Princess of Pearl Avenue

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Written by Ric Albano Song Length: 4:22
Listen to the Song: Purchase the MP3:
[audio:PrincessOfPearlAvenue.mp3]
Lyrics
Just to see you dance ignites a fire deep inside my heart
The essence of true romance that perseveres even when we’re apart
So why not just take a chance, remove constraints that inhibit this start
Please let me see you dance, I’m well aware of the difficult circumstance
Just can’t compare any other woman with you
Princess of Pearl Avenue, Princess of Pearl Avenue

Just to hear you sing that sweet song will be worth the wait
The prospect of this happening
Must soon begin to unfold towards this fate
We’ve just begun to progress, would be now rash to evacuate
Away from the song you’ll sing or towards excessive worrying
About the risk that this faculty does come true
Princess of Pearl Avenue, Princess of Pearl Avenue

I know that I’ve made my bed, spent way too much time inside my own head
But now I feel that the base has been bore
The eagle will leave this floor and will soar like never before

It’s all in your control, my wish on you bestow, enchanted glow
No tragic Vince Van Gogh nor tragic Edgar Poe, just cool old flow
We surely took it slow is it not time to go on with the show?
No? No. No! I’m not gonna let it go

Just to feel you rock shoots white lightning all through my veins
Every time I hear you knock,
It’s as if nothing in life is yet mundane
But after an ocean of talk,
Is it not time to finally get into the game?
Just to see you rocked is jubilation of the highest stock
Imagination can hold nothing against the real you
Princess of Pearl Avenue, Princess of Pearl Avenue

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

Song Info
Composed on June 7, 2006
Recorded starting on April 13, 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
Piano, Keyboards, Bass Guitar, Vocals
Erik Trabert
Guitars
Ron Simasek
Drums

Listener Guide
Grade

Analysis: A fun and upbeat rocker sliced in half by a slower and more methodical mid section, with a few issues with overdubs and timings.

Song Trivia
This song originated as a frivolous tune entitled “Things” when it was created in 2006.

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Rubicon

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Written by Ric Albano Song Length: 2:33
Listen to the Song: Purchase the MP3:
[audio:Rubicon.mp3]
Instrumental

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

Listen to a Live Rehearsal of Rubicon

Song Info
Composed on March 1, 2009
Recorded starting on March 31, 2009
at Cygnus Wave Studios
Produced & Engineered by Ric Albano
Mixed and Mastered in 2009
at Cygnus Wave Studios
Released: September 9, 2009
on Imaginary Lines 33

Performers
Ric Albano
Piano, Keyboards, Bass
Erik Trabet
Guitars
Listener Guide
Grade

Analysis: A surreal and dreamy instrumental, highlighted by the ebow effect on the guitar.

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Sister Josephine

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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.

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Crimson, White, & Indigo

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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.

Imaginary Lines 33

Imaginary Lines 33Released on September 9, 2009

Imaginary Lines 33 is a compilation album which is actually three albums in one. It includes the entirity of two previous releases, Imaginary Lines I in 2005 and Imaginary Lines II in 2007, plus several new and previously unreleased tracks. In all, its 33 songs have a combined running time of nearly two and a half hours.

This album came together when the project’s producer, Ric Albano, decided to abandon the originally-planned “trilogy” of albums because he did not feel there was enough quality material to make an adeguate Imaginary Lines III. Instead the focus shifted to enhancing previously released material and developing the better songs of the unreleased music.

 Disc One Writer(s) Previously
 1. Crimson, White, & Indigo     Ric Albano Unreleased
 2. Sister Josephine Ric Albano Unreleased
 3. Rubicon Ric Albano Unreleased
 4. Princess of Pearl Avenue Ric Albano Unreleased
 5. 999 Escape Ric Albano Unreleased
 6. Tommy’s Got a Gun Ric Albano /
Hunter S. Thompson    
Unreleased
 7. Can’t Get My Mojo Risin’ Ric Albano Unreleased
 8. Ashes Ric Albano Unreleased*
 9. The Phoenix Ric Albano Imaginary Lines I    
10. Good Friday Ric Albano Imaginary Lines I
11. Perfect Light Ric Albano Imaginary Lines I
12. Lorelei Ric Albano Imaginary Lines I
13. 33 Flames for Mary Ric Albano /
Ron Simasek
Imaginary Lines I
14. Anthem Ric Albano Imaginary Lines I
15. Donovan’s Dread Ric Albano Imaginary Lines I
16. Peace Ric Albano Imaginary Lines I
17. One Ric Albano Imaginary Lines I
 Disc Two Writer(s) Previously
 1. The Fool’s Overture     Ric Albano Imaginary Lines II
 2. She Said Ric Albano Imaginary Lines II
 3. Keep Doing What You Do Ric Albano Imaginary Lines II
 4. The Last Man to Walk Alone     Ric Albano Imaginary Lines II
 5. You Sure Were Fun Ric Albano Imaginary Lines II
 6. 33 Shots at Louis Ric Albano Imaginary Lines II
 7. Believe Ric Albano Imaginary Lines II
 8. A New Religion Ric Albano Imaginary Lines II
 9. The Cup Ric Albano Imaginary Lines II    
10. The Old Man In the Sea Sue Kovaleski /
Ric Albano
Unreleased
11. Twilight of Innocence Ric Albano Unreleased
12. Here On the Beach Ric Albano Imaginary Lines II
13. Naked Ric Albano Imaginary Lines II
14. Deuce Ric Albano Unreleased
15. Half Hearted Ric Albano Unreleased
16. Long Way Home Ric Albano Imaginary Lines II