Borrowed Tides and "Alpha Centauri"

As some of you may know, my second science fiction novel, Borrowed Tides (Tor Books, 2001), is about the first starship to Alpha Centauri.

As others of you may know, or as the same some of you may also know, one of the songs on my Welcome Up: Songs of Space and Time album (released this past February by Old Bear Records, with vinyl distribution by Light in the Attic Records) is "Alpha Centauri," about an astronaut who travels the 4.3 light years to that triple star system.   That song was written (words by me, music by Peter Rosenthal) around the same time as Borrowed Tides.

I performed it this past weekend, online, at Amazingcon.  Here's a video (that sounds like it was broadcast from Alpha Centauri) of the Zoom performance.



review of Welcome Up album by Joseph Neff for The Vinyl District

Lyrics to the Songs on "Welcome Up: Songs of Space and Time"

Welcome Up: Songs of Space and Time  - digital, CD, vinyl

“Welcome Up” (words and music by Paul Levinson, 1968, 2018)

Hiding behind a raindrop
Shyly opening her sweet milk-chocolate eyes
Sleepily peeking out from dreams nine times her size
Welcome up

Stories below her window
She sees people puttering like pebbles on the street
Sunshine buttering the sidewalk ‘neath their feet
Welcome up

Always reaching for the source
Always reaching something lost

Gliding beyond the same drop
Stars are clear as day although it’s just past noon
Moons are plentiful and every crow’s in tune

Soaring above the sunbow
Light’s an avenue for worlds that may found
Life is teeming there in every crazy sound
Welcome up

Always reaching for the source
Always reaching what was lost

Riding until she can’t stop
Never in reverse, her trip is set on send
What is the universe and just where does it end?

Where does it end?

“If I Traveled to the Past” (words by Paul Levinson, music by John Anealio, 2010)

If I traveled to the past
to change your mind
so you loved me then, and you loved me now,
would I have known to travel back in the first place?

If I traveled back so fast
that the world was blind
could I slip through time, could I slip the vine
of paradox that turns the best into the worst case?

It ain’t simple, it ain’t right
To turn the sun into the darkest night
If I could make it work, just one time
I could have it all, I could have you mine

If I traveled to the past
I would never tell
a single soul, my lips would be sealed
except when they brushed against your sweet face

If I traveled to the past
to change your mind
so you loved me then, and you loved me now, how
would I have known to travel back in the first place?

It ain’t simple, it ain’t right
To turn the sun into the darkest night
If I could make it work, just one time
I could have it all, I could have you mine

If only I could travel back through time
If only I could travel back through time ….

“Samantha” (words and music by Paul Levinson, 2005, 2018)

Samantha, can’t ya see
There’s no way lovin’ me’s
Gonna work for you
Yeah that’s sad but true

Samantha, fantasy
Is so sweet when it’s free
But our bill’s past due
Not much we can do

You come from an alternate dimension
That’s what makes you so appealing
That’s what puts me on the ceiling
You come from an infinite extension
They’ll pull you back there any time
Pull you back there on a dime

Samantha, dance with me
But don’t think that we’ll be
On the floor next year
Cause you won’t be near

Samantha, chances we
Could drift way out to sea
And it won’t be clear
If you’re really here

Your love just won’t survive inspection
Doesn’t matter what we’re feeling
All that matters is what’s real and
Your love’s just an astral projection
I can’t do the time
You can’t do the crime

Against reality
Samantha can’t you see
That we’re inside out
We can’t twist and shout

No, no, Samantha …

“Tau Ceti” (words by Paul Levinson, music by John Anealio, 2010)

Tau Ceti
oh ya let me
go too fast, throw my past
to the winds and the fates of a sheer empty space

Tau Ceti
your doors met me
open wide, broke the ride
in the swirls to the gates of an unfathomed place

(bridge)
Everything’s bright at the speed of light
But I can’t tell if it’s cloudy or clear
Plato said we can only know what we already know
But he never took a spaceship out here

Tau Ceti
no force set me
on this course, found and lost
I came to your chill of my own free will

Tau Ceti
don’t forget me
when I leave, just a leaf
that blew through the halls of your soft cosmic squalls

“Picture Postcard World” (words and music by Paul Levinson, 1968)

Two people lounging in an air-conditioned room
filled with pushbutton perfume
and plastic petals always in full bloom

Two people gazing at a 98-inch screen
living color fills the scene
in electric shades of morning blue serene

(chorus)
We live in a picture postcard world
We do
They sent us a picture postcard, girl
It’s true
Where everything’s perfect but
nothing is real
Though our lives seem ideal
We’re unable to feel

Two people taking breakfast with a high-tech shake
just like grandma used to make
And for dinner there’ll be cybernetic steak

Two people playing hard at all the latest sports
Up and down the plasma courts
A sound mind must dwell in a sound body of course

(repeat chorus)

Two people …

“I Knew You By Heart” (words by Paul Levinson, music by Peter Rosenthal, 2000)

The breeze that blew through your hair
when we passed on the street
The way you smiled when I stared
like you knew that we’d meet

It’s like we’ve been there before
But we’ve got to have more
It’s long overdue that we start

(chorus 1)
I knew you by heart
I knew you by heart
I knew you (by heart)

The sun that plays on your face
when I’m touching your cheek
The way it falls into place
every time that we speak
It’s way too strange to explain
but we’re right as the rain
It’s like we were never apart

(chorus 2)
I knew you by heart
No learning curve babe with you
I knew just what I should do
The first time out there’s no doubt

I knew you by heart
No point in playing a part
No point in being too smart
I loved you right from the start
I knew you (by heart)

(bridge)
Some day, something could go wrong
It’s true
No way that it could last too long
Cause you, you, you, you, you

(chorus 3)
Would know me by heart
No learning curve babe with you
I knew just what I should do
The first time out there’s no doubt
I knew you by heart
No point in playing a part
No point in being too smart
I loved you right from the start
I knew you by heart…

“Alpha Centauri” (words by Paul Levinson, music by Peter Rosenthal, 2000)

Think of a place
far away as can be
and I’d still be thinking of you

Way out in space
beyond any sea
You’d still be the dream that was true

(chorus)
‘Round Alpha Centauri
You’re still the most beautiful star
Around Alpha Centauri
Our love can reach that far
Our love can reach that far

Light years from home
far away as can be
but I could be back in a flash

Worlds that I’ve known
mean nothing to me
Hey baby, you don’t have to ask

(repeat chorus)

(bridge)
From Alpha Centauri
I send you my story
’til I am no longer away
‘Round Alpha Centauri
there’s no need to worry
My love will grow stronger each day

(repeat chorus)

“Cloudy Sunday” (words by Paul Levinson, music by Linda Kaplan Thaler, 1968)

Cloudy Sunday
I wake to find you gone
Cloudy Sunday
The bed I sleep upon is strangely smooth and white
touched only by me and the empty night

