In 2016, a box full of acetates was discovered by Fagan’s children in an attic at a former home. It contained original publishing demos from Soon, and the song “It Won’t Be Long”, an aching and wistful meditation on hope and temporality, with a rich country-gospel production by Joe Kookoolis and a soaring, emotional vocal from Fagan. The track, which was recorded in December 1970 at Associated Studios in New York to promote the rock opera (but never released), has been restored and remastered by GRAMMY-nominated engineer Jessica Thompson.
Following the reissue of his debut ‘South Atlantic Blues’ out last week on Earth Recordings, Scott Fagan releases “It Won’t Be Long”, a never-before-heard 1970 recording of a song from his lost and ill-fated rock opera, ‘Soon’.
In 1969, US Virgin Islands singer-songwriter Scott Fagan began work on an ambitious project intended as the follow-up to his debut album South Atlantic Blues: a pioneering rock opera, entitled Soon.
The same year The Who released Tommy, seven years before Kristofferson and Streisand starred in the similar music industry-themed film, A Star Is Born, Fagan and his songwriting partner, Joe Kookoolis, wrote a rock opera as a call-to-arms against the complacency of the modern world; a tone poem in 36 songs about art, passion, commerce, and corruption.
Soon told a story mirroring Fagan’s own, about a young, idealistic street singer who wants to change the world with his music, is scooped up by a major label, promised the world and set for stardom. A young radical, unwilling to conform and compromise, he is quickly chewed-up by the industry and spat out onto the street again—yet with his dream intact.
Produced by Bruce W. Stark and Edgar M. Bronfman, and directed by Robert Greenwald (The Burning Bed, Xanadu), in the wake of the commercial success of Hair, Soon was the first rock opera on Broadway, opening at the Ritz Theater in January 1971. The production starred Barry Bostwick (Grease and The Rocky Horror Show), Marta Heflin, Vicki Sue Robinson, Australian singer Peter Allen, Joe Butler of The Lovin’ Spoonful, and a young, unknown actor named Richard Gere.
Creative differences saw Fagan being fired as the star of his own production during previews. A single scathing review by notorious New York Times theater critic, Clive Barnes, conspired to close Soon the day after opening night. Fagan never got to record the soundtrack album. The project faded into obscurity.
The release of “It Won’t Be Long” marks a renewed period of activity for the 78-year-old singer-songwriter, with the recent reissue of South Atlantic Blues on Earth and a documentary about him by filmmaker Marah Strauch currently in production. Fagan is also embarking on the realisation this year of a long and deeply held dream: to record Soon, his second album that never was, for a planned 2025 release.
Soon, the world will finally hear Soon as Scott Fagan intended.
