Suffet's upcoming CD song list

Subject: Steve Suffet's upcoming CD song list
From: Suffet
Date: 11 Oct 05 - 06:46 PM

Greetings:

If all goes according to plan, my first full CD, Now the Wheel Has Turned, will be released on Saturday, December 10, 2005, at the Peoples' Voice Cafe in New York City. Here are the song notes:

1. Now the Wheel Has Turned (by Steve Suffet © 2005): Just another Gospel song. Or is it? History teaches us that the wheel is always turning.

2. Okie Moon (by Steve Suffet © 2005): Some people hear this song and presume Woody Guthrie wrote it. He didn't. I did!

3. The Turning of the Year (by Steve Suffet © 2005): This song was a present to a dear friend who suffered two great tragedies within ten months' time. The words proved prophetic; she did find time again for both loving and music.

4. Marlyn Garcia (by Steve Suffet © 2005): I knew Marlyn (pronounced Marlene) when she was a high school student at El Puente Academy in Brooklyn, NY, 1994-1998. She died in the 9/11/2001 attack on the World Trade Center.

5. Emily (by Steve Suffet © 2005): Emily lived in the Hudson Valley in the early 19th century. I built the song around a question she wrote in her diary: "Why was I born with such passion?" As the song says, it's not about right and wrong.

6. He's Alive! (by Steve Suffet © 2004): Inspired by a piece of neo-Nazi graffiti, "Hitler lives!" There are just too many incidents like the ones in the song.

7. Down the Gowanus (by Steve Suffet © 2005): The Gowanus Canal runs about two miles through Brooklyn. Its "good ships" are barges and tugs.

8. Dead and Gone (by Steve Suffet © 2005): Inspired by the classic hobo song, Jay Gould's Daughter. The two drinks are from the original.

9. The Dixieland Express (by Steve Suffet © 2005): My very own entry into the Great American Train Song Derby. The Wabash Cannonball is still in the lead!

10. Let's Organize! (by Steve Suffet © 2005): Written for a Sis Cunningham memorial concert. Warning! Song contains a four letter word for excrement. Sis would have been proud of my language, and also of my quoting Marx and Engels.

11. Shady Grove (traditional, adapted and arranged by Steve Suffet © 2005). The quintessential Appalachian folk song and my favorite mountain dulcimer tune.

12. A Shantyman's Life (traditional, adapted and arranged by Steve Suffet © 2005): This lumberman's song has been found from Wisconsin to New York State. I boiled it down to these verses, just like making maple syrup.

13. Sally Ann (traditional, adapted and arranged by Steve Suffet © 2005): Some folks in the Blue Ridge Mountains believe Sally Ann is the national anthem. I always thought it was too short, so I added the verse about raising ten children.

14. It Ain't No Lie (traditional, adapted and arranged by Steve Suffet © 2005): This folk song from North Carolina was made popular by Elizabeth Cotten who learned it as a child. The verse about going back to Baltimore is my own creation.

15. Mole in the Ground (traditional, adapted and arranged by Steve Suffet © 2005): Cobbled together from many sources. Alberta is known by various aliases, ranging from Roberta to Kempie, but she always wants a ten dollar shawl.

16. San Francisco Bay Blues (by Jesse Fuller © Hollis Music Inc., BMI): This bouncy rag was a staple of the 1960s urban folk boom. Then for some reason it disappeared. I'm happy to say it's back.

17. Sixty-Six Highway Blues (by Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger © Woody Guthrie Publications Inc. & Stormking Music Inc., BMI): Woody and Pete wrote this song on the same cross country trip in 1940 that gave birth to Woody's Union Maid. For some unknown reason it remained obscure until fairly recently.

18. See That My Grave Is Kept Clean (by Blind Lemon Jefferson © Universal Music Corp., ASCAP): Based on an 1876 song by Gus Williams, See That My Grave Is Kept Green, this blues was first recorded by Blind Lemon Jefferson in 1927. I tinker very slightly with Blind Lemon's lyrics. Blame it on the folk process!

Back-up musicians include Eric Levine, Gina Tlamsa, Joel Landy, Heather Lev, Jessica Feinbloom, Ray Korona, and Anne Price, all really accomplished in their own right.

Now the Wheel Has Turned will be available from CDBaby. You will also be able to buy it from me directly for $15. Members of Peoples' Music Network or American Federation of Musicians Local 1000 are welcome to take a $2 discount. Only one discount per CD, please!

