1. |
What If?
03:41
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WHAT IF?
words & music by John Ratts & Eric Kern, intro by Brock Harris
Who can say what the future holds
No one can
No one knows
I couldn’t tell you if our time will come
Or what tomorrow brings for anyone
I’ll turn the tables
Hand it back to you
Can you tell me what dreams might come true
If you could look into a crystal ball
Read the tea leaves and then tell us all
What if, What if
I found you
and you wanted me
And I wanted you
And we were meant to be
What if I could lift the veil and see
Our destiny
Throw the bones
Read my palm
Please tell me
Tell me more than just wait and see
Wishing wells behind hidden doors
Fortune tellers know I’m wishing for
What if, What if
I found you
and you wanted me
And I wanted you
And we were meant to be
What if I could lift the veil and see
Our destiny
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2. |
N.S.A.
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3. |
Give In To Love
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4. |
A Pretty Good Run
04:12
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A PRETTY GOOD RUN
(Kern/Ratts)
Well these days were not half bad
They only made me halfway sad
And I've got half a mind to tell you it's ok
But the bus is pulling out
So I suppose I’ll be en-route
Before the sun comes up on your pretty good day
It only took us half a lifetime
to feel pretty far away
So I’m texting you to say…
It was a pretty good run
It was a pretty good ride
You looked pretty good with the sun sparkling in your eyes
And I’m completely dismayed
Pretty sorry to say
It was a pretty good run baby
I miss you already
Well we shared some pretty good times
And we shared some pretty similar pain
I’ve got a pretty good mind to hold tightly to your pretty frame
I’m more than halfway at a loss
At how this world makes fools of us
With every roadblock we construct in our own way
So Im calling you to tell you
if I’ve nothing else to say
I’m so glad I saw your face
It was a pretty good run
It was a pretty good ride
You looked pretty good with the sun sparkling in your eyes
And I’m completely dismayed
Pretty sorry to say
It was a pretty good run baby
I'll miss you always
Was it our mistakes
or a mix of fate and taking us for granted
That found me on a west bound greyhound
letting go of you?
It was a pretty good run
It was a pretty good ride
You looked pretty good with the sun sparkling in your eyes
And I’m completely dismayed
Pretty sorry to say
It was a pretty good run baby
I’ll miss you always
I'll miss you always
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5. |
Don't Stop Your Love
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6. |
I Feel Great
03:18
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I FEEL GREAT
(Kern, Burton, Ratts)
we made a promise long ago
we would never wind up strangers
(we should be) lying in love's afterglow
not all swept up in life's changes
now that we've locked it all away
was it not enough to fall apart?
you broke my heartbreak
now that we've finally turned the page
would you please just go away
i've got nothing left to say
it's over and it's okay
another monday afternoon
another hour for feeling grateful
another waxing gibbous moon
to refortify the faithful
now that we've locked it all away
was it not enough to fall apart?
you broke my heartbreak
now that we've finally turned the page
would you please just go away
i've got nothing else to say
it's over and i feel great
you don't have to listen to me sing this song
you don't have to be my friend
you don't have to tell me anything at all
baby, this is the end
now that we've locked it all away
was it not enough to fall apart?
you broke my heartbreak
now that we've finally turned the page
would you please just go away
i've got one last thing to say
it's over and i feel great
it's ok, i feel great
i feel great
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7. |
Howl At The Moon
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8. |
Triple Play: Saturday
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9. |
Triple Play: Best Day
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10. |
Triple Play: Rock Beside Me
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11. |
Triple Play: Heartsick
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12. |
Triple Play: Days & Days
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13. |
Triple Play: Wheels Of Love
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14. |
Triple Play: Every Time
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15. |
Lake Paradise
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16. |
Shake The Cage
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17. |
Show Me How
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18. |
I'll Be Waiting For You
04:03
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I'LL BE WAITING FOR YOU
(Ratts, Kern)
Lizzie, you're so pretty that i'm standing on a corner
waiting on a wish for some weather made to order
staring at the clouds hanging in a clear blue sky
i don't wonder why i'm sure everyone knows
why love comes and goes whenever you walk by
a little rain is good to wake up people that are sleeping
i will wait for you and a promise is for keeping
all i really need is just the chance to never say goodbye
i do wonder if you'll be walking my way
and what would you say to a shared moment with me
i'll be waiting for you when the rain comes down
i'll be waiting for you when the sun comes out
blue skies or black, umbrella in my hand
i'll hang around like the moon
like an empty vase next to flowers in bloom
i'll be waiting for you
standing on the sidewalk pulling petals 'til you get here
umbrellas are for sharing we can squeeze in tight together
looking up i can't see any white in a clear blue sky
still i know soon youre going to drift into view
with clouds forming on cue, and i'll be waiting for you
i'll be waiting for you when the rain comes down
i'll be waiting for you when the sun comes out
blue skies or black, umbrella in my hand
i'll hang around like the moon
like an empty vase next to flowers in bloom
i'll be waiting for you
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19. |
I Can't Walk Away
03:31
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I CAN'T WALK AWAY
(Kern, Ratts)
Man, it's really dark tonight
there are clouds in every passerby
there's no cold like winter rain
i feel a chill in everything
and i can't hold out that long when everything is gone
it doesn't take a cyclone
and i wonder how i came so far to feel so lame
i could live or check out any day
but i can't walk away
from this pointless joke i choke on everyday
i'm too far gone, just let me lay
so you missed the boat again
waiting for what might have been
did it cost you everything
to be hoping and imagining?
and she never will compare to castles in the air
to your residential deep domestic nightmare
and i couldn't help but hear you've begun to disappear
man, we all could use a way right out of here...
and i can't walk away
from this losing game the cards are stacked to play
it's "just your luck" i heard her say
no i can't walk away
from this sinking ship i watched you sail away
i'm too far gone, just let me lay...
