Commentary ::

The Death of Finbar McGrath follows Redemption, Stereoville, 5Koans, and Happier Days in the Finbar McGrath years. In this rare, late collection of raw studio takes and laptop recording sessions, we can hear Finbar and Laramie sing together, and put together the songs.

A gapless mix of the entire album as Finbar saw it is presented in the audio files. Finbar"s working title was: "The Crossing." This mix is best heard using headphones--it is a headphones-only mix, meaning that a lot of the work in this recording is designed to be heard through headphones to capture all the movements of stereo, reverb, and effects. It also means it doesn't sound "full" on regular speakers or laptop speakers. This gapless mix met Finbar's approval (although Laramie, who did much of the engineering, was more apprehensive). The individual tracks were edited slightly in mastering the gapless mix, so you may notice differences in mix or content. Presented below the album are the out-takes and other material that didn't make the cut for Finbar's album. Even in the limited material we can hear the gift of Finbar, that was so tragically taken from us. This album chronicles the joy Finbar experienced creating his distinctive music, not only live, but in the studio, shown to you through finished and raw takes and demo tracks. But it also chronicles the descent into disbelief of the world, and belief in a higher game, which he perhaps tried to reach. Whether he was successful, we don't know. We just know he disappears from this plane of existence.

There's also a growing trove of ephemera from Finbar's estate, which he had willed to Open Source with a CC license: studio files, album artwork, photos, and hand-lettered song sheets.

The track Cheesecake and Apple Pie is a spoken word piece by Wend Elsen. Finbar built up some loops, then played bass while Wend performed her piece.

The track Attitude was recorded at Greg Goedwaagen's studio in Weathersfield, VT in November of 2013 with Laramie on rhythm guitar and vocals, and Greg on lead guitar.

There was also an opera made about Finbar's earlier life, written by Laramie Crocker, also in the Finbar Years series. Go to the homepage of Redemption, the Acid Gospel Tarot Opera to find album tracks and opera production dates and cast.

Now from the curator's blog ::

Jan 30, 2012 DeConstruction Begins! We begin the end for Finbar. The new album, The Death of Finbar McGrath, is begun. Above are tracks as they exist for each song, most of these are demos--which is to say, placeholders for people to learn parts until a recording is done with a live band and choir. But, in this digital age, as the album is un-earthed, Finbar lives! So check back every once in a while to see the progress on the tracks. Currently, all but two songs have some kind of recording, and a few are real performances, even if recorded on Android or GarageBand. All the tracks for It's Time will be rolled into one monster acid-gospel pop hit. It's not easy saying goodbye to your alter-ego, but he always said he was just in it for the fame. Time will tell if he lives or if he will come back to us.

Here are the Fragments we have so far, for the monster hit, It's Time. Mid-deconstruction, it's still too early to say with any clarity what Finbar will ultimately cook up from the Fragments. We will keep you posted as we un-earth more of these "garage tapes..."

It's Time intro
It's Time Guitar
It's Time
It's Time harmony
It's Time worshiping
It's Time-finale

Nov 8, 2013Archive photos for "People of the L.I.E." These photos have been discovered in the archive, documenting Finbar's trip to Long Island and Fire Island in October of 2011. These undoubtedly correspond to his song "People of the L.I.E." which we now understand to mean the "Long Island Expressway". You can see Finbar's chart with the lyrics.

The only other notes we have found are in Finbar's hand:

Dec 15, 2013Mix Archived, CD Release, Archive letter posted. The curator has posted this letter, addressed to Laramie from Finbar, on Dec. 15, one day after the Cowboy Lounge where Finbar presented the album release, and performed songs from the album with Ralph Granich on drums, Eve Graham and Barbara Griesau on vocals.

Dec 16, 2013Archive letter posted. The curator has posted this letter, found 16 Dec 2013 with no date on it.