Recorded April 2011.

Forever is the first project I recorded after my wife’s death in 2010 and would be the final album I made using Yamaha MD 8 Track, thereafter I have worked with computers.

Forever is very similar to the album Finale in that for the backing tracks it relies on music I created with Finale software.

Like Kyrie and Forever before it, Forever is essentially a demo album of songs in consideration for my 3rd CD, Rise Again. As a bonus, I did versions of some of the songs composed with Finale (the software) for Inspiration that were made later than when I had recorded Finale (the album).

The Finale tracks used for Forever span from 2007 to 2011.  And the vocals recorded over these took place April 3-4 2011.

1. Crying Out
First song I wrote after my wife’s death. It’s about overcoming the fear of needing help. I ultimately felt it didn’t suit the style of my CD project.

2. Forever
Back in 1995 and 1996 Marina had wanted do her own home recording projects. I found words to this song after she died and assumed they were hers. Fortunately in 2014 I realised it in time that they actually were someone else’s with some minor changes and I rewrote the words for the CD version.

3. You’re Gone Now
I seemed ironic that my late wife wrote a song about loving her loved one. This song is effectively a remake of the Asterix song Dead Rose (1993) with her words. Even by the time I did this demo I had decided this song wasn’t going to make it onto the CD.

4. Living Without You
This a song of gratitude for my the life we shared.

5. Do You Hear My Heart Cry?
Marina had written words back in 1995 to go with some music I wrote for her, no longer know what the music was so I created new music and moved some of her words around. Her song was original called The Threefold (My Love, My Lord, My People).

6. The Shepherd’s Requiem
The lyric is based on psalm 23 and the requiem introit. This one didn’t make it on the CD.

7. Love is the Way
This song was a bit too out there musically to be considered for my CD project. It was songs like this that made me realise I had to get back to doing true Warhorse albums as a proper outlet for this style of music and not think of everything I wrote as aimed for my inspiration CDs.

8. Be Free
One of a few songs of mourning I wrote for the Rise Again CD. I liked the idea of having a recurring refrain that could take on different meaning. At first its is comfort to the dying then it is comfort to the grieving.

9. Send Us Your Spirit
In 2008 I a chorus called Come Holy Spirit but didn’t use it for Inspiration. I revisited the song in 2010 and added verse and bridge.

10. Our Emmanuel
Composed in 2011, I was originally going to make this song about the Arab Spring but turned it into an advent song.

11. Rise Again
This was the first of two versions of this song. This was inspired by the Japanese tsunami of the time. I reused some of the words and created new music in 2012, but this version didn’t make it on to the Rise Again CD.

12. New Day
After mainly writing sad songs, I wanted something more upbeat.

13. Here I Am Lord
(Dan Schutte)
I had considered this song for the previous CD project and doing this demo help me confirm it as a choice for my third CD.

14. Be Not Afraid, You Are Mine
(Bob Dufford / David Haas)
In 2008, I got the idea to put these two songs together and this was my first recording of that arrangement.

15. Give Me Hope
By the time I recorded this and the two after, my second CD had already been released. Since I composed these too late for Finale, I did retro-active demos here. This version gives an idea of what the song might have sounded like.

16. Inspiration
a) Live For Me
b)You Are My Inspiration
The first half was made from two musical ideas I had. The Veni Sancte Spiritus part became the refrain. The verses recycled words I had previously used in Follow Me. The second half reuses a chords progression from Inspirations on Circle Nine.

17. You And I Are Forever
Written in 2008 as a song of devoted faithful love. A line from the third verse is etched on my late wife’s gravestone.