Tag: Songs Written by Ric Albano

Naked

  By

 On   By 

Written by Ric Albano Song Length: 4:35
Listen to the Song: Purchase the MP3:
[audio:Naked.mp3]
Lyrics
Sally, please give me one more chance, I swear that it will be OK
And I will quietly fade into oblivion, once we’ve exhausted this one final day
We’ll play until dark in our amusement park
Sipping from our final glass of fleeting youth
String together songs about our rights and our “wrongs”
And reinterpret them as the Gospel truth

To this no return, so I continued to burn
I was the feeble fool at the public swimming pool, who’d shown up naked
A barren fraud, whose own resolve is at odds and cannot fake it
But she had bound to evade
With every second of silence she kept slicing away
At my plastic shield on this tempered battlefield, humiliated

Sally, please you have got to believe that I’m legitimate
I’m not the type of lion who resorts to the roar just to intimidate
But I’d give it all up and drink from your “happy soup” cup,
If that’s what you’ll serve me
So shoot me some vibes and let me know if I’ve arrived and you deserve me

Still no reply – no confirm, no deny
Like some pilgrim dolt whose land is swallowed whole
Right after he’s staked it
I was peerless fool, wearing non-matching shoes,
But otherwise naked
And she continued to sing, her song of silence was now deafening
To this pathetic pawn evicted from her lawn
Right after he’s raked it

Yes, she continued to sing, her song of silence was deafening
To this squalid joke, externally gone for broke, internally naked

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

Song Info
Composed on April 18, 2006
Recorded starting on August 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, Vocals
Ron Simasek
Drums and Percussion

Listener Guide
Grade

Analysis: An attempt at pure pop with cleaver lyrics and double-entendres, much like the style of the 1970s. However, there are some issues with instrumentation, especially the looped drum track and absence of guitar.

Song Trivia
“Naked” was the nickname given to the original version of Imaginary Lines II after most of its songs were further enhanced and remixed for Imaginary Lines 33.

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

Here On the Beach

  By

 On   By 

Written by Ric Albano Song Length: 3:00
Listen to the Song: Purchase the MP3:
[audio:HereOnTheBeach.mp3]
Lyrics
Don’t be afraid this peril is likely to fade
But I’ll stay if you want me to
‘Cause here on the beach all options are within our reach
I will stay if you ask me to

Hanging around, suspended above the ground, patiently waiting our turn
Chipping away at the stones of yesterday, hoarding all we can learn

We’ve done our subdue now it’s time to commence
With the quintessential pursuit, what we long to do

Living the dream, coining lucid themes
Getting a turn at the dance
Climbing the tower, will I aptly manage the power?
I sure would welcome the chance

So here on the beach the everlasting song is just within our reach
‘Cause our day is sure coming soon, I will stay if you ask me to

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

Song Info
Composed on April 20, 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

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

Listener Guide
Grade

Analysis: The song takes a calm, romantic approach, loosely based on the sound of Phil Spector.

Song Trivia
This song was originally intended to be the last section of a four part, 16 minute “Ocean Suite”, following “He Was the Ocean” (later renamed “The Old Man In the Sea”), “Twilight of Innocence”, and “Dawning of Decadence”. This song was the only part completed in time for Imaginary Lines II.

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

Twilight of Innocence

  By

 On   By 

Written by Ric Albano Song Length: 7:02
Listen to the Song: Purchase the MP3:
[audio:TwilightOfInnocence.mp3]
Lyrics
Early on a Friday in May, dancing on a crest of a wave
I could feel the sudden crashing of cold water rush upon my shore
In the twilight of innocence, with curiosity pushed to turbulence
I’m bewildered by your passive hints
That soon you may not need me anymore

I shouldn’t anything distract me from anything
That’s going on this perfect day of leisure and play
These truly are the best of times, dream-scaped array
For five years we have built these stories brick day by day
Don’t let this end, don’t let it end

