The creation of the album
The making of Resurrection, the concept album
Classic rock defines the music of Resurrection.
An eclectic array of classic rock/rock-opera compositions, the story of Resurrection began with the music, and not with the Testament, Bible, or religious scrolls. Resurrection was intended to be a concept album. Spanning over a decade, the compositional process evolved from skeleton sketches and demos, to full-productions complete with orchestras and choirs, recurrent characters and loosely fitted plot lines. The music was to serve as a social commentary on the state of humanity - - humanity in the throws of self-destruction. The recordings were conducted virtually - - lead vocals playing recurrent characters, supporting vocal casts, guitar riffs, drums, choirs, and strings, from different regions of the world, all assembled together in a small basement studio, as the concepts and theme lines matured. I worked with many musicians along the way. A few stand out. First, I want to give a special mention to my virtual lead-singer, David Steele. David is a singer extraordinaire, who has performed with the likes of Bon Jovi, Cher, The Cult, David Lee Roth, Motley Crue, Bob Rock, Def Leppard and Bette Midler. Prior to finding David, who resides in BC, Canada, I scoured the web more months searching for that special voice that met the vision, chops, and character I had in mind. I was searching for more than just a vocalist. I was searching for, well, Jesus. And not just any Jesus -- a Jesus who was trying to reconnect with humanity after more than 2000 years. As I did with all of my musicians, I kept David in the dark. He was on a 'need to know basis'. All he knew was that I was some quirky songwriter from Toronto trying to compose a "concept album". David was never told that he was actually representing the lead character of Jesus. I'm not sure how he would have responded had he known. Nonetheless, he followed my scratch demos and instructions, and turned them into what I think is a beautifully eclectic sound that ultimately brought not only the music to life, but also the character himself. I can't say enough about this musician. I want to also thank singer-actress Saffron Henderson, who plays Jen on the album. Saffron not only provides beautiful vocals, but brings Jen's character to life with humour, soul, quirk, and grit, which collectively embodies this humanist traits I was seeking. Finally, I would like to give a huge shout out to Studio Pros who supplemented many of the outstanding bed-tracks for this project, and Mr. Christian Howes whose team helped orchestrate and record the illustrious strings and angelic choir. Without the involvement of these key musicians, the album would not have been what it is. The writing, recording, arranging, editing, re-tracking, re-arranging, and re-layering of all these components together, and do so within the comforts of my scattered basement studio, was one of the greatest creative experiences I have ever had, and likely ever will.
In 2015, approximately one-half of the completed songs were mixed, mastered, packaged, and pressed, ready for distribution and public dissemination - - Alter’s classic rock opera magnus opus. But at the 11th hour, just prior to the announcement of album’s release, the decision was to turn the concept album into a full musical. All that was needed was a book to surround the 30+ song musical library of Resurrection - - and 5 years later, 4 different books, 3 different writing teams, two rock-stars, and one existential crisis, the social commentary rock album comes full-circle. From Jesus’ Crucifixion rock opera of “Resurrection”, to the soul music of “Holy Moses” (2018 Finalist, UK Songwriter competition) and the beautiful minimalistic of folk Jen’s “Forgiveness (2018 Finalist, UK Songwriter Competition), you will be taken through a journey that will restore your faith in the Rock music of yesterday.
