Album Notes

For the alternative band Black Lab, love lost and found is viewed through a cinematic lens. Like scenes from a movie, songwriter Paul Durham shoots every line like a heartbroken reel. He crafts his words with a poet’s eye, the scenes lit with the radiant light of his yearning, soaring voice.

In 1998, Black Lab was signed to Geffen Records and mesmerized modern-rock radio with the haunting singles “Wash It Away” and “Time Ago,” both Top-40 hits on alternative rock and pop formats. The group’s intelligent, heartfelt lyrics and wide-screen guitar attack had them compared to U2. Radio programmers hailed the band as the Next Big Thing.

Contributions to soundtracks followed as their moody, passionate vocals and sweeping guitars landed on the soundtracks of Can’t Hardly Wait, Varsity Blues, Permanent Midnight, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Unfortunately, on the cusp of world domination, their label went out of business, leaving the band’s dreams in disarray.

In 2002, Black Lab found themselves on the soundtrack of Spider-Man, opening another chapter for the band -- or at least for Durham, who produced the band's second album, See the Sun, with new guitarist Andy Ellis. Born and raised in Twin Falls, Idaho, Durham was the mad scientist behind Black Lab from the beginning.

In 2003, Paul came out with ten million years: songs from the nineteen nineties. four tracks of acoustic black lab, plus eleven tracks of folk-rock ambition -- trying to put everything down at once, bare bones, with nothing to hide behind. with paul baker on bass, hershel yatovitz on guitar, and jim kassis on drums, paul durham tried to break new ground. in the end, he left in search of a big wall of guitar. this CD collects the mid-nineties recordings produced by acclaimed jazz producer lee townsend. it's a riveting mix of folk and rock, cut through with with shards of country and jazz, and reveals the early impulses that led to black lab. includes the original versions of "time ago," "dream in color" and "walk slow" (from the director's cut of your body above me). the cd also includes the acoustic black lab version of "wash it away," late-night recordings of an acoustic-duo performance of "can't keep the rain" and "sleeps with angels" by paul and his friend d.joseph; and the beautiful solo demo of "ten million years" that got paul his first deal with geffen.

All things Black Lab, including streaming and free downloads from the new and past albums, can be found at www.blacklabworld.com.