Cloudy Sunday
A fog upon my brain
Cloudy Sunday
condenses into rain and tears begin to swell
But you couldn’t tell that I loved you well

(bridge)
So we loved each other in passing
But I’ll keep searching for something more lasting
Like the poet, looking, for the once in a lifetime rhyme

Cloudy Sunday
I glimpse a distant form
Cloudy Sunday
I sense that she is warm but question what I feel
Reflection of me or something more real

Cloudy Sunday …

=======================================

Where to get most of this music:  Welcome Up: Songs of Space and Time: digital, vinyl, CD

Join my music mailing list

Patrick Rands Debuts "Welcome Up" in Boston

Welcome to Light On Light Through, Episode 122, in which I play for you the entire interview, along with the music, which Patrick Rands did with me the other day (January 21, 2020) on his show Abstract Terrain on WZBC Radio out of Boston (Newton, MA, to be more exact).  You may recall that Patrick interviewed me in 2005 about Twice Upon A Rhyme and all the other music I had out in various corners of the world back then.  That interview became episode 79 on Light On Light Through in 2010.  The new interview spotlights my new album Welcome Up: Songs of Space and Time, being released right now on digital. vinyl, and CD by Old Bear Records (see links below; limited vinyl being distributed by Light In the Attic).  Patrick also plays some lesser known songs from Twice Upon A Rhyme, and all kinds of demos and singles of my music over the years he's dug up in his inimitable way.   Enjoy -- and here's the playlist if you want to follow along:

1.  "Samantha"  Paul Levinson (words & music by Paul Levinson, 2018) from Welcome Up, Old Bear Records, 2020

2. "Alpha Centauri" Paul Levinson (words by Paul Levinson, music by Peter Rosenthal, 2000) from Welcome Up, Old Bear Records, 2020

3. "Alpha Centauri" Peter Rosenthal (words by Paul Levinson, music by Peter Rosenthal, 2000) studio demo

4. "Picture Postcard World" Paul Levinson (words & music by Paul Levinson, 1968) from Welcome Up, Old Bear Records, 2020

5. "Picture Postcard World" The Definitive Rock Chorale (words & music by Paul Levinson, 1968) single released on Decca Records, 1968

6. "If I Traveled to the Past" Paul Levinson (words by Paul Levinson, music by John Anealio, 2010) from Welcome Up, Old Bear Records, 2020

7.  "Welcome Up" Paul Levinson (words & music by Paul Levinson, 2018) from Welcome Up, Old Bear Records, 2020

8. "Tau Ceti" Paul Levinson (words by Paul Levinson, music by John Anealio, 2010) from Welcome Up, Old Bear Records, 2020

9. "Cloudy Sunday" Paul Levinson (words by Paul Levinson, music by Linda Kaplan, 1968) from Welcome Up, Old Bear Records, 2020

10. "Cloudy Sunday" Linda Kaplan (words by Paul Levinson, music by Linda Kaplan, 1968) studio demo

11. "Antique Shop (The Coming of Winter)" Paul Levinson (words by Paul Levinson, music by Peter Rosenthal, 1968) from Twice Upon A Rhyme, HappySad Records, 1972

12. "I'm Seeing You in a Different Light" Paul Levinson (words by Paul Levinson, music by Ed Fox, 1969 ) from Twice Upon A Rhyme, HappySad Records, 1972

13. "Ring Around My Rosie"  Protozoa (words & music by David Fox, 1968), single released on Buddah Records (produced by Paul Levinson, Herb Abramson, and Ed Fox), 1968

14. "My Pink Hippopotamus" Protozoa (words & music by David Fox, 1968), single released on Buddah Records (produced by Paul Levinson, Herb Abramson, and Ed Fox), 1968

15. "Merri Goes Round"  Sundial Symphony (= Don Frankel & Robbie Rist) (words by Paul Levinson, music by Ed Fox, 1969), single released on Big Stir Records, 2019

16.  "Merri Goes Round"  Trousers (words by Paul Levinson, music by Ed Fox, 1969), single released on HappySad Records, 1969 and on Wizdom Records, 1969

17.  "Hung Up On Love"  The Other Voices (aka The New Outlook: Paul Levinson, Stu Nitekman, Ira Margolis) (words by Paul Levinson, music by Mikie Harris, 1968), single released on Atlantic Records, 1969

18.  "Unbelievable (Inconceivable You)" The Vogues (words & music by Paul Levinson, 1968), unreleased single on Reprise Records

19.  "Park at Night" Paul Levinson & Paul Gorman (words by Paul Levinson, music by Paul Gorman, 1963) studio demo

20.  "Sunshine's Mine" The New Outlook (aka The Other Voices: Paul Levinson, Stu Nitekman, Ira Margolis) (words by Paul Levinson, music by Stu Nitekman, 1969) studio demo, 1966 (on Spun Dreams album, HappySad Records, 2010)

21.  "Pictures on the Phone" Paul Levinson (words & music by Paul Levinson, 2020) home demo

Where to get most of this music:

Welcome Up: Songs of Space and Time: digital, vinyl, CD
Twice Upon A Rhyme: digital, original 1972 vinyl

Where to see the lyrics to most of these songs:
for Welcome Up (scroll down); for  Twice Upon A Rhyme 

• join my music mailing list
• Patrick's 2005 interview with me, with music

Check out this episode!

Debuting Welcome Up LP at Philcon 9 November 2019

vinyl, digital, and CD copies of Welcome Up: Songs of Space and Time to be officially released by Old Bear Records in early 2020 - but you can get an advance copy of the CD here

more about Paul Levinson's music 

My Set List for 9 November 5:30pm Philcon performance

Jeremy Thompson, Paul Levinson, Steve Padin, Chris Hoisington

Here's the set list for my 9 November 2019 (Saturday), 5:30-6pm performance at Philcon (in Cherry Hill, NJ, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel), room Plaza VI (Six) - the first public performance of songs from my new science fiction related album, Welcome Up: Songs of Space and Time, produced by Chris Hoisington and to be released by Old Bear Records in early 2020:

If I Traveled to the Past (words by Paul Levinson, music by John Anealio)  

Tau Ceti (Paul Levinson and John Anealio)

Samantha (Paul Levinson)
Welcome Up (Paul Levinson)

Alpha Centauri (Paul Levinson and Peter Rosenthal) 

Cloudy Sunday (Paul Levinson and Linda Kaplan) 

I Knew You By Heart (Paul Levinson and Peter Rosenthal)
Picture Postcard World (Paul Levinson)

The names in parentheses are the songwriters.  I'll be singing all the songs, against backing tracks from my new album Welcome Up (to be released by Old Bear Records early in 2020) and two other songs from Twice Upon a Rhyme (Happysad Records, 1972).

backing tracks for If I Traveled to the Past, Tau Ceti, Samantha, Alpha Centauri, Welcome Up, I Knew You By Heart, Picture Postcard World:  guitars Jeremy Thompson, drums and keyboard Steven Carlos Padin, harmony and production Chris Hoisington, keyboard Anthony Hoisington, accordion Don Frankel

backing track for Cloudy Sunday: guitar Peter Rosenthal, piano Barbara Krupnick, harmony and production Chris Hoisington, production Paul Levinson

more about my music: Reverbnation, Facebook, Bandcamp, Spotify 

==========
The rest of the convention should be lots of fun, too.  Here's my schedule:

Fri 6:00 PM in Executive Suite 623 (1 hour) READINGS: PAUL LEVINSON, APRIL GREY, JAMES CAMBIAS (3723) [Panelists: Paul Levinson (mod), April Grey, James L. Cambias]  Note: I'll be reading from a  brand new alternate-Beatles story, "It's Real Life," for the first time in public!

