The Father Road Expanded Liner Notes
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The Father Road takes a surreal journey down today’s Lincoln Highway, the first transcontinental road built for automobiles. Of course, this old road was decommissioned nearly a century ago and primarily exists today in a patchwork of US and state highways. US 30 still traces a good measure of that earlier right of way.
The album is effectively a sequel to Rivers of Asphalt which takes a similar journey down what’s left of Route 66. When I first conceived of the concept in the early 2000s, I planned on releasing it all as one double-album, likely taking up four slabs of vinyl. Thankfully, I still have no interest in releasing vinyl. The fact The Father Road traces the Lincoln Highway on an eastbound journey from San Francisco relates to Rivers of Asphalt following Route 66 from Chicago to Los Angeles. Maybe someday I will do a Pacific Coast Highway Rivers of Asphalt release to connect the two?
I composed some of the pieces for The Father Road around the same time as Rivers of Asphalt. The Sea And Golden Gate and The Red Brick Road being two examples. Other shared motifs crop up now and again, like Open Road Illinois LH and the restatement of Skyline (Rivers of Asphalt’s opener) as The Father Road ends during Times Square And The Shining Sea.
Also like Rivers of Asphalt, The Father Road’s music varies as the road scenery evolves – a key aspect of any aural travelogue. The hyperactivity of big cities like San Francisco and New York City, the surreal desert landscapes of Nevada, and the Sierra, Wasatch, and Appalachian mountains all boast their own music style. Certain musical motifs are repeated from time to time. They reveal themselves as the listener traces the roadscape across the continent.
Well, enough of my yacking, let’s dive into the album in more detail.
California
1. The Sea And Golden Gate (4:20) – Daytime: The album opener appears out of the fog of San Francisco Bay into the city itself; finding the Western Terminus of the Lincoln Highway and following it out of town into Central California.
2. Sierra Ascent 1 (2:48) – Daytime: The three Sierra pieces share a similar harmonic structure. The first track features simple piano highlighted by a surreal trumpet melody as we begin our slow ascension to the distant mountain range.
3. Sierra Ascent 2 (2:18) – Daytime: After the foothills, the Sierra ascent gradually picks up the pace. A drum machine pattern combined with acid-drenched kit work inspired by Levon Helm provides the energy to climb that range.
4. Sierra Crest (3:49) – Daytime: A Berlin schoolhouse lies on the crest of the Sierras? Who knew?
Nevada
5. The Loneliest Road (8:39) – Nighttime: The LH follows US 50 across the desert Basin and Range landscape of Nevada. The dark ambience of the old road at night takes hold of the album.
Utah
6. Salt And Snow (2:37) – Daytime: A desert of salt reveals an emerging mountain range covered in snow.
7. Wasatch Descent (2:16) – Daytime: A restatement of the Sierra motif helps us descend this mountain range as the nighttime landscape of Wyoming lurks in the distance.
Wyoming
8. Under Wyoming Stars (5:11) – Nighttime: A starlit night helps us trace the highway across another surreal Western landscape.
Nebraska
9. Prairie Waves (3:37) – Daytime: Hints of American prog and psychedelic bands inspire this look at an endless succession of waves of grain.
Iowa
10. The Derecho (3:38) – Daytime: A strong wind scrapes the landscape, but the strength of the Iowan persists over the challenges of Mother Nature.
Illinois
11. Open Road Illinois LH (2:44) – Nighttime: Route 66 and the Lincoln Highway both traverse Illinois. This piece of music resides on both Rivers of Asphalt and The Father Road in different forms.
12. Plainfield Crossroads (3:38) – Nighttime: Route 66 and the Lincoln share a few blocks in Plainfield where Moog synth arpeggios haunt the surroundings.
Indiana
13. Avoiding Toll Roads At Night (3:01) – Nighttime: Keep to the old road at night when traveling through Northern Indiana.
Ohio
14. The Red Brick Road (5:01) – Daytime: Old LH alignments on red brick roads highlight the Father Road in the Buckeye State, our home.
West Virginia
15. Flying Teapots Over The Alleghenies (4:18) – Daytime: Divided aliens fly over the emerging Allegheny range in West Virginia and Western Pennsylvania powered by a slow drum machine groove.
Pennsylvania
16. A Ship In The Mountains (3:53) – Daytime: Winding the old road through the mountains takes us to the ruins of a lost ship in the mountains inspiring piano-drenched melancholy.
17. The Many Souls Of Byberry (4:49) – Dusk: Driving past the Byberry State Hospital while listening to Fish Out Of Water influenced the rhythmic feel of this track.
New Jersey
18. Approaching Gotham (2:24) – Nighttime: The steel monoliths of Gotham lurk in the darkened distance. This piano-dominated track parallels Sierra Ascent 1.
19. The Palisades (2:36) – Nighttime: As the pace of the drum machine increases, over the Palisades we go heading into New York City.
New York
20. Times Square And The Shining Sea (3:37) – Dawn: We travel through Times Square, the Eastern Terminus of the Lincoln Highway, and continue to the sea to watch the sunrise.
Thanks for reading, listening, and watching. Stay tuned; we’ll hit those old roads again in the future. Sail those rivers of asphalt!