“Never Go Back” solo and live

I recorded my arrangement of Vermont singer-songwriter Rachel Bissex’s song “Never Go Back” for my first unaccompanied solo record, “The Act of Being Free in One Act”, in 1995. This video was recorded in my home studio on August 22 2023, i.e. two days ago. It’s one of my favorite solo pieces, based on a theme and variations structure. I only wish I could sing it while I play it–the lyrics for this piece are beautiful.

The piece isn’t blues, but as with almost all my work there’s a lot of blues in it. Enjoy.

Harp junkie info: the piece is played on a Lee Oskar Natural Minor harp in Ab, and is played in 2nd position, so in that key. The piece demonstrates some of the advantages of the Natural Minor tuning, starting with the fabulous chords you can get with it. There’s no other equipment involved other than the video camera and its built-in mic. I EQed the audio and put some reverb on it when I edited the video. Otherwise this is just the way I played it.