About

Behind the Scenes

Part 1 - Human Sex

The music for this song came first and was quickly followed by lyrics. During my year of studying the life and music of Neil Young, he released the album “World Record” with Crazy Horse. It’s filled with Neil Young classics, but the song that literally jumped out of my speakers was “Break the Chain”, a song produced by Rick Rubin and written about the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s been a long time since the energy of a song moved me the way this song did. It sounded almost like organized chaos. By the end of the week, the music for “Human Sex” was written inspired strongly by Break the Chain. I felt the song needed to have a strong “in your face” lyric and had contemplated the idea of a song about relationships for some time. The lyrics use the metaphor of sex to describe the fury and passion with which couples fight when their relationships go south. It is based on my career experiences counseling couples in practice. It always seemed to me that the way that couples argue became their sex dance.

Drums by Glen Wellman

You scream at me

Until it makes no sense

You knock me down

To my innocence

And you jump on me

It’s so intense

You tellin’ me

This is human sex

Wanted life to be pleasing for me

A poison pill that goes down easy

All this back and forth not what I bargained for

Give me that poison pill that goes down easy

Show me my faults

You won’t relent

You tear at my will

Cover me in cement

And you chain me up

And it’s no pretense

And you’re tellin’ me

This is human sex

Every day the same

Locked in Battle Royale

Call it harmony

Should go down easy

Looks like hate how we yell and scream

Where’s the harmony that goes down easy

Expose my weaknesses

And you do it at my expense

You launched an assault

To break down my defense

You trap me in a cage

Of barb wired fence

You tellin’ me

This is human sex

Burn for me with a fire in your eyes

Lay bare all your hidden surprises

Dig you hooks in my back

Throw me down with full impact

Surrender to your frontal attack

You know me like

You have a sixth sense

And you wear me down

With your persistence

And you’re chargin’ me

With a capital offense

And you’re tellin’ me

This is human sex

Human sex

Part 2 - Electric Guitar

Would I have noticed you?

Where’d it have led me?

A new trajectory?

To world I never knew, I never knew

Fourteen songs were written for this album, and some were intentionally written for acoustic guitar. When this song was first completed, the song was completely acoustic, and I loved the irony of a song called “Electric Guitar” played entirely on acoustic guitar. However, the song lacked punch and needed the addition of electric guitar. Eventually, all the acoustics were replaced by electrics with the acoustics taking a supporting role. The song is highly autobiographical in much the same way that Neil Young has used his songs to tell his life story. (“There is a town in north Ontario”). I had always been intimated by electric guitar and particularly lead guitar. I did not buy my first electric guitar (a “Maple Leaf” blue Epiphone Les Paul Custom named “Auston”) until I was 60. And having now learned how to play riffs and lead guitar, I have kicked myself for not starting earlier. (Though I probably saved a small fortune in amps, pedals and cables!). In the song I ask the question, “What if had learned to play electric guitar as a teenager?” and it explores the possibility of an alternate universe. The question “Would I have noticed you, would you have noticed me?” is meant to apply to every relationship in my life. How different would it have become? One of two shout-outs on the album to my favorite (ex) store on the planet, Sam the Record Man.

Drums by Ben Holmes

Bass by Jojo Timmermann

What if I’d learn to play electric guitar?

And burned up the fret board like all of them stars

Grown my hair long, let it cover my face

Escaped to a life in a different place

What if I’d let my passion burn bright?

And followed the dreams that brough my room alight

Ignored the words of my parent’s best intent

And let the music take me wherever it went

Would you have noticed me?

Would I have noticed you?

Where’d it had led me?

A new trajectory?

To world I never knew, I never knew

What if I’d had gone out and toured town to town?

And practiced every day ‘til I got the whole thing down

Penned a record contract and signed albums at Sam’s

Entered an orbit only a few can understand

What if my life had been all about the songs?

And every moment felt like I belonged

Among my brothers and sisters who felt the same thing too

What if that’s what I had chosen to do?

Would you have noticed me?

Would I have noticed you?

Where’d it had led me?

A new trajectory?

