Wow, putting out an album can sometimes be difficult! In my last post I said there would be two blues covers. Well, they were both recorded and mastered, and the album was ready to be put into production, but the licensing wasn't finished. I got Forty Days and Forty Nights by Bernard Roth okayed without too much trouble. The other song, Crescent City Blues by Gordon Jenkins, was another matter entirely. The music from this song had been ripped off a long time ago by Johnny Cash to make Folsom Prison. So in order to get this song on the album I had to go through a law firm. They sent me a hard copy of the licensing agreement that was amazing! First, I would not have been able to put their song on Spotify or Apple Music. Second, no sound clips were allowed on iTunes or Amazon. Third, the agreement didn't authorize me to perform the song in public. Fourth, they reserved the right once a year to come to my "office" and look at my "books" to make sure I was paying them the royalties they were owed. Well, for one thing, I have no control over sound clips on iTunes, and for another thing, one song can't be treated differently from the rest of the songs on the album. And I sure wasn't interested in having a troop of lawyers invading my little house! So, Crescent City Blues had to be dumped. There are 10 songs on the album, and it is out on this website and on CD Baby, and will soon be on iTunes, Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon, etc. I had a great time making it. Paul Osborn at Audio Dallas and George Guerin at DES Mastering did a terrific job. Amy Harms sounds amazing on Forty Days and Forty Nights! Todd Jeffries wrote some incredible lyrics on Zendo Crickets! I hope you enjoy it. It's got a lot of me in it. After it was finished I felt relief and happiness and a little depleted too. Almost like giving birth, I imagine.