Our heartfelt thanks to our brilliant musician friends who performed here with us: W.K. Boas, Mellissa Clancy, Al Cosnett (aka “Bugmouth”), Sammy Davis, Peter McCann, and Martin Romie, and to Rachel Litteral as the voice of Cassandra – you all made this project come alive! A special thank you to Ernesto and the Ghost in the Machine for their entertaining unscheduled contributions, and thanks Chris H at SoundSpace for the excellent mixing advice. Finally, our gratitude and respect to Eric & Geno at Stewdio G for the masterful mastering job.

Robert: This suite is a story of my time with Suzy, her illness and crossing (f*ck cancer!), and my subsequent walk through hell and back out to the living world. The music may be a little bit imperfect, a little bit lo-fi, but it’s a labor of love every bit of the way, which, come to think of it, pretty much describes our life together, too. My good friend, bandmate, & co-composer Brian made this project possible for me; without him these songs would still be just a file folder full of scraps of paper. My deepest respect and gratitude to the Women Who Sang: the exquisite Dar Williams, for singing me back to life; and the kind & wonderful Anne Weiss, for helping me find my voice. Much love to Jane Updegraff and Leslie Ford Ray for patiently teaching me how to use that voice once I found it; for better or worse, the result here is my own. My deep affection to Becky for the beautiful cover painting, and for her friendship and her love for Suzy. To Suzanne’s family and our friends – Bless You All, and may you find her spirit here in both familiar and new ways. My heartfelt love and special thanks to IKA for being there underneath it all; to CB for lessons in the aftermath; to Caro for lessons in the aftermath’s aftermath; to my most beautiful sisters Kathy & Diane (I love you each the most!); to Anjali & Felisha for everything everything everything; to Sue R. for knowing why I wrote these songs; to Tyrone & Jennifer for the music & the soul friendship (& thanks Ty for loaning us your beautiful Alvarez!); to Rod, Rick, & John at Stebal Drums in Willowick, OH; to all my friends and fellow musicians in Glastonbury, England & around Cleveland & Dayton, OH; to John Nicholson for all the deep-cut trivia banter; to Andy Newmark for his friendship, encouragement, & fine conversation; to Laura Bailey Kidd (aka Penfriend) for the motivation; and to Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, Neil Young, and Carlos Santana for musical and spiritual inspiration. My true heart’s love to every cat who shared their lives with Suzy and me – Lulu, Nancy, Walter, Disney, Whitman, Paddy, Eoin, & Squeeky. And finally, special love and admiration to John Cowper Powys, mystical novelist extraordinaire, who put words to our purpose.

Brian: Mumble, mumble. Here are some songs we hope you like. Play ’em loud.

All Songs: Lyrics by Robert L. Marcum. Music by Brian S. Stambaugh & Robert L. Marcum, except “We Flew,” music by Robert L. Marcum, Brian S. Stambaugh, & Martin Romie; “Dawn,” music by Brian S. Stambaugh; and “Suzy Dammit,” music by Robert L. Marcum. All songs and recordings copyright © 2022 Parc du Centaures Musique/ASCAP. All Rights Reserved.

Performers:
Robert L. Marcum – vocals, drums, percussion, handclaps
Brian S. Stambaugh – electric & acoustic guitar, keyboards, bass guitar, backing vocals
Featuring W.K. Boas – lap steel guitar; Mellissa Clancy – harmony vocals; Al Cosnett (aka "Bugmouth") – harmonica; Sammy Davis – harmony vocals; Rachel Litterall – Cassandra; Peter McCann – electric guitar; Martin Romie – bass guitar; The Never Pay Full Price Choir – backing vocals (The NPFP Choir is Mellissa Clancy, Sammy Davis, Rachel Litteral, Robert Marcum, Brian Stambaugh)
See Lyrics page for individual song credits.

Produced by Centaur Park. Recorded between 2010 and 2021 by Centaur Park at danger Bunker Studios and CP Studios, Springfield & Enon, OH except as follows: lap steel guitar on “Our Ohio” recorded at Doug Beaumier Studio, North Hampton, MA; harmonica on “Common Wall” recorded at FractalSoup Studios UK, engineered by Stephen Leonard Clarke; Mr. Davis’s backing vocals on “Truth,” and “Our Ohio” recorded at Sammy’s Place, Troy, OH. Mixed by Robert L. Marcum for Centaur Park at CP Studios, Springfield, OH. Mastered by Eric & Geno Stewart at Stewdio G, Middletown, OH.

Cover Painting: “By the Spring and the Fall, Shadows on the Wall,” © 2008 by Rebecca Lowther, from a photograph by Robert L. Marcum. Used with permission and gratitude.