To world I never knew, I never knew

Change the strings, wind them tight

Plug into my Katana and jam all night

Oh, baby

This feels so right

What if I’d learned to play electric guitar?

And burned up the fretboard like all of them stars

Grown my hair long, let it cover my face

Would never have touched this loving grace

Would you have noticed me?

Would I have noticed you?

Where’d it had led me?

A new trajectory?

To world I never knew, I never knew

Part 3 - Snowflakes and Despair (Lyrics at end)

You get beat up

And things blow up

It’s not in your control

Can’t have regret

Get stuck in a dragnet

Escape the black hole

There are three things I love about Neil Young’s music: his melodies, his raw energy, and his story telling. I tried to accomplish all three in this song.

This was the first song written for Forever Young. I intentionally tried to get my “grunge” on. I found, in studying Neil Young’s lyrics, that he had a real knack for telling fictional stories. Perhaps “Cortez the Killer” is the best example of this. This song tells the story of a farmer who early in life leaves the farm to go to the big city where he meets the woman of his dreams who treats him as a one-night stand. One line is a shout-out to a song that was among my favorites when I first began immersing myself in music - Neil Diamond’s Brother Love’s Traveling Salvation Show: “It was a hot August night”. I love hot August nights and, living in the southeast, I get to experience them for 31 days. The has an unusual rhyming style where the odd numbered lines of the verses contain a rhyme within the line, and the even numbered lines all rhyme with each other. It gives the song a sense of motion which adds to its power.

Drums by Ben Holmes

Got a shed of tools and a barn of mules

Plenty of hay and seed

I grow my food chop my wood

Everything a man could need

When the day is done and it’s time to move on

I settle underneath the trees

My mind gives a nudge, reminds me of a woman’s touch

Bringing back memories

She came for no reason

Love was nowhere

And she left with the change of the season

Snowflakes and despair

As a young man traveled cross the land

Working daddy’s farm was not for me

Attracted by the lights and the big city’s invites

I wandered reckless and free

Was on a hot August night that she landed in my sight

And so began my journey

Cause before I knew she was lost from my view

Joy turned to tragedy

She came for no reason

Love was nowhere

And she left with the change of the season

Snowflakes and despair

You get beat up

And things blow up

It’s not in your control

Can’t have regret

Get stuck in a dragnet

Escape the black hole

(Guitar Solo)

She came for no reason

Love was nowhere

And she left with the change of the season

Snowflakes and despair

Behind the Scenes: Part 4 - Music Love Time (Lyrics at end)

A gentle peace fell over them

Harmony of two in perfect tune

Sharing the energy

Of a lifetime honeymoon

This is a strophic form song (no true chorus) that I believe comes the closest on the album to expressing Neil Young’s acoustic side. There is a repeating chord progression that features a melody on top of it. Unlike Neil Young, however, I had to play each part separately! Between each lyrical verse, there is an instrumental verse. The way this was achieved was by looping the chords and playing endless lead lines on top of it repeatedly for about 30 minutes. I then listened to the takes and selected the best of them, sequenced them, and pasted them into the song at the proper spaces. The lyrics are a metaphor for my love of music and guitar. Interestingly, the song began with the working title “A Sad Tune” and was played at a slower tempo with complete lyrics. One day in the studio, I just thought to try it a faster tempo, and the new song emerged. Part of my process at times.

B3 Organ by Morten Haugen

Connected by guitar strings

Gentle melodies infuse the evening sky

Playing well into the next day

Under a rainbow of music love and time

They met on New Year’s Day

A brand-new start for them both

They found each other in their disarray

Of broken dreams and lost hope

Without a penny to their names

Or a trail of romances that worked out

They gave it a shot with a smile

And left behind all their doubts

It was rough not knowing where to look

For the answers that would bring quietude

And at the end of every hard-fought day

Got lost in musical interlude

A gentle peace fell over them

Harmony of two in perfect tune

Sharing the energy

Of a lifetime honeymoon

Awash in a world of angelic chords

Lyrics brimming with passion-full rhymes

Connected to a higher soul

Under a rainbow of music love and time

Behind the Scenes: Part 5 - Anywhere is Good with Alex Blum Thomas and Patrick Storedahl of Alex Blum & The Roadside Quartet (Lyrics at end)

