Good Cover Story

This song formed out of my criminal mind, and some of the passages came from my being a big fan of the TV show Better Call Saul.

Guest guitarist Earl Cate is an old friend and one my longtime idols.

• SH – Main vocal, Acous Guitar and Elec guitars:  1. Rhythm, 2. Roto effect, 3. Lead Fills

• Darren Novotny – Drums

• John Davies - Bass (Danelectro Longhorn, short scale)

• Earl Cate – Elec guitars: 1. Rhythm, 2. Rhythm/Fills

• Backing Vocals – Genevieve Carlson, John Davies & Sean

• Matt Nelson - Rhodes Elec Piano, Hammond B3 Organ w/ Leslie 

Home Where I’m Loved

This is my Covid-19 pandemic lock-down love song. From the point of view of a ‘maturing’ man who is very much in love with his wife.

• SH – Main vocal, acoustic guitars

• Darren Novotny – Drums

• John Davies - Bass (1963 Kay Value Leader, short scale)

• John Sprott - slide Dobro, and fretted Dobro cascade on chorus

• Matt Nelson - Rhodes elec piano

• Backing vocals – Genevieve Carlson, John Davies & Sean

Ghastly Love

You know that expression, “I love you somethin’ awful.”  I thought I’d explore how far I could go with that idiomatic ‘negative-positive’ expression. We had some great laughs recording it. And I really love Matt’s piano and Scotty’s pedal steel on this tune. Oh, and Clariss’ yips and sighs! 

• SH – Main vocals, acoustic guitar

• Darren Novotny – Drums, Temple Blocks

• John Davies - Bass (Fender Tony Franklin, fretless)

• Clariss Goodwin-Harrison – vocals, yips and sighs

• Matt Nelson – Grand Piano

• Scotty Henderson – Pedal Steel Guitar

3 Part Strategy (Get. Shit. Done.)

At my wife Clariss’ work they talk about approaching any problem with a two-part solution: Fix. It.  It’s fun and cute.  So I delved into creating a 3-part strategy for greater work-day production:  Get. Shit. Done.

• SH -  Vocal, Acoustic guitar 

• Darren Novotny – Drums, Handclaps

• John Davies - Bass (Bass Collection Jazz, maple fret, w/ pick)

• David Ervin – Hammond B3 organ

• John Sprott – Elec guitars: rhythm parts, lead fills, slide fills

Ghosts of the Old Wire Road

Where I live is just off of Old Wire Road, here in Fayetteville, AR. I enjoy reading history, and this road has a rich story. I thought about the people who had lived and died here long before white men came along – and the hubris of modern American ideas of property ownership.

• SH – Vocals, Acoustic guitars, Grand piano bass notes; Harmonica

• Darren Novotny - drums

• John Davies – Bass (Bayard acoustic fretless)

• Bayard Blain - Bouzouki & Mandolin

• Scotty Henderson - Pedal Steel Guitar 

• David Ervin – Keyboard: Airy-mood-synth layer 

Black Beer

My good friend Philip Martin has written many fantastic lyrics. I was especially drawn to this one because I’m sober, and I was intrigued by the haunting line, “None of my dreams are quite enough.”  I wanted it to sound like a pure rock-n-roll song, the spirit in which Philip wrote it. Guest guitarist and good friend John Sprott of Lubbock, TX, did the dirty work – it fits perfectly.

• SH – Main vocal, Acoustic guitar, 12-string Elec guitar

• Darren Novotny – Drums

• John Davies - Bass (Bass Collection Jazz, maple fret)

• John Sprott = Elec rhythm guitars; Elec lead fills (fretted & slide parts)

• Matt Nelson – Grand piano, Hammond B3 organ 

• Rachel Fields – Backing vocals

Doggy Dog World

My older daughter Rachel’s first word was “dog.” She has had many dogs. When she was 6-years-old she tugged my shirt and said, “Daddy … it’s a doggy dog world.” As a song idea I googled it to see if it had already been written.  Sure enough, Snoop Dog had cut a song by the same title, but it was all about “bitches and ho’s.” So I really needed to write one in the nature of a child’s innocence.  

• SH – Vocal, Acoustic guitars

• Darren Novotny – Drums

• John Davies – “Tuba” Bass (Kala U-Bass)

• Matt Nelson – Grand piano

Final Thoughts

Death is one of the great writing topics. I’ve written several songs about death … always enjoy it!  I’d read a science article about how the brain continues to think after the body dies. And I figured, well, those are the final thoughts – better make ‘em good.   

Guest guitarist Gurf Morlix heard the demo, liked it a lot, and played some very cool lead guitar, for which I am highly grateful.

• SH – Vocal, Acoustic guitars 

• Darren Novotny – Synth percussion and hand-held bass drum

• John Davies - Bass (Fender Tony Franklin, fretless) 

• Gurf Morlix – Electric Guitar

• David Ervin – Accordion, Bagpipes, Keyboard synth layer

• Genevieve Carlson - Angel Voice