Palma Pascale’s
This Must Be Heaven
By: Timothy J. San Paolo
January, 2010
Hello to all of you Palma Pascale fans, and regular readers of Martini’s Musings. I’m not honestly sure how this blog will go. I don’t know if I’ll be digging deeply into these tunes and providing you with all the detail as much as, perhaps, simply attempting to help you enjoy these beautiful songs as much as possible by describing them in some way. And of course, a story or two – perhaps … a combination of both! ☺ I believe this is a collection of some of Palma’s absolute finest work. This CD is utterly remarkable! (photo: THIS MUST BE HEAVEN CD cover - Palma Pascale)
And though these are Palma’s songs, created from that ridiculously brilliant mind of hers, I also believe in giving credit where it is due, and I know, without doubt one, that Palm would want me to start this blog talking about her long-time friend and confidant; a true genius in his own right, and I am most proud to say, he’s my good friend - Fred Guarino.
For those of you who are new to Martini’s Musings, let me say a few words of intro about Fred. He is the owner and Chief Recording Engineer of Tiki Recording Studios, in Glen Cove, New York. (www.tikirecording.com). Fred is “one of the good guys.” I can’t say enough positive things about him, from a personal standpoint. I am continually astounded at his expertise. Fred has been in the recording business for some 30+ years now - and believe me when I tell you that this man KNOWS what he is doing. I’ve heard lots of first-draft recordings – (roughs, we call them) - of this album, and now we have the finished product from those roughs. I would call it magic, what happens from that first rough to the finished project; yet it’s not magic at all … it’s Fred’s legendary know-how as a truly gifted recording engineer who turns a “rough rock into a glistening diamond – each facet of which shines with a dazzling brilliance.”
(pictured below - Fred Guarino in the Control Room, Tiki Recording Studios)
Palma knew this all too well. She and I spoke of Fred, often. Palm knew how I marveled at Fred’s transformation of a song and she often times would say that she was aware that she, herself, “took for granted just how magnificent the ‘record’ would sound in the end” because she knew Fred wouldn’t let it sound any other way! In a more recent conversation with Palm about Fred, some few weeks, actually, prior to her untimely death, we spoke about this very issue. Here, from my saved e-mail, is one from Palm to me about this subject. (To set-up the story, Palm was writing to me as a reaction to my own recording of one of the songs on this CD, THIS TOO SHALL PASS. When I had sent her my recording of it, I had commented how I knew I had so much more to learn, still, about the recording side of things.
Following were her comments about that, and about Fred – transcribed directly from an e-mail to me sent Thursday, April 30, 2009, at 12:45 a.m. (because Palm was a night owl!):
“You know, Tim, you are VERY talented. It is something to hear the elements of my arrangement come back to me this way. You REALLY did an excellent job on THIS TOO (SHALL PASS), and I have to say, you give me honor to pull out the pieces and replay them for the arranger. I can’t get over how accurate your arrangement copies are… I would swear it was my work, but for the tiny subtleties of correction Fred puts on things – do you know what I mean? You know why this is especially good? Because it is clear that because Fred has so much expertise (and equipment) to FINESSE all my elements, the tracks always seem so polished and grand – in a way. I don’t think one man, working alone, could do it.” (my interpretation: I had just fussed to Palm about not only trying to get the music right, but also having to be my “own” engineer, too, hence she was "understanding" that) . . . Palma goes on – “But the sharper corners of your version point out that the pieces he (Fred) grouts together are still separate elements. Can you understand what I’m saying? …” Oh yeah, I “got it,” Palma – and you’re so right.
We also had a conversation about this, and we both agreed that Fred’s expertise and his genuine interest in his artists (all of his artists) made all the difference, in the end. HE is the reason the records sound so grand.THIS MUST BE HEAVEN is one of those albums that I have found it difficult to find the right words with which to describe. I can “hear” the hours of blood, sweat and tears that Fred has lovingly put in on this record, “grouting & polishing” every note. He truly transformed what would be considered a good recording into probably one of the most gorgeous, finest recordings of Palm’s music I’ve ever heard – and believe me when I tell you that is saying A LOT!!
Fred informed me that this project began in the Spring of 2008. I recall Palma played the first track of this album when my wife and I visited she and Fred in New York in the fall of ’07. Actually, it was my wife who, upon her first listen to the “rough” I received from Palm in July of 2008 who immediately recognized the song – “You Couldn’t Mean Me.” She relayed to me her memory of watching Palm sit at the grand piano there in Studio A at Tiki, and play and sing the tune . . . and being so impressed with Palm’s skills. Her comment to me was about how Palm not only wrote the catchy music of this song, but her lyrics were “uncommonly good.” (Pictured: Tim San Paolo / Palma Pascale at the Grand Piano, Studio A, Tiki Recording Studios)
And, by the way, WHLI Radio in Long Island (www.whli.com) was playing “You Couldn’t Mean Me” in heavy rotation, and their listeners were loving it! How do I know that? I’m getting frequent orders for the CD from listeners who have heard the song on WHLI. [note: WHLI recently had a programming “format” change and have since stopped playing Palma’s music, whether from THIS MUST BE HEAVEN, IN & OUT OF LOVE, or I’LL LEAVE YOU THE MUSIC, which they had been doing].
I have listened to “You Couldn’t Mean Me” many, many times since receiving it, and I have never tired of hearing it. I immediately recognized that
Frank Rendo
http://www.CDBaby.com/Artist/FrankRendo,
http://www.ReverbNation.com/FrankRendo
was singing backing vocals with Palm, and I gotta say, I’ve quite envied Frank’s position – living right there on Long Island – able to get into the studio easily – and being available to sing backing vocals, or cut tracks made for a male to sing with and for Palm, etc. Palm also knew how fortunate SHE was to have formed such a beautiful friendship with Frank as she commented on it to me, a lot. She would, many times, say to me, “Oh Tim, we so wish YOU were with us here in the studio, too. We talk about you so often.” Palm was always cognizant of how much I wished I could be there, to record with she and Frank and Fred – to watch what happened, and participate somehow.
It was truly heartening to me to get compliments on my recordings from Palma (that I would send her) because I knew she MEANT what she was saying. Palm always, always remarked positively about my work and we had plans to “make a record” together, someday, Palm and I. God, however, had other plans.
That was sort of a backwards, and rather embellished intro to the first track on the CD THIS MUST BE HEAVEN – titled “You Couldn’t Mean Me.” Palm told me she was humorously aware that the tempo and structure of this one was definitely a throwback to the 70’s. I have to say, I was reminded of several 70’s groups when I listened to the music of “You Couldn’t Mean Me” – for example, the Alan Parson’s Project immediately came to mind, as did The Doobie Brothers, and of course, the Carpenters! It was the specific rhythm and chord structure along with those too cool harmonies that took my mind there. It’s such a great tune, and serves as such a good intro to the remainder of the tunes on the compilation:
“…(Been) So long, yet You seem glad to see me. I’ve been gone, livin’ my own life.
(It’s) so strong, what’s this thing I’m feelin’? You say there’s something You need me to do…
Do You realize who You’re talking to?
You couldn’t possibly mean me – have you seen me? Have You seen the state of my heart?
You couldn’t possibly want me for Your kingdom when my life is falling apart.
You really must be mistaken – yet, somethin’ in me is shakin’ – is it some changes You’re makin’---- makin’ in me? …”
Yes, it’s clearly Palma’s writing style – lyrically, it has all the markings of a Pascale composition. It’s clever – it’s so “to the point” and it’s easy to understand. The story here is about individuals who may, at one time, have had a relationship with God, yet who, for whatever reason, decided, at some point, to take charge of their lives themselves and leave God out of the picture. She has a line in the second verse that clearly points that out:
“…(For) so long, it’s been my own way, Lord…”
Yet, as the story progresses, it becomes more and more obvious that there are changes going on for this individual (for all the individuals it was written about) - subtle, though they are. They nevertheless are feeling the ‘changes” going on within their hearts. It also becomes clear that these changes are so strong that they can’t help but to muse about them – and we hear that in the bridge:
“…The most unworthy of all must be the people You’re usin’
The ones who stumble and fall must be a part of Your plan.
I’m at the top of the list, Lord – I am the worst of examples.
But …the last can be first so they say – so go on and just lead the way…”
The “aah’s” that occur in the middle of this bridge are so cool, and so “Carpenteresque” that this writer just eats them up. Palm knew my penchant for harmony parts – and especially with parts voiced like Carpenters used to sing in their heyday. These vocal “aah’s” were provided by Palm and by Frank Rendo. I very much like Palma’s instrumentation choices in this one – the chorused electric pianos add such a great flair to the recording.
This one is a lively, fun listen. The harmonies are crisp and fresh, and the story will undoubtedly be a familiar one from that ‘one time or another’ in our own lives.
(pictured above left: Fred Guarino / Tim San Paolo / Palma Pascale in the vocal isolation booth at Tiki Recording Studios)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Track two is a powerful song with a powerful story to tell entitled “Oh, Open Heaven” You’ll recognize quickly, I think, that “Heaven” is a recurring theme throughout the album.
I can remember clearly the night Fred and Palm sent me the rough of this one. As I listened to it, I was reminded somewhat (mostly due to the beat of the song) to another of Palm’s compositions, this one from THE BROKEN CUP called “Standing on the Shoulders.”
I also remember when this one was sent to me, I’d received a little note, telling me that the vocals were definitely NOT complete, yet, and that they were going to be changed at some point. I recall being really captivated when hearing this one because it was so different from the other new ones I had heard up to that time. I admired so that Palm “heard” this song in her head in the very format as you hear it on this recording. In fact, I always marveled at how she knew before she even went into the studio with a lead sheet in hand for the very first time, what the selection would sound like as a finished, mastered product. She knew when she sat down to pen this, then, how it would ultimately sound, completed! Don’t you find this fascinating? And she would have some instrumentation already in mind for it, as well.
Fred and I have been talking about this phenomenon as of late… this formula Palma had that served her well, time and again. Of course, there were changes, and never was a good idea turned away. Palm was open to ideas from others. She knew what SHE heard, yet that was not necessarily “set in stone” if you will. I admired & appreciated that openness about Palm – that flexibility – that idea that HER way was not, necessarily, the BEST way. It takes confidence to feel like that about your own work, you know.
Palm’s formula was successful in every way. She could double a part, or sing all of her backing parts without ever even hearing her other harmony tracks. In fact she told me she didn’t listen to those other harmony parts already recorded – just the reference, lead vocal. When I asked why, she explained it like this: She knew instinctively what phrasing she used on the song already, and her secondary vocals were spot-on, every single time. I was stunned to learn this, early on about Palma’s recording style. But anyone listening to her records can hear clearly that her stacked parts are always together – whether singing a harmony part or doubling her lead vocal – and, not only could she do this, but she rarely WROTE any parts out. (that is, she never scored these other parts on manuscript paper) – she did them all as she went, knowing every note she intended to include. Oofah! What an incredible talent.
One of her very favorite intervals was the major 6th. It’s definitely a part of her signature. Whether on Broadway, her pop tunes, or in composing her Christian offerings, Palm gravitated toward the 6th, and thought it was THE BEST. And, it did work to her advantage, time and again. See for yourself – test it out – you’ll see I’m right, here. By her own admission, when she “discovered” how grand the interval was, it was easy to incorporate it into her songs; but many times, it was undetected by the untrained ear. So, though it was a signature piece for her – she used this interval carefully and each and every song in which it was included had its own unique style and form….its very own spot in the grand scheme of things of all compositions Pascale.
It was early December, 2008, when I got a message from Palma, asking me if I knew of SKYPE. For those of you who don’t know, it’s a computer phone service. From computer to computer, the service is free. And, if you have a camera either built into your computer, or a web cam attached, you can use the video component of SKYPE, as well, just like dialing the phone. (pictured above: Palma Pascale in the vocal isolation booth of Tiki Recording Studios)
Palm was very excited and animated when I told her that yes, I did have a camera, and knew about SKYPE, but hadn’t downloaded it, yet. She told me Fred now had a camera and they’d discussed using SKYPE as a method of interacting with ME during Palma’s recording sessions. She couldn’t have made me ANY happier than she did with THIS bit of news. Fred had the camera arranged so that he was shooting out into Studio A, where Palm could be standing to record vocals, or if she were playing the piano or perhaps a percussion instrument, etc.
Then, he had ME coming through on the big flat screen that was mounted on the wall of the Control Room. (see it pictured, left)? And it worked! I could see Palm very well and because I was flashed up on that big flat screen, she (and Fred) could easily see ME, too! I was able to watch the action taking place, and ask questions when the taping stopped. So cool!
(photo is of the "board" and shows the flat screen in the control room of Tiki Recording Studios)
After Fred and I tried it out, it was then on January 5th, 2009, I “skyped” into Tiki for the first time to join Palm in a session. Fred and I did have to play around with our cameras and angles, and our sound both sending and receiving from the built-in mics on the computers, his studio speakers, and my headphones on this end. We finally got it just right, and stopped getting kicked-off the system where we’d have to dial each other back again to reconnect.
Once we got it working we had a great time – I was able to converse and catch-up with Fred and Palm as they chowed down prior to the session beginning, and then, it was time to get down to business. Recall I mentioned above that they weren't finished working on the vocals for this song?? Yes, the song they were working on that night happened to be “Oh, Open Heaven.”
I recall it was quite a session – and a lot of hard work from both of them. I found it really fascinating. They worked on one verse and the chorus, and that was all – and they worked and they worked, and…..they worked. I was there for 3 hours and I enjoyed every second of it. Of course, I learned a great deal, as well. It’s no wonder to me that the quality of a recording Palm and Fred did together was always stellar!
To watch Fred and Palm work together was really awesome – both of them had their own ideas and each of them voiced those ideas. Fred encouraged Palm to sing the song a certain way, then another, to “try this or that” – and he would sing it to her that way to show her what he was after (the mark of a good producer). Palm received his ideas well, and worked with them. It was real evidence of a good team, yet this glimpse into the session showed me just a part of the “why” of it that they worked so well, together.
(Pictured: Palma Pascale and Fred Guarino in the Control Room, Tiki Recording Studios)
Sadly, that was the only time we were able to connect, via SKYPE, as there were some major problems on the studio side with the SKYPE software interfering with Fred’s recording software, which simply could NOT happen – Fred must ensure complete protection of the ProTools software, for certain. We had planned to look at the problem again someday after Frank’s DELIVER ME cd was completed, but alas …
“Oh, Open Heaven” was one of the songs I added my voice to, doing some backing vocals on a few choruses, both melody and harmony parts. A little story regarding the recording of this one – while we were listening to Fred get this one set-up so Frank and I could both sing our backing vocal melody lines (which was all we were intending to do), standing there in the Control Room, absentmindedly, Frank and I both began singing (different) harmony parts along with the track.
Fred told us he’d just experienced that “chill factor” as he heard this, and asked us to get into the vocal booth and record them as we’d just sang them there in the Control Room. Normally, we would have added these parts separately, but in this case, we both marched into the vocal isolation booth, and laid down these harmony parts, sharing the mic in order to do so. (This was yet another special moment in my overall story – I very much enjoyed sharing that vocal booth, singing with my talented friend, Frank!
(Pictured: Frank Rendo, Tim San Paolo, Fred Guarino in the Control Room, Tiki Recording Studios)
Folks, I must tell you that what you hear with
this mastered track is a stellar composition, and it should be noted that both Palm and Fred ultimately got the sound they were after for this one – the one I remember them going for on that January night I was “at the studio” with them. Palma’s voice sounds so strong and confident as she is telling this story. The story itself is a good reminder to us all about the amazing love of God for each of us. We’re reminded that even in the darkest times, we are NOT alone. Even when it looks like we’ve lost EVERYTHING, simply put, we have NOT. God is always with us – loving us, protecting us, watching over us. Always. And especially in those dark hours of despair, we must continue to give Him praise as He will not let us fall too far.
“…Praise His name when you don’t feel it – when the walls are fallin’ down.
Send your praises up to Jesus – watch His angels come around.
When the struggle leaves you empty and all doors are closed to you
Let the realm of Heaven open – endless treasures wait for you…”
Fred plays guitar on this song, and the texture and sound he provides really makes the tune come alive! Great job, Fred.
The song almost has a “march” feel to it. There’s a lot of building tension as the verse progresses; though the chords are changing, the bass note often does not, which helps enhance the tension. And then the chorus comes and the tension is finally relased – not only in the music itself, but in the story, as if the doors of Heaven have, indeed, opened!
“…Oh, Open Heaven – let Your reign down. Wash my spirit, make me new.
Oh, Open Heaven – send Your strength down – all I need, I find in You…”
Palma’s instrument choice of adding vox voices make it sound as though there are angels singing in the background. Besides the lush strings, Fred’s blazing guitar, and the piano, Palma adds a harp here and there, giving the piece a celestial effect. However, it is the cello, in this arrangement, that seems to be the major player. It has the most movement, accentuating all the integral parts. I don’t recall Palm using the cello like this before – I rather like it.
(Pictured: Palma Pascale in Concert)
That tension and release happens again, and it helps develops the story so beautifully – so descriptively. The listener certainly gets to feel the emotion intended. It’s a beautiful offering, and the end result is stunning!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-FINAL.jpg)
Palm and I spoke about this next song which will appear in its original form on Palma's worship CD titled I WORSHIP YOU - which is now available to order, and will soon be available for both order and digital download from cdbaby. (www.cdbaby.com). She re-recorded it for this album, adding some orchestration to it, but it was so beautifully done as the piano/vocal guide track, too, that it was incorporated into I WORSHIP YOU . All of the tracks for I WORSHIP YOU are piano/vocal only. Palma told me this song was actually written for a battered women’s support group. And the story we hear makes this easily evident. It’s a lovely song, one that immediately captured my attention on the first listen!
January, 2010
Hello to all of you Palma Pascale fans, and regular readers of Martini’s Musings. I’m not honestly sure how this blog will go. I don’t know if I’ll be digging deeply into these tunes and providing you with all the detail as much as, perhaps, simply attempting to help you enjoy these beautiful songs as much as possible by describing them in some way. And of course, a story or two – perhaps … a combination of both! ☺ I believe this is a collection of some of Palma’s absolute finest work. This CD is utterly remarkable! (photo: THIS MUST BE HEAVEN CD cover - Palma Pascale)
And though these are Palma’s songs, created from that ridiculously brilliant mind of hers, I also believe in giving credit where it is due, and I know, without doubt one, that Palm would want me to start this blog talking about her long-time friend and confidant; a true genius in his own right, and I am most proud to say, he’s my good friend - Fred Guarino.
