Alternate     Angles
 

1   "ILLUSIONS"
Is the truest picture of one's self and life in general best expressed while having fun on vacation or back home where we experience day-to-day life? I believe our travels can be a worthwhile part of what shapes our thoughts and views of the world around us, even if the trials of every-day life help create the illusion that life and the people we meet on the road would be any better if we weren't just on holiday. The pictures we take help shape our memories too. They can alter reality of course, but that's probably what vacation is all about, right?

My travels they take me
So far and wide
Or as close as a feeling
I’m left with inside
People and places
I’ll never really know
Just part of fond memories
That come and go

(Chorus)
Is the day in, day out
Where the truth lies?
More than a passing wave
Hello and goodbye?
More than carefree holidays
Where everyone tries?
Is the day in, day out
where the truth lies?

We capture in pictures
Frozen in time
Deceptive illusions
That play tricks on our eyes
Like sideways glances
We don’t really see
The so-called good old days 
Aren’t really what they used to be


2   "STRANGERS I'VE KNOWN"​​​​​​​​​​​​
      This is the first time I started working on an idea, set it aside, forgot about that earlier version, and ended up with two songs covering the same topic: our travels. It's only on rare occasions that we've quickly connected with people (time is compressed after all!) and stayed in touch after going our separate ways. One never knows if everyone was just in a good mood and showing the best of themselves, or if more time together would lead to a lasting friendship. Probably best to just enjoy the moment! 
​
We really hit it off, didn’t we?
The candles were glowing
The wine it was flowing
Like that Caribbean breeze 

(Chorus)
But hey, it’s been so nice to meet you
We enjoyed it so much
Let’s keep in touch
How bout a picture before we go?
Another memory of the good times 
With the strangers I’ve known

We danced till it seemed like forever
Then the band stopped playin’
We all started sayin’
It’s time to call it a night
Gotta catch an early flight

​
3   "TALK, TALK, TALK"
There's people with a true gift for gab who can be fascinating, and then there are those who just like to keep the air moving. The latter will talk both of your arms off if you let them. Oddly enough, they seem to also have a penchant for talking just about their lives and opinions. They probably consider themselves great conversationalists and tend to miss all the non-verbal cues like eyes rolling back in your head.

The silent treatment 
Might work on me
If you didn’t talk incessantly
I could set you off
Just to get a little peace
Without all that yakkin'
I might get a little sleep 

(Chorus)
You talk turkey, talk shop
You talk until we’re blue
I’m afraid to ask
What’s up? What’s new?
You talk trash, talk dirty
You talk a blue streak
Well shut my mouth
You even talk in your sleep

Talk, talk, talk 
I heard you say
Keeps jaw muscles workin’ 
Night and day
But a sure-fire way
To catch an early death
Is not stopping long enough
To catch your breath


4   "RODENTS RAID THE BREAD BOX"
 Instrumental


5   "WRECK OF THE HENRY B. SMITH"
When the 50th anniversary of the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald on Nov. 10, 1975 in Lake Superior was in the news this past year, I started to wonder about all the other tankers that succumbed to foul weather on the Great Lakes. It was fascinating to learn that one tanker in particular, the Henry B. Smith, likely faced the same fate on that same day 62 years earlier on the Big Lake. As the story goes, the tanker was docked in Marquette, Mich., when the "White Hurricane" hit. The temperature dropped to 24 degrees, causing the ore to freeze inside the hopper ccompartments. The 25-man crew had to knock the material loose by hand, resulting in a long delay. Captain James "Dancing Jimmy" Owen was told by the ship's owners that he better make this last trip on time or else. Witnesses saw the crew feverishly slamming the 32 hatch covers shut as the boat started taking on water. It was found 100 years later at 535 feet below the surface—one of 19 Great Lakes ships that succumbed to the storm.

I used to wave at the tanker crews
From the St. Joe river shore
I thought freedom was to ride the waves
On 10,000 tons of iron ore
But how free have I been
When they work me so hard
And all this solitude turns to boredom
After weeks on this floating prison yard?

These nights on the Big Lake
I stare into the fog
It feels like we’re heading toward
No place at all
The hum of the engine
As steady as steel
Due east to the Port of Cleveland
Dancing Jimmy Owen at the wheel

I hear thunder in the distance
We’re soon blinded by the snow
A stranded crew of sailors
With no place left to go
As we batten down the hatches
I think of all the wrecks
Pitching and rolling on 30-foot waves
As green water floods the deck
​
 
6   "ONE FOR THE BOYS'
I wrote this song back in the '90s for my sons Jason and Brett but never got around to recording it. They're two fine and successful adults these days, who make me proud to be their father. 

You bring a sense of wonder
To everything you do
You taught me how to look at things
Like they're brand new
And God it gets so quiet every time you leave
I get to thinking you'll forget about me 

(Chorus) 
Hold out for a love that's true
Keep your heart set
On a dream or two
Keep you chin up
And your head on straight
And good fortune will guide your fate 

Welcome to a world that makes it
Hard to understand
How so much pain and suffering
Could be part of God's plan
Expect that things won't always go
The way they should
Find the joy in things
You never thought you could 

Some day some lady's gonna
Whisper in your ear
She'll make your heart believe in
Everything you hear
And son you're gonna hold her
Like you'll never let go
You won't have to wonder
If it's love, you'll know


7   "TERMS OF MY SURRENDER"
I ripped off the title from that fine songwriter John Hiatt but took the rest down a separate road. It was at this point in the songwriting process where ideas for songs where "plum evading me" as Jimmy Buffett once put it. When that happens, it's easy to resort to tales about imaginary and sometimes real relationships. I thought I might as well string them all together.

