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The Wrong Sky (w/t Racerat & Michael2) by echoroom [Email]

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SONG STATS:
Hits: 1370
Comments: 76
Votes:
Plays: 221
Last Played: Oct 12, 2008 - 12:47:48 PM
Downloads: 65
Fans: 53
Uploaded: Dec 14, 2007 - 04:28:45 PM
Last Updated: Dec 14, 2007 - 05:19:23 PM
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Keywords:
Michael2 (10), Racerat (10), Echoroom (12), Belfast (4), childhood (9), too much self analysis (1)
Description:
Michael2 posted this track as 'mountain' a while back, as an open collab. I loved the track, and did some work on the arrangement and wrote lyrics and vocals for it. Then, of course, I sent it to Racerat, 'cause one sure way of improving a song is to get Philip to work with you on it. Phil added the great rock/blues guitar to this, and added vocals and mixed it. The mix is so good I cant tell whose vocals are whose. Phil also sent me a version of this with him singing all the vox, which i hope he posts, as it's great - this is a really personal song to me, and he absolutely nails it.

Michael wrote a beautiful, bittersweet tune, and lyrically, this dredged up some deep stuff from a past I don't visit very often. in essence,this is a song written/sung to myself 25 years ago, a kid growing up in Belfast, struggling through their teenage years (as all teenagers do). My lyrics tend to be pretty obscure, and this may not mean much to anyone else, but it's very clear and direct to me ... better than therapy.

Michael - thanks for writing this great track, and for letting us work on this.
Philip - thanks, as ever, for working with me and helping me turn this song into something that means a great deal to me.

Again, apologies if I dont reply much to comments, but I'm up to my arms in Tiger balm!

Lyrics:
You'll never leave this town
The barricades and wire were built too high
Run from the day and deal with the night.
The other kids would try
To spit on your name and blacken your eye
Run from the day and deal with the night...
You'll survive.

Oh, Protestant child
Keeping the peace in your parents house
Run from the day and deal with the night.

But who would you be
When morning comes and licks you clean?
And what would you be
Your fathers' child, your mothers' shield?

You're gone
So long.

Sticking up your hair
Hiding from a world that doesn't care
I looked for you now but you're not there.
Looking for faith in a loveless town
Looking for Heaven in the wrong sky.
I'd ask you you why,
I looked for you now, but they let you fly
Fly...

But who would you be
When morning comes and licks you clean?
And what would you be
Your mothers' child, you fathers' seed?

You're gone
So long.

No surrender, no retreat
Our little wars and our bruised defeats.




Hardware:
No idea

Software:
GB3, Logic pro 8, Addictive Drums
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Yet another &mdash 12/14/07 - 05:12:00 PM
great collaboration. Love the unusually high voices. What a fantastic song, lyrically, musically and productionly.
Steve, you are so prolific at the moment - is it cause you can't write and have to make do with playing with your immense talent instead.
Obviously downloaded and will be treasured.
Cheers
Len



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Collabotastic &mdash 12/14/07 - 05:17:53 PM
Great job guys, this is big and powerful music with more awesome Steve singing. The guitar and strings are all perfect and stuff, too.

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Flame &mdash 12/14/07 - 06:00:13 PM
PV,
I think this song could go good with some fire juggling!
Whaddya say?

I gotta admit that was an awesome video. Who knew?

Philip

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like it! &mdash 12/14/07 - 05:51:33 PM
Nice! I really like the mood of this. Wasn't expecting the bluesy groove and guitar licks after the piano intro, but it works. I as well really like the alto vox section. Really dig the overlapping vocals too. Overall great song fellas! Consider it faved!

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Flattered &mdash 12/14/07 - 06:07:26 PM
I'm flattered as usual to be Steve's collaboration partner. The first thing that struck me when he sent me the Logic file was his falsetto bits. I was floored, Mr. E has an amazing range.

Secondly, was the beautifully poignant lyrics. Soul-bearing and fearless. Of coarse, the guy is a total prima donna though (I say this so no one else will ask him to collab and take up my precious collab bandwidth with this maestro)....lol.

