Mike Berman: “Ghosts” (2025) CD Review

Mike Berman is a singer and songwriter based in the Los Angeles area, where he hosts a monthly music series titled Acoustic Jewels, helping to keep the important folk music tradition alive. He released Where I’m From in 2023, the city playing an important role in the songs. In fact, that album’s first track is titled “Drive,” and it tackles the most common (and often hated) activity here in L.A., which is driving. His affection for this great city is heard in his delivery of every line, and southern California informs his sound. And now his new album, Ghosts, finds him addressing other topics, moving to other realms, yet with a sound that is still largely rooted in that wonderful southern California tradition. The album features all original material, and it was produced, recorded and mixed by Ed Tree, a musician who has played with Spencer Davis and David Serby, among many others. On this album, in addition to producing, Ed Tree plays several instruments, including electric guitar, 12-string guitar, slide guitar, bass guitar, keyboards, mandolin, harmonium, Mellotron and celeste. Marty Axelrod plays piano and organ, and Scott Babcock is on drums and percussion. There are also a few guests joining Mike Berman on specific tracks.

The album’s first track, “There Were People Here,” does find its subject and inspiration in the land of southern California. It  has an interesting, captivating opening, featuring some nice work by Fred McCall on wooden flute, and that helps set the tone and place. “There were people here/Not so different from you and me/They loved their families/There were people here,” Mike Berman sings early in this song. I’m finding that people are now putting in more of an effort to acknowledge those who lived on this land long before California became a state. At least they do so in the arts community, using names like “Gabrielinos” to refer to them. But what these people actually called themselves, we don’t know, and Mike Berman refers to that in this song’s lyrics. And more could be done, surely. “There still are people here/Seems there are debts that we could try to pay/Still we mostly look the other way/From those people here.” This song has a gentle vibe, and the voices of the ghosts come through in the music, seem to live within this song, which is remarkable. This track features some beautiful work on flute.

Jay Dee Maness, known for his work with The Byrds on the great Sweetheart Of The Rodeo album, as well as for his work in the Desert Rose Band, joins Mike Berman on “No Luck At All” and delivers some really good work on pedal steel. Of course, we’d expect nothing less from him. His playing helps create the tone and atmosphere of this song, this one telling a story. Mike Berman’s vocal delivery on this track reminds me a bit of some of Fred Small’s work. This song was co-written by Debora Ewing, and it takes us away from California: “And underneath this Texas sky/We wait for it to fall/There’s no luck/In these stars at all.” Darice Bailey contributes some wonderful backing vocal work. Then “Blanket Of Light (Oh, Mercy)” begins with some thoughtful, wonderful work on guitar. It soon takes on a rather cheerful, almost magical sound, in part because of the presence of mandolin. When I saw Mike Berman perform several months ago, this was one of the songs that really stood out for me. It’s a beautiful and engaging song, featuring one of the album’s best vocal performances. “He knew this could be forever/As she touched her hands to his hair/He closed his eyes and counted to ten/When he looked, she was no longer there.” Scott Babcock adds some excellent and effective work on percussion. I loved this song when I first heard it, and love it even more now.

Mike Berman grabs our attention by delivering the first few lines of “A Gentle Song” a cappella. This one begins in the past, in his mother’s childhood, giving us a sense of what childhood was like then. In the second stanza he takes us into the present, and though the feel of the song is the same, the description is jarring in its contrast. “Now I drive my kids every place they go/They use their phones to let me know/Where they are and what they need from me/It doesn’t feel safe to cross the street/The angry cars, the city’s heat/And endless danger’s all/That I can see.” But it is what follows those lines that is the true heart of the piece, and is what makes this song special: “We don’t understand what happened to/A distant world that we once knew/And we wonder how we let it go so wrong/So we grab their hands and we hold on tight/We comfort them when they cry at night.” Childhood has certainly changed, and so has parenthood. These days a parent cannot truly offer his or her children any real safety, but is of course desperate to do so. This theme is developed strongly before the song goes on to address school shootings. “So we drive to the line/Waiting anxiously for hours/We know that when the bullets fly/Somebody’s kid is gonna die/Silently we pray/It isn’t ours.” How are these things allowed to happen again and again? I’m not the first to say this (check out Ellis Paul’s “When Angels Fall”), but clearly people in this country love their guns more than they love their children.

