Tag: DuPont PA

Ashes

  By

 On   By 

Written by Ric Albano Song Length: 1:16
Listen to the Song: Purchase the MP3:
[audio:Ashes.mp3]
Lyrics
Ten, nine, eight – begin the countdown
Let’s hope it is not long until we hit the ground
The spoon is broken, this goon has spoken

Five, four, three – was it ever meant to be?
Too late now for reminiscing
The bird is chokin’, the family’s croakin’

Ten, nine, eight – no more time for the hate
We’ll all soon be ashes

Composition © 2008 Ric Albano
Publication © 2009, 2011 Cygnus Wave Music

Song Info
Composed on October 9, 2008
Recorded starting on October 9, 2008
at Cygnus Wave Studios
Produced by Ric Albano
Engineered by Ric Albano
Mixed and Mastered in 2009
at Cygnus Wave Studios
Original Release: September 9, 2009
on Imaginary Lines 33

Performers
Ric Albano
Piano, Keyboards, Percussion, Vocals
Janet Rains
Backing Vocals, Vocal Chorus

Listener Guide
Grade

Analysis: The only song on Imaginary Lines 33 which is pure filler.

Song Trivia
The ending of “Ashes” was directly lifted from the very beginning of the original version of “The Phoenix”.

To offer your own analysis of Ashes, please leave a comment in the box below.

Can’t Get My Mojo Risin’

  By

 On   By 

Written by Ric Albano Song Length: 2:14
Listen to the Song: Purchase the MP3:
[audio:Can’tGetMyMojoRisin.mp3]
Lyrics
Rock-n-Roll – oh yes there is a soul
Peel away the glam and the gloom, the hype and the trite

Found it one year in the eyes of the deer
In the winter chill I feared that I just might move on…

But who will distinguish between the undeserved –
And the under-served in our Camelot?
And who would agree to be the worker bee –
When everything is free from our Lancelot?

When will I postpone casual dining alone,
Carry my millstone back home and start writing?
When the world has opined that this genius behind
The old curtain is just not that exciting, move on…
A long, so long

Eat Air! Drink Water! Breathe Fire!
Eat Air! Drink Water! Breathe Fire!
Take that plunge, that leap of faith – got faith?

So you keep your yellows yellow and I’ll keep my greens green
And we’ll never use any in between

I really don’t know what to say when you approach me that way
I’m so scared and afraid that we’ll make a scene, move on…

Do not seem to know if I’ll see the show
Float n’ feel the flow, or move

Composition © 2009 Ric Albano
Publication © 2009, 2011 Cygnus Wave Music

Song Info
Composed on July 22, 2009
Recorded starting on August 10, 2009
at Saturation Acres (II), DuPont, PA
Produced by Ric Albano
Engineered by Bret Alexander
Mixed and Mastered in 2009
at Cygnus Wave Studios
Original Release: September 9, 2009
on Imaginary Lines 33

Performers
Ric Albano
Piano, Bass Guitar, Vocals
Ron Simasek
Drums

Listener Guide
Grade

Analysis: Although it appears rather early on in the sequence of Imaginary Lines 33, this is really the closing song of Imaginary Lines. The tune is very simple and straight-forward, albeit the lyric takes some analyzing to understand. The performance slightly suffers from sync issues with the various, concurrent vocals.

Song Trivia
Although the title is obviously a tribute to Jim Morrison (Mr. Mojo Risin), it is equally a nod to mike Myer’s character Austin Powers.

To offer your own analysis of Can’t Get My Mojo Risin’, please leave a comment in the box below.

Tommy’s Got a Gun

  By

 On   By 

Written by Ric Albano and Hunter S. Thompson Song Length: 3:09
Listen to the Song: Purchase the MP3:
[audio:Tommy’sGotAGun.mp3]
Lyrics
The Hunter could not stand it no more,
Couldn’t stand his Aspen slums
He pranced about like a dignitary
But his heart paled to that of a bum
It was so easy to travel the “Heming” way

He reached out with both arms and he embraced surrender
For he could see no solace in yet another cheap bender
No longer was it easy to face the setting sun

So Tommy got his gun, away from life he chose to run
Project him towards the setting sun in six months

The Hunter could not fake it no more,
He could not shift the blame
For football season is over now,
There will be no more games
No more bombs, no more walking, no more fun
Tommy’s got a gun

You are getting greedy now, act your old age

17 more than we needed, 17 more than we wanted
Relax, this won’t hurt…

Composition © 2005 Ric Albano and Hunter S. Thompson
Publication © 2009, 2011 Cygnus Wave Music

Song Info
Composed on February 25, 2005
Recorded starting on August 10, 2009
at Saturation Acres (II), DuPont, PA
Produced by Ric Albano
Engineered by Bret Alexander
Mixed and Mastered in 2009
at Cygnus Wave Studios
Released: September 9, 2009
on Imaginary Lines 33

Performers
Ric Albano
Piano, Bass Guitar, Vocals
Erik Trabert
Electric Guitars
Ron Simasek
Drums
Listener Guide
Grade

Analysis: A simple but haunting song with lyrics that were fused together from different sources and points of view. Writer Hunter S. Thompson shot himself on February 20, 2005 and Ric Albano composed the original part of this song a few days later in response. Months later, the contents of Thompson’s suicide were revealed and much of that was lifeted ver batim for the ending of this song, including the final, chilling line; “relax, this won’t hurt”.

