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Rootsman Calling 7:380:00/7:38
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Sorry 4:390:00/4:39
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Now That it's Over 4:090:00/4:09
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Old Black Mary 4:480:00/4:48
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Soldier of Fortune 4:150:00/4:15
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Heart of Things 5:350:00/5:35
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Rise 5:090:00/5:09
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Gone Again 5:180:00/5:18
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Easy Money 5:270:00/5:27
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Sing Sister Sing 4:330:00/4:33
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0:00/3:29
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0:00/4:05
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Goodbye Miss Rosie 6:010:00/6:01
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Moving on its Own 6:390:00/6:39
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Regions of the Heart 5:340:00/5:34
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Modern World 5:320:00/5:32
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Redhead Blues 4:240:00/4:24
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Our Love 4:430:00/4:43
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Miracle Mile 4:440:00/4:44
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Suit Yourself 3:520:00/3:52
Raising sand
In the land of once and forever
From cradle to grave
The Rootsman is Calling
The earliest songs (1966-1970) emerged from the acoustic-folk era. A few years later, a TEAC 2340 reel-to-reel arrived for primitive multi-tracking of demos, while writing and playing in bands that even I barely remember. There were no computers to craft home demos, so recording meant costly professional studio time and unsavory characters. Eventually, it was time set out in other directions.
In the early 80’s, however, the Rootsman resurfaced with the arrival of the programmable drum machine, multi-track cassette recorder, and Rockman guitar processor. By the 90’s these tools also included a Mac, Vision sequencing software, and a Korg M-1 keyboard. Although it was a vastly more difficult process than today in an era of Pro-Tools and GarageBand, it was now possible to build the basic bass, drums, and keyboard tracks, overdub them with acoustic and electric guitars (with the occasional blues harp) and finally add multiple vocal overdubs. It was still necessary to bounce tracks on cassette tape, giving limited control over the final mixes.
Because of the old-school home recording equipment and the deterioration of the original tapes, the audio quality of the music here is primitive and ghostly leaving shadowy sketches of the original sound. Still, while the surfaces are rough and the colors faded, the musical and lyrical lines are strong enough to reflect the scorched-earth reality that I lived through in my detours through the underworld.
I first met Rootsman coming out of the fire. He was burned and scarred, but his spirit was unbroken. As the smoke cleared, he lifted a charred ember and drew on the walls of what had once been home, expressing gratitude and wonderment toward the people and spirits who haunted and inspired on the labyrinthian journey through WHATEVER WAS.
Carpe Noctem
MUSIC & LYRICS copyright 2018
WHATEVER WAS: ROOTSMAN's SONG CYCLE
To view LYRICS while listening
-first click LYRICS on the right side of the page
-then click PLAY on the lyrics page which will appear