My Red Car

My Red Car is recording artist Lore Constantine's new adventure. Far ranging from the beautiful lyrical solo piano albums of the past, we now find an album of mostly original songs, with Lore singing vocals and playing the ukulele as well as the piano, along with other musicians, including Michael Ronstadt - cello & guitar, Janet Marquardt - violin, Jack Prucella - Guitar, Daniel Bacon - upright bass & whistling, and Russell Gellman, drums & percussion. It all started with an idea Lore had for a song (My Red Car), based on a true story (hers), and the same day she was given a ukulele from her friend (& lyricist) Nancy Paolin. So that was the start of the journey. This began a year of collaboration, writing music to Nancy's words, giving her ideas of several songs which she turned into song lyrics for Lore, and also Lore doing a few lyrics herself. The result was some strong ballads like 'If Ever Such a Day', a waltz called 'Lore's Song' about someone going through hard times, 'Movin' Ahead' which is a bit inspired by Carole King (but you decide!), the very lyrical 'On Nights Like These', and a blues piece 'Quicksand Conversation'. There are 3 ukulele songs (the others have piano, of course!) on the album - the catchy 'My Red Car', a bittersweet tune called 'You Never Asked My Middle Name', and a cover of 'Dream a Little Dream of Me'. In addition, there are 3 instrumental numbers on the main album. One, an original, is called 'Night Stoll', a cool jazzy piece. There is a beautiful cover of Merle Saunder's 'Sunrise Over Haleakala' (piano with a beautiful cello part played by Michael Ronstadt), and as Lore's fans have grown to expect, a solo piano cover of the Garcia/Hunter tune Brokedown Palace. The second CD is bonus instrumental tracks of the vocal music, but with Lore playing flute/piccolo instead of singing. Sometimes you just want to listen to music, not a voice, and this allows you to do that. The music itself is the reason for this wide-ranging album, and the wonderful collaborations of the other musicians only enhance the experience.