1) apple
pickin' time -
for notes on this song click here
2) a letter to isolde - it started in '73 when my pal, Duncan Campbell, showed me a picture of his friend, Isolde Hunter. it was a promo shot of a lovely young woman, with raven hair and large, liquid, dark pools where normal people's eyes are. the overused word 'intriguing' doesn't really apply in most contexts, in spite of the fact that pundits on various subjects throw it around when the can't think of anything intelligent to say. the name 'Isolde' has obvious resonance. the girl in the picture looked like she might really be one. i was hooked. the kicker was the fact that Isolde Hunter was a 'lounge act', playing a gig somewhere in St Louis. at the time i was still a free-wheeling recording artist, and far removed, now, from the nitty gritty of having to earn my living in such lowly haunts. it wrung my heart to think of her wasting her obvious talents i some dive. i took the photo home and poured my heart out to it. i made a recording which Duncan forwarded. perhaps i hoped the song would give her a measure of comfort on her lonely path.
so much for romance. later, in NYC, where she lived, i did finally meet Isolde Hunter. she was very sweet, and, of course, appreciative of the song. but I. H. in the real world was not quite what i had imagined. she was several pounds heavier than her photo, but then, probably, so was i. she was in reality, of unspecified Latin extraction, rather than a mythical Celtic princess. her married name was indeed Hunter, and her husband had passed away suddenly, adding to the pathos. Isolde was her stage name. her 'raven' hair was dyed. her eyes were, in fact, a lovely shade of dark brown.
but some of the the residual glamour was stripped away by the fact that, like many single women living alone in NYC city, Ms Hunter insisted on keeping a very large dog as a 'pet', in an apartment that was scarcely big enough for her. what's worse, during the day, when she was away at her job, the dog had to be confined to a tiny bathroom. and the condition of said room plainly showed his displeasure with the arrangement. at that point, i felt more like writing a song for the dog than another pean to Ms Hunter. but that's life in the big city.
3) please don't be fooled by me - this song might be what's termed 'incidental music'. that is, it's clearly incidental to some passing attraction i conceived for a female in '73. the problem is, that i can't remember a damn 'nother thing about it. i liked the song, mostly for its piano arrangement, which i spent a great deal of time working out and practicing. the song itself is obviously no great shakes in terms of content, but just because it's kind of superficial, shall we say, i guess i hoped it might appeal to superficial people. like people in the record industry, for instance. wrong again.
4) keep this poor boy shinin' on - for notes on this song click here
5) stealin' love - for notes on this song click here
2) a letter to isolde - it started in '73 when my pal, Duncan Campbell, showed me a picture of his friend, Isolde Hunter. it was a promo shot of a lovely young woman, with raven hair and large, liquid, dark pools where normal people's eyes are. the overused word 'intriguing' doesn't really apply in most contexts, in spite of the fact that pundits on various subjects throw it around when the can't think of anything intelligent to say. the name 'Isolde' has obvious resonance. the girl in the picture looked like she might really be one. i was hooked. the kicker was the fact that Isolde Hunter was a 'lounge act', playing a gig somewhere in St Louis. at the time i was still a free-wheeling recording artist, and far removed, now, from the nitty gritty of having to earn my living in such lowly haunts. it wrung my heart to think of her wasting her obvious talents i some dive. i took the photo home and poured my heart out to it. i made a recording which Duncan forwarded. perhaps i hoped the song would give her a measure of comfort on her lonely path.
so much for romance. later, in NYC, where she lived, i did finally meet Isolde Hunter. she was very sweet, and, of course, appreciative of the song. but I. H. in the real world was not quite what i had imagined. she was several pounds heavier than her photo, but then, probably, so was i. she was in reality, of unspecified Latin extraction, rather than a mythical Celtic princess. her married name was indeed Hunter, and her husband had passed away suddenly, adding to the pathos. Isolde was her stage name. her 'raven' hair was dyed. her eyes were, in fact, a lovely shade of dark brown.
but some of the the residual glamour was stripped away by the fact that, like many single women living alone in NYC city, Ms Hunter insisted on keeping a very large dog as a 'pet', in an apartment that was scarcely big enough for her. what's worse, during the day, when she was away at her job, the dog had to be confined to a tiny bathroom. and the condition of said room plainly showed his displeasure with the arrangement. at that point, i felt more like writing a song for the dog than another pean to Ms Hunter. but that's life in the big city.
3) please don't be fooled by me - this song might be what's termed 'incidental music'. that is, it's clearly incidental to some passing attraction i conceived for a female in '73. the problem is, that i can't remember a damn 'nother thing about it. i liked the song, mostly for its piano arrangement, which i spent a great deal of time working out and practicing. the song itself is obviously no great shakes in terms of content, but just because it's kind of superficial, shall we say, i guess i hoped it might appeal to superficial people. like people in the record industry, for instance. wrong again.
4) keep this poor boy shinin' on - for notes on this song click here
5) stealin' love - for notes on this song click here