If You Lived Here, You Would be Home By Now

November 4, 2016

If You Lived Here, You Would be Home By Now
New Cannonball Rag

Sweet Sister Asphalt Comes Cold Gold
Rock & Roll Left Her All Rags & Bones
She Don’t Talk Much
But She Rolls Her Own
Boogies All Night With The T-Rex On

Rock On, Roll On, Get Off, Get It On

Like Krishna Dances On Holy Toes
Like Smoke In The Wind
And Away We Blow
Comin’ In Hot Or Coolin’ Down Slow
Just Walk Through The Door
Because You Never Know

Be One, Be Two, Be All, Be You

Lilly Of The Alley
She’s Always Hummin’
Little Songs About The Stars In Her Eyes
Getting’ High And She’s Still Climbing
I Hope She Doesn’t Hit Her
Head On The Sky
Last Call For This Cannonball
You Know It Only Rolls One Way
So Mama Draw The Curtain
And Let’s Get Down
You’ve Always Been The Best
Show In Town
And Baby You Can Treat Me Kind
Anytime

Rock On, Roll On, Get Off, Get It On

Be One, Be Two, Be All, Be You

Shadow Cosmos

Behold A Kingdom Now In Ruin
The Castle Keep A Pile Of Stone
Sleep In Peace You Wild, Dark Riders
Let Your Hunger Bring You Home

Thought You Left It All Back Across The State Line
Something Followed You This Far
Police Report Reads Unlawful Entry
Or Did You Leave The Door Ajar

And That Old Night Watchman
He Could Get You What You Need
You Can Trust Him He Sees Everything
Just Don’t Be There When The Telephone Rings

Loser Is As Loser Does
And There’s No Winner Without Love
So We Keep On Tryin’
And When I’m Lonely I Think Of You
And How Your Kiss Can Ease My Blues
Can’t Keep From Crying

Let Love Take Wing
With All The Gifts It Brings
Sometimes It’s The Little Things
That Get You Through The Night

Workings Of Our Shadow Cosmos
Most Let Remain Unknown
Best To Know That There Are No Conclusions
Round & Round The Wheels They Roll
Coyote He Knows Everything
He Can Catch The Silver Fish
And Stay Dry From The Rain
But When His Mates Gone
He Feels Her Pain

Loser Is As Loser Does
And There’s No Winner Without Love
So We Keep On Tryin’
And When I’m Lonely I Think Of You
And How Your Kiss Can Ease My Blues
Can’t Keep From Crying
Loser Is As Loser Does
And There’s No Winner Without Love
So We Keep On Tryin’
And When I’m Lonely I Think Of You
And How Your Kiss Can Ease My Blues
Can’t Keep From Crying

Roan County Banjo

Roan County Banjo
Ringing Through The Pines
Smokey Gold And That Band Of His
Got Honey In Their Eyes
The Bootleggers Wisdom
Says Leave The Law Behind
Roan County Banjo
You Old Friend Of Mine

Find Your Meadow, Find Your Way
When You Speak Be Sure What You Say
Say What You Feel And Throw The Rest Away
Throw The Rest Away

Polly Put The Kettle On
It's Been Morning Now For Days
There's A Rooster In The Kitchen
Who Says He Ain't Been Paid
I Surely Would Oblige Him
For I Am A Honest Soul
But There's Something In His Pleading
And Frankly I'm Not Sold

Find Your Shadow, Slip Away
When You Speak, Be Sure What You Say
Say What You Feel, Throw The Rest Away
Throw The Rest Away, Throw The Rest Away

It's A Long Road Around My Love
Be On Your Way, By Water, By Star
A Cold North Wind Brings The Day
A Change In The Air
Now We See Far
It's True A Pack Of Lies
Try To Drag You Down
In The Heart Of Sadness
There Is A Lonely Sound

Roan County Banjo
Alive As You Or I
If These Days Were Any Sweeter
They'd Be Peach Blossom Wine
It's Hard To Find A Sinner
At The Break The Of Dawn
If You Don't Know Where That Is
Just Listen To This Song

Find Your Meadow, Find Your Way
When You Speak Be Sure What You Say
Say What You Feel And Throw The Rest Away
Throw The Rest Away
Throw The Rest Away…

From the North Garden

Instrumental.

Sweet, Sweet Lullaby

She Showed Me A Map To Her Past
And I Showed Her My Rain
I Had Chosen The Wonderers Path
And She Chose To Remain
Between Right Or Wrong
We Found A Song To Harmonize
If I’m Dust And Smoke
You Know She Must Be A Lullaby

In A Time So Tender
The Tears Make It Clear
To A Man That’s Blind
Blind To The Winter
That He Put Within Her
As He Pines And Sighs

He’s Not Being Cruel He’s Only A Fool
With A Pocket Full Of Lies
If I’m Rain And Snow
You Know She Knows Where The Sun Shines

Sweet, Sweet Lullaby
Hold Me Tight
Help Me Make It Through One More Night
This Dream Can Not Harm You
So Let It All Go
Sweet, Sweet Lullaby

Thicker Than Thieves
Came Apart At The Seams
And A Sad Goodbye
Next Came The Daze
Of Drifting Through The Haze
Of The Single Life
Not One To Cry
He Puts His Hand To One Eye
And Wipes A Tear Away
Please Kiss Me Goodnight
Turn Out The Light
Sweet Lullaby

Sweet, Sweet Lullaby
Hold Me Tight
Help Me Make It Through One More Night
This Dream Can Not Harm You
So Let It All Go
Sweet, Sweet Lullaby
This Dream Can Not Harm You
So Let It All Go
Sweet, Sweet Lullaby
Sweet, Sweet Lullaby

Where Chris Robinson Brotherhood’s current LP Anyway You Love was a departure, alternating funk with earthy Americana, this EP of offcuts feels like the next record the band’s original lineup would have made. It’s the return of the cosmic cowboy. Two-fifths of the way through the strutting “New Cannonball Rag,” Adam MacDougall’s synth melts down; the bass tone gets skronky; the guitars flange. As the sounds grow increasingly weirder, the band shifts further and further into the heavy. The roadsick love ballad “Shadow Cosmos” features MacDougall on piano with Barry Sless adding pedal steel. “Roan County Banjo” is the classic CRB cowboy song: a laid-back groove, then the Moog whistles and drips in, Neal Casal’s guitar blares, Robinson sings of outlaws and honey and shares his sage wisdom. Then, “From the North Garden” is a Marin County raga with guitars and bass repeating the melodic pattern, flute and sitar tones weaving the tapestry, and some ghostly background singing that sounds suspiciously like Meg Baird. It’s psychedelic trope—but here it feels refreshed and transportational. Once that trip subsides, we’re left with “Sweet, Sweet Lullaby,” which opens with acoustic strumming in a texture that recalls Dylan’s Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid. Robinson and Casal sing harmony, MacDougall is again on the piano and Sless is back on steel. This band speaks a tonal language. Robinson barred the B3 organ at its formation, so that even when the modes are simple or old-fashioned, the musicians are forced to avoid sonic clichés. That does keep things interesting.

– Richard B. Simon Relix

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