Well sir, you smashed this challenge - and ended up with a stunning unplugged album. It's made me want to hear some of your established tracks with similar stripped-down arrangements, leading the listener to concentrate on the sheer artistry of your words and astonishingly soulful vocal. Next challenge for you is the 24 hours album. 24 minutes of original music in 24 hours. I believe it originated on alonetone. Off you go.

Glad you didn't bin it! Liking the driving feel - immediately hooky also.

A sweet almost-lullaby - glad this one found a home in your February. So very pretty.

Really love this melody and the breezy feel. Some gorgeous little acoustic guitar runs in there too.

Great song writing - loving the sentiment and your tender vox here. I love it when the FAWM and RPM parameters draw out his kind of track, any more of an arrangement would detract from the message - IMHO.

Woohoo! Logged in and back from Brighton. <3 Can now fave this utter classic.

Hauntingly sad and beautiful

Great tune Andrew. we held back on a few old ideas too. i'm glad you put it out there

Hehehe... there's LOTS of youthful angst is these Songs from the Shoebox... possibly an embarrassing amount... You wait... let's see if I'm brave enough to record the ones from 1978/9!!!

That's rather wonderful ...... a bit of youthful angst ??

You've been a writer / poet for so many years!!! How delightful to put these songs out. I'm glad you found the shoe box.

Another beautiful piece of storytelling through haunting voice and gentle music

You sing these words perfectly … I am just in awe of your story telling

So lyrical

Intrigued … who is this written for? Whoever it is is a lucky person … love this

I saw your comments on my site. Thanks. It sounds like you’ve got this recording process figured out. I’m still learning as I go. Thank God for YouTube. 😎

Another little gem ......

This is kick-ass! You have a great voice and I love your guitar playing. When you have great ingredients like that, you don’t need much more than good material, of which there is plenty here! I am very inspired listening to this. I appreciate you sharing it and I look forward to delving deeper -bjk

Good stuff. I'm always amazed at how versatile you are.

That's a good song. I like the "acoustic demo," but do you also envision this as a rocker (2 guitars, bass, and drums)? I think it'd kill.

It's like there are voices... and I can't quite reach out to hear them.

I'd forgotten what it was like listening to your pieces. Magical.

Wow

That's pretty powerful.

Wow. Haunting sounds.

I listened on Friday, and I've been trying to figure out what happened so fast... and then seeing jimgoodinmusic's comment "...reflective of the street", on this relisten I ended up stood there with the same "hey what happened?" ... but a passer-by said "I don't really know - it all happened so fast" ...

I hadn't realised Colleen was listening same time... I was off checking out Mary Oliver... but yes, after the initial scratchiness that I got used too, I agree, very quickly the cacophony did seem "normal" to me and even commonplace... and the poem Egrets (I had to look up what an Egret was, I didn't know! I knew the word, but not that it was a white bird) ... that kinda emphasised it... there was magical, but normal, and natural, stuff going on, and even the cacophony itself was natural - as in not necessarily man-made - the thorns and mosquitos...

I read the description and thought "ummmm, ok"... and, indeed, it did start like that for me. But then it was strangely compelling.

I was looking for a word to describe the feel... and Colleen's already got it - "slinky cool".

Very refreshing sound - but the heavy breathing reminds of someone... not sure it's Colleen though! lol

This is still making me tingle. Those first two lines... I want everyone to feel it.

I think I remember it? Mighty cool anyways. I'm kinda jealous, though - all my old ones aren't that easy to post here... they're all recorded on pieces of A4 paper, in the metaphorical "shoe-box" (actually, it's not not that metaphorical, it is a box, several actually, they've just never held any shoes)

Wow, yes. It's a gorgeous song.

I like both. This one sounds more summery though!

Sounds summery to me.... off to find the other one

I'm liking the kinda sparse but cluttered vibe I'm getting from this. Yep, dirty, that describes it well. And that ominous but bouncy synth motif... Yeah, nice one.

Summery - check, Duran Duran - check, Cow Bell- check, all present and correct :) Cool sounds. I was at university, in a rock/metal band, writing songs with titles like "Daughter Of The Pharoahs" ("You've got the looks of your motherrr... Stained with the blood of your brotherrrr") .... I liked Duran Duran, but the dudes I was with would not be convinced that "catchy" was a good thing... Funnily enough, I found a photo a while back - I was the only one who would have looked out of place in a Duran Duran photoshoot!!

I'm about to get called into a zoom meeting for work... I'll be back for the rest after

I've always imagined you younger than me. But if you were doing this in 77 (I was 14 and in a choir, and writing songs about Garden Gnomes), then obviously not! This is mighty cool stuff for back then... wow

Oh yes. I'm liking this big time. A: Sweet song. B: That guitar... whoa... Luther Perkins lives on...