For those of you who are new to Martini’s Musings, let me say a few words of intro about Fred. He is the owner and Chief Recording Engineer of Tiki Recording Studios, in Glen Cove, New York. (www.tikirecording.com). Fred is “one of the good guys.” I can’t say enough positive things about him, from a personal standpoint. I am continually astounded at his expertise. Fred has been in the recording business for some 30+ years now - and believe me when I tell you that this man KNOWS what he is doing. I’ve heard lots of first-draft recordings – (roughs, we call them) - of this album, and now we have the finished product from those roughs. I would call it magic, what happens from that first rough to the finished project; yet it’s not magic at all … it’s Fred’s legendary know-how as a truly gifted recording engineer who turns a “rough rock into a glistening diamond – each facet of which shines with a dazzling brilliance.”
(pictured below - Fred Guarino in the Control Room, Tiki Recording Studios)
Palma knew this all too well. She and I spoke of Fred, often. Palm knew how I marveled at Fred’s transformation of a song and she often times would say that she was aware that she, herself, “took for granted just how magnificent the ‘record’ would sound in the end” because she knew Fred wouldn’t let it sound any other way! In a more recent conversation with Palm about Fred, some few weeks, actually, prior to her untimely death, we spoke about this very issue. Here, from my saved e-mail, is one from Palm to me about this subject. (To set-up the story, Palm was writing to me as a reaction to my own recording of one of the songs on this CD, THIS TOO SHALL PASS. When I had sent her my recording of it, I had commented how I knew I had so much more to learn, still, about the recording side of things.
Following were her comments about that, and about Fred – transcribed directly from an e-mail to me sent Thursday, April 30, 2009, at 12:45 a.m. (because Palm was a night owl!):
“You know, Tim, you are VERY talented. It is something to hear the elements of my arrangement come back to me this way. You REALLY did an excellent job on THIS TOO (SHALL PASS), and I have to say, you give me honor to pull out the pieces and replay them for the arranger. I can’t get over how accurate your arrangement copies are… I would swear it was my work, but for the tiny subtleties of correction Fred puts on things – do you know what I mean? You know why this is especially good? Because it is clear that because Fred has so much expertise (and equipment) to FINESSE all my elements, the tracks always seem so polished and grand – in a way. I don’t think one man, working alone, could do it.” (my interpretation: I had just fussed to Palm about not only trying to get the music right, but also having to be my “own” engineer, too, hence she was "understanding" that) . . . Palma goes on – “But the sharper corners of your version point out that the pieces he (Fred) grouts together are still separate elements. Can you understand what I’m saying? …” Oh yeah, I “got it,” Palma – and you’re so right.
We also had a conversation about this, and we both agreed that Fred’s expertise and his genuine interest in his artists (all of his artists) made all the difference, in the end. HE is the reason the records sound so grand.THIS MUST BE HEAVEN is one of those albums that I have found it difficult to find the right words with which to describe. I can “hear” the hours of blood, sweat and tears that Fred has lovingly put in on this record, “grouting & polishing” every note. He truly transformed what would be considered a good recording into probably one of the most gorgeous, finest recordings of Palm’s music I’ve ever heard – and believe me when I tell you that is saying A LOT!!
Fred informed me that this project began in the Spring of 2008. I recall Palma played the first track of this album when my wife and I visited she and Fred in New York in the fall of ’07. Actually, it was my wife who, upon her first listen to the “rough” I received from Palm in July of 2008 who immediately recognized the song – “You Couldn’t Mean Me.” She relayed to me her memory of watching Palm sit at the grand piano there in Studio A at Tiki, and play and sing the tune . . . and being so impressed with Palm’s skills. Her comment to me was about how Palm not only wrote the catchy music of this song, but her lyrics were “uncommonly good.” (Pictured: Tim San Paolo / Palma Pascale at the Grand Piano, Studio A, Tiki Recording Studios)And, by the way, WHLI Radio in Long Island (www.whli.com) was playing “You Couldn’t Mean Me” in heavy rotation, and their listeners were loving it! How do I know that? I’m getting frequent orders for the CD from listeners who have heard the song on WHLI. [note: WHLI recently had a programming “format” change and have since stopped playing Palma’s music, whether from THIS MUST BE HEAVEN, IN & OUT OF LOVE, or I’LL LEAVE YOU THE MUSIC, which they had been doing].
I have listened to “You Couldn’t Mean Me” many, many times since receiving it, and I have never tired of hearing it. I immediately recognized that
Frank Rendo
http://www.CDBaby.com/Artist/FrankRendo,
http://www.ReverbNation.com/FrankRendo
was singing backing vocals with Palm, and I gotta say, I’ve quite envied Frank’s position – living right there on Long Island – able to get into the studio easily – and being available to sing backing vocals, or cut tracks made for a male to sing with and for Palm, etc. Palm also knew how fortunate SHE was to have formed such a beautiful friendship with Frank as she commented on it to me, a lot. She would, many times, say to me, “Oh Tim, we so wish YOU were with us here in the studio, too. We talk about you so often.” Palm was always cognizant of how much I wished I could be there, to record with she and Frank and Fred – to watch what happened, and participate somehow.
It was truly heartening to me to get compliments on my recordings from Palma (that I would send her) because I knew she MEANT what she was saying. Palm always, always remarked positively about my work and we had plans to “make a record” together, someday, Palm and I. God, however, had other plans.
That was sort of a backwards, and rather embellished intro to the first track on the CD THIS MUST BE HEAVEN – titled “You Couldn’t Mean Me.” Palm told me she was humorously aware that the tempo and structure of this one was definitely a throwback to the 70’s. I have to say, I was reminded of several 70’s groups when I listened to the music of “You Couldn’t Mean Me” – for example, the Alan Parson’s Project immediately came to mind, as did The Doobie Brothers, and of course, the Carpenters! It was the specific rhythm and chord structure along with those too cool harmonies that took my mind there. It’s such a great tune, and serves as such a good intro to the remainder of the tunes on the compilation:
“…(Been) So long, yet You seem glad to see me. I’ve been gone, livin’ my own life.
(It’s) so strong, what’s this thing I’m feelin’? You say there’s something You need me to do…
Do You realize who You’re talking to?
You couldn’t possibly want me for Your kingdom when my life is falling apart.
You really must be mistaken – yet, somethin’ in me is shakin’ – is it some changes You’re makin’---- makin’ in me? …”
Yes, it’s clearly Palma’s writing style – lyrically, it has all the markings of a Pascale composition. It’s clever – it’s so “to the point” and it’s easy to understand. The story here is about individuals who may, at one time, have had a relationship with God, yet who, for whatever reason, decided, at some point, to take charge of their lives themselves and leave God out of the picture. She has a line in the second verse that clearly points that out:
“…(For) so long, it’s been my own way, Lord…”
Yet, as the story progresses, it becomes more and more obvious that there are changes going on for this individual (for all the individuals it was written about) - subtle, though they are. They nevertheless are feeling the ‘changes” going on within their hearts. It also becomes clear that these changes are so strong that they can’t help but to muse about them – and we hear that in the bridge:
“…The most unworthy of all must be the people You’re usin’
The ones who stumble and fall must be a part of Your plan.
I’m at the top of the list, Lord – I am the worst of examples.
But …the last can be first so they say – so go on and just lead the way…”
The “aah’s” that occur in the middle of this bridge are so cool, and so “Carpenteresque” that this writer just eats them up. Palm knew my penchant for harmony parts – and especially with parts voiced like Carpenters used to sing in their heyday. These vocal “aah’s” were provided by Palm and by Frank Rendo. I very much like Palma’s instrumentation choices in this one – the chorused electric pianos add such a great flair to the recording.
This one is a lively, fun listen. The harmonies are crisp and fresh, and the story will undoubtedly be a familiar one from that ‘one time or another’ in our own lives.
(pictured above left: Fred Guarino / Tim San Paolo / Palma Pascale in the vocal isolation booth at Tiki Recording Studios)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Track two is a powerful song with a powerful story to tell entitled “Oh, Open Heaven” You’ll recognize quickly, I think, that “Heaven” is a recurring theme throughout the album.
I can remember clearly the night Fred and Palm sent me the rough of this one. As I listened to it, I was reminded somewhat (mostly due to the beat of the song) to another of Palm’s compositions, this one from THE BROKEN CUP called “Standing on the Shoulders.”
I also remember when this one was sent to me, I’d received a little note, telling me that the vocals were definitely NOT complete, yet, and that they were going to be changed at some point. I recall being really captivated when hearing this one because it was so different from the other new ones I had heard up to that time. I admired so that Palm “heard” this song in her head in the very format as you hear it on this recording. In fact, I always marveled at how she knew before she even went into the studio with a lead sheet in hand for the very first time, what the selection would sound like as a finished, mastered product. She knew when she sat down to pen this, then, how it would ultimately sound, completed! Don’t you find this fascinating? And she would have some instrumentation already in mind for it, as well.
Fred and I have been talking about this phenomenon as of late… this formula Palma had that served her well, time and again. Of course, there were changes, and never was a good idea turned away. Palm was open to ideas from others. She knew what SHE heard, yet that was not necessarily “set in stone” if you will. I admired & appreciated that openness about Palm – that flexibility – that idea that HER way was not, necessarily, the BEST way. It takes confidence to feel like that about your own work, you know.
Palm’s formula was successful in every way. She could double a part, or sing all of her backing parts without ever even hearing her other harmony tracks. In fact she told me she didn’t listen to those other harmony parts already recorded – just the reference, lead vocal. When I asked why, she explained it like this: She knew instinctively what phrasing she used on the song already, and her secondary vocals were spot-on, every single time. I was stunned to learn this, early on about Palma’s recording style. But anyone listening to her records can hear clearly that her stacked parts are always together – whether singing a harmony part or doubling her lead vocal – and, not only could she do this, but she rarely WROTE any parts out. (that is, she never scored these other parts on manuscript paper) – she did them all as she went, knowing every note she intended to include. Oofah! What an incredible talent.
One of her very favorite intervals was the major 6th. It’s definitely a part of her signature. Whether on Broadway, her pop tunes, or in composing her Christian offerings, Palm gravitated toward the 6th, and thought it was THE BEST. And, it did work to her advantage, time and again. See for yourself – test it out – you’ll see I’m right, here. By her own admission, when she “discovered” how grand the interval was, it was easy to incorporate it into her songs; but many times, it was undetected by the untrained ear. So, though it was a signature piece for her – she used this interval carefully and each and every song in which it was included had its own unique style and form….its very own spot in the grand scheme of things of all compositions Pascale.
It was early December, 2008, when I got a message from Palma, asking me if I knew of SKYPE. For those of you who don’t know, it’s a computer phone service. From computer to computer, the service is free. And, if you have a camera either built into your computer, or a web cam attached, you can use the video component of SKYPE, as well, just like dialing the phone. (pictured above: Palma Pascale in the vocal isolation booth of Tiki Recording Studios)
Palm was very excited and animated when I told her that yes, I did have a camera, and knew about SKYPE, but hadn’t downloaded it, yet. She told me Fred now had a camera and they’d discussed using SKYPE as a method of interacting with ME during Palma’s recording sessions. She couldn’t have made me ANY happier than she did with THIS bit of news. Fred had the camera arranged so that he was shooting out into Studio A, where Palm could be standing to record vocals, or if she were playing the piano or perhaps a percussion instrument, etc.
Then, he had ME coming through on the big flat screen that was mounted on the wall of the Control Room. (see it pictured, left)? And it worked! I could see Palm very well and because I was flashed up on that big flat screen, she (and Fred) could easily see ME, too! I was able to watch the action taking place, and ask questions when the taping stopped. So cool!
(photo is of the "board" and shows the flat screen in the control room of Tiki Recording Studios)
After Fred and I tried it out, it was then on January 5th, 2009, I “skyped” into Tiki for the first time to join Palm in a session. Fred and I did have to play around with our cameras and angles, and our sound both sending and receiving from the built-in mics on the computers, his studio speakers, and my headphones on this end. We finally got it just right, and stopped getting kicked-off the system where we’d have to dial each other back again to reconnect.
Once we got it working we had a great time – I was able to converse and catch-up with Fred and Palm as they chowed down prior to the session beginning, and then, it was time to get down to business. Recall I mentioned above that they weren't finished working on the vocals for this song?? Yes, the song they were working on that night happened to be “Oh, Open Heaven.”
I recall it was quite a session – and a lot of hard work from both of them. I found it really fascinating. They worked on one verse and the chorus, and that was all – and they worked and they worked, and…..they worked. I was there for 3 hours and I enjoyed every second of it. Of course, I learned a great deal, as well. It’s no wonder to me that the quality of a recording Palm and Fred did together was always stellar!
To watch Fred and Palm work together was really awesome – both of them had their own ideas and each of them voiced those ideas. Fred encouraged Palm to sing the song a certain way, then another, to “try this or that” – and he would sing it to her that way to show her what he was after (the mark of a good producer). Palm received his ideas well, and worked with them. It was real evidence of a good team, yet this glimpse into the session showed me just a part of the “why” of it that they worked so well, together.
(Pictured: Palma Pascale and Fred Guarino in the Control Room, Tiki Recording Studios)
Sadly, that was the only time we were able to connect, via SKYPE, as there were some major problems on the studio side with the SKYPE software interfering with Fred’s recording software, which simply could NOT happen – Fred must ensure complete protection of the ProTools software, for certain. We had planned to look at the problem again someday after Frank’s DELIVER ME cd was completed, but alas …
“Oh, Open Heaven” was one of the songs I added my voice to, doing some backing vocals on a few choruses, both melody and harmony parts. A little story regarding the recording of this one – while we were listening to Fred get this one set-up so Frank and I could both sing our backing vocal melody lines (which was all we were intending to do), standing there in the Control Room, absentmindedly, Frank and I both began singing (different) harmony parts along with the track.
Fred told us he’d just experienced that “chill factor” as he heard this, and asked us to get into the vocal booth and record them as we’d just sang them there in the Control Room. Normally, we would have added these parts separately, but in this case, we both marched into the vocal isolation booth, and laid down these harmony parts, sharing the mic in order to do so. (This was yet another special moment in my overall story – I very much enjoyed sharing that vocal booth, singing with my talented friend, Frank!
(Pictured: Frank Rendo, Tim San Paolo, Fred Guarino in the Control Room, Tiki Recording Studios)
Folks, I must tell you that what you hear with
this mastered track is a stellar composition, and it should be noted that both Palm and Fred ultimately got the sound they were after for this one – the one I remember them going for on that January night I was “at the studio” with them. Palma’s voice sounds so strong and confident as she is telling this story. The story itself is a good reminder to us all about the amazing love of God for each of us. We’re reminded that even in the darkest times, we are NOT alone. Even when it looks like we’ve lost EVERYTHING, simply put, we have NOT. God is always with us – loving us, protecting us, watching over us. Always. And especially in those dark hours of despair, we must continue to give Him praise as He will not let us fall too far.
“…Praise His name when you don’t feel it – when the walls are fallin’ down.
Send your praises up to Jesus – watch His angels come around.
When the struggle leaves you empty and all doors are closed to you
Let the realm of Heaven open – endless treasures wait for you…”
Fred plays guitar on this song, and the texture and sound he provides really makes the tune come alive! Great job, Fred.
The song almost has a “march” feel to it. There’s a lot of building tension as the verse progresses; though the chords are changing, the bass note often does not, which helps enhance the tension. And then the chorus comes and the tension is finally relased – not only in the music itself, but in the story, as if the doors of Heaven have, indeed, opened!
“…Oh, Open Heaven – let Your reign down. Wash my spirit, make me new.
Oh, Open Heaven – send Your strength down – all I need, I find in You…”
Palma’s instrument choice of adding vox voices make it sound as though there are angels singing in the background. Besides the lush strings, Fred’s blazing guitar, and the piano, Palma adds a harp here and there, giving the piece a celestial effect. However, it is the cello, in this arrangement, that seems to be the major player. It has the most movement, accentuating all the integral parts. I don’t recall Palm using the cello like this before – I rather like it.
(Pictured: Palma Pascale in Concert)
That tension and release happens again, and it helps develops the story so beautifully – so descriptively. The listener certainly gets to feel the emotion intended. It’s a beautiful offering, and the end result is stunning!
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Palm and I spoke about this next song which will appear in its original form on Palma's worship CD titled I WORSHIP YOU - which is now available to order, and will soon be available for both order and digital download from cdbaby. (www.cdbaby.com). She re-recorded it for this album, adding some orchestration to it, but it was so beautifully done as the piano/vocal guide track, too, that it was incorporated into I WORSHIP YOU . All of the tracks for I WORSHIP YOU are piano/vocal only. Palma told me this song was actually written for a battered women’s support group. And the story we hear makes this easily evident. It’s a lovely song, one that immediately captured my attention on the first listen!
(Photo: Palma Pascale's I WORSHIP YOU CD Cover)
“…I’m here to listen, and to be careful with your heart, and to encourage, although you don’t know where to start –
I’m here to tell you that you’re safe with someone, now – begin your story – and God will show you how.
I’m here to help you although you don’t believe it’s true something so awful could be mended inside you.
No matter how long – no matter just how deep it goes, just bring your sorrow to the One who knows…”
I can picture, in my mind’s eye, a meeting of a group of any victims of abuse as someone opens the meeting with these lyrics being their opening remarks; letting the victims know they are safe, and that no matter what the trouble is, God is there to help them through it. A pretty cool visual, isn’t it?
The melody line is flowing and quite beautiful. Palm sings this song with conviction. Her voice has a warm, rich quality as she sings this one – and she simplified the accompaniment, as well. She uses light piano and a plucked, acoustic guitar, for the most part. There are embellishments, of course, to heighten the excitement of the song and to help point out specific phrases. Palm was a true master when it came to arranging and she loved to do it using the philosophy of “less is more.”
“…It’s in His presence you’ll find relief, at last. Let’s bring Him in here, see what He says about your past.
It’s in His presence all the pain can be erased – let’s invite Jesus into this place….”
I was really taken by the bridge of the song lyrically and musically because the message here is so strong and I believe it’s one that any individual might be able to relate to. The chromatic swirl of strings takes us into the punctuated message:
“…The things that hurt, that happened long ago have turned into a stone you carry everywhere you go.
