“The Ballad of the Cross” was written in 1997, one of the first collaborations with Elton Smith. As was our custom, Elton came up with the music first (usually as a MIDI file prepared with the help of Band in a Box), and I would add the lyrics. Elton had the idea for the theme of the song, and so I took that and ran with it. With the length of the song, it became our first “ballad”.
This is the only song on the album that I used a “click track” on. Normally, I hate working to a click — it can detract from the human ebb and flow of the music — but in this case, I needed it to maintain a consistent tempo. For a click, I simply recorded a simple drum pattern from my keyboard, letting it go on for about 8 minutes (knowing I would have an extended outtro eventually). Later, I replaced the drums with live ones, playing my drum kit.
The music builds gradually. Note it starts with just acoustic guitar (two of them, actually) playing a finger pattern. That is followed by the addition of acoustic strumming. Next, drums are brought in, and finally, the bass guitar is added just before the electric guitar outtro, which I began with 2 patterns I played, followed by the addition of a great guitar solo by my friend Craig Ingram. Craig actually recorded nearly 5 minutes of various solo patterns, and I was able to edit them into the segment you hear on the recording. Craig is an amazing guitarist who would be on the Nashville “A” list if he ever wanted to. For now, I am privileged to perform with him in our church’s praise band, where I take the role of Bass Player.
As with most of the album, I sang the melody twice, in addition to harmony vocals. For my voice, this seemed to help quite a bit, doubling the lead vocal. The “wind” noise right before the last segment was recorded by, yes, blowing into the microphone. To make it a bit more real, I recorded twice, and offset the second one so that it produced more of a swirling wind effect. This 8 measure “lull” is intended to imagine the space of time between the Lord’s death and His rising again.
I call this song my “Christian Free Bird”, on account of its acoustic beginnings following by an extended electric outtro.
Song copyright © 1997 Elton Smith and Larry Holder
Recording copyright (P) 2014 Larry Holder
three chords and a capo 