LOW-
This tune is about a severe depression I went through after I accidentally left my African Grey parrot (my friend of ten years) in my car. He loved to take rides, and he always stayed on my shoulder. Well my Dad was out to visit, and he, my wife, my daughter Emily, and I piled into our Saturn and headed out to Shelby Park to take a walk. Ray came too, but for the first time ever, he crawled off of my shoulder and on to the headrest. I forgot I'd brought him, and nobody noticed. When we came back 45 minutes later, he was on the floor, in serious shock after chewing on The Club. Metal flakes were next to him. Metals can kill birds in minutes, and he didn't make it. This song came out of that. I played the solo in one take. It's just pure despondence. But things do lighten up....

HALFWAY THERE-
I wrote this song for my sister's 40th birthday. I used a lot of non-concrete images for this one. The "Walk On Fire" reference is not a Little America one, but refers to one of my sis's icons at the time, Tony Robbins, who has his students walk across hot coals to prove that they can do anything.

SOUL INSPIRATION-
A friend of mine told me that the original Doobie Brothers were getting back together, that he might be working on their next album, and that they may be open to hearing some songs. Once it was confirmed that this was in fact the "Tom Johnston" Doobies, I wrote this song with them in mind. However, It took me so long to finish the damn thing they've probably made three cds since then. Ah well. It fit perfectly for me, anyway.

MOVE A LITTLE FASTER-
This one made it to the top 12 in blues in the International Songwriting Contest. If you ask yourself, "Is this song about what I think it's about?", you're probably right. Don't play this one for the kids.

RIDE-
The song's about life, first about the way I felt when I was young, and then how I think my daughter might feel now that she's young. She is one hell of a dancer. She's got all that rhythm and that soul.....

GHOSTS-
I wrote this one about middle age, and how a lot of my dreams as a young man can't happen now, no matter what. It's funny. I still want to climb trees and ride bikes and play baseball. And I do. But you can't stop the passage of time. You have to hit a certain point in life, and redefine yourself a bit. But I have a tough time with change, particularly technological change. Note the reference to the pay phone.

NA NA NA-
This is the only song I've ever written in my life where I actually tried to write a hit song, so I apologize for the lyric, "You're the one who answers in my dreams". It won't happen again. Back in 1988, when our A&R rep, "Miss E", left Geffen, we were assigned "Mr. K", who immediately rejected our finished second album, stating emphatically that we needed a hit. Three of our favorite tunes, "Caught in the Rain", "She moves like Lightning", and "Now and Forever", were removed to make room for a Byrds cover and a hit to be named later. Well, all four of us toiled away, getting calls from our manager every few hours. "Any hits yet?" I came up with this one a few days later, and when he called again, I said, "I think it's a hit, and I actually LIKE it." Well the V.P. of Geffen loved it, but when we showcased it for Mr. K, he gave the "Cut!" signal midway into the second verse, and said "next".
Thoroughly unfazed, Kurt and I recorded the song in 1992, and resurrected from the vault, this is the version you hear on the cd.

BATTLEGROUND-
My Dad has traced our ancestry back to Robert The Bruce, who led the Scots in the Battle of Bannockburn. Our ancestor, Robert Stirling Logan, carried Robert the Bruce's heart in a box during the crusades, and was ambushed and killed by Moors. I am the first Andrew Stirling Logan, in an endless line of Robert Stirling Logans. The chain was broken in a suggestion by my grandfather that it would be easier to "keep track of the different checking accounts".
I had this melody that sounded "warlike" to me for some reason, so after doing some research, learned that this battle, in which British severely outnumbered the Scots, took place on my birthday in 1314. The Scots won.

BEHIND THE CURTAIN-
This was written for Cus after his Mom was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. The reference to "Behind the Curtain", though taken from the sixties game show "Let's Make A Deal", is not meant disrespectfully, but as a timepiece.

MISSISSIPPI-
This is a dark blues tune that I wrote as an exercise to practice syncopated guitar picking. I really ended up liking the mood, so I worked hard on the lyrics. There's a sense of claustrophobia in this one. He can't control what his girlfriend does any more than he can control what the storm does. And there's the feeling that all doesn't turn out so well.

HELP MR. WIZARD-
Am I the only one who remembers this cartoon? It was called "Tooter Turtle", and it was about this turtle who gets sent back in time by this wizard, who is a lizard. Every episode Tooter gets sent to a different period in history. He might end up in the Trojan Horse, or next to Napoleon. And this turtle never learns. He always lands himself in some horrible situation, and only by yelling "Help Mr. Wizard", can he be rescued. Mr. Wizard, (who is also German by the way) waves his wand and sends the turtle back home.
Anyway, the guy in this song is like Daniel Stern's character in "City Slickers". His life is a do-over. (Please note the sloppiest handclaps ever put to disc.)

TIL WE MEET-
This is a creepy tune about death...It's short and played fast, kind of like life. Mary Lee was my 90 year old neighbor friend. We called her "Nanny".

MUSHROOMS-
Fun psychedelic bonus track, featuring my daughter Emily, then 10, on background vocals. The sirens in the song don't refer to police or ambulance sirens, but the sirens in Greek mythology. Wow, that's deep.