https://soundcloud.com/lawrence-olivier/summer-chaser-f-janice-m

After a recent remix, I invited Bud and Janice to add some vocals to this song and I was just delighted with the results. I hope you enjoy it as well.

BIAB
RealTracks in style: 1827:Bass, Electric, PopModernGrooveA-B Ev16 075
RealTracks in song: 2203:Guitar, Electric, Soloist PopPromiseBrent Ev16 100
RealTracks in song: 2668:Pedal Steel, Background WestCoastBallad Ev 065
RealTracks in song: ~542:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm Dreamy Ev 085
RealTracks in song: ~689:Organ, B3, Background Pop Ev 085
RealTracks in song: 3020:Vocal Aahs, Background Pop3-part Ev 085
RealTracks in song: 1004:Guitar, 12-String Acoustic, Rhythm ClassicRockStrumming Ev16 065
RealDrums [in Song:PopCountry16ths^01-a:Closed Hat, Sync-kick, b:Closed Hat, Rock-kick

Summer Chaser Music by L Olivier, words by Lawrence Olivier and Lisa Veraza-Elis, Harmony vocals sung by Janice Merritt and produced by Bud Merritt

Summer Chaser (July 2009)


I’m a 1981 thirty-three foot Hunter
I sport ivory sails and I’m worn from stem to stern
I can glide all year long, but I’m better in the summer
I ain’t pretty no more but I glisten in the setting sun

Hey they call me the summer chaser
Hey they call me the wandering one

Well my mast she might need repairing
And my canvass is most undone
Sometimes the waters rough but it’s never too rough for sailing
I love the feel the wind rushing, I love the smell of the open sea
The free water’s always calling me

You know the heart of the wild seas, it’s always stealing me closer
I can withstand any tide as long as you’re at the helm with me

This might be our maiden voyage, or this might be the bitter end
And we’re headed now to the place where we began
Together in the distance, it’s a beacon that we see
And the lights that once were bright now are fading

Hey they called us the summer chasers
Hey they called us the wandering ones

You know the heart of the wild seas, it’s always stealing me closer
I can withstand any tide as long as you’re at the helm with me

I’m a 1981 thirty-three foot Hunter, I ain’t pretty no more but I sailed into the setting sun

Very very nice.
Excellent use of dramatic pauses in the tune. I really like the production. Nice variety on the harmonies. caught me by surprise. Very nice.
now I want a sailboat too!

What a catchy, summery song. I particularly like the transition to the bridge. The lead vocal is excellent and Janice's wonderful background vocals add the icing to a very fine cake. Great work by all.
Regards,
Leon

Thanks for mentioning the harmony. It was a pleasure to sing again with Lawrence!

Janice

Very cool intro Lawrence. Loved the pause before you jumped into the song. Guitar was cool.. Excellent vocals. Janices harmonies were perfect for the song.. Excellent mix and master.

Lawrence

Stunning work. Great lead vocal and a beautiful harmony vocal by Janice. Great teamwork and some lovey vocal interaction!

Just a top notch production in all aspects.

Peter

Well now I've listened to this song about 10 times! I really like it and I'm going to save it for songwriting and arranging study.

and I had to find out about the sail boat.
Youtube has one that was for sale a while ago.

1981 33 foot Hunter for sale

Marty, Janice wrote her own parts. It all came together very nicely.

The boat, the "Fidelis", was owned by a friend of mine and we used to sail Lake Pontchartrain on the North end of New Orleans in the years before and the summer of 2005 before Hurricane Katrina. The boat in your link brings back fond memories

Leon, thank you. Glad you enjoyed it.

Scott, thank you very much.

Peter, thank you, so glad you enjoyed it.

Lawrence, this new version with the addition of Janice and the remix sounds fantastic. It is great to hear you again, Tom

Catchy song! Vocals are nice, harmonies are a bonus, especially on the fade.

Nice write, engaging story.

Loved the guitar solo. Gotta check out that RT. Cool ending!

Reminded me a bit of early Billy Joel - that's a good thing.

I like this one a lot!

Thank you Tom. It's always good to hear from you.

Thank you David. I added some Guitar Rig 5 on that solo. And thank you for some musical context, I often don't know what style I'm writing in.

Thank you Leon. Lawrence is a great singer-songwriter!

Janice

This is great singer/songwriter stuff even though it's fully produced. Great lyric. I hear ship (boat? Yacht? I'm a land-lubber) as metaphor for marriage and every line is precious. Great structure from that short chorus to all the twists and turns, the false ending, the reprise/encore and the very nice faded ending. Ever fresh. Great delivery in the vocals, and Janice's Americana harmonies are sweet indeed. Hugely enjoyed and all I wanted to do when it finished was play it again.

Lawrence,

Cool opening. A nice "breezy" sound to the rest. It actually reminded me an overall Stephen Stills vibe.

Nice vocals. Background vocals are top-notch! Janice is always a nice addition to your songs (or to anyone's for that matter).