Fri 7:00 PM in Crystal Ballroom Promenade (Gaming) (1 hour) AUTOGRAPHS: PAUL LEVINSON, APRIL GREY, JAMES CAMBIAS (3726) [Panelists: Paul Levinson (mod), April Grey, James L. Cambias]

Sat 11:00 AM in Crystal Ballroom Two (1 hour) ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND CONSCIOUSNESS (3590) [Panelists: Jeff Warner (mod), David Walton, Rebecca Robare, Anna Kashina, Paul Levinson, Muriel Hykes] Does “I think, therefore I am” apply to AI? Could it ever? How could we tell if it happens

Sat 3:00 PM in Plaza V (Five) (1 hour) JEWISH SCIENCE FICTION (3530) [Panelists: Simone Zelitch (mod), Paul Levinson, Aaron Feldman, B. Lana Guggenheim, Daniel Kimmel, Alex Shvartsman] Is it a subgenre of its own? Plenty of Jews write SF, and plenty of non-Jews incorporate Jewish history and elements of the Jewish supernatural into their work. What can we learn from this classification, and does it enrich or limit how we read

Sat 5:30 PM in Plaza VI (Six) (30 mins) Paul Levinson mini-concert

Sat 11:00 PM in Crystal Ballroom Two (1 hour) GAME OF THRONES (3600) [Panelists: Charlie Robertson (mod), Michael A. Ventrella, Muriel Hykes, Paul Levinson] It wouldn't be inaccurate to say that *everybody* lost when it comes to the HBO adaptation. How should the show have ended? How might the ending of the novels differ

Sun 12:00 PM in Crystal Ballroom Two (1 hour) HOW FAR CAN YOU SUSPEND SOMEONE'S DISBELIEF? (3514) [Panelists: Elektra Hammond (mod), Paul Levinson, Lawrence Kramer, Julie Ann Dawson, Robert E. Waters] How much can you ask a reader to take on faith before they can't take your story seriously any more? Are there ways to get readers willing to accept more challenging changes and assumptions? What authors have succeed at pushing the boundaries without pushing their readers out of the story

The Coming of Age of "Merri Goes Round"

Don Frankel and Robbie Rist = Sundial Symphony recording Merri Goes Round

Ed Fox and I wrote "Merri Goes Round" in the early 1970s - I wrote the lyrics, Ed wrote the music, and I sometimes spelled the title with hyphens, like "Merri-Goes-Round".  Truth is, it was a throwaway, bubblegum song, something we wrote after landing a contract with Buddah Records to release "Ring Around My Rosie," by a group called Protoza, and led by David Fox (no relation to Ed), who also wrote the words and music to Rosie.  You can hear that here.

But Ed and I thought so little of Merri that we didn't even think of including it on Twice Upon a Rhyme.  We did go into a 16-track studio in New York, and recorded a demo that came out so good we realized it was marketable as a finished master record.  We got Bruce Scott, a little known singer, to do the lead.  Our regulars Pete Rosenthal on guitars, Boris Midney on sax, and most of the rest were on the record, and I was wailing in the background with my usual falsetto.  The record sounded good.  But we were still amazed when we sold it to Jimmy Wisner's Wizdom Records, where it was released as a single under the group name Trousers (yep, I came up with that). It was soon forgotten.  You can hear it here.

Many decades passed.  Sometime around 2013, Don Frankel - who, as Donny Frankel, had played all manner of keyboard, including accordion, on Twice Upon a Rhyme - sent me a CD with a recording he and Robbie Rist had made of "Looking for Sunsets (In the Early Morning)," one of the best-known songs from Twice Upon a Rhyme.  Robbie, in case his name sounds familiar, was on the original Brady Bunch, has had a great career as one of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and the bus driver in Sharknado (also released in 2013).  Don and Robbie called their group Sundial Symphony, and they gave Sunsets a zestful performance (you can hear that here).  They followed the next year with their power-pop rendition of the lead-off track from Twice Upon a Rhyme, "Today Is Just Like You" (that's here).

And, then, about two years ago, Don surprised me with news that he and Robbie (as Sundial Symphony) were doing a song not on Twice Upon a Rhyme - "Merri Goes Round".  The thing is, I gotta tell you, from the moment I first heard their recording of Merri, I was blown away.  I think it's much better than the original - power pop works better for the song than bubblegum.  Big Stir Records liked it, too, first releasing it as an A-side of a single (with "Looking the Sunsets" as the B-side), and then including both on their Third Wave compilation album, with lots of fine recordings by other power-pop artists.

Here's Sundial Symphony's "Merri Goes Round":




I don't know about you, but I can't stop listening to it ...

PS - And here, as a bonus, is a just-published interview I did in July, with all kinds of old and new photos, about how I came to write the lyrics to "Looking for Sunsets (In the Early Morning)".

Recording Brand New Album of Science Fiction Related Songs

For immediate release...

Paul Levinson Off in a few days to Batavia, NY - Old Bear Records - to record a brand new album of my science fiction related songs with Chris L. Hoisington producing ... my first album of new songs since Twice Upon A Rhyme in 1972!  Watch my music page on Facebook for progress reports, including photos and video clips from the studio. I wrote the words and music to most of these songs, and collaborated with Linda Thaler, John Anealio Mazzarella, and Peter Rosenthal on several songs in which I wrote the lyrics and one of those fine composers the music. Here's a list of the songs I'll be recording: "Alpha Centauri" (words by Paul Levinson, music by Peter Rosenthal, 2000) "Cloudy Sunday" (words by Paul Levinson, music by Linda Kaplan Thaler, 1968) "I Knew You By Heart" (words by Paul Levinson, music by Peter Rosenthal, 2000) "If I Traveled to the Past" (words by Paul Levinson, music by John Anealio, 2011) "Picture Postcard World" (words and music by Paul Levinson, 1968) "Samantha" (words and music by Paul Levinson, 2018) "Tau Ceti" (words by Paul Levinson, music by John Anealio, 2011) "Welcome Up (Hiding Behind a Raindrop)" (words and music by Paul Levinson, 2018) I'll be touring in the Spring and Summer, performing these songs, mostly at science fiction conventions.  Watch here and on my Facebook music page for announcements.

