Selections

 1. "Away Out West" - 0:56 - (1996) - Probably the results of watching way too many westerns as a child.  I was always intrigued by what made music sound western. Songs like The Magnificent Seven", "Marlboro Country" and all of Clint's themes such as "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly". This piece is actually the overture to a larger collection that I wrote years ago about America in the 1800s. Tales of River boats and such. More of that later. It features synthesizer, banjo and electric guitar.

2. "Lost near Mayberry Pt.1 - 0:57 (2006) - Actually the intro to a longer tune.  Could suggest a lazy summer's day?  Played on two different Telecaster type electric guitars.

3. "You Make the Sunshine Brighter" - 3:29 (1975/2005) - Being a fan of Canadian style country & folk music I listened a lot to Gordon Lightfoot and Ian Tyson.  I liked their different approach to what a country song was all about. More open air and scenic and less bars? (nothing against bars either) This is inspired by their works and is one of my earliest songs. I started it in the mid 70s but it always needed something more to complete it. Like a lot of my other tunes it sat on a shelf for many years. I wrote the final verse for it in 2006.  It features acoustic guitar, electric guitar, pedal steel guitar, mandolin, synthesizer strings, organ, bass & drums.

4. "Somewhere In them Hills" (Ode to Soldier's Joy) - (traditional) 2:09 - My favorite old time song ever is "Soldier's Joy". It is also the most played, recorded and published of traditonal American songs, popular since the Civil War era. Over the years my version of the song morphed into this arrangement. It features (2)  5 string banjos,  (2) acoustic guitars, mandolin, fiddle, bass, percussion and bagpipe sounds. This is dedicated to all of our friends in the US Military.

5. "Who Always Loved You" - 3:50 - (1984)  - At the time I wrote this tune our band "The Movies"had a horn section . The song was originally more of a Jersey style anthem. This rendition is more acoustic and rural sounding. A song about love lost and found. Acoustic guitar, (3) electric guitars, pedal steel guitar, mandolin, synthesizer,  organ, bass & drums.

6. "Cross Country" - 1:59  (1995) - This tune was inspired by watching snow skiers at winter lodges our band was playing back in the 90s. On the other hand, my friend Dave said it reminded him of flying his bi-plane. Whatever? Acoustic guitar tuned to double drop D , (2) mandolins, mountain dulcimer, bass guitar and pedal steel guitar.

7. "Is This Really Love?" - 4:55 - (1991-94) - I suppose you could call this one the reality check love song. Just a perspective on the various feelings, the doubts and questions that go through one's mind during romantic encounters. I kept the song's arrangement a bit vacant to impart emptiness and melancholy. There is a bit of Stephen Foster in this one too.  The instruments are acoustic guitar, pedal steel guitar, mandolin, several synthesizer parts, bass, percussion and violin.

8. "On the Town" - 2:56 (1997) - This is my homage to the great 40s and 50s cartoon music I grew up listening to. It started out as a finger style acoustic guitar tune influenced by the works of Chet Atkins or Merle Travis. I then expanded the concept a bit with (2) mandolin parts, bass guitar, a gypsy violin and a B-3 Hammond organ lurking in the back ground. The ending was inspired by the great 20s mandolin orchestra song "The Russian Rag".

9. "My Best Girl" - 2:48 (1984) - This is another tune that I actually wrote or started for our band "The Movies". It's a tongue in cheek tale about an insecure guy threatening his best girl with bodily damage if she doesn't quit "allegedly" fooling around with other men. I purposely kept the music sounding  just a little too happy for a potentially violent scenario. The idea was to keep  the emotional aspect off balance. (2) electric guitars, bass, drums, pedal steel guitar, synthesizer & Hammond organ.

10. "Out Where the Weird Flowers Grow" - 1:52 (1996) - This song was written around a tuning I developed back in the mid 90s. The guitar is tuned similar to a banjo but with the bass strings lower, extending well beyond  the normal guitar's range.  Well, I later found out that the Aloha guys had used it for a hundred years prior to my discovery. They call it slack key tuning. So much for ground breaking discoveries. Anyway, they didn't write this damn tune and I won't say what kind of flowers they were.

11. "Going Up the Hill" (and falling down) - 3:32 (1999) - A country blues tune I wrote on guitar using the double drop D tuning.  Played on an electric acoustic guitar and joined by pedal steel guitar, mandolin, slide electric (melobar), bass and percussion. In the end it turns into a bit of a lullaby.

12.  "My Heart Is In Your Hands" - 2:44 (1984) - Another song I had written for our band "The Movies back in 80s.  A song about love and contrasts. The musical style and imagery of the lyrics is a bit different than most of my tunes I wrote in that era too.  It was never performed out and shelved until I resurrected it for my solo act a few years back. I decided to do a version of it on this album.

13.  "Droolin" - 1:59 (1995) - Another double drop D tuning song on acoustic guitar. This one is fun to play and it keeps me in practice.

14. "Sometimes We Dream" - 4:10 1997) - This song is also written around the slack key tuning but is in a different key. I wanted a dreamy but very dynamic arrangement. Joining the acoustic guitar is a Rhodes electric piano, synthesizer and fret less bass guitar. This particular song is dedicated to my parents and all of the loved ones now departed who made such a difference. Gone but never forgotten.