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SHARING THE GOLDEN PROMISE THIS HOLIDAY SEASON
JOIN US WITH RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS: SMILE TRAIN
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http://www.smiletrain.org/

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Holiday Message From Mary

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Dear Friends:
Yesterday, I spent the entire day with my grandchildren making cookies, decorating, and dancing to holiday music. It brought tears to my eyes to see their smiles and hear their laughter. There's just something about the sight and sound of our children's smiles and laughter that makes life worthwhile. Any parent, or anyone who loves a child knows what I mean.

It also reminded me of the countless children, who, for the lack of a $250 surgical procedure, are treated like hideous monsters, unable to attend school, marry, or have a normal life. It has become our custom, at this time of year, to retell the meaning of "The Golden Promise". This year, I'd like to suggest that you consider giving your support to an organization that repairs cleft pallets for poor children (and grownups!) all over the world. The Smile Train uses 100% of your donation to pay for the procedures. In just 30 minutes, they change the life of a child from condemnation and deformity to hope and beauty. The feeling of satisfaction you get from being a part of that miracle is priceless. Please, read more, below.

Wishing you and yours the warmest and most loving Holiday Season ever.
M.G.
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Smile Train: Vision & Mission

Every child born with a cleft anywhere in the world has the opportunity to live a full, productive life.

Clefts are a major problem in developing countries where there are millions of children who are suffering with unrepaired clefts. Most cannot eat or speak properly. Aren't allowed to attend school or hold a job. And face very difficult lives filled with shame and isolation, pain and heartache. Their clefts usually go untreated because they are poor – too poor to pay for a simple surgery that has been around for decades. We empower local doctors in developing countries by providing free surgical training and education. Provide free cleft lip and palate surgery for hundreds of thousands of children around the world.

SMILE PINKI, the captivating story of a desperately poor little girl in rural India whose life is magically transformed when she receives free surgery to correct her cleft lip has received the Academy Award for "Best Documentary Short" in 2008.

View the trailer here:

http://youtu.be/CamEXQ8x72c

Real Stories: Real Heroes:

http://www.smiletrain.org/real-heroes/

Dear Mary,

I wanted to let you know how wonderful I feel the So Real release is. This is BY FAR the best sounding release and the best sounding, most pleasing versions of all the songs that I have had heard. I find myself longing for true audiophile versions of all the albums and this is a sure sign to me that it is possible. I would love to own a vinyl version of any of the albums with the level of mastering that The Lodge has provided here. I'm not sure everyone "gets" this release, but I certainly do and I applaud the effort that went into its making. Thank you so much! I look forward to more of the same!

Sincerely,
Josh Rosenthal
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Dear Josh,

This is such a great letter, and the very fact that you noticed something different about these tracks tells me you are a very astute listener. So Real: Songs from Jeff Buckley actually has an interesting back-story, and very few people understand why in the world we wanted to make this album since most of the music had been previously released.

When George Marino (Sterling Sound) and I were re-mastering the Grace sessions for the Legacy release, we noticed that the original recordings had so much more depth and clarity than those that had been heard by the public. The high fidelity studio recordings were symphonic masterpieces, but were being "dumbed-down" by compression for "commercial reasons.” In spite of George's and my vehement opposition, the record label's A&R department insisted on adding compression, and Grace Legacy Edition was released as such.

Three years later, when the label approached me about putting out a "best of" album, I took the opportunity to insist that I have complete control over the final master. My friend Hal Wilner suggested I work with Emily Lazar at The Lodge. You all have her to thank for the amazing sounds you are listening to. It was such a relief to see her face the first time we listened to the original sessions. I knew I had a chance to get the REAL sound of those sessions to you. Even if I couldn't go back in time and re-do all the GRACE material, I could make a gorgeous sonic gift of the tracks we chose for this one release. I adore Emily. She's an amazing woman and she has a remarkable pair of "ears", as they say in the biz. I love that you got to hear it, too! Many people, who don’t understand there is always good reasoning behind everything we do, have reviewed So Real as a pointless album that I “had no good reason” to produce. I knew then, and still know, that people who have great ears will hear it all and get what a treasure these tracks are. Audiophiles are very good at spreading the word about something special. I leave it up to you and folks like you to spread "my little secret".

Thanks so much for writing in!

Best,
Mary