MP3 Joseph Parsons - Breathe

Acoustic, conscious, message & love songs.

11 MP3 Songs
FOLK: Modern Folk, POP: Delicate



Details:
Joseph writes about 'Breathe':

I wrote most of these songs while living in North Louisiana in 1986 & 1987. I called my old friend/mentor/engineer Michael Braunstein in Los Angeles and asked him to come to Barcelona with me to produce a record of my songs. I had no ârecord dealâ but I had a friend who had an amazing 24 track studio there. So off we went to Spain in May of 1988. My friends studio, Jan Cadella, was right on Paseo de Gracia â the Ramblas if my memory serves me. Right next to a Gaudi apartment building. The studio was on the top floor with this great rickety open elevator that went up the center of the 6 floor building and on breaks weâd jump the small wall and roam the psychedelic Gaudi rooftop. Surreal indeed.

It was strange to record there as the engineer and my friend could not believe we could be so outside-the-box. Very untraditional recording. On the song âPure As The Pathâ we asked the drummer to record two takes, one for left channel and one for the right. We could barely get them to record it, let alone play they track. I will say in their defense that this was at a time before digital recording, loops, samples had made their way to Spain. Putting the vocal through a set of headphones and then micing the headphones really put them over the top.

So we left when we felt we had done what we could and went to LA. Michael asked some of his 'friends' to come help finish the record. John Beasley (Miles Davis, Andy Summers), Bill Bodine (Joan Armatrading, Kiss), Art Wood (Jesse Colin Young, James Brown) and several others. Some friends! What an amazing experience for a first record. I was astonished at their musicianship. BTW, Michael's credits are the Eagles, Frank Zappa, Stephen Stills, Barry Manilow(!) and many others.

This record was made a few years before the singer/songwriter thing became as it is today and at that time it was truly unique. Also, this record was made right at the point when albums (vinyl) were done and before CDâs were affordable for the masses so I made the first run on cassettes. My sister did beautiful artwork and it was at that time I moved to Philadelphia.

I still talk with Michael and we both look back at this project with great joy. Itâs a beautiful, acoustic based CD. For me, it was my bridge from the ânew ageâ music era to the singer/songwriter world.

Peace,

Joseph
Philadelphia
March 2006