the recording on this one is exceptionally good. I think you may have perfected the perc mic up over this last year. is there a hint of reverb? Nice one, really warm malaria-like sound

@ Kirk& Kamachi: excellent observation, and you are correct. As most of my patterns are built around clave, and as clave is structured upon so many off-beats, to get my metronome to "click" on some key clave beats, I set my metronome at double time- so my bpm notation reflects what my metronome setting was dialed to. Here is a clave link that graphically shows how many times clave percussion scores are transcribed in 2/2 (cut time) to make it easier to read... but if one is counting 8th notes instead of quarter notes, the bpm will be doubled. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clave_(rhythm)?wasRedirected=true

Excellent playing. But +1 here for the 110 BPM perception :-)

Excellent! I find it interesting that in almost every one of these that you list the BPM I feel them in half time, so I would think of this as 110 BPM

glad to be back. good stuff here.

@ Richard: many thanks- recording accoustical percussion is sometimes tricky and I'm still learning the skill sets required for that. I mount my own skins from bulk rawhide (so not actually tanned) but I don't actually make the rawhide from animal skins... that's a lot of work on a non-industrial level and there are some health concerns when it comes to working with (especially imported) fresh animal skins. Many of the (nonterrorist) cases of anthrax reported involve folks making their own drum heads, so I just use commercially cured cow skin from the USA for the latin drums and buy pre-made drum heads for the African drums, which are usually water buffalo, goat or some sort of deer.

the sound quality is great,,, i can almost see/feel the bending/vibrating of the skin,, do you make,, tan etc your own skins?,,, this has a wonderful warm quality,, great piece

I heard the style somewhere but you perfected it. Thanks for uploading.

Phenomenal - almost, pheromonal!!

i played this in college. fun.

@ Dave: thanks for listening! This recording is 8 tracks, consisting of 2 (stereo) bass drum, cowbell, clave, chinese blocks, and 3 tracks of various sized conga drums playing their parts. Traditionally it is performed by a group of percussionists, which I would *love* to assemble- but that rarely is possible for me to do where I live. Perhaps I should move to Africa.

Thanks Norm, I posted the lyrics. Now then on to this great groove, Yeah baby thats really moving isn't it. Is this one track or a few tracks overdubbed together? I am moving every part of my body to this groove.

Absolutely brilliant.

Great brilliant top job mate.

@ Jarvis: Ha! I'm vocally challenged, but to hear the lyrics, go here: http://alonetone.com/vaisvil/tracks/walk-with-sorrow-norm-rick-chris-emily

Cool job ...but hey lyrics and no vox ?

Yet another good one. I love how you always post the style and a bit of history with each track. It always helps me understand the song better.

excellent! I like the way the congas answer each other.

Great stuff Norm! I must make some time to jam with some of your tracks

Beatiful!

Great vox! I like the horns as well as the unsympathetic left channel choristers, observing the narrator walks alone. Well done.

Beautiful job, Emily! I love it!

Ha! Very clever! I love the bass lick and vox... and I'm very proud to be a part of your first accoustic recording of cornet, flute and harmonica. Historic indeed. And what an interesting poem. I read up on it. Some highlights: With "Hysteria" Eliot created an unconventional poetic diction by using verse rhythms that were based on the cadences of speech rather than poetic structure. It is possible that the laughter may be a product of the woman’s ‘hysteria’, but it is more likely that the title applies to the narrator’s reaction to that laughter. “As she laughed,” he begins, “I was aware of becoming involved in her laughter and being part of it.” He begins to feel as though he has physically become the laughter he is observing." "The narrator’s goal is to collect pieces of the details he was able to capture in order to rebuild a coherent reality. The reader is left somewhat skeptical of this goal, however, because of the narrator’s doubtful language. “If” the woman’s breasts “could” be stopped, “some” fragments “might” be collected. Each line contains two distinct words of uncertainty, and by the end we are not sure that the narrator’s hysteria can be cured.

This is excellent! Great percussion and bass groove. Well done!

Here's to the ingenuity to customizing the tool to work for you, rather than the other way around. Sounds really great!

Cool story about Majnun. Very pro sounding production. Horns sound great to me.

I always love your piano work. Now this really works. I had to look up "Euler's Constant" but it's still Greek to me. Quite a mysterious number.

Carlsbad is a great cave... perhaps a bit commercialized: it actually has a US Post office in it's depths - 750ft below the ground. But the reverb in this piece is excellent: fitting of the 7th largest cave chamber in the world. Well done. (It would have been a long process getting that large of a choir up out of the cave on it's small elevator.)

I like your nurse, but whatever she gave me is freaking me out a bit. Who brought the chipmunks to church? Menacing work, V. Menacing. Sounds like a rough week.

Glad I listened up. Great voice.

What a voice! Great, funky, funky funk.

Oh so funky. Most excellent!

Ahh. You saved the best for last on your album. Excellent, all.

Very nice. I'm loving all the Christmas songs on AT today... well done VJ & JV.

Excellent. The percussion work is delightful.

I hope that you've found them by now! Great fun!

Excellent!

This is excellent!

Excellent!

Fire? Check. Snow shovel? Well, check (if I must - but I get to punt on one too, right?) Make music? Check. Congas tuned and awaiting their beating. EWABS? Check. Ready for a blizzard. Thanks for the 4 suggestions... although Monk has a nice addition. We are booked to get mucho snow tomorrow so I'll hopefully have an excuse to stay home and get something really important accomplished for a change, ELM or not.