Tag: Ric Albano on Electric Bass

The Old Man In the Sea

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Written by Sue Kovaleski & Ric Albano Song Length: 3:54
Listen to the Song: Purchase the MP3:
[audio:TheOldManInTheSea.mp3]
Lyrics
Another time, another place, geo-era so sincere
The perfect rhyme, the sweetest taste, another summertime is here
And we would go sailing into the ocean

From near and far our sundry clan would congregate upon these shores
And at our heart there was one man who gave us all and so much more
And he would go sailing into the sea

So deep, so dark, yet able to fathom
So many of life’s unpredictable tides
The sailor’s heart helped us navigate her labyrinth
And we’d never run aground with him by our side
He gave us time…

He marked the time with his routines and let us know that we each had
A quite distinguished ardency to heaven’s character he’ll add
Now that he is the current of the sea

Now that he’s gone she will never be the same
Although to her we’ll return to reflect on the bliss
To listen to her tide whisper his unique name
Reassures us someday we will witness
Another time…

Another time, another place, all destinations lead to here
The endless prime, the smoothest pace
The endless summertime, it’s clear
That he is now sailing upon this ocean

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

Song Info
Composed on March 17, 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
Janet Rains
Lead Vocals
Ric Albano
Keyboards, Bass, Vocals
Erik Trabert
Guitars
Ron Simasek
Drums

Listener Guide
Grade

Analysis: Janet Rains takes lead vocals for much of this song, which includes a simple melody and arrangement and a nice outtro guitar, with a unique fading mix.

Song Trivia
“He Was the Ocean” was a poem written by Sue Kovaleski about her grandfather, Paul Heckman. It inspired this song as was its original title.

Please offer your own analysis of The Old Man In the Sea by leaving a comment in the box below.

A New Religion

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Written by Ric Albano Song Length: 4:11
Listen to the Song: Purchase the MP3:
[audio:ANewReligion.mp3]
Lyrics
Dolphins flying in the sky, formations four by four
Yet no one seems to find this scene absurd
They’ve all been trained to say that this all existed yesterday
Or so they’ve heard, now they’re sure

Some cultivated visions fave morphed into this new religion
And no one dares to test its doctoral rule
Less they be ridiculed, evicted from the “Clique of Fools”
Through cruel avenues

The theorem is undisputable, the cause is undeniable
The burden is unbelievable to come
We’ve got to blindly act, before there is no turning back
Don’t be numb, beat them drums

The Reverend gave his sermon today
Then folded up his good notebook and on private wings flew away
Does he really believe that his words will sustain?

Dolphins marching on the ground, two by two, side by side
And those who don’t salute are forced inside
To be reeducated, corrected, and assimilated
With the tribe, the blessed tribe

The Shaman carved a new edict on the stone
For the tribe to follow religiously until those good souls regain the throne
This trumps every other thing that you’ve known

Composition © 2006 Ric Albano
Publication © 2007, 2009, 2011 Cygnus Wave Music

Song Info
Composed on August 25, 2006
Recorded starting on April 13, 2007
at Saturation Acres, Danville, PA
Produced by Ric Albano
Engineered by Bret Alexander
Mixed and Mastered in 2007
at Cygnus Wave Studios
Original Release: December 27, 2007
on Imaginary Lines II
This Release: September 9, 2009
on Imaginary Lines 33

Performers
Ric Albano
Piano, Keyboards, Bass, Percussion, Vocals
Ron Simasek
Drums

Listener Guide
Grade

Analysis: A methodic, mechanical beat sets the atmosphere for this ode on groupthink and intellectual laziness.

Song Trivia
The “dolphins flying in the sky” is a reference to a widely believed “scientific” study that claimed dolphins are more intelligent than humans.

Please offer your own analysis of A New Religion by leaving a comment in the box below.

33 Shots at Louis

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Written by Ric Albano Song Length: 3:07
Listen to the Song: Purchase the MP3:
[audio:33ShotsAtLouis.mp3]
Lyrics
Stay away from my front door
I’m sick-n-tired of you crawlin’ across my hardwood floor
I’ve got no dinner for you, Louis

I used to believe that you had my back
But now I can see that you’re nothing but a two-bit, no good quack
I’ve got no further business with you, Louis

We caught you grinning while singing the blues
Hand constantly out above open-toed sandal shoes
Why couldn’t you just walk more block –
In your dreadlocks and bloody socks – to an inn?

We heard you bitchin’ that night at the ball
Lips stiff yet bent and uptight in the dancing hall
Why couldn’t you just sit this one out?
You’ve done enough damage to your kin!

We saw you shakin’ it out at the bar
So stoned that you couldn’t recite who your children are
How could you now bathe in such shame?
Was all that moral rabble just your game?

So stay away from my back yard
If the summer’s too humid for you or you’ve lost playing your last card
I can’t pick a winner for you, I’ve got my own live to live
Get out on your own!