I am not taking orders yet, but I will hold a CD aside for you if you ask me by e-mail: [e-mail]

When the time comes, I will post further details on my website: http://suffet.home.att.net/

--- Steve

Subject: RE: Suffet's upcoming CD song list
From: open mike
Date: 12 Oct 05 - 01:13 AM

sounds great, congraualtions!!

Subject: RE: Suffet's upcoming CD song list
From: katlaughing
Date: 12 Oct 05 - 11:32 PM

Wow, that sounds great! Please do keep us posted and Congratulations!

kat

Subject: RE: Suffet's upcoming CD song list
From: GUEST,guest: jessica
Date: 13 Oct 05 - 03:48 AM

Subject: RE: Suffet's upcoming CD song list
From: GUEST,2 in harmony
Date: 13 Oct 05 - 03:55 AM

Having heard you sing and play all these years, I'm so glad you decided to come out with a CD. What a terrific compilation of original material with a bit of tradition thrown in for good measure! Can't wait for the CD release concert at People's Voice in December! See ya there!

Subject: RE: Suffet's upcoming CD song list
From: Suffet
Date: 13 Oct 05 - 10:23 AM

Greetings again:

Thanks for the encouragement.

Now the Wheel Has Turned will also be the first CD for Jessica Feinbloom. Jessica is a really talented singer, but she only rarely performs in public. Those who live in New York City may have been lucky enough to catch one of her rare appearances at Sun Music Company or at CB's 313 Gallery.

Another fine back-up vocalist on this upcoming CD is Gina Tlamsa, who also plays fiddle on a majority of the songs. Gina, who used to host an Irish music radio program and who also plays flute and mandolin, has been on several recordings, but has never made her own full album. It's time for for Gina and Jessica to each do so.

The remaining back-up vocalists – Ray Korona, Joel Landy, Heather Lev, Eric Levine, and Anne Price – all have their own CDs. A Google search should take you to each person's website, except for Eric who doesn't currently have one. Please check them all out. Anne, for example, came out with a wonderful CD earlier this year, Remember Me, and details can be found on her website.

Eric, by the way, plays the banjo on most of the songs, although I try my hand at the banjo on Sally Ann. You'll quickly discover that Eric is a much more versatile banjo picker than I am!

--- Steve

Subject: RE: Suffet's upcoming CD song list
From: GUEST,bbc at work
Date: 13 Oct 05 - 11:18 AM

Any chance this will be ready by NOMAD & that you'll have copies w/ you? Sounds great!

best,

bbc

Subject: RE: Suffet's upcoming CD song list
From: Suffet
Date: 13 Oct 05 - 01:35 PM

Sorry, but the CD will not be ready by NOMAD. I'm having them made by Oasis CD Manufacturing in Serryville, VA, and the projected delivery date is on or about December 1. However, I'll be happy to hold one aside for you. Just send an e-mail with your contact information to: [e-mail]

Thanks.

--- Steve

Subject: RE: Suffet's upcoming CD song list
From: GUEST
Date: 13 Oct 05 - 05:49 PM

Thanks, Steve, for the plug for my CD, Remember Me. It was fun working with you on your new CD. Good luck with it! Anne Price

Subject: RE: Suffet's upcoming CD song list
From: Suffet
Date: 13 Oct 05 - 09:29 PM

Greetings:

Here is a link to Anne Price's website:

http://www.anneprice.com

If you do a Google search, as I suggested above, you will find her, but you will also find Anne Price the Raptor Lady along with several other women with the same name.

By the way, Anne Price the Folksinger and I will be presenting a workshop called Rediscovering Woody at the New York Pinewoods Folk Music Club's Fall Folk Music Weekend in Warwick, New York, later this month. In this workshop we explore some of Woody Guthrie's lesser known songs, including some that were recorded or published in his lifetime and others that were found in the archives after his death. Fall Folk Music Weekend takes place October 21-23, and there is still space available. The featured performers will be Finest Kind. Their name says it all. For information, please go to the NY Pinewoods website:

http://www.folkmusicny.org

Yes, Anne will most likely sing Ticky Tock, and Way Over Yonder in a Minor Key, and Peace Call, and maybe a few others as well. I'll sing I'm Living in Coney Island 'Til I Die and Sally Don't You Grieve for sure. I haven't picked the other songs, but among the strong contenders are Why Do You Stand There in the Rain?, Vanport's Flood, What Are We Waiting For?, and Tin Horn Taxi.

Be there and find out!

