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The Phoenix Sessions (2008​-​2013)

by Eric & The Wabe

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    Welcome to the Phoenix Sessions!

    Between 1988 and 2008, I wrote and recorded a grand total of zero songs. Instead, I got married to the Lovely Ilisa and helped raise our two wonderful and mensch-ey kids, Alex and Kayla. This was an excellent decision and one that has brought me great joy.
    After we moved to Arizona, however, I began missing my music and ended up purchasing a Presonus Firepod that came with a free license for Cubase LE. I started with a bunch of songs I had written but never adequately recorded decades before. Two of these: Helmet of Pain and Clotho’s Stomp, dated back to my college years. Others, such as You’ve Got a Lot to Learn, All in Love Is Fair, The Savage Thirst, My First Ship and Fat Jenny were written in the early 1980s. Gradually, I got comfortable with computer-based recording and arranging songs with virtual instruments.
    When I felt ready to begin writing new songs, I joined a local songwriting group. One of their favored exercises was to have everyone in the group write a song using the same lyrical phrase. A month or so later, we’d all get together to perform the songs we’d written. I wrote my first two new songs that way: First Time and Still Waiting.
    Eventually, my rebellious streak resurfaced. It rankled me to use someone else’s phrase as the basis for my own songs. I dropped out of the group and began writing new songs based on my own ideas. You can hear the results on my Instant Buddha and Spanish Island CDs.
    Some of these Phoenix Session recordings are a little rough around the edges. Others came out quite nicely. All of them, were created exclusively using midi programmed virtual instruments. I’m particularly proud of Clotho’s Stomp and Helmet of Pain, opuses with quite complex arrangements that I could never have achieved otherwise. In any case, this is a record of who I was and what I knew at the time. I hope you enjoy them.

