AVALANCHE'S ANTHEM TO 'WOODSTOCK NATION'
melodic
hard rock
classic rock
mainstream
original rock
political rock
arena rock
the road less traveled
songs with a message
avalanche hard rock band
michael foster
will there be tomorrow
Story behind the song
Music, Lyrics, Arrangement, and Recording Produced by: Michael Foster.
Rough Mix by: Michael Foster and Peter Solak. Mixed at at The Gallery Studio, East Hartford, Conn. in December, 1979.
Digitally Remastered in November, 2010 by: David Pendragon at THE STUDIO in Canberra, Australia.
Recorded at The Gallery Studio...East Hartford, Conn. in August, 1979. Recording Engineered by: Peter Solak.
Michael Foster: 6 and 12 String Acoustic Guitars, Electric Guitar and Lead Guitar, Piano, Vocals.
Charles Calmese: Bass.*
Mark Easton: Electric Guitar.
Barry Easton: Drums.
Note from Michael:
This recording of "The Golden Sun" has never been heard by the public before. It is a ROUGH MIX. The 2 inch tapes that this song was recorded on were over twenty years old...and it was my hope that they were still intact enough for me to be able to actually mix this song properly. Unfortunately the 24 Track Masters were stolen from my home by an "invited guest" a few years back...a bass player who thought he would just "bulk erase" them and save himself a few hundred dollars in AMPEX 2" tape costs. In the process he erased some musical history. All that remains are the Stereo Mixdowns...so remixing this song just isn't possible.
Many of our old tapes are damaged by time...and since this only a rough mix, please try to listen to this song for its content... rather than as a "finished" product. In my opinion this is the closest to being able to hear what the original group was actually like "live"...that is available anywhere. This song was actually recorded "live in the studio"... in one take...at 3:00AM, after we had spent nearly eight hours in the studio recording our second single "You Just Can't Stop It". We were tired, but in good spirits, and decided to play this just to unwind. Unknown to us, Peter, who was the recording engineer who was working with us during that period... decided to run tape before we began playing (without informing us that we were "taping")...and the song you hear here...is the result.
This song was a song I wrote and spent over five years arranging with two other groups before AVALANCHE even existed. All changes in tempos, accented hits, and chords, that occur during the extended instrumental section on the second half of the song are cued by the lead guitar. The solo on this section of the song represents hundreds of hours of taping rehearsals and fine tuning...over a period of years. What you hear on this recording is the result of all that evolution, and work. We played this song exactly this way...everytime we did it live...and we ended nearly all AVALANCHE concerts with this song. It is kind of our anthem to "Woodstock Nation"...and seemed to capture the time. The entire song...as complex and varied as the parts sound... is really just an exploration of how much can be done with a simple three chord pattern. But most importantly, it is the best recorded example of just how tight and well rehearsed this original lineup was...it is one of my favorite compositions, and this is pretty much what the energy of this band is like live in concert....although most of our other stuff has more of a heavy edge.
Vocals were dubbed in, and Piano and Acoustic Guitars were added about a week afterwards by me as well, and although those instruments improve the song, the heart and soul of all AVALANCHE music (and especially this track) is the total empathy we all have for each other's playing...and our total committment to what we are doing...and "The Golden Sun" is the best evidence of that fact, that exists from the original group's recordings. Although it is nearly fourteen minutes long...the song never seems to drag or stay in one spot for any real length of time...it just flows and moves with a life of it's own. I have always been grateful for that night in the studio, and the fact that...through sheer accident... this song was captured on tape. It was the last night the original band
Lyrics
THE GOLDEN SUN
Written by: Michael Foster
Music and Lyrics: July 1972
A few years ago...a dream appeared before my eyes.
From out of California...a Golden Sun was on the rise.
Brothers and sisters all rose together... hand in hand.
Spreading truth and understanding all across this troubled land.
And every day that passed, it seemed the dream grew ever stronger...
Until it seemed to me, it really couldn' t take much longer...
Before the new day would finally dawn...and rise above...
Built not on hate and lies...but instead on truth and love.
But lately I don't know..'cause things just seem to move too fast...
As if the way the world will be has already been cast...
And the Family of Man seems to be troubled and in doubt...
As if caught in some quicksand...and unable to get out.
And I wonder if it's not too late...for men to come together...
And put an end to hate and war...and live in peace forever.
Little children fight, it's said...to solve disputes...my friend...
Don't you think it's time that Man has reached his Childhood's End?
Vocal Bridge
Open your eyes, open your ears, open your mind,
forget all your fears
(Repeat two additional times)
We are tomorrow...hate is the past...
If we all spread love now...then "The Golden Sun" will last.
Instrumental Jam to End
Copyright 1979, 2005 by Crystal Magic Music (ASCAP)