The White Songbook is the fifth studio album by Joy Electric

Joy Electric

Joy Electric is the brand label for a series of electropop/synth pop productions by Ronnie Martin. Martin began producing music under the Joy Electric name in 1994, after the demise of Dance House Children, a band Ronnie was in with his brother Jason Martin of Starflyer 59. Starflyer 59 bass player...

, and the first in the band's ongoing Legacy series. The album has a "book" theme, with the songs logically divided into "chapters," which are also songs. These chapters are "The White Songbook," "Hunter Green and Other Histories," "As Children We Are Growing Younger," and "A Frog in the Pond." The introductions to these chapters are relatively short instrumentals, with the exception of "The White Songbook," which is much longer and features spoken text.

The White Songbook marked the beginning of Joy Electric's practice of recording entire albums using only one synthesizer. The White Songbook was created entirely on the Roland System 100 synthesizer.

The White Songbook almost completely leaves the more recognizably "pop" sound of Joy Electric's previous works, both revealing a much more layered and complex sound, as well as a much more progressive musical style with many songs exceeding the five minute mark.

Track listing

1. "The White Songbook" – 4:15
2. "Shepherds of the Northern Pasture" – 6:12
3. "And Without Help We Perish" – 5:12
4. "The Boy Who Never Forgot" – 3:51
5. "Unicornucopia" – 6:42
6. "Hunter Green and Other Histories" – 1:39
7. "A New Pirate Traditional" – 3:42
8. "We Are Rock" – 3:35
9. "The Good Will Not Be Cloned or Why Should the Christians Get All the Bad Music" – 3:33
10. "As Children We Are Growing Younger" – 1:41
11. "Sing Once for Me" – 6:31
12. "The Heritage Bough" – 6:45
13. "A Frog in the Pond" – 0:27
14. "The Songbook Tells All" – 6:29