Free Electronic Press Kits from ReverbNation.com

Late Afternoon

Usually when I'm writing and talking about my music, it's all about Twice Upon a Rhyme, the album I produced with Ed Fox in 1972, with most songs written by us (and a few others by just me, by me and Peter Rosenthal, Linda Kaplan, and others), and performed by Ed, me, Peter, Donny Frankel, Boris Midney, and lots of other musicians.

Interestingly, we never performed any of Twice Upon a Rhyme live.  In fact, the first live performance of a few songs from the album with some others was by Pete and me in Ronkonkoma, NY in August 2015 - here's the video (not the greatest sound quality, but you'll get the gist).

But before I started writing with Ed, before Twice Upon a Rhyme, I was in very different kind of group, a folk-rock group, The New Outlook.   That group consisted Stu Nitekman (usually lead vocal and strumming guitar), Ira Margolis (baritone harmony), and me (first tenor and falsetto harmony, occasionally lead, occasionally an organ I bought in Woolworth's on our home demos).

We did perform in person - almost daily, in the Alcove right outside the cafeteria on the North Campus of the City College of New York (CCNY), where we regularly sang instead of attending classes.  And when we weren't on the North Campus, we sang in a similar Alcove in Finley Hall on the South Campus, again rather than attending classes.   But we also on occasion performed at clubs in the New York area, recorded a few studio demos (recording costs paid for by this publisher or record producer or that), and lots of home demos (which is where my cheap organ came in).  I assembled 12 of those recordings, and added three of my own more recent songs, on a digital album, Spun Dreams, in 2010, available now on Spotify, Amazon, iTunes, and all the usual places.

But back to the 1960s - one sunny afternoon in 1967, The New Outlook (Stu, Ira, and I) were belting out our three-part harmonies in Central Park, when a couple walked by, stopped, and listened to at least six of our songs.  They turned out to be Ellie Greenwich (co-writer of "Da Doo Ron Ron" and tons of other songs) and Mike Rashkow (co-writer of "Mary in the Morning", recorded by Elvis), and they signed us to their production company and in turn to Atlantic Records, which released two singles by the New Outlook - renamed The Other Voices - which went nowhere.  (I co-wrote the B-side of one release, "Hung Up on Love," with Mike's wife at the time Mikie Harris).  The New Outlook shortly after left Atlantic, resumed our original name, and recorded one of our new songs, "Evening's Evergreen Morning," without Ellie and Mike.  But when it didn't get much response, either, we disbanded.  The studio demo of "Evening's Evergreen Morning" - which, by the way, features Pete Rosenthal on guitar, in his first work on what would be many of my songs - is included in Spun Dreams.

Which gets me, at last, to the title of this post.  "Late Afternoon" was not included on Spun Dreams. It was one of our favorite songs - I wrote the words, and Stu the music - and we performed it with full New Outlook harmony.  But all I had was a track with Stu singing a strong lead and strumming guitar. I had hoped to someday find a full New Outlook version - but I decided, the other day, to just add some of the harmony myself, and get this song out to the world.   It will soon be available on Spotify, Amazon, and iTunes.  But here's the song for you now (with lyrics below).   Enjoy!



Late Afternoon

Words by Paul Levinson, Music by Stu Nitekman, 1966

The shades of dusk hang over us
Our day has nearly passed
And now the Earth seems sadly hushed
As shadows wash the grass

(chorus)
Look at our love in the late afternoon
Any moment the darkness might come
Open your eyes, it's the late afternoon
Don't let our dreams set with the sun

The early warmth has cooled with time
We'll soon feel evening's frost
And in the night we'll never find
the treasure that we lost

(chorus)

You smile while twilight skies grow dim
But once the flame has died
You'll long for all that might have been
If only we had tried

(chorus)

========================================

And hey - if you'd like more of The New Outlook, here's another recently uncovered recording of all three of us singing that upbeat, peppy classic - On the Sunny Side of the Street

Song List for my LI-Con2 Concert on 15 August

I had a great rehearsal yesterday with guitarist Peter Rosenthal for our performance at LI-Con2 in Ronkonkoma, NY next Saturday (August 15) at 9pm, and thought I'd put up a partial play list. Songwriters are in parenthesis.   Free links and iTunes links are indicated, where available.

• The Soft of Your Eyes (Paul Levinson) - iTunes
• The Lama Will Be Late This Year (Paul Levinson - Ed Fox) free ... iTunes
• Today Is Just Like You (Paul Levinson) free ... iTunes
• Time is Money (Peter Rosenthal)
• Looking for Sunsets in the Early Morning (Paul Levinson - Ed Fox) free ... iTunes
• 2020 - Go To Canada (Peter Rosenthal)
• Lime Streets (Paul Levinson) free ... iTunes

Concert will be streamed live on Periscope starting 9pm Eastern, Saturday, August 15 - watch it by clicking on the link on my Twitter page.

Note added 16 August 2015 - and here's the concert as it appeared in its entirety on Periscope:



Paul Levinson with maraca, Peter Rosenthal with guitar

Spun Dreams

Before Twice Upon a Rhyme, there were Spun Dreams by Paul Levinson - demos (studio, home, rough, and refined) that Paul for the most part wrote with Stu Nitekman, and recorded as part of the folk-rock-pop group The New Outlook, consisting of Paul, Stu, and Ira Margolis.   For many years - from the time these songs first were recorded on a home tape recorder or in a studio (A&R Studios in Manhattan) during 1966-1968, and then moved from tape to acetate for easier playing - these demos languished in dusty closets.   Paul brought them into the Walsh Digital Lab at Fordham University in early 2006, and converted them and other demos and master releases into MP3s.   Spun Dreams, available now for the first time on iTunes, is one of the results.

1. Sunshine's Mine (Levinson-Nitekman),  studio demo,  Paul lead, 1966
2. Evening's Evergreen Morning (Levinson-Nitekman)  unreleased master, Stu lead, 1968
3. Two Minus One (Levinson-Nitekman), home demo,  Stu lead, 1966
4. Murray the K's Back in Town  (Levinson) Paul Levinson, studio demo, 1972
5. Please Don't Cry Little Dove (Levinson-Nitekman)  studio demo,  Paul and Stu lead, 1966
6. Just That Kind (Levinson-Nitekman), studio demo,  Stu  lead, 1967
7. Yesterday's Rain (Levinson-Nitekman),  studio demo, Stu lead, 1967
8. Happy Goodbye Baby (Levinson-Nitekman), home demo, Stu lead, 1966
9. Water Proof (Levinson), home demo,  Paul lead, 1966
10. Precious and Golden (Levinson-Nitekman), home demo, Stu lead, 1966 
11. Keep Off the Grass (Levinson-Nitekman), home demo, Stu lead, 1966
12. The Flavor of Spring (Levinson), home demo,  Stu lead, 1966 
13. Don't Blame It On Love (Levinson-Nitekman), home demo,  Stu lead, 1966 
14. If Leaves Fall Tomorrow (Levinson-Nitekman), studio demo, Stu lead, 1967
15. Alpha Centauri (Levinson - Rosenthal) Paul Levinson, home demo, 2000/2010

Songwriting credits:

Levinson-Nitekman = words by Paul Levinson, music by Stu Nitekman
Levinson = words and music by Paul Levinson
Levinson-Rosenthal = words by Paul Levinson, music by Peter Rosenthal

Artist (singer) credits:

Unless otherwise indicated, the songs were performed by The New Outlook, with either Paul or Stu singing lead, and some combination of Paul, Stu, and Ira singing harmony.    Paul Levinson sings lead and harmony in "Murray the K's Back in Town".   Paul Levinson sang "Alpha Centauri" in 2010 to music recorded by Peter Rosenthal in 2000 (the words and music were written in 2000).

