2017 was a very sad year for me. Although I wasn't affected myself, it took a lot out of me emotionally. Two of my work colleagues died after a few months following a serious illness. Another musician with whom I have close ties was diagnosed with dementia. And a buddy I've been friends with for over 50 years was diagnosed with a neurological disease that made his everyday life increasingly difficult. All of these events happened around Christmas time. At that time, Alen Parsons' Project album with the above title was my favorite, and every year at Christmas I think of these beloved people. Fate should have dealt better playing cards for all of them. I had the desire to cover the song as a reminder of them. Since my keyboard skills are very limited I asked Karsten if he would like to do the song with me. He said yes and supported me with a fantastic playback for my vocals and guitar playing. I am very grateful to him for that. That's how the first part of this song came about.

This song is based on an instrumental called "Workshop" by Nikola Petrek. N. is a luthier in Frankfurt and is characterized by highly craftsmanship. The visit to his you tube channel should be a mandatory event for every guitarist. Here you can see and follow in many episodes how he approaches all conceivable tasks concerning our beloved instrument and leads to a good result. Whether restoration, repair or general improvement of playability, Because the good thing is, N. is also a musician and this combination of guitar builder and guitar player is the ideal prerequisite to be able to meet our wishes and ideas as guitarists perfectly. I enjoyed providing his rocking riffs with vocals/chorus, bottleneck/secd. lead guitar and percussion. Thematically, I slipped into the role of a "Perfect Luthier" I hope you like it.

If you claim to make rock, you can't get past the American singer and musician Lenny Kravitz. Fly Away appealed to me because of the vocals and the slap bass. There are countless covers of this song on you tube. Here is my version. Have fun.

When Terence released his debut album " Introducing the Hardline According to Terence Trent D'Arby" in 1987, I saw in him the coming "King of POP" You have to know that we knew each other from joint events, because he was on the road in Frankfurt from 1981 to 1984 with his funk-jazz band "The Touch" and thus part of our musical community. He presented his songs with the perfect mix of the agility of "Michael Jackson" but also the sensitivity of "Prince". I think I've heard "Sign your Name" more often than "Thriller" or "Purple Rain". Unfortunately, he was no longer able to build on the great compositions and arrangements of the first release with the following albums. No matter. In memory of the old days and in appreciation of his songs, I wanted to cover one of his hits. Since I have neither the timbre nor the vibrato of his voice, it is out of the question to do it with my own vocal and instrumental abilities. Here is my version, enjoy.

The song released by Bobby “Blue” Bland in 1974 has been covered countless times. Paul Carrack did it. Chris Farlowe and Bernie Marsden have done it. Bands like “White Snake” and “Black Pumas” have also covered it. So I thought I'd give it a go too. The original soul/RnB track is available on the music market as a rock version, in jazz style, as a ballad and as hip hop. Jay Z used it as a rap basis. Here is my version, have fun.