belonged only to MDR. It's our ball and you can't play with it? Precisely that. Congas were the drums that shaped the rhythm tracks, tablas and dholak were the embellishments. Thank you to the drum choir who sweated profusely to shape the sound of our songs!

And the vocals? A little more dramatic than usual, it is very fair to say. A few of the tunes feature the usual MDR choral characters but a significant number are beautifully coloured by that nice Emma. You know her? You do? Oh, what is he like? We joke, as usual. Stick to the story. Right. Well, she sang on a few and,boy, do they sound good. They sound very good. One of the joys of the whole thing has been the use of the expanded palette, new instruments to MDR, new combinations, the new landscape. Get the drift? Emma's contributions to our stuff have been....lovely. No hint of glibness, it's the truth. You'll like her work, too.

And now we come to the point where other people are going to hear it and pass their verdict. The brides leave the church and toss their CD to the little, waiting crowd. A few people jump up and try to catch it. We hope that you love it, but if you don't...