Would you be willing to let Jesus speak to you? In that place where you’ve been hiding, let His truth come shining through?...”
I love the fact that here and there Palm has doubled her voice, which gives it an even richer quality.
Don’t we all have a tendency to blame ourselves for a whole lot of things as we move through our lives? I mean…it’s a normal tendency, is it not? And, because we do this, and seemingly so easily, how many of those “hurts that happened long ago” have truly turned into a heavy stone we carry around our necks like an albatross, “everywhere we go” whether night or day, awake or asleep? It’s one of those lyrics that universally people can recognize and identify with. That was an important piece of Palma’s formula. Make it something that can be clearly, EASILY understood, and that people can identify with. She was a master at this.
“Let’s Invite Jesus” was originally sent to me as the piano/vocal version. I’m happy that this one, too, is going to be available to you friends and fans as I mentioned, on the I WORSHIP YOU CD. Frank Rendo wanted this to be included on that CD, and I’m of the opinion that was wise. He asked me my thoughts, and where on the CD I thought it should go – and we discussed it with Fred, as well. It was unanimous that we thought it should be included, and as the 1st selection. It’s such a beautiful version, I would hate for it to get “lost” and not be heard, so this was the perfect vehicle to keep that from happening.
“…It’s in His presence you can renew your mind
It’s in His presence that you will seek and He will find.
It’s in His presence there is no time or space – Let’s invite Jesus – let’s invite Jesus,
Come, holy Jesus into this place…”
These lyrics are the sort of thing Palm and I could discuss, at length – how she could “play” on an old saying (seek and ye shall find) and rearrange it to suit the song – many of her lyrics took a twist like this, and those ended up being favorites of both the composer, and this writer!
Fred’s powerful electric guitar work can be heard embellishing this one too, in just the right places. As I’ve said before, Fred is such a “tasteful” player – he knows just that perfect spot to “sweeten.” He adds a lot of character and strength to the musicality of this selection. Frank can also be heard filling in the backing harmonies on this one. Frank and Palm blended so well together and I know how grateful Palm was to have Frank involved in her songs.
She certainly knew quality, and Frank, and Fred, are definitely quality. Palm told me on many occasions how blessed she knew she was having both Fred and Frank working with her – that they easily “completed” her work in many ways.
“…Let’s invite Jesus ….. into this place….”
(pictured: Fred Guarino in the Control Room of Tiki Recording Studios)
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I have already mentioned I think that Palma intended to name this album THIS TOO SHALL PASS at some point along the way, right? But THIS MUST BE HEAVEN had to end up as the most appropriate title. Nevertheless, I cannot tell you the “why” of her initial thinking. I will venture a guess that it was due to the same reason that most of these songs actually developed from … that was, her visit from Jesus. It was a highly powerful event. Not just anyone gets a personal visit and guided tour of heaven (at least, that they fully recall). Prior to her visit from Jesus, she said she was really thinking very negatively about everything – she had, indeed, “lost her will to live.” She was convinced she would feel bad from this point forward, especially because she wasn’t feeling like there was any improvement notable, particularly regarding her health.
THIS TOO SHALL PASS talks about looking at one’s pain in a more palatable way – taking time into consideration as well, and that past a certain point, one can “rise above” those painful things and look at their life more objectively, perhaps. Okay then, this is the track I mention in my intro of this blog – the first track I fully completed using my new software. I chose this one for a lot of reasons, but honestly one major reason is because the entire song is rubato, so no “timed” percussion was necessary. Since I could do this one without needing to attach a drum track, I chose to begin with it. Such a commanding, yet sweet lyric it has:
“…Give it time and it will pass – pain will go to sleep, at last!
Look ahead to better things … they are sure to come.
Give it less than half a glance – focus on the song and dance.
Happiness will come again, I know…..”
Instrumentation for this once includes Palm’s favorites; flute, a beautiful pad of warm strings, cello, the punctuating ding of the glockenspiel and this time, rather than an oboe or English horn, which Palm “typically” uses, she chose a clarinet. It’s a perfect sound, yet I just wasn’t used to hearing it in her orchestrations, much. She’d used a clarinet a bit on Frank’s REMEMBERING CHRISTMAS album, and some on her Broadway music, but would typically use either an oboe or an English horn; both instruments with the same general sound – one a bit higher pitched than the other – both are what are referred to as a ‘double-reed’ instrument. (The clarinet is a single-reed instrument). THIS too,was the kind of thing that Palm and I could discuss for hours. Just why DID she choose clarinet here??? I assure you, there would have been a specific reason. Nothing about her compositions was “random.”
Vocally, Palma sings this sweetly for a time, then her voice gains strength as she sings:
“…Give it all to He who knows just which way your story goes.
Read the page and turn it, now – there is more to come.
Just when every hope is gone, you will find your life moves on.
Endings are beginnings*, don’t you know?
It’s not forever, the way you’re feeling. Just float above it, look from the ceiling.
You’ll see tomorrow, and then, at last – you’ll know it’s true, that this, too, shall pass…”
*There…..again with the lyrics – Palm loved playing with words, and here is a perfect example – the tale is told using words as she so enjoyed … “endings are beginnings.” Well, she is right, after all!
Personally, I like very much what Fred did with this one throughout, and especially that very last note Palma sings – he puts a sustained reverb effect on it, and the word “pass” seems to float away, out into the universe, getting wider and wider as it goes. It’s quite effective, and a perfect way to end this beautiful creation.
(pictured: Palma Pascale in Concert)
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A minor key, to me, gives a song such a “haunting,” dark flavor. (think “Superstar” as done by the Carpenters – see what I mean)? Though “A Room In My Heart” is not that “dark,” it is haunting, due not only to its minor melody but the story being told, as well.
We all have them, these rooms in our hearts where we “hide” our darkest sides from all the world, and we even try to hide them from God … but of course, that just isn’t possible.
Palm fussed at me while initially discussing this one because I wasn’t positive I “got it” after I’d listened to it for the first time. I was pretty certain I knew what she was saying, but when I told her I was a bit unsure. It was Frank who actually explained this one to me as he, too, recorded this one on his DELIVER ME collection. Turns out, I had it right, and when I relayed that to Palm she said something about the fact that it was me who usually interpreted her lyrics so accurately, and it surprised her that this metaphoric lyric was escaping me. We had a great laugh over it all.
I believe this to be such a personal lyric, for whomever the artist is who sings it.
“…There’s a room in my heart where nobody goes – where the blind’s always shut,
and the door’s always closed.
There’s a room in my heart that I don’t dare go in – something scares me to death!
I don’t want to show Him …”
The storyteller wants to avoid this “room” at all costs. It’s a thought-provoking story to be sure. For her own arrangement, Palma’s intro is a classical, Baroque-styled two bar intro, complete with rolling cymbal crash and an artful ritard. She goes on …
“…If I just can pretend it’s not there! I have other good rooms that I’m willing to share.
If He knew what I hid in my heart, would He still love me? Would He still love me…?”
Frank Rendo shares a story about this very subject – the rooms in our hearts – when he is in concert. I’d heard about the story both from he and from Palm, but I knew I’d just heard a piece of it, so I phoned Frank recently to discuss it with him. It’s a beautiful story he tells, and it’s very, very true. Palm told me that the story that Frank shares was a part of her inspiration for the writing of this one. The story goes like this:
As we begin walking with Jesus – taking that daily journey – we lovingly prepare and open all the rooms of our heart, and we are excited to do so … all rooms that is, except one. We are so thrilled at finding God, and at being able to make this walk with Him that we are happy to prepare and open all those rooms up to Him, but not that one room … and, why? Seems we feel we still have work to do on this one. We believe we can close off this room and “work on” all those things that actually work on us – things that make us ashamed; things that cause us pain. We oftentimes believe we can “fix” these rooms and then, once done, then we can let God in, at last.
But …do we?
(pictured above right: Frank Rendo in Concert)
The true story is, of course, that God KNOWS all of the rooms in our heart at all times – yes, even the one that’s “cold and dark” that we refuse to go into or let anyone see. God knows the contents of each room, At some point, we come to this realization and we understand that by opening that room, we make our lives better. As we come to understand that we must open up all of the rooms in our heart to truly take this journey, and find complete joy and understanding, as a result of it.
“…Lord of all creation, You made each part of me.
You know all my secrets – please come and set me free!
There’s a room in my heart that I’m ready to show –
I will tear down that wall and with Him, I will go to that room in my heart –
let Him usher me in, for the rooms of my life all belong now, to Him.
He will bring forth his heavenly Son, and the room will be lit and my house will be one.
He will gather me into His arms and say He loves me – He STILL loves me..."
For her recording of this, Palma added those gorgeous harmonies she does so well at all the right places – sparingly, but incredibly effectively and dramaticly.
The song is chilling and results in that “Ah-Ha!” moment for us. You might find you relate to this story. The music will stir your very soul and will act as a healing tonic, I feel certain. That same Baroque feel that begins the song is repeated to conclude it, just as this final point has been made:
“ … And He loves ALL the rooms in my heart…”
WHEW!
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I was truly surprised when I learned that Palm wrote a song she entitled "Let Go, Let God." Surprised because we never talked about it, yet for several years I had passed along an electronic copy of Unity’s “Daily Word” – a daily message of encouragement and good, sound advice (from Unity Village in Kansas City, MO). One of my all time favorite “messages” has, for years and years been “Let Go, Let God.”
I’ve never heard this particular term before I began reading the Daily Word (back in 1980), nor have I ever heard it used as this particular phrase anywhere else. I am betting that Palma liked the Daily Word messages she read that was associated to this particular phrase.
It was in a recent conversation with Fred, actually, that I learned about this one...... or so I thought. Palm had, actually, written to me in an e-mail back in 2008 telling me how excited she thought I would be. Fred told me one of the other artists who Palma wrote for and produced and who, himself, sings on this compilation Al Barbarino, was going to have this one on his latest album and in fact, would use this as the CD's title.
(Pictured left: January 19, 2008 Daily Word image from Unity Village in Kansas City, MO)
I was really curious to hear it – and Palm was in the hospital – (actually, for her final visit, there), so Frank sent me the MP3 of Al’s album cut. I instantly fell in love with this message, the tempo, those gorgeous backing vocals! (remember – “less is more”).
(Pictured right: Al Barbarino / cover of Let Go, Let God)
The very next day, I called Palm in her hospital room because I had to let her know, and quickly, how much I loved this one and that I wanted to be sure she knew that eventually, this was one of her originals I definitely wanted to record WITH HER right there at Tiki! We only got to speak briefly that day as she was being taken to some test or another, but I was at least able to tel her how awesome I thought this one was and that I wanted to record it with her, soon. I hate that we never got that chance … so I don’t know for certain what her true inspiration was for this song, but whatever it was, it’s just an overall great tune with an even more awesome message. See if you don’t tend to agree:
“…Feeling tired – can’t go on. There’s no future, all your hope is gone.
Holding on by a single thread – release your grip instead…
Let Go, Let God – live in sweet surrender to the Father’s will – rest, be still.
Let Go, Let God – He’ll pilot every storm, He’ll keep you safe and warm.
Persevere and have no fear, Let Go, Let God – Try it just for once, and you will see.
You’ll sail right through your storm so easily…”
Who WRITES lyrics like these? “He’ll pilot every storm” and “your plane will safely land.” Oofah! ONLY PALM! She makes us understand the story – she wants it to be recognizable and easy to digest. She always seemed to manage to do that – so well! What a storyteller she was.
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The next track is our title song, THIS MUST BE HEAVEN. It was necessary for this song to be quickly readied by Fred, and was heard throughout Palma’s wake and at her funeral, as well, as I understand it. The perfect song, too – and no one would probably have been happier to sing at their own wake than our Palma. (And all of you faithful readers know that I say that tongue-in-cheek and with a heart full of love). But, I believe it, too.
THIS MUST BE HEAVEN was another complete surprise for this writer. It was one of the few from this compilation that I hadn’t head prior to Palma’s death.
She begins her description like this:
“ … Over there shines an orange sun – like the afternoon when the day is done.
Only, this is something more … never felt like this before.
And my eyes cannot believe what they can see.
Only God knows what’s in store for me.
This must be heaven – those must be angels – singing in harmonies I’ve never heard.
This must be heaven – Jesus is with me – showing me one little part of the view.
One glimpse of heaven to bring back to you. …”
I’m certain you’ve read in one of my other blogs, that Palma had a visit from Jesus, and I mentioned it earlier in this blog. It’s such an integral part of this entire body of work. Let me refresh your memory about it (from a Tim’s Corner blog post):
‘ …Palma had told me of her “visit from Jesus” which occurred just after her first surgery, which was in November of 2006. She had an experience at one of her very lowest points, where she clearly saw Jesus come for her, take her hand and show her a glimpse of Heaven. Yet, He brought her back to her bed, where she told me she felt so peaceful, knowing she was not going to die just then as she had feared; rather she had a lot to live for and a lot of people who loved her, and she knew then too, that she also had a lot left to do…’
The song begins on the first note of the verse – there is no intro. That is sort of a departure for Palm at least, from anything I’m used to. Only one other song begins this way, and that was a song she co-composed with Lou Coppola from her pop collection called BEFORE THE FALL. Since I did not hear this one when Palm was alive, we didn’t get to discuss the “why” of it – (i.e., why no intro)? I can’t give you that answer, unfortunately (and I SO wish I could).
(Photo of actual CD - Palma Pascale's THIS MUST BE HEAVEN)
After Fred sent me the first MP3 of this, shortly after palm’s death, I kept hitting the “back” button, thinking my CD player just wasn’t going back far enough to pick up the intro. I finally realized there is NO intro, and I must say that I find it to be very effective this way. Such a clever woman, our Palma was.
As is typical with one of Palma’s compositions, this one tells such a beautiful story and the intensity builds from the first note to the last. Like a good suspense novel, one is on the edge of their seat in anticipation of just what comes next in this story. Palm’s voice sounds so clear and strong as she sings this one. The melody is flowing and overall I feel the song is “theatrical” in nature. I believe it was Fred who referred to it as “A religious-sensitive Rogers & Hammerstein song.” I couldn’t agree with him more – a most apt description, I think.
In a conversation with Palm at one time or another, she described part of what she “saw” when she went with Jesus to Heaven in 2006. “Oh Tim, it was beautiful – a very bright light – such beauty, and an overwhelming feeling of peacefulness. There were cloud-like picture “frames” that I could clearly see a different bit of heaven through each, and there was no palpable sense of time, there.” She tells you, the listener, this very story in verse two:
“ … As we walk through the floating frames, all of time stands still but the love remains.
As the sunlight turns to gold … I can feel God’s love unfold!
And, it’s so intense I feel my heart will burst. Overwhelming peace, and Jesus first…”
The lyrics to the third chorus continue this thought:
“ … This must be heaven – it’s so alive here. Richness and beauty not seen on the earth…”
And of course many people discuss from time-to-time how we will reunite with family and friends as we cross-over to the “other side.” Here’s what Palm had to say about that in her final chorus, as she believed, too, she would reunite with those she loved who went before her:
“…This must be heaven – all of my loved ones happy to greet me and worship His name…”
The beautiful instrumentation sets the stage for this amazingly astute offering – Palma’s love of the flute, the gorgeous piano work in this one, and it’s augmented and complimented by lush warm strings, a beautiful organ, and a clarinet dances in and out from time to time, as well. It’s a simple arrangement (less is more), and there is just the right amount of beautiful vocal harmonies to give you a chill as you listen to it. Also, Palm effectively uses one of my favorite sounds – the suspended chord. And it’s gorgeous.
Vocally, I believe Palma had plans for this to be more vocal harmony than not, throughout. I recall her telling me “Hold on, Tim! I’ve got one for YOU … I know your penchant for lots and lots of vocal harmonies, and I’ve written one that’s full of beautiful 3-part harmonies throughout.”
As I discussed this with Fred during my session there at Tiki, I asked him if this was the one Palm had referred to, did he think, and he responded affirmatively. Initially Palma had wanted this one to be almost completely 3-parts,yet as she began working on it, both she and Fred decided it wasn’t really lending itself to this treatment. Limiting where these luscious parts came in seemed to add much more dynamic and texture to the song. Therefore, what we get is some beautifully crafted vocal harmonies which, like the instruments themselves, help to move the song along as it builds and builds.
(pictured above: Palma Pascale / back cover of THIS MUST BE HEAVEN)
I especially love the way this vocal build works in tandem with the instruments. During the first chorus, Palm and Frank both add some parts – the next chorus is a bit more full – the chorus after the instrumental break adds even more voices and is so rich – and the final chorus, then, has many, many voices working together to provide this outstanding sound.
These layers, then, that gets added vocally and instrumentally from the first note to the last, provide the perfect swell of emotion throughout. Spiced just right and “grown” from a single voice, to many.
The lyrics of the final chorus referenced above, “all of my loved ones” is the pinnacle of the slowly building crescendo, where Palm is joined by “all of her loved ones” who pay their musical respects to our dear friend as we sang that chorus together. Included were: Fred Guarino, Frank Rendo, Al Barbarino, Jackie Carey, Laurie Mangano, Fr. Charles Mangano, Dominick Avento III, Bobbie Ruth Levy, The Friars (Brother Timothy, CFR and Brother Miguel, Pro, CFR), Thomas Carrol, and yes, even ME - Tim San Paolo.
(Photo left: Credits - THIS MUST BE HEAVEN)
The final comment about the symmetry in this stunning piece is the manner in which Palm’s genius, clever writing ability comes into full view for us. There are three modulations heard at the end, but interestingly, not each one of them takes the song “up” as a modulation normally does. Palma modulates in such a way that she turns the song around, and the last modulation takes the song back to its original key. Palma employs this technique that makes it sound like another climbing modulation, yet she keeps it from moving out of her comfortable vocal range by employing this clever method. Such a marvelous songstress, she.
“…Once you see heaven, you’re never the same…”
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Oh, this next track never fails to reduce me to tears. Such a magnificent composition titled “ALL I EVER TAUGHT YOU.”
Palm had gone back into the hospital for a procedure earlier during 2009. While speaking by phone during that stay, she sang parts of "ALL I EVER TAUGHT YOU" over the phone to me. She was SO excited about having written it while there in the hospital! She had been inspired specifically during her time in the hospital to pen this one – and I’m almost certain I now know who that inspiration came directly from.