Album cover designed by Joel Iskowitz.

Liner Notes:

The New Outlook began to come into being in the summer of 1963, when Paul Levinson got his first job, making sundaes and ice cream sodas, at Krum’s on the Grand Concourse in the Bronx.  Ira Margolis also worked there, and the two soon started talking music, and singing.  Stu Nitekman was Ira’s friend.  The three soon formed The Transits, maybe the last doo-wap group in the Bronx, with several of Paul’s friends from junior high school and earlier.   When the Transits disbanded in 1965, Paul, Stu, and Ira became The New Outlook.  And whereas The Transits covered early Four Seasons and Beachboy songs, Paul and Stu wrote their own songs for The New Outlook.

They sang in the “alcoves” of City College - the entry halls behind the cafeterias of CCNY, where they were students - both between and during many of their classes.  They recorded demos in Stu’s home. Stu sang most of the leads, Paul a few.  Paul sang falsetto and tenor harmony with Ira, who sang baritone.  Stu played acoustic guitar, Paul played a little keyboard he had purchased at Woolworth’s, Ira had a tambourine in hand.   “Two Minus One,” “Happy Goodbye Baby,” “Keep Off the Grass,” “Don’t Blame It On Love,” “The Flavor of Spring,” and “Precious and Golden” were written by Paul (lyrics) and Stu (music).  “Water Proof” was written just by Paul.  All were recorded on a reel-to-reel tape recorder in Stu’s living room in 1966.


Paul and Stu brought their demos around to every publisher and producer in the Brill Building and nearby they could find. The late great Tash Howard brought the New Outlook into a studio to record a demo of “Please Don’t Cry Little Dove,” which was the group’s first professionally recorded song.   A little later, the group went into a studio under their own steam, and recorded “Sunshine's Mine,” written by Paul and Stu, with Paul doing lead vocal.

On a sunny spring Sunday in 1967, The New Outlook were singing in Central Park in New York City. Ellie Greenwich (another legend who died too soon) and Mike Rashkow happened by, liked what they heard, and brought the group into a studio to perform a few of their songs.  These are represented on this album by “Just that Kind,” “If Leaves Fall Tomorrow,” and “Yesterday’s Rain” (which is about half the size of its true length, due to a little glitch during the recording).

Elli and Mike changed the name of the group to The Other Voices and signed them to Atlantic Records, where the group had two single releases.  Paul co-wrote the b-side to both singles, “Hung Up on Love,” with Mikie Harris.  The recording was included in Rhino-Handmade’s compilation album, “Come to the Sunshine: Soft Pop Nuggets,” in 2004 (compiled by Andrew Sandoval).

The group left Ellie and Mike and Atlantic Records in late 1968. They went into the studio on their own, and recorded a master of what would be their last song together, “Evening’s Evergreen Morning”.  Stu sang lead, Paul his customary falsetto, and Ira the baritone harmony.   Peter Rosenthal - who would go on to play guitars on every cut of Twice Upon a Rhyme (the album Paul later recorded with Ed Fox, Peter, and other artists) - played guitars on “Evening’s Evergreen Morning”.

In 1972, Paul wrote an article in The Village Voice about Murray the K’s return to New York as a disk jockey.   Murray hired Paul to help produce Murray’s show on WNBC Radio, and a few months later Paul wrote and recorded a studio demo of “Murray the K’s Back in Town,” with Pete on guitar.

Rounding out Spun Dreams is “Alpha Centauri,” a song Paul (lyrics) and Pete (music) wrote in 2000, after being out of touch more than 25 years.   Paul’s singing the vocal and Pete played all of the instruments.  Its science fiction theme is a sign of things to come.

Lyrics to Paul Levinson's Twice Upon a Rhyme, 1972

I'm delighted to announce that, in a few weeks, Big Pink Music in South Korea will be issuing a special new CD of my 1972 album, Twice Upon a Rhyme. I just sent the lyrics and liner notes to Big Pink - and I thought I would post the lyrics here, as well (they are below the album covers), for all 13 songs on the album. (The Korean release will also have two new bonus tracks.) More details about the album, including samples of many of the songs, over here.

***December 1, 2009:  Twice Upon a Rhyme now on iTunes and Amazon and eMusic

***December 31, 2008: New Korean CD Reissue of my 1972 Twice Upon a Rhyme Now Available, with Three Bonus Tracks

Reviews of Twice Upon a Rhyme on Rate My Music




TWICE UPON A RHYME

Paul Levinson with Ed Fox and Peter Rosenthal, Happysad Records, 1972


TODAY IS JUST LIKE YOU
Words & Music by Paul Levinson
April 1969

Ooh, today the sky is blue
You know your eyes are too
Today is just like you

Yeah, the sun is everywhere
Just like your golden hair
Today is just like you

What a beautiful day, girl
You’re the same way, girl
Hope you both stay girl, and

Oh, see how the colors glow
Just like the love you show
Today is just like you

What a beautiful day, girl
You’re the same way, girl
I sure hope that you both stay girl
‘Cause tomorrow will shine, and
Life will be fine, as
Long as you’re mine girl, and

Wow, I got your love somehow
The perfect time is now
Today is just like you
Today is just like you


LOOKING FOR SUNSETS
(IN THE EARLY MORNING)
Words & Music by Paul Levinson & Ed Fox
March 1969

We wander a wet and windy shore
Washed by the morning hour
Looking for last night’s flower
On the floor

We drank of the dark red wine before
Now that it’s turned to water
We hope that the day is short
And knock on evening’s door

(chorus)
Looking for sunsets in the early morning
Always longing for more
Looking for sunsets when world is dawning
And love is hiding from the roar

The morning rolls out its awning like a store
Baby, we won’t go shopping
We’ll search ‘till the sundials stop
And love begins to pour

(chorus)


GENTLE BLUE CHERRY BELL
Words & Music by Paul Levinson & Ed Fox
December 1968

Lie down by the lavender lakes
And watch as the sugary snowflakes
Float in a musical suite

(chorus)
Gentle blue cherry bell
Of soft white fringes
Gentle blue cherry bell
My whole night hinges
On you

The dusk is a soft silken drape
That falls on the lyrical landscape
Set to a love sonnet’s beat

(chorus)

(bridge)
See the night
There’s light all around
I see the night
It’s bright on the ground
While in the sky
The pastel play, the breeze ballet
Is breathtaking, I’m shaking

(chorus)



I’M SEEING YOU IN A DIFFERENT LIGHT
Words & Music by Paul Levinson & Ed Fox
January 1969

The first time that I saw you girl
I didn’t blink an eye
Seen so much more before you
Just as common as the sky
But now a sun is rising
As I look at you tonight
I’m seeing you in a different light

I’m not sure what’s occurring
But it all fits into place
‘Cause something warm is stirring
As I gaze into your face
It’s life that’s advertising
And the signs are big and bright
I’m seeing you in a different light

I’m seeing you in a different light . . .