I hear a kind of wonderfully sad humor in the opening lines of “I Just Don’t Have What It Takes”: “You tell me/That by now I should be over you/You never meant to make me love you/So I should give myself a break.” Sometimes we know what we should do, what we need to do, but still can’t do it. And how does one go about fixing a broken heart anyway? “Right now it seems/I’m never gonna be all right again/I can’t hold myself together/I just don’t have what it takes.” And speaking of that southern California sound, this song offers a little nod to Stephen Stills in the lines, “Some guys, they just go from heart to heart/They love the one they’re with/But I could never be that way.” That’s followed by “Wonderland.” I think there is a desire among many folks these days to go back to some earlier time, to some magical place of childhood, for the current reality is just so horrid and ugly. But as they say, You can’t go home again, and in this song he imagines that time has marched on in that fantasy realm too, and maybe things aren’t so good there either. “The White Rabbit has arthritis/I hear he no longer runs/He sits and watches Fox News/And collects exotic guns.” We can’t return, except in our minds. That is the only place it still exists. This song contains a nod to Bob Dylan, and there is a Byrds sound in some of the guitar work. Ed Tree plays a Rickenbacker 12-string guitar, the type that Roger McGuinn used.

“Tryin’ To Go Home” is dedicated to Tyre Nichols, a man who was murdered by the police in Tennessee in 2023. The song tells the story of that night, and it is told, in part, from his perspective. “I’m just trying to go home/I’m trying to go home/I want to put aside my weary day/And find a bit of rest.” Tyre Nichols was less than a mile from his home when the police stopped him and killed him. Those lines are particularly effective because they could be sung by anyone who wants to just be home after a long day at work. Most of us have just traffic and exhaustion to contend with, not police violence. Darice Bailey adds some pretty harmony work. The album then concludes with “In The Clear Morning.”  Check out the song’s opening lines: “In the clear morning/At the end of night/All the fires burn smaller/And the ghosts fade into light.” Yes, it’s a hopeful, optimistic number, just the sort of thing we need as we each face the coming day and days.

CD Track List

1. There Were People Here
2. No Luck At All
3. Blanket Of Light (Oh, Mercy)
4. A Gentle Song
5. I Just Don’t Have What It Takes
6. Wonderland
7. Tryin’ To Go Home
8. In The Clear Morning

Ghosts is scheduled to be released on April 1, 2025 on Tanager Way Records.

Nathalie Archangel: “Patsy On The Porch” (2024) CD Review

Nathalie Archangel is a singer and songwriter whose career was established decades ago in the pop realm, but who clearly was not going to be held within any perceived boundaries. With her band Nineteen Hand Horse, she moved into the country world. Her new album, Patsy On The Porch, contains songs that Patsy Cline made popular. This is her first album of covers, but it is not the first time Patsy Cline has been a part of her music. In her song “Just Another Honky Tonk Night,” included on the band’s 2020 album Revel, Nathalie Archangel sings, “Well, it’s gonna be a wonderful night/And if the band plays it tight/The ghost of Patsy might/Tap me on the shoulder and say/Don’t fall to pieces, forget/It’s crazy ‘cause there’s hope yet/You know the shoulders you stand on/When you’re back in baby’s arms.” “I Fall To Pieces” and “Crazy” are two of the songs she covers here, and she delivers wonderful renditions. (She does not, however, do “Back In Baby’s Arms.”) The musicians backing her on this album include Mark Montijo on guitar and backing vocals, Wes Theobold on guitar, Robert Clot on pedal steel and bass, Chris Wyatt Ferreira on keyboards and backing vocals, Michael Peterson on keyboards, Anthony Moraila on bass, Brian Vandemark on bass, Thomas Regan on bass and drums, Rod Hanna on drums, Mark Monroe on harmonica, Bruno Coon on backing vocals, and Steve Kinsella on backing vocals.