Composition © 2006 Ric Albano
Publication © 2007, 2009, 2011 Cygnus Wave Music

Song Info
Composed on September 26, 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: December 27, 2007
on Imaginary Lines II
This Release: September 9, 2009
on Imaginary Lines 33

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

Listener Guide
Grade

Analysis: Almost the reciprical of the deep and emotional 33 Flames for Mary, this ia an upbeat, fun and frivolous song. It is one the few to feature a piano lead by Ric Albano, which trades riffs with the fantastic guitar work of Erik Trabert.

Song Trivia
This song was originally a pure instrumental titled “I Kicked a Dog”.

Please offer your own analysis of 33 Shots at Louis by leaving a comment in the box below.

You Sure Were Fun

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Written by Ric Albano Song Length: 4:16
Listen to the Song: Purchase the MP3:
[audio:YouSureWereFun.mp3]
Lyrics
Wanton and wayward, you slipped off your sly boots
Threw the left one through the shower glass, used the right to kick the truth
And started to sob and weakly tried to explain where you had been
Where have you been?

Off the cusp of the road beneath the solitary pine
On the solitary hillside, logging “solitary” time
You assured me that this was just a phase, for you were still young
And you sure were fun

We drifted together into this new grown-up world
I’d play the cool, grown-up guy, you’d play the lewd, grown-up girl
Not that your unchaste demeanor would be the worst thing that you’d ever do
Though that you’d do!

It was your devoted eminence of those derogatory “friends”
With their derogatory means towards derogatory ends
And your near-quantum failure to ever grasp just where I was coming from
But you sure were fun

It’s the biggest blast, wooded beer barrel bash in at least five years
And you declare that you got to be there
Despite your legal age, these are neo teenage peers
But you can’t see that you’re just a washed-up fool
Some amusement, not the party legend you think
So you proceed with this inane masquerade
And wash away your soul with every arduous drink

With every arduous drink, you’ve left no margin to think
As you slowly inch to the brink
The brink, it’s buffer is starting to shrink
It’s incense is starting to stink
And you really need to get out – Get out!

You launch some deaf appeals that you’ve got no wheels
And you really feel the need to steal some

Drunk and diluted you lifted some keys
Purged yourself of some fluids, groped your way through the trees
And climbed in that pickup for one final, truncated joy ride
Enjoy the ride!

Soon you flew off the road towards some stationary rocks
Impending your future is stationary in a box
Had you ever conceived of such atonement for the way your life was run?
But you sure were fun, yeah, you sure were fun

Composition © 2005 Ric Albano
Publication © 2007, 2009, 2011 Cygnus Wave Music

Song Info
Composed on December 19, 2005
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: December 27, 2007
on Imaginary Lines II
This Release: September 9, 2009
on Imaginary Lines 33

Performers
Ric Albano
Piano, Keyboards, Bass Guitar, Vocals
Erik Trabert
Guitars
Ron Simasek
Percussion

Listener Guide
Grade

Analysis: This is a unique, bluesy song with a fine hook and an intresting deviation during the middle bridge section. Some of the guitar sound is less-than-par as noise was a factor and much editing was needed to remedy.

Song Trivia
“You Sure Wer Fun” was the most difficult song to record of any on Imaginary Lines 33 as it was done in three seperate, distinct sections with special cues and timings laborously worked out between Ric Albano and Ron Simasek.

Please offer your own analysis of You Sure Were Fun by leaving a comment in the box below.

The Last Man to Walk Alone

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Written by Ric Albano Song Length: 3:49
Listen to the Song: Purchase the MP3:
[audio:TheLastManToWalkAlone.mp3]
Lyrics
JR felt the tremble deep in his bones
He had become the last man to walk alone
He made the choice, the bridge would burn
A one-way jaunt with no return
He’d learn that he could never go home again

RJ watched it all from on up high
From beyond the great beyond that lines the sky
No spoken voice was granted him
A broken choice all results grim
But he’d try to set the table of life again

The ferment continued until the end of time
For some it seemed vulgar but for many it was simply sublime
RJ back to his drawing board
JR toward his prison ward
In time they’d end up in the same camp again

But he won’t ever get there again
Not to see the stalagmite citizens
Nor the crude, fair-weathered friends
He won’t ever get there again

And he will never see there again
Never perform the vapid rituals
Nor die the slow death from the bends
He will never see there again

Composition © 2006 Ric Albano
Publication © 2007, 2009, 2011 Cygnus Wave Music

Song Info
Composed on February 28, 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: December 27, 2007
on Imaginary Lines II
This Release: September 9, 2009
on Imaginary Lines 33

Performers
Ric Albano
Electric Piano, Keyboards, Bass, Vocals
Ron Simasek
Percussion

Listener Guide
Grade

Analysis: A nice, blue-grass-esque tribute to Johnny Cash which builds layer upon layer with synth work from Ric Albano.

Song Trivia
The unique percussion sound by Ron Simasek was achieved by turning over the snare drum and playing by hand.
The song’s message was unfortunately undermined a bit by the movie spoof Walk Tall, released the same Christmas as Imaginary Lines II.

Please offer your own analysis of The Last Man to Walk Alone by leaving a comment in the box below.