Home Community Music Blog Old MJ More...      
Still Waters by NorthPoint [Email]

Get Flash to see this player.


Having playback trouble, try the Quicktime player:

Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
SONG STATS:
Hits: 653
Comments: 28
Votes: 5
Plays: 79
Last Played: Nov 26, 2008 - 04:51:49 PM
Downloads: 32
Fans: 13
Uploaded: Dec 28, 2007 - 12:00:24 PM
Last Updated: Dec 28, 2007 - 12:06:23 PM
Fan List
Keywords:
Portland (8), Oregon (8), Northwest (2), NorthPoint (6), Rock (1147), Pop (482), Roots (16), Alternative (247), Child (20), Still (20), Waters (3), Sea (36), Journey (42), Pearl (2), Jam (65), Crouch (2), Lowther (1)
Description:
This is a song Kenny and I wrote about our children. Kenny came up with the riff when we were jamming in his garage, just brainstorming on new song ideas. I loved his riff, which reminded me of our Northwest's own Pearl Jam. I wrote the lyrics that evening, thinking about our little daughters all growing up to face a big wild world.

The song is loosely based on a set of 4 paintings by Thomas Cole in 1840 called "The Voyage of Life" that have always been favorites of mine in the National Gallery in Washington DC: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Voyage_of_Life If you ever get a chance to visit the display in DC, I recommend it because the 4 paintings together have a remarkable effect. The 4 paintings are Childhood, Youth, Manhood, and Old Age. I took a little liberty with the theme in the lyrics, and instead made the main character a strong woman growing up to face the raging seas, and then undertaking a 5th challenge, Childbirth and completion of the circle (and a nod to Live's Lightning Crashes, another favorite song of mine).

Thanks for listening, and I look forward to your feedback.

-- Alan


Alan Crouch: lyrics, vocal, bass
Ken Lowther: music, guitar, backing vocals
Charlie Swift: drums
Pat Yadon: recording, engineering
Phil Klahn: mixing, mastering

Lyrics:
Still Waters
(c) 2004 Alan Crouch lyrics, Ken Lowther music

V1
Open eyes, she flowed into our brave new world
Heard her cry, our precious darling little girl
She smiles, and all our sins are washed away
Sweet child, bless our souls show us the way

Arpeggio (2x)

Ch (2x)
Do you Believe
Do you Believe
Do you Believe In the Still Waters

Intro to Verse

V2
Set her sails, cast upon the raging sea
Made her way, through rough waters strong and free
She said, never look back never never turn back now
Today, weather the storm make it through somehow

Arpeggio/Ch

Solo

V3
Open eyes, complete the circle little friend
Heard her cry, our sins are washed away again
She smiles, and all the storm clouds fade away
Sweet child, take our place show us the way

Chorus and out

Hardware:
Recorded and engineered by Pat Yadon on the NorthPoint album "Wildwood Trail", http://cdbaby.com/cd/northpoint

Additional vocals added and Fender P Bass recorded via M-Audio PRE-USB interface recorded direct to computer.


Software:
Lots of SW and magic from Pat in his studio Mastering SW expertly applied by Phil Klahn. Bass, Guitar, and some vocal overdubs recorded with Sonar Cakewalk.

You must be registered and logged-in to comment.

Still Waters &mdash 12/28/07 - 12:37:04 PM
You Rock ..you ..the sound of the band is JUST TIGHT
and cool rockin sound .very nice singing very
impressioneist the whole song sound .the guitar riff
works perfect .the boomin bass and the wide drums
all just set this song to sound PERFECT ...KUDOS !

[ Reply to This ]
Thanks Feter &mdash 12/28/07 - 04:46:47 PM
I'm glad you liked the tune, and appreciate your kind words. Take care, Alan

[ Reply to This ]
I Believe! &mdash 12/28/07 - 01:00:48 PM
what a cool tune. great lyrics which work perfectly with that gentle flowing guitar part. LOVE the vocal build at the end.....WOW! What a beautiful song.

