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ABOUT
THE ALBUM
One of the standard devices of the literary field is the short
story. It's far less common, however, for music and the short
story to work in tandem. As he began to develop the ideas
for his second album, John Morgan began to look for ways to
weave together his passions for both literature and music.
In a unique twist, he began to approach friends who he knew
loved reading... and, in some cases, writing. He circulated
tapes of the songs for this album, and asked his friends to
consider writing a short story based on the music and the
title of the song. Obviously, this type of venture is a bit
of a crapshoot, since you don't you what will come back in
response....but, time and again, whether through tears or
smiles, John was deeply touched by the creative work of his
"author" friends.
The
stories are available here, and
scraps of the stories are woven throughout the album's art.
Musically, this album is also somewhat of a departure from
John's first album, "The Journey", which consisted
exclusively of solo acoustic guitar. John wanted to "ramp
it up" a bit on this project, so he elicited the musical
contributions of musical buddies Don Smith (bass), Josh Sheik
(percussion), Noelle McClelland (scat vocals) and Becky Boger
(flute). The resultant rich musical texture promises appeal
to an even wider audience than the first album. In terms of
musical genre, John has progressed beyond the contemporary
instrumental/folk sound of "The Journey", and is
now stretching into new territory, such as smooth jazz and
world music.
An
average album clocks in at about 45 minutes...but this album
is a treasure in yet one more way...it's packed with more
than AN HOUR of great music! From it's beautiful cover art
(by Kim McClelland) to the rich acoustics pouring from your
speakers..."Stories", by John Morgan & Friends,
is a treat not to be missed!
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