When we face the darkest hour

And bittersweet becomes sour

Everything we have in life

Everything demands our fight

This song does not completely mirror the style of Neil Young but was written during the same sessions that produced Forever Young. I had begun the song with a simple A minor to F major riff and had recorded the sample on my phone. One day, in the car, my wife asked a question that she wanted to discuss, and I asked her when she wanted to talk. She answered, “Anytime is good” and I responded with “Well, why not now?” As soon as I said that I remarked, “What a great idea for a song”. That led to the completion of the music and the lyrics. The song speaks to the endurance of love. What I like best about the music in this song is that there are multiple key changes - A minor (verses) to G major (choruses) to D major (instrumental bridge). I think it’s one of the best solos I’ve written.

Backing vocals by Alex Blum Thomas

Ambient synths by Patrick Storedahl

When we walk along the beach

With the sand tickling our feet

Everything under the sun

Everything becomes one

When we lounge back in our chairs

Feel the breeze in our hair

Everything under the moon

Everything in bloom

If anytime is good, then let’s make anytime now

If anywhere is good, then let’s make anywhere here somehow

When we travel to lands afar

Under the radar

Everything there is to see

Everything comes home to me

When we face the darkest hour

And bittersweet becomes sour

Everything we have in life

Everything demands our fight

If anytime is good, then let’s make anytime now

If anywhere is good, then let’s make anywhere here somehow

If anytime is good, then let’s make anytime now

If anywhere is good, then let’s make anywhere

If anytime is good, then let’s make anytime now

If anywhere is good, then let’s make anywhere here somehow

Behind the Scenes: Part 6 - Two Guys from Ontario (Lyrics at end)

Back in the day the old transistor

Man, it tore down the walls

For Neil it brought Elvis

For me Penny Lane had it all …

This is my favorite song on the album - if I were in the tent in Berkshire, it would be my “show-stopper” - and contains much lyrical and musical nuance. The music was based on the song Cinnamon Girl (“he added some spice”) and inspired by many of Neil’s long, drawn-out guitar-solo heavy songs like Down By the River, Chevrolet, Cowgirl in the Sand, and Driftin’ Back. The lyrics were inspired by my reading Neil’s biography “Shakey”. Some of the “tidbits” include:

¨ My uncle Nathan bought me my first transistor radio in the spring of 1967. Penny Lane was the #1 song on the CHUM Chart and I fell in love with the song immediately

¨ Alternatives was one of my album selections from The Record Club of Canada and included the song Cinnamon Girl. That started my love affair with Neil Young’s music

¨ After my first son was born, I took a 21-year break from playing guitar. I had written over 200 songs (that no one ever heard) and compiled a “greatest hits collection” on cassette tape. In the fall of 2010, on a lark, I went into a record store and bought a new Recording King acoustic guitar - have never looked back!

¨ I lived in North York in the Bathurst-Sheppard area, and Neil lived near St. Germain - pretty close!

¨ Yonge St. (no relation to Neil!) was the home of the flagship store of “Sam the Record Man”. I’d be a rich man today had it not been for that store!!

The opening part was processed using a vinyl plugin from Izotope and added the scratchy, warped sound you hear. Originally, I wanted to play the opening chords of Cinnamon Girl, but I learned that if you do this, it is called a “derivative” which is very different from a cover song. Cover songs can be released for a small fee; for a derivative, you need the permission of the artist. Didn’t see that happening anytime soon!

Drums by Glen Wellman

Back in the day the old transistor

Man, it tore down the walls

For Neil it brought Elvis

For me Penny Lane had it all …

all night long every single song

Two guys from Ontario

Playing with The Horse

He added some spice

I bought Alternatives

And man, that one tune was nice …

nice and raw that sound man I was gone

Two guys from Ontario

Late century he wandered free

My music had to take a rear seat

But it was that force that brought us back

Like we never missed a beat …

a beat that made us whole and penetrated our souls

Two guys from Ontario

Funny to think

Our houses were a mile apart

Walked down Yonge Street

Into the same shops …

Shops that sold records that shaped our chords

Two guys from Ontario