The Fallen Star | gilgamesh

The Recording process:

First Unit Production and Recording:
Tony Garone - vocal, keyboards, percussion
Jennifer Garone - vocal
Recorded, engineered and mixed at Cow Pilot Studios, Arizona by Tony Garone

Second Unit Production and Recording:
Casey Carney: drums, crickets
Billy Brown: electric guitar, bass
engineered by Billy Brown
Recorded at Outpost Productions, New York December, 2000

I recorded the keyboards, percussion and Jennifer's vocals at Cow Pilot Studios and then mixed down the eight tracks on the ADAT to the computer. I took the mix down from the computer and transferred it back to the ADAT and two tracks. I sent the ADAT to Billy who recorded his electric guitar and Casey's electronic drums. Billy sent it back to me for mix down.

When I recorded the original tracks to this song I did not use a click track because I never intended there to be drums. The main keyboard sound you hear is itself sequenced, in that there is a repetitive generation of rhythms as you press keys on the the MIDI controller (keyboard). So trying to keep my hands steady and following the precision of the sequencer was virtually impossible. After hearing the initial tracks, I felt Casey could put down some interesting drum tracks. The fact that I did not use a click track made it impossible for William to sync a click to the song - and worse - virtually impossible for Casey to follow.

The voice of Ninsun - the beautiful and talented Jennifer Garone.

However, when I got the tape back, I was astounded that Casey was not only able to follow the song but also the incredible drum sounds that Casey and William had come up with. In parts it sounded like they were recorded underwater. Just incredible.

William Brown comments:

The final cut we worked on was my personal favorite,“The Fallen Star”. There is something about this song that I can’t explain verbally. Talking about music is like dancing about architecture. Casey and I were inspired to develop a unique rhythm and sound for the drums. He programmed a rhythm set called ”Spooked” which contained very techno and progressive tones. We
then managed to marry his parts with Tony’s free-form keyboard rhythm. Tony employed the Carleton Sheets method of time keeping. I’m convinced he is testing us just to see if we’re on our toes! Add water, some hollow-toned guitar harmonies and stir!

Mmmmmmmm....thems’ good eatin’s!!!! WJB

What is this song about?

Gilgamesh is troubled by a strange dream and brought it to his mother, the temple priestess, Ninsun, for interpretation. In the dream Gilgamesh was wandering at night and saw a meteorite fall from the skies right before him. He attempted to carry it but it proved to be too heavy even for the mighty king. Somehow he managed to bring it to Ninsun, who "made him compete with it".

Ninsun tells Gilgamesh that the meteor represented a person who was to be sent to him as a companion and friend. This man would be Enkidu, who would become a very important person to Gilgamesh.

Here is the excerpt from a most incredible translation by Maureen Gallery Kovacs:

"Gilgamesh got up and revealed the dream, saying to his mother:

Mother, I had a dream last night.
Stars of the sky appeared,
and some kind of meteorite(?) of Anu fell next to me.
I tried to lift it but it was too mighty for me,
I tried to turn it over but I could not budge it.
The Land of Uruk was standing around it,
the whole land had assembled about it,
the populace was thronging around it,
the Men clustered about it,
and kissed its feet as if it were a littel baby(?)
I loved it and embraced it as a wife.
I laid it down at your feet,
and you made it compete with me."

The mother of Gilgamesh, the wise, all-knowing, said to her Lord;
Rimat-Ninsun, the wise, all-knowing, said to Gilgamesh:
"As for the stars of the sky that appeared
and the meterorite(?) of Anu which fell next to you,
you tried to lift but it was too mighty for you,
you tried to turn it over but were unable to budge it,
you laid it down at my feet,
and I made it compete with you,
and you loved and embraced it as a wife."
"There will come to you a mighty man, a comrade who saves his friend--
he is the mightiest in the land, he is strongest,
his strength is mighty as the meteorite(?) of Anu!
You loved him and embraced him as a wife;
and it is he who will repeatedly save you.
Your dream is good and propitious!"

Cuneiform symbols for "Fallen Star"

Dr. Pagan explains:

This is the cuneiform for "meteorite." It can be represented either as MUL "star" (Akkadian: kakkabu) or as MUL.GAL, literally "big star" (Akkadian: kakkabu rabû). The cuneiform consists of two signs, from left to right: MUL (made up of three stars) and GAL ("big," "great").