    Eric Block
    February 2017     ... more
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1.
First Time 02:51
lyrics
First time It was my first time Traveling abroad when I was sweet 17 We were in Paris when I saw her Skin like sweet English cream She let me rub her back I tried to reach for more Let’s say the episode’s conclusion Came a tad premature First time Chelsea tease It was my first time Baby please First time I saw her Wanted to paw her Simply adored her big brown eyes She didn’t mind it I couldn’t find it Fumbled around until She stalked out the door First time Where’s the G? It’s just my first time. Show me please One more chance Came up the very next day She was a pretty pink Petunia In a red negligee I tried to play it cool But then it got too intense And my erotic fascination Couldn’t breach her defense - Repeat chorus - Got home on Sunday Met her on Monday Finally found my way with an American girl - Repeat chorus -
2.
A Lot to Learn 02:36
lyrics
Any time you want to call It’s all right with me No one’s gonna take a fall It’s OK you’re free You and me We’re strangers Love it or leave it Long as you mean it But I’ve got a feeling You’ve got a lot to learn If you feel you can’t go on Don’t hold on for me I can make it on my own Just drop off the key Let it be Why chase it Better to blow it Long as you know it But I’ve got a feeling You’ve got a lot to learn You’ve got a lot to learn Darlin’ what you trying to do I can’t believe what’s coming from you You’re standing by that open door You never figured out what it’s for You better come on You better come on
3.
All in Love is Fair 04:42
lyrics
Sorry comes easy to you Cause your heart never breaks You do fine for yourself Guess we all make mistakes That’s the kind of girl she is Smiles like the sun Till you wake up boy You’re not the lucky one It’s such a curse for her I’m sure it’s worse for her For just one moment of your life If things could turn our right How well we’d fare in love And if you wake under the knife She’ll soothe your appetite And all is right in love All in love is fair She reaches out when in doubt Craving someone to hold But the love that you make Leaves you empty and cold That’s the kind of sad refrain We’ve heard before Thought we said We wouldn’t play it anymore It’s such a curse for her I’m sure it’s worse for her She never meant to be unkind But baby’s love is blind For all inclined to love She never meant to make you care Got hungry you were there And all is fair in love All in love is fair Nobody says You’ve got to tell the truth Nobody says You’ve got to lie But here we are With a passion full of grace Are we reaching for Time or space? All in love is fair (If you can call it love) All in love is fair (If you can call it love) All in love is fair All in love is It’s such a curse for her I’m sure it’s worse for her She never meant to be unkind But baby’s love is blind For all inclined to love She never meant to make you care Got hungry you were there And all is fair in love All in love is fair
4.
The Savage Thirst 02:59
lyrics
When the savage thirst consumes you Crawl into the hole It’s so easy to pack it away Not a blunder Just a moment away From the flow of the play Part of the process unfolding between us Voices in motion speakers in phase When the bitter blows confound you Turn the other side Roll up a number And make it all right Vaguely wonder Shrug and turn out the light Always new with the day And motion unceasing around us Unstructured and strange Action in parallel frames Throw it away We are the shiny battalions Polished and brass Hoping for corporate ashtrays And then polished ways Lounging chaise on the lawn In the yard Planting holes in a holistic way And motion unceasing around us Unstructured and strange Action in parallel frames - Repeat Chorus -
5.
Clotho's Stomp 06:56
lyrics
Strange repellant things Are happening to you The stable central core is lost That’s the cost Dearly paid Lost the bargain you made People do things do they Know they’re doing to you You would rather stay in bed Playing dead Dead end play Watch your world fall away One thing’s clear at any rate Life is not a steady state Call it luck call it fate Life is not a steady state No, no, no, no You are nothing A mirage reflected in the Eyes of others who you meet Incomplete They control Break your heart steal your soul One thing’s clear at any rate Life is not a steady state Call it luck call it fate Life is not a steady state No, no, no, no, no So they hurt you Suck it up and take it Face the fact they did you wrong For a while you’ll Probably have to fake it Find the strength to move along Trust yourself and trust your senses Don’t believe a word they say Seeing straight and true’s Your best defense Turn around and walk away She does it just to get me down Crazy conflicted She will pick you up And throw you away She likes to scarf it down And spit it out She weaves her thread She hangs she falls She’s on the ceiling Walking up the walls again A sex abomination That is crawling cross your room With her sighs and snares You’re caught unawares She’ll have her way Like every other day The lady stings While pulling on your strings Whenever Clotho comes to town Love is inflicted She will dish it up And blow you away She likes to take it in And put it out She hangs her head And starts to crawl She’s on the ceiling Walking up the walls again She’d love to be a mermaid But she hasn’t got the bread She’d love to be a human Well at least that’s what she said But her calling overtakes her When she feels her lover near And she drains you with her kisses And she trembles with your fear She does it just to get me down Her spinning fascinates you See it shimmer in the air In the dark of night A sheer delight You’ll have your way And then you’re gonna pay The latest perks For putting up with jerks Strange rebellious thoughts Are gathering in you The sturm and drang Have passed away Clear as day Set your goal Maybe next time a troll! One thing’s clear at any rate Life is not a steady state Call it luck call it fate Life is not a steady state No, no, no, no, no Searching for a sense of purpose Is it real or just another show? Is there more below the surface? Something waiting for us down below? Some believe it comes to nothing Some believe it’s all in who you know Others sense a hidden meaning Do we reap the things we mean to sow? Are we even meant to know?
6.
My First Ship 03:52
lyrics
She's a worn out cruiser Her ports they are dusty and stained Her rivets are rusty Her airlock squeaks From sleeping outside in the rain Her warp drive is archaic And so she’ll be jumping no more And though she is chained To this system for good I love her as never before She was my first ship And I’ll always feel the same From her sub-space data alignment cards To her delicate digital brain And though time’s stretched thin And the light lines may dwindle and fade I will never lose her My first ship My first ship She a floating relic She’s puckered and pitted and bent Once she had power now it’s gone Her engines are utterly spent So the sun will claim her Her ecliptic is narrowing fast And so she will end her existence for good But her memory always will last - Repeat chorus -
7.
Still Waiting 04:25
lyrics
We were kids the day we met The classroom clown the teacher’s pet A more unlikely pair you’d never find Across the room I saw you there The autumn sunlight in your hair An angel to my eyes Imagine my surprise To find you waiting By the classroom door Waiting as I crossed the floor Waiting to begin a love so true You were waiting For the chance to see How much your love Would mean to me Waiting, waiting I felt so cool and fancy free My ego ran away with me I played you for a fool Was so unkind Now I’m trying to forget that day The precious love I threw away The selfish way I lied The angry tears you cried So I’m waiting For you heart to mend Waiting for the pain to end Waiting for a love that’s true Waiting to return to you Waiting till you look my way And see the man I am today Till these lonely days are through Waiting I played the field and had my fun But then when all was said and done I’ve never met another soul Who fills my heart and makes me whole I hope and pray that when it’s done Two broken hearts can beat as one Waiting for you heart to mend Waiting for the pain to end Waiting for a love that’s true Waiting to return to you Waiting till you look my way And see the man I am today Till these lonely days are through Waiting
8.
Helmet of Pain 04:54
lyrics
Take a load from your shoulders Throw down the helmet of pain Turn your neurons to plastic Come on life is short go insane It doesn’t matter what games they play You'll win So don’t be afraid Just get up off your nasty And break all those chemical chains Tried to tell her wouldn't play Squandered the wonder away Sleazy cheater feet of clay Squandered the wonder away We ought to live in a tree house Making tea making love So idyllic Part of the world from above Always high and dry Dancing in the sun Take your place in the pious parade Throw down the wages of sin Turn your hate into muffins Get up and let agony in There ought to be A much easier way To break free This movie you've made With your house in the canyon Resigned to a soothing charade Tried to tell you wouldn't stay Squandered the wonder away Sleazy player feet of clay Squandered the wonder away - Repeat chorus -
9.
Fat Jenny 03:26
lyrics
When the citizens turned on The hand that had fed Even Fat Jenny's heart was unfettered Till the shock troops reclaimed All the town that was left From my uptown apartment I see All the militant hordes As they're beating their gourds To be free of the order they need An onion skin layered intrigue And the Senate made phone calls And clergyman cried Even agnostic sailors were shattered Now the book sales are mounting Soon the trials will begin It's Chicago all over again But this time the forces Of evil are scattered This time it's friend against friend No one's sure what it is They're defending Show us the tears in your eyes Show us you care Underneath your disguise Everyone's dying to know Cause everyone's searching And turning their pockets out Paying for life through the nose But that's what life's about I'm supposing Show us the tears in your eyes Show us you care Underneath your disguise Everyone's dying to know Cause everyone's searching And turning their pockets out Paying their dues through the nose But that's what life's about That's what life's about That's what life's about I'm supposing

credits

released February 17, 2017

All music and lyrics by Eric Block
Wabe Publishing ©2017 All Rights Reserved

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Eric & The Wabe Phoenix, Arizona

I started writing songs in 1969 and continued until 1987, when I got married and had kids. In 2008 I returned to music and started writing songs and collaborating with musicians across the Web, most notably Amos Clarke, Alex Klidaras, and John Tabacco. I owe a debt of gratitude to them and to the many other musicians who have kindly provided me with tracks and encouragement since then. ... more

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