Bravo Steve! A pleasure as usual.

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Ditto! &mdash 12/15/07 - 12:28:34 PM
... but I am a pain in the arse to work with !

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Range &mdash 03/13/08 - 02:09:06 PM
I'm always surprised at Steve's range myself, not just in tone but intensity.

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Interesting take &mdash 12/14/07 - 06:07:56 PM
on this

It is so hard not to hear Cats vocal when I listen to this anymore...

:-)


I like the way you have taken it in a different direction to what we did with and lyrically/sound wise...totally top notch

Hope your wrists get better

b


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Hey bryn &mdash 12/15/07 - 03:01:04 PM
This started kinda chilled, but the drums and Phils' guitar pushed it a little more uptempo, which i think was good, otherwise it coulda been a bit maudlin, with me wailing away.

Thanks for the comments.

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right then steve and all &mdash 12/14/07 - 06:13:53 PM
wow..this is a cool collab. all of it. so what more was expected....hats off x 3

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Well really .. &mdash 12/14/07 - 06:15:59 PM

.. how could this not be a winner? Nuff said .. fantastic result guys, collaboration at it's best.

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Steve - the lyrics are not obscure at all &mdash 12/14/07 - 06:22:04 PM
they paint such a vivid picture of alienation, fear and the desire to protect the adults - the clueless adults that create the world we 're forced to live in as teens. Fantastic song - and great production. With the additon of michael2 you and Philip have moved from double to triple threat. Killer collab gentlemen.

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Thanks Bud... &mdash 12/15/07 - 12:30:01 PM
... i did wonder how clear these were... appreciate your thoughts

steve

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holy smokes &mdash 12/14/07 - 07:13:15 PM
that sounds so good. you guys did an amazing job. i love all of the vox and melodies; and all of the gtr parts are great, but i'm also blown away by the drums you guys worked up. way better than my version(s). really impressive guys.

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Hey michael &mdash 12/15/07 - 12:35:39 PM
really enjoyed working on this, it's such a great track - thank you.

steve

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Yes! &mdash 12/14/07 - 07:52:27 PM
Another great take on Michael2's evocative piece. Nice going guys!

Be well!

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paint a picture &mdash 12/14/07 - 09:13:21 PM
very visual lyrics, Steve. Rough life with keeping a eye over the shoulder.

Vocally you are once again pushing yourself over that barbed wire fence.

This composition of Michael's is one of my all time MJ favorites. Very cool and unexpected take in making it rock. really worked out as a stunning piece altogether.

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Yeah... &mdash 12/15/07 - 03:03:28 PM
... it was odd, cause I didnt mean for it to rock out, but it kinda drifted into that direction ... shows what a versatile piece Michael wrote, i guess!

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the human condition &mdash 12/14/07 - 09:33:37 PM
holy cow!

powerful lyrics, vocal delivery. solid chords, guitar - drums

most excellent!

thanks


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Niiiice... &mdash 12/14/07 - 11:13:29 PM
Currently one of my favories of the Phil/Steve collabs.
The vocals as usual are pro quality and ready for primetime, delivered with razor precision, and the lyrics are so strong. The music is complete and well formed. Whatta song guys!

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Brilliant! &mdash 12/15/07 - 08:13:22 AM
That's it!

Phil

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Apart from &mdash 12/15/07 - 02:47:10 PM
the excellent arrangement and musical ability and performance here, the vocal (great vocals) really held me. This is Par excellence on many levels, loved it all, regards M

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Strong stuff! &mdash 12/15/07 - 10:17:38 PM
Lyrics are so good, and everything else lives up to the high standard they set. I agree with Philip about the falsetto Steve, I know how hard that is to pull off.
Bravo guys!
Neil

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Evocative and powerful &mdash 12/16/07 - 05:58:18 AM
not surprising given the talent on show here!

Excellent lyrics and fine performances all round.

Cheers

Dick



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Strong Foundation &mdash 12/16/07 - 06:29:33 AM
to build upon.