The album opens with “Shoes,” and that first line, “Everything you told me, I believed,” stands out in these perverse days of dishonesty and conmen. And so we immediately feel for her, before even the second line. I love the delivery of the song’s main line, “But them shoes don’t fit me anymore.” There is a hint of darkness to the delivery of that line. This track features some good work on pedal steel and harmonica, but it is Nathalie Archangel’s vocal performance that really makes this rendition something special. Sure, she takes inspiration from Patsy Cline, but also makes this her own. With her talent, how could she help but do so? “Shoes” is followed by “Walking After Midnight,” which was always one of my favorite Patsy Cline recordings. I know I’m not alone there. I remember being excited when Ellis Paul covered this one (he used to pair it with “Things Change”). Nathalie Archangel does a fantastic job here, and the track also includes some great stuff on guitar.

Nathalie Archangel delivers an excellent rendition of “You Belong To Me.” Honestly, I had forgotten that Patsy Cline had covered this song. It’s not a song I usually associate with her. This is a song that I love, but when it pops in my head, it’s usually the Jo Stafford rendition that plays there. And if not, then it’s the Bob Dylan rendition. Now it might be the Nathalie Archangel version. Nathalie Archangel has a voice that is just perfect for this song. There is something endearing about her voice, but it also can contain the right amount of ache and attitude. This version includes harmonica , and some wonderful work on pedal steel. That is followed by “I Fall To Pieces,” one that was originally recorded by Patsy Cline. She released it as a single in 1961. And so of course it is largely associated with her. Nathalie Archangel is completely committed to it, as she is to each of the songs she chose to include here. “I fall to pieces/Each time someone speaks your name/I fall to pieces/Time only adds to the flame.” She is supported on the title line by backing vocalists. Hey, wouldn’t each of us need some support as we admit to falling to pieces? She is far from alone, and we get a sense of that in her rendition here. It is a rendition that feels both personal and universal.

I love the ache in Nathalie Archangel’s voice from the beginning of “She’s Got You.” We can feel what she’s experiencing here. “I’ve got the records that we used to share/And they still sound the same as when you were here/The only thing different, the only thing new/I’ve got the records, she’s got you.” Ah, but I suspect the records will help her through. Music, like this very song, is what helps us through these experiences. This is one of my favorite tracks here, in large part because of Nathalie Archangel’s performance. Both “You Belong To Me” and “She’s Got You” were included on Patsy Cline’s 1962 LP Sentimentally Yours. So was “Strange,” a song written by Mel Tillis and Fred Burch. “Strange” was also included as the flip side to “She’s Got You” on the single. Nathalie Archangel delivers another captivating performance on this song. Just listen to the way she sings, “Strange, you’re still in all my dreams/Oh, what a funny thing/I still care for you.” She is so good at taking us along on each of the emotional journeys of these songs. Jim “Kimo” West plays acoustic guitar on this track, delivering some really good work.

“Seven Lonely Days” is a song that has been recorded by many artists. Patsy Cline was not the first. She included it on her 1961 album Showcase. This track has more of a lively and fun vibe, even if she is singing of loneliness. After all, with those wonderful backing vocals, she is not alone. “There’s no use in denying/I cried for you.” We get the sense she is going to be just fine, even before she tells us, “Last week was the last time/I cried for you.” And how adorable is she when she sings “boo hoo hoo hoo”? That’s followed by “Crazy,” which is the song we probably most strongly associate with Patsy Cline. It was a big hit for her, and continues to resonate with folks. It was written by the great Willie Nelson. I finally got to see him in concert this past summer, and he was absolutely wonderful. Nathalie Archangel delivers an outstanding vocal performance here. We all have notions of what this song should be, so it’s probably not the easiest song to cover, but Nathalie totally nails it.

