ELWOOD'S MUSIC CATALOGUE

IMPORTANT NOTE: Although a great deal of people download & listen to these pieces of mine, almost NOBODY ever gives me any feedback at all concerning them! PLEASE take a few seconds to drop me a note to say if you liked what you heard - that's all I ask for all my efforts! (elwoodherringŠblueyonder.co.uk)

NOTE ON PLAYING MIDI FILES: All my MIDI works are meant to be played using the standard Microsoft GS Wavetable. Usage of any other wavetable will give unintended results. By all means experiment if you have the capability, but please be aware that what you end up with will not be what I intended!
Also, some MIDI files played on Winamp before version 5.3 will not play correctly. If you use Winamp, please upgrade to the latest version (5.3 or above).

GUITAR PIECES MIDI ŠYr Mins CD Description & comments

Jun 09 77:40 Download the whole Guitars (Mostly) album as an Albumwrapped mp3 file FREE from MegaUpload.

A breath of smog 1977 03:45 A nice simple guitar solo. This had lyrics added, and became "Circle Round the Sun". I remember I worked on this piece for months, and thought it was really clever at the time. In actual fact it's my first real composition of any sort. Spot the time signature changes: 4/4 then 3/4 and even a couple of bars of 5/4.
The MIDI version was made with great care in June 2009 (I even included the authentic fret noises!).

Transtemporal Paradox 1978 07:30 Another early guitar solo. Very basic stuff. Nothing else to be said about it really. What does the title mean? How should I know? Don't ask silly questions! The MIDI file here is a reasonable facsimile, done in June 2009. The major-minor shifts make it sound a bit baroque in my opinion, a bit like that old classic Greensleves. (Not on the Guitars album.)

Llamedos 1978 03:05 A four-track guitar instrumental. This was my first ever attempt at multi-tracking. The trouble with instrumentals is, what on earth do you call them? I just jot down the first thing that comes into my head, in this case the name-plate on a house I spotted the week before. Good job it wasn't the one I saw recently - "Far Corfe"!
(Incidentally, if the MIDI version sounds a bit off-key, that's because it's meant to. If you play it, be sure to let it finish otherwise the next piece you play might sound off-key too. It's a quirk of MIDI music.)

September Sunshine 1980 04:10 Another guitar instrumental, all done with simple root-position chords. Well it was September, and the sun was shining, so that's what it ended up being called. This MIDI file is an accurate representation of the original recording, to give you an idea.

Careful with that sax, Colin 1980 12:42 The old Red Herring epic track, slightly updated for 2009. Very reminiscent of early Pink Floyd, and deliberately so.

Take 3 /
Foundation & Empire 1980 09:25 A "fuzz guitar" excursion. The MIDI is a completely reworked version made in July 2009 and is essentially a new piece, halfway towards the finished 18 minute work called "Foundation and Empire".

Just Passing Through 1982 04:42 Another early multi-tracking attempt, this time with drum machine backing and pseudo-phasing effect made by manipulating the tape as it passed over the heads. It was the best I could do at the time, and I'm not going to change it now. Note the hemiola 3/4 rhythm over a 4/4 melody. Tricksy!
The MIDI version was made in June 2009, and I took the opportunity to replace the guitar with a sitar sound which given the "eastern" harmonies of the piece sounds much more appropriate, although to hear it exactly the way I intended it MUST be played using the standard Microsoft wavetable.

White Elephant (Complete version) 1981 06:13 Newly re-edited and remastered for 2009, this is a "complete" version made in a similar vein to the Beatles' Strawberry Fields Forever, ie by splicing two totally different takes together, slowing one down to match the speed and pitch of the other, and hoping nobody will notice what a studio carve-up it really is. Well, the Beatles could get away with such things, so why not me?

Battle 1981 09:20 From the Impulses Symphony - A 'pandemaniacal' (There's no other word for it!) Red Herring offcut with added effects such as a solo for bicycle pump and manic microphone-chewer. Does have a guitar or two in it though. Music that should be locked up for the public's protection!

Siberian Sunset 1981 07:40 Possibly my favourite of my own guitar pieces - originally called "Fade Out", it was improvised from start to finish (with Mark Walker on organ accompaniment) - before I realised the tape recorder wasn't running, so I had to do the whole thing again. The last few bars are sublime. I reckon the first version was better, but that's gone like the snow of 1981.

The MIDI version was completed in August 2008, and dedicated to the memory of Alexander Solzhenitsyn whose book The Gulag Archipeligo I am currently reading and whose death was announced just as I was putting the finishing touches on the piece. Seems fitting.

Herringbone Concerto 1980 15:04 Jaunty guitar & synth piece which uses some of my earlier themes including the Upandunder Overture. The MIDI version was completed in Feb 2005 - a good "fun" piece which should get you whistling (I must warn you - that first tune will stick in your head for weeks!)

here i go 1980 02:58 Take Syd Barrett's moody post-Floyd song, strip off the vocals (sorry, Syd), raise the pitch by about a fifth, speed the whole thing up and add a couple of bubbly synths, and this is what you get. Similar in sound to my "Herringbone Concerto", but a lot shorter. (Not on the Guitars album.)

Concerto for 2 Guitars & Synthesiser 1979 17:55 Combining guitars and synthesiser, a piece I'm quite proud of. Which is guitar and which is synth? Hard to tell sometimes. This needs to be played a few times to get into the "feel" of it, so don't give up after one playing.
(Not on the Guitars album.)

