**Song-writing Demo for FAWM 2022**
Song number 9
Written Tuesday 15th February 2022
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I decided it was time I wrote a song that wasn't so hard to sing and play!
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**Once Again - A A J Russe**
Every day
You keep asking…
oh yeah!!! Great song and loving that chord progression. Beautiful with all the changes ...loving it. How did you do all this in such a short time period? Wow, wow, wow.
**Song-writing Demo for FAWM 2022**
Song number 8
Written Monday 14th February 2022
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It's not entirely true. But it's CLOSE ENOUGH!
It was actually the 16th of February.
But we were corresponding by email on the 14th.
Then we…
**Song-writing Demo for FAWM 2022**
Song number 6
Written Friday 11th February 2022
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I was meant to be resting and chilling.
In fact, I was resting and chilling.
But then I got a message from Lala saying she was listening to the…
**Song-writing Demo for FAWM 2022**
Song number 5
Written Thursday 10th February 2022
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What can I say? Mrs R likes it.
I knew she would.
Scheduling-wise, songs per day, I've now caught up with having missed the first 5 days of…
**Song-writing Demo for FAWM 2022**
Song number 3
Written Tuesday 8th February 2022
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So, here's today's little ditty.
(I don't know whether folks outside the UK would know what a Chelsea Bun is. I love them, they are extremely yum…
Great story line - has a true troubadour feel about it! Love it - kind of dark.
I have had the pleasure of a Chelsea bun here in Canada - yup, extremely yummy.
Very creative song. I'm listening to a great concert of all your songs ...loving it.
**Song-writing Demo for FAWM 2022**
Song number 2
Written Monday 7th February 2022
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I wrote this one a couple of hours ago.
I set up for recording, and busted a string on the Martin... GAH!!!
I tried a big ole dreadnought thing…
holy cow......I hadn't heard this one before! Gorgeous!!! That Fender did it's job well. Absolutely love this. I think this one is perfect as an acoustic version.
As If It Really Matters - A A J Russe
Written 16th January 1999
Recorded 12th March 2022
The Shoebox Demos Vol 1
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Crumbs, even this is 23 years old!
We used it as a set-opener in the last band I was in.
I've been trying to make…
Wow!!! This song did not age ....it is gorgeous. Truly beautiful and I love the complexity of the melody and how it moves about. I imagined hearing it live at a concert (I'd be in the front row!).
No-one To Blame - A A J Russe
Written 1st January 1988
Recorded 6th March 2022
The Shoebox Demos Vol 1
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Nearly forgot to post this one! (it's been a busy week at work)
I was 24 when I wrote it. What more can I say…
The Feast - A A J Russe
Written 26th September 1985
Recorded 3rd March 2022
The Shoebox Demos Vol 1
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This one's been sticking out of the shoebox for a long long while. It always shows up in a list of maybes. And it did this time…
Just To Make It What You Want - A A J Russe
Written 1st October 2016
Recorded 4th March 2022
The Shoebox Demos Vol 1
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I was going to choose a more uptempo one next, then this one jumped out of the shoebox at us, shouting "me me ME…
Gates Of Heaven - A A J Russe
Written 15th January 1988
Recorded 6th March 2022
The Shoebox Demos Vol 1
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This is about as naked as I can get.
This is how I wrote it. It's never had any accompaniment.
I was a bit young to sing…
Isn't This Fun - A A J Russe
Written 1980 (Completed 16th June 1991)
Recorded 6th March 2022
The Shoebox Demos Vol 1
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I wrote most of this in my first year at university.
But the Shoebox says I completed it 16/06/1991 - and the…
I Want You To Know - A A J Russe
Written 21st June 1987
Recorded 6th March 2022
The Shoebox Demos Vol 1
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This was to the same lady who inspired Foolishness. There's a couple of others from the same period, related to her, that will…
I Want You To Know - A A J Russe
Written 21st June 1987
Recorded 6th March 2022
The Shoebox Demos Vol 1
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This was to the same lady who inspired Foolishness. There's a couple of others from the same period, related to her, that will…
Gates Of Heaven - A A J Russe
Written 15th January 1988
Recorded 6th March 2022
The Shoebox Demos Vol 1
****
This is about as naked as I can get.
This is how I wrote it. It's never had any accompaniment.
I was a bit young to sing…
I Hope I Love Them - A A J Russe
Written sometime in 1989
Recorded 2nd March 2022
The Shoebox Demos Vol 1
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This one has tugged at me for many many years.
I absolutely adored it from the moment I wrote it in 1989... But I thought…
**Song-writing Demo for FAWM 2022**
Song number 1
Written Sunday 6th February 2022
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OK, this is a bit of a departure for me - posting songwriting demos.
This is a one mic recording made this morning in the living room, touch of reverbs…
First time hearing your stuff. After the first song, I love your writing. I'll be listening through what you have posted for the rest of the day!
