Tears of Men is my sophomore effort. I began composing the material for this album nearly six years ago, and I recorded the basic tracks the April before last. These last two years have largely been spent tweaking, editing, adding, overdubbing and massaging it into what it is now. There are literally dozens of artists, hundreds of parts and thousands of takes that have gone into this project, and I have learned so much from the people who've helped me realize it. I am especially indebted to my producer Patrick Derivaz, who's patience and mentorship are the reason this album exists as it does today. The bulk of my audio engineering capacity is a direct result of my following his lead and learning from his mastery throughout the course of mixing, editing and recording it. Tears of Men is a densely arranged, complex work. I've heard it compared to everything from The Royal Scam to Dark Side of the Moon. It will likely not be your first choice for the gym or the dance floor, but it will take full advantage of high fidelity systems (especially in it's native 24/96), and it will reward you for multiple listenings. As someone very close to me put it, it's the kind of music you use to sit down and make a night out of listening to. In every conceivable way, this is simply a superior album to my first. Once again, Oz Noy's improvisation is brilliant, and his solos are truly breathtaking. The album is worth listening to for them alone. And once again, I am incredibly blessed to have been aided by so many more capable musicians than myself. But the composition itself is far more nuanced and intricate, the lyricism is more mature, and my vocal performances are much improved. Above all else, I have finished this project a better musician, a better engineer, a better writer and a better person than when I started. With any luck I will be blessed enough to say the same after my next album comes to a close. For now, I hope that Tears of Men may move you in some meaningful way, and visit a harmonious note on your life. Making it has certainly been the highlight of mine. On a final note, Track 4, 'Heaven's Not Enough,' is freely available for download in CD FLAC from my website. This track is a cover of a song from Yoko Kanno's soundtrack to 'Wolf's Rain,' an inspiring, brilliant piece of anime with an unbelievable soundtrack that I highly encourage exploring further. This track is licensed under Creative Commons (Attribution Non-Commercial Share-Alike), and you're more than welcome to download and disseminate it. credits released 07 February 2012 Dev Avidon: lead and backing vocals Roy Assaf: piano Oz Noy: electric guitar, acoustic guitar and mandolin (track 8) Mark Egan: electric bass guitar Karl Latham: drums and percussion (except track 12) Ben Rosenblum: keyboards, Hammond organ (track 4), Fender Rhodes (track 7) and accordion (track 8) Rubin Khodeli: cello Jesse Mills: violin Patrick Derivaz: acoustic bass guitar (track 5) and upright bass (tracks 11 and 12) Keve Wilson: oboe (track 2) and English horn (track 9) Ofer Assaf: alto saxophone (track 3) and soprano saxophone (track 4) Dave Hopkins: clarinet (tracks 4 and 12) Jake Goldbas: drums (track 12) Megan Okura: erhu (track 8) Marco Lienhard: shakuhachi (track 8) Michael Dease: flugelhorn (track 10) Wayne Tucker: trumpet (track 10) Dru Munsell: backing vocals (track 9) Wolf Pack: backing vocals (track 8) Music and Lyrics by Dev Avidon, except 'Heaven's Not Enough,' Music by Yoko Kanno, Lyrics by Tim Jensen Steven Rosenblum: executive producer Monique Witt: executive producer Patrick Derivaz: lead producer, engineer Dev Avidon: producer, engineer Recorded at Bennett Studios (thanks for the memories) Mastered at Firebird Studios Art and Graphics by Instability in the Program Photography by Lori Laitman and Dru Munsell.
