I thought it would be fun for him to have another CD of Dad’s music, but with some singing this time. Eight additional songs crawled out of the woodwork, and with the help of many fantastic musicians (102 in all), the result is a full album by the “Doug Benson Collaborative” titled The Rosetta Stone. These are not all songs “for Drew” per-se, as he will not understand the lyrics to most of this material. But I worked to carefully craft interesting, full mixes that will give him lots of sensory-stimulating things to listen to over time. The progression of the songs, adjacent key signatures, thematic ideas etc. also make for a cool 42-minute listening experience from start to finish, especially in good headphones like the ones Drew wears.
It was an interesting journey, as during COVID some musicians were unavailable to come to the studio, so they recorded their parts remotely and sent the audio to me over the internet. Some of the voices were even recorded on phones and laptops! The wonderful cover painting is a watercolor by a musician friend, Bill Roberts.
I am under no illusions that this will become some best-selling hit album; if past experience has shown me anything it is that sales of music media are virtually non-existent without live gigs to promote them, and with 102 participants, that will never be. The Rosetta Stone is truly a labor of love for Drew’s benefit. At the same time, I want it to be heard by those who might enjoy it, so the physical CD will be offered for sale through all the normal online sources (or directly from me.) But, I am offering the complete album as a free digital download, including a pdf booklet with art, personnel and lyrics. There are no cross-selling gimmicks or “just pay for shipping” offers, it is actually free. If you enjoy it and want to donate a few dollars through PayPal or Venmo we’d be grateful, but that is in no way mandatory.
So please download and enjoy The Rosetta Stone. It’s just a click away!