Hunchback - The Music

We have samples of the music available in several downloadable and streamable formats. So scroll on down and sample a few of HUNCHBACK's fabulous songs, "Human," "Paradise," "I Could Be True To You," "Court Of Miracles," and "The Many Faces Of Love."

Now Available! The double-CD album of Hunchback's great "classic rock" music, performed by author/composer C. Rainey Lewis.

Lewis is a powerhouse rock vocalist of astonishing range and versatility. A 3-time winner on the TV show "Star Search," her voice can be heard in numerous TV shows and movies.

The 20 songs on this double-CD set include guest performances by some of L.A.'s most gifted studio musicians. Two full hours of memorable music, including R&B-flavored barnburners, bluesy barrelhouse, straight-ahead rockers, and gorgeous ballads. The 20-page booklet includes complete song lyrics.

While we're getting our official "Web Store" ready, Early Birds can order this great new album for only $14.99 postpaid (WA residents add $1.23 sales tax).

TO PURCHASE BY EMAIL USING VISA OR MASTERCARD: send your name, shipping address, credit card billing address, card number & expiration date to sales@hunchback.com.

TO PURCHASE BY SNAIL MAIL: Send the above information (if not using a credit card, send check or money order in U.S. funds only) to: Seattle First Artists LLC, 1122 E Pike St. Suite 1294, Seattle WA 98122-3934. Add $5.00 for foreign shipping.

Please allow up to 4 weeks for delivery.

COMPLETE LIST OF SONGS IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE

ACT ONE

I.1 Gotta Give the People What They Want
Expressing the cynicism of an age when old rules and social structures are beginning to tear and crumble, this witty, frenetic opener sets the stage for the tragic events to follow, and has obvious parallels to today's world.

I.2 Human
The classic lament of society's misfits. Quasimodo the Hunchback pours out his rage and torment at being treated as a freak all his life. "I'm human!" he cries, then, bitterly indicating the mob "...if you call this humanity!"

I.3 It's Paradise
Seldom has any song expressed the pure ecstasy of existence as charmingly as "Paradise." Sung by the Gypsy ingenue Esmeralda, the song combines unbridled, childlike joy with wise and gentle instruction in the art of enjoying life.

I.4 Shame
"Where would we be without shame?" asks this clever lampoon of Christian piety. Sung by the evil Frollo and backed up by dancing nuns, the number begins darkly but evolves into a hilarious send-up that makes a telling point about conventional morality.

I.5 Man of Style and Substance
The boastful Phoebus, Captain of the Guards, delivers this rocking paean to himself. The perfect anthem for every self-centered egotist one has ever known, the song is filled with such lyrical gems as "The world is our oyster and we are the pearls."

I.6 I Could Be True To You
The scene is a Gypsy campfire at night. The song, sung by Esmeralda to acoustic guitars, is an intimate and touching affirmation of love as a regenerative and transforming power.

I.7 Court of Miracles
The charismatic scofflaw known as the "King of Thieves" sings this literate, infectiously hummable song while giving Esmeralda a guided tour of the subterranean community of beggars and con artists inhabiting the Paris sewers. The Court of Miracles is a place where anything can happen-and usually does. "Let's have a miracle-come on and walk on water with me! Choose your own miracle-it'll happen if you'll only believe."

I.8 Throw the Dice
A rollicking, bluesy number energized by barrelhouse piano and slinky slide guitar, "Throw the Dice" jokes about the many uncertainties of life, and is just plain good fun. "You're guaranteed to win or lose...but you won't know until you roll, roll, roll!"

I.9 Let Love In
The Poet's plea to Esmeralda on their wedding night is a classic pop ballad.

I.10 (Oh Let Me Be) Your Obsession
A new twist on the seduction song, "Obsession" succeeds in combining innocence and lust in a homage to male power and sexuality combined with a fervent prayer for peace and harmony between the Universal Male and Female Principle. "Oh, let me be your obsession. Your love's in need of expressionŠ". Musically, the song lilts, swells, and sparkles in a brilliant and infectious melding of Western classical and Mideastern exotic, made all the more entertaining by the Gypsy girls' dancing.

