2020 has been one tough historic year and it will be long remembered for the life-changing events that seemed to happen almost daily. People and History will talk about surviving the deadly Covid-19 Pandemic in the years that follow. What might not be talked about is the emotional toll it took on everyone. People had loved ones die and many never had a chance to see them or say goodbye. The pandemic has been like something out of a sci-fi horror movie. Hospitals were so overrun with Covid cases, that many died without anyone claiming their bodies, only to be buried in mass graves like something out of the Middle Ages when plagues were killing people.
It was back in the summer that the thought occurred to me that I should release some musical ‘positive vibes’ out to the world dealing with this pandemic. Sha-La was releasing The Discontent Specialty Shows album and the song Dying Breath struck me as being perfect for this time we were all going through. When I thought about all the music released on Sha-La I decided to make a compilation album with positive messages. It was obvious that the cover art for Welcome To Sha-La Land had a Christmas look to it with the green and reds flowing together, so I thought a Holiday release would be in order. Even though there are no ‘Christmas songs’, I felt that making the album have a ‘positive vibe’ would capture the ‘Christmas spirit’.
I needed a strong lead track to start the album that could also be a single for Radio. Test Of Time seemed to fit the bill. I had written and recorded the song as a gift for my wife Barbara on our 25th Wedding Anniversary, but taken another way, it really speaks to those who lost loved ones to the pandemic. Also, a pattern soon developed, with DownTown Mystic featured on the other tracks with Bruce Engler and The Discontent. It only seemed fair to feature Bruce on Test Of Time because of his great slide playing and harmony vocals on the track. Moving next to One More Chance, which I co-wrote with Bruce, seemed like the perfect segue. It’s also the title track from the album Sha-La will release in 2021 called One More Chance featuring DownTown Mystic.
Pollution is a track I co-wrote and produced with The Discontent. DownTown Mystic recorded the song and called it Breathe. Again, it seemed like perfect timing with the lyric “I can’t breathe”. Standing Still is one of my favorite DTM tracks and it was a tough song to write. I had started to try and write about my father’s parents (my grandparents) who both died within a couple of weeks of each other in different hospitals. My father and his 3 sisters never got to see their parents to say goodbye, which is something that’s been all too common in 2020. It became too difficult to get the story down so I focused on writing the song to my father, who died when I was young. The song comes full circle in my feeling like he must have felt with his father and mother.
I included Bruce’s song Fiona because it’s one of my faves and I think one of the best he’s ever written. I wanted to record it from the 1st time I heard his demo of it. I feel the same way about Dying Breath by The Discontent. I recorded more guitar and harmonies on it to bring the track out a bit more. It really hits home right now with all of the lives that have been lost in this pandemic. It has one of the rare positive lyrics from Jessie where he flips the script, from asking to take his dying breath, to not wanting to die and finding meaning in life. It’s profound on a level that Jessie is not usually known for. 🙂
Next, we move on to a 3-song acoustic set starting with Better Day. This was a bonus track on the cd and is the acoustic mix of the song. It has a totally different vibe from the main version, mainly because the acoustic guitar plays a different rhythm than the electric guitars on the track. I wrote The Last Teardrop in 1980 and I’ve always considered it one of my best. It’s an Elegy about loss but it also offers hope for the future. I asked Bruce to sing it because I never liked my voice on it. His vocal is just so natural and I remember when he cut it in the studio. It was amazing! Then I got to record a harmony to it and finally got a definitive version of the song. Also, producer Rob Harari had us track 9 acoustic guitars that created a very cool sound landscape.
Dead End Space is one of the rare acoustic tracks by The Discontent. Come to think of it, it’s their only acoustic track. I was trying to get the band a song that would allow the listener to ease up from their usual intense attack of material. I co-wrote the song with Jessie Hobbs and the late Ozzie Caccavelli and we recorded the track at Ozzie’s home studio. I’ll never forget Ozzie’s reaction after we finished writing it. I saw the look on his face, which seemed to be shock, and asked him what the matter was. He just shook his head and said it was too good for them. Lol
Welcome To Sha-L Land finishes with 3-Way Heartbreak, which I included because it was not on the Used Records History album and Good Karma by Monte Farber. Monte and I share the same birthday (he’s 2 years older) and first met in the NYC clubs we were playing back in the late 70s. Our lives parallel each other’s in so many ways it could only be coincidence. He’s an astrologer and I’m a numerologist. Monte would go on to become one of the leading New Age authors, creating some of the most incredible divination systems with his wife, artist Amy Zerner. Sha-La released Good Karma almost 30 years ago and it’s become a perennial holiday season favorite.
Sha-La Music celebrated its 33rd year in business in 2020. We started the year by releasing the positive Better Day album in January, not knowing that the Covid-19 Pandemic would soon be taking over the world and changing lives forever. We’ve all lost loved ones and friends that in many ways still feels surreal. It only seems appropriate that we end the year with Welcome To Sha-La Land and put out some more positive energy at the most emotional time of the year. We hope that 2021 will find an end to this pandemic and allow all of us to get back to our lives for the better.