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Hello forum friends. This is my first post of 2017. It has been a busy and relatively stressful start to the year. I missed a lot of time on the forum but played a lot of catch-up in the last week and really enjoying your fine new tunes. I am trying to finish a CD (still like things you can hold in your hand). The title is The Lighthouse Keeper (after a track of the same name I posted over a year ago). At some point, I realized a melody that I've had for more than 30 years with only an opening line, could work as an answer to the Lighthouse keeper. This song will go at the end of the CD and have a Lighthouse Keeper reprise (I think that's what they called it in the LP days) to end the CD. Hope you enjoy it. Comments from you guys is the only feedback I get. Much appreciated. Take care.

https://soundcloud.com/gjohnson-2/sailing-ships

For those who have not heard The Lighthouse Keeper, or want to again, here is a link

https://soundcloud.com/gjohnson-2/lighthouse

SAILING SHIPS

Sailing ships, looking for a light
On a sea of loneliness, drifting through the night
On these sailing ships, restless spirits roam
The ghosts of lonely sailors, souls without a home
Aboard the sailing ships
Not a trace of land in sight

On distant shores, fires warm the homes
Families share an evening meal and no one feels alone
But on the sailing ships, emptiness abounds
The ocean sings a low, sad hymn to this hopeless lost and found
Aboard the sailing ships
And still, not a trace of land in sight

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Beautiful music, Greg. Congratulations and much success to you with your CD release.


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Greg,

Good to have you back- looking forward to hearing the CD.
I`m a big fan of songs about the sea and really enjoyed the mood of this ballad and can see it would make a nice reflective end to an album.
The sax is terrific and your upfront vocal very expressive.
The opening threw me a little even after reading the " reprise " idea - I thought it might have worked better (for the casual listener- probably not relevant if you`re listening to the CD) to begin at "he`ll be laid to rest"... going to listen to the Lighthouse Keeper to better understand.


Robert

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Hey Greg,

This is very nice. Everything sits together well. The sax sounds great! So does your vocal. The transition to Sailing Ships is cool. I like the strings too... Great Job!

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Marvelous Greg

Well written and produced.

This song stands out with the cool style, the sax work, the melody and the sensational vocal delivery.

Another winner.


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Hi Greg.
Your music, vocals and lyrics are so tasteful and evocative of the scenes described.
The two pieces certainly belong together.
Beautiful music. Very skillful production. Thank you. Cheers.

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A superb piece Greg, with lovely changes that reflect the shifting emotions of the lyrics. Expertly sung, arranged and engineered. Sounds like this will be a pretty impressive collection of songs.

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Greg,
A really pretty piece and it compliments the Lighthouse Keeper track perfectly.
Really nice up front vocal and the track has been beautifully mixed with the haunting sax playing a strong role.
Very atmospheric and well composed.

Peter

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Greg,

I really like this song - excellent lyric and vocal. Your mix is also great - loved the sax.

Bob

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This is over the top good. The lighthouse light is shining bright. Looking forward to release of your CD. You are one of my favorite vocalists on the forum, or anywhere for that matter. This is a very sophisticated write, arrangement, mix, performance and production. Enjoyed this one a lot.

Charlie


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Greg,


Great project, great songs. Good luck with the CD.



Regards,


Bob

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Lighthouse remains one of our favorite tunes of yours.

We think you richly fulfilled your goal with this reprise. It is beautifully written, sung and produced.

And we have no doubt that equally excellent material will lie between these two compositions on the CD!

Kudos.

J&B

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Beautifully done Greg! Moving introspective flowing from that deep sensitive soul of yours drawing us in. Wonderful arrangement, sax and vocal. Congrats on the new CD!

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Great work Greg! Such a pretty and clean sound! I was particularly impressed with the string sounds here, they were excellent along with the vocal.




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A reprise on an album is such a great idea. Reminds me of 'wasted time' as an intro for the song 'victim of love' on the hotel California album.
This is some very good songwriting and both songs fit very well together.
The vocal delivery, as others said, is beautiful.
And indeed the saxophone is a great choice.

Rob


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Greg, A wonderful transition into Sailing Ships. These are extraordinary chord changes and an exquisite vocal. Arranged and mixed with great skill. Beauty at it's best. Tom

Last edited by tommyad; 03/13/17 03:33 PM.
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Hi Greg,

Using this and Lighthouse as bookends for your CD certainly makes the listener, to include us, wonder just how great a pleasure lies twixt and between.

The sax is a superb choice. It's bluesy and wailing ... totally relevant and ingratiating to the aura of the great production and delivery. And although so simple, the piano track is a strong contributor to the overall captivation of the production.

We're not sure if there's a specific reason you chose to fade in the vocal but it was very nice ... kind of eases the listener into the song.

Wishing you good luck with the CD and hope the rest of the year goes smoothly. We listened to it three times!

Alan & Di

Last edited by Al-David; 03/13/17 11:18 AM.

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Hello, Greg

Very beautiful and superb song.
And your vocal is so wonderful and impressive.
Taking the chord progression of "The Lighthouse Keeper", changing the key to D major but the chord progression of "SAILING SHIPS" also starts with Sub-Dominant chord and expands the progression.
The place where the chord changes from Dmaj7th to Dm7th is so cool and I love there a lot.
The backing orchestration is modest but so nice and beautiful.
Enjoyed my listen a lot.

I am looking forward to hearing the CD.
Best regards.

Shigeki Adachi

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Originally Posted By: Andy A - USA
Beautiful music, Greg. Congratulations and much success to you with your CD release.


Thanks Andy. I consider success anyone who wants to listen more than once or twice. Thanks so much for the nice comments. Take care. Greg

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Originally Posted By: Andy A - USA
Beautiful music, Greg. Congratulations and much success to you with your CD release.