“When I Get Through With You” is a song that Patsy Cline released as a single in 1962, with the common misspelling “thru.” I appreciate that Nathalie Archangel spells the word correctly on this album. Seriously, please, everyone, stop misspelling words, it’s not cute. Anyway, this track has a good energy. In this song, she promises to treat her man really well, in an effort to make him forget another woman, a chick named Sue. The whole thing is coming from a competitive perspective, as she lures him away from poor Sue. “When I get through, you’ll love me too/Not Sue.” It makes me wonder about this Sue person. What’s she like? The album concludes with “Sweet Dreams,” a song originally recorded by Don Gibson, who also wrote the song. Patsy Cline’s rendition was released in 1963, after her death. This track features yet another excellent vocal performance by Nathalie Archangel. “Why can’t I forget the past, start loving someone new/Instead of having sweet dreams about you.”

CD Track List

1. Shoes
2. Walking After Midnight
3. You Belong To Me
4. I Fall To Pieces
5. She’s Got You
6. Strange
7. Seven Lonely Days
8. Crazy
9. When I Get Through With You
10. Sweet Dreams

Patsy On The Porch was released on October 11, 2024.

Andrew Sandoval Delivered A Rare Solo Acoustic Set At UnUrban Café, 1-28-25

Andrew Sandoval

Last night was my first time visiting the UnUrban Café on Pico in Santa Monica, just a bit down the street from McCabe’s, and it tickled me that the place was located at the corner of Urban Ave. (UnUrban on Urban). The place had a wonderfully relaxed vibe, the kind of spot you just want to hang out with friends and listen to some music. My girlfriend loved it and said she’d like us to open a place like this, and my brain went running with the idea. I think I had the stage designed and the first two months’ worth of bands booked in my brain within a few moments. The artist we were there to see last night was Andrew Sandoval, who doesn’t perform nearly as often as he should, and very rarely does solo acoustic sets. I think he mentioned on his website that the last one was in 2016. His performance was part of a music series titled Night Of A Thousand Stars, which was hosted by Kristi Callan, whom you likely know as the singer of Dime Box Band, as well as from Wednesday Week.

Kristi Callan

At 7:14 p.m., Kristi Callan began the night with a short set. She mentioned there was another band that was originally on the bill, but two members of that group lost their homes in the fires. For those of you who happen to be reading this outside of Los Angeles, you might not be aware that the fires have had a terrible impact on the music scene in this city. So many musicians lost everything. There are several benefit concerts coming up (I’m going to two next week), but we’re only beginning to understand the damage to the community. Kristi Callan opened the night with a song about picking up the pieces and starting again, which felt just exactly right. After that, she mentioned that she knows some people who are not rebuilding and instead are just leaving. Her second song offered encouragement to throw ourselves into something. David Nolte then joined her on bass guitar for a cover of Gordon Lightfoot’s “Song For A Winter’s Night.” In 2021, Carla Olson produced an album titled Ladies Sing Lightfoot, and Kristi Callan sang this song on it. She delivered a really nice rendition last night, and that’s how the set concluded.

Clementine

 

A young artist named Clementine was up next, her first time playing this music series. She did a short set of covers, and her choices made me happy. She opened her set with Paul Simon’s “Me And Julio Down By The Schoolyard.” “I’m sorry, this is so obvious,” she said in introducing her next choice, The Beatles’ “Blackbird.” But then her next choice was quite surprising, “The Village Green Preservation Society,” the title track from The Kinks’ 1968 LP. “I love The Kinks,” Clementine said afterward. I do too! I’ve said this before, but when I was growing up and the question would arise, “Beatles or Stones?” my answer was always “Kinks!” And then, as if to endear herself to us even more, she said, “I love Cat Stevens,” and proceeded to play “If You Want To Sing Out, Sing Out,” one of two songs that Cat Stevens wrote specially for Harold And Maude, which happens to be my favorite movie. It sort of helped reaffirm my faith in humanity that younger folks are digging Cat Stevens and The Kinks. Clementine wrapped up her set with a good rendition of Joni Mitchell’s “Big Yellow Taxi.”

