Album Notes

The Vessel is an expression of an ideal love for a woman who, like a divine ship, serves as a guide through life's potentially treacherous waters. The Vessel embodies all those qualities of love that penetrate deep into one's soul, further than one can ever consciously realize or express. Using the foundation of a relatively common chord progression, found in innumerable tunes such as Mr. Bojangles and Tears In Heaven, the completed song nevertheless has its own unique feel. Variations of this melody have been in my mind for many years, and it has been very satisfying to finally give the melody its own life in this completed tune. Written in the key of 'E', there is a shift to the key of 'G' for the instrumental, and then a modulation to the key of 'F' for the final verse. I performed the background vocals (ooo's and aaah's) using 2 track harmonies through most of the song, and there is also a digital vocal chorus patch that straddles the bridge. I am grateful to keyboardist Marshall "Mars" Ochman, who kindly spent time with me in the studio, and added piano, organ, and flute patches. Audio Engineer, Rich Liegey, graciously brought in a professional drummer, who tightly pulled the song together in its final version.