Thanks so much Robert. You have been such a great presence on the forum-great songs and great vibes! Much appreciate that. Take care. Greg

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Great relaxing tune, enjoyable chord progression, like going back to 70's. Everything in place in the arrangement and the sax is the cherry on the top. It is also amazing how the music and lyric together create the melancholy sea atmosphere. And not to forget the superb vocals by one of the best vocalists on this forum. One of the best songs of the year so far smile

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"Comments from you guys is the only feedback I get."

Same here Greg, glad this forum and group are here.

It's so nice to have you back around here,
This is a beautiful song and I love the ideas and images
in this.

Kenny

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Greg,

This is so beautiful and so powerful.

"On distant shores, fires warm the homes
Families share an evening meal and no one feels alone
But on the sailing ships, emptiness abounds
The ocean sings a low, sad hymn to this hopeless lost and found"

Amazing writing.

Gorgeous production.

I could listen to this all day long...

We are lucky to be witness to your talent...

floyd

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Greg,

You certainly know how to shape a melody, choose the right notes and craft the best words so that a person's heartstrings resonate. The ambience you create with your composing, your singing and your arranging is magical. To my ears, everything about this is first class music.

All the best,
Noel


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Excellent! Doesn't get much better than this. Love your vocal! Backtrack is perfect, especially liked the bass and the sax. Best of luck with the CD!

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Gorgeous Greg. Loved the chord progression, especially the part during "sailing ships...." in the chorus, love that diminishment (even if it isn't a diminished chord per se) and the sax solo is wonderful.

Your vocals are outstanding here. Really, really good.

And the lyrics are superb.

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Beautiful vocal Greg. Am a little late posting as I was down traveling around in your home state for about a week. Pretty hot down there for this Canadian kid.

Loved your vocal, lyric and backtrack. Well done


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Marvelous melody! Some sophisticated structure and writing. And your vocal nails it.

And I love the instrumentation you've used.

Wonderful song.

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Originally Posted By: Achordocaster
Hey Greg,

This is very nice. Everything sits together well. The sax sounds great! So does your vocal. The transition to Sailing Ships is cool. I like the strings too... Great Job!


Thanks so much Greg. Much appreciated! Been loving your stuff lately! Take care. Greg

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Originally Posted By: VideoTrack
Marvelous Greg

Well written and produced.

This song stands out with the cool style, the sax work, the melody and the sensational vocal delivery.

Another winner.


Thanks Trevor. I really appreciate your consistent wonderful support! Take care. Greg

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Excellent song and vocal.
Real tracks used are very great. Super sax ending.

Sergio



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Stunning, Greg !


I love this not only for
your superb vocals but also
for the Bacharachian chords
! A Masterpiece allthrough !


Cheers
Greg

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Originally Posted By: RichMac
Hi Greg.
Your music, vocals and lyrics are so tasteful and evocative of the scenes described.
The two pieces certainly belong together.
Beautiful music. Very skillful production. Thank you. Cheers.


Thanks so much for the very kind words Richard. Wonderful to have you around the forum again! Take care. Greg

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Originally Posted By: Skyline
A superb piece Greg, with lovely changes that reflect the shifting emotions of the lyrics. Expertly sung, arranged and engineered. Sounds like this will be a pretty impressive collection of songs.

John


Thanks so much John. Your last one really blew me away! Incredible!! Take care. Greg

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Originally Posted By: PeterF
Greg,
A really pretty piece and it compliments the Lighthouse Keeper track perfectly.
Really nice up front vocal and the track has been beautifully mixed with the haunting sax playing a strong role.
Very atmospheric and well composed.

Peter


Thanks Peter, I was glad to finally find a home for this long lost melody. I felt like it really fit with the Lighthouse keeper lyrically and melodically. Thanks for your support. I'm diggin' the songs your posting! Take care. Greg

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Originally Posted By: rsdean
Greg,

I really like this song - excellent lyric and vocal. Your mix is also great - loved the sax.

Bob


Thanks Bob! Much appreciated. The sax RT just happened to fit really well-had a custom feel. I love it when that happens! You're doing a lot of great stuff lately!! Take care. Greg

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Originally Posted By: Charlie Fogle
This is over the top good. The lighthouse light is shining bright. Looking forward to release of your CD. You are one of my favorite vocalists on the forum, or anywhere for that matter. This is a very sophisticated write, arrangement, mix, performance and production. Enjoyed this one a lot.

Charlie


Thanks so much Charlie for your wonderfully kind words and consistent support! Your last one was really good. Looking forward to your next! Take care. Greg

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Originally Posted By: 90 dB
Greg,


Great project, great songs. Good luck with the CD.



Regards,


Bob


Thanks so much Bob! Just listened to one of your old ones, which I thought was a new one. Couldn't disagree with you more on the vocal-it is BEAUTIFUL!!! Take care. Greg

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I'm late and everything has been said that I was going to say. Things like great lyrics, arrangement, mic, orchestration, mix, and of course your super excellent vocals.

Let us know when the CD comes out.

This is a keeper.


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Originally Posted By: Janice & Bud
Lighthouse remains one of our favorite tunes of yours.

We think you richly fulfilled your goal with this reprise. It is beautifully written, sung and produced.

And we have no doubt that equally excellent material will lie between these two compositions on the CD!

Kudos.

J&B


Thanks so much J and B for the very kind review! You guys are so kind. Loved the vocal in the recent post-Janice killed it!! Take care. Greg

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Originally Posted By: Sundance
Beautifully done Greg! Moving introspective flowing from that deep sensitive soul of yours drawing us in. Wonderful arrangement, sax and vocal. Congrats on the new CD!


Thanks so much Josie! Always love to hear from you! Looking forward to a new tune soon. Take care. Greg

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