Rock And Roll Mind

Ed Colton

Is this our theme song? I guess you could say so. For some reason, the years 1978 to 1988 where particularly fruitful for my song writing efforts. I honestly can’t thing of any significant reason for this. It’s just the way it goes. This obviously has its roots in the 50’s with a nod to “The Band”. If you’re familiar with “Moondog Matinee” this might seem a little more apparent. The guitar solo is by Steve Schreiber, aka “Steev” I’m still working on getting more definition on it. The latest revision is from the night of Oct. 2002.

Heaven Help The Fool Who Falls In Love

Ed Colton

Most people think this is probably the best song I’ve written. It goes back to 1986, and I wrote the lyrics down on a piece of scrap paepr in a paint spray booth at work. Stylistically its a cross between a late-50’s early 60’s ballad - maybe Ricky Nelson - with some Steve Cropper touches in the guitar. This is mostly accoustic, though I could electrify it slightly without too much troble, thanks to contemporary software.

Stormy Monday

Elmore James

Yes, the classic. This was one of the first songs I recorded using computer software, in this case Cakewalk Guitar Tracks. The two guitars are a Giannini classical and my old Gibson L-7 I’ve had since 1969

Too Young (To Know How To Twist)

Ed Colton

I like this one. It’s a throwback to the first half of the sixties to be sure, and was written in 1988. There was a Todd Rundgren track on the album with him in the nosse that was described as having “guitars, guitars, guitars...”. This one has “keyboards, keyboards, keyboards...” mostly due to my limited keyboard skills. An oh yes, you can dance to it!

Twilight Time

Ram and Nevins

The version by The Drifters is probably the best version of this standard. I fell in love with a jazz version by tenorist Bennie Wallace. This one is all accoustic, with a classical guitar and an upright bass. The guitar on this is kind of neat, and so help me it sounds like a cross between Merle Travis and George van Eps.

Come On Jackie

Ed Colton

Another 1986 composition. Everly-ish to be sure. This was written about someone I knew at the time, but I actually wasn’t significantly infatuated with her. Sideline - since very few people have actually heard the song, you can take advantage of it if you have a girlfriend with a two syllable name, by substituting her name for “Jackie”.

Ischade

Ed Colton

This is from 1986, and I can’t really pinpoint its genre. I’ve tried it as Reggae, Hard Rock and all sorts of things in between. It’s based on a character by author C.J. Cherryh in the “Thieves World” fantasy series. This time it has a slowed down House beat. For some reason the classical and its tone remind me of “Putting Out Fire With Gasoline” from “Cat People”

Don’t You Let Me Go Blind

Ed Colton

This is from 1988. Originally it was a little faster and noisier. Back in the 1990’s my friend Fran, who was playing in a Country band at the time gave me a lecture on the impotance of proper tempos for Country songs, which is important, since you don’t want to confuse the line dancers. I can just imagine what kind of line dance could be done to this. Did you think the “Achey Breaky Heart” dance was wierd? I think sme of the lyrics I came up with this are among my best, though you might not think so if you easily take offense.

Bad To Me

George Harrison

Do you remember the original? It was from 1964 or 1965 and was by George Harrison’s friends, Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas, who were much more than a one hit wonder, maybe even a two or three hit wonder. Some Reggae here for Ya’.

Your Feet’s Too Big

Fats Waller

This is a recording from a working jazz group I was in back in 1978. The members are Robin Siggman-Frank on vocals, Dave Davis on Piano, Bob Torres on Drums, and myself (Ed Colton if you haven’t guessed), on upright bass. I put this through Cakewalk Pyro to remove some of the hiss and cleanup the sound.

You Don’t Know Me

Eddy Arnold

The best known version is by Ray Charles. This has very sparse instrumentation. Many years ago I had a really bad cold while we were auditioning somewhere. I sang something that night with a really raspy voice, and it was really well received. This was recorded while I had a similar cold, although it wasn’t the same one from 1980. I really sound like Dr. John when I’m sick.

Rock And Roll Xmas Time

Ed Colton

Another Christmas Song (Work In progress)

I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry

Hank Williams The First

And now we have three. I remember seeing posters For Hank Jr. with the original Drifting Cowboys playing in Houlton, ME in 1971. This is a little rough around the edges, with the Cheese-O Synth trying to pull off some fiddle sounds. Another interesting bit of trivia is that this demontrates the ability of Acid Pro 4.0 to work with meters other than 4/4! I think I’ll redo it in a higher key in the next few days.

Saks Fifth Ave., 1977 Demo with Dill Jones

Saks Fifth Ave, 128K MP3

Richard Gelbstein and Ed Colton

This is a studio recording from 1977 with Robin Siggman on vocals, the late Dill Jones on piano, Adrian Valosin on drums, and myself on upright bass.

Here’s a shot of one pf Dill’s few recordings

Pin A Scarlet Letter On Her Skirt

Ed Colton

My Old Flame

A jazz standard of sorts. This is a solo performance on my old Gibson L-7 as a test of a new mike and some other recording equipment, and it’s totally human to say the least.

Red Headed Woman Blues

Ed Colton

A brand new song and recording. This is a late 40’s early 50’s jazz blues. I went and bought some new mikes etc. this week and recorded this as a test. The upright is miked, and the guitar has a really nice period sound. I’ve posted this on Acid Planet. Someone remarked that this is the only jazz tune they’ve ever heard with the phrase “mother f*er” in it. I guess I’ve invented a new genre - gangsta bebop blues.

Beer and Broken Hearts

Ed Colton

A new song, written in 2003. It’s a honky tonk country stomper.