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1. I’m Gonna Stay
2. Jenny McLane
3. Favorite Son
4. Talkin Stranger in New York Blues
5. Centralia
6. When the Rains Came
7. Lonesome Valley
8. The Killing Land
9. Have You Ever Known Anyone Like Teddy?
10. Drinking with Nick Drake
11. Was I You Yesterday
12. Coaster *
13. Belt Buckles
14. Harry Truman

All songs by Tom Flannery except * by Lorne Clarke
All songs copyright 2002 Tom Flannery (BMI)
except * copyright 1984 Lorne P. Clarke (Socan)

Recorded at the Old Church in Lynn, Pennsylvania on 3/10/02
Tom Flannery – Guitar, vocals, harmonica

Engineered by Lorne Clarke
Produced by Tom Flannery

I am sitting in the centre of the old church, headphones on, listening to my friend, Tom Flannery singing about that rough kid from across the tracks that we all knew once… “Oh have you ever known any one like Teddy?” The old church is dark except for the stage lights and the dim glow from the recording equipment. The last ripples of wind from a winter storm are moaning high above and from time to time I think I can hear “Teddy” banging on a distant door.

We are mid session and I am once again amazed at the talent of this man. Known for his determination, Tom planned this session and was not to be denied. The winter storm that closed roads, caused localized flooding and more significantly left the old church without power right up to the moment the session began didn’t fit Tom’s plan. So here we are. Tom is ripping through one take after the other – complaining about having to wait for me to set up the recorder between songs. He’s on top of his game tonight and this CD is your ticket to that world where creativity and determination meet. Be sure to leave a note for your family, because you may not be back for a while.

— Lorne Clarke/March 2002

I recently heard the following exchange in the recording studio…
Artist – “So, what do you think of the guitar solo I cut?”
Engineer – “Oh, the guitar solo is great. It’s the song that sucks.”

Well, there are no guitar solos here….just songs that hopefully don’t suck. This is how they were written, and this is how I think they should be heard. Modern recording technology makes me nervous, and I always found the rough solo acoustic music of Robert Johnson and Woody Guthrie far more interesting than anything Daniel Lanois ever got his hands on. Technology can surely overwhelm a song, but so too can a song obliterate the need for technology. That’s my take on it anyway. Slàinte.

–Tom Flannery/March 2002

It’s such a rarity to get a CD full of intelligent lyrics combined with wonderful music. [Flannery has] certainly proved that a song can obliterate the need for technology. It has hardly left the CD player. 
–WRIU Kingston, RI 90.3 fm