ACT TWO

II.1 It's A Dirty Job (But Someone's Got To Do It)
Another humorous tour de force by the sinister Frollo, this tune both laments and celebrates his distasteful duties as society's "enforcer". With obvious relish, he metes out floggings and other tortures so "the status quo can sleep at night." In a hilarious bit of slapstick, his feckless victims rattle their chains and join in singing the last refrain.

II.2 Nothing Changes (Everything Stays the Same)
This song, which accompanies the public flogging of the innocent Hunchback, turns the old cliche into a haunting dirge.

II.3 The Hunchback's Theme (She'll Never See Me) With heart-rending sadness, the Hunchback grieves over the impossibility of his love for Esmeralda: "Flowers bloom where no one can see / A wounded bird must die silently / Why be born just to wear this mask? / There's no answer; no one to ask."

II.4 For The First Time
An all-out rocker in which Esmeralda exults in her love for Phoebus.

II.5 Safe Harbor
Perhaps the most lushly beautiful of all HUNCHBACK's ballads, this love duet between Esmeralda and Phoebus uses intertwined, counterpoint melodies to achieve its stirring emotional power. From the first verse ("It's hard to trust anyone...") to the final refrain ("I'll be your safe harbor"), the song beautifully expresses the timeless themes of love and commitment.

II.6 Don't Want To Let You Go
Quasimodo pleads with Esmeralda to stay with him in the sanctuary of the cathedral. Recorded by a Michael Bolton or Michael McDonald, this R&B-flavored lament could be destined for a place on the pop charts.

II.7 The Many Faces Of Love
Frollo gives Esmeralda a choice: himself or the guillotine, and his twisted libido emerges as he declares his passion for her. "The hunter burns for the hunted / Is that Love? Who can say?/Don't tell me the tiger doesn't love its prey."

II.8 Nothing Changes (instrumental reprise)
The ominous instrumental theme accompanies the hanging of Esmeralda.

II.9 The Place I Call Home
A piece of pure, wrenching pathos, this song is sung by the Hunchback as he prepares to join his beloved Esmeralda in her grave.

II.10 We'll Never Be Parted
HUNCHBACK's stirring finale, this song is an anthem to the enduring power of love.

Produced by C. R. Lewis

All words and music by C. R. Lewis (p) & ©1991, 1992, 1993, and 1994 Treasure Island Music BMI

Recorded at Always Push "Record" Studios, Langley, Washington, except for "Human", "It's Paradise", "Throw the Dice", "Safe Harbor", and "Many Faces of Love", which were recorded at Attlebrat Studios in North Hollywood, California, Rocket Ritchotte, engineer.

All vocals and instrumentation by C. R. Lewis, except for lead and rhythm guitars on "Human", and "Many Faces of Love" by Rocket Ritchotte; lead guitar on "Don't Want To Let You Go" by Richard Rorex; and slide guitar on "Throw the Dice" by Chuck Kavooras.

My great thanks to the many wonderful people who have helped and encouraged me to make this project a reality after so many years of struggle; my thanks to Ross Nyeberg at DiscMaster in Issaquah, and thanks as well to Pip and Becky at Real Time Audio , also in Seattle, who were so kind in helping me get this CD set mastered and replicated; special thanks to Vince Wray of Dove & James Graphics in Clinton, Washington, who designed "Hunchie" so perfectly; thanks to John Root for his great effort to produce the graphic layout for this CD set in record time! Thank you, Rocket, my dear friend, you continue to inspire me with nothing less than a divine brilliance; thanks to my beautiful sons Robin and Jack, who have taught me the true meaning of love: and my greatest thanks of all to the one whose steadfast devotion brought these songs straight from my heart, my husband Rob. I love you so much, my darling...

May the True Maker of All Music bless you with a song for your heart always.

Love,
Rainey

For more information please write: RaineyWorks, 1122 E Pike St. Suite 1294, Seattle, WA 98122-3934

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