Music:

Pages of our Lives

I've been noticing lately that us old folks seem to be spending more and more time looking back at the various paths we've taken in life. I do get a kick seeing pictures of our younger selves, skinny and clueless about what the future held. Our scrapbooks serve as a scattershot index into our personal stories, with each item surfacing deep (if not completely accurate) memories.

The photo above is one of those reference points for the two of us, with each road-worn item that we see in the back of that van bringing back its own set of memories. This song reflects on the pleasures and pitfalls of all that reminiscence.

- Slim (April, 2026)
Artist:Slide Man Slim & Penny Hanna
Released:April 21, 2026
Written By:Slim Heilpern
Penny Hanna:Vocal, Double Bass, Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, Alto Sax
Slim Heilpern:Guitars, Chromatic Harmonica, Pedal Steel, Keys, Drum Programming
Download Size:4.8MB
Download MP3

Notes

This is essentially a jazz ballad, with double bass, brushed drums, and archtop guitar laying down the groove. There's a (sort of) horn section part to kick things off with alto sax, bass clarinet, chromatic harmonica, and guitar. Penny's got the vocal, which is briefly interrupted by clarinet, nylon guitar, chromatic harmonica, and pedal steel solos.
As usual, this was recorded, mixed, and mastered in our beloved project studio. The audio tracks were recorded at 24bits x 48kHz. The rest (keyboards and drums) recorded as MIDI and rendered via instrument plugins in the DAW during mixdown. Electric instruments were recorded using direct boxes while acoustic instruments were recorded using a Peluso 2247SE large diaphragm and in some cases also an Audix M1250B pencil mic. All effects and processing happened inside the DAW.

The Lyrics

Old pictures, younger times,
A notebook of lyrics, full of clever rhymes 
Turning through the pages of our lives

Long playing records and even 45s
Scattered memories from the years gone by 
Stories once forgotten now revived

Our time lasts only 'til it's over
And with each day that time's growing closer
So why do we waste it on sentimentality
Reliving memories so close to reality?

Dog eared pages in a favorite book
Might be deserving of a second look
'Cause now we see it from another side

(instrumental)

That van that brought us from gig to gig
Packed to the rafters with our music rig
Sometimes I'm amazed we even survived

So many friends have come and gone
But in our thoughts they still live on
Seeing their faces brings it all back to me
All the dreams that were never to be

Some old pictures of younger times,
A notebook of lyrics, full of clever rhymes 
Turning through the pages of our lives