CORPUS CHRISTI Written by Stephen Becker Vocals, guitar: Stephen Becker Keyboards: Roger Joseph Manning, Jr. & Stephen Becker Drums and percussion: Ash Soan Bass: Vinzenz Benjamin Backing vocals: Doris Brendel & Stephen Becker Produced and engineered by Calum Malcolm Mixed by Calum Malcolm Mastered at AIR London by Barry Grint We were honored to have Ash Soan on drums and percussion on this track. He's one of my favorite drummers so it was quite a thrill. His amazing sounding drum studio is in an old wooden windmill in Norfolk, England. If you look him up you'll see he has brought the beats for close to 20 #1 albums and 11 #1 singles total--everyone from Adele to Taylor Swift. He currently touring with Snow Patrol but what drew me to him especially was that he was/is Trevor Horn's main studio drummer and long time drummer for Seal. Lyrically, this song has quite a few layers of meaning but suffice to say it was inspired by Carlo Acutis and his website detailing eucharistic miracles throughout the course of history the last 2000 years. Carlo Acutis was canonized as Saint Carlo on 7 Sept 2025 after the release of this song on 28 Feb 2025. By the time the full album "Second Mansions" came out on 19 Sept 2025, Carlo had been named full on Saint. The official music video for "Corpus Christi" is a pixel art animation depicting him at his computer at work on his website. In the video, Carlo, who was a gamer enters into the computer matrix as a playable character climbing the ladder of ascent to heaven. On the journey he is attacked by demons and assisted by holy angels. You can find the video on YouTube. #sophistipop

MORNING BY MORNING Written by Stephen Becker Vocals, guitar: Stephen Becker Keyboards: Roger Joseph Manning, Jr. & Stephen Becker Bass: Lewis Gordon Drums: Ross McFarlane Percussion: Liam Bradley Harmonica: Brendan Power & Ross Garren Backing vocals: Jon Auer & Ken Stringfellow Produced and engineered by Calum Malcolm Mixed by Calum Malcolm Additional prod and engineering: Cameron Lister Assistant Engineer at Sunset Sound: Harriet Tam Mastered at AIR London by Barry Grint The outro track features two of the world's greatest living harmonica players trading off, Brendan Power and Ross Garren. When you enter a holy marriage maybe there is a union of your guardian angels and holy intercessors...that's what the song is dreaming about as well as living by the ocean. When I began the album I lived in the hills over Los Angeles, now I live by the seaside...still not a morning person, though, ngl. There are other verisons of this track which we hope to include on a deluxe physical release... #sophistipop

TIME TICKING AWAY Written by Stephen Becker Vocals and guitar: Stephen Becker Keyboards: Roger Joseph Manning, Jr. & Stephen Becker Bass: Pino Palladino Drums and percussion: Liam Bradley Produced and engineered by Calum Malcolm Mixed by Calum Malcolm Additional engineering: Cameron Lister Mastered at AIR London by Barry Grint Special thanks to Derek James for his mix consultation Cameron and I hunkered down for an afternoon with the legendary Pino Palladino at the recording studio, Lucy's Meat Market, in Eagle Rock in Los Angeles. He brought his old fretless Music Man bass which has been on so many records as well as his '61 jazz bass. I think it has to be one of the greatest thrills on earth to get to collaborate on a song you wrote with a musician of this caliber. This goes for many of the other musicians on the album as well but Pino's session was a huge highlight--I learned that he has a very kind, authentic, and generous spirit and the stature of an NBA center. For the drum and percussion sessions, Calum flew from Edinburgh to Belfast and drove to County Donegal where he tracked Liam Bradley at his extraordinary drum studio, The Seclusary, which is directly on the shore of Loch Foyle. There are other verisons of this track which we hope to include on a deluxe physical release... #sophistipop

THE SOUND ALONE Written by Stephen Becker Vocals: Stephen Becker Keyboards and SFX: Roger Joseph Manning, Jr. & Stephen Becker Drums and percussion: Liam Bradley Additional synthetics: Calum Malcolm Produced and engineered by Calum Malcolm Mixed by Calum Malcolm Mastered at AIR London by Barry Grint A headphone tableaux... Cinemascope... #sophistipop

