Tag: Bret Alexander on Guitars

Peace

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Written by Ric Albano Song Length: 4:45
Listen to the Song: Purchase the MP3:
[audio:Peace.mp3]
Lyrics
It’s been a long, hard day in Burlington
The favorite son’s turned stale, the wicked one’s prevailed
So the town’s folk all rally to get their guns
And settle things with might while only one soul resists the fight

Says; “find your peace, find your peace…
Don’t hastily react with base release,
Find your peace – There’s more to life than that”

Within the bowels of the town dwells a tragic girl
Who has given up on hope, lost all desire to cope
So she unplugs her heart and now fills her world
With shallow, empty tasks, in clichéd terms she raps

“I wish you peace, wish you peace…
Although any chance for me has surely ceased,
I wish you peace – Is there any life like that?”

It’s been a long, hard week in Jericho
As the aboriginal men are all called to arms
Except those first-born, they are sheltered from this miracle
What’s the harm? What’s the harm?

Live in peace, live in peace,
Your better days will doubtlessly increase
Live in peace – conduct your life like that

Out the doors of Walter Reed walked a serviceman
With 14 colorful charms just to the left of his severed right arm
Then some appeasers holding signs break into mindless chants
To which this hero calmly replies;
“For those people I would have honorably died”

To bring them peace, bring them peace
Against their own internal nihilistic beasts
To bring them peace – Do they deserve a life like that?

But it’s been a long, hard month in Babylon
Patriarchs must adapt to veils falling to the ground
And it’s been a long, hard year in Avalon
As the mighty ABC alliance begins to crumble down
I’ve seen the spring flower bloom in the desert sand
A new world opens its arms, extends its hand

Composition © 2005 Ric Albano
Publication © 2005, 2009, 2011 Cygnus Wave Music

Song Info
Composed on March 8, 2005
Recorded starting on May 9, 2005
at Saturation Acres, Danville, PA
Produced by Ric Albano
Engineered by Paul Smith
Mixed and Mastered in 2005
at Silver Spring Subterranean
Original Release: October 10, 2005
on Imaginary Lines I

Performers
Ric Albano
Piano, Keyboards, Bass Guitar, Vocals
Bret Alexander
Electric Guitars
Ron Simasek
Drums

Listener Guide
Grade

Analysis: This is a really love/hate song that may sound brilliant or annoying depending on one’s mood. It was originallly intended to be the focal song from Imaginary Lines I, but is really in the bottom half of selections from that fine album.

Song Trivia
The song aims to portray the subjectiveness of certain words and terms by offering several distinct definitions of the word “Peace”.
During the song’s outtro, it twice jumps up a key, something influenced by the song “Seasons In the Sun” by Terry Jacks.

Please offer your own analysis of Peace by leaving a comment in the box below.

Donovan’s Dread

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Written by Ric Albano Song Length: 3:16
Listen to the Song: Purchase the MP3:
[audio:Donovan’sDread.mp3]
Lyrics
You say that the means fortify the ends
But I refuse to crucify any more friends
You claim that the crow is tolerable with white wine
I choose instead to draw my own imaginary lines

When will we ever feel the sun?
When will we ever have some fun?
When will we ever be all but done with our accomplishments?
Fulfilled by mass acknowledgement?
Relieved of our embarrassment?
When? When?

You say that the dream solidifies the means
But I reject my assignment to the underground machine
You wave the goal approaching the divine
As I choose to subsist within my own imaginary lines

Why must we congenially drink the rain?
Why must we eventually taste the pain?
Why must we ever be all but hung for our proficiency?
Stung by our own technology?
Loathed for our non-apology?
Why? Why?

Where is the roadmap to the promised land?
Where is the soft and sympathetic hand?
Where is the hunger for the justice of our own righteousness?
Promotion of our exultance?
Adoption of our endorsement?
Where? Where? Where? Where? Where? Where?

Composition © 2005 Ric Albano
Publication © 2005, 2009, 2011 Cygnus Wave Music

Song Info
Composed on May 17, 2005
Recorded starting on May 9, 2005
at Saturation Acres, Danville, PA
Produced by Ric Albano
Engineered by Paul Smith
Mixed and Mastered in 2009
at Cygnus Wave Studios
Original Release: October 10, 2005
on Imaginary Lines I
This Release: September 9, 2009
on Imaginary Lines 33

Performers
Ric Albano
Keyboards, Bass, Percussion, Vocals
Bret Alexander
Acoustic Guitar

Listener Guide
Grade

Analysis: A very unique song that added a lighter edge to the “deep” mood of Imaginary Lines I, this song was written and recorded rather quickly towards the end of production of the first album.

Song Trivia
This song’s title is completely frivilous, lifted from a New Orleans phone book, from which ad copy was actually read by Ric Albano under the lead section.