--- Steve

Subject: RE: Suffet's upcoming CD song list
From: GUEST,heatherlev
Date: 15 Oct 05 - 09:40 AM

Congrats Steve... I'm sure your new CD will be great! Keep us posted on where to buy one!

Subject: RE: Suffet's upcoming CD song list
From: Suffet
Date: 15 Oct 05 - 10:11 AM

Thanks. I presume "GUEST,heatherlev" is Heather Lev, the very talented singer and songwriter. Here's a link to her website:

http://heatherlev.com/

I'm proud to say that Heather appears on three songs on Now the Wheel Has Turned. They include the title track plus two others, Dead and Gone and It Ain't No Lie.

You will be able to hear Heather soon at the 2005 NOMAD Festival in New Haven, CT. Check the preliminary grid on the NOMAD website to see when and where:

http://www.nomadfest.org/

--- Steve

Subject: RE: Suffet's upcoming CD song list
From: Suffet
Date: 02 Nov 05 - 07:03 AM

Greetings:

I got a call yesterday (November 1) from Oasis CD Manufacturing saying that my CDs are ready to be shipped. I should have product in hand by the middle of next week. That gives me plenty time to file one with the US Copyright Office for SR (sound recording) registration, send some advance copies to radio stations (some already received 3-song samplers), and set up an account with CDBaby. If you asked me to set aside one for you, I will most likely get it to you before December 10, 2005, the official release date.

I only ordered 500, and so far, I'm setting aside just under 150, so at least 350 are still available. If you want me to hold one for you and you have no already asked me to do so, please let me know by e-mail to [e-mail] or call me in the USA at 718-786-1533.

And if you are in New York City on Saturday night, December 10, please come to the CD release concert at the Peoples' Voice Cafe, 45 East 33rd Street between Park and Madison Avenues in Midtown Manhattan. Doors open at 7:30 PM and the show starts at 8:00. I will be accompanied by MacDougal Street Rent Party and possibly others who are on the CD. The second act will be Voices of Shalom, a women's vocal ensemble that performs Gospel style music from the African-Hebrew tradition. For information, please go to the Peoples' Voice Cafe website or call them at 212-787-3903.

Thanks.

--- Steve

Subject: RE: Suffet's upcoming CD song list
From: GUEST
Date: 02 Nov 05 - 10:41 AM

Looking forward to it. Sorry I can't come to your release party. Playing the mayor's house for a benefit for the local symphony that weekend!

Subject: RE: Suffet's upcoming CD song list
From: GUEST,John Hernadez
Date: 02 Nov 05 - 12:18 PM

Steve, I'm also sorry to miss your concert but I'll be in Key West that weekend, presuming the island city is up and running by then. If not, I'll be somewhere else in the Sunshine State. You know the rule, fly south for the winter.

Subject: RE: Suffet's upcoming CD song list
From: Suffet
Date: 07 Nov 05 - 12:52 PM

THEY'RE HERE!

Greetings:

I now have 499 copies of my very first full CD, Now the Wheel Has Turned, in hand. Although the official release date is December 10, 2005, I will actually start distributing them a by the middle of next week. I just need to take care of some bookkeeping stuff first.

If you haven't already asked me to do so, I will be happy to set one aside for you. Just e-mail me at [e-mail] or call me at 718-786-1533 in the USA. The price is $15 postpaid within the USA. If you belong to AFM Local 1000 or to People's Music Network you are welcome to take off $2. Only one discount per CD, please! When you contact me, I'll let you know where and when to send the check.

The official release will take place at the Peoples' Voice Cafe in New York City on Saturday, December 10. Doors open at 7:30 PM and the show starts at 8:00. I'll be backed up by members of MacDougal Street Rent Party and perhaps by others who are on the CD.

The Peoples' Voice Cafe is located in the Workmen's Circle Building, 45 East 33rd Street in Midtown Manhattan. The second act will be Voices of Shalom. Suggested admission is $12 for the general public and $9 for Peoples' Voice Cafe or Workmen's Circle members. TDF vouchers are accepted.

I hope to see some Catters that night!

--- Steve

Subject: RE: Suffet's upcoming CD song list
From: Peace
Date: 07 Nov 05 - 02:46 PM

Congratulations, Steve. I wish you every success with it.

Subject: RE: Suffet's upcoming CD song list
From: bbc
Date: 07 Nov 05 - 09:31 PM

I'm very happy for you & looking forward to hearing the cd. Even nicer, now that we've met in person!

best,

Barbara

Subject: RE: Suffet's upcoming CD song list
From: Suffet
Date: 07 Nov 05 - 09:36 PM

Barbara,

You are very gracious. Thank you.