Kristi Callan and David Nolte

Kristi Callan then returned for her second set, accompanied by David Nolte. She opened with “February 2nd,” a song inspired by the movie Groundhog Day. In introducing the song, she mentioned that at the moment she doesn’t feel like we’re living in a loop because we’ve been experiencing so many unprecedented things. But the line “I feel like I’ve done all this before” still strikes us as the country has decided to yet again elect the absolute worst person for the job of President. We have done this before, and it was a total mess the first time. This time it is clearly going to be exponentially worse. Kristi followed that song with “Radio,” and then mentioned how the UnUrban Café has been around for thirty years. That’s really something, particularly as small venues like this tend to come and go (though certainly the one that my girlfriend and I are going to start will last forever). Kristi then played “Happy,” the title track to the 2019 Dime Box Band album. “The grass is always greener on the other side/And everyone’s got so much to hide.” One of the lines that stood out for me last night was, “Life’s not going like you thought.” The song ends with this thought: “Nothing lasts.” That is both good and bad. She followed that with a song she wrote about getting new carpet, and then one titled “I Won’t Lay Down,” which she dedicated to anyone who won’t quit. David then took over on guitar for the final song of the set, a cover of “Come Wander With Me,” a song from an episode of The Twilight Zone. “Come wander with me/Away from this sad world.” Kristi delivered a beautiful rendition.

Andrew Sandoval

Andrew Sandoval started his set a few minutes before 9 p.m. with “A Change Of Scene,” and the moment he began playing, I felt better about the world. Does that mean the world actually got better? Maybe, maybe. Why not? Though he was performing a solo acoustic set, the song still had a good pop vibe, and it carried that sort of joy. He followed “A Change Of Scene” with “Something Warm.” The rhythm to the song was still strong, even without any other instruments, and I could feel the way it affected everyone in the room.  “I need something warm/Something I can hold onto.” It’s a sweet song, and Andrew Sandoval’s voice is just so right in delivering it. After playing that song, he mentioned that he wrote it twenty years ago in a room when things were falling apart. You’d never guess that. He also mentioned that he collects music, including obscure music, joking that he ended up creating music just as obscure as that he was collecting. Ah, but it shouldn’t be. How is it that these songs were not hits?

“I Can’t Be Lonely” is a song that he did at that gig back in September at Permanent Records Roadhouse, and he also played it last night, one of only two songs that he performed at both shows. Of course, it had a different sound last night than at that full-band gig. His songs are so good that they work equally well in both settings. “And I can’t be lonely without you.” He followed that with “I Want To Go.” “When the time is right/Take me away/Take me away/I want to go.” I noticed during that song how attentive the crowd was. Cafés are not always good listening rooms, but, whether it was this specific place or this specific audience, everyone there was into the music. “The Distance” followed. That song was included on Andrew’s From Me To You album, an album that also included “I Want To Go,” “A Change In Scene” and “Something Warm.” He then told the audience he had one more sad song to play, and went into “No One Else,” also on From Me To You. “Now that I’m living for myself/I can’t find the room for no one else.”

Andrew said that he was originally from Los Angeles, and loves this city. That’s a love I assume was shared by most, if not all, of those in the room. After all, why would we deal with the heat, the earthquakes, the fires, the mudslides, the traffic if this city didn’t hold a special place in our lives? There is something about this city that makes it unlike any other. He then played “High Tower,” about a specific place in Los Angeles. It’s a song from his Happy To Be Here album. He thanked the crowd for being there, and said he had a song called “Clementine” that he thought about doing, but then decided it might be a little creepy. Instead, he followed “High Tower” with a good cover of The Zombies’ “You Make Me Feel Good,” which was the flip side to the “She’s Not There” single. He then ended the set with “Friend Of Mine,” another song from Happy To Be Here. “The things I love, I hate to see them disappear.” Indeed. “I’ll see you all in, I don’t know, a few years,” he told the crowd. But that wasn’t good enough, and the audience called out for an encore. “I’d ask for requests, but that would be presumptuous,” Andrew joked. He then said, “Since Clementine left, I can sing that song.” And so that’s what he did. Clementine had left at the beginning of “Friend Of Mine.” It was a perfect ending to a wonderful evening of music. The show ended at precisely 9:30 p.m. As at the full-band show in September, Andrew had not brought any of his albums to sell. I was hoping to pick up at least one or two. Really, I want everything – the albums, EPs, singles and compilation. They need to be in my collection, and I think they should be in everyone’s collection.

