Like a painted that is painted over an earlier painting, this recording has two songs on it, one under the other. Prominent is a jangly little piano riff, but underneath it is some muffled guitar and vocal. Now there’s two possibilities: One – I accidentally recorded over an earlier song and the machine didn’t quite erase the tape of the old one. Two – It is bleed-through from the other side of the cassette. The way that worked was cassette tapes ran to the end and then you flipped them over and recorded on the other side. The way this worked was that there were four channels – left and right stereo tracks on the first side, and also left and right stereo tracks on the other side. The tracks alternated something like First Side Left, Second Side Right, First Side Right, Second Side Left. So – there is a reasonably good chance of spillover from one side to the other if the tracks didn’t align quite right. The way to tell which of these two possibilities is at work on this recording is to listen to the quieter guitar song. If it is running forward then it was an erase issue and there is a lost song that future tech might be able to reconstruct. But if the guitar track is going backwards, it is track mis-alignment and the other song was also saved when I transferred that other side of the cassette to mp3. For now, it’s a mystery. Listen carefully…

This one has no redeeming features. It is just awful. It should be drawn and quartered and then burned. Yes, I must admit I wrote it. But now, some half a century later I ask myself, “What the hell was I thinking?!”

Original recording of a tune I later revised and multi-tracked. Not a mean bone in its body.

Pine Mountain Club, California

One of my better early songs, musically speaking. There are some really inventive chord progressions and harmonies, not to mention a real bit of energy in the piano work. Nice piece. Probably should properly record it, assuming I can still play like that.

One of the first piano pieces I recorded, having initially focused on my current guitar work. Most of this is improv based on an initial riff I discovered while jamming. There’s actually some pretty inventive chords and progressions in this one. Think I’ll have to see if I can relearn this piece and polish it up for a new recording

Same as the first take, but different…

Nice little melody fragment. Good way to start a song. I should probably revisit this one.

Another upbeat song written on a day in which the sun was shining on this artist’s teenage soul-in-progress.

This gets real interesting about one minute into the recording. Just a jam session at first, then moves into some really imaginative rhythms. My advice – skip the first 60 seconds and go straight for the throat.