A great listen.

fj

Thanks Scott. Glad you liked my harmony!

Janice

Thanks for mentioning the harmony Peter!

J&B

Lawrence & J&B,

This is some sweet stuff! The light delicate nature of the song give such a beautiful feel to it! The vocals are excellent (lead and harmony) as is the wonderful arrangement! Everybody ought to love this one! T

Oh, yeah. This wonderful song is full of excellent choices. Adding Janice *I Bud always makes good so much better. Great song. Lawrence. Ver engaging.

Thanks Tom for mentioning my small part in Lawrence’s song!

Janice

Cool narrative and arrangement.
Really solid main vocals and a set of harmony vocals that surprise with the excellent, path less trodden phrasing and note perspective.
With just the main vocal it'd be a very successful recording but with Janice along it lift into wow land.

Thanks for mentioning the harmony David!

Janice

This was on my "to hear" list for some time.
Lawrence and crew,
Fun tune full of positive energy! Interesting lyrics / idea. Great vocals and those harmonies... Janice made this tune dance. Super production! Listens very well. Thank you for sharing.

Misha.

This song has kinetic energy: It keeps moving along nicely. I enjoyed the whole song, but I especially liked the luscious vocal harmonic textures after the caesura. That was a big wow! Nicely done, You must have had a good producer

Thanks for mentioning the harmony!

Janice

I'm a sucker for anything to do with water & boats.
You need a bigger boat!

Nice song, well put together.
Janice's vocals put the wind in the sails.

moto

Thank you!

J&B

Thanks for the kind words, Tangmo.

Thank you Floyd. I am a big fan of the CSNY sound.

Thank you Torrey!

Thank you Babu!

Thank you Ray!

Thanks for listening and for the kind words.

Sure did! Thanks for listening!

Thank you for listening. Glad you enjoyed it.

Lawrence ...

A super summer song. And bringing in Janice is always a plus! Her vocals and harmonies are exquisite. And your lead vocal is a perfect match for the music. Nice lyric and an equally great musical backing. The lead guitar riff was bold and added a new dimension that works perfectly. Really, really superb listen! Take care ...

Alan

Thanks Torrey!

Janice

Thank you!

J&B

Fun!!! I didn't hear the original, but this had me hooked. And Janice's harmonies added the perfect amount of colour and spice to the texture, especially when she was singing those sevenths to the bassline, if that makes any sense. Nice!!! :-)

Thank very much for the kind words.

Thank you for your thoughtful comments. I know what your talking about 7th to the bass line but I don't know that it was done with that technique purposely.

An excellent write both lyrically and melodically which really carries the spirit of the journey.
You guys are among my favourite vocalists on this forum; the paring here is dream team stuff.
Wonderful ending!

Robert

Robert, thank you for the kind words.

Thanks Marty!

J&B

Thanks Ray! All our collaborations with Lawrence have been a pleasure.

J&B

Hey... glad I dropped in on this. Nice song.... kind of reminded me of CSN a bit.

Yep, I like this song.


A buddy of mine....Danny.... you might recall that he recorded a few songs in my studio last year, lived for a year or so on a moored sail boat. It lacked a workable mast so sailing wasn't an option.

Thank you Herb.

Hi gruverider,

It is a very pleasant composition. The lyrics, vocals and harmonies are very well done. Well-chosen instrumentation. Everything is well put together. Well done. I appreciated. Congratulations to the team.

Kindly regard
Derochette
alias JaniJackFlash

Thankyou for the kind words.

Thanks guys for commenting on the harmony. It’s so easy to blend with his voice and his lyrics always draw me in.

Janice

This is such is a great write, arrangement, production and performance. Enjoyed this a lot.

Thank you Charlie.

Lawrence,

Stunning work. A nice "breezy" sound!
Great lead vocal and a beautiful harmony vocal by Janice.
As Scott says, very cool intro. Loved the pause before you jumped into the song.
And it also reminded me a bit of early Billy Joel.
Enjoyed my listen a lot.

Best regards.

Shigeki Adachi

Man, what a great song!

Loved everything about this, good writing and production, great vocals (Janice always adds magic to anything she is involved in and good mix.

Enjoyed very much, well done!

Shigeki, thank you for listening.

Dave, thank you for your generous words.

Thank you Al!

Janice




Thank you! I had no idea I did that - actually I don’t even understand it but am very happy you liked it

Janice




That is very kind of you Robert. thanks!

Janice

Glad you like the harmony!

Janice



Thank you Shigeki!

Janice




I appreciate that Dave!

Janice

Agree with all that!! Always love your songs, and your vocals!! There really is a Stills quality to this, and Janice also shines!!! Wonderfully done!!! Take care. Greg

Greg, glad to hear you enjoyed it. And man, once again your lyrics on "When A Heart Cries" are out of this world good!

Great job on the background vocals!

-rob

Rob, thanks for listening.

Thanks for mentioning the harmony!

Janice