The Opposite of Now

At last, my new album comes out today. The Opposite of Now is a collection of acoustic recordings of some of my favorite songs and 3 originals.
I recorded it between December 2010-Jan 2011 in New York City. I still don't have physical copies of it but it came out on Amazon and iTunes Europe stores tonight after the clock struck the midnight hour. Suppose it will do the same in the Americas once it's 12/1/11 on the other side of the pond.
Some of the recordings on here I'm very fond of, others not so much anymore ( I won't say which, hehe).
I recorded 3 Bob Dylan tunes, "Not Dark Yet", "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright" and "Make You Feel My Love". I plan to do a whole album of Dylan tunes in the future.
Nick Cave's "Into My Arms",  "Breaking the Law" by Judas Priest as well as "Paranoid" by Black Sabbath make an appearance here.
Some of the versions were spontaneous melanges and were left as is. John Lennon's "Jealous Guy" and Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" fall into this category.
I recorded a version of Cat Stevens "Wild World" with beautiful background vocals by Julia Haltigan.
Fell in love last year with Townes Van Zandt's "Be Here to Love Me". Gerald Menke laid down some sublime pedal steel on this track as well as a few others on the album.
I included 3 original songs: "An Out Clause", "Just One Reason" and "One Man Show".
Last, but not least, Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" which I first heard by Jeff Buckley.

I'll write more about the album and my individual take on the songs later on this month. I'm currently deciding which ones to make videos of and release as singles.






THE OPPOSITE OF NOW on Amazon.com

Track Listing: 

1. Be Here To Love Me 
2. Make You Feel My Love 
3. Breaking The Law 
4. Hallelujah 
5. Wild World 
6. Just One Reason 
7. Don't Think Twice, It's Alright
8. An Out Clause
9. Jealous Guy
10. Into My Arms
11. Not Dark Yet
12. Paranoid 
13. Smells Like Teen Spirit 
14. One Man Show

Leo Susana - Guitar, Vocals

Gerald Menke - Pedal Steel on 1,2,3,9

Julia Haltigan - Background Vocals on 5

Recorded and Produced by Rafael Lazzaro

at Crazy Goat Studios, NYC Dec. 2010-Jan 2011

Mixed at Crazy Goat Studios NY,
Terranota Santo Domingo, DR

Strange Weather, NY

Mastered by Paul Gold at Salt Mastering, NY

Photography - Casey Herd/Nadia Yanowsky

Design - Paula Español

Released and Distributed by MP5 Discografica

http://www.mp5cd.com