DJJD Volume 7

Created By:  Jonathan Dysart (DJJD)

Original Creation Year:  2005

Year of Re-master:  2010

Song Listing

Side A

1.    Laura:  Scissor Sisters

2.    Lady:  Lenny Kravitz

3.    Superstition:  Stevie Wonder

4.    Shining Star:  Earth, Wind & Fire

5.    I Think I'm Going to Kill Myself:  Elton John

6.    I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do:  ABBA

Side B

7.    Love Will Keep Us Together:  Captain & Tennille

8.    (Night Time Is) The Right Time:  Ray Charles

9.    Alberta:  Eric Clapton

10. Walking to New Orleans:  Fats Domino

11. The Entertainer:  Scott Joplin

Side C

12. Love is Like Oxygen:  Sweet

13. The Night Chicago Died:  Paper Lace

14. Brandy (You're A Fine Girl):  Looking Glass

15. Where I Belong: Gerry Rafferty

16. Proud Mary: Ike & Tina Turner

Side D

17. Vienna:  Billy Joel

18. My Singing Bird:  Gerry Rafferty

19. Sail Away:  Randy Newman

20. America the Beautiful:  Ray Charles

21. Love is the Thing:  The Hollies

22. Return to Oz:  Scissor Sisters

Origin of the Album

              One night I was watching an entertainment television show.  It could have been Entertainment Tonight or CNN Headline News.  Right before the show signed off for the night, they announced a new retro band called Scissor Sisters with their new hit “Laura” had just been released.  In the ending credits, the show played their video.

            My eyes were just glued to the set, yet I noticed that I was dancing will be sitting on my lounge chair.  Wow!  It a rare thing to have a song grab my attention like that.  So, the next day I went onto the computer and inquired about this band on iTunes Music Store.  I found out that they are a retro 70's band.  Their music is mainly pop, R&B, and funk – with the 70's Elton John being their biggest influence.

            I went to their album of the same name and checked their tracks.  The first I did was downloaded “Laura”.  The other songs at that time did not appeal to me, except for their second to last track “Return to Oz” – I downloaded that song.

Concept and Theme of the Album

               From there, I had an idea for a new album – an album made on major African-American influences:  R&B, Funk, Blues, 70’s pop, etc.  I needed a change of pace from rock (heavy or soft).  The first song of the album would be “Laura” and the last song would be “Return to Oz”.  All I needed to do was fill in the rest with some good songs I love in this framework.

Concept and the Album Cover

               I could not think of an album cover at that time without having to put in obvious seventies pictures.  I wanted to make something original, like I did with DJJD Volume 5.  After scanning through the finished album, I noticed that most of the songs are driven by piano or keyboards.  Since the image of a guitar to me represents rock, I thought that having the piano as the main focus of the cover.  I also noticed that this album is more upbeat – but not heavy - than most of the other albums.  I took that into consideration.

            While surfing through the web, I found this beautiful blue picture of piano keys.  It was set against a blue-sky background with clouds and a deep blue butterfly.  The only problem was there was writing right in the middle of the picture.  Using my Roxio picture software, I put a nice sky-blue square over the writing and added my album title over it.  This was the most beautiful album in my collection at that time.  So beautiful that my mother wanted it added to a custom CD album I made for her.

            When I was remastering the album, I was unfortunately not able to find a duplicate picture from the internet.  I decided to do one from scratch completely, now that I had better Roxio software capabilities.  I found all the separate elements:  cloud background, a rolling piano keyboard, a neon glowing musical note, and a deep blue butterfly.  I combined the elements together (making duplicate musical notes and adjusting their colors), added the album title, and added a yellow fade on the bottom, giving it more depth.  I like it better than the original one – a cheery musical cover.