The Grammy winner and former Wings member beautifully reimagines 12 Fab Four classics on solo acoustic guitar.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, USA, February 7, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ — Grammy-winning guitarist and composer Laurence Juber will release A Day in My Life, the fifth collection in a series of his immensely popular solo acoustic arrangements of iconic Beatles songs, on February 9 via HoloGram Recordings. The album will be available digitally and 180 gram vinyl.
Produced by Hope Juber and recorded by Richard Pritchard at Abbey Roadâs legendary Studio 2, A Day in My Life is a stunning showcase of Juberâs breathtaking fingerstyle style and impeccable tone on a dozen Fab Four classics, including âBlackbird,â âStrawberry Fields Forever,â âWhile My Guitar Gently Weeps,â âRain,â âLet It Beâ and âIn My Life,â among others.
Watch a video promo for A Day in My Life. Click here to listen to the album (will go live Feb. 9).
âComing back to these songs is always a joy,â says Juber, whose connection to the material is significant as he played guitar in Paul McCartneyâs group Wings from 1978 to 1981. Though the guitarist has previously recorded versions of these tunes throughout his series of Beatles-themed albums that began with 2000âs LJ Plays the Beatles, he calls A Day in My Life âsort of a âbest ofâ LJ Plays the Beatles, but from a changed perspective. My playing is different from 25 years ago, when I first started seriously recording Beatles tunes. Iâm channeling different emotions.â
Recording at Abbey Road â the same hallowed space where the Beatles created their enduring songs â stirred profound memories for Juber, who was working in Studio 2 in 1978 when he received a phone call to audition for Wings in 1978. âIt became a second home for me during the Back to the Egg sessions,â he says. âI havenât been back there since, so this was something of a homecoming. Itâs a very vibey room, and there was magic in reimagining the songs where they were originally recorded. Plus, the microphone locker is heavenly.â
Throughout A Day in My Life, Juberâs deep admiration and affection for the Beatles comes through in his adventurous and joyful interpretations. âDay Tripperâ sees him blissfully sailing through the rollicking riff while doubling bass and drum patterns â all while playing vocal lines on the guitarâs top strings. On a transfixing reading of âStrawberry Fields Forever,â he conjures up the Beatlesâ groundbreaking studio innovations with spiraling lines, lush chords, and percussive slaps and pops.
Paul McCartneyâs âBlackbirdâ has long been a guitaristâs dream â and for some, a challenge. Juber turns in a bravura performance, playing both the signature chords and the supple vocal melody at once. âI play âBlackbird’ in a different guitar tuning and key to the way that Paul does it,â he says. âThatâs because Iâm incorporating the melody into the accompaniment, which is not practical for that song in standard guitar tuning.â
Juber turns the Beatlesâ jarring drone classic âRainâ into a sea of tranquility. âIt was the first one that Hope and I worked on as a kind of a tone poem, a ‘rain dance,â he explains. âWe incorporated an original section of two-handed tapping on the fingerboard to emulate a ârainstormâ effect.â Other highlights include a sublime take on âWhile My Guitar Gently Weeps,â with Juber shifting between George Harrisonâs bewitching melodies and the harmoniesâ complex shades â thereâs even bits of Eric Claptonâs heralded lead. And he brings exquisite technique and insightful artistry to âIn My Life,â balancing the wistful and whimsical qualities of John Lennonâs transformative masterstroke.
âThe Beatles are as fundamental to rock music as Mozart and Beethoven are to the classical repertoire,â Juber says. âThereâs so much musicality â melodically, harmonically and rhythmically. The challenge in creating solo fingerstyle guitar arrangements is to find the nexus of the tune and the instrument. There are many layers, and while the process can produce the occasional epiphany, itâs mostly like a jigsaw puzzle â making the pieces fit together.â
The February 9 release date of A Day in My Life coincides with the start of the NYC Fest for Beatles Fans, to be held at the TWA Hotel at JFK Airport (where the Beatles landed 60 years ago). Juber will be one of the featured guests for the three-day event, performing twice: A solo acoustic set in which heâll perform the new album, and an electric set in which heâll be joined by drummer Steve Holley (also a former member of Wings) for a tribute to their fellow Wings mate Denny Laine, who recently passed. Additionally, he will team with legendary British singer Billy J. Kramer (who scored hits of Beatles songs the band never recorded) to debut selections from his new album.
On the studio side, Juber has been increasing his presence as an electric guitarist. He recently performed on âIt Makes Me Cryâ by Carla Olson (the Textones) and Allan Clarke (the Hollies) â the single is currently No. 4 on the U.K. Heritage chart. In addition, he co-produced, and played guitar on, the upcoming album by T Bear (aka Richard T Bear) for Quarto Valley Records. The first single, âA Change Will Do Me Good,â which Juber co-wrote, is climbing the Dutch Hit Tracks top 20.
Beginning February 17, Juber will hit the road for concert dates in the U.S. and the U.K. âBeyond the new release, I have a handful of new compositions and arrangements,â he says. âMy shows are constantly evolving as I add new tunes to the set list.â Dates here: https://laurencejuber.com/concerts/.
A Day in My Life can be purchased here: https://www.amazon.com/Day-My-Life-Laurence-Juber/dp/B0CPRTXR6H.
Signed copies are available at the LJ Store here: https://the-lj-store.square.site/#menu.
The full tracklist of A Day in My Life:Â
âBlackbirdâ
âDay Tripperâ
âStrawberry Fields Foreverâ
âWhile My Guitar Gently Weepsâ
âI Am the Walrusâ
âRain/Rainstormâ
âAnd Your Bird Can Singâ
âLet it Beâ
âA Day in the Lifeâ
âAcross the Universeâ
âHoney Pieâ
âIn My Lifeâ
For more information, visit: https://laurencejuber.com/
Michael Jensen
Jensen Communications
+1 310-405-4859
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Originally published at https://www.einpresswire.com/article/686980859/guitarist-laurence-juber-to-release-his-all-new-beatles-album-a-day-in-my-life-february-9