"A Soalin'" by Noel Paul Stookey (cover)

[Glennwillow]

This is Noel Paul Stookey's song from Peter, Paul & Mary's first album in 1964 called "A Soalin.'" This was the first song I wanted to learn to play on the guitar when I started to play in 1964. It took me a couple of years to figure out how to combine the treble and bass parts into one accompaniment as Paul Stookey played it, but by age 18 I was playing this song pretty much as I play it here.

And with multi-track recording I was able to add in Peter Yarrow's 2nd guitar part. The harmony part I am singing is pretty close to the part Mary Travers sang with P,P&M. But with the faster tempo I am using and the high harmony sung in a male voice, the song ends up sounding like a cross between P,P&M's version and Sting's more recent version.

Normally a song like this would take me a while to record, but because I have known this song for so many years, it fell together fairly quickly today. It was fun!

It's a great song for celebrating the Yuletide season. Happy Holidays to all!

- Glenn

PS: By the way, the vocal microphone is new for me. It's a Warm Audio WA-47, kind of a clone of the venerable Neumann U-47, which is a large diaphragm tube mic. I like the sound of this new mic.

[MrEd]

I really enjoyed that Glenn. Very well done & I agree the new mic sounds great.

Mike

[Glennwillow]

Originally Posted by MrEd

I really enjoyed that Glenn. Very well done & I agree the new mic sounds great.

Mike

Thank you Mike!

I very much appreciate your listening and taking the time to comment here! I'm glad to read that you think that new mic sounds good, too!

- Glenn

[Mach Buffett]

Wow Glenn ! Another great performance. That song really takes me back to my early teenage days, and as JT once said "The great folk scare of the 1960's."
A beautiful job as always. Congratulations from Downunder.
Cheers, Mach

[Captain Jim]

That was a real delight to listen to! Kudos!

[Glennwillow]

Originally Posted by Mach Buffett

Wow Glenn ! Another great performance. That song really takes me back to my early teenage days, and as JT once said "The great folk scare of the 1960's."
A beautiful job as always. Congratulations from Downunder.
Cheers, Mach

Hi Mach!

Yes, I remember first hearing Peter, Paul and Mary singing "A Soalin'" on the TV program "Hawaii 5-0." I, too, was a young teenager, I think about 13 or 14, and I thought, "Wow, who are these people??!!" Later they came out with their first album with that song on it.

Thanks for your comments! I'm glad you thought this came out okay!

- Glenn

[Glennwillow]

Originally Posted by Captain Jim

That was a real delight to listen to! Kudos!

Thanks Jim!

I very much appreciate your listening and commenting here! I am so glad you like this! Thanks so much for checking this out and providing feedback!

- Glenn

[islandguitar]

Hi Glenn! Listened several times......extraordinary! Wow!!

Keeping that picking melody while singing......crazy.....auto pilot.....what a great job.

Thanks for once again bringing the memories!

And Happy Holidays!!
Fred

[Glennwillow]

Originally Posted by islandguitar

Hi Glenn! Listened several times......extraordinary! Wow!!

Keeping that picking melody while singing......crazy.....auto pilot.....what a great job.

Thanks for once again bringing the memories!

And Happy Holidays!!
Fred

Hi Fred,

Thanks for checking this out! I'm glad you like this!

It is kind of like auto pilot, but actually as I am singing, I am constantly thinking about where my fingers are going. I realized that's why some of the words that I am singing are rushed. And I didn't realize that until I tried to sing harmony with myself and realized, "Holy Cow! How am I going to fit those words in there in the same time span as that guy who sang the lead line???!!!"

The other thing that is interesting is that when I watch myself playing that main Paul Stookey guitar part, it actually looks simple. What I see on the video is nothing like what I am thinking about as I play those two parts together.

It's a good thing I learned to do that when I was about 18 years old. I had a lot more brain power back then! At the time I thought, well, Paul Stookey is doing that and then singing. If he can do that -- and he's a human, not some kind of super-talented space alien -- then I should be able to do that with enough practice. After a while, I started being able to do it.

I'm glad you recognized this old song! Thanks so much for taking the time to comment here! Happy Holidays again to you, Fred!

- Glenn

[JakeStone]

Glenn,
First off .. this is fantastic production and performance ..

I certainly appreciate what goes into creating the high quality video / sound PLUS give a stellar performance... as you've done here.

The song is very cool... I never heard it before. I especially enjoyed the guitar and vocal harmonies.

Think I will listen to it again!
Nice to listen on a wet Carolina morning,

[Glennwillow]

Originally Posted by JakeStone

Glenn,
First off .. this is fantastic production and performance ..

I certainly appreciate what goes into creating the high quality video / sound PLUS give a stellar performance... as you've done here.

The song is very cool... I never heard it before. I especially enjoyed the guitar and vocal harmonies.

Think I will listen to it again!
Nice to listen on a wet Carolina morning,

Thank you Jake!

It's great to hear from you! I'm very pleased that you think this came out okay!

This song goes back to about 1964 so it would appeal to a certain age group and you may be younger than that group. Also, if you did not pay much attention to Peter, Paul and Mary's music, you may not have had exposure to this song.

It was rejuvenated a little by Sting as the 2nd song on his 2009 CD "If On a Winter's Night."

Thanks so much for commenting here Jake!

- Glenn

[TBman]

Great job Glenn! Excellent execution!

[Glennwillow]

Originally Posted by TBman

Great job Glenn! Excellent execution!

Thank you Barry!

I'm glad to know you are listening! Thanks for your comments! I hope you and your family enjoy the holidays!

- Glenn

[Glennwillow]

I thought I would bump this song by way of saying Merry Christmas and happy holidays to all those on the AGF at the end of 2019!

- Glenn

[Frostie]

Thanks, Glenn. I have a warm spot in my brain for this nifty song - it was the first contrapuntal guitar arrangement I ever tackled - and hearing your solid multitrack rendition was quite fun. Excellent work, as always. I appreciate your generosity in sharing your works with us.