Andrew Sandoval’s Set List

1. A Change Of Scene
2. Something Warm
3. I Can’t Be Lonely
4. I Want To Go
5. The Distance
6. No One Else
7. High Tower
8. You Make Me Feel Good
9. Friend Of Mine

Encore

1. Clementine

UnUrban Café is located at 3301 Pico Blvd. in Santa Monica, California.

MOTU: “Awareness Or Illusion” (2025) CD Review

MOTU is an acronym standing for Music Of The Universe, the project – and also stage name – of Dr. Richard Michelson. The new album, Awareness Or Illusion, as with previous releases, finds Michelson playing a variety of instruments, including acoustic guitar, electric guitar, dobro, pedal steel, bass, mandolin, keyboards and harmonica. He also wrote all the material, arranged it, recorded it, and mastered it. Still, he does get some help. As on earlier releases, he is joined by Dee Michelson on vocals and by Ed Modzel on drums. The music here is roots rock, featuring some excellent guitar work and raw and impassioned vocal work. There is certainly a good deal of the blues heard on these tracks. The blues might very well be the music of the universe these days. It is certainly the music of our nation in these troubled and unsettling times. How did we get here? And will music be the thing to pull us out?

The album kicks off with “Just Shut Up, Stop Talking To Me,” a good blues rock number, and one I expect people will find easy to latch onto. After all, who these days doesn’t want to tell at least a certain group of people to shut up? “Don’t need to hear, to hear you speak/No opinions, no critique/No small talk, no child’s play/Don’t make me wait, baby, I ain’t got all day.” The older I get, the more I think about the brevity of life, and how I don’t want to waste any time. And I certainly don’t want to have my time wasted for me by others. I just can’t abide that sort of thing, not any longer. This song features some really nice work on electric guitar, particularly in the second half during the instrumental section. Then “Something Has Changed” kind of creeps in, eases in, carrying a weight of darkness on its shoulders as it enters. Here the guitar has quite a bit to say up front, and it is that instrument that sets the tone before Dee Michelson comes in on vocals. She delivers the lead vocal performance on this track, and her voice is somewhat in contrast to the opening, and so we immediately align ourselves with her, assuming, or at least hoping, she’ll be able to take us through the darkness. “Something has changed/Feels like I’ve been rearranged/Feels very strange/Something has changed/It don’t feel right.” With those opening lines, it turns out that she has aligned herself with us. Right? Or at least is speaking for us. It might be undefinable, but something has changed, and we are all aware of it, beyond the obvious things. “Feels like I’ve been had/Something has changed.” Maybe the darkness has conquered us. Perhaps there is no way out. This track also contains some excellent guitar work in the second half.

MOTU switches gears then with “There’s Only Us,” which has more of a country flavor, though still with a good rock beat. “I’m not trying to start a fight/Just thought the facts could shed some light/The truth don’t need no rewrite/Don’t need no grift to be all right.” Ah yes, remember facts? Those were the things that we used to have in common, because they were true. They were not a matter of opinion, they were not up for debate. But now it seems everything is a matter of opinion. Truth and definitions go out the window. I suppose that began with the inexcusable and unpardonable Kellyanne “Bowling Green Massacre” Conway and her so-called “alternative facts.” Sadly, that creature’s babble marked only the beginning of this descent into doltishness and division. “All right, you have a different view/In America, that’s what we do/Love will show you what’s true/Love is the knife that cuts through.” Yes, there is an optimistic bent here, which I appreciate. And that is heard also in the guitar work toward the end. That’s followed by “For Jeff,” an instrumental track featuring some wonderfully expressive guitar work right from the start. The Jeff of the title is Jeff Beck, who died in early 2023. And though this track has a good, solid rhythm, it is really all about the guitar work.

