John Albert Thomas

The CDs arrived yesterday!  I performed a quality check on them and they’re good to go.  Please click on “Buy CDs” at the top of the page if you would like to purchase one or both volumes.

Also, please note that I just added Opus 20: Hope Comes to this site, so feel free to take a listen.  It’s the last song on Vol. 2.

 

 Hope Comes [4:29m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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Copyright 2007. John Albert Thomas. All Rights Reserved.

Discmakers.com notified me a couple days ago that the CD replication was already completed and shipped! The shipment is scheduled to arrive on my doorstep on Nov. 13. I will perform a quality check on the product, and if all is well, start shipping them off to customers! Be sure to check out the “Buy CDs” page to place your order.

Well, the moment that we have ALL been waiting for…

I have repackaged The Golden Road into a new album called Piano Works, Vol. 1, and I have packaged the second set of 10 works as, you guessed it, Piano Works, Vol. 2. Why, you ask? Because a little more than a year ago I stopped worrying about albums and started to focus on singles. That was revolutionary for my productivity. Granted, that will make for some interesting albums. For instance, there’s a Christmas arrangement on the second album. The next collection of ten works will probably have some hymn and Christmas arrangements in it as well. Just think of these as collections of 10 individual projects, each song being a separate project. Yes, I know, I’m taking a risk, but I foresee the music industry moving away from full-length albums toward singles and collections of singles.

So, the order has been placed. I ordered 100 CDs of each volume. They may go quickly, may not. That’s up to you, of course. If I run out, I’ll order more. Turnaround time is about two or three weeks. So, if you want to make sure you get your copies before Christmas, let me know ASAP. I’m selling the albums at $15 per CD. I’m also selling the two volumes as a bundle for $25. As a bonus, when you order, you will be given a link to download your order in MP3 format while you wait for the order to arrive. Shipping and handling will be $1 per CD.

I’ll send out an email newsletter soon with links to order. If you want to beat everyone else to the punch, please contact me at john @ johnalbertthomas.com. We’ll work something out.

Thanks, everybody, for your continued support!

Well, I’ve finished recording the 20th song and so it is time to release my second album! I am going to release the last song along with the second album, so be on lookout. I’ll keep you posted here and on my Newsletter, which you can sign up for on the right menu of this page.

I’ve been going through a process called “mastering” which basically is the art and science of making all songs sound consistent across the whole album. This includes volume, dynamic range, the amount of silence between tracks, etc. One problem I was experiencing was the Yamaha seemed brighter and louder while the Steinway seemed dark and soft. I decided that since some songs really sounded better on the Steinway, I converted them all to Steinway. As a result, the overall consistency between tracks is much more aesthetically pleasing.

That being almost done, I’ve started working on the CD design. I’ve been looking at OasisCD.com (where I had The Golden Road CDs produced) and Diskmakers.com for their “short-run” services. I figure the first run will be 100 CDs. Then when those sell I can order more. Both sites offer an online CD design where you can upload graphics and modify the layout of the CD label, Front cover, tray cover, etc. via the browser. It sure beats going to the local publishing company to have them create “film” with separate colors and registration marks for each part of the CD.

Bottom line, there is SO MUCH work that goes into creating one of these projects. But in the end, when you can hold a shrink-wrapped product with your name and your music on it, it’s such a rewarding experience! My biggest desire, though, is not to become famous and have my name printed on a CD cover. God produced this music in my heart long before it flowed from my fingers. My deepest desire is that this music, despite its imperfections, would serve as a magnifying glass to the beauty and grace of our Heavenly Father.

Music is the back door to the heart, and He keeps the spare key. He enters by this door when words no longer affect us and our hearts have grown cold and hard toward Him. We can’t get away from it. In an incredible display of merciful imagination, He designed us and surrounded us with the materials and capacity to create and appreciate this second language. It is a sacred language so powerful that it transcends most barriers. In fact, the Bible tells us that it is an eternal language, one that even the angels understand. Can we doubt that He wants to communicate with us when He built His entire Creation as one big musical instrument such that a star produces wind that blows across the ocean and over the plains and through our willows and reeds, causing our ears to tickle and our hearts to stir with thoughts of Him? We cannot fathom the brilliance of such a Creator! Instead of just making us functional beings like servant robots, He built into us the ability to enjoy and create things of beauty, to love and be loved, to move and be moved. That is worth thinking about!