Here is a complete version of our recording NYSOM. This will be song number 3 on our soon to be released CD titled FIRST PRESS. Here is the story behind this song. “NYSOM” Written by Billy Joel Arranged by Ralph Williams & Jermaine Layton NYSOM is a song that long ago, I promised myself I would do someday. This has been an exhaustive project, but a real labor of love. Im not trying to do Billys version better. That just cant be done. I believe he created a masterpiece from a New York natives point of view. He has lived it. Im doing my version as a person who is not from New York, a person who has been seduced by this city and fallen helplessly in love with it. I want our version to sound intimate, yet lush and I am hoping that we expose some of the emotion that this city pulls out of its captives, without being contrived. Our version is about my personal romance with this incredible city. Ive spent a lot of time in NYC and Ive watched people move in and out of all that this city has to offer. It’s intoxicating, It’s seductive, it’s inspiring, and it will own you. I know. To me, its a roller coaster ride that somehow casts a spell on you. Its brassy, but more times than not it’s muted. Its a cry for normalcy, yet it screams for the absurd. Its lonely, yet you find yourself surrounded by the masses. Its a city that lures you back, even if you thought youd never return. This city forces you to get real, or forever be its victim. Its the ultimate spinner of dreams (imagined, broken or come true). Its taking in all of the sights from above or below ground, from under a bridge or across the water. Its the village, its mid town, its 125th Street. Its Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens and Staten Island. Its Lady Liberty, Broadway, Wall Street, Grant’s Tomb, Columbia and NYU. It’s the Yankees, the Mets, the Giants, the Jets, the Knicks and the Nets. It’s the meal, it’s the deal, it’s the park and it’s the vibe. Whether from a train, a boat, a plane or a taxi, you will see things that nobody else sees. Yet, you will see everything that everyone else sees. Its about courage, its about real heroes, FDNY and NYPD and 9/11. Its a maker, its a breaker, its a giver its a taker, its a lover And then suddenly without a moments notice, youre standing on a street corner after a light rain at 3:00 AM when the city that never sleeps is suddenly vacant except for you and the steam rising from a manhole cover just a few feet away. Its all good, and then it hits you. Youre in a NYSOM (a New York State of Mind). Major props to Chris Borin on trumpet. Hes one of the worlds best and he really shows it on this recording. Im really proud of this, so I hope youll pour yourself a glass of wine or a hot cup of tea, turn the lights down low, put this song on, lean back and drift into an NYSOM with me. I hope you like it and buy a copy for your private music collection. “NYSOM” was released on WipeOut Records and is available on iTunes at: https://itunes.apple/us/album/n.y.s.o.m.-single/id790340051, Amazon at: amazon/N-Y-S-O-M-R-W-B-Ralph-Williams-Band/dp/B00HMCYSZ2
Posted on: Fri, 11 Jul 2014 17:53:42 +0000
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