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Revisiting a Favorite Song

About twenty-five years ago, I wrote a song titled “Alive and Well.” It was conceived as a Country Gospel song, largely because Country Gospel was selling in the early 1990s. And as a staff writer for Word Music, it behooved me to try to write the kind of songs artists wanted to record. My dear friend, Luke Garrett recorded it on his CD, Here and Now.  A year later, my buddy Steve Gatlin put it on his solo Gospel CD, Love Can Carry. The song even got arranged as a choral anthem by none other than David T. Clydesdale.

I always liked the song and believed it could go some place other than just the Country Gospel world. so one day, I began gooding around with it in a Latin Rock style – if you can believe that. I created a new track, got some guitars added, and brought in Regi Stone, a natural-born blue-eyed soul singer, to do the  demo. And that was nearly fifteen years ago.

So, what’s the point of this blog then?  Well, there are two points to make here…

  1. When I get a little bored, I might just pull out an old demo and completely re-cut the drums, bass, keys, and percussion just because I feel like it.  And that’s kinda what I did the last couple of days.
  2. A well-written song (and I believe this makes the grade) can often be treated in different styles and still work. I think the new approach works, but listeners will be the ultimate judge. (The YouTube video is linked – so you can hear the new version.)

For my songwriters readers, keep that 2nd point in mind. Don’t assume the only way your songs will work is the way you first imagined them. Maybe another style will breathe some new life into one of your tunes.

And now you can decide for yourself whether you think the song works in its new style. Thanks for listening!

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