MEMORARE Written by Stephen Becker Vocals, bass, drum programming: Stephen Becker Guitar: Paul Jackson, Jr. & Stephen Becker Keyboards: Roger Joseph Manning, Jr. & Stephen Becker Bass: Lewis Gordon Drums: Ross McFarlane Backing vocals and arrangement: Eric Troyer Choir backing vocals: Russell Jackson, Leah Williams, and Jackie Simley Choir vocalists courtesy of Fifth Avenue Entertainment, LA Choir recording and production: Cameron Lister Produced and engineered by Calum Malcolm Mixed by Calum Malcolm Mastered at AIR London by Barry Grint Los Angeles was once called the "Town of Our Lady of the Angels". It's where I wrote this song. There is a stratocaster on the album cover which is the most fantastic blue color. I wrote Memorare on it the instant I first picked it up. My next door neighbor, at the time was a PhD who spoke seven languages and worked as a translator with the State Dept. He has a strong interest in orthodox Christian iconography and a devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. We had many discussions and he gave me books, rosaries, and many museum prints of Italian and Northern renaissance art. One day he told me a friend of his had written a dissertation on the subject of the color, "Marian Blue", which became an interest for me as well. What was uncanny was that while I'd never owned a blue guitar before (or a blue synthesizer for that matter!) suddenly many blue instruments were coming into my life--including the PPG Wave 2.3, a classic blue keyboard from the 80s which also appears on the album cover and appears on songs on the album. A similar thing happened later when I acquired the deep blue Rickenbacker 330 also on the album cover--the instant I picked it up I began writing the track, "Saint Jude". I take the guitar solo on this track myself--on the blue stratocaster--but all of the much finer lead playing elsewhere on the song and many of the rhythm guitar parts are the work of the phenomenal, Paul Jackson, Jr.--a true studio legend and one of my favorite guitarists of all time... look up his credits for yourself and you'll be amazed starting with Michael Jackson "Thriller" and "Bad". It was an incredible thrill to hear our guitars weaving in and out. Paul's session was mindblowing--we used every bit he delivered to us--if you are a seasoned studio musician or producer you know how incredibly rare that is even if the session player or guest is a master of his instrument. Every bit of it gold and worked perfectly conceived to fit in the song. Calum and I were blown away. Cameron Lister and I tracked the gospel choir at Big Bad Audio in LA. When I arrived at the studio there was a prayer candle to Mary was burning...this is something which one might refer to as a "coincidence".... if one believed in coincidence..... Do you? The choir arrangement was written by legendary vocalist Eric Troyer who sang on everything from John Lennon "Double Fantasy" to Scritti Politti "Provision" and many massive hits--a stellar musician and truly lovely guy. He not only wrote the backing vocal arrangement but he also sings throughout the track and all the great backing vocals before the choir comes in are his. I somewhat prefer the extended version of this song which truth be told is the full and unedited version--written to unfold like a journey. It's included as a bonus track on the digital release. #sophistipop

THÉRÈSE OF LISIEUX Written by Stephen Becker Vocals, guitar: Stephen Becker Keyboards: Roger Joseph Manning, Jr. & Stephen Becker Bass: Lewis Gordon Drums: Ross McFarlane Backing vocals: Jon Auer & Ken Stringfellow Produced and engineered by Calum Malcolm Additional production and engineering: Cameron Lister Mixed by Calum Malcolm Assistant Engineer: Harriet Tam Mastered at AIR London by Barry Grint Edith Piaf was devoted to St. Thérèse of Lisieux ("The Little Flower") due to a childhood miracle she attributed to the holy saint's intercession: as a young girl (around age 3–7), she suffered from severe blindness, and after a pilgrimage to Lisieux—arranged by her grandmother and others—her sight was miraculously restored. She knew this was thanks to Thérèse's intercession and it lead to lifelong piety: Piaf always wore a medal of the saint and always had a small statue of her backstage. She talked to St. Thérèse before her performances dedicating every show to her with the words ,"Thérèse, I sing for you!", and asked Thérèse to pray for her. She visited her tomb repeatedly throughout her life. #sophistipop

WE ARE THE SONGS Written by Stephen Becker Vocals, guitar, drum programming: Stephen Becker Keyboards and programming: Roger Joseph Manning, Jr. & Stephen Becker Bass: Lewis Gordon Drums: Ross McFarlane Backing vocals: Jon Auer & Ken Stringfellow Produced and engineered by Calum Malcolm Additional production and engineering: Cameron Lister Mixed by Calum Malcolm Assistant Engineer: Harriet Tam Mastered at AIR London by Barry Grint I wrote the entire song on a nylon string acoustic guitar before Roger and I got together blasted it off to synthesizer seventh heaven. You can see some photos of us at work in his synth studio on the Instagram... Quite a palette of vintage hardware synths on this including Roger's Waldorf XTk. The tour de force backing vocals thanks to the signature vocal blend of Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow whose signature vocal harmony blend was the source of so much ecstasy for fans of Big Star and The Posies. The Posies broke up in 2021 after we'd already done the tracking. Who knows but these tracks might be the last time anyone hears new recordings of them singing together. #sophistipop