"ALL I EVER TAUGHT YOU" is, indeed, an impressive composition – the story is told simply, yet there is no missing the bold message lining each letter of every word. Oddly, this is the toughest one for me to listen to. It brings tears to my eyes every listen. I think it might be because Palm was so convicted about this message. It just takes those first 3 notes, and I’m all tears!
Palma’s voice on this piece sounds strong and pure, but the reality is that she was very, very ill and incredibly weak, actually, when she recorded this one. Yet, she put her heart and soul into it, and the result is nothing short of brilliant!! Sung (as from God), the lyrics go like this:
“ … It’s a shame you couldn’t love them as I taught you-
It’s too bad that you decided something different.
It’s a sin you took the words I meant for good and turned them into judgment swords,
with which to pierce the hearts of man.
It’s a shame you didn’t understand my meaning-
You let arrogance and judgment cloud your view.
I’ll be watching from above, so tread lightly, as a dove; and remember,
All I ever taught you was to love …”
I know that Palma was observing how people were being treated when she wrote this. How SHE was being treated, as well. How inconsistent that treatment was, in reality, from one person to the next. She found it to be a real shame that some people were so obviously driven more by pride or arrogance, by prejudices, and self-importance; by money, by status, by power – more so than love of God and fellow man. Many people actually revealed this daily to Palma.
We all know how body language many times conveys a much stronger story than actual words do, right? Palm observed this to be so evident, she told me. And words … words spoken can be so hurtful! Many times those words spoken in haste, once spoken, can never be erased…and they can be blisteringly hurtful words at times. All of these observations came together to create this amazing song.
“ … It’s a shame you couldn’t read between the verses-
For the meaning that’s beyond the words, you see.
Only kindness can redeem a heart that bleeds –
no condemnation ever freed the injured soul of any man.
Seek ye first to offer hope to one another-
Be my helping hands on earth in all you do.
Hands that love don’t cast a stone – souls are mine & mine, alone.
And remember – all I ever taught you was to love…”
I’m not sure how, but I was, actually able to sing this one on the Sunday following Palm’s death. It was SO IMPORTANT to me to get this message out there to others. I was in shock, I suppose, because I was able to sing and play it without a single tear. Typically, I can’t do that, no matter what song I’m singing, if it’s a personal lyric, and no how much I try to “get out of my own way” as Palm used to tell me often do to – I had not yet grasped the “how-to” of performing a song with so many personal emotions attached to it. Perhaps, though, that is why I can hardly bring myself to listen to this one. (more about the “get out of your own way” philosophy in coming paragraphs).
There’s a lovely back-story to this song that I’d like to share with you, here. This song is extremely poignant for many reasons, not the least of which is this story.
As I mentioned earlier, I believe, mutual friend and recording artist Frank Rendo also recorded this song for his DELIVER ME CD, which was released only a few short days before Palma’s death. However, on June 9th, 2009, Frank and Palm were working on the last few songs for his CD, one of which was "All I Ever Taught You."
Palm knew there was a possibility of further hospitalization and she wanted to be absolutely certain she did a “reference” vocal for Frank – something he could base his own interpretation upon. On this night, quite late, she did this reference vocal to his already completed track, which was NOT in her key, but rather in his. It was, in fact, just a bit too high for her. But, she wanted to do this she said, “just in case.”
(photo: DELIVER ME CD - Frank Rendo)
It was the following day that Palma did have to return to the hospital via ambulance due to some significant additional problems she was experiencing. The prognosis was very bleak on the first day of this hospital stay, and Frank phoned to tell me what the doctor’s had said. He had kept in such close contact with me – helping me to understand Palm’s health status, rather than me having to “speculate” from this distance – or to need to phone someone at perhaps an inopportune time. I really can’t thank him enough for that.
As we were discussing this more dire-seeming situation, Frank told me that Palm had finished “her work” on the DELIVER ME CD, just the night before. When I asked him what she had done, he informed me about the reference vocal, and he indicated that Palm was very tired, and since part of her difficulty was due to not being able to breathe, correctly, PLUS the already recorded track was too high for her, she’d completed this reference vocal very softly – and at one point, there’s the slightest “break” on one note that was audible. Not her normal strong voice, by any stretch. Anyone listening could tell – she was quite tired.
Frank told me as he was listening to Palma lay this vocal down, that the poignancy was overpowering, because of both the softness – the struggle going on for her to sing in this higher key – and the lyrics. Frank knew I’d want to hear it, and he shared it with me.
He was definitely right – here was this most beautiful person singing this exquisite lyric “ … I will guide you from above so tread lightly as a dove …” in conjunction with the prognosis given her that very day – well…..let’s just say that the poignancy was a bit staggering. Listen closely to the words of this one – you will see what I mean.
“ … I’ll be watching from above, so tread lightly – like a dove
And remember, all I ever taught you was to love…”
Eloquent – and masterfully done! Backing vocals are sung by Frank Rendo and Dominick Avento III.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Another lovely piece follows this one – a rare glimpse for those of you who have ordered CD’s from Palma prior to this –you will know that she hadn’t released many things, if anything, up to now that was strictly piano/vocal. Well – hold on to your hats, as this is one gorgeous piano/vocal read that evokes such simplified beauty. (And a quick reminder here - Palma’s I WORSHIP YOU CD, which also has just been released, is ALL piano/vocal, only...and such intimate reads, each).
So, this piano/vocal only number on an album like this is a bit of a departure for Palma – and another that was incredibly well done.
The song is titled “The Golden Rope of Jesus.” These lyrics remind me again who it is we’re discussing, here. ☺ When I hear this song (like so, so many others) that I find to be SO creative, I just have to smile. WHO thinks of stories like this? How did thoughts of a rope and God match-up in Palm’s head for her to form the story that she came up with here? Her abilities at this sort of thing have always been amazing to me. The song, the story itself, is quite a beautiful one. Musically, the song has an “oriental” sound to it. The story says:
“ … See the sturdy golden rope wrapped around the earth.
Like a gentle wave, it floats – measure beyond worth.
Made of all the many prayers whispered up into the air-
Offered up to Jesus Christ the Lord, who weaves them.
Many lives connected, yet many do not know –
Every time they say a prayer, the rope begins to grow!
Ever stronger, ever long – one in God we all belong-
Woven, intertwining every soul…”
There is so much feeling “woven” into this one. It shows Palma’s strength as an artist who can sing just with piano and sound so strong and beautiful. Her intonation is impeccable. She goes on:
“ … The golden rope of Jesus that connects the souls of man-
Behold the rope of Jesus for your lifeline’s in His hands.
Join with everyone on earth – enjoy the tie that binds.
The golden rope of Jesus will connect all hearts and minds…”
Incredible – see what I mean?
(Pictured above: Palma Pascale in Concert)
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“To Keep You With Me” was written in 2006. I recall the year quite well. She’d told me a couple of days prior to composing this one about a friend’s child who took their own life. I recall how upset Palm was about this incident. The next evening, she told me she was going to be singing at the funeral, and the next thing I knew, she told me she’d written a song about suicide to SING at the funeral. She sent me the lyrics and the following day, she DID perform the song. I will never understand how she was emotionally capable of doing this. This was yet another example of her “get out of your own way” philosophy.
As I mentioned, Palm was a big proponent of this idea, and it served her well in many areas of her life. She told me this many times when we would be discussing how “difficult” her work is to sing, live. It sounds so simple whan Palm does it, but as I said, ask anyone who has tried to sing a Palma Pascale composition and they will describe it with a plethora of adjectives, yet “easy” will NOT be one of them. Palm and I would often discuss this and I would typically relay to her whether or not I felt I had been able to accomplish this with this or that song I’d most recently done. She always had the same comeback – “No one knows the pitfalls in that song more than I,” she would say. “Tim, as I’ve said, you just have to get out of your own way and let the Spirit do the work.” Hmmmm….the whole philosophy IS understood, yet, once again, not so easy to do. It’s a learned art, for sure. I’m still practicing! ☺ Palm, however, could do this well.
Though I was aware that she’d sung this one and I have had the lyrics since the day she penned them, I had never heard the song until Frank recorded it for his DELIVER ME album. I always knew it would be a great song, but this is another that gives you the “chill factor” when you hear it – whenever you hear it. Palma uses the grand piano to lead us into the song, as she sings:
“…Now that it’s final – now that it’s done – My love don’t you see that nobody won?
Who is to say, if we rewound the years – could we have dried-up all of your tears?
What made you cross the line? Could I have saved you, just one more time? …”
Needless to say, this one took on a much different meaning for me and others after Palma’s death. Though it is clearly written for someone who took their own life, there are references and certain lines that are relevant to this situation, like the chorus, for example:
“ …Only one question I will repeat – over and over, awake and asleep –
Why did you leave us, and how could it be …there was no way to keep you with me? …”
Palm sings this one so smoothly - with such a legato feel. After the statement made by the piano/vocal opening, she adds pads of low strings to emphasize the emotion, and of course, an English horn and the plucking of a harp are heard, adding depth and breadth to the offering. The flutes find their way into the mix, and sweeten a spot or two, as well:
“ … I’ll ask forever – was it my fault?
So deep is the wound – so painful, the salt.*
I know you loved me – I loved you, too.
Now, can you see what you’re putting us through?
What made you just let go?
I need some answers – I want to know….”
* [my favorite lyric on this tune]
The orchestral build is stunning and evokes powerful emotion, as do the ritards and rolling cymbal crashes, so artfully and sparingly placed.
One modulation adds to the intensity, and the dynamic grows until the very last, most important thought in the piece:
“...Did you find Heaven, and, could it be ……there was no way to keep you with me?
Safe in His arms – so peacefully …… and here, in my heart – I’ll keep you with me…”
And ….. you ARE in our hearts, dear Palma!!
(Pictured above: Palma Pascale in Concert)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Right, then. Before I talk about the next tune, I suppose I should tell you how the remainder of the CD came about, and how everything seemed to just fall into place.
Fred, Frank and I had been e-mailing each other a lot about this new CD, discussing what was done, what was partially done, etc., and one evening, I got an e-mail from Fred with a copy to Frank. At first, I couldn’t believe what I was reading, but there it was, right in front of me on my screen – Fred had an idea, and it was to ask me to arrange a couple of songs that had been planned by Palm to add to this collection, yet hadn’t been started yet, save her piano and vocal track. WOW! I was dumbfounded. Talk about bittersweet – it was certainly that, for me.
Having admired Palm’s work so much for the past 4 years, and having written about every detail, it seemed, I was now going to provide some arrangements for her work – and add my hands and ideas to one of her “records.” I was thrilled beyond description, and it broke my heart into a million pieces at the same time. I loved the idea Fred had, of course, and I agreed right away – but the REASON we had to do it this way was surely difficult. I wanted to rise to the occasion, yet being a bit apprehensive, asked Fred if he really thought I was the right person to do this. His response floored me, actually.
Fred told me that he felt I had “captured Palma’s sound” – that my arrangements were closer to Palm’s own than anyone else he’d ever heard. That, I must tell you, was QUITE the compliment. (Thank you, Fred)! There is nothing I’ve wanted more than to be a part of this whole experience of recording with Palm, and working with Fred and Frank in the studio – regular readers of any of my blogs know this.
Shortly after Palma died, my friend, Dave Hromanik from Pennsylvania, who has walked this walk with me from the start, wrote the following in a post on the forum of KAREN AND RICHARD CARPENTER AVENUE, where it all began in the first place. Dave has had his own great adventure, his having to do with NASA, as Dave is one talented man. Dave wrote:
Pictured: Dave Hromanik)
“Isn’t it strange somehow how things work out…people get to know one another better, and magic can happen?Rick (Henry) brought Palma here (to Carpenters Online); we embraced her and welcomed her …We met Palm (in 2005) and made her feel at home because, in a sense, she was.
We returned to our lives. Back on April 28, 2006, Palma sent me a copy of (her CD), I’LL LEAVE YOU THE MUSIC, and here’s what the sticky note said:
“Dear Dave – This is a ‘gift’ from your pal, Tim. He thinks you’ll really like
“FLY.” Enjoy your trip (Dave was traveling at the time).
Love,
Palma”
She was right. When I heard FLY, I thought of Evelyn Husband and her husband Rick. He died aboard the space shuttle Columbia on STS-107.
The last song, I’LL LEAVE YOU THE MUSIC, is the 13th song on the album.
The relationship between she and Tim grew, and they became fast friends. Palma began to include Tim on her projects, something that would occasionally overwhelm Tim into tears. “Why does she value my opinion about this?” was a common refrain.
In a sense, Tim was having his very own “great adventure.” Suddenly, he became a peer to someone who’d had songs performed by the Carpenters, and he would struggle with this concept all the way through the release of her latest effort.
Tim was there because he belonged there. He earned his place at the table. When Palma needed help contacting Martin Nievera, Tim turned the Internet upside down until he found the information. When the opportunity for a chance encounter presented itself, he arranged a meeting between Palm and Martin in Atlantic City.
(Pictured above: Tim San Paolo and Palma Pascale in the vocal isolation booth of Tiki Recording Studios)
Pictured below: Palma Pascale and Martin Nievera at the Meet & Greet held in Queens, NY)
That evening, Tim was in despair because he couldn’t be there to see the fruits of his hard work … but Palm (and Frank) sent lots of photos. You could just feel the joy … all because Tim answered this calling.
Palma certainly deserved a better ending … but as my wife observed, thanks to Tim’s dedication and hard work, she had a far better ending than she would have had, otherwise.
Tim made a difference in her life – a huge difference, and none of it would have happened if Rick (Henry) hadn’t done his part to bring her out of the shadows. As someone once told me, "you both did well, but there is more." A tagline from the movie “The Five People You Meet In Heaven” states that all endings are also beginnings.
Palma may be gone from our eyes, but not from our memories and hearts, and for those of us she leaves behind, it will have to do. She "left us the music," that much is certain, but thanks to Tim and Rick, she was able to enjoy the accolades which eluded her as a result of having been in the Carpenters’ shadows.
Today, the brilliant light of the sun illuminates Palma’s face …her earthly pains are all behind her, and the mysteries and beauties of the universe have opened themselves up to her. No doubt, she had a great welcoming committee, with a lot of people who have told her that they loved her music; that they loved her “for what she was.” She has songs to write and sing, and I have no doubt that she’ll be hard at work after she rests a bit. Life was tough.
She loved Carpenters Online. She knew, here, she was among friends.
And so, we have to say farewell, Godspeed … but not goodbye, for we know that when it is our turn to shuffle off this mortal coil, she may well be there for us. Friends and family, they say.
Palm was certainly a friend of ours.
Godspeed, my friend, and thank you for leaving us your music…. “
I couldn’t leave that out of this blog – that beautiful post was just too important. Thank you, Dave.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So …Fred, Frank and I started this process of finishing Palm’s CD with a very long phone call; Fred and I talked at length so he could help me understand what he wanted and needed. I would be recording the arrangements from my very own home studio, on my little MacBook, and converting the files, then, to send to Fred, who would work his magic, and put everything together there, at Tiki.
I’d specifically purchased a MacBook at the start of 2009, in order to begin recording on LogicPro, a software for home recording, comparable to ProTools used in many recording studios. My son Jon, also a recording engineer, and Fred both approved of this saying it was the best thing next to ProTools they’d experienced.
That, my friends, is how it came to pass that I did arrangements for some of the songs on this album. It took a great deal of thought, planning and execution – yet it was one of the all-time “proud moment” accomplishments of my life.
(Pictured below: Tim San Paolo and Fred Guarino in the Control Room of Tiki Recording Studios)
MINDSET GLORY was the first of the songs I began working on. I hadn’t been sent the rough for this before now, so, once Fred sent it to me, I did a lot of listening prior to beginning my work on it. Fred and I had discussed the voicing’s (instruments) we thought would sound best and sort of the overall feel of this one. He sent me a guide track with a starting “count” on it – that was more important than I realized; basically this is how each separate track I sent would end-up in the right place on the completed song, without Fred having to try and match what I’d done to the right starting point. I can tell you I learned a lot about the recording process itself, as we moved along.
Fred and I decided basically on bass, string quartet & vox voices; then we’d see what, if anything, might be necessary, to add to it.
MINDSET GLORY is a great tune. Our composer again just blew me away as I listened (and I listened even more than I usually do, if that’s even possible) to these important lyrics:
“…Put on the belt of truth – take up the shield of faith
The helmet of salvation yields protection at the gate.
Stand your ground where tremors underneath you shake.
For Jesus has you covered, and his armor cannot break!
My mindset glory- My feet set firmly- My heart set righteous with noble hope.
My eyes on Jesus – I never waiver – Renew, restore me …my mindset, glory! …”
It’s that play on words I’ve always enjoyed with Palm’s lyrics. I find it clever that she took up on the “armor” theme – belt of truth – shield of faith, etc., and then played on the “mindset” theme, too – mindset, glory – feet set firmly – heart set righteous – cleverly done, as always.
The instrumentation at the top has Palm’s piano intro, augmented by my bass strings and vox vices, and Fred added chimes to the first beat of every measure – a perfect addition, as Palm used chimes to add drama to a song many times before. The chimes added that perfect, finishing touch.
Thought I did most of the instrumentation for my part of the project at home, I did fly to Long Island in order to record my vocals right there at Tiki Studios, where they absolutely should have been done. I spent some real quality hours with Fred and Frank there at Tiki, readying several songs for this album.
(Pictured below: Tim San Paolo in the vocal isolation booth of Tiki Recording Studios)
Frank and I were to do backing vocals on this one, and at one point, Fred’s vision was for us to sound like “monks” – that is, singing very low and gutsy – it was only oooo’s, but they were really an important piece of the overall composition. We were actually in the vocal booth together making this part come alive – I recall Frank directing us so we would both cut-off at the precise same moment! It was fun, right “on-the-spot”, to figure out the harmony parts you hear and then record them, as well as the melody, on the chorus. That creativity is what I felt I missed so often by not having more time to spend in the studio when Palm was alive as it was usually always an on-the-spot decision for Palm as to which part she would do next, and just what that part would be. Then she’d do the same thing with the next part and the next, until she’d stacked as many vocals as she wanted. Never wrote-out her parts – always sang them “by instinct.”
