Lee Lucas (@lee-lucas) and it's the last of this terrific collaboration project and the one I've been waiting for, for so long!:)))
To say that Lee has once again done a superb job on the vocals on this one would probably be an understatement and, as always, he's come up with some great cover artwork too. 
Our respectful take on the classic, epic Genesis favourite 'Supper's Ready', is our last visit to the 1972 Foxtrot album and though I've read several explanations of what the song is about, I probably still don't fully understand it's lyrical content ... but it doesn't seem to matter now ... this wonderfully evocative song just seems to carry you along on a tide of emotion from start to finish and is just a brilliant composition in my humble opinion and one of the great moments of 70's Prog Rock and I hope Lee and I have done it some justice.
I've taken many liberties with the arrangement and gone for much layering of guitars in the latter third of our respectful tribute but I hope the Genesis purists will forgive my indulgence in this instance which is fuelled by both my and Lee's exhuberance and love for the song ...

As always, many thanks for taking time out to listen and, in this case at 22 minutes, it's quite a listen! But I sincerely hope you will feel rewarded for the time spent ;-)

'Supper's Ready' ~ Genesis Tribute (Original Lyrics & Music by Genesis)

Lee Lucas ~ vocals & artwork
Graham Lavallin ~ guitars, backing vox and arrangement based around a midi sequence authored by Phil Richards and the SR Project.
Instrumentation: Fender Strat & Vintage Les Paul guitars through Apogee Gio pedal board interface to access the onboard GarageBand amps and FX pedals and also through a Boss ME70 pedal board for all electric guitars.
Ovation Celebrity electro-acoustic guitar through Roland Sonic Cell interface and custom acoustic guitar patches for all acoustic guitars.
EWQL '72 Rickenbacker bass; drums and percussion; Grand Piano; mixed choirs; VOP layered backing vocals; solo flute.
AMG Hammond Rock Organ; Classic Rhodes. 
AMG Mellotron Strings
Arturia Moog Modular Taurus Pedals

All recorded & mixed in GarageBand

All lyrics (and lots of 'em) with notes relating to the original Genesis classic track are to be found over on Lee's cloud as always ( https:@lee-lucas ) and there is a free download available on Lee's BandCamp page:

lluc75.wix.com/lee-lucas#!the-ge…bute-project/cgab

Many thanks for dropping by and listening ... all comments are greatly appreciated as always and many thanks from Lee and myself for all your support along the way with this whole project. Thank you:))

Lavallin & Lee Lucas ~ Supper's Ready (Genesis Tribute)

    THE HEALING HANDS OF TIME: (Lavallin)
    feat. Mark J. Bennett  ( © Lavallin/Bennett 2015 )

 1. Lake Of Lost Souls (feat. Mark J. Bennett)
 2. The Spirit Lives (feat. Mark J. Bennett)
 3. Into The Light (Instrumental)
 4. Procession Of Souls (feat. Mark J. Bennett)
 5. The Waiting Room / Council Of Elders (Instrumental)
 6. The Healing Hands Of Time (Instrumental)
 7. Ring Of Destiny (Instrumental)
 8. Time's Signature / Rebirth (Instrumental)
 9. Moving On (feat. Lavallin & Mark J. Bennett)
10. Hidden/Bonus track: Moving On (Instrumental)

                                    ~§~

Mark J. Bennett ~ Vocals, Lyrics & inspiration
Graham Lavallin ~ Music, Vocal/Backing Vox, Lyrics, Production
Instrumentation: Korg Kronos and Roland Jupiter 50 synths; Arturia Analogue Laboratory vst synth, AMG & EWQL vst samples; Fender Strat guitar; Boss ME70 FX & Yamaha Magic Stomp with Charlie Hall's 'Echos Of The Past Delays'; Apogee Gio guitar interface to access GarageBand & Logic amps & FX ... all recorded in GarageBand with the exception of the the instrumental title track, 'The Healing Hands Of Time', recorded in LogicX, using Logic's instruments.
 *The cover image to this track entitled 'The Weight Of Time' is by Julie-de-Waroquier and I gratefully acknowledge it's usage.

