When the Box Tops released their one-hit-wonder "The Letter" in 1967, I was just 15 years old and had been on stage with my first band for almost 2 years. As we didn't have any songs of our own, we covered English and American bands, as was usual at the time. And of course "The Letter" was also on our playlist. More than 55 years later, I decided to do another cover again as a reminder of my first steps into the world of rock and pop music.´Though Joe Cocker did an unforgettable jazz cover with horns and choirs in 1970, I deliberately chose the Box Tops version because it best reflected the trend of the "upbeat music" of those years. As always, Karsten hit the black and white keys perfectly.

Steve Miller is an American singer, guitarist and songwriter who was particularly successful worldwide in the 1970s and 1980s with the Steve Miller Band. Miller learned his first guitar chords at the age of five from Les Paul, who regularly visited the Millers' house with his wife Mary Ford. (I just imagine how great it would have been if, for example, Jimi Hendrix had regularly come for a cup of coffee and shown me his latest licks). What a great start to a career in music. Steve Miller always was rooted in the blues, but he managed the feat of keeping it up to date by incorporating everything from psychedelic to new wave that was hot at the time. “Fly like an Eagle” was covered by many bands. There's also a very beautiful version by SEAL. That spurred me on to devote myself to this song. Karsten provided keyboards and effects in his usual solid way. And so our version was born. Enjoy it.

With no other successful rock band does the flute play such a central role in the music as with Jethro Tull. When they released their debut album “This Was” in 1968, there was a mixed response in the musical media world. Critics saw no future for the flute as a lead instrument alongside the overwhelming superiority of the guitar heroes and the Hammond organ acrobats. How could they be wrong. Unlike Karsten, I have very positive memories of 1971. That was the year I founded my first rock-jazz group “STAGG”. You can listen to it on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLse20Z9XOo) if you're interested. And of course, besides the saxophone, the flute was the dominant instrument. When Struppix offered me to join the “Locomotive Breath” project, I didn't have to think twice. I think we came up with a pretty passable interpretation of this song.

This song is not a classic blues, It is a beautiful but sad blues ballad that deals with the most common theme in pop music. Love with all its facets. It was a real challenge to interpret this song by Gary Moore. The vocals, of course. I don't have a smoky, whiskey-soaked voice, so I sang it as well as I could. I based the guitar solos as closely as possible on the original. But I wanted more and added another guitar track as a second overlay. In the end, Karsten again provided me with a perfect playback. Many thanks for that. So listen to it and enjoy.

I've actually already said everything in Part 1. And in Part 2, I want to close this sad chapter once and for all. Even if I repeat myself. I wish that many good people on this earth were dealt better playing cards by their fate. As always, Karsten rolled out a perfect musical red carpet for me and, above all, topped it off with his trombone choir and string arrangements. Many thanks for that.