New album NEW HEAVEN now online!

Greetings, interested readers:

Things are popping all over the place at Fletcher Rhoden.com, including new screenplay synopses, new music on several pages, and of course the brand new full-length album, NEW HEAVEN, accessible from the MUSIC page or the NEWS page. It's 10 new songs, all written and performed by Yours Truly, with lyrical contributions on one song from St. Paul's 2 Corinthians, 12-20, and a musical co-writing credit going to none other than Eva James. We're playing one of these new tunes at Mt. Hollywood on Sunday, Oct. 26 around 10:30 am if y'all wanna come on down to 4607 Prospect Ave. LA CA 90027. I'm also running live entertainment at the church's Winter Bazaar on Sat. Dec. 6 and will be playing throughout the day. I'm not one for many liner notes and so forth on the cds, but since this is my blog, I'm going to sketch out a few comments or notions about each song -- you can print it out and read along as you listen at: www.fletcherrhoden.com/newheaven.htm

"One Body, One Spirit": From the great and holy scripture 2 Corinthians, 12-20, familiar to any fans of the HBO western DEADWOOD.
"Mt. Hollywood": New song for, about and dedicated to the great folks at Mt. Hollywood Congregational Church. This is a deliberate aping of the Beatles, circa 1963/64. It's not an homage, I don't think, or a rip-off; I'm aping them, that's the best I can do. Is that a good thing, or a bad thing?
"That's Where I Wanna Be (When the Christ Comes)": The happiest song about the apocalypse and/or rapture that I'll ever write. This is one of my favorites from NEW HEAVEN, reminding me of my old jazz-rock band Dance Hall Racket and some of my work with the more-recent Eva James Band. This is actually my first collection of new recordings since the EJB ended its run in 2006.
"Former Things": Sounds like Supertramp jumping Billy Joel behind the bathroom at Disneyland, but I still like it. Based on parts of the Book of Revelation -- not the scary parts though, the happy parts.
"Tal Vez Otro Dia": I really like this one, which reminds me of "Sgt. Pepper's"-era Beatles doing an outtake from Bob Dylan's "Desire". A Mexican-style ballad of would-be lovers meeting three times over their lives. The title translates as, "Perhaps on another day" or, more commonly, "perhaps some other time."
"Bad Boy Down": You'd think on an album that's half Christian pop, a song with this title would be about the devil. Still, it's about the Good Book itself. Has a serious Steely Dan feel, which is no coincidence, with big fat swaths of Bob Dylan too. Funny how this record showcases my influences, hopefully I've done something interest or compelling with them.
"Cry A Little": I finally broke down and wrote a song about my dog, Sarah, two years gone. Every day I cry a little. I think this would be a good one for my friend Robbie Rist to cover, it has a pop ballad feel he does very well.
"Latter Rain": This one surprised me with how much it sounded like 80's-era Grateful Dead. I stopped short of the Garcia-style lead guitar though, only one of three songs that don't have guitar solos. Hey, I like to play guitar, what can I tell ya?
"Cracker Love": A Randy Newman-type song, this was the first one I recorded, back in May. This one also could have used a big Grateful Dead-type arrangement with a long, loud guitar, but it's already over four minutes and that's with no solo at all.
"Can't Fight Love": This tune incorporates a lot of musical themes used elsewhere in the collection, so it almost has a Who-ish, "Tommy"-like theatricality, like the finale of a musical. Which isn't a bad thing, I suppose.

So there you have it -- enjoy these tunes free of charge. I think you can download for free as well. I know for sure you can't pay for them (at the moment) and if you can download 'em, you can have 'em and you can share 'em, just don't sell 'em. Stay tuned to FLETCHER RHODEN.COM because there several more exciting things coming up before the end of the year. All in all, with the acclaim of the stage play AND novella LAST TANGO WITH MARLON (trafford.com/07-2958), the webcast of my writing seminar WRITE MAKES MIGHT (2hip4tv.com) and a surge in hits on my internet shorts (by the tens of thousands), 2008 has been the best year ever for FR.COM -- and we're finishing it out in grand style.
Keep blogging, folks, and let's all have a little fun!

Fletcher Rhoden