Please offer your own analysis of Donovan’s Dread by leaving a comment in the box below.

Anthem

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Written by Ric Albano Song Length: 4:39
Listen to the Song: Purchase the MP3:
[audio:Anthem.mp3]
Lyrics
And you will find what you seek in your heart
And your compassion will guide you to that door
And you’ve got destiny’s balance on your side
And you’ll discover more secret passages
And you will never relinquish the Truth
And your convictions will be bold, clear, and pure
And you’re consistent against the flux of time

And you are trying to reconstruct a holy universe
And you keep relying on the self that only you know
And you are humble, and you are brave
And you can crest the wave above the swift, strong, submerged undertow

And you dwell within a prison in paradise
And you’re perpetually wandering beyond the painted lines
And you appear to make wrong choices at every turn

And you burn in undervalued anonymity
And you continue to crawl along the side of that muddy hill
And you are scary, and you are scorned
And your favorite store no longer is affordable

And you endeavor towards that which is right
And you pray for every mortal soul every night
And you’re bitter, bored, and blue
And you’ve got so much to do

And you revisit those spirits of lost youth
And you can see daylight back up that one-way path
And you will search for the poison’s antidote

And you will hope that someday soon it’s discovered
And the spring of life unobstructedly resumes its flow
And you are faithful while you are lost
On the dark side of Mars in a neighborhood where no one goes

Composition © 2003, Ric Albano
Publication © 2005, 2009, 2011 Cygnus Wave Music

Song Info
Composed on April 7, 2003
Recorded starting on April 8, 2005
at Saturation Acres, Danville, PA
Produced by Ric Albano
Engineered by Paul Smith
Mixed and Mastered in 2005
at Silver Spring Subterranean
Original Release: October 10, 2005
on Imaginary Lines I

Performers
Ric Albano
Piano, Keyboards, Bass Guitar, Vocals
Bret Alexander
Electric and Acoustic Guitars
Ron Simasek
Drums
Listener Guide
Grade

Analysis: Lifted from an extended poem, this song grew more in the studio than any of the early Imaginary Lines songs. The song builds with ever-richer arrangements through every verse and chorus, until finally reaching a crescendo through the guitar lead and last verse.

Song Trivia
This song was extremely difficult to name, going through several working titles in its first year, with Ric even holding a “name this song” contest with family in friends. Dissatisfied with any of the suggestions, Albano settled on the generic “Anthem” in tribute to Individualist Philosopher Ayn Rand, as this is a very self-reflective song.

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

33 Flames for Mary

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Written by Ric Albano and Ron Simasek Song Length: 5:57
Listen to the Song: Purchase the MP3:
[audio:33FlamesForMary.mp3]
Lyrics
Down in ‘Never-never-ever–been-that-ordinary’ land
Where the crossroads of forever stretch in infinite directions
Sound and light disseminate through tiny holes in the time-traversing van
Wait until the weather’s gettin’ better and we’ll revitalize the plan

Was it ever-ever-ever really alive and within your reach?
Or did it crumble in the face of a sweet success with a meek retreat?
Will the world still spin this night despite this man?
Who could have never-never-ever have designed this odd journey

Odd journey, with no fortunes of note sustained
Save the bane of under-quenched thirsts that sap the Day
Of any soft or sympathetic ears left to accost along the way
No time ever exists until it’s executed,
But by then you’re beyond the “Line of Absoluted”
How can you do it when you show up late for that?

Could there have ever been a better bet laid on a surer thing?
Then one who’s credible, devoted, optimistic, true, and trusting
To simply cite the results is to immensely overlook the strong significance
To one who thirsts for the ballad that this siren once agreed to sing

Significance, upsets the balance in the happy fool’s ear
Within their ducts it dams up his truthful tears
And then extinguishes the flames by quixotic thought and providential fear
I rearrange the pieces of the past
Until today makes sense someway, somehow
Although distress flairs light up tonight’s sky
I just cannot be bothered with that now

And I’m never gonna be here again, and I’m never gonna be there again
There is only so much tension,
You can cumber away until the mind no longer bends
(And I’m never gonna be there again)

And I really haven’t been anywhere since then
(And I’m never gonna be there again)
There is only so much passion one can drink while his soul is on the mend
And I’m never gonna be here again

What can you do when you show up late for…
And the day’s already been before…
And your key no longer unlocks that door?