Completely agree with RPM. I do enjoy it, however this year, my focus was more on songwriting and having fun. Production took a back seat.
I Want You To Know - A A J Russe
Written 21st June 1987
Recorded 6th March 2022
The Shoebox Demos Vol 1
****
This was to the same lady who inspired Foolishness. There's a couple of others from the same period, related to her, that will…
I Hope I Love Them - A A J Russe
Written sometime in 1989
Recorded 2nd March 2022
The Shoebox Demos Vol 1
****
This one has tugged at me for many many years.
I absolutely adored it from the moment I wrote it in 1989... But I thought…
The Feast - A A J Russe
Written 26th September 1985
Recorded 3rd March 2022
The Shoebox Demos Vol 1
****
This one's been sticking out of the shoebox for a long long while. It always shows up in a list of maybes. And it did this time…
Song I wrote last year about struggling with identity...
lyrics below lol
it's hard for me to be myself when i don't know who i am
feel like i'm just an empty shelf filled with empty photographs
and i might be all alright if i don't think…
Woooo! Another powerful one from you (I think I've missed a few). Your stuff always seems to speak to something in what I've got going on... I've had a lot going on last few months... this speaks into that in a kind of surprising unexpected way. Many thanks.
Another song for the 2021 National Solo Album Month.
What do we think of this cat? I have an urge to get proggy right now and generally that requires a level of talent that I don't posses. I'm not putting myself down when I say that, it's…
Oh yeah, I'm with JMT, I really like this. I haven't been doing much, if any, listening on here for ages... popped in for a moment, saw his comment and hit play. Really glad I did
Bringing back a song from 2011 with a new twist. The song now has drums, bass, and an orchestral backend. This is hopefully part of a larger collection of me reworking older songs with orchestration.
Many thanks to Brian of A Beautiful Scene…
For Choir
Humility Do Not Come to You
Bet you do not know what I do
what I am doing what I m doing
Bet you do not understand
Yes I realize
that you think you think you are so big
and its hollow the night you stand
Humility…
I got nothing.
Insert some random post-apocalyptic sci-fi narrative here, involving Speak And Spells achieving sentience and taking over the world, only to be thwarted by the Amish.
Alternatively, "Based On A True Story" something something.
I've explained to Mrs R what Skynet is... Mrs R has explained to me what Speak And Spell is. We now count ourselves as enlightened... and sincerely hope it's not actually based on a true story!
I wrote this one yesterday. A little something to bring hope for the future.... there's always time to begin anew.
Thanks to Greg Connor and Mark Lofgren for their wonderful guitars and vocals on this one - recorded yet again around my kitchen…
A little celestial inspiration for this song.... I started it and Greg and Mark helped me finish it and then record around my kitchen table. Feel free to howl if you like it!
Blood Wolf Moon
VERSE 1
Blood wolf moon this January…
I dreamed this song once, with Eddie Vedder on vocals. It stuck in my mind, and I've finally got around to recording it. Sadly, I can only sing it in my own voice! Ah well :)
Yeah, it works well, even without Eddie Vedder... I get exactly the same sort of problem- in the dream about my latest one, it was Taylor Swift singing - it took me quite a bit to get over the initial disappointment when I found that my own voice didn't have quite the same effect as the version I'd dreamt.
This one makes me really happy. Soothing and a little snappy. Guitar, bass, lyre, bongo, bodhran (brush), vocals.
Lyrics:
Life is a roller coaster
Just turn on the toaster
I know you're up and down
Just make a happy sound
Flying a dragon…
2021 50/90 S0ng Number 51
I listen to this song and I am struck by how little there is to it. It sounds simple and basic and un-special in every way.
Why then was it such an absolute nightmare to sing. I mean... I had to dumb down the…
Oh yeah, the guitarmonies here are definitely awesome - they sound really good. I'm with you, sucker for any guitar harmonies, but these have got a bit of that celtic vibe that kinda lifts them above others.
2021 50/90 Song Number 52
And that's all she wrote, folks.
The first time I finished 50/90 was 2014 and I had exactly 50 songs. The second time was last year and I had 51. Now this year I have 52. The bar inches higher.
There is a…
Cool track - love the solo at the end. You've got a Standard 50s?? Which colour? I've been oggling them. The guitarist from my old band got a 60s a few months back in "Unburst" which is my favourite but they don't do it on the 50s (and I want the fatter neck). Anyway, escapes me now, but for some reason I got a Flying V instead! (which I LOVE, actually)
I misread that as "tropical" ... I do need to get my eyes tested ... so I found it wasn't quite as cheery as I'd first imagined! Cool tune, and sentiments I share sometimes.