--- Steve

Subject: RE: Suffet's upcoming CD song list
From: GUEST,Heather Lev
Date: 11 Nov 05 - 08:38 AM

Just heard the new CD.. and it's so nice and old-timey sounding! You really can't find CDs like this too often. It sounds like you're stepping back in time and walking into a hootenany in the 1950's. Very warm, very authentic, very unique, and great listening!

Subject: RE: Suffet's upcoming CD song list
From: GUEST,Eric Levine
Date: 11 Nov 05 - 02:42 PM

In listining unfettered finally to STEVE SUFFET'S CD (which I played some bqckup banjo tracks on ) a few things come to mind.

There is a good choice of songs, many traditional many new. Steve writes in the folk idiom, and that's good to see. And you can tell that Steve has an amazing interest in history and politics and understands that none of that can be seperated from music.You will find in this CD the most contraversial subjects mixed with sentiment and pure history and folklore.

Most of all though I was struck with how well Steves enthusiasum comes out in the tracks. It really is contagous. And although this is far from a slickly produced nuevo folk album, there are more then a few reasons to really care about this new release.

This CD is in the the idiom of pure humanity.It is done by Steve Suffet who has been a high school history and special ed teacher, will always be a political activist, and has loved traditional folk music all his life. At age 58 Steve puts out a CD.He includes many friends.
This is not smooth Vanilla Ice Cream, you must decide which of these rough home made musical flavors you like the best.But it's great stuff!!!

Eric Levine
Folkdoctor

Subject: RE: Suffet's upcoming CD song list
From: Suffet
Date: 12 Nov 05 - 09:44 AM

Greetings:

I thank Heather and Eric for their kind words, and I especially like Eric's pronouncement: This is not smooth Vanilla Ice Cream..."!

I must, however, add that while Eric is correct that I have been a high school history and special education teacher, I have done very little classroom teaching, in the usual sense of the word, since 1992 and none at all since 1999. From 1992 to 2003, when I retired from the New York City public school sysytem in face of a lay-off, I served first as a teacher trainer, then as a consultant teacher on the development team of a newly organized non-traditional high school, then as a supervisor of special education, an assistant principal, and finally as a supervisor of special education once again. During that time I did get to co-teach a few of classes, mostly in biology and in math. In each case I was the instructional specialist, and I worked along with and advised a content area teacher who actually did most of the direct teaching. One year I did teach an ESL class because no one else could be found, and for a couple of years I taught an elective class in songwriting that met for two and a half hours once a week. Most of my time, though, was spent doing administration, supervision, staff development, program development, and helping get students with disabilities the services they needed and to which they were entitled.

--- Steve

Subject: RE: Suffet's upcoming CD song list
From: Suffet
Date: 14 Nov 05 - 04:44 PM

Greetings:

Now the Wheel Has Turned is now available for on-line purchase from CD Baby. Here's a link to my page:

http://cdbaby.com/cd/stevesuffet

You can download free 2-minute samples of each of the 18 tracks as MP3 files. Since two of the tracks run under 2:00 each, that means you can
download two complete songs at no cost. Another track runs 2:02, so you can even get a third song for free, less a small snippet of the fade out. You might say that I'm a lousy businessman by allowing CD Baby to put up samples of all of my tracks rather than just a select handful, and maybe you'd be right. But I'd rather let people hear what they're getting than ask them to buy the proverbial pig in a poke. So go ahead and download all you want, as long as you're doing it for fair and lawful use and not because you're going to issue a pirate edition. If it were not for the honor, I would rather not be bootlegged!

If you would prefer to purchase Now the Wheel Has Turned in person,just let me know by e-mail to [e-mail] and I will set one aside for you to pick up at at my CD release concert at the Peoples' Voice Cafe in New York City on Saturday night December 10, 2005. The Peoples' Voice Cafe, as you may already know, is at the Workmen's Circle Building, 45 East 33rd Street between Park and Madison in Midtown Manhattan. The second act is Voices of Shalom, a vocal group which performs Gospel-style music from the African-American and African-Hebrew traditions. Doors open at 7:30 PM and the show starts at 8:00.

