Tree-O
Ooh-La-La
Explore the Costa Rican jungle, the Ohio River Valley, fragrant bakeries, forlorn gardens, love, loss, and psychedelia.
Vocal harmonies backed by guitar, upright bass, mandolin, piano, and Dobro. Here are notes on the individual songs:
Friends I Knew – Rick wrote this one soon after the Beatles released Rubber Soul, but never performed it until he started singing with Tree-O. The influence of “In My Life” can be heard in the theme of the instrumental break (a quote from “In My Life’s” opening phrase) and in the subject matter of the lyric. The backing vocal “ooh-la-la” is another must-have Beatles cliché.
The Word – This Beatles tune is underrated, in our estimation. Love — it’s in all the good and the bad books.
Dance Around the Fire – George wrote this inspired by the sensual feast of Costa Rican plants and animals, volcanoes and warm surf, rushing rivers and waterfalls.
Call of the Canyon – Lonely, moonlit nights by the campfire. Whispers of a lost love echoing through the canyon...what's a romantic to do? Sing it, of course. And that's what Jamie decided she must do. Special thanks to Sylvia Herold for introducing Jamie to this Old West gem.
Billy and Sue – Rick wrote this song with a Cajun sound in mind. Nova Devonie’s accordion and George’s guitar give it the necessary drive. Plenty of “ooh-la-la” in this one!
Here Today – George wrote this when his daughter was newly born and his grandparents were passing away.
Simple Sermon – Rick wanted to write a gospel tune with a heartfelt spiritual message, and this lyric was as close as he could come. George wrote the changes and melody. In a media world filled with irony and sarcasm, sincerity may be daring.
Eight Miles High – We couldn’t help having some fun with this Byrds classic from 1965. The lyric seemed pretty random at first, but it’s actually about flying over to London, according to the Byrds, when rainy Britannia was at the high water mark of her influence on popular music.
Garden Full of Dandelion – It takes a handyman to fix a broken heart, as James Taylor explained in his cover of the Jones-Blackwell hit. And a handyman is never happier than when he's fixing things.
Rick just got in a mood and wrote this one after gazing at his back yard. Easier to write a song than pull weeds, apparently.
West Virginia Nights – Rick went to college at Ohio University, not far from the Ohio River. And across that river lies West Virginia. And in West Virginia lies the town of Parkersburg. And thereon hangs a tale — but not one Rick (or anyone he knows) lived personally.
Keep On Running – In the race of life, stay tuned to a deeper source.
Hot Pies – There's nothing like warm pie fresh from the oven to get your juices flowing. Gastric juices, that is. Rick, ever a naughty boy, appears to be thinking about something else entirely.
Jamie gets a nice tuba-like sound from her bowed bass to complement George's stately piano. She added the kazoos as an afterthought, but now she plays kazoo in live shows while bowing the bass, to the consternation of discerning listeners.
Folk: String Band