On her most recent UK tour, last December, Kaplansky premiered a number of new, or partly completed, Rick n' Lucy tunes; "Written On The Back Of His Hand," which opens this disc being one of them. From a state of innocence and purity at birth, the dawning of each new day brings the opportunity for each of us to learn something new about our universe. The foregoing hopefully explains the concept of what is one of the finest lyrics this New York-based couple has fashioned [to date]. What's more, I pray that the closing "one true word's gonna beat a pack of lies" is a principle of which mankind never loses sight.
The declining career of a performer who was once "back lit from inside" is analysed by the narrator in "Every Single Day." Buddy Miller supplies the backing vocal on the upbeat let's not pull any punches, because I love you song "Don't Mind Me," while John Gorka carries out the same duty on the Earle contribution I mentioned earlier, plus the hauntingly honest recollection "Song For Molly." The latter song, featuring the telling line "It's a dirty trick this growing old," is a paean to Lucy's maternal grandmother. Just suspended your disbelief for a moment, and picture this - Lucy, age thirteen, and her mother are paying a visit to her grandmother who is hospitalised. Her description of the building is so stark, you can almost taste the antiseptic. Alas [for the two visitors], Molly's mind is in some other place. Years later, Lucy's mother shows her a ring and adds the words "this was Molly's, It was her mother's ring, I'm keeping it for you, As she kept it for me." The fact that, to this day, Lucy does not recall being a treasured grand-daughter adds further irony and poignancy to the repeated closing line "This is what I remember." I guess the conclusion is - in this life, we should make every moment count. While long time Kaplansky fans would probably chose the sassy "Ten Year Night," as her finest song, there is a thoughtful maturity to "Song For Molly" which, in my opinion, places it in a league of its own.
And finally there's the slightly more down-to-earth trio of songs - "Guilty As Sin," "Nowhere" and "No More Lies." Cheating songs are a much-explored genre and "Guilty As Sin" is, at least, a neat pop/rock addition, while an undercurrent of bitterness permeates the narrator's words in "Nowhere." Finally, the martial beat of "No More Lies" tells of a cheating husband who has received his deserved comeuppance. While I might appear less enthusiastic about the latter tunes, I would contend that Rick and Lucy have more than done their homework with their other [new] songs - but I guess I've made that clear already.