--- Steve

Subject: RE: Suffet's upcoming CD song list
From: GUEST,2 in harmony
Date: 24 Nov 05 - 01:18 AM

Congratulations on your first full length CD, Steve, and thank you for inviting me to be part of your back up team. I'd like to mention a few of 'my favorite things' about this CD. Of your original material there are a number of songs which juxtipose a fast-paced, upbeat rhythym with some hard and gory historical content. Some of these include choruses your audience will pick up readily. "The Dixieland Express" is a wonderful contribution to train songs/lore. On the lighter side, a sweet song, "Okie Moon" is one to which I hope Woody is taking a heavenly moment to give a listen. Along with 'signature-style songs' this CD includes a signature departure song, a beautiful waltz, Emily's Song. It has a rich, melodic complexity as well as lyrics which paint a vivid visual portrait of a time in the historical development of NY. Some original songs are touched with a gospel sound which really moves me. At times I've described Steve as someone having detailed knowledge of the history of the world at his fingertips. Indeed, I've enjoyed workshops Steve's conducted where this historical knowledge is interwined with expertise inthe background of singers, song-writers and their songs.
This has turned into Part I of my enthusiasm about Suffet's, "Now The Wheel Has Turned." Steve, I always enjoy your music...let the music spread.
thanks for everything, jessica

Subject: RE: Suffet's upcoming CD song list
From: Suffet
Date: 27 Nov 05 - 09:34 PM

Greetings:

Thanks.

Jessica, who sings back-up on six songs on Now the Wheel Has Turned, will be a special guest performer at my CD release concert at the Peoples' Voice Cafe in New York City on Saturday, December 10. Doors open at 7:30 PM and the show starts at 8:00. For details, please visit the Peoples' Voice Cafe website: http://www.peoplesvoicecafe.org/

--- Steve

Subject: RE: Suffet's upcoming CD song list
From: GUEST,Chris
Date: 30 Nov 05 - 11:52 AM

First in the interest of full disclosure let me say that Steve Suffet asked me to write a review of his new CD "NOW THE WHEEL HAS TURNED". I agreed to do so only if I could express my honest opinion even if it wasn't what he wanted. Steve said I should go ahead, so that is what I'm doing.

Steve puts on a great live performance with lots of energy and excitement, but it's not captured well in the recording studio. I think Steve knows it, and that's why he waited so long to record a CD. But I'm glad he finally went ahead and made one, because what comes across on this CD are some things that you might not see when he performs live. For example, Steve is a really talented song writer. His songs sound just like real folk songs, and not like songs made up by most people called folk muscians these days, like Ani DiFranco and Jewel. His songs sound more like something that came from a hobo camp or a truck stop or a canal barge. Listen to "Okie Moon" and "Down the Gowanus" and you will see what I mean.

The only problem is Steve doesn't sing is own songs in person very often. Most of the time what he sings are songs by Woody Guthrie or Lead Belly, or old country and western songs, or railroad songs, or old Irish songs and stuff like that. Steve had the good sense of putting his own songs right up front. The first 10 songs out of 18 are his.

Another thing I'm glad Steve did was keep this CD very simple. I know he did digital mixing because it says so (DDD) on the CD, but the CD sounds like him and all his back up musicians got together in a big room and recorded live. I don't mean this in a bad way, but there is something warm and fuzzy about this CD. That's something you don't hear very much today when even folk CD's have an electronic crispness to them. Maybe the right word to use isn't warm and fuzzy but charm. Steve's CD has charm. It's charming.

Yet there are things that are disappointing. There is only one song in 3/4 time. It's called "Emily" and it's about a woman's adultereous fantasies. It's really a magnificent story with an ambiguous ending. Does she or doesn't she? Not that it matters. I would have liked to hear more songs in waltz time like this one.

Then there are some songs that just don't work very well. Steve's version of "Please See That My Grave Is Kept Clean" will blow you away, but his "Babe Oh Babe It Ain't No Lie" has rhythmic problems that not even the great two part vocal on the chorus can cover up. I wondered why he didn't choose a better take, but then I figured this must have been the best take he had.

However, the biggest problem is something else. It's that this CD on the whole isn't really sure of itself. Is it a CD of political music, with songs like "Let's Organize"? Or is it a CD of personal songs like "Emily"? Or is it a CD of railroad, trucker, hillbilly, and sailor songs? I wish Steve would have made up his mind. But mixed up as it is, musically this CD is something else. Think of it, as some other people have said, as a return to an old time night of singing with a bunch of friends. That's what Steve is good at, and it's evident here.

Subject: RE: Suffet's upcoming CD song list
From: GUEST
Date: 30 Nov 05 - 12:09 PM

If it were not for the honor, I would rather not be bootlegged!