You may be the follower but you’ve got your own great mind
Open up your eyes and cherish
Everything that you will surely find
In a year or twelve you may not remember this quite the way that I do
But I’ll always remember you

You shouldn’t let anything distract you from everything
That’s going on this perfect day of bliss and fun
These truly are the best of times, cannot be out-done
Please don’t allow the trite to ever grow into distraction
To what you’ve got, you’ve got a lot

We left the beach as the dark patches advanced to hide the sun
Ran to the verge so we could witness this meteorological phenomenon
Caught two rainbows in a jaunty dance beneath the haunting clouds
In turn they tapped the gray water on either side
Like Heaven’s arms outstretched and grasping at the tide
Seagulls a-blaze in the bent light, a truly mystical sight
The night arrived with such harmony, embroiled forever in my memory

Later on the beach that day, I wondered just what you would say
If you could reflect back on this time right now along with us four
It is such a system we possess, the turning over of the vines
Although the world is a bit of a mess
Perhaps your judgement will be better than mine

Would you tell me that everything is a segue to everything?
That’s going on, that’s in our song
It’s what you’ve got, ready or not!

Heaven’s ambience is the crashing of the tide
Fades and echoes to the past as we commence our return ride
The day expired with such harmony, embroiled forever in my memory

It’s what I see when I retreat into the halls of my memory

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

Song Info
Composed on May 19, 1997
Recorded starting on September 10, 2004
at Silver Spring Subterranean
Produced & Engineered by Ric Albano
Mixed and Mastered in 2009
at Cygnus Wave Studios
Original Release: September 9, 2009
on Imaginary Lines 33

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

Listener Guide
Grade

Analysis: A song approached in a very unique fashion, with lyrics written in one afternoon on the beach in Virginia and music composed over several years on a living room piano. The song suffers from a bit from rough recording and untimely ending, as it originally went directly t the follow-up “Dawning of Decadence”. Still it posseses a unique charm.

Song Trivia
“Twilight of Innocence” is the oldest song in the Imaginary Lines collection both in composition date (05/19/97) and recording date (09/10/04), yet it was not officially released until the most recent Imaginary Lines album in 2009.
This song was originally intended to be the second part of a four part, 16 minute “Ocean Suite”, along with “The Old Man In the Sea”, “Dawning of Decadence”, and “Here On the Beach”. All but “Dawning of Decadence” were included as individual tracks on Imaginary Lines 33.
This is the only song on Imaginary Lines 33 written in the 20th century.

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

The Cup

  By

 On   By 

Written by Ric Albano Song Length: 4:18
Listen to the Song: Purchase the MP3:
[audio:TheCup.mp3]
Lyrics
Take this cup away from me
I have been blinded by what I cannot see
Can no longer recall whether I’ve breached the door
Can no longer predict if I’ll reach safe shores
Or was this just a one-time score?

I burned my heart on a much bigger stove
Got myself lost in the sea which I’d dove
But I still dance to tunes that only I hear
And I still flee from ghosts that only I fear
You’ve done your share of harm through the years

For when I was thirsty, you offered me salt
And when I sought refuge, you sealed up the vault
And when I asked questions, you spat out clichés
You bumbled the objectives then you bailed from the malaise

And now that you are exposed
You beg of me, may I finally understand?
That when you were weeping, I made a nice scapegoat
While chasms were deepening, you dug a deeper mote
And when you made statements they dissolved within a day
Save that solemn refusal to take this cup away

Take this cup away, take this cup away
Take this cup, away, away

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

Song Info
Composed on March 2, 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
Piano, Keyboards, Bass, Vocals
Ron Simasek
Drums

Listener Guide
Grade

Analysis: Perhaps the most regrettable song in the Imaginary Lines collection, this has several fine individual parts but never quite meshes as a cohesive “whole”.

Song Trivia
The title of this song was derived from line in “Gethsemane” in the rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar.

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

A New Religion

  By

 On   By 

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.