Composition © 2003, 2005 Ric Albano and Ron Simasek
Publication © 2005, 2009, 2011 Cygnus Wave Music

Song Info
Composed on May 11, 2003
Recorded starting on April 8, 2005
at Saturation Acres, Danville, PA
Produced by Ric Albano
Engineered by Paul Smith
Mixed and Mastered in 2005
at Silver Spring Subterranean
Original Release: October 10, 2005
on Imaginary Lines I

Performers
Ric Albano
Piano, Keyboards, Bass Guitar, Vocals
Bret Alexander
Electric Guitar
Ron Simasek
Drums
Listener Guide
Grade

Analysis: This a totally original song, fusing a melancholy power ballad with a precise, marching drum beat, revolving, almost funky bass line, and an excellent, bluesy, guitar lead. The vocals and lyric are almost secondary here, but still they portray the sad lament in the epilogue of a broken relationship. Further the song is asymetrical, nearly a mini-suite, with the story told in the form of a journey.

Song Trivia
In over 20 years of recording with The Badlees, and The Cellarbirds, and various other groups, this is the only individual songwriting credit for Ron Simasek, according to the All Music Guide.
“33 Flames for Mary” is the origin of the “33”, later used in the song “33 Shots at Louis”, the album Imaginary Lines 33, and ultimately the company 33 Dimensions LLC (parent company of Cygnus Wave).

To offer your own analysis of 33 Flames for Mary, please leave a comment in the box below.

Lorelei

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Written by Ric Albano Song Length: 6:30
Listen to the Song: Purchase the MP3:
[audio:Lorelei.mp3]
Lyrics
It’s not Rooooooski! It’s an abstract facsmile of Rooooooski!

Damned by a man who cannot stand up straight
I’ll search in vein for the guards who had abandoned the gate
Should’ve known that no good deed could ever go unpunished
In the end Lorelei had decided my fate

Cursed by the purse strings attached to my home
Must wait on line for heir justice with the greasy, black comb
He shouts; “What makes you so sure that your way of life is right?”
I then suspected Lorelei’s silent hand in my plight

You don’t want it? You’ve got to have it and I insist that you grab it!
You don’t see it? But have I chosen to reveal it?
This is the question you’ll have to deal with!

Shin deep in purple, processed, pure grape jelly
The bureau’s witch doctors demand more money
While Mr. Rooooooski charges that I’m a cheat
I won fair and square just accept your defeat!

Scorned by a wench who can’t pronounce my last name
But shattered my faith in the law to assign the right blame
“I’ll have you know mean-spirited remarks will never feed one hungry child”
This smacks of Lorelei’s crass and sinister style

You can’t feel it? Must be too heartless to deal with…
The poor, oppressed, 5th-wheel bits!
You can’t grasp it? Then you’re an ignorant, Christian have-wit!
Obsessed with preparing for the casket

Knee deep in crimson, sticky, entropic, paste gold
The bureau’s alchemists grow crusty and old
While Mr. Rooooooski is chauffered down Nicey Road
And ignores any headline underneath of the fold

Where is the buzz when you need it the most?
Drowned in black coffee, eggs, bacon, & toast

What will the bureaucrat do for Tuesday?
Something constructive, maybe scratch his toupee

Now I was bitten by the dog whose bite was bigger than his bark
Sentenced to civil servitude clearing sidewalks at dark
“You’ll surely loath the black days when your good fortune is repealed…
…To fund some grand new monument down in Lorelei Park!”

You don’t weep for it?
Must be bigoted with deep-knit, soul-less, bottom-feeding wits
You can’t show it? Then how can you be certain you know it?
You’re surely doomed yet to blow it!

Neck high in Honolulu blue river tide
The bureau’s acrobats were doomed to collide
Poor little Rooooooski took it hard when they died
New bureau despot outlawed Lorelei raves
Promoted morons and dismissed the unshaved
Soon even Rooooooski will have to learn to behave
Perhaps then I’ll be moved to re-emerge from my cave

Composition © 2004 Ric Albano
Publication © 2005, 2009, 2011 Cygnus Wave Music

Song Info
Composed on June 14, 2004
Recorded starting on November 3, 2004
at Silver Spring Subterranean
Produced by Ric Albano
Engineered by Paul Smith
Mixed and Mastered in 2005
at Silver Spring Subterranean
Original Release: October 10, 2005
on Imaginary Lines I

Performers
Ric Albano
Piano, Keyboards, Percussion, Bass, Vocals
Bret Alexander
Electric Guitar

Listener Guide
Grade

Analysis: An odd song with an odd story and odd structure, this upbeat and fun tune with deep philosophical lyrics came together in an odd way. Like most songs on Imaginary Line I, a demo was brought to Saturation Acres where a new, professional recording was initiated. But unlike any other song, the demo version was ultimately included on the album as the studio version was determined to be too slow to capture the mood of this song.

Song Trivia
The original version of this song was written in 1997 and named “Episode IV” as it narrated the story of the first Star Wars film.
The alternate, studio recorded version of “Lorelei” was used for J.D. Cook’s 19th birthday tribute as he had long claimed this to be his favorite Imaginary Lines song.

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