Let's be honest, that's hardly a likely scenario, is it?

Subject: RE: Suffet's upcoming CD song list
From: Suffet
Date: 30 Nov 05 - 09:52 PM

Greetings:

OK, I'm not really afraid that the Now the Wheel Has Turned CD will be pirated in it's entirety. As the anonymous guest says, "that's hardly a likely scenario." But there is always the risk that someone will lift one or two tracks. That has already happened to me twice. Once was when someone in Russia took my homemade recording of The House of the Rising Sun from the SoundClick website and put it on a compilation CD. The other time was when someone recorded a live appearance of myself, Anne Price, and Eric Levine on the WFDU Traditions radio program and made a CD of that show. Neither was a big deal. I certainly encourage fair use, and I have made downloads of several songs from the new CD available for free from SoundClick. Just the same, in the future I really would rather not have people putting my songs on CDs for sale without my permission.

Does that make any sense?

One more thing, I thank Chris for his honesty. I welcome all feedback, whether solicited or not.

Does that make any sense? :-)

--- Steve

Subject: RE: Suffet's upcoming CD song list
From: GUEST,Gerry
Date: 01 Dec 05 - 12:14 AM

Chris wrote,

"However, the biggest problem is something else. It's that this CD on the whole isn't really sure of itself. Is it a CD of political music, with songs like "Let's Organize"? Or is it a CD of personal songs like "Emily"? Or is it a CD of railroad, trucker, hillbilly, and sailor songs? I wish Steve would have made up his mind."

I won't comment on the CD, as I haven't heard it, but I don't quite get this comment. Even in the 1960s heyday of political (I'd rather say, topical) song, it was unusual to see an album that was entirely political. Look at Bob Dylan's Freewheelin, or Tom Paxton's Rambling Boy, or Phil Ochs' I Ain't Marching Any More, and you'll find a similar mix. Hard Rain on the same album as Bob Dylan's Dream, Lyndon Johnson Told The Nation on the same album as Last Thing On My Mind, The Iron Lady on the same album as The Highwayman - do you wish Dylan and Paxton and Ochs et al had made up their mind?

Offhand I can come up with two albums that were wholly, or almost wholly, topical: Tom Lehrer's That Was The Year That Was, and Phil Ochs' In Concert. And even that one had Changes on it, so it wasn't wholly topical.

Let a thousand flowers bloom.

Subject: RE: Suffet's upcoming CD song list
From: GUEST,2 in harmony
Date: 01 Dec 05 - 03:30 AM

I can't help but agree with guest, Gerry regarding one comment made by Chris. Why decide to stick to one theme for an entire album?Variety in music is a pleasure. It is, in my opinion one of the strenghts of Steve's CD. His original songs include empowering, thought provoking politcal issues. That's true. That doesn't mean he should throw out love songs, hobo songs, the blues and more. (I do love "See That My Grave is Kept Clean" as does Chris.) This may not be the most polished, perfectly mixed CD in folk history but the spirit of folk music comes across. Another strength of this CD is as Chris mentioned, Steve's ability to lead a bunch of friends in song. You can't miss this live or recorded.
Steve's been a musician for some time and it's likely that many, many Mudcatters have heard him or know him. I look forward to hearing other reponses to Now The Wheel Has Turned.

Subject: RE: Suffet's upcoming CD song list
From: Janice in NJ
Date: 02 Dec 05 - 10:36 AM

I must agree with Chris that the energy and excitement of Steve Suffet's live performances are not captured on this CD. I don't know how they could be. But what is captured is Steve's most important talent, his uncanny ability to bring people together to make great music. I hesitate to call the people who provide the instrumental and vocal accompaniment "back-up musicians." They are really co-performers, and just like he does in person, Steve lets them shine. In doing so his own performance is enhanced, not eclipsed. Listen to the vocal duet on A Shantyman's Life and the vocal trio on Shady Grove and you will hear what I mean. Then to add the exception which proves the rule, Steve ends the CD with his stark naked rendition of See My Grave Is Kept Clean. No additional instruments, no additional vocals, just Steve and his guitar. Very nice!

Subject: RE: Suffet's upcoming CD song list
From: Suffet
Date: 04 Dec 05 - 12:47 AM

Greetings:

Thanks once again to everyone, including Chris, who has posted comments about my new CD, Now the Wheel Has Turned. Additional comments are welcome from anyone.

