decision time

Julie loves to get things done, cross them off the list, and move on. When she writes a letter (the old-fashioned kind, on paper, that you put in an envelope with a stamp, remember?) she immediately seals the envelope and sets it aside. Ahhh, done. Finished. What's next?

I, on the other hand, have a terrible time sealing envelopes of any kind, ever. What if there's something else I might want to add? I want to keep all my options open as long as possible. I don't like to seal it up until I'm standing by the mailbox, and the letter is about to go through the slot, and I absolutely have to... if I really want it to get where it's going, that is.

Well, it's decision time - "envelope-sealing time" - with my new CD project. I've been recording for a couple of months already, rather excited about how things are turning out, but there are still LOTS of things that I've left open-ended because for me the songs are living, breathing, evolving things, vastly variable and adaptable in public performance and use, and it kills me to set down a "final" version on the recording that becomes identified, somehow, as "definitive" and "the way the song goes."

So...

Should I add the backing vocals one at a time over a couple of "repeats" of that refrain, or should they all come in full-force right off the top...?

Which lyric should I use for verse three, since I've recorded two different versions and I like to use different variations in live performance...?

Should the violin take the solo for the whole chorus, or just kick in after the first two phrases, or maybe just after the first (we recorded all 3 versions, just in case, and I could talk all day about the interpretive possibilities and implications of each one)...?

I thought I'd decided to keep that last chord unresolved, but I keep having second (and third, and fourth) thoughts...

And on and on it goes. I'll spare you.

This week Matthew and I head to Winnipeg, where I'll have two full weeks in the studio to "wrap up" this project (at least the "audio" portion - then there's all the design stuff).

Anyway, it's time to get this done and move on. Hold my breath (and probably my nose), make some decisions, seal the envelope and drop it in. There's a new cycle of songs for the fall that I'm itching to get started...