The Way We Are by Fred Moolten

" (Bob Mackenzie - Sound Bytes)

"INFORMED BY CABARET, BLUES, BROADWAY, DIXIELAND, JAZZ AND FOLK, MOOLTEN'S TUNEFUL POP HARKENS BACK TO A TIME BEFORE ROCK INFILTRATED NEARLY ALL MUSICAL GENRES. A RARE BREED THESE DAYS, MOOLTEN NEITHER SINGS NOR PLAYS THE SONGS HE'S WRITTEN, INSTEAD TRUSTING THEM TO A POLISHED ENSEMBLE OF PROFESSIONALS AND A STABLE OF APPEALING VOCALISTS. SOME MIGHT FIND 'THE WAY WE ARE' HOPELESSLY SQUARE, BUT IF YOU'RE DOWN WITH LEE HAZELWOOD, FRED NEIL, AND OTHER CLASSIC SONGSMITHS, I'M SURE YOU'LL FIND MUCH HERE TO APPRECIATE." (Jim Santo - Demo Universe)

" A MUST HAVE." (Donna Crowley - Downeast Record and CD Reviews)

For complete text of reviews, click on link in left-hand column to visit the Fred Moolten website.

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Tracks from "The Way We Are" can be purchased at most online download vendors.

THE WAY WE ARE marks the appearance of one of the truly extraordinary songwriting talents to arrive on the music scene in recent years, but Fred Moolten's emergence as a songwriter has been preceded by years spent in other realms. At one time a stage and television actor, he later went on to earn a medical degree and devote himself to scientific research. His sense of drama never waned, however, but reemerges in this album in striking musical terms. Because of the emotional and personal nature of many of his songs, Moolten is often asked whether they are autobiographical. "Most are not", he says, "although 'Cat Lullaby' comes close." He adds, "What I try to do is call on fragments of experience from my life and the lives of those close to me and combine lyrics and music to transmute them into something coherent enough to become a song. In "The Way We Are", what makes it work are the masterful arrangements by Mike Lewis and Don Vappie and the vocal artistry of Bryan Harden, Michelle Amato, Juanita Brooks, Vernon Phillips, Don Vappie, and Rachel Perry."

Moolten is something of an anomaly among contemporary songwriters in that he is not a performer. "I can barely scrape by on the piano", he says, but adds that "paradoxically, this limitation has its advantages. In particular, since I won't be singing my own songs, my imagination is free to write from both a male and female perspective. About half my songs are intended for female vocalists." Asked whether he feels qualified to write very personal lyrics from a female perspective, he responds "Yes, but in that sense I'm not very different from a novelist or playwright. In fact, I may be better qualified to write of intimate things from the perspective of a woman than of a man. I've only known one man intimately in my life - myself - but more than one woman. It's also an advantage to a lyricist to exploit that fact that emotionally, women tend to be more overtly expressive about personal matters than men."

The following description of each song (along with a lyric excerpt) will give listeners a sense of the breadth of material and variety of genres represented in this album:

IT AIN'T ROCK (Well, it ain't - mostly. Dixieland/Blues/Pop/Rock - hard to be sure) Lyric excerpt: "It's got drums that resound with the rhythm. It's got tunes you can whistle and sing..."

NIGHT LOVE ( Blues.) Lyric excerpt: "Every fire cools to ashes without the spell of night".

THERE'S MORE TO A BOOK (Tale of a marriage - funny and regretful. Cabaret/Blues/Folk.) Lyric excerpt: "I saw you on the street and I thought 'I wish I knew her'..."

NIGHT SONG (Night and the city, cool and a bit nasty. Pop/Rock/Folk.) Lyric excerpt: "The rats are gnawing to the night song..."

ANNIVERSARY TUNE* (Play this on your anniversary or any other time. Wedding reception guests might also enjoy it. Cabaret/Bluesy.) Lyric excerpt: "I know your smile and I know your frown, One turns me on, the other turns me down..."

AFRAID TO FALL ("The Way We Are" can never be "the way we were". Bittersweet. Folk.) Lyric excerpt: "Your bags are only half unpacked, the evening star is rising, If you can't stay, don't stay the night, let's not stretch out the pain..."

I'VE GOT PEACE AND QUIET (Closing the book can bring peace if not joy. Blues.) Lyric excerpt: "No more need to worry, Worry do you love me, worry am I doing something wrong..."

COMING TO THE VALLEY (Spiritual, and yet not religious. Folk) Lyric excerpt: "The shadows grow longer in the setting sun..."

EXPEDITION RAG (Dixieland tunes don't often come with double entendre lyrics) Lyric excerpt: "I'm a deep sea diver searching for a sunken ship, If we go down together, we can have ourselves a trip..."

CAT LULLABY (If you've never loved a pet, this song won't move you. Folk/Blues.) Lyric excerpt: "I've watched you sleep so many times before, Your fur and whiskers gentle to my eye I used to wonder where you went in dreams..."

A WOMAN'S WALK (Pop/rock groove. Sensual, but nuanced, not raw) "I hear your soft, inviting song, An invitation that you never send..."

TALKING TO THE DARKNESS (A deep well of sorrow. Folk.) Lyric excerpt: "I don't believe in ghosts but I've opened up your room..."

WALTZ IN D-FLAT (No words, but strings, flute, guitar and piano speak for themselves)

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