(pictured below: Frank Rendo and Fred Guarino in the Control Room of Tiki Recording Studios)
And, the same was true of her phrasing. I recall discussing this with her early on and she told me she never listened to her harmony parts as she recorded them. Let me explain: in order to accurately record additional harmony parts when you’re stacking your own harmonies, typically one listens back to the melody line for phrasing purposes and then, as they are added, to the corresponding harmony parts as well, so there is never a temptation to do a line as you’re recording a new part from one of the other harmony lines – Palm only ever listened to the melody line again – and, she knew what parts she wanted already, in her head. She also instinctively recalled her phrasing on each part. Oofah! She confided she didn’t quite “know” exactly, how she could do this, only that it was her consistent pattern of adding her backing vocals.
Nor, did she typically ever write-out her orchestrations. She just knew “filling up empty corners with each new pass” as she described it to me when I’d asked her how she came up with her arrangements. “Less is more.” “Build with each pass.”
Frank and I had tried to talk Fred into singing this chorus with us, but we were unsuccessful – at that time, anyway. I spoke with Fred a few days after I’d been there and he told me about a few passes he had added vocally upon listening to playback – there were a few spots that needed to be filled, and Fred did the vocal parts himself there – and excellently, too! Fred has a great voice, and an amazing “ear” for the project as a whole. I was pleased to know he’d “filled-in the empty corners.” He had mentioned adding one of our melody backing vocals a bit louder to boost Palm’s – and rather than do that, from what my ears are telling me, Al Barbarino took on that part – I can hear Al singing with Palm, there. Fred added the percussion parts, as well, rounding out the song very nicely.
Overall, I think it came out super! I’m glad we did it and put it on the album. I KNOW Palm was smiling, too!
(Pictured above: Frank Rendo in Concert)
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Next up is a chilling composition – one that I got as a rough very early in 2008. It’s titled “TOO LOST TO CALL.” Having known about Palma’s visit from Jesus, and her story to me about how she wasn’t feeling she was getting any better just after her first surgery, I understood the message completely, first-hear. What a story – and so succinctly told:
“…There is a place, so dark and deep and so filled with despair.
I found myself dropped in that well without a warning flair.
And when the worst was over, the worst had just begun …
No hope – no strength … no one! …”
Pretty dark lyrics, aren’t they? I agree, but they are also quite personal. This IS what was happening with Palm. And, she continues:
“ … There is a place so dead and dark, I thought I lost my mind.
Alive, yet hardly breathing – just paralyzed and blind.
And when I lost my courage, and lost my will to live
He came with one to give…”
The line “He came with one to give” is the reference line to Palm’s visit from Jesus, besides being a clever way to make this statement….that Jesus came and literally gave Palma the will to live that she no longer had. You recall the story from earlier, right? Jesus came, took her to see heaven, told her she wasn’t finished on earth yet, gave her the will to live on and that’s how the story went!
Palm wanted to make a point to others who would hear her music – she wanted them to know that even though one might be at their lowest point, ever – in their absolute darkest hour, and even though perhaps, one is “too lost” to even remember to ask for help – the Lord KNOWS, and is there for us.
“ … I didn’t remember Him, but He remembered me
Grabbed me with both His arms – pulled from the drowning sea.
I didn’t remember much, but for His loving touch – He did it all, when I was too lost to call…”
Yes, even in our darkest hour, God “grabs us with both His arms," pulling us out of harm’s way and out of the depths of despair. And…how many times has He done that very thing for each of us – that we didn’t even recognize?
Such a beautiful story and, of course, the musical component is stellar. Fred and Palma came up with some very different sounds when putting this one together – the use of phasers make the music sound somewhat “ethereal” providing that perfect “compliment” to the story.
Palm begins with only piano, joined by vox voices, strings and the tinkling of a chime bell tree. She adds an unplugged guitar. The first verse is all rubato, but percussion and vibrato strings can be heard as verse two begins – but oh, so subtlety.
On the third verse, we hear the “chinks.” Remember that word – “chinks.” It’s important. As Palm laughingly told me one day, this is how she and Fred referred to the guitar chords SHE played via a keyboard to add to the rhythm. “Chinks.” The chinks really do add a nice spice to the song, and are a super rhythmic addition, as well.
Pictured below: Palma Pascale at the keyboard in the Control Room of Tiki Recording Studios)
Think TEXTURE! Then, on the chorus, Fred tastefully accents the piece with his outstanding lead guitar work. What a punch of just the perfect “attitude” to make this part come alive.
The vocal harmonies added are only here and there, but, but are quite effective. A ritard takes us into the final chorus, where Palm has changed-up the lyrics as it is now no longer a story from Palma to us, but rather a prayer from Palma, to God:
“ … I didn’t remember You, but You remembered me.
Grabbed me with both Your arms, pulled from the drowning sea.
I didn’t remember much, but for Your loving touch, you did it all,
When I was too lost to call …”
Haunting, this.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The next offering is called A BETTER PLAN. There were many souls who worked on this one – when Fred, Frank and I talked initially we knew there was a piano-only track to this song that Palm had planned to add to this CD. It was more of an upbeat tune and was really needed in the line-up to sort of keep things a bit more balanced. But, all we had of it to work with was a piano track, and mostly just the chords at that – not even piano playing the song’s melody line or anything – and no reference vocal for us to know for certain how Palm intended for the melody to go. As we began work on this one, Fred had ideas about how he thought the song should sound, once we got it figured out. And, how did we do that, exactly?
Well, Frank had a lead sheet, (pictured below, left) which did not have lyrics included, only a sketchy melody line. Along the way, Palm had ALSO penned a few extra “ideas” – several “other” measures here and there, just added in on the side, or at the bottom of the page.
My guess is that she wasn’t quite sure which “idea” she would use in the final version, so she left them all available. Frank also found lyrics – and what he found were 4 variations of the lyrics, all handwritten. These lyrics are here, just to your right ...
I had that piano track I mentioned, and now a copy of the lead sheet and a copy of the lyric pages. I used the last dated lyric sheet (04/07) and went with those as being what I suspected Palm intended to be used. Next, I inserted the piano track into a new recording on my Logic program. Then, I worked with that, playing the piano along with it, and picking out what I “guessed” was the appropriate melody line. Once I had a melody line in mind, I recorded the melody line along with Palm’s original piano chord track. Ah ha! It was coming together.
Next came the really tricky part for me – attempting to now put the lyrics correctly together with the melody I’d just come up with. I loved the fact that even the lyric sheet had “other ideas” penned here and there – lyrics that fit nicely, if Palm decided to use those instead of what she had down. She’d given herself some choices. So clever...
After playing with it for a bit, I came up with what sounded like it could be right, and once at Tiki, the three of us were easily able to refine it and came up with what you hear now on the record. (Fred had some help, too – there was a friend of his who was working with Fred there at Tiki making this melody line work on the same evening I was working here at home – the night before I flew out to Long Island. Basically, we were close to one another, and as I said, Fred, Frank and I finalized what we wanted, then, during our session time.
I think it's so cool that Fred “hears” not only various instruments in his head and knows what he wants and thinks would sound great in the song – he also hears the style of the song – that is, be it jazz, rock, pop, soul, R&B, country, etc. One of the instruments – the “sounds” if you will that Fred could definitely hear was that of a Hammond B-3 organ being played really gutsy-like! Once we’d refined the song, and knew which way we wanted to go with it, and Frank and laid down our own vocal solos as well as guide vocals for Al and Laurie, the Fred and I began adding the organ. I played while Fred controlled the Leslie (the organ’s vibrato sound that comes in and out of the tune). It was awesome for me to be working with both Fred and Frank in the studio. It's where I belong!
(Pictured below: Tim San Paolo and Fred Guarino at the keyboard in the Control Room of Tiki Recording Studios)
Later in the week, Laurie Mangano and Al Barbarino added their solos, and Fred added lead guitar and percussion, which was the proverbial “icing on the cake” if you will. In fact, my opinion is that Fred’s guitar work in this one really makes the song come alive! Mark Newman also played guitar on this and Robert “Sticks” Levy added some percussion. Bobbie Ruth Levy sang backing vocals as well. The song was done as a “tribute” to the friend we all had in Palma, and personally, I believe it came together quite well. I’m convinced Palm is happy with this final result! ☺
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OH THAT I COULD is a song taken from the IN & OUT OF LOVE CD, because the song seemed appropriate, and we needed to fill-in a bit. Below is my descriptor for the song, as I wrote in my April 11, 2007, blog regarding the beautiful album, IN & OUT OF LOVE. I find it interesting that I likened the sound of the song to “heaven” even way back then.
(Photo: Palma Pascale's CD Cover for In & Out of Love)
OH, THAT I COULD – Piano and strings lead us into this pop masterpiece, augmented by an interesting sounding voicing that I will describe as bells (think glockenspiel-type bells) coupled with digitized strings. A most interesting sound, I must say.
“Oh that I could live with such a love as this…and go on through my life and not have it for my own…” begins this lyric sung in a rubato fashion. Punctuating this melodious verse is the sound of a harp. So “heavenly” sounding – but kept very, very understated.
This marvelous production is one continuous build in its intensity from start to finish. The instrumentation, the vocal, (to which harmonious “aahs” come into play toward the climax of the tune) everything rises to an exciting conclusion and you know the "curtain has fallen" when this song concludes. It’s an intense production and urgency is clearly heard as Palma asks the questions within the lyric. Simply, Marvelous.
Wow, I was a lot less wordy in ’07, wasn’t I? ☺ That was my original post in the IN & OUT OF LOVE blog regarding the beautiful "OH THAT I COULD".
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In May of 2007, I received several MP3’s from, at that time, our writing machine, Palma – she had been writing a lot more, she said, and she was enjoying it a lot. She paid me a very high compliment at this time, telling me that I was the reason she’d started writing again, and so prolifically. My “reviews” she stated, were like a mirror in which she was looking, and getting back a reflection of her work – in detail – and it made the writing much more personal, and it made her “remember” why she liked writing songs. To think that I had ANYTHING to do with inspiring her to “get back on the horse and ride” was an awesome thought. I was very honored and humbled to have had her tell me that.
The MP3’s that I received here were each a piano track with a guide vocal, and as Palm referred to them, a part of her “Sinatraesque” collection of tunes. The ballad among them is the next selection on this CD, and it’s titled “LOOKING BACK."
Palm never had the opportunity to orchestrate this moving ballad, and Frank, Fred and I all agreed that this one, too, should be included on this album.
(Pictured below: Tim San Paolo and Palma Pascale in the Kitchen of Tiki Recording Studios)
In that case, I orchestrated this one for her. It was easier for me to arrange, as I was really familiar with this one, and I then simply followed Palma’s pat formula, and voila! (Formula = Less is more – fill the empty corners, build at each pass – get out of your own way). They worked!
The song was really gorgeous, just as it was, so I didn’t need to add much to it – some strings, a cello line and an oboe – I think it was Fred who added the flute that dances in and out from time to time. The song is beautifully done by Palma and it was a true honor and pleasure to arrange on this one. I never, EVER thought this would occur – that I’d be writing about myself in this blog, as having contributed to one of Palma’s “records” in this way; and most sadly, never under these particular circumstances. The lyrics are so apt:
“ … as my life goes flying by, I’ve come to see that the clock of love is ticking rapidly….”
BEAUTIFUL!
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When Fred was finalizing the line-up, he posed the question – “What do you guys think the last song should be?” He knew what he wanted, there – and there was, obviously, a unanimous thought process between the three of us; Fred, Frank and I – no question – the last song should definitely be “I’LL LEAVE YOU THE MUSIC.” Such an exquisite effort, and so apropos.
Since I’ve actually written about this song in several blogs here in Martini’s-Musings as well as other places, I think it best to repost those, all together, rather than attempt to give you a snapshot with newer words. First, then, is my post from my March, 2006 blog about the CD by the same title:I’LL LEAVE YOU THE MUSIC – I’m afraid to tell you I could write a whole “novel” about this, the title song for this album. The captivating song begins with a gently tingling glissando, then a rubato piano and vocal intro, and the first line of the lyric is such a soft/sweet one: “…I wish you could stay with me and I could erase all the sadness I see in your face…” ( but then, the “kicker” line)…. “…If it only were another time and place…” Immediately we become aware that this story is one, seemingly, without a happy ending. As I’m listening to this tune for the first time, after having heard only this much, I’m thinking to myself “okay, here’s another beautiful love-gone-wrong song.” BUT, that’s FAR from the case.
Instantly, the lyrics surprise as the whole axis of the story changes ~ “…but if it can never be, I want you to know…” (Before I tell you the remaining line, I have to tell you (as I told Palma) about the first time I really “HEARD” this song, and the implications of the coming lyrics, it took me by surprise, and that familiar "lump in the throat" and those huge salt-tears welled up in me in an instant) as Palm so beautifully sang the chorus: “…I’ll leave you the music ~ I’ll leave you my soul ~ All I am, All I love, All I know…will remain with you when I go…”
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(Photo above: Palma Pascale's CD Cover for I' Leave You The Music)
Contemplate the impact of those lines for a moment, if you will…they are truly powerful. I thought about so many people and relationships in those few moments as the words washed over me. (Having considered myself a “musician” and a true lover of music since I was able to crawl – and for years making a living at it professionally, I immediately related to these lyrics.) They are so applicable to so many scenarios, not just the relationship between a man and a woman. I thought about Karen Carpenter, (as Karen is one of my all time favorite female vocalists) ~~ I can assure you, had Karen recorded this song, it would be an unquestionably difficult listen today, as Karen did what Palma describes in this song – she "left us the music.” It was all she was, all she loved, and all she knew – just as it is with our composer of this indescribably gorgeous song.
These lyrics are God-inspired ~ "I’ll leave you my SOUL" ~ the very absolute and perfect essence of an individual, their soul!!! That’s so awesomely powerful, and that line is followed-up with “All I AM, All I LOVE, ALL I KNOW.” It pretty much sums up what our composer is all about – THE MUSIC – as she has made her life about the music _ the music IS all she is, loves and knows. And, by making these recordings, she will always “remain”..... forever!
It’s a most stirring lyric, and of course, the beauty of the musical score behind it only makes the lyric that much more poignant. The alluring instrumental break really tells the tale of this composer/arranger’s amazing abilities to know just how to “keep it simple” yet emotionally charge it at the same time. It will MOVE you on many levels, I guarantee it!
The beauty of this top quality ballad does NOT stop with that first verse and chorus…oh no…the poignancy continues as verse two begins: “I’ll leave you the gift I own, to be where I’m not ~ in the mind of the ear and the heart ~ I’ll be there, although we are apart…You won’t be without me here ~ I’m in the SONG you hear ~ and if you can hear the song, you’re HERE with me…”
"In the mind of the ear and the heart".....Oh my goodness everybody ....what an inspired lyric this writer feels these to be! Ingeniously penned. Now, what else needs be said after hearing those words? Pretty much sums it up in this writer’s opinion. A good friend of mine, after hearing this CD, declared the following: “Palma writes using incredibly engaging lyrics; she has a gift for poetry, the imaginative intelligence to create lyrics and melody together with each complimenting the other; not just melody but creating the arc, build and musical message of the song.” The song, itself, is a primo love song ~ one fraught with unspeakable significance.
This is an eloquent composition that our composer saved as the last, special surprise on an already overwhelmingly enterprising and enchanting compilation.
I'LL LEAVE YOU THE MUSIC is an arresting masterpiece of musical symmetry. A labor of true love that shines like a sparkling diamond on each gleaming note!!! Phenomenal creation, this....absolutely!
Thank you, Palma, for the music. And...thank you, Fred, for so expertly putting all of her incredible pieces together for all of us to hear! As for me, I will, categorically, take the music......guaranteed.
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Then, in September of this year, I wrote the article “REMEMBERING PALMA PASCALE …She left us the music!” This article was published in several newspapers, and, of course, I posted it in my blog.
So, in concludeing THIS blog about THIS MUST BE HEAVEN, which is a compilation that I can’t really “sum up” because I find that it changes – I find different meanings – I hear different things on each listen – I come to differing conclusions about the stories – To be honest, I’m just not finished grieving, yet – by a long-shot. I think I don’t really WANT to sum this one up – I am going to let you do that, individually. I think I’ve given you enough to be going on with, here. So, I’ll leave the summation up to you, and let you enjoy making it.
From my September 09, 2009 article, I leave you with a story, and Palma’s own words:
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Palma was kind, caring, compassionate, giving, loving, encouraging, witty, smart and oh, oh so talented. Palm loved life, and was always attempting to make it better for herself, and everyone she knew. If she could do something for you, she would, and did. She was so petite, yet Palma was larger than life. Her quick thinking, composing lyrics that were not just one line to the next, but getting to the "guts" of the story she was telling, always amazed me.
(Pictured: Palma Pascale)
As you've read in the 30-something other posts I've writen here in Martini's Musings, I use a word that she told me about once, and laughed and laughed - the word; "Oofah!" It was a word she used in the studio she told me - sometimes a bit more harshly than others, she said, laughing! Palma had a flair for the dramatic, and I loved this little word upon hearing it used, and after a bit of explanation from her. I quickly learned that if she saw it in print, it would make her smile, so I used it, a lot.
I miss you very much my dear friend! I miss asking you about this song or that - about what instrument you used and why - about how you got the idea for the song - about what Fred did here and there to help you make it so special. And I miss your stories - stories that made me laugh! All good memories that I've tucked away in my heart. Thank you, Palma, for all of it.
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Finally, then – from my post at KAREN AND RICHARD CARPENTER AVENUE (where, for me, this ALL began), here is the story of my first listen to the song “I’LL LEAVE YOU THE MUSIC” which concludes this missive.
Do come back to Martini’s Musings, because I’m not finished writing – not at all - AND – watch for a new REMEMBERING THE MUSICAL WORLD OF PALMA PASCALE website, coming soon!
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(Written on the day of Palma's death, Septembmer 8, 2009).
I have shared this with you before, but it's never been so poignant as it is just now, at least, for me. After hearing Palma's pop song "I'll Leave You The Music" for the first time, I asked her about it. I asked her what her mother said about this song, because it seemed such a prophetic song. She shared with me that her mother would not let her record it until her mother, herself, had recorded it (and her mother, Anne, did make a CD entitled "I'll Leave You The Music." I have Anne’s CD, and it’s just great, too! Palma assured me this song was not intended to be about "the unthinkable" yet, she knew it did lend itself to that mindset.
As I leave you this morning with these thoughts, I want to share, one final time, the entire lyric to this beautiful song, Palma Pascale's I'LL LEAVE YOU THE MUSIC from her CD by the same title.
