David M. McLean's Page

Track #9 from "Virtual Light", the new CD from ALIEN BLUE, is "Lady's Got the Blues" (4:14).

The song is a classic minor key blues in Am (which we'll discuss below) using a "straight" rhythm, features a gorgeous vocal by Blue, smooth vocal harmonies, and a cool opening lick where I double the guitar with a unison "scat" vocal (shades of things to come...) as a nod to the incredible George Benson.

For those interested in the mechanics of composition, it should… Continue

original post: http://skinnydevilmusic.blogspot.com/2009/11/song-of-week-8-skinny-devil-shuffle.html

"Skinny Devil Shuffle" clocks in at 2:37, but this isn't a true representation of the song length. It's actually much shorter - just a little jam over a 12-bar blues shuffle. But this one was so much fun (you hear us laughing and such) that we left the mistakes and re-starts and afte… Continue

original post: http://skinnydevilmusic.blogspot.com/2009/10/song-of-week-7-imagine-we.html
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"Imagine We" clocks in at 4:41 and is chock full of guitar mayhem hidden within it's mellow exterior.

Today, I mostly want to talk about compositional ideas....

Borrowing from a common melodic theme heard in dozens of songs sung over a simply Cmaj7 to Am7 change, followed by a 2nd section that replaces… Continue

"Ragamuffin Voodoo" (3:47) is song #6 from "Virtual Light", a quick, energetic, and a fun song to play!

The song kicks off with a vocal riff (me) followed immediately by a second vocal (Blue) singing a haunting opposing line. This second vocal, if it sounds familiar, is a direct reference to the title track, "Virtual Light". The guitar comes in and doubles vocal, then adds some cool percussive effects.

The verses feature some fun vocal harmonies and the chorus sneak… Continue

We're back this week with song #5 from "Virtual Light" (the new CD from my duo Alien Blue): "That You're Gone" (5:07).

This song came about while I was jamming. Just goofing off by myself using that classic Hendrix R&B chord-melody style that Jimi developed by expanding on the ideas put forth by Ike Turner, Curtis Mayfield, Steve Cropper, and others. After Hendrix used this in songs like "Castles Made of Sand" and "Little Wing" the idea was p… Continue