'The Healing Hands of Time', is an album project very close to my heart. In common with earlier albums it is a musical journey, but this time possibly the ultimate journey, that of the soul, life after life.
Once again, I invited my good friend Mark Bennett to add lyrics and his wonderful vocals to my music for this project. The subject matter of this album is quite esoteric, and Mark has really had his work cut out perhaps to both engage and empathise with a philosophy not entirely his own, but I feel he does a first rate job here as ever and has been a real inspiration along the way. The songs on this album are inspired by the book 'Journey Of Souls' by Dr. Michael Newton PhD and this and the other two books in the series, are based on the author's research into life between lives ... it's not necessary to take any of this on board to hopefully enjoy the music though :))
 
This continuous track mix is the complete album, with all the instrumental tracks mastered by my good friend Patric Farrell but with the vocal tracks awaiting mastering and will be available on Bandcamp in due course. Individual track notes and lyrics for songs may be found also on the playlist version of this album also here on my SoundCloud page ... all comments are welcomed and very much appreciated as always ...

Thanks so much for listening:))  



The Healing Hands Of Time ~(Lavallin) feat. Mark J.Bennett * Complete Album

Hello all,

It's been over a year now since my good friend Lee Lucas and I uploaded our last offering from the Genesis Tributes Project with which we have have had so much fun in the doing over a three year period here on SoundCloud. It's over that year also that I've not been able to play guitar owing to a couple of health issues and that situation sadly is not likely to improve. So, it was a great surprise when Lee sent me the resurrected demo that I'd sent him, three years ago, of a tribute version of 'Red Rain', along with a snippet of Lee's vocal added as a teaser. I liked what I heard and sent Lee back an updated mix and although Lee preferred the original demo mix he suggested that I might like to do a further remix version and we both upload the two versions at some point in the future. Well, I did and here we are with that version which I thought I'd try adding some guitar parts to ... that's when the fun started! It took me ages to dust down the studio area and it took me even longer to realise that the mains plug for my Boss ME70 guitar pedal board, that I was searching the house for, actually didn't exist and that it ran on batteries only! It took just as long to work out that, despite the lights being on the unit, that the reason the sound I was getting was so awful and so distant was in fact that I needed to renew the batteries! LOL:)))
Anyway, some time later still, having put much needed new strings on the guitars and desperately trying to remember how to get things recorded again, I finally got going with this mix and though I've forgotten much, I've also learned a couple of new tricks along the way, so I guess things have balanced out in the end and the resultant mix is really not too shabby after all ... hope you like the result :))
Lee has further details of a related Peter Gabriel Tribute EP which I understand will be available as a free download from his BandCamp page ... so head over to his page on this link for further details and links:

https://soundcloud.com/lee-lucas
 
I'd like to thank my good friend Lee for getting me out of my chair and giving me an opportunity to have 'one last blast on the cloud' and to thank him for his artwork, his enthusiasm and his wonderful vocals as always ... cheers mate ;-) 
I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all those wonderfully talented and inspirational musicians and fellow SoundClouders it has been my absolute pleasure to work alongside, via the internet, some of whom I've met and have become firm friends over the years and to give a big thanks also for all the support and feedback from fellow SoundClouders over those years ... it's been a blast!!:)))

All the best, Graham


Red Rain (Peter Gabriel Tribute) Alternate Mix
(Original lyrics & music by Peter Gabriel)

Lee Lucas: Vocals & artwork
Graham Lavallin: Guitars & synths, arrangement & mix

Instrumentation:
Fender Strat & Vintage Les Paul electric guitars & Ovation electro-acoustic guitar.
Roland Jupiter 50 synth strings
AMG mellotron strings
AMG ARP Solina strings
Arturia Moog Taurus bass
EWQL Slapped electric bass; solo flute; Ludwig Stage kit drums/percussion
Various GarageBand synth sounds &  pianos and all recorded and mixed in GarageBand


Lavallin & Lee Lucas ~ Red Rain (Peter Gabriel Tribute) Alternate Mix:Arrangement

Mark and I are confirmed Wilburys fans so this song was the most natural choice when selecting a suitable tribute song for this latest collaboration ... to my old ears Mark IS Lefty Wilbury!!
So this is a collaboration to do a cover of a great song by the ultimate collaboration ... the Traveling Wilburys ... it is done with great humility and affection for our idols but also in the spirit of fun which drew those five originals together to make such great music ... long live Lefty and Nelson Wilbury ...