Micheal2, this was such a great offering to this inventive and talented bunch of visionaries. What a thrill to hear it evolve from the mighty beginnings.

Phil, your shredding guitar and drums are what lit this up in my ears. You have such great rock sensibility.

Steve, another beautiful performance that challenges your vocals and your writing for first place.

Great stuff guys.

Thanks to M2 for allowing this to happen.

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... &mdash 12/16/07 - 11:20:03 AM
.... and your gonna post you version when, Mr D?????

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You know... &mdash 12/17/07 - 10:54:13 AM
on the first few notes, I thought, why is this so familiar--I've been singing along to Bob's version of this, that's why!

I have to say this collab is great! The sound achieved with all your combined talents is amazing. Guitars, organ-like and key board sound bed, sweetly composed vocals...

Your lyrics are vulnerable, like a struggling teenager's writing would be, but your caliber of writing is more sophisticated than that.

"But who would you be
when morning comes to lick you clean"

is lovely.



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what! &mdash 12/17/07 - 02:12:45 PM
Ya mean this is like 6th form poetry!!

How very dare ou, girl!

lol

s

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So you're a pain &mdash 12/16/07 - 06:56:35 AM
to work with... sign me up... Hi Steve.. your natural passionate vocal is one of my favorites...

I love the melody in the section "but who would you be" powerful... really allows the song to breath and adds such strength to this.. your performance is stellar... as well as the production... excellent pro trax all around... The thing we always ask around here... why aren't you with a record company..... answer... there are none anymore...

buut this is that good

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Thanks Scott &mdash 12/16/07 - 11:22:02 AM
Sorry i haven't been around, appreciate the comments ... i only I had this song years ago when i wuz signed!!

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hey Steve &mdash 12/16/07 - 02:25:03 PM
I've also been around so little, that I haven't noticed your absence... although I did know that your wrist is giving you trouble... how is it?

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Wow, blimey &mdash 12/16/07 - 11:23:32 AM
When I saw this I thought "Ooh, another MacJams supercollab." It promised to be a good listen but I'm surprised at how much better it is even than I anticipated.

This is a beautiful song on every level. Stunning heartfelt performance from Steve, great richness of instrumentation and flawless production. Really fabulous, even by your (collective) standards. Much respect. I love it.

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...if only.. &mdash 12/16/07 - 12:02:22 PM
...we had you on vox and harp, it woulda been even better!

Thanks rebsie!

steve

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Terriffic!!!! &mdash 12/16/07 - 12:16:00 PM
What a superb song...epic...such a cool musical stage on which a gourgiously written lyric is sung by such a distinctive voice...nice layering of them too!!!

Epic!! I keep saying that.hey???...whatever it just is!!

kind regards,

o0o

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oo0ooo! &mdash 12/16/07 - 03:18:43 PM
Hey, been really enjoying your work lately, thanks for stoppin by

steve

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The Wrong Sky &mdash 12/16/07 - 02:41:41 PM
darn Cool rockin song ..the deep singin gives me
alot of willie nelson new way of singin sure just
at the beginin ..but its that cool .very nice guitar
work and perfect arragment ..this song is a blast !!
thanx for sharin it here !! great colab !!!

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willies &mdash 12/16/07 - 03:20:40 PM
Never been compared to willie before (if you catch my drift!).

cool!

Yeah, the guitar on this is somethin!

steve

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This is... &mdash 12/16/07 - 06:50:36 PM
...intense, Steve.

Raise my glass to your (and other's ) physical and spiritual survival.

You guys work very well together.

Bob

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Crossover hit! &mdash 12/16/07 - 09:32:25 PM
From Macjams to the world! Nice piece of writing Steve, and the music is perfect. I think your vocal sounded better on this than your other great efforts, and that is saying something. Overall the sound is incredible. Let's hear more from you three; seriously, this is very good. Some movie producer will hear this and put it in his movie and we'll see you three on the magazine covers.

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Magazine covers &mdash 12/17/07 - 02:38:17 AM
Dunno what Mike looks like, but Phil and i would look well geeky I think!

