Does the Other Half Die
Music & Lyrics: Dean Merlino
From the album New Year’s Day by Beyond Barricades, 2008
As a musician I am fascinated by the constructive element of music writing. As a songwriter, I am fascinated by the constructive elements that can be marshalled to amplify the effect of a song, yet remain hidden to the listener. I have numerous songs with uncommon time signatures, rhythms or chord progressions, however the point of doing this is to create an effect for the listener, rather than be praised for being clever. In fact, I don’t want the elements of the construction (the ‘seams’ of the music if you will) to be noticed at all.
There is a great deal of counterpoint within this track. It is easiest to notice it between the flute and oboe, yet there is much more between the winds and guitar and even between layered guitar tracks. There is also a strong ‘classical music’ flavour to the construction of the melodies and chord progressions in parts. The overall effect is to enhance the beautiful and rather tragic text of the song itself. The guitar playing on this track is truly sublime!
Beyond Barricades: Geza Paukovics – Guitar, Judi Mitchell – Voice & Oboe, Dean
Merlino – Voice & Flute
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