There was a band in Dublin when I was a teenager called Alien Comfort, not brilliant but some of the members went on to form Aslan, who are pretty awesome.
http://www.aslan.ie/
I always liked the name so this piece of pseudo classical music…
Having put together an orchestral version of this amazing song, the haunting composition by Michael Kiwanuka (theme from Big Little Lies, Sky Atlantic) here is my take on a conventional band arrangement, and featuring the lovely voice of my friend…
2021 50/90 Song Number 44
Another swing thing... sort of. Not as overt as the others, and I really wasn't planning on it. The GarageBand session drummer suggested it and I figured the session drummer knows best, right?
All of the fun of…
2021 50/90 Song Number 48
Not bad. I like the phaser on the guitars in the A section, and I like the wah on the rhythm near the end. That wash of noise underneath is actually a guitar solo that was sort of hiding the slow wah effect so I…
Comments on Andrew Russe's stuff
oh yeah!!! Great song and loving that chord progression. Beautiful with all the changes ...loving it. How did you do all this in such a short time period? Wow, wow, wow.
Another beautiful poetic song with such an excellent expressive performance. Love it!
I must take this train after hearing this song! What a great song :)....deserves a second comment.
Absolutely beautiful! Warm and an interesting narrative :). Loving it!
Great story line - has a true troubadour feel about it! Love it - kind of dark. I have had the pleasure of a Chelsea bun here in Canada - yup, extremely yummy. Very creative song. I'm listening to a great concert of all your songs ...loving it.
holy cow......I hadn't heard this one before! Gorgeous!!! That Fender did it's job well. Absolutely love this. I think this one is perfect as an acoustic version.
Wow!!! This song did not age ....it is gorgeous. Truly beautiful and I love the complexity of the melody and how it moves about. I imagined hearing it live at a concert (I'd be in the front row!).
I think I dated this one. I like the guitar lick. The song really moves along well.
I can feel that being a great Rockin' song .....
That's a great song in the making ......
A little bit of magic ...
Very good ..... afraid the 80's are so far away for me ..... old age ;)
Top notch my friend ....
An enjoyable listen, and a little different.
This is beautiful.
Poignant, affecting. Something everyone can relate to. I'm glad you were able to revisit this old song, and I also hope recording it was cathartic.
First time hearing your stuff. After the first song, I love your writing. I'll be listening through what you have posted for the rest of the day! Completely agree with RPM. I do enjoy it, however this year, my focus was more on songwriting and having fun. Production took a back seat.
Funny I don’t get stalker vibes but I can see if one knew the backstory that might be the outcome. Another great piece of writing!!
Sparse and beautiful
This is a good listen.
Comments made by Andrew Russe
Woooo! Another powerful one from you (I think I've missed a few). Your stuff always seems to speak to something in what I've got going on... I've had a lot going on last few months... this speaks into that in a kind of surprising unexpected way. Many thanks.
Oooh yeah. Saw the notification for this yesterday, that's why I popped in, to check it out. This is a mighty fine "just a little ditty"
Oh yeah, I'm with JMT, I really like this. I haven't been doing much, if any, listening on here for ages... popped in for a moment, saw his comment and hit play. Really glad I did
Yeah, like it.
Strangely hypnotic with the repeating note and then the tinkles and wotnot. Works really well for me.
Wooo... Digging this one.
Wow!
I've explained to Mrs R what Skynet is... Mrs R has explained to me what Speak And Spell is. We now count ourselves as enlightened... and sincerely hope it's not actually based on a true story!
Oh yeah. Lovely song. "The right person will arrive on time..." yep :)
Cool song. But, if you've been sat on it for a few months, she's probably forgotten you! OR.... yes! ...maybe she's sat on a similar song herself?
I'm playing a slow catch up game here... oh wow... my goodness... this one is gorgeous.
Yeah, it works well, even without Eddie Vedder... I get exactly the same sort of problem- in the dream about my latest one, it was Taylor Swift singing - it took me quite a bit to get over the initial disappointment when I found that my own voice didn't have quite the same effect as the version I'd dreamt.
Yep, made me happy too. I LOVE the lyrics. I hit fave just for the coaster/toaster thing, made me smile... then the two lines that followed... superb
Oh yeah, the guitarmonies here are definitely awesome - they sound really good. I'm with you, sucker for any guitar harmonies, but these have got a bit of that celtic vibe that kinda lifts them above others.
Cool track - love the solo at the end. You've got a Standard 50s?? Which colour? I've been oggling them. The guitarist from my old band got a 60s a few months back in "Unburst" which is my favourite but they don't do it on the 50s (and I want the fatter neck). Anyway, escapes me now, but for some reason I got a Flying V instead! (which I LOVE, actually)
I misread that as "tropical" ... I do need to get my eyes tested ... so I found it wasn't quite as cheery as I'd first imagined! Cool tune, and sentiments I share sometimes.
Yeah, that works for me. Cool track. And yeah, a great title.
Don't know the original, but I'm digging this. Mighty cool vocal.
Digging the space on this one.
Aw yeah - this is killer. Loving the Robin Trower / James Dewar vibe in the guitars and bass.