"...I wish you could stay with me, and I could erase
All the sadness I see in your face. If it only were another time and place.
You'd walk through my life with me
I'd love you endlessly
But if it can never be, I want you to know:
I'll Leave You the Music, I'll leave you my soul-
All I am, all I love, all I know WILL REMAIN WITH YOU WHEN I GO.
I'll give you the "gift" I own, to be where I'm not.
In the mind of the ear and the heart
I'LL BE THERE, ALTHOUGH WE ARE APART.
You WON'T be without me, here
I'M IN THE SONG YOU HEAR
AND IF YOU CAN HEAR THE SONG.......YOU'RE HERE WITH ME!
So, I'll leave you the music
I'll leave you my SOUL
All I am, all I love, all I know
Will remain with you when I go..."
"And, if you can hear the song, you're here with me."
Dear, sweet Palma, I can definitely hear the song: please know that you will remain with us, in our hearts, forever.
We love you Palma!
I’m here to tell you that you’re safe with someone, now – begin your story – and God will show you how.
I’m here to help you although you don’t believe it’s true something so awful could be mended inside you.
No matter how long – no matter just how deep it goes, just bring your sorrow to the One who knows…”
I can picture, in my mind’s eye, a meeting of a group of any victims of abuse as someone opens the meeting with these lyrics being their opening remarks; letting the victims know they are safe, and that no matter what the trouble is, God is there to help them through it. A pretty cool visual, isn’t it?
The melody line is flowing and quite beautiful. Palm sings this song with conviction. Her voice has a warm, rich quality as she sings this one – and she simplified the accompaniment, as well. She uses light piano and a plucked, acoustic guitar, for the most part. There are embellishments, of course, to heighten the excitement of the song and to help point out specific phrases. Palm was a true master when it came to arranging and she loved to do it using the philosophy of “less is more.”
“…It’s in His presence you’ll find relief, at last. Let’s bring Him in here, see what He says about your past.
It’s in His presence all the pain can be erased – let’s invite Jesus into this place….”
I was really taken by the bridge of the song lyrically and musically because the message here is so strong and I believe it’s one that any individual might be able to relate to. The chromatic swirl of strings takes us into the punctuated message:
“…The things that hurt, that happened long ago have turned into a stone you carry everywhere you go.
Would you be willing to let Jesus speak to you? In that place where you’ve been hiding, let His truth come shining through?...”
I love the fact that here and there Palm has doubled her voice, which gives it an even richer quality.
Don’t we all have a tendency to blame ourselves for a whole lot of things as we move through our lives? I mean…it’s a normal tendency, is it not? And, because we do this, and seemingly so easily, how many of those “hurts that happened long ago” have truly turned into a heavy stone we carry around our necks like an albatross, “everywhere we go” whether night or day, awake or asleep? It’s one of those lyrics that universally people can recognize and identify with. That was an important piece of Palma’s formula. Make it something that can be clearly, EASILY understood, and that people can identify with. She was a master at this.
“Let’s Invite Jesus” was originally sent to me as the piano/vocal version. I’m happy that this one, too, is going to be available to you friends and fans as I mentioned, on the I WORSHIP YOU CD. Frank Rendo wanted this to be included on that CD, and I’m of the opinion that was wise. He asked me my thoughts, and where on the CD I thought it should go – and we discussed it with Fred, as well. It was unanimous that we thought it should be included, and as the 1st selection. It’s such a beautiful version, I would hate for it to get “lost” and not be heard, so this was the perfect vehicle to keep that from happening.
“…It’s in His presence you can renew your mind
It’s in His presence that you will seek and He will find.
It’s in His presence there is no time or space – Let’s invite Jesus – let’s invite Jesus,
Come, holy Jesus into this place…”
These lyrics are the sort of thing Palm and I could discuss, at length – how she could “play” on an old saying (seek and ye shall find) and rearrange it to suit the song – many of her lyrics took a twist like this, and those ended up being favorites of both the composer, and this writer!
Fred’s powerful electric guitar work can be heard embellishing this one too, in just the right places. As I’ve said before, Fred is such a “tasteful” player – he knows just that perfect spot to “sweeten.” He adds a lot of character and strength to the musicality of this selection. Frank can also be heard filling in the backing harmonies on this one. Frank and Palm blended so well together and I know how grateful Palm was to have Frank involved in her songs.
She certainly knew quality, and Frank, and Fred, are definitely quality. Palm told me on many occasions how blessed she knew she was having both Fred and Frank working with her – that they easily “completed” her work in many ways.
“…Let’s invite Jesus ….. into this place….”
(pictured: Fred Guarino in the Control Room of Tiki Recording Studios)
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I have to stop here and admit that this has been a tough blog to complete. As I write, I’m experiencing such a myriad of emotions; it's not easy to delve into these songs this deeply when the composer, who was such a dear friend, is no longer with us. It's just tough going through these songs and thinking about the complexity of each one, yet the true simplicity of the final product. Here’s what I mean by that – as I’ve mentioned, there is nothing “simple” about performing a Pascale tune… just ask anyone who has tried to sing or play one of Palm’s compositions. They will tell you her tunes have a more complex manner in the melody lines – not the easiest to sing. Palma, herself admitted to having trouble from time to time. Even the best singers must practice Palm’s collection before performing them. Many people have relayed to me that each of her songs sound beautiful and simple.
Complex simplicity – what a combination. Palm had it down, to a tee!
THIS TOO SHALL PASS talks about looking at one’s pain in a more palatable way – taking time into consideration as well, and that past a certain point, one can “rise above” those painful things and look at their life more objectively, perhaps. Okay then, this is the track I mention in my intro of this blog – the first track I fully completed using my new software. I chose this one for a lot of reasons, but honestly one major reason is because the entire song is rubato, so no “timed” percussion was necessary. Since I could do this one without needing to attach a drum track, I chose to begin with it. Such a commanding, yet sweet lyric it has:
“…Give it time and it will pass – pain will go to sleep, at last!
Look ahead to better things … they are sure to come.
Give it less than half a glance – focus on the song and dance.
Happiness will come again, I know…..”
Instrumentation for this once includes Palm’s favorites; flute, a beautiful pad of warm strings, cello, the punctuating ding of the glockenspiel and this time, rather than an oboe or English horn, which Palm “typically” uses, she chose a clarinet. It’s a perfect sound, yet I just wasn’t used to hearing it in her orchestrations, much. She’d used a clarinet a bit on Frank’s REMEMBERING CHRISTMAS album, and some on her Broadway music, but would typically use either an oboe or an English horn; both instruments with the same general sound – one a bit higher pitched than the other – both are what are referred to as a ‘double-reed’ instrument. (The clarinet is a single-reed instrument). THIS too,was the kind of thing that Palm and I could discuss for hours. Just why DID she choose clarinet here??? I assure you, there would have been a specific reason. Nothing about her compositions was “random.”
Vocally, Palma sings this sweetly for a time, then her voice gains strength as she sings:
“…Give it all to He who knows just which way your story goes.
Read the page and turn it, now – there is more to come.
Just when every hope is gone, you will find your life moves on.
Endings are beginnings*, don’t you know?
It’s not forever, the way you’re feeling. Just float above it, look from the ceiling.
You’ll see tomorrow, and then, at last – you’ll know it’s true, that this, too, shall pass…”
Personally, I like very much what Fred did with this one throughout, and especially that very last note Palma sings – he puts a sustained reverb effect on it, and the word “pass” seems to float away, out into the universe, getting wider and wider as it goes. It’s quite effective, and a perfect way to end this beautiful creation.
(pictured: Palma Pascale in Concert)
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A minor key, to me, gives a song such a “haunting,” dark flavor. (think “Superstar” as done by the Carpenters – see what I mean)? Though “A Room In My Heart” is not that “dark,” it is haunting, due not only to its minor melody but the story being told, as well.
We all have them, these rooms in our hearts where we “hide” our darkest sides from all the world, and we even try to hide them from God … but of course, that just isn’t possible.
Palm fussed at me while initially discussing this one because I wasn’t positive I “got it” after I’d listened to it for the first time. I was pretty certain I knew what she was saying, but when I told her I was a bit unsure. It was Frank who actually explained this one to me as he, too, recorded this one on his DELIVER ME collection. Turns out, I had it right, and when I relayed that to Palm she said something about the fact that it was me who usually interpreted her lyrics so accurately, and it surprised her that this metaphoric lyric was escaping me. We had a great laugh over it all.
I believe this to be such a personal lyric, for whomever the artist is who sings it.
“…There’s a room in my heart where nobody goes – where the blind’s always shut,
and the door’s always closed.
There’s a room in my heart that I don’t dare go in – something scares me to death!
I don’t want to show Him …”
The storyteller wants to avoid this “room” at all costs. It’s a thought-provoking story to be sure. For her own arrangement, Palma’s intro is a classical, Baroque-styled two bar intro, complete with rolling cymbal crash and an artful ritard. She goes on …
“…If I just can pretend it’s not there! I have other good rooms that I’m willing to share.
If He knew what I hid in my heart, would He still love me? Would He still love me…?”
Frank Rendo shares a story about this very subject – the rooms in our hearts – when he is in concert. I’d heard about the story both from he and from Palm, but I knew I’d just heard a piece of it, so I phoned Frank recently to discuss it with him. It’s a beautiful story he tells, and it’s very, very true. Palm told me that the story that Frank shares was a part of her inspiration for the writing of this one. The story goes like this:
As we begin walking with Jesus – taking that daily journey – we lovingly prepare and open all the rooms of our heart, and we are excited to do so … all rooms that is, except one. We are so thrilled at finding God, and at being able to make this walk with Him that we are happy to prepare and open all those rooms up to Him, but not that one room … and, why? Seems we feel we still have work to do on this one. We believe we can close off this room and “work on” all those things that actually work on us – things that make us ashamed; things that cause us pain. We oftentimes believe we can “fix” these rooms and then, once done, then we can let God in, at last.
But …do we?
(pictured above right: Frank Rendo in Concert)
The true story is, of course, that God KNOWS all of the rooms in our heart at all times – yes, even the one that’s “cold and dark” that we refuse to go into or let anyone see. God knows the contents of each room, At some point, we come to this realization and we understand that by opening that room, we make our lives better. As we come to understand that we must open up all of the rooms in our heart to truly take this journey, and find complete joy and understanding, as a result of it.
“…Lord of all creation, You made each part of me.
You know all my secrets – please come and set me free!
There’s a room in my heart that I’m ready to show –
I will tear down that wall and with Him, I will go to that room in my heart –
let Him usher me in, for the rooms of my life all belong now, to Him.
He will bring forth his heavenly Son, and the room will be lit and my house will be one.
He will gather me into His arms and say He loves me – He STILL loves me..."
For her recording of this, Palma added those gorgeous harmonies she does so well at all the right places – sparingly, but incredibly effectively and dramaticly.
The song is chilling and results in that “Ah-Ha!” moment for us. You might find you relate to this story. The music will stir your very soul and will act as a healing tonic, I feel certain. That same Baroque feel that begins the song is repeated to conclude it, just as this final point has been made:
“ … And He loves ALL the rooms in my heart…”
WHEW!
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I was truly surprised when I learned that Palm wrote a song she entitled "Let Go, Let God." Surprised because we never talked about it, yet for several years I had passed along an electronic copy of Unity’s “Daily Word” – a daily message of encouragement and good, sound advice (from Unity Village in Kansas City, MO). One of my all time favorite “messages” has, for years and years been “Let Go, Let God.”
I’ve never heard this particular term before I began reading the Daily Word (back in 1980), nor have I ever heard it used as this particular phrase anywhere else. I am betting that Palma liked the Daily Word messages she read that was associated to this particular phrase.It was in a recent conversation with Fred, actually, that I learned about this one...... or so I thought. Palm had, actually, written to me in an e-mail back in 2008 telling me how excited she thought I would be. Fred told me one of the other artists who Palma wrote for and produced and who, himself, sings on this compilation Al Barbarino, was going to have this one on his latest album and in fact, would use this as the CD's title.
(Pictured left: January 19, 2008 Daily Word image from Unity Village in Kansas City, MO)
I was really curious to hear it – and Palm was in the hospital – (actually, for her final visit, there), so Frank sent me the MP3 of Al’s album cut. I instantly fell in love with this message, the tempo, those gorgeous backing vocals! (remember – “less is more”).
(Pictured right: Al Barbarino / cover of Let Go, Let God)
The very next day, I called Palm in her hospital room because I had to let her know, and quickly, how much I loved this one and that I wanted to be sure she knew that eventually, this was one of her originals I definitely wanted to record WITH HER right there at Tiki! We only got to speak briefly that day as she was being taken to some test or another, but I was at least able to tel her how awesome I thought this one was and that I wanted to record it with her, soon. I hate that we never got that chance … so I don’t know for certain what her true inspiration was for this song, but whatever it was, it’s just an overall great tune with an even more awesome message. See if you don’t tend to agree:
“…Feeling tired – can’t go on. There’s no future, all your hope is gone.
Holding on by a single thread – release your grip instead…
Let Go, Let God – live in sweet surrender to the Father’s will – rest, be still.
Let Go, Let God – He’ll pilot every storm, He’ll keep you safe and warm.
Persevere and have no fear, Let Go, Let God – Try it just for once, and you will see.
You’ll sail right through your storm so easily…”
Who WRITES lyrics like these? “He’ll pilot every storm” and “your plane will safely land.” Oofah! ONLY PALM! She makes us understand the story – she wants it to be recognizable and easy to digest. She always seemed to manage to do that – so well! What a storyteller she was.
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The next track is our title song, THIS MUST BE HEAVEN. It was necessary for this song to be quickly readied by Fred, and was heard throughout Palma’s wake and at her funeral, as well, as I understand it. The perfect song, too – and no one would probably have been happier to sing at their own wake than our Palma. (And all of you faithful readers know that I say that tongue-in-cheek and with a heart full of love). But, I believe it, too.
THIS MUST BE HEAVEN was another complete surprise for this writer. It was one of the few from this compilation that I hadn’t head prior to Palma’s death.
She begins her description like this:
“ … Over there shines an orange sun – like the afternoon when the day is done.
Only, this is something more … never felt like this before.
And my eyes cannot believe what they can see.
Only God knows what’s in store for me.
This must be heaven – those must be angels – singing in harmonies I’ve never heard.
This must be heaven – Jesus is with me – showing me one little part of the view.
One glimpse of heaven to bring back to you. …”
I’m certain you’ve read in one of my other blogs, that Palma had a visit from Jesus, and I mentioned it earlier in this blog. It’s such an integral part of this entire body of work. Let me refresh your memory about it (from a Tim’s Corner blog post):
‘ …Palma had told me of her “visit from Jesus” which occurred just after her first surgery, which was in November of 2006. She had an experience at one of her very lowest points, where she clearly saw Jesus come for her, take her hand and show her a glimpse of Heaven. Yet, He brought her back to her bed, where she told me she felt so peaceful, knowing she was not going to die just then as she had feared; rather she had a lot to live for and a lot of people who loved her, and she knew then too, that she also had a lot left to do…’
The song begins on the first note of the verse – there is no intro. That is sort of a departure for Palm at least, from anything I’m used to. Only one other song begins this way, and that was a song she co-composed with Lou Coppola from her pop collection called BEFORE THE FALL. Since I did not hear this one when Palm was alive, we didn’t get to discuss the “why” of it – (i.e., why no intro)? I can’t give you that answer, unfortunately (and I SO wish I could).
(Photo of actual CD - Palma Pascale's THIS MUST BE HEAVEN)
After Fred sent me the first MP3 of this, shortly after palm’s death, I kept hitting the “back” button, thinking my CD player just wasn’t going back far enough to pick up the intro. I finally realized there is NO intro, and I must say that I find it to be very effective this way. Such a clever woman, our Palma was.
As is typical with one of Palma’s compositions, this one tells such a beautiful story and the intensity builds from the first note to the last. Like a good suspense novel, one is on the edge of their seat in anticipation of just what comes next in this story. Palm’s voice sounds so clear and strong as she sings this one. The melody is flowing and overall I feel the song is “theatrical” in nature. I believe it was Fred who referred to it as “A religious-sensitive Rogers & Hammerstein song.” I couldn’t agree with him more – a most apt description, I think.
In a conversation with Palm at one time or another, she described part of what she “saw” when she went with Jesus to Heaven in 2006. “Oh Tim, it was beautiful – a very bright light – such beauty, and an overwhelming feeling of peacefulness. There were cloud-like picture “frames” that I could clearly see a different bit of heaven through each, and there was no palpable sense of time, there.” She tells you, the listener, this very story in verse two:
“ … As we walk through the floating frames, all of time stands still but the love remains.
As the sunlight turns to gold … I can feel God’s love unfold!
And, it’s so intense I feel my heart will burst. Overwhelming peace, and Jesus first…”
The lyrics to the third chorus continue this thought:
“ … This must be heaven – it’s so alive here. Richness and beauty not seen on the earth…”
And of course many people discuss from time-to-time how we will reunite with family and friends as we cross-over to the “other side.” Here’s what Palm had to say about that in her final chorus, as she believed, too, she would reunite with those she loved who went before her:
“…This must be heaven – all of my loved ones happy to greet me and worship His name…”
The beautiful instrumentation sets the stage for this amazingly astute offering – Palma’s love of the flute, the gorgeous piano work in this one, and it’s augmented and complimented by lush warm strings, a beautiful organ, and a clarinet dances in and out from time to time, as well. It’s a simple arrangement (less is more), and there is just the right amount of beautiful vocal harmonies to give you a chill as you listen to it. Also, Palm effectively uses one of my favorite sounds – the suspended chord. And it’s gorgeous.
Vocally, I believe Palma had plans for this to be more vocal harmony than not, throughout. I recall her telling me “Hold on, Tim! I’ve got one for YOU … I know your penchant for lots and lots of vocal harmonies, and I’ve written one that’s full of beautiful 3-part harmonies throughout.”
As I discussed this with Fred during my session there at Tiki, I asked him if this was the one Palm had referred to, did he think, and he responded affirmatively. Initially Palma had wanted this one to be almost completely 3-parts,yet as she began working on it, both she and Fred decided it wasn’t really lending itself to this treatment. Limiting where these luscious parts came in seemed to add much more dynamic and texture to the song. Therefore, what we get is some beautifully crafted vocal harmonies which, like the instruments themselves, help to move the song along as it builds and builds.
