Below you will find links to various sites which feature songs from my album. I do hope you enjoy my songs. If so, please let me know. Please consider purchasing the complete CD using the links to PayPal, or downloading the music from iTunes. Thanks!

MySpace:
http://www.myspace.com/stevensbillings

1. My Home Is You

This is the closing song of my album. I think it sums-up the whole thing. Its somewhat sentimental tone carries at once a longing and a hope. Though life in this world will always be lacking in some way, life forever with Jesus will finally grant us the permanency this world lacks.

2. Cape Fear

This song explores a bit of what makes me who I am. It uncovers some painful stuff for me, venting some of the anger I have harbored against myself for getting into situations I should never have even considered. On the album, this song will lead into the closing sequence, which deals a lot with the concepts of pain and loss. Dane , Randy on bass, and Sandy on guitar. Chris also played guitar. Chet did keyboards, of course. On the studio version, we've added an extended guitar solo (Chris) with some almost Pink Floyd-ian ear-candy. Enjoy!

3. At Least a Thousand Reasons

A really fun one for me.  I can't wait to produce this one in the studio!  It's based on the notion that it can be very easy to pile a bunch of obstacles in the way of a loving relationship -- finding so many faults and holding too tightly to what you consider to be the "ideal" match.  Sometimes you have to take the love that God sends your way and just let Him work out all the details.

4. T.G.I.F. (Thank God I'm Free!)

This is the album's opener. All the voices are mine. Drums are by Mark Peckinpaugh and guitar is Chris Liepe, who also serves as the chief engineer on this project. Again, Chet provides a fantastic organ track!

5. Big Little Man

This song turned out to be quite a surprise to me.  I didn't set out to write a country song, but that's the direction it took.  It was written in September of 2005 during the same week I wrote The Puzzle Master and a few others.  It continues to be one of my favorite songs of the project.

ShoutLife:
http://www.shoutlife.com/crownbearer

1. My Home Is You
2. At Least a Thousand Reasons
3. Big Little Man
4. The Spirit In You

All my vocals. Chet played the big beautiful Yamaha acoustic grand piano. He also played the Kurzweil harp. Chris again on guitar with Mark on drums and percussion. The 24-piece orchestra joins us again.

5. The Puzzle Master

What fun we had on this one in the studio! Dane on drums, Randy on bass, and Sandy and Chris on guitar. Chet and Chris helped with the singing on this one, as well as sharing in the creative vocal arranging. Listen to the bridge, in which you can hear the backing vocals bouncing playfully from side-to-side, and then in the following verse, we imitated 1950's-style backgrounds. Lots of fun over top of a driving rhythm section; truly all the pieces of the puzzle came together nicely here!

MyCCM:
http://www.myccm.org/crownbearer

1. My Home Is You
2. At Least a Thousand Reasons
3. Big Little Man
4. Where Is the Love? (In the Body of Christ)

I wrote this in April of 2005 ... much of it in the shower at my brother's house in Virginia! It deals with struggles and strife in the church. Why is it so hard to live as children of our heavenly Father and the love He intends for us to have and to show? Dane, Randy, and Sandy on this one. Chris added his awesome guitar work, with Chet on keys.

JCFaith:
http://www.jcfaith.com/Crownbearer

1. I Give It All to You

Written in June of 2005. Chet and Chris joined their voices with mine - Chet on the low voices, Chris on the highest part of the second echo voices - and we added an urban Gospel choir in the later choruses. Listen to how the backing voices build in each successive chorus. In the first chorus it is basically 4-part harmonies layered 4 voices each. In the second chorus a counter-melody is added. In the third chorus another counter-melody is layered on top of that. You can also hear some fun with left-to-right channel panning in the backing voices. Dane Clark on drums (drummer for John Mellencamp), Randy Melson on bass, and Sandy Williams on guitar. These three guys do a lot of work in the Anderson and Indianapolis studios. They're heard on hundreds of recordings, many of which have been national releases. Chet Chambers -- life-long friend and the producer on this project -- did some awesome organ work, as well as piano.

2. Massimo Is Waiting

Written in April of 2005, this is a song about unrequited love. Loosely based on the character from the film The Wedding Planner, it expresses the sadness that one experiences when the one with whom you have fallen in love doesn't return the feelings. If you've ever been there, you understand the longing and praying. Eventually the pain subsides, and the loneliness is sometimes mixed with a desire for solitude. Chet did the keyboards. All the voices are mine. A 24-piece string orchestra joins the "choir" on the bridge. Check out the amazing 'cello solo on the second verse!

3. Branches

Written in December of 2005 for the occasion of my brother Jim's promotion to Lt. Colonel with the Army Reserve. It was incorporated into a PowerPoint presentation for the day created by Jim's wife Stephanie. At the time, Jim was the speech-writer for the Commander of the Army Reserve, Lt. General James Helmly. Now Jim commands an Army Press Corp outfit in Queens, New York. This is basically a demo that will be fully produced for the next album.

4. The Evil We Love

Added to my 20 or so vocal tracks are about a dozen each by Chet and Chris. Great instrumentals again by Mark, and especially the guitar work of Chris. Listen to his amazing soulful solo leading into the modulation.

5. My Home Is You

iLike:
http://www.ilike.com/artist/Steven+S.+Billings

All the songs can be heard on iLike, actually, but the one that is there but nowhere else right now, is:

Already Gone

I wrote this back in 1990, as I was working my way through my father's impending death. I re-recorded a demo of the song and played it for my mother during her last week of life. She really enjoyed it. For the studio version we've added a 24-piece string orchestra. Mark on drums. Chet did the bass on the mighty Kurzweil. Nice guitar work by Chris.