“Too Much Bullshit To Normalize” is certainly a title that speaks to me, as I expect it will to many others. This one has a seriously cool blues sound. Dee Michelson is again on lead vocals, this time with more of an edge to her delivery. Here are the opening lines: “How can we ever get along/In a world that’s gone so wrong/So many disguise, so many lie/Too much bullshit to normalize.” The question of getting along is a legitimate one. These days, people don’t even share a reality, at least not in this country, so it seems an impossibility to get along. I don’t think we’ll be able to get along until a certain segment of the population comes back to recognizing facts and truth. This track features some kind of wild, raw, piercing harmonica work that seems to bemoan the current state of things. “What will we tell our youth/More hate or the truth/Will we apologize/For telling lies.” I don’t believe there will be any apologies. People have been groomed by their criminal leader to believe that admitting an error is a terrible sign of weakness, rather than one of strength. I think we’re going to be stuck in this situation until certain people are dead. I hope I’m wrong. Then in “You Always Got Something To Say,” the guitar certainly has something to say, and says it straight away, which is great. I love that guitar lead that opens this track. But much more is said in the actual lyrics. “Ain’t got no common sense/Got no point of reference/But you’ve always got something to say.” Those are perfect lyrics for our time, especially in relation to social media, where people voice opinions on every damn thing, when their knowledge is scant if existent at all. “You got a strong point of view/When you ain’t got a clue/Don’t know what is true/But you’ve always got something to say.” Again, those lines describe a large segment of the population. And I don’t see that changing anytime soon either, for people are too stubborn to be embarrassed by their ignorance, and too stupid to recognize it. This blues song is blues for the nation.

“I Look To The East” has a country flavor, featuring some nice work on pedal steel. Dee Michelson delivers a good vocal performance, helping to give this one a sweeter aspect and an introspective bent. “I see my past, and decisions I’ve made/I know my failures and what I’ve paid/Yet another morning here, I’m thankful I’m still around.” And later she sings, “I’ve seen a world where no one could agree.” We are experiencing that world now. And even though things are ugly, we are largely still thankful to be here, as we look hopefully to the future, the near future, for some change. There is hope within the beauty of this track. That’s followed by “Horizon,” a short instrumental track delivered on guitar. And here too we hear some of that hope. There is something bright just around the corner, this music seems to say. And then we get the album’s title track, “Awareness Or Illusion,” which begins with guitar. It sounds like a blues engine warming up. This is a slow number, the pace in line with the song’s opening lyrics, “Give us one more chance/We can take it slow/Is it awareness or illusion?”

“Easier To Be Blind” has more of a rock vibe, with some raw, powerful harmonica work adding to the great flavor of the song. This one also touches on the subject of truth, something that is on our minds these days, something that seems to be considered up for grabs by certain people: “Maybe you feel guilty, maybe you feel mad/Lying to yourself is what makes you sad/Not everyone is good, not everyone is kind.” I used to believe that most people were good. I no longer do, not after the election in 2016, and especially not after the debacle of the 2024 election. Now I believe approximately half the people are good, and the others are just terrible. And that is what makes me sad. “The truth is so hard, but the truth is what’s real/The truth is mankind isn’t ideal.” MOTU then wraps up the album with a good blues rock number titled “A Company Man,” in which he sings, “Selling your soul to be a company man.” I’m not sure people put much value in the idea of a soul anymore. It seems to me that people are eager to sell out. Am I wrong? I hope so. I’m afraid that because of what people choose to praise these days and the way the election went, I’ve lost much of my faith in humanity. “Don’t agree with no conman.” Yet it seems that people enjoy being conned. How else do you explain their fealty to the least honest man in this country? “Won’t be a part of your selfish plan.” And that’s what a lot of us are deciding, to step away, to tune out the noise, and find other things to focus on. The game is over, we’ve learned.

CD Track List

1. Just Shut Up, Stop Talking To Me
2. Something Has Changed
3. There’s Only Us
4. For Jeff
5. Too Much Bullshit To Normalize
6. You Always Got Something To Say
7. I Look To The East
8. Horizon
9. Awareness Or Illusion
10. Easier To Be Blind
11. A Company Man

Awareness Or  Illusion is scheduled to be released on March 10, 2025.