Pleiades Jul 08 18:35 Trippy swirly guitar piece. Very very weird. (Not on the album)

RED HERRING 1982 The album "Back by Unpopular Demand!" - all the best bits from my Herring days. More details here. Also, Red Herring's long-awaited second album can be downloaded from that link, and it's non-stop guitars from beginning to end.

SKETCHES 1978 42:46 Early solo guitar pieces and moody songs from the late 70's - the earliest stuff I still acknowledge as being half-way decent. Go to this page for details.

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*GUITAR PIECES*	*MIDI*	*ŠYr*	*Mins*	CD	*Description & comments*
		Jun 09	77:40		Download the whole Guitars (Mostly) album as an Albumwrapped mp3 file FREE from MegaUpload.
A breath of smog		1977	03:45		A nice simple guitar solo. This had lyrics added, and became "Circle Round the Sun". I remember I worked on this piece for months, and thought it was really clever at the time. In actual fact it's my first real composition of any sort. Spot the time signature changes: 4/4 then 3/4 and even a couple of bars of 5/4. The MIDI version was made with great care in June 2009 (I even included the authentic fret noises!).
Transtemporal Paradox		1978	07:30		Another early guitar solo. Very basic stuff. Nothing else to be said about it really. What does the title mean? How should I know? Don't ask silly questions! The MIDI file here is a reasonable facsimile, done in June 2009. The major-minor shifts make it sound a bit baroque in my opinion, a bit like that old classic Greensleves. (Not on the Guitars album.)
Llamedos		1978	03:05		A four-track guitar instrumental. This was my first ever attempt at multi-tracking. The trouble with instrumentals is, what on earth do you call them? I just jot down the first thing that comes into my head, in this case the name-plate on a house I spotted the week before. Good job it wasn't the one I saw recently - "Far Corfe"! (Incidentally, if the MIDI version sounds a bit off-key, that's because it's meant to. If you play it, be sure to let it finish otherwise the next piece you play might sound off-key too. It's a quirk of MIDI music.)
September Sunshine		1980	04:10		Another guitar instrumental, all done with simple root-position chords. Well it was September, and the sun was shining, so that's what it ended up being called. This MIDI file is an accurate representation of the original recording, to give you an idea.
Careful with that sax, Colin		1980	12:42		The old Red Herring epic track, slightly updated for 2009. Very reminiscent of early Pink Floyd, and deliberately so.
Take 3 / Foundation & Empire		1980	09:25		A "fuzz guitar" excursion. The MIDI is a completely reworked version made in July 2009 and is essentially a new piece, halfway towards the finished 18 minute work called "Foundation and Empire".
Just Passing Through		1982	04:42		Another early multi-tracking attempt, this time with drum machine backing and pseudo-phasing effect made by manipulating the tape as it passed over the heads. It was the best I could do at the time, and I'm not going to change it now. Note the hemiola 3/4 rhythm over a 4/4 melody. Tricksy! The MIDI version was made in June 2009, and I took the opportunity to replace the guitar with a sitar sound which given the "eastern" harmonies of the piece sounds much more appropriate, although to hear it exactly the way I intended it MUST be played using the standard Microsoft wavetable.
White Elephant (Complete version)		1981	06:13		Newly re-edited and remastered for 2009, this is a "complete" version made in a similar vein to the Beatles' Strawberry Fields Forever, ie by splicing two totally different takes together, slowing one down to match the speed and pitch of the other, and hoping nobody will notice what a studio carve-up it really is. Well, the Beatles could get away with such things, so why not me?
Battle		1981	09:20		From the Impulses Symphony - A 'pandemaniacal' (There's no other word for it!) Red Herring offcut with added effects such as a solo for bicycle pump and manic microphone-chewer. Does have a guitar or two in it though. Music that should be locked up for the public's protection!
Siberian Sunset		1981	07:40		Possibly my favourite of my own guitar pieces - originally called "Fade Out", it was improvised from start to finish (with Mark Walker on organ accompaniment) - before I realised the tape recorder wasn't running, so I had to do the whole thing again. The last few bars are sublime. I reckon the first version was better, but that's gone like the snow of 1981. The MIDI version was completed in August 2008, and dedicated to the memory of Alexander Solzhenitsyn whose book The Gulag Archipeligo I am currently reading and whose death was announced just as I was putting the finishing touches on the piece. Seems fitting.
Herringbone Concerto		1980	15:04		Jaunty guitar & synth piece which uses some of my earlier themes including the Upandunder Overture. The MIDI version was completed in Feb 2005 - a good "fun" piece which should get you whistling (I must warn you - that first tune will stick in your head for weeks!)
here i go		1980	02:58		Take Syd Barrett's moody post-Floyd song, strip off the vocals (sorry, Syd), raise the pitch by about a fifth, speed the whole thing up and add a couple of bubbly synths, and this is what you get. Similar in sound to my "Herringbone Concerto", but a lot shorter. (Not on the Guitars album.)
Concerto for 2 Guitars & Synthesiser		1979	17:55		Combining guitars and synthesiser, a piece I'm quite proud of. Which is guitar and which is synth? Hard to tell sometimes. This needs to be played a few times to get into the "feel" of it, so don't give up after one playing. (Not on the Guitars album.)
Pleiades		Jul 08	18:35		Trippy swirly guitar piece. Very very weird. (Not on the album)
RED HERRING		1982			The album "Back by Unpopular Demand!" - all the best bits from my Herring days. More details here. Also, Red Herring's long-awaited second album can be downloaded from that link, and it's non-stop guitars from beginning to end.
SKETCHES		1978	42:46		Early solo guitar pieces and moody songs from the late 70's - the earliest stuff I still acknowledge as being half-way decent. Go to this page for details.