About_CD

Dear Listener,
I am pleased to present you with Start Over, my first studio-recorded cd of original songs. It took over fifty years of living to write, and nearly two years to record, during which recording engineer Dave Budrys and I worked meticulously to achieve an authentic acoustic sound.

The songs are:

1. Market Price (neo-19th century): homage to Emily Dickinson

2. Appearance of Virtue (neo-baroque): judging by appearance

3. Enough to Drink (country): courage, cowardice and alcohol

4. Good Morning Dad (country-pop): song for my father

5. Jaime and Donna (Afro-pop): love and unexpected couples

6. Party On (folk-pop): to a party girl

7. Joys of Liberty (neo-flamenco): “leadership” and the war in Iraq

8. Ghost Wind (folk): the past in the present

9. Start Over (country): what this cd is for me

10. Ain’t Dead Yet (calypso-rock): self-explanatory

The songs on Start Over were recorded with 5 guitars:

1. An acoustic Slope D by Dana Bourgeois (custom made for the summer, 2002, NAMM; the National Association of Music Manufacturers

2. a commissioned acoustic-electric 12-string by Tim Bridwell

3; a classical guitar by Cordoba, a Spanish company

4. a flamenco guitar by Carlos Pinas, a Mexican luthier

5. a limited edition Martin acoustic-electric which I bought while in high school in the 1960s, and customized with an additional pickup.

All vocals and acoustic guitars were recorded with two microphones, an Earthworks FM 500 and a Neumann KM 184, simultaneously. All acoustic-electrics were recorded by simultaneously miking acoustic-friendly amps and the guitar itself. The quality of guitar sound on Start Over is amazingly faithful to the actual instruments.

I discovered folk music as a teenager in New Haven at the Exit coffeehouse, where I went to play jazz guitar. Although I became a psychologist (www.psychatlarge.com), I’ve continued to play music, and have written songs for many years. My first cd of original songs, My Heart Is Open, was recorded at the home of my keyboardist friend, John Getman. Intended as a demo, it was all I had left after John’s tragic death (www.guitaratlarge.com). So, Start Over, for me, is also about starting over as a mostly solo, mostly acoustic performer.

I am always pleased to hear listeners’ reactions to my songs, also how the songs work for musicians covering them. For bookings, interviews, questions or comments, contact me at www.guitaratlarge.com. I hope you like Start Over.

Jay Einhorn