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20. |
Heartsick Reprise
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21. |
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Like the pine trees lining the winding road
I got a name, I got a name
Like the singing bird and the croaking toad
I got a name, I got a name
And I carry it with me like my daddy did
But I'm living the dream that he kept hid
Moving me down the highway
Rolling me down the highway
Moving ahead so life won't pass me by
Like the north wind whistling down the sky
I've got a song, I've got a song
Like the whippoorwill and the baby's cry
I've got a song, I've got a song
And I carry it with me and I sing it loud
If it gets me nowhere, I'll go there proud
Moving me down the highway
Rolling me down the highway
Moving ahead so life won't pass me by
And I'm gonna go there free
Like the fool I am and I'll always be
I've got a dream, I've got a dream
They can change their minds but they can't change me
I've got a dream, I've got a dream
Well, I know I can share it if you want me to
If you're going my way, I'll go with you
Moving me down the highway
Rolling me down the highway
Moving ahead so life won't pass me by
Moving me down the highway
Rolling me down the highway
Moving ahead so life won't pass me by
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22. |
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"THE FUTURE STORE" LINER NOTES - By Mike Lidskin
Hello, fellow Vegas With Randolph fan. We last met in the Above The Blue album liner notes, and I’m glad we’re both back to celebrate this fifth installment of the VWR catalog, The Future Store. On previous albums, fellow writers have noted that the album they wrote notes for was the best Vegas With Randolph album to date. I now get to make that claim. It’s true–The Future Store is the finest Vegas With Randolph album yet!
With this album, the band comes off of their longest interval between albums. Much has transpired between 2018 and 2024. The loss of beloved bassist Dan Aylestock. A global pandemic, which affected musicians and their audiences. And of course, a lot of life has happened in six years. The big question on everybody’s mind: How will Vegas With Randolph respond?
The answer: Fast and furious out of the gate, with a sense of urgency. The core team of John Ratts, Eric Kern, Brock Harris, and Dave Purol are making up for lost time. This album is a rocker. It starts off powerfully with hard rocking drums and guitar riffs, and doesn’t slow down or let up until over 50 minutes later, when the introspective track, I Can’t Walk Away, closes the “regulation” portion of the album, before taking a tribute song encore.
Along the way, you’re going to experience a tour de force of songwriting and performance. For the most part, the songs alternate between John’s and Eric’s compositions, with the writer taking lead vocals on each of their songs. Since there are three guitarists in the band, you’re going to be treated to some great six string fireworks. Eric, a keyboardist/guitarist, has now also picked up bass duties and did a splendid job. Notably, there is one final track that features Dan Aylestock’s bass playing: Give In To Love. Oh–and don’t worry–the patented soaring vocals and harmonies are front and center on this record. That's always been Vegas With Randolph’s secret weapon-those harmonies.
But what would a VWR album be without a few special guests? And boy, these guys always know who to invite. Hillary Burton (honeychain, Nushu) and Ken Stringfellow (The Posies) help out in back-to-back tracks, a killer one-two punch of songwriting and vocals. Also, a really cool thing happened. Phil Kenzie, the man responsible for the legendary saxophone solo on Al Stewart’s Year of the Cat, plays a sax lead on “Don’t Stop Your Love.” It’s stellar–it plays more like a guitar lead.
A Vegas With Randolph feature I’ve always loved returns to this album: a medley of seven short original songs, this time entitled Triple Play. It takes you through several moods, some upbeat, some more reflective, but ending on an optimistic note with glorious poetic metaphors and music to match.
Usually, there’s a standout track or three that capture my attention on an album. So which tracks made me jump out of my seat on The Future Store? All 21 of them! I refuse to pick a favorite this time around, because they all are equally strong and worthy of your attention. Any one of them will sound great on my radio show, and they will all get their chance. This album is upbeat and largely positive. In some songs, the guys are hopeless romantics, in others, they are hopeful romantics. The breakup songs are mature. No hard feelings, just a realization that it’s time to move on with your life. Even the kiss-off song, I Feel Great, with Hillary Burton, helps you to understand that sometimes a little self-care is needed after an ended relationship, and you’ll be better off once you reach the other side.
And finally, I alluded to an encore at the end of the album. After the album’s most reflective song, I Can’t Walk Away, there’s a brief but gorgeous string and piano instrumental, Heartsick Reprise. A bit of a palate cleanser, and then onto the bonus track, a surprise cover of I Got A Name, perhaps my favorite Jim Croce song. VWR gives it a rock treatment, while still respecting the uplifting vibe. It’s always risky taking on a song of such magnitude, but the guys did it right. This tribute adds to the original. I can’t think of another band I’d trust with this classic. The original always got me in the gut, and this one does too. Chills. A glorious finale.
I’m lucky, because I don’t have to try to encourage you to get this album. You’ve already got it. We both know what happens now. Put it on, and enjoy the next 56 minutes. You deserve this album.
Mike Lidskin
Woody Radio
Sacramento, California
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Vegas With Randolph Washington, D.C.
Vegas With Randolph’s music has been called “ebullient, unabashed power pop”, “thinking man's party music,” and “blissful
pop songwriting at its finest” and their music has been compared to Fastball, Sloan, and Fountains of Wayne.
VWR is currently working on tracks for a fifth CD - look for this release in late 2023! VWR includes John Ratts, Eric Kern, Brock Harris, and David Purol.
... more
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