Solo. Or not....

A very large number...

Last week’s Bonus Round was a little complicated! To recap: The previous (2 weeks ago) Bonus Round featured two of Jackson Browne’s songs on his album “Running On Empty”: “The Load-Out”and “Stay” that were a recorded at a live performance and intentionally there was almost no gap between the two. That led to last week’s Bonus Round of other songs that were that way in an album release, either intentionally or because DJs of the era (70s) had an edit that took out the gap between the album versions. I used a sort of silly paragraph to provide all the song titles and artist name to provide the clues. So, the answers to last week’s Bonus Round are first, Heart’s songs “Dreamboat Annie (Fantasy Child)”, which glides effortlessly into the iconic opening acoustic riff of “Crazy On You” on the album, “Dreamboat Annie”.

“Dreamboat Annie is the debut studio album by American rock band Heart. At the time, the band was based in Vancouver, British Columbia; the album was recorded in Vancouver and first released in Canada by the local label Mushroom Records in September 1975, eventually reaching number 20 on RPM's Top Album chart and earning a double platinum certification. It was released in the United States on February 14, 1976, through the US subsidiary of Mushroom Records in Los Angeles, peaking at number seven on the Billboard 200. It also reached the top 10 in the Netherlands and Australia in early 1977. The album contains three commercially successful singles, two of which, "Crazy on You" and "Magic Man", became staples on North American FM radio. Producer Mike Flicker helped the group to polish their sound and obtain a recording contract with the label.” Credit: Wikipedia

Interestingly, there are 3 (slightly) different versions of the song Dreamboat Annie on the album: “Dreamboat Annie”, “Dreamboat Annie (Fantasy Child)”, and “Dreamboat Annie (Reprise)”. Here’s a cool fan made video of the two songs played in sequence from the album:

The other song set in last week’s Bonus Round was from The Cars’ album, “The Cars”. Tracks 8 and 9 from that album are “Moving In Stereo” and “All Mixed Up”. Although on the album, there is the traditional gap between the cuts (more on that below), the two songs were often heard on the radio seamlessly following one another.

“The Cars is the debut studio album by American rock band the Cars, released on June 6, 1978, by Elektra Records. Produced by Roy Thomas Baker, the album spawned the singles "Just What I Needed", "My Best Friend's Girl", and "Good Times Roll". It peaked at number 18 on the US Billboard 200 and has been certified six-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).”

Here’s a great video of the two songs played in sequence live, the only gap is necessitated by a quick change of Ric Ocasek‘s guitar.

My fellow SubStacker, Brad Kyle, whose SubStack publication, “Front Row & Backstage” is a very cool compilation of Brad’s experiences in the music industry (imagine partying with The Ramones AND The Sex Pistols) and his experience as a sportswriter/commentator for the Houston Astros - definitely a SubStack to add to your reading list!!

Brad helpfully gave me some insider tips on “DJ lingo” - such as that “gap between tracks” is known in DJ jargon as the “5 second band”, and promo albums without those gaps were often sent out to radio stations - the resulting songs were called “recorded segues”. Thanks, Brad!!

Last week we talked about recording your good/great songs and taking the resulting “stems” to an audio engineer/producer at a pro studio, and a little bit about the universal themes that are important to putting your listeners “in the song” in a way they see themselves and their own life experiences there, not just the singer/songwriter’s. There are lots of (paid) folks who will happily sell you “the way” to write lyrics, sing them and record them and sell them. Don’t get me wrong, there are many who are genuinely interested in your success and conveying their hard won experience and insights, and they need to make a living too. Choose wisely as you compare the subject matter they offer, and beware (IMHO) formulaic courses/subscriptions that promise hits and income from their “way”. I’ve had the best luck with individuals and companies that give a lot of free materials/techniques/tips based on experience and I don’t mind a low key pitch of their product or course along the way.

If you’re writing your own lyrics and music, you’ll at some point make decisions about collaborating with someone (or several someones) on either lyrics or music, or both. That can be an easy choice, or an extremely difficult one. The decision will involve trust in one another, the financial aspects of success, and how to handle those aspects if things don’t work out financially. There is a certain vulnerability in writing lyrics that are meaningful to you - you’ll reveal yourself in lots of ways you may not intend (or maybe you will - I don’t know). Collabing with someone you trust can place a strain on relationships, or may lead to deeper friendship. At the same time, when the honesty of the emotions and experiences behind great lyrics resonate with listeners and fans, and help place them “in the song”, the rewards can be counted in more than monetary revenue. There’s probably some middle way that professionals use that makes it easier to collab with folks they may not particularly be friends with in their lives outside the collab, though I have no idea what that entails. Great writers may somehow be able to depersonalize their lyrics in a way that makes collabing with others less emotionally revealing but still engages the listener, though I suspect that talent is fairly rare and more than a little difficult to sustain. You may have the talent and great fortune to release a hit, only to have the possible misfortune of press attention that is by turns encouraging and supportive, but then becomes much less so. That reality can add to issues between collaborators.

Some of the industry’s icons have dealt with these things in various ways - the great Townes Van Zandt in tragically self destructive isolation, John Prine found hilarious ways to skewer his critics, the fabulous Aimee Mann now fiercely defends her solo independence after initial success and great attention during her ‘til Tuesday band days.

Proceed carefully if you decide to collab with others in lyrics or music or both - it’s pretty easy the less money and fame there is, maybe not so much when those factors intrude. I think that’s why the Acapella app is popular and very cool - it’s almost all collab, but there’s no money at stake, so it’s easy and fun to build a community of collaborators in a supportive environment. That said, some of the great collaborations have been the most successful: Lennon/McCartney, Elton John/Bernie Taupin, and that list goes on.

Don’t let any of this prevent you from moving forward with your own guitar, vocal, and writing and recording aspirations - the decision to stay solo or collab with others requires some thought, but continuing to develop your own skills, to learn and experiment with new ones, and believe in yourself will be your best foundation for success no matter what you choose!

Some Links:

John Prine Mr. Prine had a lot of songs that he wrote and collaborated with others on, this article highlights (and includes videos of) some lesser known songs that should have been singles hits.

Songwriting tips Songtown.com is one of those sites (IMHO) that give more in value than they charge for subscribing if you’re interested in songwriting and the industry

Streaming Royalties Mr. Van Veen is the CEO of CD Baby and his videos are insightful, kinda humorous, and include some hard truths we need to hear

I’ve often mentioned how playing in a church praise band can be a good way to develop and hone your musical skills, as well as your faith if you’re a congregation member. Many, if not most, Protestant denominated churches have a contemporary service in addition to a choir dominated “traditional” service. Some churches just have members of the congregation as band members, others local musicians that are paid, many may have a combination of paid and unpaid musicians. The Christian praise music industry is as much a part of the industry as any other, and that’s just a fact, but it doesn’t mean it’s not good, often great, music. Today’s Bonus Round highlights a song I always wanted to do when I played in a church band, but the chance never came around - I still learned it, and often play it, just because I like the song.

Clue below and in the subtitle above.

Bonus Round: How many reasons?

Cheers and keep playing

Michael Acoustic