Not Alone Anymore ~ (Traveling Wilburys Tribute) Mark Courtnage * Lavallin

One of my favourite Richard Wright compositions, this classic Pink Floyd track, here offered as a respectful instrumental tribute, was an earlier attempt at the wonderful vocal part of the original using EWQL's 'Voices Of Passion' vst and EWQL Steinway D vst for the piano part ... recently re-visited with the slide guitar part now added ...

The Great Gig In The Sky ~ (Pink Floyd Tribute)

Another one for the Tributes set, this time a guitar driven, all instrumental take on the first two segued tracks that appeared on the 70's classic Alan Parsons Project album 'Eye In The Sky' ... a firm personal favourite

Sirius/Eye In The Sky ~ (Alan Parsons Project Tribute)

Last one up for a while for the 'Tributes' set is my take on the Simple Minds instrumental 'Theme For Great Cities' from their 1981 album 'Sons Of Fascination/Sister Feelings Call'.
I've been a fan of Simple Minds from the album after that 'New Gold Dream' and their sound from that album onward. But I've always had a soft spot for this particular track ... though I've always felt it needed Charlie Burchill's guitar upfront in his later style to really complete the track.
So, my guitar driven version here is, I hope, a respectful personal realisation of that simple goal.
When I was putting this one together I had a mental picture of film footage of a helicopter fly-over of the City Of London, finally taking in the Olympic Stadium and hearing the roar of the crowd voicing approval of the Olympic spectacle ... hence the added atmospheres ...

Theme For Great Cities ~ (Simple Minds Tribute) 2012

'It's A Miracle' is one of my favourite tracks off the emotive Roger Waters album 'Amused To Death'. Roger's lyrics are a wry comment on our society and civilisation and the short, but so powerful, Jeff Beck guitar piece right at the end of the track takes it to another level and another place and never fails to raise shivers down the spine.

Hopefully, my respectful tribute, or homage, captures the spirit of the original, featuring a tentative attempt at a vocal alongside backing vocals with EWQL 'Voices Of Passion' used in layers. Also, Alesis Fusion synth and EWQL vst synths, instruments and percussion, plus Strat guitar through Boss ME70 pedal board and Apogee Gio pedal interface for various FX, plus FX loops and atmospheres ...

All comments greatly appreciated as always :))

It's A Miracle (Roger Waters Tribute)

I was highly delighted when my good friend Chris aka Distant Earth asked me if it was OK to do an updated version of my earlier tribute to Roger on what turns out to be a favourite song of Roger's for us both and from a favourite album.

I always felt my vocal effort was not doing Roger's great original any real justice, while I feel that Chris's vocal here certainly does ... without falling into a slavish copy.
Also his distinctive DE flavoured guitar part at the beginning, brings just the right atmosphere in place of the synth.atmosphere in place of the synth.

In short, between us I hope we now may have managed to do this one proud with a 

In short, between us I hope we now may have managed to do this one proud with a tribute to the genius that is Roger Waters ...

Graham Lavallin: All keyboards/atmospheres/drum & guitar finale.