The title song, Now the Wheel Has Turned, begins with these words:

Ah, who is David, and who is Goliath,
Now the wheel has turned?
And who fights with stones, and who is the giant,
Now the wheel has turned?
Now the wheel has turned, good Lord!
Now the wheel has turned.
Who fights with stones, and who is the giant,
Now the wheel has turned?

I recently sang that song at Kathy Westra's Songs for a Sunday Morning session at the NOMAD festival in New Haven. As soon as I finished, Mike Agranoff asked me, "Is that song about what I thing it's about?"

To which I responded in psychotherapist fashion with the question "Well, Michael, what do you think it's about?"

"You know," he siad, "the Israeilis and the Palestinians."

"It could be," I answered. "But then again," I added, "maybe it's just a plain old Gospel song."

Mike was, of course, right. The song Now the Wheel Has Turned was inspired by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But it could just as well be about the Catholics and the Protestants in Ireland, or about the Greeks and the Turks, or the Pawnee and the Sioux. If history teaches us anything, it teaches us that the wheel is always turning.

On the other hand, Now the Wheel Has Turned works very well as a plain old Gospel song. If you want to listen for yourself you don't even have to buy my CD. I posted the song to my SoundClick music page:

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=106201

You can play it or dowload it for free. I also made three other songs from the CD available on that page: Okie Moon, A Shantyman's Life, and Mole in the Ground.. Of the 13 remaining songs on the page, John Hardy and The House Carpenter are studio recordings, while the others are unengineered "field recordings" I made of myself with a cassette recorder from the 1970s through the 1990s. Please enjoy all of them. And if after listening, you like what you hear, you are certainly welcome to buy the CD through the CD Baby website:

http://cdbaby.com/cd/stevesuffet

Or you can pick one up in person when I appear at the Peoples' Voice Cafe in New York City next Saturday night, December 10, 2005. See earlier messages for details.

--- Steve

Subject: RE: Suffet's upcoming CD song list
From: GUEST,Chris
Date: 07 Dec 05 - 11:53 AM

I stand by my original criticism that the biggest problem with Steve Suffet's CD is that on the whole it isn't really sure of itself. In other words it lacks any unifying theme or concept, other than here are 18 songs that Steve sings.

That doesn't mean that this is a bad CD. On the contrary it is a really worthy debut album, and I was very pleasantly surprised that Steve was able to pull it off so well, given the fact that his strength has always been as a live performer. And even though there are few problems, such as the one I pointed out with "Babe Oh Babe It Ain't No Lie," this CD is chock full of gems. Many of the gems are Steve's own compositions such as "Okie Moon" and "Emily", and some are covers such as "Please See That My Grave is Kept Clean" and "San Francisco Bay." But what really makes the CD shine is the way Steve has been able to weave together all his friends to create the feeling of an old time hootenanny. As I said before, the best word to describe it is charming. That's something you cannot honestly say about many other CDs these days.

Subject: RE: Suffet's upcoming CD song list
From: Suffet
Date: 08 Dec 05 - 10:09 AM

Final reminder!

CD release concert for Now the Wheel Has Turned

This coming Saturday • December 10, 2005
8:00 PM • Doors open 7:30 PM.

Peoples' Voice Cafe
at the Workmen's Circle Building
45 East 33rd Street between Park & Madison
New York City

featuring

Steve Suffet with MacDougal Street Rent Party & friends

also featuring

Voices of Shalom

Suggested admission: $12.
Peoples' Voice Cafe or Workmen's Circle members: $9.
More if you choose, less if you can't.
TDF vouchers accepted.

For more information, please call 212-787-3903 or visit the website:

http://www.peoplesvoicecafe.org/

Be there!

--- Steve

Subject: RE: Suffet's upcoming CD song list
From: Suffet
Date: 12 Dec 05 - 12:20 AM

A great big THANK YOU to eveyone who came to the show at the Peoples' Voice Cafe this past weekend!

The house was packed and we had a great time. I'm in the process of lining up gigs on Long Island, and in upstate New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, and the DC area. If you have any leads, please give me a holler.

That's about all for now.

--- Steve

Subject: RE: Suffet's upcoming CD song list
From: GUEST,Ada
Date: 14 Dec 05 - 11:29 PM

The title song, "Now the Wheel Has Turned," has one of those tunes that just sticks in your head and demands that you hum it whenever there's a quiet moment in the day. I have GOT to learn all the words so I don't keep filling in with "da-da-daaah" all the time. Great song, great CD! I also really like "Emily."

