Recorded April 28-29, 2004 Van Nuys, CA.
- All About The Burn
..."Love is the burning point of life" - Joseph Campbell. Thanks to Jane Pitts for using in a unique context the four words that became the title track, and Tom Baumgartner for telling me about it. Susie Lee managed to capture the image of the couple on the cover, the exact pose I had envisioned almost a year before she took the candid photo. It really says it all, combined with the burning building which I wouldn't have thought of without Diane's input. Of course, without Diane, I may have never finished the record. I may very well have burned to a crisp. Anyway, this is why I never put "thank you" credits on my records - I'm leaving people out. I just know it.
- Church of the Spark
Kenny Werner coined this phrase. It really is a genuine spiritual path. I don't intend to say that all jazzers partake in illicit drugs and alcohol. Just most of the ones I like.
- I Wanna See You All the Time
Here's where the album concept really kicks in. I felt very literally this way...so, it stays on the record. Sappy? Sure. But sometimes an emotion is so purely sappy that you just have to tell it like it is.
- Deer in the Headlights
Ok, this is a country tune. Sorry.
- Tripping on Sorrow
Yes, I mean TRIPPING. Even the bridge only skims the surface.
- You’re Never Too Old to Play Games
I suppose this is a song about "closure". A pathetic psycho-babble word, and a cruel tool, but a true experience (unrelated to the word) nonetheless.
- Jungle Skeleton-Dance Drinking Music
At this point in the record, you might hear that we're in a transition...from one side of The Burn to the next.
- Greatest Song Never Heard
I don't think I should apologize any more for being sappy than I did for doing a country song. Ok, maybe my vocal performance evens it out. Anyway, for me, this song has a happy ending. Your results may vary.
- Mandarin Blues for Diane
"Delicious, delicious"... "I'm full, thank you"... "I can't eat anymore, thank you"
- Mean Old Mom
In memory of Elliot. If you knew him, you would understand that this tune HAD to be on this record.
- What’s Not to Like
Do you know what a Zen koan is? It's like a meditation-parable. Here are two, presented in a form that I believe has never been done before.
- Anybody but that Guy
Nope. Not going there. Just a song. I'm not gonna get into it. Let it suffice to say that I conceived this one afternoon, and wrote it and recorded it the next day. Only then did I feel certain that the record was complete. Oh, I played piano on this one track. That's not in the credits.