The guitar and melody for Ways of Man was recorded as one live track on the shores of Galway in Ireland, while the violin and other vocal parts were added in studio. The gulls and waves sounds are from on-site. I wanted it to sound organic, so the listener could feel that they were there with me on the beach (it was cold). Building studio tracks off of live takes can be messy, and I was thankful for the experts who indulged my creative choice to make this track exactly what was desired.
Big thank you to Bobby Gonzales, Sam Baker, Kent Stump, and Jeremy Welch, who were all a delight to work with and helped round out and perfect this project.
Colette the Bard wrote the vocal harmonies, and is an impeccable singer and songwriter. Check out her bandcamp at
colettethebard.bandcamp.com
Ways of Man was written by Gordon Bok (BMI, 1977) and used with permission. It's an American song, but it reminds my heart of Galway. I hope Irish music fans will accept it into theirs as well.
released May 28, 2020
Vocals, guitar: Melanie Gruben
Vocal arrangement: Colette the Bard
Violin: Bobby Gonzales
Tracking engineer: Sam Baker
Post-production sound engineers: Kent Stump, Jeremy Welch
Ways of Man, words and music (c) 1977 Gordon Bok, BMI