Song Trivia
Although Hunter S. Thompson has several music credits, mostly in the spoken word and “gonzo” genres, he is credited for composing songs for only two musical acts – Warren Zevon and Imaginary Lines.

To offer your own analysis of Tommy’s Got a Gun, please leave a comment in the box below.

Sister Josephine

  By

 On   By 

Written by Ric Albano Song Length: 4:32
Listen to the Song: Purchase the MP3:
[audio:SisterJosephine.mp3]
Lyrics
As I walk down the road
With my head and my soul in my arms again
I start to seriously wonder if I’ll ever be able to get back again
It perplexes my heart that I can’t remember the start or even why I began
So I circle once more, search for the parallel door and try to understand
Why my memory has holes in particular those of the pleasurable
Have I become so inept that my very next step seems so immeasurable?
Then I silently shout; “What’s this crisis about?
And why can’t I just be satisfied with the rich & wonderful life I’ve seen?”
I try to get up once more but instead fall through the floor
Through the cracks in between
Oh, noone knows the trouble that I have seen
Please help me, Sister Josephine

A change in the tempo to find where to begin
The rhythm of life is coming back again
A little more action, a little less shame
A little more passion that the song remains the same

A change in the temple that’s the place to begin
The theory of life will be coming back again
A little more passion, a little less pain
Of fortune and glory that song we’ll rearrange

And if I ever become human again and worthy of friends
Could I? Should I? Would I ever get to see you again?

Composition © 2008 Ric Albano
Publication © 2009, 2011 Cygnus Wave Music

Song Info
Composed on August 8, 2008
Recorded starting on August 10, 2009
at Saturation Acres (II), DuPont, PA
Produced by Ric Albano
Engineered by Bret Alexander
Mixed and Mastered in 2009
at Cygnus Wave Studios
Released: September 9, 2009
on Imaginary Lines 33

Performers
Ric Albano
Piano, Keyboards, Bass, Vocals
Ron Simasek
Drums
Listener Guide
Grade

Analysis: This would be a great song except for the weak (and weird) keyboard lead in the middle. It starts with a long rap-like funk through its first verse but soon morphs into a calmer, more reflective style for the duration.

Song Trivia
Sister Josephine was Ric Albano’s first grade teach at catholic school in the mid 1970s.

To offer your own analysis of Sister Josephine, please leave a comment in the box below.

Crimson, White, & Indigo

  By

 On   By 

Written by Ric Albano Song Length: 4:13
Listen to the Song: Purchase the MP3:
[audio:CrimsonWhiteIndigo.mp3]
Lyrics
Need I be a hero man to admire what true heroes have done?
With deepest valor they put it on the line in their fight for freedom

They’re bred in ordinary towns, yet take their posts along the fringes
Of the wilderness so that the city may thrive in peace

An extraordinary leap of faith that something better is yet to come
All things equal, I think that I would rather be glazed upon with colors…

Colors that encapsulate the future (Colors that captivate)
Let the person determine it himself
The colors that evoke both hope and envy (Colors initiate)
From that person left on the world’s shelf

Across the sea are sown the seeds of a brave new world
Where history turns to stroll along a blazed new path
And the window opens, lets a fresh breeze blow
That loosens up the knots, that animates the cloth
Donned crimson, white, and indigo

Need I be a righteous man to appreciate what the founders had done
Self preservation bowed to principle when it came to freedom

From palaces of enlightenment, the doctrines of self determined
Citizens, colonists no more, for sure they were never going back…

Back to the stale feudal system (Back to the feudal lord)
Overlords dictating terms of self
Nor back to colonial old world missions (Back to the whipping board)
Native peoples subjects of someone else

East of east, you’ll find the western fringe of western thought
A magic link that binds the world together as one
One of innovation, democratization, prosperous and fulfilling long lives

Crimson, white, and indigo
That’s where I’ll go, that’s what I’ll show, what my wind will blow

Composition © 2006 Ric Albano
Publication © 2006, 2009, 2011 Cygnus Wave Music

Song Info
Composed on February 3, 2006
Recorded starting on October 5, 2007
at Saturation Acres, Danville, PA
Produced by Ric Albano
Engineered by Bret Alexander
Mixed and Mastered in 2009
at Cygnus Wave Studios
Original Release: September 9, 2009
on Imaginary Lines 33

Performers
Ric Albano
Keyboards, Bass, Lead & Backing Vocals
Janet Rains
Lead & Backing Vocals
Ron Simasek
Drums and Percussion
“The Freedom Singers”
Backing Vocals

Listener Guide
Grade

Analysis: The riff is simple and catchy. The verses are a bit rough vocally but give way to a much more melodic feel due to the vocals of Janet Rains. There is some awkwardness towards the ending, as well as muffed lyrics.

Song Trivia
The song is obviously written about the U.S.A. The title comes from Grateful Dead song called “Standing On the Moon” with the lyric – “old glory standing stiffly, Crimson, White, & Indigo”. THe Grateful Dead later (after the release of Imaginary Lines 33 released a live compilation with this same title.
“Crimson, White, & Indigo” was to be the first song on the now-defunct Imaginary Lines III.

Please offer your own analysis of Crimson, White, & Indigo by leaving a comment in the box below.