(pictured above: Palma Pascale / back cover of THIS MUST BE HEAVEN)
I especially love the way this vocal build works in tandem with the instruments. During the first chorus, Palm and Frank both add some parts – the next chorus is a bit more full – the chorus after the instrumental break adds even more voices and is so rich – and the final chorus, then, has many, many voices working together to provide this outstanding sound.
These layers, then, that gets added vocally and instrumentally from the first note to the last, provide the perfect swell of emotion throughout. Spiced just right and “grown” from a single voice, to many.
The lyrics of the final chorus referenced above, “all of my loved ones” is the pinnacle of the slowly building crescendo, where Palm is joined by “all of her loved ones” who pay their musical respects to our dear friend as we sang that chorus together. Included were: Fred Guarino, Frank Rendo, Al Barbarino, Jackie Carey, Laurie Mangano, Fr. Charles Mangano, Dominick Avento III, Bobbie Ruth Levy, The Friars (Brother Timothy, CFR and Brother Miguel, Pro, CFR), Thomas Carrol, and yes, even ME - Tim San Paolo.
(Photo left: Credits - THIS MUST BE HEAVEN)
The final comment about the symmetry in this stunning piece is the manner in which Palm’s genius, clever writing ability comes into full view for us. There are three modulations heard at the end, but interestingly, not each one of them takes the song “up” as a modulation normally does. Palma modulates in such a way that she turns the song around, and the last modulation takes the song back to its original key. Palma employs this technique that makes it sound like another climbing modulation, yet she keeps it from moving out of her comfortable vocal range by employing this clever method. Such a marvelous songstress, she.
“…Once you see heaven, you’re never the same…”
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Oh, this next track never fails to reduce me to tears. Such a magnificent composition titled “ALL I EVER TAUGHT YOU.”
Palm had gone back into the hospital for a procedure earlier during 2009. While speaking by phone during that stay, she sang parts of "ALL I EVER TAUGHT YOU" over the phone to me. She was SO excited about having written it while there in the hospital! She had been inspired specifically during her time in the hospital to pen this one – and I’m almost certain I now know who that inspiration came directly from.
"ALL I EVER TAUGHT YOU" is, indeed, an impressive composition – the story is told simply, yet there is no missing the bold message lining each letter of every word. Oddly, this is the toughest one for me to listen to. It brings tears to my eyes every listen. I think it might be because Palm was so convicted about this message. It just takes those first 3 notes, and I’m all tears!
Palma’s voice on this piece sounds strong and pure, but the reality is that she was very, very ill and incredibly weak, actually, when she recorded this one. Yet, she put her heart and soul into it, and the result is nothing short of brilliant!! Sung (as from God), the lyrics go like this:
“ … It’s a shame you couldn’t love them as I taught you-
It’s too bad that you decided something different.
It’s a sin you took the words I meant for good and turned them into judgment swords,
with which to pierce the hearts of man.
It’s a shame you didn’t understand my meaning-
You let arrogance and judgment cloud your view.
I’ll be watching from above, so tread lightly, as a dove; and remember,
All I ever taught you was to love …”
I know that Palma was observing how people were being treated when she wrote this. How SHE was being treated, as well. How inconsistent that treatment was, in reality, from one person to the next. She found it to be a real shame that some people were so obviously driven more by pride or arrogance, by prejudices, and self-importance; by money, by status, by power – more so than love of God and fellow man. Many people actually revealed this daily to Palma.
We all know how body language many times conveys a much stronger story than actual words do, right? Palm observed this to be so evident, she told me. And words … words spoken can be so hurtful! Many times those words spoken in haste, once spoken, can never be erased…and they can be blisteringly hurtful words at times. All of these observations came together to create this amazing song.
“ … It’s a shame you couldn’t read between the verses-
For the meaning that’s beyond the words, you see.
Only kindness can redeem a heart that bleeds –
no condemnation ever freed the injured soul of any man.
Seek ye first to offer hope to one another-
Be my helping hands on earth in all you do.
Hands that love don’t cast a stone – souls are mine & mine, alone.
And remember – all I ever taught you was to love…”
I’m not sure how, but I was, actually able to sing this one on the Sunday following Palm’s death. It was SO IMPORTANT to me to get this message out there to others. I was in shock, I suppose, because I was able to sing and play it without a single tear. Typically, I can’t do that, no matter what song I’m singing, if it’s a personal lyric, and no how much I try to “get out of my own way” as Palm used to tell me often do to – I had not yet grasped the “how-to” of performing a song with so many personal emotions attached to it. Perhaps, though, that is why I can hardly bring myself to listen to this one. (more about the “get out of your own way” philosophy in coming paragraphs).
There’s a lovely back-story to this song that I’d like to share with you, here. This song is extremely poignant for many reasons, not the least of which is this story.
As I mentioned earlier, I believe, mutual friend and recording artist Frank Rendo also recorded this song for his DELIVER ME CD, which was released only a few short days before Palma’s death. However, on June 9th, 2009, Frank and Palm were working on the last few songs for his CD, one of which was "All I Ever Taught You."
Palm knew there was a possibility of further hospitalization and she wanted to be absolutely certain she did a “reference” vocal for Frank – something he could base his own interpretation upon. On this night, quite late, she did this reference vocal to his already completed track, which was NOT in her key, but rather in his. It was, in fact, just a bit too high for her. But, she wanted to do this she said, “just in case.”
(photo: DELIVER ME CD - Frank Rendo)
It was the following day that Palma did have to return to the hospital via ambulance due to some significant additional problems she was experiencing. The prognosis was very bleak on the first day of this hospital stay, and Frank phoned to tell me what the doctor’s had said. He had kept in such close contact with me – helping me to understand Palm’s health status, rather than me having to “speculate” from this distance – or to need to phone someone at perhaps an inopportune time. I really can’t thank him enough for that.
As we were discussing this more dire-seeming situation, Frank told me that Palm had finished “her work” on the DELIVER ME CD, just the night before. When I asked him what she had done, he informed me about the reference vocal, and he indicated that Palm was very tired, and since part of her difficulty was due to not being able to breathe, correctly, PLUS the already recorded track was too high for her, she’d completed this reference vocal very softly – and at one point, there’s the slightest “break” on one note that was audible. Not her normal strong voice, by any stretch. Anyone listening could tell – she was quite tired.
Frank told me as he was listening to Palma lay this vocal down, that the poignancy was overpowering, because of both the softness – the struggle going on for her to sing in this higher key – and the lyrics. Frank knew I’d want to hear it, and he shared it with me.
He was definitely right – here was this most beautiful person singing this exquisite lyric “ … I will guide you from above so tread lightly as a dove …” in conjunction with the prognosis given her that very day – well…..let’s just say that the poignancy was a bit staggering. Listen closely to the words of this one – you will see what I mean.
“ … I’ll be watching from above, so tread lightly – like a dove
And remember, all I ever taught you was to love…”
Eloquent – and masterfully done! Backing vocals are sung by Frank Rendo and Dominick Avento III.
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Another lovely piece follows this one – a rare glimpse for those of you who have ordered CD’s from Palma prior to this –you will know that she hadn’t released many things, if anything, up to now that was strictly piano/vocal. Well – hold on to your hats, as this is one gorgeous piano/vocal read that evokes such simplified beauty. (And a quick reminder here - Palma’s I WORSHIP YOU CD, which also has just been released, is ALL piano/vocal, only...and such intimate reads, each).
So, this piano/vocal only number on an album like this is a bit of a departure for Palma – and another that was incredibly well done.
The song is titled “The Golden Rope of Jesus.” These lyrics remind me again who it is we’re discussing, here. ☺ When I hear this song (like so, so many others) that I find to be SO creative, I just have to smile. WHO thinks of stories like this? How did thoughts of a rope and God match-up in Palm’s head for her to form the story that she came up with here? Her abilities at this sort of thing have always been amazing to me. The song, the story itself, is quite a beautiful one. Musically, the song has an “oriental” sound to it. The story says:
“ … See the sturdy golden rope wrapped around the earth.
Like a gentle wave, it floats – measure beyond worth.
Made of all the many prayers whispered up into the air-
Offered up to Jesus Christ the Lord, who weaves them.
Many lives connected, yet many do not know –
Every time they say a prayer, the rope begins to grow!
Ever stronger, ever long – one in God we all belong-
Woven, intertwining every soul…”
There is so much feeling “woven” into this one. It shows Palma’s strength as an artist who can sing just with piano and sound so strong and beautiful. Her intonation is impeccable. She goes on:
“ … The golden rope of Jesus that connects the souls of man-
Behold the rope of Jesus for your lifeline’s in His hands.
Join with everyone on earth – enjoy the tie that binds.
The golden rope of Jesus will connect all hearts and minds…”
Incredible – see what I mean?
(Pictured above: Palma Pascale in Concert)
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“To Keep You With Me” was written in 2006. I recall the year quite well. She’d told me a couple of days prior to composing this one about a friend’s child who took their own life. I recall how upset Palm was about this incident. The next evening, she told me she was going to be singing at the funeral, and the next thing I knew, she told me she’d written a song about suicide to SING at the funeral. She sent me the lyrics and the following day, she DID perform the song. I will never understand how she was emotionally capable of doing this. This was yet another example of her “get out of your own way” philosophy.
As I mentioned, Palm was a big proponent of this idea, and it served her well in many areas of her life. She told me this many times when we would be discussing how “difficult” her work is to sing, live. It sounds so simple whan Palm does it, but as I said, ask anyone who has tried to sing a Palma Pascale composition and they will describe it with a plethora of adjectives, yet “easy” will NOT be one of them. Palm and I would often discuss this and I would typically relay to her whether or not I felt I had been able to accomplish this with this or that song I’d most recently done. She always had the same comeback – “No one knows the pitfalls in that song more than I,” she would say. “Tim, as I’ve said, you just have to get out of your own way and let the Spirit do the work.” Hmmmm….the whole philosophy IS understood, yet, once again, not so easy to do. It’s a learned art, for sure. I’m still practicing! ☺ Palm, however, could do this well.
Though I was aware that she’d sung this one and I have had the lyrics since the day she penned them, I had never heard the song until Frank recorded it for his DELIVER ME album. I always knew it would be a great song, but this is another that gives you the “chill factor” when you hear it – whenever you hear it. Palma uses the grand piano to lead us into the song, as she sings:
“…Now that it’s final – now that it’s done – My love don’t you see that nobody won?
Who is to say, if we rewound the years – could we have dried-up all of your tears?
What made you cross the line? Could I have saved you, just one more time? …”
Needless to say, this one took on a much different meaning for me and others after Palma’s death. Though it is clearly written for someone who took their own life, there are references and certain lines that are relevant to this situation, like the chorus, for example:
“ …Only one question I will repeat – over and over, awake and asleep –
Why did you leave us, and how could it be …there was no way to keep you with me? …”
Palm sings this one so smoothly - with such a legato feel. After the statement made by the piano/vocal opening, she adds pads of low strings to emphasize the emotion, and of course, an English horn and the plucking of a harp are heard, adding depth and breadth to the offering. The flutes find their way into the mix, and sweeten a spot or two, as well:
“ … I’ll ask forever – was it my fault?
So deep is the wound – so painful, the salt.*
I know you loved me – I loved you, too.
Now, can you see what you’re putting us through?
What made you just let go?
I need some answers – I want to know….”
* [my favorite lyric on this tune]
The orchestral build is stunning and evokes powerful emotion, as do the ritards and rolling cymbal crashes, so artfully and sparingly placed.
One modulation adds to the intensity, and the dynamic grows until the very last, most important thought in the piece:
“...Did you find Heaven, and, could it be ……there was no way to keep you with me?
Safe in His arms – so peacefully …… and here, in my heart – I’ll keep you with me…”
And ….. you ARE in our hearts, dear Palma!!
(Pictured above: Palma Pascale in Concert)
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Right, then. Before I talk about the next tune, I suppose I should tell you how the remainder of the CD came about, and how everything seemed to just fall into place.
Fred, Frank and I had been e-mailing each other a lot about this new CD, discussing what was done, what was partially done, etc., and one evening, I got an e-mail from Fred with a copy to Frank. At first, I couldn’t believe what I was reading, but there it was, right in front of me on my screen – Fred had an idea, and it was to ask me to arrange a couple of songs that had been planned by Palm to add to this collection, yet hadn’t been started yet, save her piano and vocal track. WOW! I was dumbfounded. Talk about bittersweet – it was certainly that, for me.
Pictured: Tim San Paolo at the keyboard in the Control Room of Tiki Redording Studios)
Shortly after Palma died, my friend, Dave Hromanik from Pennsylvania, who has walked this walk with me from the start, wrote the following in a post on the forum of KAREN AND RICHARD CARPENTER AVENUE, where it all began in the first place. Dave has had his own great adventure, his having to do with NASA, as Dave is one talented man. Dave wrote:Pictured: Dave Hromanik)
“Isn’t it strange somehow how things work out…people get to know one another better, and magic can happen?Rick (Henry) brought Palma here (to Carpenters Online); we embraced her and welcomed her …We met Palm (in 2005) and made her feel at home because, in a sense, she was.
We returned to our lives. Back on April 28, 2006, Palma sent me a copy of (her CD), I’LL LEAVE YOU THE MUSIC, and here’s what the sticky note said:
“Dear Dave – This is a ‘gift’ from your pal, Tim. He thinks you’ll really like
“FLY.” Enjoy your trip (Dave was traveling at the time).
Love,
Palma”
She was right. When I heard FLY, I thought of Evelyn Husband and her husband Rick. He died aboard the space shuttle Columbia on STS-107.
The last song, I’LL LEAVE YOU THE MUSIC, is the 13th song on the album.
The relationship between she and Tim grew, and they became fast friends. Palma began to include Tim on her projects, something that would occasionally overwhelm Tim into tears. “Why does she value my opinion about this?” was a common refrain.
Tim was there because he belonged there. He earned his place at the table. When Palma needed help contacting Martin Nievera, Tim turned the Internet upside down until he found the information. When the opportunity for a chance encounter presented itself, he arranged a meeting between Palm and Martin in Atlantic City.
(Pictured above: Tim San Paolo and Palma Pascale in the vocal isolation booth of Tiki Recording Studios)
Pictured below: Palma Pascale and Martin Nievera at the Meet & Greet held in Queens, NY)
Palma certainly deserved a better ending … but as my wife observed, thanks to Tim’s dedication and hard work, she had a far better ending than she would have had, otherwise.
Tim made a difference in her life – a huge difference, and none of it would have happened if Rick (Henry) hadn’t done his part to bring her out of the shadows. As someone once told me, "you both did well, but there is more." A tagline from the movie “The Five People You Meet In Heaven” states that all endings are also beginnings.
Palma may be gone from our eyes, but not from our memories and hearts, and for those of us she leaves behind, it will have to do. She "left us the music," that much is certain, but thanks to Tim and Rick, she was able to enjoy the accolades which eluded her as a result of having been in the Carpenters’ shadows.
Today, the brilliant light of the sun illuminates Palma’s face …her earthly pains are all behind her, and the mysteries and beauties of the universe have opened themselves up to her. No doubt, she had a great welcoming committee, with a lot of people who have told her that they loved her music; that they loved her “for what she was.” She has songs to write and sing, and I have no doubt that she’ll be hard at work after she rests a bit. Life was tough.
She loved Carpenters Online. She knew, here, she was among friends.
And so, we have to say farewell, Godspeed … but not goodbye, for we know that when it is our turn to shuffle off this mortal coil, she may well be there for us. Friends and family, they say.
Palm was certainly a friend of ours.
Godspeed, my friend, and thank you for leaving us your music…. “
I couldn’t leave that out of this blog – that beautiful post was just too important. Thank you, Dave.
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So …Fred, Frank and I started this process of finishing Palm’s CD with a very long phone call; Fred and I talked at length so he could help me understand what he wanted and needed. I would be recording the arrangements from my very own home studio, on my little MacBook, and converting the files, then, to send to Fred, who would work his magic, and put everything together there, at Tiki.
I’d specifically purchased a MacBook at the start of 2009, in order to begin recording on LogicPro, a software for home recording, comparable to ProTools used in many recording studios. My son Jon, also a recording engineer, and Fred both approved of this saying it was the best thing next to ProTools they’d experienced.
That, my friends, is how it came to pass that I did arrangements for some of the songs on this album. It took a great deal of thought, planning and execution – yet it was one of the all-time “proud moment” accomplishments of my life.
(Pictured below: Tim San Paolo and Fred Guarino in the Control Room of Tiki Recording Studios)
MINDSET GLORY was the first of the songs I began working on. I hadn’t been sent the rough for this before now, so, once Fred sent it to me, I did a lot of listening prior to beginning my work on it. Fred and I had discussed the voicing’s (instruments) we thought would sound best and sort of the overall feel of this one. He sent me a guide track with a starting “count” on it – that was more important than I realized; basically this is how each separate track I sent would end-up in the right place on the completed song, without Fred having to try and match what I’d done to the right starting point. I can tell you I learned a lot about the recording process itself, as we moved along.Fred and I decided basically on bass, string quartet & vox voices; then we’d see what, if anything, might be necessary, to add to it.
MINDSET GLORY is a great tune. Our composer again just blew me away as I listened (and I listened even more than I usually do, if that’s even possible) to these important lyrics:
“…Put on the belt of truth – take up the shield of faith
The helmet of salvation yields protection at the gate.
Stand your ground where tremors underneath you shake.
For Jesus has you covered, and his armor cannot break!
My mindset glory- My feet set firmly- My heart set righteous with noble hope.
My eyes on Jesus – I never waiver – Renew, restore me …my mindset, glory! …”
It’s that play on words I’ve always enjoyed with Palm’s lyrics. I find it clever that she took up on the “armor” theme – belt of truth – shield of faith, etc., and then played on the “mindset” theme, too – mindset, glory – feet set firmly – heart set righteous – cleverly done, as always.
The instrumentation at the top has Palm’s piano intro, augmented by my bass strings and vox vices, and Fred added chimes to the first beat of every measure – a perfect addition, as Palm used chimes to add drama to a song many times before. The chimes added that perfect, finishing touch.
Thought I did most of the instrumentation for my part of the project at home, I did fly to Long Island in order to record my vocals right there at Tiki Studios, where they absolutely should have been done. I spent some real quality hours with Fred and Frank there at Tiki, readying several songs for this album.
