Annie

This song has been a long time a-coming. The melody, and especially the Latin rhythm, first sprang to mind in 2006, right after I'd laid my hands on a wonderful multitrack recorder and could finally express what was swirling around deep down inside the old noggin. I've been working on the tune ever since sporadically. Seventeen years this has been humming subconsciously!

I wrote it as a remembrance of Annie Chapman, the second of the five tragic victims in the Whitechapel murders committed by Jack the Ripper in 1888. It's the second movement of a suite, which I'm writing out of order. Three entries are complete now (Polly, Annie and Long Liz). Just this year (after laying my hands on a new and very inspirational synthesizer) I've started Catherine. As for Mary Jane, well believe it or not, that originally came to me in 1974. It's "done" in my head, but getting it down in recording has taken a lifetime, being perhaps the most complex and emotionally draining composition I've ever undertaken. Not to mention my aged fingers aren't as nimble as they once were...

But back to Annie which is posted below. Here are a few musicology notes you might find of interest. First, let me say something about the percussion. I wrote the entire drum score one note at a time over the past ten years using pencil and paper. There are some dozen percussion instruments involved. Since I'm not a drummer by training, this occupied the greatest share of my work. But in a sense, this song began with the percussion and evolved thereafter. It's the aspect of which I'm most proud in this piece.

As for the instrumentation, here goes:

•     Guitar: Les Paul Standard
•     Upright Bass: Yamaha DB50XG
•     Hammond Organ: Yamaha DB50XG
•      Flutes: Casio CZ-1000
•     Accordion: Casio CZ-101
•     Sequencer: Triangle II vst
•     Standard Drum Kit: Boss BR-600
•     All Latin Percussion Instruments: Yamaha DB50XG

The recording was done on Cakewalk 3.01 running on a decrepit Windows 98 personal computer, with an old Windows XP computer handling the MIDI routing, and the final tracks laid down on the Boss BR-600. I'm essentially using antiquated equipment that would otherwise find itself in the landfill.

One other thing: I dropped the tuning of the upright bass by two semitones to give an even more visceral feel (which is perhaps an apt adjective given the subject of this song). So, please listen to this on decent speakers or headphones with a good low-end response. That'll add tremendously to what the song tries to get across.

Click the following to listen to the MP3 of the song.

But email me if you'd like to hear the much higher quality WAV file; I can send you the link. Again, use good speakers or headphones, please.