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The Planets

by Ian Rutherford

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1.
Introduction 02:26
2.
Mercury 02:21
3.
Venus 02:51
4.
I am not, made of green cheese Lunatics, werewolves … now please There is no man in the moon 12 have been, but no woman My mother, she was Theia She got friendly with Gaia Quite a bang, so I’m told But relations, they went cold Chorus -------- I don’t have a dark side Just a far side You can’t see Not a dark side Just a far side Just a far side You can’t see Tidal oceans eclipses and calendars think of me
5.
Do not panic bold adventurer Phobos and I come in peace  We are your shield  from harmful rays  Explore under our cover
 We are locked in a tidal battle To Mars we must face Always always  To Mars we must face Phobos he orbits faster 8 hours to my 30 But he spirals in each year Only 50 million left 
 I will miss him
6.
We are Galilean moons Ganymede, Callisto, Io and Europa Cold and icy Are we lovers of Zeus? No, we are rock and ice We are children of Jupiter He's is our father I am Ganymede I am magnetic I am Callisto I'm tidally locked I am Io I am sulphur I am Europa I am icy We are the Galilean moons We have secrets Send your rovers Come visit us
7.
Put a camera in a tin can
 And fly across space
 Six long years of loneliness Nine months more, Cassini's here
 
 
Seas, lakes and polar ice caps 
Ethane and methane
 Hints from V'ger, eyed by Hubble
 Huygens got up close and personal
 Chorus -------- Imagine a world 
 With rivers and clouds
 Some days it rains
 But the rain is methane Some days it rains 
But the rain is methane

 
Hydrocarbons, key to life
 Life Jim, but not as we know it
 Hydrocarbons stable temperature
 A formula for life
8.
Uranus 03:10
none
9.
Neptune 05:01
none
10.
There’s a reddish brown stain At the north pole A reddish brown stain That’s organic What does it mean? Where is it from? It’s from Pluto It did not pay me
11.
Kuiper Belt 04:58
none
12.
Planet Nine 03:16
none
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.

about

Come with me to the outer reaches of our solar system and enjoy some facts, humour and music along the way. Twelve pieces of narrated, instrumental and sung music, in eclectic style, ranging from rock to electronica, classical to folk, progressive metal, jazz and blues - each inspired by a planet and delivered in a concept/progressive form.

Note: All tracks except Kuiper Belt have a spoken introduction over instrumental music and if there is a moon in the title it's got a song too, otherwise it's instrumental

The musicians
-----------------
All up there are 47 artists performing on this album; 11 narrators, 10 musician friends, myself & 25 musicians from Fiverr.

The Cover
------------
Alex Killbey from Overspray Productions
www.facebook.com/Overspray-Productions-177484735613011

Ian's Thoughts
-----------------
In many ways this album is a test, an experiment and a reason to have some fun, but in a serious way. At the start of 2017 I had been listening to a podcast called Spacepod, presented by a NASA scientist and focusing on short interviews with a range of interesting and amazing people she works with. I’ve always been fascinated by the challenges of space and the amazing technology we have developed to explore the universe. I still remember Neil Armstrong & Buzz Aldrin stepping on the moon and continue to be in total awe of their personal achievements and those of the tens of thousands who made it happen. Landing rovers and flying cameras to the distant reaches of the solar system is science fiction come true.

Over the millennia how many humans have stared up at the night sky and just wondered what it’s all about? How many, how far, where did it (or we) come from? We’ve had plenty of theories over that time, many of them passed down as cultural legend, but the rise of science and technology, against the forces that would have suppressed those radical, dangerous and contrary views, has allowed us to reach further than ever with the promise of even deeper understanding to come.

Between 1914 and 1916 English composer Gustav Holst wrote his famous Planets Suite with each movement corresponding to an astrological character. Notable by its absence, and of course consistent with the theme, is Earth. The music on this album takes an astronomical perspective and therefore includes Earth, but in keeping with Holst each piece draws inspiration from the character of the planet. My characters are drawn principally from the physical attributes of the planet, although references to their Greek or Roman naming origins inevitably creep in. The core device for defining character is in the narrator, my planets and moons tell their own story - this was a fun approach that I found worked well to distill differences between them.

As a fan of concept albums from the seventies, this is unapologetically one! The music is rather eclectic and provided an opportunity to stretch my composition wings and try a range of styles and instruments that would not normally be in my musical palette. This was a challenging and interesting part of the project and ticked some boxes for me. The day I finished Venus I felt like I’d written a classical masterpiece – unlikely, but still a significant result for me. Like many concept albums this one is designed to be played end to end for the experience, although you don’t have to. The first time I listened that way, having written it song by song, I felt a sense of journey and achievement. The broad song structure is narrative, instrumental and (optional) moon. Each of the moons is sung, for variation and also for narrative.

The production of this album has followed the same process as my prior album Second Earth. As a non-singing, non-drumming, limited guitar, keyboard player I’ve relied on the talents of others to translate my ideas for the various parts into real instruments. They are many and listed in the credits.

I hope you enjoy listening as much as I have composing and producing.

Ian

credits

released August 19, 2017

All music composed by Ian Rutherford except:
- Mars: Ian Rutherford/Kieran Simpson
- Kuiper Belt: Chris Quinlan/Ian Rutherford
- Planet Nine: Alister & Chris Lloyd

All narrative written by Ian Rutherford except:
- Introduction: Ian Rutherford/Ian Madsen

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all rights reserved

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about

Ian Rutherford Melbourne, Australia

Ian is a Melbourne keyboard player and songwriter.

The Plus Five band is a range of mainly vocalists, drummers and guitarists that perform my compositions and augment my keyboards.

Nickname: Rutherz
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