The Stories Behind The Songs: First thing you have to understand is we had no money, bare bones equipment (a couple of tape recorders a keyboard which was probably hot I naively bought in an abandoned parking lot in New Orleans (boy was I lucky!). I had a lot of success with my first 'real' recording Return To Receiver, so I consider this my Sophomore Album which had it share of flat songs, but heartfelt nevertheless. If they were done more professionally they would be palatable, but for now lets just leave the stories and lyrics to live on in history and I'll revisit some of them one day (watch the blogs, you never know when inspiration strikes). The title track went on to be a favorite by many fans even to this day, so that's featured above, along with the two songs I proudly co-wrote was explained below. 1. A Better Life - I was sitting in a Calculus 7 class or whatever, failing the test miserably, wondering if these professors have a clue of how far this crap was from the 'real life'. I jotted down a few notes, didn't do all that well on the test (brought up my grade eventually though), and went to the campus music studios to write this one... "Cause time and effort are better spent on life..." (see lyrics below)
3. But I'm Back - Well, I kind of thought I was, but the song was written well before The Panoramic View song (below), so it was really a failed attempt at trying to be back before your time. A testimony to letting the universe unravel in front of you on its time. You can see it in the lyrics but you won't hear the song- 4. The Panoramic View - After returning from Montaulk with all of these new inspirations and writing the song, I really wanted to push the limits of my 1986 recording gear and do something special. I went to the beach and recorded the ocean waves which I mixed into the song, created a delay style beat with my TR909, and sang away. A moment captured in time...
5. If You Want To Know Why - I don't even remember who I wrote this for, but it does fit the theme of the record and was surely about an old girlfriend referenced elsewhere. The big thing on this song was my one and only real SAX solo. I had purchased a Saxophone in downtown New Orleans and was determined to learn it and record a song with it (I do it with Keyboard sampling now). I drove my dorm neighbors nuts with this one!
8. First Mood - I've never been a big fan of instrumentals on records, feels like a cop out, but at the time I wanted to try one. As it turns out, my brother John featured the song in one of his videos he made while at film school, so I quit while I was ahead and consider it a success. 9. Fooling No One - This one I still enjoy playing live. It's a heartfelt blend of a sad and happy song, first sinking into the lonliness of the breakup of #7 above, then pulling out in a happy Panoramic View 'snap out of it'. With the right equipment this one would have been a timeless song. I'll have to revisit it someday. 10. Here to Another Year - This is that kind of song every artist must have in some form- some are the special Christmas songs, this one is my birthday song. I have tried to play it every year since sometime within a week of my birthday, even if it is to myself. It's optimistic and keeps me appreciative of this crazy comet ride we're on (see 2010 album for that term). |
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3. The Panoramic View |
