Try Again

Bonus Track By  Wahray and Soul

Written by Ric Albano Song Length: 5:30
Listen to the Song:
[audio:WAS/60-TryAgain.mp3]
1992
Lyrics
I know that you’ve been waiting so long
For something good to come along
This song is about that fight
And I know that praying works in strange ways
It helps you through those hard days
When nothing in the world seems right

But when you’re down and about to give up that sight
Reach way down south for some fight and right to try again
Because you know, your reward someday will be great
Your quest must start on this date, relate and try again

Yes, I know you’ve been brought down once before
You’ve suffered through those many chores
And scores of rattlesnake bites
But just remember that Rome wasn’t built in a day
It took many years and many “nays”
And “yays” to do it right

And when start your construction on that dream
Pray the good Lord be on your team, you’re free to try again
The next step is to be persistent all the way
It makes resistance go away
That grey won’t be seen again

And never, ever, ever give up on hope
Your faith will help you to cope
An antidote to evil trends
Because you know that praying works in strange ways
It will help you through those hard days
It pays to try again

Composition © 1992, 1993 Ric Albano
Publication © 2011 Cygnus Wave Music

Song Info
Produced & Engineered by Ric Albano
Composed on March 4, 1992
Recorded March 1992 / November 1993
at Rathole Studios, Hazleton, PA
Mixed in 2003 & Mastered in 2011
at Cygnus Wave Studios

Performers
Ric Albano
Acoustic Guitars, Bass Guitar, Piano, Keyboards, Drums, Vocals

Listener Guide
Grade

Analysis: The last song to be written and recorded before a very long hiatus, this song is almost very good, but lacks that extra punch to put it over the finish line. The acoustic intro and bass lines are very melodic, but the song proper seems to get stale and repetitive.

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

Fear

Bonus Track By  Wahray and Soul

Written by Ric Albano Song Length: 3:05
Listen to the Song:
[audio:WAS/59-Fear.mp3]
1992
Lyrics
Tuesday afternoon on the road, I thought of something extreme
Where will I be in a year from now if I don’t go and change something
I guess in a year from now when I hear this song I’ll know for sure
But one thing I must overcome, for sure
This deep, defeating fear…
Yes that’s the deadly thing that tears us all apart
It pulls us down and brutally stops us
From doing what we believe in our hearts
But someday soon something’s gotta give, this conflict just can’t stay
All I need is courage and guts and will to chase this fear away…

Don’t want it here no more
Go away, find another fish to lure

Far away, where it won’t be seen or heard from ever again
A swift clean break, forever destroyed, won’t compromise on “bend”
Forever expelled from down inside my soul, way down south
Way down there, deep down inside my soul…

Don’t want it here no more
Go away, find another fish to lure

Be excellent to each other!

Composition © 1992 Ric Albano
Publication © 2011 Cygnus Wave Music

Song Info
Produced & Engineered by Ric Albano
Composed on February 8, 1992
Recorded February 1992
at Rathole Studios, Hazleton, PA
Mixed in 2003 & Mastered in 2011
at Cygnus Wave Studios

Performers
Ric Albano
Harpsichord, Bass Guitar, Drums, Vocals
Sinclair Soul
Vocals

Listener Guide
Grade

Analysis: The very last song to use the old harpsichord, an instrument which pre-dated even the earliest songs that I wrote (I believe I purchased it when I was 16 in 1984). The song itself has a decent vibe due to the strong bass line, but some weaker vocals that kind of fall off late in the second verse, indicating that the song was never properly finished.

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

Ric Is Dead, Long Live the Snake

Bonus Track By  Wahray and Soul

Written by Ric Albano Song Length: 6:17
Listen to the Song:
[audio:WAS/58-RicIsDeadLongLiveTheSnake.mp3]
1992
Lyrics
Now, there is noone upon the bridge
Everyone dwells in Crystal Ridge
This desert town they call their home
Adventure lost, content condoned
The fertile water lies across the strait
But they are too lazy to investigate

A hopeless scene, a surrender line
From “live it up” to “just get by”
In fifteen years they haven’t seen the sun
They’ve grown so cold, it’s what oppression has done

Is it over? Indeed, it certainly appears
The vast horizon is no match for their fears
But deep below the surface of the desert sand
There is a spark but someone has to dig it up
Dig it up! Dig it up!

Dig it all, dig it all, dig it all, dig it

Now, this is just a metaphor
It’s not real, in a sense there’s more
Deep below this person’s mind
There is something brewing, hope, din, cruel, an divine

Is it over? Indeed, it certainly appears
The vast horizon is no match for their fears
But deep below the surface of the desert sand
There is a spark but someone has to dig it up
Dig it up! Dig it up!

Dig it all, dig it all, dig it

You’re the one who tried to control mind
Spinning all your bad-blood jealousy into whine
Shaking off anything stable in life
Dealing 21 cards, defended by a bladeless knife, an unexisting wife

Sock-hop Charlie playing all his tunes for the dead
Making love to a picture of a hollow little twister in a broken bed
No more, no more

Now, tell me son, what have you learned
Do you believe it is your turn?
Will you bet it all one this one sweepstakes?
Ric is dead, long live the Snake
Yes, Ric is dead, long live the Snake

That was just his last mistake
Ric is dead, long live the Snake

Composition © 1992, 1993 Ric Albano
Publication © 2011 Cygnus Wave Music

Song Info
Produced & Engineered by Ric Albano
Composed on February 1, 1992
Recorded February 1992 / November 1993
at Rathole Studios, Hazleton, PA
Mixed in 2003 & Mastered in 2011
at Cygnus Wave Studios

Performers
Ric Albano
Electric Guitars, Bass Guitar, Drums, Vocals

Listener Guide
Grade

Analysis: This song is an extreme turning point on many levels, not the lest of which is the fact that it is the very last elctric-guitar driven song that I would write. It employs heavy use of metaphors lyrically, much of it based on Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, with some real-life situations interspersed.