The blush of Aphrodite
Is alive upon your cheek
I’ve seen the light despite me
What a fool I was last week!
But now I’m realizing girl
It’s love at second sight
I’m seeing you in a different light


LEARN TO LEARN
Words & Music by Paul Levinson & Ed Fox
February 1969

The Friday sidewalks sure look crowded
Crowds rushing home with Sunday eyes
And me, I walk among the clouded
Into a night of starless skies

I’ve got to learn to learn
Not to hide my face from the sun
Now the truth is dawning
I’ve been one with no one

Lost in the wilds of misconception
Mistaking love’s embrace for chains
I feel the depths of my deception
My world is cardboard when it rains

I’ve got to learn to learn
That away is the worst way to run
In the glow of morning
When the day is so young

I’ve got to learn to learn
That a love song is meant to be sung
In the warmth of morning
When the world is so young


LOOKS LIKE A NIGHT
(I WON’T CATCH MUCH SLEEP IN)
Words & Music by Paul Levinson & Ed Fox
May 1969

Looks like a night I won’t catch much sleep in
I’m wide awake on you girl
The kind of night that is well worth keeping
Tomorrow and through, girl,
A lifetime or two

I close my eyes but instead of sleepin’
I’m well aware of you girl
The shades of sky slowly fade and deepen
But you’re bright as new, girl
You’re taking me to

A world of falling rain fountains
Ice blue streams and apple green mountains
If you love me and really mean to
I’ll be always loving you

Looks like a night I won’t catch much sleep in
I got the day in you girl
Your kind of light hits me soft and sweepin’
I smile when you do, girl
You’re beautiful too



RAINCHECK
Words & Music by Paul Levinson & Ed Fox
December 1968

Girl, you’ve got love to give me
But I can’t take it now
You’d spend your weekends with me
But I can’t make it now

(chorus)
Take a raincheck
Please don’t stay
Save all your lovin’ for a sunny day
Take a raincheck
But don’t go far
Soon as I’m able I’ll be where you are

Girl, it’s a nasty forecast
With dark clouds overhead
But soon as the storm has blown past
I’ll make good on what I said

(chorus)





YOU ARE EVERYWHERE
Words by Paul Levinson
Music by Paul Levinson & Danny Kaley
August 1967

I watch the treetops
Catch the breeze, shed their leaves
Like tears upon the ground

I watch the raindrops
In the sky, and I cry

For in everything I see you
You are always there
In the rain and in the trees
You are everywhere, yeah, you are everywhere

Icy waves leaping
In the sea, how the high tide
Drenches all the shore

I see willows weeping
As they cry, so do I

For in everything I see you
You are always there
In the skies and in the seas
You are everywhere, yeah, you are everywhere

Although your love is gone
My love still lingers on

For in everything I see you
You are always there
In the rain and in the trees
In the skies and in the seas
In the waves, baby, and in the breeze
You are everywhere, yeah, you are everywhere



FOREVER FRIDAY
Words & Music by Paul Levinson & Ed Fox
June 1969

In the near and distant past
I have passed
Near the steeples, and the windows
Were stained and strange
And the ring of voices out of range
And I found I couldn’t sing

(chorus)
It’s forever Friday
As I see the world in my way
Sunday’s just a shadow play, for me
It’s forever Friday
As I walk the ghost-town highway
Just a mirror-glass away
From the seventh day

In a far and touching word
I once heard
Morning raining, and the windows
Shined open clear
In the light of one alive idea
And I glimpsed of everything, but now

(chorus)


THE SOFT OF YOUR EYES
Words & Music by Paul Levinson
October 1968

Like a sun that starts to rise
In the cream of morning skies
And gives its gentle glow
So as the soft of your eyes

Like a very special prize
Long kept hidden in disguise
But now I really know
So as the soft of your eyes

And there’s always a place for me
Here, in the soft of your eyes
And a kind loving face for me
Here, in the soft of your eyes

And the time forever flies
And the dreaming knows no ties
Just warm familiar flow
So as the soft of your eyes


ANTIQUE SHOP
(THE COMING OF WINTER)
Words by Paul Levinson
Music by Peter Rosenthal
June 1968

Brief patches of light
Sneaking through the rusty leaves
Brief snatches of sight
Slipping past the autumn thieves

(chorus)
Relics of summer psychedelics
An ever-dwindling splinter
Browse around while the world dies down
Witness the coming of winter

Few flowers to smell
Pretty face already shed
Few hours to tell
Many things that might be said

(chorus)

(bridge)
But don’t let your mind stray too far
It might get hung up on a faded buttercup
Or tuned down to the muted sound
Of half-forgotten seas
And the soft as cotton breeze


NOT YET READY TO SAY GOODBYE
Words by Paul Levinson
Music by Linda Kaplan & Paul Levinson
October 1968

Things been getting’ worse, lately
Been lovin’ in reverse, lately
Almost time to say we’ve had our fill
Seems from here the road is all downhill
Don’t you believe it girl, we’ve something still

(chorus)
Hey, we’re not yet ready to say goodbye
“Sure gonna miss you” just won’t get by
Goodbye don’t make it
We can’t forsake it
We’re not yet ready to say goodbye

Life’s been down on us, lately
Been causin’ quite a fuss, lately
Breakin’ up would be the simple cure
But the treatment would be mighty poor
Long empty evenings never feelin’ quite sure

(chorus)

(bridge)
Can’t say so long – it’s been so long
Can’t say that’s all – ‘cause that’s all wrong

(chorus)


THE LAMA WILL BE LATE THIS YEAR
Words & Music by Paul Levinson & Ed Fox
November 1968

(a brief question and answer period)

Children don’t you know it’s past your bedtime
You’ve been waiting all day for the sun
Didn’t come so now it’s eyes-are-red time
He’s been holding out on everyone

People all been cold for such a long time
Never seen the likes of this before
He would always come and bring the warm time
Maybe he don’t love us anymore

