Just the Same (Giant Tracks)

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Just the Same is a song on the tribute album Giant Tracks.

  • Artist: Glass Haus
  • Position: CD 2, track 1
  • Time: 5:40
  • Original album: Free Hand

Musicians

  • Dan Barrett - keyboards
  • Tom Benson - violin, mandolin, drums and additional programming
  • Lance Levine - vocals, acoustic guitar
  • Bill Noland - bass
  • Madeleine Noland - saxophones
  • Marc Vadeboncoeur - guitar

Details

  • Recorded at: Vac-U-Pup Labs, November 1995
  • Arranged by: Glass Haus
  • Produced by: Tom Benson

The inside story

Glass Haus began when Bill, Lance, and I (Tom Benson) decided to do a song together for the tribute, and set about trying to choose one. We each came up with an "A" list a "B" list of our favorite songs. Some wound up on an "A+" list which we revered so much that we were afraid to try them! Ultimately, we agreed on "Just the Same," which had made all of our "A" lists, and at that point decided to recruit some other players.

First on board was Bill's wife, Madeleine, a great sax player who is also a Gentle Giant fan. Next, we luckily signed up Dan Barrett, known worldwide for his Gentle Giant Web pages, and now his keyboard playing! Lastly, we grabbed Marc Vadeboncoeur, who plays with Lance and I in a progressive rock cover band called Metropolis, for guitar. Marc was not very familiar with Gentle Giant at the start, but really got into it and now can be heard breaking into that synchopated riff when he gets bored at rehearsals.

When it came time to record, Dan never even had to make the trip to Vac-U-Pup Labs (my home studio, where this was recorded.) He created the keyboard parts at his MIDI studio, using an Amiga 3000T running Music-X, and then converted them to a standard MIDI file, which he sent me via E-mail! At the same time, I put together the drum tracks on my sequencer, Dr. T's Omega, running on an Atari ST. I also added the opening which precedes the piano entrance. Then I combined Dan's MIDI parts with mine, and synchronized them to my Tascam 8 track (analog, reel to reel) using SMPTE. I did send a cassette back to Dan so he could hear the keyboard parts he was playing "virtually," and approve of the synthesizer sounds I used. Then each of the players came in to record their parts, in turn: Bill (bass), Madeleine (sax), Marc (guitar), and Lance (vocals and acoustic guitar). All of the parts went down really quickly, reflecting on how much advance work everyone had done. Finally, I added the violin and mandolin, and did the mixdown to DAT.

Equipment

  • Synthesizers/samplers/MIDI: Ensoniq SQ-R+, E-mu Proteus 1+, Korg DSS-1 sampler, Roland R8
  • Guitars: Ibanez Roadstar II, Kramer Ferrington
  • Violin: T.F. Barrett 5-string electric
  • Amps: guitar and violin both recorded direct through Digitech GSP-2101
  • Bass: Fender Precision Lyte, played through Fender BXR 60 amp
  • Sax: Yamaha 52 Alto
  • Microphones: CAD Equitek 100, Shure SM-58
  • Media: Tascam 388 R-R, Sony DTC700 DAT
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