Announcing the release of Borderline by Barley Station

March 21, 2018

This is a Rock/Pop version of Madonna’s song that hit #10 on Billboards Top 100 in 1984. I was on the Billboards chart in various positions for a total of 30 weeks. This new version by Barley Station is more akin to the version of Madonna’s 2010 Stick and Sweet Tour and is a collaboration of vocals between Randy Wayne Belt (Barley Station) on lead vocal and Verity White (Verity White) on leading harmony (and both on backing vocals). It is an across the pond vocal collaboration between he U.S. and UK that will surprise many!

The old saying that a hit song is a hit song in any format bears true.  The new format for the song was achieved by removing the dance/pop elements from the song and stripping it all the way down to an acoustic guitar and vocal and rebuilding it with a rock/pop beat, crunchy guitars and somewhat gritty vocals.  It was with the help of Verity White on a leading harmony vocal that the song was able to be sung with a conviction and reflection of the new atmosphere that helped the song stay true to the integrity of the original underlying song written by Reggie Lucas and first performed by Madonna.

It was deemed by Randy, who produced the new version, that the piano/keyboard melody that opens the song was an important element that should be kept as closely as possible to the original and tastefully translated to the electric guitar. This was achieved by multi- layering various harmonics of the melodic phrases to achieve a thick and believable electric sound.  The rest of the song fell easily enough into place very naturally.

So far, all those surveyed before the release, liked this version even better than the original.  That could be a matter of taste because the original was a brilliant mix of dance and pop. But at the least, this song works very well in a rockier format to be certain!

The photo for the cover is by Veronica Linge Phillips of Veronica Marie Photography.

You can find Borderline at most major digital retailers such as:

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/borderline/1352851105?i=1352851119

On Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/0vXxqupVurPDg7DMFtDK2Y?si=od48UVxjSMq4F-cGtbzkTA

And at CD Baby: https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/barleystation20

 

New Album To Be Released Sept. 14, 2017

After releasing a litany of singles since the last album, a new album is ready to go. It will only be featuring 4 of the singles previously released and has 7 brand new songs and remixes of the singles.  The new Barley Station album is set to be released on Thursday, September 14, 2017

The title is “Back There Somewhere”.  Pre-release sales on iTunes and Amazon begin on August 10, also a Thursday.  The Instant gratification track will be the leading track, a song titled “Waiting”.

With 11 tracks on the album, each one has its own story, mood, and exemplifies how carefully selected and crafted each song was in the studio. No one song defines who Barley Station is so one won’t be picked for that purpose.

One of the more unusual songs though, is Double Star.  The song Double Star evokes imagery and terminology throughout that relates a relationship, or longing for that special someone, to the relationship between the stars and constellations and evokes astronomy terminology to explain it in a metaphorical way.

Have you heard of a wandering star? What is it? The retrograde motion of planets causing them to appear to be stars that move back and forth was the inspiration that caused the song to be written.  Like the skies at night, the relationship between people is not always what they seem.

Hear Double Star on Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/embed?uri=spotify:album:2BHhGsESXYamZL6Phe0AOR

In its use of metaphors to describe this relationship one wonders if it is so far into space that they might think “is it a love out of reach or is it a possibility”?  The lines “When the sun is dark will you be my star and take me into orbit” paint a picture of the longing but in the song’s lyric “Did aurora’s laugh into your skies?” there arises the doubt – What does it mean? Can it be interpreted in several ways? Is it a joke? Is it a joy? Can you figure it out?  Listen to the lyrics and see if you can.

First released as a single in late 2015, a slightly different mix of Double Star will be appearing as track number 8 on our third full length studio album due out on September 14, 2017. True to Barley Station outlaw form, the album is a mix and blend of genres from rock to folk to country and beyond.