ever onward (Johnny, Bill, Jerry, Neil, Argle, Holger)

[soulfrontier]

Johnny wrote the lyrics for John Lennons 70th birthday. He asked me if I could help with music. My first reaction was no, sorry.  . But then I tried it (for the first time!) and this song is the final result.
Thank you Johnny, your great lyrics gave me the inspiration. Neils strings add depth and colour and gave the whole song more atmosphere. Thank you Neil!
Jerry your drums are outstanding, thank you mate! A special thank goes to Bill (r4m) for his excellent guitar work. Bill your guitars built this song. What a wall of sound!
Argle was our mix master. Thank you Argle for all your great work!

Hey and not to forget Henry and Steffen. Thank you for your great support!

lyrics                                              Johnny
guitars and Bass                               r4m
drums                                             Jman
strings                                            Neil
Mix                                                Argle
music, acoustic guitar, vocals            soulfrontier  

Now I've come to that place in this life where I follow
where my heart wants to lead me
I've abandoned these sorrows
Now there's no more looking backward
I'm going forward

From my earliest days I was made to wear blinders
and they pointed my way
With their constant reminders
That we must keep looking backward
Don't look forward

In our ranks we'll go marching ever onward
Through the arch of heaven and ever onward

And I fell to my knees...from the strength of this vision
I believe in love
I believe in love
I believe in love.... above religion

Now I know you're not prepared an you're feeling uncertain,
I know, I too was scared  
To see behind this curtain
But our future is going forward,
And never backward

Like me you're all confused, and your faith has been broken
And your heart is feeling bruised
Your spirit's been awoken
And together we'll go forward
But never backward

In our ranks we go on marching ever onward
Through the arch of heaven and ever onward

And I fell to my knees...from the strength of this vision
I believe in love
I believe in love
I believe in love above the dogmas of religion!

So now backwards we'll go forward
.... ever onward....ever onward....ever onward.....

           

[Johnny]

Holger!

Finally, and it didn't take a whole year! Ha...

Bill, you deserve a big group hug for what you did to Holg's music: masterful job!!! I was beginning to think we would have no help, and feeling embarrassed for getting Holger into this...

Swanny, I love the strings, they give the song such depth.

Jerry, J-man the J stands for "Jam" Man, you rocked this song!

Argle; thanks for keeping that original vocal in tact, it's a great mix!!!

Holger, you're simply the best, in my humble opinion. I hope we do many more. I was looking, and I came here in September last year and wrote the lyric to "Fair Weather Friends"! This is a great way to end one year!

Beautiful music. I knew it when first you posted it...Cheers, My Friend! Johnny

[stoman]

Kudos everybody, a well done job by a great team!

Regards,
  Steffen

[stoman]

BTW, Adam - I like to be honest: When I listened to your first mix I thought WTF - that sounds strange, man. But I told Holger I KNOW you can do the job, and the final result proves I was right. It sounds great on my PC speakers - and what sounds good there sounds good everywhere.

Regards,
  Steffen

[soulfrontier]

Finally, and it didn't take a whole year! Ha...

  it was not built overnight but 3 months is not too long... . I know we came to a point where we were  eager and days felt like months 

thank you Johnny!

[Argle]

BTW, Adam - I like to be honest: When I listened to your first mix I thought WTF - that sounds strange, man. But I told Holger I KNOW you can do the job, and the final result proves I was right. It sounds great on my PC speakers - and what sounds good there sounds good everywhere.

Regards,
  Steffen

LOL!  I mixed the first version pretty much all in headphones, which I don't like doing.  But my speakers suck.  Damn I need some decent monitors.  I seriously am unsure why anyone wants me to mix stuff.

[Jman]

Man, just really happy to be a part with a great team on this, Johnny ... lyrics are incredible as always, Holger .... told you before man I just love that unique voice of yours, Neil .... your strings make this song something magic .... and Bill .... your work is what takes it beyond average... cool, And Adam ... when I think mix ... your name is up on the top .... thanks for a great mix. Jerry

Edit .... man I keep forgetting how great the acoustic guitar/music is that you came up with for this Holger .... Excellent man... set the whole stage! .....

[soulfrontier]

thank you Steffen!

hey Jerry,

I love your drum track! Everything and every instrument part came so nice together here that's amazing. My voice...I did not like my vocals you know...sometimes I don't like my voice     

Damn I need some decent monitors.  I seriously am unsure why anyone wants me to mix stuff.

Hey Adam,

never change a running system...

thanks mate, I think you will get more requests 

[AndyG6508]

Wow gang,

What a masterpiece!!! Love this. The lyrics are great. Super vocals and performances from everybody. Adam's mix is first rate.

The bridge/chorus part has a huge hook, very well done.

The music is kind of U2 meets britpop meets Beatles and works pretty well.

The ending is lovely with Holger trading lyrics with John over the chords to Imagine.

One of the best Beatles tribute songs I have heard on here.

Andy

[stoman]

Yes, good monitors (and a good room) make a giant difference. But if you have problems with your room acoustics, you could already improve it a lot by simply rearranging the furniture and by measuring the acoustics and using an EQ (or a chain of EQs) on your monitor channel to fix those problems you identified that way.

I did both, and it helped me immensely. I would never have imagined what a big difference that would makes. A completely different world.

Regards,
  Steffen

[Johnny]

Not a Beatle's tribute Guys. A post-Beatles, "Lennon Tribute". He was to be 70! Lol

Sorry had a glitch!

Thanks for the kind senitments on the lyrics fellas. I'm thrilled with the outcome. Cheers!!

[SWANSONG]

Thanks all so kindly for allowing me 2 b a part of this. i remember
3 months ago . wheni did the strings how raw it sounded. but well
worth the wait. an thanks for the compliments. on the strings and
ditto back at all involved. this song should b on the radio for sure
and all the internet charts. like soundclick . best regards NEIL

[soulfrontier]

thank you Andy!!!

yes, I thought the lyrics are much too good to be forgotten. Still I think this lines are a great bow to Mr. Lennon. And it makes me happy to see now that Johnny was on (or do you say at?) the right road  . Allay all the fears!

Actually it's not meant to be a tribute to the Beatles. 

It's more about Lennons personal impact. And his vision. I tried to capture that idea with the music and  somehow the result is more U2 than Lennon 

Hey Neil,

yes I remember... Johnny and me we were waiting for contributions, Bill worked out his guitar parts and you were the first one who came up with a contribution.
Thank you my friend!

Feel free to spread this song all over the world, it's your song as much as it is mine and everyones who is part of it!

[r4m]

Great job guys!!

Nice melodic song that was easy to fill in with guitar Holger!!!
I really like the vox on this!

[soulfrontier]

thank you Bill, I love how your guitar parts built this song!