(chorus)
The lama will be late this year
The lama will be late this year
I fear he’s been delayed
Heaven knows where he’s strayed
We’re gonna have to wait this year
The lama will be late this year
The lama will be late this year
I fear we’ve been repaid
The mistakes we have made
We’re gonna have to wait this year

It’s time all right and yet it’s not the right time
Maybe there’s some thing we’ve gotta learn
We’ll just keep on spinning through the nighttime
‘Till we light the way for his return

(chorus)

Sell music on Amazon at ReverbNation.com

A Little Taste of My Music

***August 2015: Paul Levinson and Peter Rosenthal in concert at LI-Con2 (Ronkonkoma, NY)





***December 2009: All 13 tracks of Twice Upon a Rhyme available on iTunes and Amazon

*** December 2010:  Whiplash/Salvation Records releases vinyl re-pressing of Twice Upon a Rhyme sold in record stores in New York City, Los Angeles, London, Manchester (UK), and Tokyo ...  re-issued in September 2011

reviews of Twice Upon a Rhyme:

“Tim Hardin meets The Zombies ... a real forgotten gem from 1972 that serves as perfect listening on a Saturday morning in November ... warm and peaceful.”

Choreographer of the Hill

“Twice Upon a Rhyme (Happysad ‘72): I’ve seen multitudes of folkpsych wannabes hyped to the skies for their garage charm in euro lists that don’t hold a candle to this baby. “Forever Friday” is so amazing and lo-fi real I still get chills when I hear it. And the long track “The Lama Will Be Late This Year” sweeps whatever floor is left in this department.”

Johan Kugelberg, Paul Major and Michael P. Daley - Enjoy the Experience

“... mixes the psychedelic pop of the ‘60s, a dash of Simon & Garfunkel and some expansive and imaginative arrangements which recall the Beach Boys or even Burt Bacharach in places. There’s a real warmth and love running through these cuts ...”

Phil - Norman Records

"Twice Upon a Rhyme from 1972 was one of Shindig’s favourite rereleases of last year."

Shindig Happening!

"Superb fuzz guitar irresistibly drizzled across several tracks ... a memorable personality indelibly locked inside the grooves ... the perfect sound track for a lethargic spring day."

Austin Matthews - Shindig Magazine

"a musician full of summer sun"

Dave Greenwald - RAWKBLOG

“The vocals are reminiscent of a live Beatles gig, I haven’t seen them live but my grandma said they are quite good.”

Daniel Thomas - Independent Music News

“Had this record been released in 1968-1970 and with the support of a major label it would have been hailed as a psych pop masterpiece.”

George Cannon - Way Off the Grid Radio

"romantic, sunshine happy Americana or bluesier ... a handful of good feeling summer breeze love songs ... a touch of Santana exotic elements and a lot more fuzz guitar ... melodic and harmony vocals"

Gerald Van Waes - Psyche Folk

"human mystical pop music... wonderful songs"

Taro Miyasugi - Record Collectors Magazine

"In recent years the album has gone from an unknown collectors' gem to a much more widely known (and acclaimed) folk-rock recording."

Evan LeVine - WFMU's Beware of the Blog

"I managed to track Paul Levinson down and his Twice Upon a Rhyme album became the first release on the label."

Anthony Nyland - Le Crowley - Backseat Mafia

"Best discovery in 2016"

Jeffrey Lewis - Manic Pop Thrills

     



complete lyrics to Twice Upon a Rhyme songs

scanned copy of a letter I wrote in September 1972 to a disk jockey in Syracuse, New York, about Twice Upon a Rhyme

***November 2008: Delighted to have signed a contract last week with Big Pink in Korea, for its reissue there of Twice Upon a Rhyme! Watch here for further details.

***December 2008: New Korean CD Reissue of my 1972 Twice Upon a Rhyme Now Available, with Three Bonus Tracks

Reviews of Twice Upon a Rhyme on Rate My Music

***March 2009: review of Twice Upon a Rhyme in The Strange Experience of Music - in French! ... (Can't read French? Here's the English translation.)

***April 2009: Twice Upon a Rhyme reissued in Japan by Vivid Records on April 21!

***May 2009: from review of Twice Upon a Rhyme, in Fuzz, Acid and Flowers: A Comprehensive Guide To American Garage, Psychedelic and Hippie-Rock (1964-1975) by Vernon Joynson

A local New York private pressing recorded between July 1969 and October 1971. At their best, Levinson and his crew produce dark, druggy pop music remindful of neighbors The Patron Saints or bayou obscuros Feather Da Gamba. Forever Friday, Looking For Sunsets and You Are Everywhere fit this profile. The Lama Will Be Late This Year is probably the most intriguing cut on the album, having as it does an oddly Syd Barrett-like delivery of the lyrics and some pretty unorthodox music with fuzz guitar leads.

***October 2009: Evan LeVine (Swan Fungus blog) interviews me about Twice Upon a Rhyme and more about the City Diner in New York City ... this is a short note about the interview

***November 2009: Rockit Scientist Records on St. Marks Place, New York City, stocks several copies of original 1972 vinyl Twice Upon a Rhyme

***November 2009: Jack Hobbes interviews me about my music for 40-minute podcast Out of the Bubbling Dusk

***December 2009: Pretty much the complete, frank interview that Evan LeVine conducted with me about my music, science fiction, life, much more in October 2009 ... this is the transcript, published on the WFMU blog

***December 2009: All 13 tracks of Twice Upon a Rhyme available on iTunes and Amazon

*** December 2010:  Whiplash/Salvation Records releases vinyl re-pressing of Twice Upon a Rhyme sold in record stores in New York City, Los Angeles, London, Manchester (UK), and Tokyo ...  re-issued in September 2011

Paul Levinson's music on Facebook

60 minutes on WZBC Radio about Paul Levinson's music, with 14 complete songs





Spun Dreams - studio and home demos - most from the 1960s, right before Twice Upon a Rhyme - released January 2011 - details ...

