Photo Caption: David LaVallee of Washington shows the back of the CD cover for “Unfinished Business,” a collection of vocals by his late wife, Regina, set to fresh orchestration.

By: By Tom Dermody

David LaVallee never got to say goodbye when his wife Regina took ill suddenly at a Cursillo weekend in late 2006 and passed away hours later at the age of 45.

Now he — with help from their two daughters, some gifted musical friends, and digital technology — has taken care of that and other “Unfinished Business” with the completion of a music project bearing that title.

Five years after her death, Regina — former choir director for St. Ann’s Parish in Peoria and lead vocalist for its popular praise band — is the featured singer on 13 of the 14 songs of faith on “Unfinished Business,” which was released in late July.

How so?

Many of the songs began as demo recordings Regina did a decade or more ago to original music by family friend and composer Chris Zimmerman, now of Christ the King Parish in Moline. Those simple recordings featured Regina’s clear, passionate vocals accompanied by David and Chris on guitar.

With the help of veteran producer Paul Hamilton, the vocals were lifted from the demo recordings and the songs were given new life by orchestration with a variety of instruments. Background vocals were also added, including high harmonies by the LaVallee’s daughter, Julia.

Her older sister, Elizabeth, sketched the cover art for the project and its promotional website, “Unfinished Business”. The front cover, true to the CD title, is an unfinished draft of a drawing which is shown completed on the reverse side.

“I want it to be a healing thing for everyone,” said David of “Unfinished Business,” which he called a legacy for his daughters and a way for people to remember — or hear for the first time — Regina’s lovely voice.
What also comes through in both Regina’s interpretive vocals and Zimmerman’s compositions is their deep faith.

Whether on reflective tracks such as “This is My Son,” the story of Jesus’ life through the words of his mother, or more rocking tunes such as “My Shepherd is the Lord,” a refreshingly upbeat version of Psalm 23, this CD pushes the listener further along on their own unfinished journeys to God.

“I remain forever grateful for Regina’s willingness to record songs I’d written,” said Zimmerman, who said the new project succeeded because of the quality of Regina’s original vocals.

He said a lyric from the song “Old Refrains” fits Regina well: “My first love is Jesus/my second wears a wedding ring/my third love is music/Lord, you know how I like to sing.”

Followers of the St. Ann’s praise band — which released two CDs of their own — will find familiar tunes on the CD as well, including new versions of “Give Thanks to the Lord” and “Victory Chant.”

The CD opens unusually, with a telephone ringing and Regina’s recorded message that ends “Make it a great day.” That leads to the only song with David in the lead vocal, a tune by Buddy and Julie Miller called “All My Tears” that David calls his personal goodbye.

It begins “When I go don’t cry for me, in my Father’s arms I’ll be.”

“Unfinished Business” is available for purchase or download online through its website, iTunes, CDBaby, or from the Cursillo store.