Please offer your own analysis of Ric Is Dead, Long Live the Snake by leaving a comment in the box below.

Run

Track 33  On  The Evolution of Noise  By  Wahray and Soul

Written by Ric Albano Song Length: 3:31
Listen to the Song:
[audio:WAS/57-Run.mp3]
1992
Lyrics
I came across you just the other day and said “hi”
But you just acted like you’re deaf in the ears and passed by
It’s me. not you, who should be the one who is made
Won’t take the blame for what you’ve done
It’s too bad, I don’t care anymore

Everytime you have a problem you run
You finally found out that life is not always fun
It’s hard, sometimes happiness ain’t the only thing in the cards
But when things just aren’t going your way
You can’t pick up and run away
You’ve got to step up to the challenge of everyday

I came across you on a fair, warm night in the street
You looked much better, alright and back on your feet
But then the rain started pouring down and you ran
You probably ran to a warm and dry desert land
I don’t care anymore

Everytime you have a problem you run
You finally found out that life is not always fun
It’s hard, sometimes happiness ain’t the only thing in the cards
But when things just aren’t going your way
You can’t pick up and run away
you’ve got to step up to the challenge of everyday

Everytime you have a problem you run
I don’t care anymore

Composition © 1992, 1993, 2003 Ric Albano
Publication © 2011 Cygnus Wave Music

Song Info
Produced & Engineered by Ric Albano
Composed on January 6, 1992
Recorded January 1992 / November 1993
at Rathole Studios, Hazleton, PA
Mixed in 2003 & Mastered in 2011
at Cygnus Wave Studios

Performers
Ric Albano
Electric Guitars, Keyboards, Bass Guitar, Drums, Vocals

Listener Guide
Grade

Analysis: A cool pop/rock song with a nice guitar riff, this song harkens back to a forgotten past of Wahray and Soul, as sort of a guitar-driven island in a sea of piano and synths. There’s even a brief “middle section” where just about everything was improvised before returning to the well structured main theme. A new synth backing track was added in 1993 as well as new lyrics written but never used.

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The Evolution of Noise

The Evolution of Noise by Wahray and SoulThe analog recording process has all gone the way of the horse and buggy, so it may be a good time to reflect back on this recently past age. With this realization, producer Ric Albano has decided to finally release the many semi-professional, analog recordings he made close to a quarter century ago with The Evolution of Noise, 1987-1995 by Wahray and Soul.

These recordings of original songs were all made in an attic “studio”, on a Fostex 4-track cassette recorder. There is a lot of trial and error, experimentation, and development of technical proficiency along the way.

Part I: The 1980s Written   Recorded
 1.   I Think I’m Losing My Brain     04/10/87 Spring 1990
 2.   Can’t Get Back 06/19/87 Spring 1990
 3.   A Lot of These Things 07/21/88 July 1988
 4.   Speak to Me 11/18/88 November 1988
 5.   The Deer With the Golden Eye 11/20/88 Nov 1988/Spring 1990
 6.   Free 12/13/88 December 1988
 7.   Someday     12/16/88 Dec 1988/Spring 1990
 8.   Springtime 01/07/89 Jan 1989/Spring 1990
 9.   Dark Side Suite 02/11/89 Feb-March 1989
10.   Loneliness 02/13/89 February 1989
11.   Discouragement 02/22/89 Feb-March 1989
12.   Diamond Ships 05/24/89 May 1989
13.   Blue Flowers & Beige Towers     06/04/89 June-July 1989
14.   Dry Water 08/05/89 August 1989
15.   Get Together 08/20/89 August 1989
16.   The Telephone 10/11/89 October 1989
17.   I Need Her Bad 10/12/89 October 1989
18.   Disagree 10/13/89 October 1989
19.   You’ve Got to Abide By the Rules…
     …if You Want to Play
   
11/02/89 November 1989
Part II: The 1990s Written   Recorded
 1.   Wilderness 05/25/90 May 1990
 2.   Best Shot 05/27/90 May-June 1990
 3.   It’s Hip To Live In Disgrace 08/06/90 August-September 1990
 4.   What Comes Around, Goes Around 09/22/90 September-October 1990
 5.   Pressure 12/05/90 December 1990
 6.   Ballad of a Big Breasted Bimbo 04/06/91 Apr 1991/Nov 1993
 7.   You Drive Me Mad 07/25/91 July-August 1991
 8.   King Of the Hill 09/27/91 September-October 1991
 9.   Mixed Signals 10/02/91 October 1991
10.   Wild Child 10/05/91 October 1991
11.   A Shock To the System 10/09/91 October 1991
12.   Everything I Forgot 12/26/91 December 1991
13.   Run 01/06/92 January 1992/November 1993
14.   Don’t Look Back 02/22/93 February-March 1993
15.   The Difference Between 03/09/95 March-April 1995
16.   Whenever I’m Near You 04/14/95 April-May 1995
17.   Used To Be 05/06/95 August 1991/May 1995
18.   The French Toast Affair 06/24/95 June-July 1995
19.   Take It As It Comes 07/07/95 July 1995