Remembering again that he is mired here, The Magician feels it is time to introspect. It is time to leave. And fear won't bind his feet to this particular sidewalk in this particular town in this particular life. It is time to be come more unworldly; to leave and to seek knowledge. And gathering his experiences to date, he becomes The Priest.
"Here." is, perhaps, the most re-written song in the collection of songs on the album.
First, written in 1996, it simply told the story of a dark day in the life of the writer. Though this incarnation remained popular in set lists and early recordings, Julean refers to this version as "distracted, and sloppy".
The next major overhaul was in 2005 where, during the sessions for "Some Plans" a demo for a more updated version was recorded and later (again) scrapped for inclusion into the 2007 album.
Also, a briefly-lived demo was also recorded of this song during the recording sessions for "Darlene".
In the end, this version breathed life and content into the experiences in Julean's life during the period that this album was about, finding its home in -- and for the E.U. release version, previously being the title track of -- "Darlene".
This song contains many references to common themes in the album last, "Muse Tree", including longtime friend Inhaesio Zha (the co-author for a previous version of "Sin" and the subject in 'Muse's' "For Me"), the same individual mentioned in "Roots" (also on "Muse Tree"), and the then-closed coffeeshop in "Fifth Street Song" and "First Light". It is the parallel to the last album's title track, "Muse Tree".
This version of the recording -- a set of recordings made during the same studio session for "Muse Tree", "Alexandria, Falling", and "Disconnect' in 2007 -- was released in "premaster" form as a physical item for European audiences during performances in Europe from 2008 to 2010. A more recent and mastered collection is available on the U.S. release, "Darlene" (2011), available here:
juleanandtherai.bandcamp.com/album/darlene
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Julian and the Rai, Julian and the Ray
from
Here. (European demo version),
released August 1, 2008
Music and lyrics by Julean Rai. Recording and performances by Julean Rai. Engineered by Julean Rai and Brotherman at 491 Gallery Studios, London, UK. All music, lyrics, recording and performances by Julean Rai. Music and lyrical content & recordings copyright 1996, 2007 Julian D. Rai (BMI); Julean Rai (BMI), Julean and the Rai (BMI). All rights reserved.