[ Reply to This ]
RE: I Believe! &mdash 12/28/07 - 04:49:03 PM
Nice to meet you eleveneyes. Good to know you liked the ending - I kept re-working it to get the feel the way I thought it should be and was never quite sure so hearing your comment is very helpful. All the best, Alan

[ Reply to This ]
Sill Waters &mdash 12/28/07 - 01:18:42 PM
Feter & I were talking about Narada Michael Walden, & he cited this song as example of tuned drums! Great job, great song!!!

[ Reply to This ]
Tuned Drums &mdash 12/28/07 - 04:53:08 PM
Glad to hear you enjoyed the drum sound. Charlie Swift is a class act: awesome live drummer, gets a fantastic drum sound, a great friend, and to top it all off he makes a heck of a good espresso (which is very important in coffee-loving Portland). Charlie and Pat have perfected a recording approach to drums - I have to say I love the drums on this track as well. Thanks for listening! -- Alan



[ Reply to This ]
All the way done &mdash 12/28/07 - 11:08:46 PM
So cool to hear your writing and performance out of the studio effort. The band feels this song so well.

[ Reply to This ]
Very nice song &mdash 12/28/07 - 11:32:17 PM
and very good quality recording. The instruments are all nicely balanced in the mix, and the vocal sits nicely (although it seems a little low in my phones on the first couple of words?) with a great balance between the backing vocals and the lead. This is a great sounding track, and the sentiment of the lyrics is excellent. I love the vocal ending. Nice work all round. Peace, and a Happy New Year to you and yours.

[ Reply to This ]
Nice one guys! &mdash 12/29/07 - 08:17:01 PM
This has a way familiar cadence to it! If I hadn't of smoked so much pot in the past I could at least give you a "sounds like" Oh well....... you did a great job on this just the same. Thanks for sharing.

Ax

[ Reply to This ]
definite &mdash 12/30/07 - 08:21:01 AM
northwest sound. must be the rain. i can remember the years i spent in olympia, Wa. alot of my tunes had a meloncholy drive to them. this is a good song, and a good riff. nicely mixed, although i hear a touch too much snap in the cymbals. really minor though. nicely done!
Allen

[ Reply to This ]
I &mdash 12/31/07 - 12:57:45 AM
likey ! Good sound nice mix nice vocals great harmonies and well put together . Alittle temple of the dog influence !

[ Reply to This ]
Theres &mdash 12/31/07 - 01:44:59 AM
something about a real band that can't be duplicated by drumloops and midi bass, like the crud I do. Really nice overall sound. The drums sound friggin great. Deffinately hear the PJ influence. Great stuff.

[ Reply to This ]
Wow &mdash 12/31/07 - 07:21:58 PM
Realy good didnt know what to expect but this is great and the reference to the paintings make this even more piongnant! Has a pearl jam feel to it hope that does not offend. Enjoyed Thanks for sharing and welcome to MJ's!!!!

[ Reply to This ]
Real Drums! &mdash 01/01/08 - 01:06:35 AM
Hi Alan,

I really like this song... has a classic rock vibe.. great lead and back vocals... real drums which is a real bonus to hear on MJ.... Very tight (excpet for the very beginning.. maybe was my computer jerking... lol).

Great stuff...

[ Reply to This ]
Late... &mdash 01/07/08 - 05:04:34 AM
...sorry...cool live and tight...the paintings as a theme is powerful. Really enjoyed this. And yeah...I believe in the still waters...

[ Reply to This ]
Nice development &mdash 01/09/08 - 09:32:58 AM
I like how it builds, throughout.

Has a real comfortable sound!

Nice way to smooth out this Wednesday morning!

Peace,
Doug

[ Reply to This ]
nice &mdash 02/11/08 - 12:27:23 AM
singing and cool backing. Nice live band sound. Especially like the harmonies.