Thanks for the comments Joe - really appreciate them.

steve

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geeky? &mdash 12/17/07 - 05:45:14 PM
you look great in your pic. myself, i still look good. sure the hair is starting to gray, but it's all there and from across a parking lot I still look like a rock star.

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Well... &mdash 12/18/07 - 01:44:25 AM
... i still look kinda rock n roll in a darkened cineam ... hmmm, sounds like a lyric!

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OUTTA HERE &mdash 12/17/07 - 02:51:08 PM
OUTTA HERE from the Get Go.
Clean Punches.
Great Riffs.

Pro Level Production.
Radio Ready from here, Boys.

appreciation and best regards,
Cooper



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- &mdash 12/18/07 - 04:50:12 AM
The passion in the lyrics is great.A very moving song and real clarity in the recording.A pleasure

Cheers - Rich!

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much emotional cargo here &mdash 12/18/07 - 07:54:55 AM
remarkable performance and much feeling........superb!

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Thanks guys &mdash 12/18/07 - 12:54:28 PM
Coming from virtual virtuoso's like yourselves, we really appreciate the comments!

steve

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awesome &mdash 12/19/07 - 12:14:28 AM
just great music.
The vocal performances are so strong, as is the whole production.
A musical adventure.
Nice to see such fine material coming from open collabs here.
congrats to all involved( i'm just getting familiar w/ Michael2's stuff...
he got me going on a tune from the 'workbench" you heard it i think.
great job
HH



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Hey Tim.. &mdash 12/19/07 - 01:55:43 AM
... with such a strong tune from michael, and Philips expert guitar playin and production, even i couldnt ruin this song!

thanks man - have a great holiday!

steve

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Vibrant &mdash 12/19/07 - 10:02:07 AM
A great line like "Looking for heaven in the wrong sky" is a song in itself, but coming up with music and performance to match it is sublime.

As soon as I heard the line "Protestant Child/keeping the peace ..." I knew you were writing about Northern Ireland - before I read the song description. The emotion and imagery fit that troubled time and place like a glove. Yet it doesn't seem anchored there; the story of being trapped by circumstances has a universal feeling to it - we've all been there, one way or another.

Hearing these kinds of superlative collaborative productions is a fundamental reason MacJams is such a vibrant place!

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Wow &mdash 12/19/07 - 10:08:36 AM
... thank you, i really appreciate your thoughts on this. There's a lot of personal stuff in here - one of the idesa I played with was the counterplay between the 'war' between catholics and protestants 'on the streets' in belfast versus the private battles that go on behind closed doors in a family.

'No surrender' is/was a protestant 'battle cry', but is also used here to express views within a family when people wont give ground to each other.

thanks for the comments, really appreciate them

steve

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Fast forward to.... &mdash 12/19/07 - 07:44:48 PM
... an unequivocal hit song. Nothing for this listener to add to the above, except.... whoa, what a song, what a performance... a hit!

D

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It's a pop sensation... &mdash 12/20/07 - 01:47:44 AM
... in a kinda maudlin way! Thanks Dadai .... aprreciate your kind words.

steve

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You're back... &mdash 12/19/07 - 11:08:44 PM
And what a comeback! Your vocals and Phil's instrumental additions really energized this song. Haven't been hanging out here for a while because of a lot of other stuff I have to attend to... but always great to come back to listen to something like this. If this is what carpal tunnel does to your creativity, I wanna get me some of that.. ouch.

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He returns &mdash 12/20/07 - 02:08:03 AM
Hey Leon - great to hear from you! Have a great Xmas, and look forward to something new from you in 08!

lol

steve

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uau &mdash 12/20/07 - 01:15:11 PM
Great job!! This soundz great... A wounderfull voice and a pretty rock song... I love it

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Hey craft &mdash 12/20/07 - 02:08:44 PM
Thanks man... look forward to hearing something new from you soon

Have a great xmas

steve

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Hey craft &mdash 12/20/07 - 02:08:49 PM
Thanks man... look forward to hearing something new from you soon

Have a great xmas

steve

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You constantly amaze &mdash 12/20/07 - 08:59:16 PM
with your talent, your creativity and your performances. This is a great song, and a tremendous collaboration. Kudos to Michael for the original song, and to Racerat for the guitar work. You're right - it's hard to separate vocal sounds in there! Very nice vocal performance from someone, though! - I especially love the falsetto. The lyrics are beautiful - resonant and personal at the same time. I grew up in Dublin, and the imagery and language in the song remind me so vividly of the images of Belfast I grew up with. Outstanding work. Peace.