Chris Burton aka Distant Earth: All vocals/guitar/drums

* Chris's  wonderful music may be found at his SoundCloud page here: https:soundcloud.com/distant_earth

As always all comments are very much appreciated :)



It's A Miracle ~ (Roger Waters Tribute) Lavallin * Distant Earth

Well, here we go again with another one from the ongoing Genesis Tributes Project, in collaboration with my good friend Lee Lucas. 'I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)' was a Gabriel era Genesis track from the album 'Selling England By The Pound' one of my personal favourites.
It's quite a fun track and Lee and I had a lot of fun putting this tribute version together, not least with the playful ending which is Lee's idea and is a fun addition I feel.
Once again, I enjoyed getting involved with the backing vocals and Lee has done a sterling job yet again with his great vocals and very apt artwork. We hope we have managed to do this classic track some justice in the process.

'I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)' ~ Lyrics and Music by Genesis

Lee Lucas ~ Lead & backgound vocals; spoken word; inspired ideas; and artwork 
Graham Lavallin ~ Background vocals; spoken word; guitar and arrangement based around a midi sequence authored by Jim Kleban

Instrumentation: Fender Strat through an Apogee Gio pedal interface to access the onboard amps and FX pedals in GarageBand for guitar. 
AMG Hammond Rock Organ 
AMG Arp Solina Strings 
Roland Jupiter 50 Strings 
Boldt Sitars; Oboes and Bassoons 
EWQL '72 Rickenbacker Bass; Steinway Piano; Flute & Woodwinds; 
Drums and Percussions (lots of 'em); Voices Of Passion vocal layers. 
Atmospheres and FX

All recorded and mixed in GarageBand

All notes and lyrics to the original Genesis track are to be found on Lee's cloud as always and there is a free download available on Lee's Bandcamp page: 

lluc75.wix.com/lee-lucas#!the-ge…bute-project/cgab

Thanks for dropping by and listening and as always all comments are greatly appreciated:))  

Lavallin & Lee Lucas ~ I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe) Genesis Tribute

Hi all,
I just play by ear ... guitar and synths, occasionally attempting a vocal ... making recordings just for the sheer enjoyment that making music gives you.
All the tracks here were recorded & mixed using GarageBand, but I'm slowly exploring Logic Pro X ... so hope to improve the quality of recordings over time ;-)
SoundCloud's real strength I believe is it's loyal community of contributing musicians and I've been privileged to work with several of those fine musicians on many of the tracks here ... here are links to their SoundCloud pages which I hope you might find time to visit and check out their great music :

https://soundcloud.com/lee-lucas 
https://soundcloud.com/markjbennett
https://soundcloud.com/cinderman
https://soundcloud.com/4th-eden
https://soundcloud.com/distant_earth
https://soundcloud.com/puppywolf
https://soundcloud.com/aedificium
https://soundcloud.com/mark-howard-2
https://soundcloud.com/fugaa
   
My main guitar is a 90's Fender USA Strat with Dave Gilmour pick-up set ... a Vintage Peter Green/Gary Moore 'Lemon Drop' Les Paul for those rich bluesy tones hopefully ... acoustic guitars are an Ovation Applause and a Lindo, both with an onboard tuner for open tunings.
Guitar amps are a Fender Cyber Deluxe and a little Vox Brian May 'Deacy Amp'.
Guitar pedals are Boss ME70 and a Yamaha Magic Stomp loaded up with Charlie Hall's 'Echoes Of The Past' Delays.
Onboard guitars/pedals in GarageBand and Logic accessed via an Apogee Gio pedalboard interface.
Synths used just lately are Roland Jupiter 50; Korg Kronos X; Korg Karma loaded up with Vintage Instruments and Karma Soundsets.
Korg X5D and EMU vintage Pro modules hooked up to the Jupiter and Kronos via midi and into Soundcraft analog mixer and into iMac via Roland Sonic Cell interface.
VSTs/Software: Arturia V2 complete and Arturia Analog Experience The Laboratory with Keyboard (main software controller); EWQL Complete Composers collection ... I'm a complete technophobe so it takes more of my time trying to learn the software than ever it does making music ... frustrating but at my age it ain't going to get any easier:) 
My musical preferences and influences cover a whole range of genres ... so hope you'll find something to enjoy. I always appreciate any comments or feedback, if you have the time ... it's all good fun ;-)

Peace ... Graham :-)

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