"So Much To Say” was initiated by George (Jerzy) Grunwald, a multi-talented musician and arranger who was born in Poland, raised in Sweden and also lived in New York City during his teen years. In the early 80s after having lived in Sweden for some time George decided to move to San Diego, California, where he made his first experiences in the professional music business. One of the key figures became studio contractor Benjamin Barret. Through Benjamin’s connections George had the chance to meet lots of the top session players of the L.A. music scene and to be present in the studio when they recorded multi-million selling albums like Lionel Richie’s “Can’t Slow Down” (1983). It was also the time when George perfected his musical skills and his musical taste was defined. Among his favourites were artists like The Eagles, Toto, Journey and Christopher Cross. After some time in the States George moved back to Sweden, where he is still based today. During the 90s he mainly worked as an arranger, song writer and session player for other artists and he met musicians that became friends and would later take part in the recording sessions for “So Much To Say”, like producer / guitarist Håkan Mjörnheim and saxophone player Eric Marienthal. “So Much To Say” was written over a longer period of time and the basic tracks were recorded with a great cast of talented musicians in various studios in Denmark, Sweden and Poland, before the background vocals were arranged and recorded in Bill Champlin’s studio in Los Angeles. Perfectly arranged and sung background vocals have always been an important part of the Westcoast sound, so the choice to involve some of the best vocalists of the L.A. studio scene at the time was an obvious one. The amazing combination of Bill Champlin, Jason Scheff, Joseph Williams, Lou Pardini, Warren Wiebe and Alex Ligertwood on one album can hardly be found lately. More high profile contributions on several songs come from David Garfield on keyboards and Eric Marienthal on saxophone. A ten track version of the album was first released in 2006 in South East Asian territories. Then, Japanese version featuring 2 bonus tracks followed in 2007. The first pressing of Avenue Of Allies version includes the same 2 bonus tracks as Japanese version. The release comes as a limited Special Edition in a jewel case with an individually numbered additional slipcase and an extensive booklet including lyrics and individual musicians credits for every album track. Another true gem for all AOR and Westcoast fans and music collectors.
- Label: Avenue Of Allies (Avenue 11 06 0026) (Original Release: Vivid Sound Corp, Japan <VSCD3351>, Icicle Music, Singapore <IMI-41142>)
- Release Date: Original Release: South East Asia: June, 2006, Japan: February 21, 2007)
- Producer: Oil Poulsen
- George Grunwald: Lead & Background Vocals, Guitars, Keyboards
- Musicians:
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- Bass: Oil Poulsen
- Keyboards: Oil Poulsen, Hakan Mjornheim, David Garfield
- Guitars: Haken Mjornheim, Hans Poulsen, Finn Verwohlt. Allen Hinds
- Drums: Jan Lysdhal
- Percussions: Jacob Andersen
- Sax: Eric Marienthal, Jens Hack
- Additional Lead Vocals: Lou Pardini (Track 10), Alex Ligterwoord (Track 7)
- Background Vocals: Bill Champlin, Joseph Williams, Jason Scheff, Lou Pardini, Warren Wiebe, Tamara Champlin, Trille Palsgaard, Stine Findsen. Mark Leadford, David Blamires. Alex Ligterwoord. Daniel Zimerman
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