Better Together: Ted Turner releases his first collaboration with wife Majella
Wishbone Ash's Ted Turner has launched his first album with his wife Majella. The CD, released by Cherry Red, is titled "Better Together" and consists of 12 songs inspired by the couple's thirteen-year relationship. Starting with the title song, “Better Together,” which describes Turner's first meeting with his life and musical partner, to "Karmony", which was inspired by the legacy of John Lennon who was a strong influence in the couple's life.
The couple got married after a decade of being friends but despite both of them being passionate about creating music, Turner says that "neither of us could have imagined the synergy to be found through collaboration". The new album is reported to be a haunting, soulful compilation of intensely personal songs. It has been hailed by fans as the birth of a new genre: "New Age Soul".
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"Each song is a celebration of our unique chemistry, our spiritual beliefs, our love for humanity and for nature, and most of all our life calling together," Majella says, speaking about the album. "Every song on the album is to acknowledge and remind people of the unquestionable truth of who we are, why we are here, and that there is something bigger than all of us."
Majella's personal favorite track, titled "If You Believe", is about being authentic and "walking your talk". The track has also been highlighted by Turner as the perfect example of what the couple's music is at its core. The couple are deeply concerned with the degradation of the environment and have embraced veganism as part of their efforts to create a world based on "compassion instead of cruelty".
“After extensive touring, I left Wishbone in 1974 to pursue a personal pilgrimage," Turner says. "Whilst traveling, I was drawn to the comprehensive works of Buckminster Fuller, becoming involved in the ‘World Man Band’ (alongside Michael Mitchell) - an initiative designed to raise global consciousness through rock music. My journey since then has taught me that we are not separate; everything has a relationship. We are nature. Systems only exist through collaboration, otherwise, there is no life. The power that we have is to love and be kind – to one another, to nature, to our animal friends, and to the planet. Success for all is not complicated when we’re serving everyone."
Turner is an acclaimed musician voted among Rolling Stones' Top 20 Guitarists. In his decades-long career, Turner has collaborated with a number of industry heavyweights including Lenon with whom he recorded two songs, "Crippled Inside" and "How Do You Sleep", for the hit album "Imagine".
"Our music comes from the heart and the depths of our soul," he says. "For us, Better Together is not just a beautiful testament to our love; it’s a reminder that the heart connection is where we overcome our greatest obstacles and live the fullest expression of who we really are.”