Musical Interiors

This CD is a collection of songs I've written since beginning a music career as a folk guitarist and singer. My early songs were written in the folk tradition. Years later I began to experiment with other musical styles, including cabaret, musical theater, pop, and country western. There is something for everyone in this musical collection: songs about youthful wanderlust, idealized love, relationships that sail along and those that founder, about all those dreams we invent to help us deal with life's uncertainties. I must warn you about three songs in this collection that stand apart from the rest because of their subject matter. 'Prisoners of Conscience' paints a broad landscape of human rights abuse: unjust imprisonment, torture, and disappearances. Although I wrote the song years ago, it's message is acutely contemporary. 'Lover's Lullaby' explores a more intimate space; a marriage shattered by the imprisonment and torture of a spouse. It speaks to the healing power of love. Both songs are based on my work with the human rights organization, Amnesty International. I performed some of my songs for Amnesty events, including the kick-off party for the 'Conspiracy of Hope' rock tour. 'The Twilight Years,' which I wrote in 1997, is about my mother's battle with Alzheimer's disease. In case you happen to listen to this CD in the heat of the summer, the last song is guaranteed to leave you with a cool feeling. 'On Christmas,' replete with the sound of sleigh bells, is my Christmas classic. It paints a musical picture of a family filled with unbridled hope and unconditional love. The last cut, 'My Twenty-first Century Dream,' is a plea for a 'kinder, gentler' world, where love and justice 'flow like a mighty stream.' Thanks for listening. - Kathy King Wouk May 2003.