I agree with the others who have posted here saying that Steve's strength - magic, even - is in his live performances, but the CD (if nothing else) acts as a reminder between concerts of just how much fun one had listening to him live. Sing on, my friend - I'll be listening whenever possible, however possible.

Subject: RE: Suffet's upcoming CD song list
From: Suffet
Date: 15 Dec 05 - 10:49 AM

Greetings:

For the benefit of Ada and whoever else wants the words to Now the Wheel Has Turned, here they are. I have also included the guitar chords so you can play along.


NOW THE WHEEL HAS TURNED
Words & music by Stephen L. Suffet © 2005

A                     D
Ah, who is David, and who is Goliath,

A                  E7
Now the wheel has turned?

A                           D
Who fights with stones, and who is the giant,

A       E7         A
Now the wheel has turned?


D                  A
Now the wheel has turned, Good Lord!

                  E7
Now the wheel has turned.

A                           D
Who fights with stones, and who is the giant,

A       E7         A
Now the wheel has turned?


Ah, who is David, and who is Goliath,
Now the wheel has turned?
Who fights with stones, and who is the giant,
Now the wheel has turned?
Now the wheel has turned, Good Lord!
Now the wheel has turned.
Who fights with stones, and who is the giant,
Now the wheel has turned?

And who is the giant, who fights with stones,
Now the wheel has turned?
Who has the right, tocall this land their own,
Now the wheel has turned?
Now the wheel has turned, Good Lord!
Now the wheel has turned.
Who has the right, to call this land their own,
Now the wheel has turned?

And who has the right, to call this land their own,
Now the wheel has turned?
Who has the might, to drive others from their home,
Now the wheel has turned?
Now the wheel has turned, Good Lord!
Now the wheel has turned.
Who has the might, to drive others from their home,
Now the wheel has turned?

Can you tell me if, the wheel will turn again,
Now the wheel has turned?
The question isn't if, the question it is when,
Now the wheel has turned.
Now the wheel has turned, Good Lord!
Now the wheel has turned.
The question isn't if, the question it is when,
Now the wheel has turned.

So who is David, and who is Goliath,
Now the wheel has turned?
Who fights with stones, and who is the giant,
Now the wheel has turned?
Now the wheel has turned, Good Lord!
Now the wheel has turned.
Who fights with stones, and who is the giant,
Now the wheel has turned?

If you don't want to buy the whole CD, this title song is available for free from my SoundClick music page:

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=106201

--- Steve

Subject: RE: Suffet's upcoming CD song list
From: GUEST,Ada
Date: 19 Jan 06 - 10:13 PM

Thanks for posting the lyrics, Steve. That song is outrageously catchy. Do CDs wear out? If they do, maybe you should reserve a second copy for me. I've already "pirated" it to tape, since you're not selling tapes and my Walkman is an old one that doesn't take CDs. I think I walk a bit faster during a few of the cuts.

Ada

Subject: RE: Suffet's upcoming CD song list
From: Suffet
Date: 22 Jan 06 - 10:49 AM

Greetings:

And thank you, Ada. I understand that CDs can degrade over a long period of time, but under normal circumstances they should last 15 years or more. CD-Rs, which mine are not, tend to degrade a lot sooner. As long as you don't intend to sell them, you can always copy the tracks from my CD onto your computer as MP3 files, provided you have the appropriate software. You can then transfer those MP3 files into an iPod or similar portable MP3 player, or you can burn them onto a CD-R. Yes, I know I'm telling you to pirate my own product, but as long as it's only for your own personal use I don't care. Disclaimer: Of course this advice only applies to the first 15 songs, the ones for which I own the copyrights.

And to all you other Mudcatters who bought one of my CDs, either through CD Baby or directly from me, a big THANK YOU as well. Because of Mudcat there is a chance that I will actually break even within a year.

--- Steve

Subject: RE: Suffet's upcoming CD song list
From: GUEST,Ada
Date: 10 Jun 06 - 07:11 PM

Hey, Steve, what have you done for us lately? When will we see a sequel to "Now the Wheel Has Turned"? Any chance this time it could be an "in concert" performance? Those usually have a lot more zip than studio performances IMHO.

Subject: RE: Suffet's upcoming CD song list
From: Suffet
Date: 10 Jun 06 - 11:22 PM

Ada et al.,

I'll be starting work on a second CD some time this summer. The target release date is March 2007. It will, however, be another studio album. Expect about fourteen songs this time. Four will be my own, six or seven will be traditional, and three or four will be covers.

Thanks for asking.

--- Steve