SAINT JAMES Written by Stephen Becker Vocals, guitar: Stephen Becker Keyboards: Roger Joseph Manning, Jr. & Stephen Becker Bass: Lewis Gordon Drums: Ross McFarlane Backing vocals: Jon Auer & Ken Stringfellow Produced and engineered by Calum Malcolm Additional production and engineering: Cameron Lister Mixed by Calum Malcolm Assistant Engineer: Harriet Tam Mastered at AIR London by Barry Grint I began writing this song on the streets of Santiago de Compostela in Spain, near the great Cathedral of St. James in the summer of 2019. I was walking down the ancient cobblestone streets and burst out singing. This is why I say that this entire album was born on the streets of Compostela. Santiago de Compostela is a very holy and ancient place which draws over half a million pilgrims from all over the world every year. The peregrinos walk great distances across Spain to get there. The pilgrimage hike is called the Camino de Santiago. The walk (or way) of Saint James. Some pilgrims walk from France across the Pyrenees which take a month or more. Some from Portugal. I flew in. But still, at heart, it was a pilgrimage. I went without any expectations and it ended up being a profound experience to say the least. Now I am committed to returning for the Camino. You see, St. James' tomb is in the Cathedral -- you may know him as James the son of Zebedee brother of St. John, one of Jesus' twelve apostles. James and John were nicknamed by Jesus himself in the Gospels as "The Boanerges" or 'Sons of Thunder' for their fire. This song has something to do with that fire... There's a full music video on YouTube. #sophistipop

SAINT JUDE Written by Stephen Becker Vocals, keyboards: Stephen Becker Guitar: Jon Auer & Stephen Becker Bass: Lewis Gordon Drums: Ross McFarlane Produced and engineered by Calum Malcolm Mixed by Calum Malcolm Mastered at AIR London by Barry Grint During the recording of the album I traveled to Chicago because an old friend of mine had died. I ended up at the shrine to the apostle, St. Jude Thaddeus, on the south side where there is a relic of one of his bones and a magnificent statue of him. There are devotees of Saint Jude are all over the world and he was especially popular in the United States in the early/mid 20th century. The actor Danny Thomas famously promoted St. Jude and said he owed his career to him--similarly the great singer, Arron Neville. I hope he hears this track. He is known as the "apostle of the impossible" or the "saint of impossible causes". When all hope is seemingly lost on matters large or small, the faithful who call on him with confidence to bring their prayers before God, often report the most extraordinary miracles. This may sound exotic or improbable but it is simply a fact. What we know of his history related to his visit to King Agbar and the conversion of Persia / Armenia to become the first Christian nation began to fascinate me in part because pretty much all my neighbors in LA where I lived in were Armenian and Persian and many people I met from Mexico during the making of the album had a deep devotion to Jude--one was an appliance delivery man who saw a picture of St. Jude on a flight case in my recording studio--he spoke no English but he rolled up his shirt sleeve revealing a tattoo of St. Jude which occupied his entire forearm. He and his coworker were the first to hear the final mix of this song--I sent them a link to the file and they listened in their delivery truck on the way after they left. In fact, at the risk of straining credulity....I discovered this app Rhune thanks to St. Jude Thaddeus. I won't get into the details but if you're reading any of these ramblings right now them it's thanks to St. Jude's intercession--and I take the blame for the poor writing. For anyone wishing to learn more about St. Jude I recommend searching YouTube for the homilies given in 2023 by Fr. Carlos Martin about St. Jude during the relic tour of the US. Jude's arm is preserved in Rome and brought to the US on a tour in 2023-2024. It came to Pasadena near where I was living and it was quite exciting as someone who had newly discovered him to arrive at St. Andrews church and find that tens of thousands were mobbing the place, traffic jams around the church. I hope you can hear some of that same excitement, exhilaration, and love in the music. The explosive drums are Ross McFarlane from Scotland who played on so many other tracks on the album. He's a very powerful and nuanced drummer who has played for everyone from The Proclaimers to Texas to Jon Fratelli. Ross and Lewis Gordon from Deacon Blue are the rhythm section on many of the tracks on this album. Calum Malcolm recorded the sessions at a great small studio in the Scottish country side. We wanted to record a live and well rehearsed rhythm section who really knew the songs and Ross and Lewis achieved that on every track they play on. I made the trumpet sounds in the breakdown with my Roland Jupiter 8. I recorded them on Ascension Day 2022, which made it a special session indeed, giving the lyrical references in this part of the song... In the traditional Litany of St. Jude it makes reference to his presence at the Ascension along with the other ten... Jon Auer (Big Star, The Posies) contributed phenomenal guitar work to this track. Some of it is so brilliantly crafted into the song you may not notice at first but you would if it was missing. Other parts of his stand out quite a bit--he wrote the main melodic riff which really helped make the track what it is. He played a modded 70s telecaster with a PAF in the neck position. The main rhythm guitar is me on the beautiful blue 80s Rickenbacker 330 which is on the album cover--through a Janglebox and a Vox AC30--ie., 'full jangle'. I acquired this guitar during the making of the album and "Saint Jude" was the first song I wrote immediately upon picking it up. The same thing happened with the strat and "Memorare". I began thinking that maybe all I need to do to receive new songs is buy new guitars in the color blue and keep praying. Soli Deo Gloria. The cowboy guitar in the bridge is me on my Gretsch Chet Atkins--can't remember the amp.