She said, "Go easy on me
I’m dangling by a thread
It’s hard to be tender
With so much left unsaid
We’ve both had our feelings
battered and betrayed
When you’re dealt a losing hand
It’s better left unplayed"

(Chorus)
These are the terms of my surrender
I’ll wave the white flag
If you’ll always remember
Don’t take us for granted
Be honest with me
‘Cuz love doesn’t come 
With a guarantee

You say better safe than sorry
Is no way to live
Just never try to take
Any more than you give
But are we really better off 
Just riding the fence
Or feeding our passions
Until nothing makes sense?


​8   "THIS LOVE IS KILLING ME'
This is like one of those old blues songs where usually the guy has been cheated and mistreated. In this case, the words just started rhyming so I just let it happen.  

(Chorus)
This love is killing me
Murder in the first degree
Her wicked ways
Have made a wreck of me
I’ll go down in history
An unsolved murder mystery
I swear that woman’s 
Gonna be the death of me

One day she seem so sweet and nice
The next she’s itchin’ for a fight
It does no good to beg and plead
If I woke up dead I’d still be on my knees

(Chorus)
This love is killing me
Murder in the first degree
Her wicked ways
Have made a wreck of me
I’ll go down in history
An unsolved murder mystery
A cold, hard case
Of lies and treachery

We kiss and make up when we fight
But it happens every other night
Her cold, distant heart still beats
The living hell right out of me
 

9   "FALLING IN LOVE AGAIN'
Love is always about taking chances, and you improve your odds by doing your part and accepting that you'll both be constantly screwing up and making it right. Finding someone who cares enough to bother is the ticket.

(Chorus)
Help me I’m falling in love again
How much can a broken heart take?
Help me I’m falling in love again
Someone stop me before it’s too late!

I’ve been down this road so many times
Is it worth taking chances again?
It all feels so right
When they’re holding me tight
Is love just a means to an end?

This time will be different I always say
She promised she’ll always be mine
But forever's as long
As it takes to go wrong
Lord knows how hard we've both tried


10   "ONE PLUS ONE'
The words pretty much spell this one out.

Chorus) 
When one plus one
Makes two alone
A warm and tender touch
Can chill you to the bone
You lose one another
To those damn cell phones
When one plus one
Makes too alone

Falling in love
Is no guarantee
We’ll always have the feeling
We were meant to be
I miss the way i missed you
And To tell you the truth
I still can’t imagine
Facing me without you

(Second chorus)
When one plus one
Makes too alone
You can’t tell the difference
Between house and home
On separate paths
Toward the same tombstone
When One plus one
Makes two alone

Clear as a conscience
In black and white
We’re all that matters 
Wwhen things aren’t right
There’s no easy answers
No time to waste
Let’s rekindle this love
Before it’s too late


11   "WHAT'S IN A NAME?'
Sometimes names just work. My mother, in fact, liked the rhythm of Bradford Dean Kissell, so that was that! I stretched this thing out as long as I could, but I'm sure everyone can think of twice as many unusual or catchy names.

Old Jerry Jeff Walker or Lana Del Rey
Tennessee Williams, Sir Lawrence Olivier
Jerry Lee Lewis or Gypsy Rose Lee
Rory Calhoun, Crocodile Dundee

(Chorus)
What’s in a name
That catches your ear
Gets your attention 
Launches careers
Or maybe cool sophistication
You might otherwise miss
Or just a substitute for talent
That may not exist

Snoop Dog or Bad Bunny
Oh please…  Don’t you be silly!
Give me Christian Dior or Miss Evangeline Lily
Chubby Checker, Dicaprio
Marlin Brando, Guillermo Del Toro

Oliver Wendell or Sherlock Holmes
Gimme Bo Diddly or Minnesota Fats Domino
Joaquin Phoenix  or Michael J. Fox
Was Rip Torn, or Michelle really Shocked?

Dizzy Gillespie, Cozy Powell
Zero Mostel, let Howlin! Wolf howl!
Salvador Dali, Zooey Deschanel
Hold the phone! It’s Alexander Graham Bell!

Gimme some Nicky or Lightnin' Hopkins
Jumpin’ Jivin’ Cab Calloway, and Bubba Watson
Let’s spin some Zoot Sims or T-Bone Walker
Stevie Ray Vaughan or Fats Waller


12   "TAKE OFF THE GLASSES, JACKIE"
Just like the Edmund Fitzgerald, another anniversary that rolls around every year is the Kennedy Assassination. I was 10 at the time and remember my 5th-grade teacher running out of the classroom sobbing after the news came over the intercom that "President Kennedy has been fatally shot in the head." Talk about the end of the innocence. This year, I read how Ms. Kennedy once said that the last thing J.F.K. told to her in limosine on that fateful day was, "Jackie, take off the glasses." He apparently figured she could have stayed home if she was going to hide behind those big sunglasses she was famous for. In any case, it struck me as an unremarkable, basic human interaction when all we've ever seen are two elegant people in their prime smiling, waving and totally oblivious to their imminent fate. 

We’re going downtown
Look at that crowd
Smile and wave
What a beautiful day
With L.B.J.
In the Lone Star State

Take off the glasses, Jackie
Let ‘em see those big brown eyes
Take off the glasses, Jackie
Then just sit back and enjoy the ride

We’re going downtown
They’re jumping up and down
Just to see your face
The rain stopped
That bubble top
Would be such a waste

Take off the glasses, Jackie
Let ‘em see those big brown eyes
Take off the glasses, Jackie
Gimme me one more look, before I die
​
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