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Hey dave &mdash 12/21/07 - 01:51:53 AM
Thanks bud - you know I was blown away by your last posting, so I appreciate the comments. This was a real group effort, and lyrically one of my personal favs - it's like having a snapshot of childhood!

Belfast is a much calmer place these days .... I'm off here on 27th for new year!

Have a great xmas

steve

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I believe &mdash 12/21/07 - 12:00:43 PM
This is the ultimate collab With philip at the controls,Mike2 and your singing What could be better! So glad you guys are here at Mj's I think it an honor to listen thanks alot!

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Thanks EB/ZH &mdash 12/21/07 - 01:46:47 PM
Just checked out your latest and loved it. We thank you for your kind words - have a great xmas, man!

steve

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cu online &mdash 12/21/07 - 03:24:34 PM
dig it , i see you everywhere so i thought i'd stop by, cool style cat.

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!! &mdash 12/22/07 - 09:07:50 AM
starts off so mellow and ends very powerfully.... excellent performance by all

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Hey guys &mdash 12/23/07 - 06:27:00 AM
Thanks for stopping by ... appreciate it!

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with every post &mdash 12/30/07 - 01:58:17 PM
... you're delivering a superior song. So good again that I'm really speechless this time. I will start burning Steve Craig CD'S and sell them myself if you don't bring out and album in 2008.
-Walt

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Hey walter &mdash 01/01/08 - 06:04:07 AM
... maybe one day! Thanks for coming round and have a great 2008 - with hopefully another moorlandt album!

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How ya doing? &mdash 01/04/08 - 02:51:17 PM
You guys did a great job on this. Michael great lyrics. Vox is super ER. Loved how the drums and bass come in with such dynamics.
Thanks
Dave

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Thanks dave &mdash 01/19/08 - 02:10:23 AM
like your new traancey vibe!

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Nice song &mdash 01/18/08 - 08:50:15 PM
Well written. Emotional. Bet it would be even more so with a live drummer.

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Agree... &mdash 02/09/08 - 09:30:24 AM
... leeme know of you find one!

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very well done &mdash 02/06/08 - 12:50:01 AM
this is the first one of your songs that I clicked on, and I must say- I'm quite impressed! The vocals are top notch- what a wonderful, thick, honest voice.

the overall vibe is great.. the guitars have that beautiful, gritty soul/blues thing going on, and the drums and bass provide a backdrop of authority and strength without being too obtrusive.

very well done overall- I'm looking forward to browsing some more of your stuff!


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Thanks TJ &mdash 02/17/08 - 07:23:59 AM
Will be swinging over to you very soon - ta!

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Great! &mdash 03/03/08 - 04:41:09 PM
Great rendition of Mike's Collaboration project. Loved everything about it. You have a great vocal controlling Steve. You're just one of the bests about this community. Thank you so much for sharing .. Just a masterpiece and KUDOS To the great trio .. Downloaded!

Take Care
- Yeman A. Al-Rawi

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Hey Yeman &mdash 03/04/08 - 11:01:44 AM
Thank you... this is a very personal song for me.... glad you liked it

steve

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wow &mdash 03/11/08 - 09:55:54 AM
what a terrific collab. I'm going back through to hear more of you - this is just awesome! thanks

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Wow !!! &mdash 03/15/08 - 03:14:14 PM

Hi thought I would come and have listen to some more
of your little gems and was I glad. This is really awsome you all was absolutely wonderful to listen too.
Such talent. Seriousely well done. loved the lyrics too.
Peace Dee

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