Bless You by John Tabacco

Three songs out of some 15,000 or so that I had a bit of fun covering.

“Bless You” is a beautiful, uncharacteristically jazzy piece from John Lennon’s 1974 album Walls and Bridges. This piano-based arrangement was actually performed at Five Towns College in Dix Hills, NY sometime around 2006. It was just me on piano and vocal, with Cathy Kreger on acoustic guitar. What you’re hearing here is the demo I gave her to learn from, minus the string intro. Later on, Mosty Moptop was invited into the college recording studio to cut a fuller band version, which we did. Unfortunately, when it came time to mix, the tracks had somehow vanished into the ether. That version never saw the light of day. Lovely how that works.

“Tomorrow Never Knows” is famous for its single-chord harmonic structure. In this version, I decided to change the chords underneath the melody, giving it a color you won’t find on the original. Whether that’s a good idea or a questionable one is open to debate, but there it is.

“Who Can See It” comes from George Harrison’s classic 1973 LP Living in the Material World. The melody always struck me as especially strong, and I’ve long imagined it unfolding on the stage of some lost Puccini opera. I sang this one with no pitch reference at all. Surprisingly, not bad.

John Tabacco is a composer, singer-songwriter, producer, recording engineer, and visual artist.

Like an unfolding musical diary / puzzle, Tabacco’s music and art are constantly being re-worked, juxtaposed and intertwined.

For more info : www.johntabacco.net

johntabacco.net