Disoography

The New Outlook

1968

1. May My Heart Be Cast Into Stone (Randell-Linzer) Other Voices, Atlantic Records, Stu lead

2. No Olympian Height (Brute Force) Other Voices, Atlantic Records, Stu lead

3. Hung Up On Love (Levinson- Mikie Harris) Other Voices, Alantic Records, Rashkow lead

4. Evening's Evergreen Morning (Levinson-Nitekman) New Outlook, unreleased master, Stu lead


1967

5. If Leaves Fall Tomorrow (Levinson-Nitekman) New Outlook, studio demo, Stu lead

6. Just That Kind (Levinson-Nitekman) New Outlook, studio demo, Stu lead

7. Yesterday's Rain (Levinson-Nitekman) New Outlook, studio demo, Stu lead

8. Sunny Side of the Street (classic: Fields & McHugh) New Outlook, studio demo, Stu lead

9. The Winds of Change (Levinson-J.Krondes) Good News, Murbo Records, L. Carabalo lead


1966

10. Once Upon a Summer (Levinson-Nitekman) New Outlook, studio demo, Stu lead

11. Please Don't Cry Little Dove (Levinson-Nitekman) New Outlook, studio demo, Stu lead

12. Sunshine's Mine (Levinson-Nitekman) New Outlook, studio demo, Paul lead

13. Precious (and Golden) (Levinson-Nitekman) New Outlook, home demo, Stu lead

14. The Flavor of Spring (Levinson) New Outlook, home demo, Stu lead

15. Water Proof (Levinson) New Outlook, home demo, Paul lead

16. Two Minus One (Levinson-Nitekman) New Outlook, home demo, Stu lead

17. Time On My Hands (Nitekman) New Outlook, home demo, Stu lead

18. Late Afternoon (Levinson-Nitekman) New Outlook, home demo, Stu lead

19. Keep Off the Grass (Levinson-Nitekman) New Outlook, home demo, Stu lead

18. Happy Goodbye Baby (Levinson-Nitekman) New Outlook, home demo, Stu lead

19. Don't Blame It On Love (Levinson-Nitekman) New Outlook, home demo, Stu lead

20. The Outcast (Mark Goodman) New Outlook, studio demo, Stu lead

21. Down by the Magical Sea (Mark Goodman) New Outlook, studio demo, Stu lead


Notes:

The Other Voices produced by Ellie Greenwich & Mike Rashkow

The Other Voices = The New Outlook

all The New Outlook produced by Paul & Stu

The New Outlook sang harmony on "The Winds of Change"

The New Outlook = Paul Levinson, Stu Nitekman, Ira Margolis

Twice Upon A Rhyme

Paul Levinson
with Ed Fox and Peter Rosenthal

1. Today Is Just Like You
(P. Levinson)

2. Looking for Sunsets (in the Early Morning) (P. Levinson & E. Fox)

3. Gentle Blue Cherry Bell (P. Levinson & E. Fox)

4. I'm Seeing You in a Different Light
(P. Levinson & E. Fox)

5. Learn to Learn (P. Levinson & E. Fox)

6. Looks Like a Night (I Won't Catch Much Sleep In) (P. Levinson & E. Fox)

7. Raincheck (P. Levinson & E. Fox)

8. You Are Everywhere (P. Levinson & D. Kaley)

9. Forever Friday (P. Levinson & E. Fox)

10. The Soft of Your Eyes (P. Levinson)

11. Antique Shop (The Coming of Winter)
(P. Levinson & P. Rosenthal)

12. Not Yet Ready to Say Goodbye
(P. Levinson & L. Kaplan)

13. The Lama Will Be Late This Year
(P. Levinson & E. Fox)

Originally released in 1972 by Happysad Records

PAUL LEVINSON: vocals, keyboard, percussion

ED FOX: vocals, keyboard
PETER ROSENTHAL: guitars

Jay Sackett: bass; Cyril Penn: recorders; Mitch Greenberg, Jesse Stiller: drums;

Donny Frankel: organ; Joe Szalacsi: trumpet; Israel Esquenazi, Sasha Humek: violins;

Boris Midney: saxophone, drums

Produced & Arranged by
Paul Levinson & Ed Fox

Paul Levinson - other than Twice Upon a Rhyme and The New Outlook

2018

The First House of Mars (words only - P. Levinson - no music as yet)

I Fell in Love with a Robot  (words only - P. Levinson - no music as yet)

2011

If I Traveled to the Past (P. Levinson - J. Anealio) John Anealio, home demo

Tau Ceti (P. Levinson - J. Anealio) John Anealio and Paul Levinson, home demo

2006-2018

Lime Streets (Levinson) Paul Levinson, recorded live at WZBC Radio (2006)

2000

I Knew You By Heart (Levinson - Rosenthal) Peter Rosenthal, studio demo

Alpha Centauri (Levinson - Rosenthal) Peter Rosenthal, home demo

1972

Murray the K's Back in Town (Levinson) Paul Levinson, studio demo

1971

Merri-Goes-Round (Levinson - Ed Fox) Trousers, Paul harmony, Wizdom Records

Ring Around My Rosie (David Fox) Protozoa, Paul harmony, Buddah Records

1969

Sunshine Mind (Levinson) Donna Marie, Columbia Records (also recorded by the Fuzzy Bunnies, unreleased single on Decca Records)

Teacups and Tapestry (Levinson - Boris Midney) studio demo

Snow Flurries (Levinson - Jimmy Krondes) Good News, Paul harmony, Murbo Records

Sunday Princess (Levinson - Ed Fox) Joey Ward & Paul Levinson, studio demo

Unbelievable (Inconceivable You) (Levinson) The Vogues, Reprise Records (unreleased)

1968

Picture Postcard World (Levinson) Definitive Rock Chorale, Philips Records

Lemons and Limes (Levinson) Fuzzy Bunnies, Decca Records

Love Colored Glasses (Levinson - Harris) Mikie Harris, studio demo, later recorded by June Valli

Mr. Kringle (Levinson - Harris) studio demo

Teardrops Make No Sound (Levinson - Jimmy Krondes) studio demo, later recorded by June Valli, then Jimmy Clanton, then Irish singer Martin Flynn

Waking Up to Love (Levinson) studio demo

Skyscraper (Levinson - Kaplan) Linda Kaplan, studio demo

Cloudy Sunday (Levinson - Kaplan) Linda Kaplan, studio demo

A Piece of the Rainbow (Levinson - Kaplan) Linda Kaplan, studio demo

1963

The Park at Night (Levinson - Gorman) Paul Levinson (lead) and Paul Gorman, studio demo

Alphabet Baby (Gorman)  Paul Levinson (lead) and Paul Gorman, studio demo


Notes:

1. "Merri-Goes-Round" produced by Paul Levinson and Ed Fox

2. "Ring Around My Rosie" produced by Paul Levinson, Ed Fox, and Herb Abramson

3. "Sunshine Mind" produced by Jimmy "Wiz" Wisner

4. "Unbelievable" produced by Dick Glasser

5. "Picture Postcard World" and "Lemons and Limes" produced by Ellie Greenwich and Mike Rashkow

Sundial Symphony (Donny Frankel and Robbie Rist) record Paul Levinson's music



2016

"Merri Goes Round" (P. Levinson - E. Fox) Robbie Rist lead, HappySad Records (digital)

2015

"Today Is Just Like You" (P. Levinson) Donny Frankel lead, HappySad Records (digital)

2013

"Looking for Sunsets (in the Early Morning)" (P. Levinson - E. Fox) Donny Frankel lead, HappySad Records (digital)

Recordings of "Looking for Sunsets (in the Early Morning)" (P. Levinson - E. Fox) by other artists:

Protozoa (Buddah Records, 1973), James Harris (demo, 2007), Jha Voice (demo, 2011), Catherine Asaro (demo, 2012), Sundial Symphony (HappySad Records, 2013)

Sell music on Amazon at ReverbNation.com