THIRTY-FOUR TRILLION WATTS Written by Stephen Becker Vocals: Stephen Becker Guitar: Jamie West-Oram & Stephen Becker Keyboards and programming: Roger Joseph Manning, Jr. & Stephen Becker Bass: Vinzenz Benjamin Drums: Ross McFarlane Backing vocals: Roger Joseph Manning, Jr. Vocal editing: Ivan Berger Produced and engineered by Calum Malcolm Mixed by Calum Malcolm Mastered at AIR London by Barry Grint Jamie West-Oram from The Fixx is one of my favorite guitarists of all time ever since I was a teenager and it was a massive honor and a real blast to work with him on this track. He played his Ibanez Blazer through his MXR Stereo Chorus and Valley People Dynamite which are the key components of his classic guitar rig from the 1980s. The song was inspired by reading about and looking at the Shroud of Turin...considering the power and the glory... pondering the moment it was created... in a flash of blinding photons in the dark of the sepulcher with no one there... In the outro when I'm singing the words "death destroyer", that's a line I borrowed from translations of the poetry of St. Hildegard of Bingen--extraordinary German abbess, mystic, composer, herbalist, poet, and doctor of the Church who lived from 1098-1179--what a life.. She is also fairly called one of the most important and earliest identifiable medieval composers with a very large body of work. There has been lot written about her especially in the late 20th century--some books and articles certainly much better than others.

THE DEVIL IS A MAD DOG ON A CHAIN Written by Stephen Becker Vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards: Stephen Becker Drums and percussion: Liam Bradley Produced and engineered by Calum Malcolm Mixed by Calum Malcolm Mastered at AIR London by Barry Grint For the drum and percussion sessions, Calum flew from Edinburgh to Belfast and drove to County Donegal where he tracked Liam Bradley at his extraordinary drum studio, The Seclusary, which is directly on the shore of Loch Foyle. The title/lyrical hook is borrowed from a quote I read by Padre Pio. I was in a mysteriously long evening taxi cab ride in the rain from West Hollywood to Los Feliz in the fall of 2017 in a most disheartened state of mind. The cab driver was quite a good listener and at the end of the trip he asked me if I'd ever heard of Padre Pio, obliquely revealing his devotion. I said no I had not heard of him. He pointed to a prayer card on his visor and with a sort of wink suggested that I should look him up because I'd find him "pretty interesting". (Hebrews 13:2 anyone? Just a thought.) So of course I researched St. Pio that night and it's fair to say this moment influenced the course of my life... This song was born of that chance encounter and conversation.

MEMORARE - MONTSERRAT VERSION - EXTENDED Written by Stephen Becker Vocals, bass, drum programming: Stephen Becker Guitar: Paul Jackson, Jr. & Stephen Becker Keyboards: Roger Joseph Manning, Jr. & Stephen Becker Bass: Lewis Gordon Drums: Ross McFarlane Backing vocals and arrangement: Eric Troyer Choir backing vocals: Russell Jackson, Leah Williams, and Jackie Simley Choir vocalists courtesy of Fifth Avenue Entertainment, LA Choir recording and production: Cameron Lister Produced and engineered by Calum Malcolm Mixed by Calum Malcolm Mastered at AIR London by Barry Grint See notes for the "Memorare" album version. This one is the original full length version of the song with the full choral vocal arrangement by Eric Troyer and the full outro. I prefer it to the album version even though Calum's editing on the album is undeniably masterful. It's about a journey... so the track itself is a journey. The middle verse mentions Montserrat outside Barcelona. I visited there in 2019 and it's one of the places where this album began to gestate. In the mountains outside Barcelona there is an ancient statue of the Madonna and Child, traditionally believed carved by St. Luke and brought to Spain from Jerusalem. It was hidden in a cave on Montserrat mountain in 718AD to protect it from Saracen invaders during the Moorish occupation of Spain. In 880 it was miraculously discovered by shepherds who were guided by heavenly lights and angelic music to a grotto on the mountain. It's been a shrine and a major pilgrimage site since the 9th century. Many saints visited including St. Ignatius of Loyola who laid down his sword and began his conversion there in 1522... St. Peter Nolasco, St. Raymond of Peñafort, St. Vincent Ferrer, St. Francis Borgia, and many other saints all visited there. She remains a beloved beacon of traditional Marian devotion in Spain and all over the world.