My next CD

Last night I finished the mixes of the thirteen tracks that will comprise my next CD, and I have to say, I'm very proud of these songs. One of the things that will be very different this time is that the songs will be unadorned - just me and a guitar, with guitar overdubs (solos) on two of the songs. That's it. No bass, no electric guitar, no drums, no keys, no background vocals, no hurdy-gurdy.

As much as I love fleshing out my songs with those ornaments, this time they will be bare. Most of the songs have been performed with combinations of instruments: guitar, cello, violin, vocals, mandolin. I could have recorded them in those states.

But I decided not to do that this time for a couple of reasons. First, and most obviously, this cuts down the cost of recording for me to almost zero. Second, I think of songs as framing. If I release these songs in bare format, everyone who listens knows exactly what the core of the song is. No bells or whistles or flutes to try and dress up a clinker. Either the song flies or it doesn't, and I have only myself as a songwriter to blame if it doesn't.

Finally, I decided I didn't want to wait for some recording opportunity to release these songs, or hold off until I had a wad of cash that would cover the cost of studio, producer, musicians. My 'back catalog' of unrecorded songs was getting long enough as it was. Indeed, two of these songs were written back in 2001 and 2002. There is a joy in these songs that I wanted to let loose. There is also the tale of a powerful love that weaves its way through many of them, my love for Lynda.

Last year, I thought about taking an extended break from performing. But with that thought process came the realization that "if I don't play these songs, who will?" And I got sad. Sad for these songs. As silly as it sounds, I feel like the work I create is a child of a sort. Once it grows up and moves out, it becomes its own being, able to affect and move people in different ways that I have no control over.

So, here are my new children (in alphabetical order), to be released later this spring to the world of listeners who care to listen:

As I Fall Away
Hold Tight to the Sky
Holding You in the Dark
I Remember You
Nobody Knows
One-Time Lover
Sailor
Simple and True
The Stars Sang a Song
Stranded Ghosts and Devil Dogs
Waiting on the Wind
Washing Away
You Were Leaving Anyway