Blackbirds in the Pie

Magic Crow Records MCR - 1004

Blackbirds in the Pie cover

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This seventeen-song smorgasbord pleases me very much. There's a lot of acoustic guitar here, some social commentary, and a few splashes of humor. Some highlights are the slide guitar instrumental Redemption, the street-wise Play the Cards the Way They Lie, Tom Paxton's previously unrecorded Central Square begun in the Cantab in February 1994, and the whimsical Song of Imaginary Gifts, which is also available as a gift item single for birthdays, etc. I played all the guitars... fingerstyle, flatpicked, and w/ slide... and also must answer for all the "singing". Guests include Billy Novick (clarinet on Send Me to the 'Lectric Chair), and Paul Rishell (pedal steel on I Fall Up). Except for the spooky Open Any Door, basic vocal and guitar tracks were recorded simultaneously. Other instruments were then over-dubbed. I recorded and mixed the whole enchilada on a Tascam digital 8-track porta-studio costing $500 using microphones that cost $100 or less apiece. Like all my recordings, this one comes with an Unconditional Money-Back Guarantee. ~ Geoff

The Songs...

Lyrics for songs marked with *asterisks* can be found at Selected Song Lyrics

  1. * Candy Man (Rev. Gary Davis)*
  2. *I Could Dance All Night to the Blues (G. Bartley)*
  3. Send Me to the 'Lectric Chair (George Brooks)
  4. *I Fall Up (Ed White)*
  5. Who Do You Love? (Ellas McDaniel aka Bo Diddley)
  6. Moonrise (G. Bartley, instru.)
  7. *Play the Cards the Way They Lie (G. Bartley)*
  8. *Bozos on the Road No. 2 (G. Bartley)*
  9. Lemonade Redux (G. Bartely)
  10. *The Song of Imaginary Gifts (G. Bartley)*
  11. Raleigh and Spencer(traditional)
  12. Moonset (G. Bartley, instru.)
  13. ack Water Blues (p.d., Ma Rainey, Lightnin' Hopkins)
  14. God Bless the Grass (Malvina Reynolds)
  15. Central Square (Tom Paxton)
  16. Redemption (G. Bartley, instru.)
  17. *Open Any Door (G. Bartley)*

The Players

Billy Novick; clarinet
 (on Send Me to the 'Lectric Chair)
Paul Rishell; pedal steel guitar
 (on I Fall Up)
Geoff; acoustic, resonator &electric guitars played fingerstyle, flatpicked and with slide, electric bass guitar, harmonica, drum machine, kalimba, cymbal, ocarina and vocals

Recorded & mixed at Grant-Me-A-Reprieve Studio, Framingham, MA.
Mastered by Toby Mountain at Northeastern Digital.

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