A melodic bluesy arrangement with a spacey, NewAgeish ending.
Not quite seventh heaven but plenty of sixths to admire.
It is all about the problem of writing less than perfect songs, something all musicians are familiar with. The MIDI version was written quickly but the audio version just would not work. It took innumerable false starts and dead ends before the final version emerged and the whole process took well over a year.
Paul Valery, a French polymath, neatly expressed the basic approach: "a poem is never finished, only abandoned". Tis the same with music.
The difference between the audio versions of the opening are simple enough: the tempo changes and, in the 124bpm version, the nylon guitar plays a different rhythm.
Changing the tempo makes a big difference to the feel of music. In fact it is surprising how much of a difference it makes. The first audio sample recorded at 156bpm is very fast by any standard. The second example at 140bpm is about 90% of the pace of the original but still feels fast. The third version at 80% speed, 124bpm, sounds markedly slower compared with the other two, but still eminently danceable.
Smashing stuff. Maybe worth a song in its own right?
Got a blank sheet of paper and a vacant look
Music-maker needs to have a bit of luck
Cos I'm writing a song and it shouldn't take long
But everything's starting to go way too wrong
Cos I've lost my muse
Can't even sing the blues
Oh yeah
Feeling sentimental and nothing sounds good
I dont have the groove that a music man should
Oh no
Oo oo
Ive got way too much to do with precious little time
Cant get the notes to sound good or the words to rhyme
Oh wheres my song?
What am I doing wrong?
Get some inspiration get a little bit of zen
Don't you dare mention starting over again
Put a dot over her and a dot over there
Join them up and you've got a pair
Write it down write it up
Do it by the book
Oh yeah
Getting through the dark and I can see the light
I hear all this rhythm and I feel its right
Oh yeah
Oo oo
Throw caution to the wind leave all your cares behind
Let go of your worries and open your mind
Ive found my Muse
I can sing the blues
We're not in hock to writer's block
We're on a rock on a roll breaking the mould
See that picture of an artisan
That's us that's this it's in the can
Not a work of art
But a joy to be a part of
Yeah
And the moral of our story
Is extraordinary
It's that second best
Just means you've passed the test
Of fame and glory
And now and then
There'll be occasions when
You will persevere
And then you'll find the key
To seventh heaven
Title: Sixth Heaven
Key: B
Tempo: 140bpm
Length: 2' 55"
Track 1: bandoneon melody
Track 2: bandoneon harmony
Track 3: clean guitar
Track 4: nylon guitar
Track 5: fingered bass
Track 6: drumset
Genre: pop, rock
Lyrics: Steven Fitton
Composer: Peter Fitton
