*Song Description By Noles*
"Luck" is perhaps the most sentimental ballad from the Mission Of Mercy album. While the album predominantly has an alt blues rock sound to it, "Luck" tells a song tale from an indie folk perspective. I wrote the music for "Luck" late at night on July 18, 2012 on an acoustic guitar. With a capo on the 3rd fret, I played an Am7 to C movement. In actuality, the chords are Cm7 to Eb. It sounded to me like something Arcade Fire would do. In fact, I wrote the rest of the music for "Luck" in the style of Arcade Fire. The Canadian indie rock outfit has influenced my music quite a bit over the years. Their 2010 album The Suburbs left a big impression on me. I think it's one of the best concept albums ever. "Luck" is probably more inspired by Arcade Fire's 2007 album Neon Bible. Featuring songs like "Intervention" and "My Body Is A Cage". I'm so glad I finally got to see Arcade Fire in concert at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto on November 3, 2017.
The lyrics for "Luck" were written on July 22, 2012. At the time, I was transfixed with the concept of luck. They say that luck is when opportunity meets preparation. The words "opportunity" and "preparation" are even in the first verse of "Luck". In those days, I had a sign on the back of my door that said "Opportunity Meets Preparation". I figured as long as I was prepared for luck, I would be given an opportunity to receive it. The lyrics for "Luck" also address lucky overachievers of the world. I was so obsessed with catching a lucky break, that I lost sight of the big picture. Years later, I have a lot more perspective. And I've come to the conclusion that there really is no such thing as luck. It's just fairy dust. An illusion to put one's mind at ease. When the truth is, we make our own "luck" through our actions and intentions. But I still feel like the lyrics to "Luck" have the ability communicate with people who are seemingly down on their luck.
I began recording the Mission Of Mercy album on September 4, 2012. On October 3-7, 2012, I attended a music symposium called IMS in Cathedral City, California. Performing as a solo acoustic act 3 times on the trip, I played "Luck" every time. After I returned to Canada, I continued producing the Mission Of Mercy album. I started recording "Luck" on November 7, 2012. It might be the only song on Mission Of Mercy without any lead guitar. However, there is a lead instrument being played through the whole song. The MIDI software instrument I used on "Luck" is actually a guitar effect that sounds like strings plucking. But in this case, it has more of a harpsichord sound to it. And in the bridges, it sounds like flutes are playing. Because of this aesthetic on "Luck", I classified the style as baroque pop to go with indie folk. "Luck" has lots of layered backup vocal harmonies.
The recording of "Luck" was completed on November 16, 2012. 16 songs later, I released the entire Mission Of Mercy album on May 20, 2013. I performed "Luck" regularly in solo acoustic sets in those days. Here's an acoustic version of me performing the tune...
youtu.be/L6FzdrPmMTM I've never played "Luck" with a band, and I never will. The song doesn't have any drums, and I've basically put a stop to performing the tune. But "Luck" will always live on as the 13th track from the Mission Of Mercy album.