(Pictured below: Tim San Paolo in the vocal isolation booth of Tiki Recording Studios)
Frank and I were to do backing vocals on this one, and at one point, Fred’s vision was for us to sound like “monks” – that is, singing very low and gutsy – it was only oooo’s, but they were really an important piece of the overall composition. We were actually in the vocal booth together making this part come alive – I recall Frank directing us so we would both cut-off at the precise same moment! It was fun, right “on-the-spot”, to figure out the harmony parts you hear and then record them, as well as the melody, on the chorus. That creativity is what I felt I missed so often by not having more time to spend in the studio when Palm was alive as it was usually always an on-the-spot decision for Palm as to which part she would do next, and just what that part would be. Then she’d do the same thing with the next part and the next, until she’d stacked as many vocals as she wanted. Never wrote-out her parts – always sang them “by instinct.”
(pictured below: Frank Rendo and Fred Guarino in the Control Room of Tiki Recording Studios)
And, the same was true of her phrasing. I recall discussing this with her early on and she told me she never listened to her harmony parts as she recorded them. Let me explain: in order to accurately record additional harmony parts when you’re stacking your own harmonies, typically one listens back to the melody line for phrasing purposes and then, as they are added, to the corresponding harmony parts as well, so there is never a temptation to do a line as you’re recording a new part from one of the other harmony lines – Palm only ever listened to the melody line again – and, she knew what parts she wanted already, in her head. She also instinctively recalled her phrasing on each part. Oofah! She confided she didn’t quite “know” exactly, how she could do this, only that it was her consistent pattern of adding her backing vocals.
Nor, did she typically ever write-out her orchestrations. She just knew “filling up empty corners with each new pass” as she described it to me when I’d asked her how she came up with her arrangements. “Less is more.” “Build with each pass.”
Frank and I had tried to talk Fred into singing this chorus with us, but we were unsuccessful – at that time, anyway. I spoke with Fred a few days after I’d been there and he told me about a few passes he had added vocally upon listening to playback – there were a few spots that needed to be filled, and Fred did the vocal parts himself there – and excellently, too! Fred has a great voice, and an amazing “ear” for the project as a whole. I was pleased to know he’d “filled-in the empty corners.” He had mentioned adding one of our melody backing vocals a bit louder to boost Palm’s – and rather than do that, from what my ears are telling me, Al Barbarino took on that part – I can hear Al singing with Palm, there. Fred added the percussion parts, as well, rounding out the song very nicely.
Overall, I think it came out super! I’m glad we did it and put it on the album. I KNOW Palm was smiling, too!
(Pictured above: Frank Rendo in Concert)
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Next up is a chilling composition – one that I got as a rough very early in 2008. It’s titled “TOO LOST TO CALL.” Having known about Palma’s visit from Jesus, and her story to me about how she wasn’t feeling she was getting any better just after her first surgery, I understood the message completely, first-hear. What a story – and so succinctly told:
“…There is a place, so dark and deep and so filled with despair.
I found myself dropped in that well without a warning flair.
And when the worst was over, the worst had just begun …
No hope – no strength … no one! …”
Pretty dark lyrics, aren’t they? I agree, but they are also quite personal. This IS what was happening with Palm. And, she continues:
“ … There is a place so dead and dark, I thought I lost my mind.
Alive, yet hardly breathing – just paralyzed and blind.
And when I lost my courage, and lost my will to live
He came with one to give…”
Palm wanted to make a point to others who would hear her music – she wanted them to know that even though one might be at their lowest point, ever – in their absolute darkest hour, and even though perhaps, one is “too lost” to even remember to ask for help – the Lord KNOWS, and is there for us.
“ … I didn’t remember Him, but He remembered me
Grabbed me with both His arms – pulled from the drowning sea.
I didn’t remember much, but for His loving touch – He did it all, when I was too lost to call…”
Yes, even in our darkest hour, God “grabs us with both His arms," pulling us out of harm’s way and out of the depths of despair. And…how many times has He done that very thing for each of us – that we didn’t even recognize?
Such a beautiful story and, of course, the musical component is stellar. Fred and Palma came up with some very different sounds when putting this one together – the use of phasers make the music sound somewhat “ethereal” providing that perfect “compliment” to the story.
Palm begins with only piano, joined by vox voices, strings and the tinkling of a chime bell tree. She adds an unplugged guitar. The first verse is all rubato, but percussion and vibrato strings can be heard as verse two begins – but oh, so subtlety.
On the third verse, we hear the “chinks.” Remember that word – “chinks.” It’s important. As Palm laughingly told me one day, this is how she and Fred referred to the guitar chords SHE played via a keyboard to add to the rhythm. “Chinks.” The chinks really do add a nice spice to the song, and are a super rhythmic addition, as well.
Pictured below: Palma Pascale at the keyboard in the Control Room of Tiki Recording Studios)
Think TEXTURE! Then, on the chorus, Fred tastefully accents the piece with his outstanding lead guitar work. What a punch of just the perfect “attitude” to make this part come alive.
The vocal harmonies added are only here and there, but, but are quite effective. A ritard takes us into the final chorus, where Palm has changed-up the lyrics as it is now no longer a story from Palma to us, but rather a prayer from Palma, to God:
“ … I didn’t remember You, but You remembered me.
Grabbed me with both Your arms, pulled from the drowning sea.
I didn’t remember much, but for Your loving touch, you did it all,
When I was too lost to call …”
Haunting, this.
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The next offering is called A BETTER PLAN. There were many souls who worked on this one – when Fred, Frank and I talked initially we knew there was a piano-only track to this song that Palm had planned to add to this CD. It was more of an upbeat tune and was really needed in the line-up to sort of keep things a bit more balanced. But, all we had of it to work with was a piano track, and mostly just the chords at that – not even piano playing the song’s melody line or anything – and no reference vocal for us to know for certain how Palm intended for the melody to go. As we began work on this one, Fred had ideas about how he thought the song should sound, once we got it figured out. And, how did we do that, exactly?
Well, Frank had a lead sheet, (pictured below, left) which did not have lyrics included, only a sketchy melody line. Along the way, Palm had ALSO penned a few extra “ideas” – several “other” measures here and there, just added in on the side, or at the bottom of the page.
My guess is that she wasn’t quite sure which “idea” she would use in the final version, so she left them all available. Frank also found lyrics – and what he found were 4 variations of the lyrics, all handwritten. These lyrics are here, just to your right ...
I had that piano track I mentioned, and now a copy of the lead sheet and a copy of the lyric pages. I used the last dated lyric sheet (04/07) and went with those as being what I suspected Palm intended to be used. Next, I inserted the piano track into a new recording on my Logic program. Then, I worked with that, playing the piano along with it, and picking out what I “guessed” was the appropriate melody line. Once I had a melody line in mind, I recorded the melody line along with Palm’s original piano chord track. Ah ha! It was coming together.
Next came the really tricky part for me – attempting to now put the lyrics correctly together with the melody I’d just come up with. I loved the fact that even the lyric sheet had “other ideas” penned here and there – lyrics that fit nicely, if Palm decided to use those instead of what she had down. She’d given herself some choices. So clever...
After playing with it for a bit, I came up with what sounded like it could be right, and once at Tiki, the three of us were easily able to refine it and came up with what you hear now on the record. (Fred had some help, too – there was a friend of his who was working with Fred there at Tiki making this melody line work on the same evening I was working here at home – the night before I flew out to Long Island. Basically, we were close to one another, and as I said, Fred, Frank and I finalized what we wanted, then, during our session time.
I think it's so cool that Fred “hears” not only various instruments in his head and knows what he wants and thinks would sound great in the song – he also hears the style of the song – that is, be it jazz, rock, pop, soul, R&B, country, etc. One of the instruments – the “sounds” if you will that Fred could definitely hear was that of a Hammond B-3 organ being played really gutsy-like! Once we’d refined the song, and knew which way we wanted to go with it, and Frank and laid down our own vocal solos as well as guide vocals for Al and Laurie, the Fred and I began adding the organ. I played while Fred controlled the Leslie (the organ’s vibrato sound that comes in and out of the tune). It was awesome for me to be working with both Fred and Frank in the studio. It's where I belong!
(Pictured below: Tim San Paolo and Fred Guarino at the keyboard in the Control Room of Tiki Recording Studios)
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OH THAT I COULD is a song taken from the IN & OUT OF LOVE CD, because the song seemed appropriate, and we needed to fill-in a bit. Below is my descriptor for the song, as I wrote in my April 11, 2007, blog regarding the beautiful album, IN & OUT OF LOVE. I find it interesting that I likened the sound of the song to “heaven” even way back then.
(Photo: Palma Pascale's CD Cover for In & Out of Love)
“Oh that I could live with such a love as this…and go on through my life and not have it for my own…” begins this lyric sung in a rubato fashion. Punctuating this melodious verse is the sound of a harp. So “heavenly” sounding – but kept very, very understated.
This marvelous production is one continuous build in its intensity from start to finish. The instrumentation, the vocal, (to which harmonious “aahs” come into play toward the climax of the tune) everything rises to an exciting conclusion and you know the "curtain has fallen" when this song concludes. It’s an intense production and urgency is clearly heard as Palma asks the questions within the lyric. Simply, Marvelous.
Wow, I was a lot less wordy in ’07, wasn’t I? ☺ That was my original post in the IN & OUT OF LOVE blog regarding the beautiful "OH THAT I COULD".
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In May of 2007, I received several MP3’s from, at that time, our writing machine, Palma – she had been writing a lot more, she said, and she was enjoying it a lot. She paid me a very high compliment at this time, telling me that I was the reason she’d started writing again, and so prolifically. My “reviews” she stated, were like a mirror in which she was looking, and getting back a reflection of her work – in detail – and it made the writing much more personal, and it made her “remember” why she liked writing songs. To think that I had ANYTHING to do with inspiring her to “get back on the horse and ride” was an awesome thought. I was very honored and humbled to have had her tell me that.
The MP3’s that I received here were each a piano track with a guide vocal, and as Palm referred to them, a part of her “Sinatraesque” collection of tunes. The ballad among them is the next selection on this CD, and it’s titled “LOOKING BACK."
Palm never had the opportunity to orchestrate this moving ballad, and Frank, Fred and I all agreed that this one, too, should be included on this album.
(Pictured below: Tim San Paolo and Palma Pascale in the Kitchen of Tiki Recording Studios)
In that case, I orchestrated this one for her. It was easier for me to arrange, as I was really familiar with this one, and I then simply followed Palma’s pat formula, and voila! (Formula = Less is more – fill the empty corners, build at each pass – get out of your own way). They worked!
The song was really gorgeous, just as it was, so I didn’t need to add much to it – some strings, a cello line and an oboe – I think it was Fred who added the flute that dances in and out from time to time. The song is beautifully done by Palma and it was a true honor and pleasure to arrange on this one. I never, EVER thought this would occur – that I’d be writing about myself in this blog, as having contributed to one of Palma’s “records” in this way; and most sadly, never under these particular circumstances. The lyrics are so apt:
“ … as my life goes flying by, I’ve come to see that the clock of love is ticking rapidly….”
BEAUTIFUL!
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When Fred was finalizing the line-up, he posed the question – “What do you guys think the last song should be?” He knew what he wanted, there – and there was, obviously, a unanimous thought process between the three of us; Fred, Frank and I – no question – the last song should definitely be “I’LL LEAVE YOU THE MUSIC.” Such an exquisite effort, and so apropos.
Since I’ve actually written about this song in several blogs here in Martini’s-Musings as well as other places, I think it best to repost those, all together, rather than attempt to give you a snapshot with newer words. First, then, is my post from my March, 2006 blog about the CD by the same title:I’LL LEAVE YOU THE MUSIC – I’m afraid to tell you I could write a whole “novel” about this, the title song for this album. The captivating song begins with a gently tingling glissando, then a rubato piano and vocal intro, and the first line of the lyric is such a soft/sweet one: “…I wish you could stay with me and I could erase all the sadness I see in your face…” ( but then, the “kicker” line)…. “…If it only were another time and place…” Immediately we become aware that this story is one, seemingly, without a happy ending. As I’m listening to this tune for the first time, after having heard only this much, I’m thinking to myself “okay, here’s another beautiful love-gone-wrong song.” BUT, that’s FAR from the case.
Instantly, the lyrics surprise as the whole axis of the story changes ~ “…but if it can never be, I want you to know…” (Before I tell you the remaining line, I have to tell you (as I told Palma) about the first time I really “HEARD” this song, and the implications of the coming lyrics, it took me by surprise, and that familiar "lump in the throat" and those huge salt-tears welled up in me in an instant) as Palm so beautifully sang the chorus: “…I’ll leave you the music ~ I’ll leave you my soul ~ All I am, All I love, All I know…will remain with you when I go…”
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(Photo above: Palma Pascale's CD Cover for I' Leave You The Music)
It’s a most stirring lyric, and of course, the beauty of the musical score behind it only makes the lyric that much more poignant. The alluring instrumental break really tells the tale of this composer/arranger’s amazing abilities to know just how to “keep it simple” yet emotionally charge it at the same time. It will MOVE you on many levels, I guarantee it!
The beauty of this top quality ballad does NOT stop with that first verse and chorus…oh no…the poignancy continues as verse two begins: “I’ll leave you the gift I own, to be where I’m not ~ in the mind of the ear and the heart ~ I’ll be there, although we are apart…You won’t be without me here ~ I’m in the SONG you hear ~ and if you can hear the song, you’re HERE with me…”
"In the mind of the ear and the heart".....Oh my goodness everybody ....what an inspired lyric this writer feels these to be! Ingeniously penned. Now, what else needs be said after hearing those words? Pretty much sums it up in this writer’s opinion. A good friend of mine, after hearing this CD, declared the following: “Palma writes using incredibly engaging lyrics; she has a gift for poetry, the imaginative intelligence to create lyrics and melody together with each complimenting the other; not just melody but creating the arc, build and musical message of the song.” The song, itself, is a primo love song ~ one fraught with unspeakable significance.
This is an eloquent composition that our composer saved as the last, special surprise on an already overwhelmingly enterprising and enchanting compilation.
I'LL LEAVE YOU THE MUSIC is an arresting masterpiece of musical symmetry. A labor of true love that shines like a sparkling diamond on each gleaming note!!! Phenomenal creation, this....absolutely!
Thank you, Palma, for the music. And...thank you, Fred, for so expertly putting all of her incredible pieces together for all of us to hear! As for me, I will, categorically, take the music......guaranteed.
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Then, in September of this year, I wrote the article “REMEMBERING PALMA PASCALE …She left us the music!” This article was published in several newspapers, and, of course, I posted it in my blog.
So, in concludeing THIS blog about THIS MUST BE HEAVEN, which is a compilation that I can’t really “sum up” because I find that it changes – I find different meanings – I hear different things on each listen – I come to differing conclusions about the stories – To be honest, I’m just not finished grieving, yet – by a long-shot. I think I don’t really WANT to sum this one up – I am going to let you do that, individually. I think I’ve given you enough to be going on with, here. So, I’ll leave the summation up to you, and let you enjoy making it.
From my September 09, 2009 article, I leave you with a story, and Palma’s own words:
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Palma was kind, caring, compassionate, giving, loving, encouraging, witty, smart and oh, oh so talented. Palm loved life, and was always attempting to make it better for herself, and everyone she knew. If she could do something for you, she would, and did. She was so petite, yet Palma was larger than life. Her quick thinking, composing lyrics that were not just one line to the next, but getting to the "guts" of the story she was telling, always amazed me.
(Pictured: Palma Pascale)
As you've read in the 30-something other posts I've writen here in Martini's Musings, I use a word that she told me about once, and laughed and laughed - the word; "Oofah!" It was a word she used in the studio she told me - sometimes a bit more harshly than others, she said, laughing! Palma had a flair for the dramatic, and I loved this little word upon hearing it used, and after a bit of explanation from her. I quickly learned that if she saw it in print, it would make her smile, so I used it, a lot.
I miss you very much my dear friend! I miss asking you about this song or that - about what instrument you used and why - about how you got the idea for the song - about what Fred did here and there to help you make it so special. And I miss your stories - stories that made me laugh! All good memories that I've tucked away in my heart. Thank you, Palma, for all of it.
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Finally, then – from my post at KAREN AND RICHARD CARPENTER AVENUE (where, for me, this ALL began), here is the story of my first listen to the song “I’LL LEAVE YOU THE MUSIC” which concludes this missive.
Do come back to Martini’s Musings, because I’m not finished writing – not at all - AND – watch for a new REMEMBERING THE MUSICAL WORLD OF PALMA PASCALE website, coming soon!
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(Written on the day of Palma's death, Septembmer 8, 2009).
I have shared this with you before, but it's never been so poignant as it is just now, at least, for me. After hearing Palma's pop song "I'll Leave You The Music" for the first time, I asked her about it. I asked her what her mother said about this song, because it seemed such a prophetic song. She shared with me that her mother would not let her record it until her mother, herself, had recorded it (and her mother, Anne, did make a CD entitled "I'll Leave You The Music." I have Anne’s CD, and it’s just great, too! Palma assured me this song was not intended to be about "the unthinkable" yet, she knew it did lend itself to that mindset.
As I leave you this morning with these thoughts, I want to share, one final time, the entire lyric to this beautiful song, Palma Pascale's I'LL LEAVE YOU THE MUSIC from her CD by the same title.
"...I wish you could stay with me, and I could erase
All the sadness I see in your face. If it only were another time and place.
You'd walk through my life with me
I'd love you endlessly
But if it can never be, I want you to know:
I'll Leave You the Music, I'll leave you my soul-
All I am, all I love, all I know WILL REMAIN WITH YOU WHEN I GO.
I'll give you the "gift" I own, to be where I'm not.
In the mind of the ear and the heart
I'LL BE THERE, ALTHOUGH WE ARE APART.
You WON'T be without me, here
I'M IN THE SONG YOU HEAR
AND IF YOU CAN HEAR THE SONG.......YOU'RE HERE WITH ME!
So, I'll leave you the music
I'll leave you my SOUL
All I am, all I love, all I know
Will remain with you when I go..."
"And, if you can hear the song, you're here with me."
Dear, sweet Palma, I can definitely hear the song: please know that you will remain with us, in our hearts, forever.
We love you Palma!
Photographs were generously provided by the following individuals: Frank Rendo, Tim San Paolo, Dominick Avento III (restoration & Cover Art), Lil Greiner (cover art), Fred Guarino and the Estate of Palma Pascale.
posted by Martini | 11:02 AM
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