Sticking with it

Malcolm Singleton is taking the music on his debut album a bit further, but is sticking with the pop/rock formula that he loves.

"Be There," which was recorded in Spring Valley, Harvest and Murfreesboro, Tenn., will be available in stores in the Shoals on Tuesday.

The album took longer to record because, unlike his EP where Singleton played all the instruments, he and producers Daniel Beard and Eddie Martin called in several session players for "Be There."

"I was really happy we brought them in," Singleton said. "The guys that played the instruments on the record are better players on their instruments than I am. I'm not a virtuoso on anything."

The album includes Chris Fryar on drums and percussion, Jon Putnam on bass, Kevin Wooten on keyboards and Matt Slocum on organ.

Singleton also brought in his friend and former partner Gaylon Partain to play lead guitar and former Steppenwolf guitarist Larry Byran to play Wurlitzer organ on one track.

"We expanded a little as far as the instrumentation." Singleton said. "It's a more mature record, but we stuck to the same sound, the pop/rock type of thing."

While he enjoys performing, Singleton said he loves the creative process of arranging songs and instrumentation.

Singleton said the album was recorded in several locations.

Some basic tracks were laid down at Singleton's home studio in Spring Valley and a recording studio in Murfreesboro, Tenn.

The bulk of the album was recorded at Beard's Musiek Entertainment studio in Harvest.

"Be There" contains 10 tracks with two bonus tracks.

The last two tracks are two different versions of "The Girl From Another World."

One version is a stripped-down vocals and guitar mix and other second is an experimental version with additional instrumentation.

Singleton credits Beard with the inspiration for "The Girl From Another World" and song developed by he, Martin and Singleton based on a girl Beard met while on a mission trip to South Africa.

"He happened to meet this girl who was a waitress at a restaurant," Singleton said. "She was absolutely gorgeous. He said. 'I'm going back to the states and I'll never see this girl again.' "

He said it's the first song he Beard and Martin have written "from scratch."

The title track was recorded in Boston, Mass., while Singleton was doing an internship at Rounder Records in Cambridge, Mass. Martin came to visit Singleton and his father and they found a quiet place to write what became "Be There."

Singleton said for the songs on "Be There", he stayed with the pop/rock sound he enjoys.

"I tried to stay with the catchy, hooky type stuff," he said.

Singleton said he considered debuting the album at a CD release show, but decided just to release the album in stores for the time being.

"I'm getting married this weekend, and I've been real busy with the planning of that," he said.

The album will be at Mug.com and Counts Brothers Music in Muscle Shoals, Cold Water Books in Tuscumbia, Rivertown Coffee and Pegasus Records, Tapes & CDs, all in Florence. The disc will also be available through CD Baby and as a digital download from iTunes.

After his honeymoon, Singleton said he will get back to performing live around the Shoals.

As for the future of his musical career, Singleton said he would love to become involved in an artist development deal.

He loves writing songs, but does not want to become someone who churns out songs for other artists.

"Some folks are willing to write songs for anybody. I'm not that kind of person," Singleton said. "I want to write catchy pop songs. I write them for me. If someone else wants to cut it because it's a great song, I think that's how it naturally works."

Russ Corey can be reached at 740-5738 or russ.corey@TimesDaily.com.