Thanks for sharing

[ Reply to This ]
Refreshingly alive &mdash 02/12/08 - 09:36:42 AM
I first discovered those voyage of life paintings in high school (I lived in suburban D.C., near their home), and I'm happy to hear a song inspired by them.

And it's a catchy, enjoyable tune, wonderfully performed by everyone. Sonically, the recording sounds very "live" and I wonder how you recorded it, additionally, everyone's performance work has that "fresh" feeling, not the over-done, "perfect" studio vibe. This is really great, and I'm looking forward to listening to some more of your work.

[ Reply to This ]
Thanks Lenny &mdash 02/13/08 - 12:42:51 AM
Lenny,

Thanks for listening! We recorded Still Waters in a home studio (Pat Yadon recorded and engineered the basic tracks). We recorded live. Charlie nailed the drums, and Charlie/Pat came up with a nice live drum sound. Then we went in and added the final bass, guitars. Finally, Kenny and I did vocals. Phil Klahn mastered the song. I'd give him the credit for keeping a live feel in the final mix. We wanted to get something close to what we perform live (we're basically a roots-rock 3 piece so nothing too fancy) - I think we came pretty close. The key was not to over-think it, not use many effects, and keep some life in the final mix.
Cheers,
Alan

[ Reply to This ]
Nice one &mdash 02/15/08 - 04:39:53 PM
Top song this Alan, like it! Really catchy rock ballad, sang and performed very well indeed. Top job mate!

[ Reply to This ]
Great &mdash 02/17/08 - 11:23:10 PM
I like this one.... Good sound, and when the voices comes in together, it sounds fantastic.... And i really like the sound of the guitar.... Great

[ Reply to This ]
Nice, rolling groove &mdash 02/21/08 - 02:03:31 PM
Really nice groove. The main riff never gets old, it just chugs along as the band lifts and changes around it, very nice. Everything sounds clear as... still waters. Lyrics match the idyllic painting, looks like you captured the essence as intended.
An aside: this put me in the frame of mind of - go ahead and laugh - Grand Funk's Phoenix album (pre-American Band).

[ Reply to This ]
We're an American Band &mdash 02/26/08 - 10:43:17 PM
Wow - what an honor Bob. I have always liked Grand Funk, listened to them growing up because my friends brother played Grand Funk covers in a band. I'm sure Charlie and Kenny will think this is really cool too. You made our day :)
Cheers, Alan


[ Reply to This ]
I just love guitars &mdash 04/04/08 - 01:05:22 AM

I do not know why ? But I am crazy about nice sweet guitar sounds and even better when They have a sweet singing sexy voice with it.
Yours has the magic ingredient. I have a guitar but am still learning to play it. Thank you so much for this cracking good song. I do have a software instrument guitar that I played live.:)

Peace Dee x

[ Reply to This ]
Sweet rockin &mdash 06/08/08 - 03:33:07 PM
Real nice tune. Great vocals, just a all around great production.
Thanks, Russ

[ Reply to This ]
hello NP &mdash 06/22/08 - 01:14:27 AM
just needed one more listen ... this is still amazing .. love it i do ...not stupid this time and down loaded ... man u guys ... man :-]

[ Reply to This ]
Thank You &mdash 06/22/08 - 01:18:57 AM
We appreciate your kind words Davis - thanks for stopping by!

[ Reply to This ]
The Intro .... &mdash 07/05/08 - 11:23:44 PM
.. reminds me a little of Pearl Jam ... it's funny how when I listen to your stuff it just transports me to a different time .... a better time ???? hahahaha OK I wrote the Pearl Jam reference while listening ... and THEN read comments ... only to discover that I was not the ONLY one who heard the PJ thing ..... OK DUH how dumb am I .. and THEN I go and read the description even AFTER I wrote what I just wrote above ! ACK! YEah go drink some more beer Alannah !!!!!

[ Reply to This ]
Copyright 2008 Simig Media, Inc.