I’m actually really, really excited this song made the countdown. I thought it stood no chance because it is not that well-known of a Carbon Leaf song being an Amazon-exclusive bonus track of their 2009 album. Then votes started coming in and it got into the top 50. Then more votes came in and it kept climbing up. Before I knew it, it was the end of the countdown and somehow “Tip Toe” ended up at #22. 22! Well-known or not, I think it’s a really strong statement to just how good of a song this is. It’s not an overly complicated song either. In fact, it’s pretty straight-forward. It’s got a gentle, but ominous guitar rhythm that pretty much stays the same through the whole song except for some chord changes. As far as I can hear, there’s a lack of rhythm section here, but with the way the guitars play you might not even know it at first. Being a percussive rhythm to begin with and with some subtle notes in the background, they really do fill a drum & bass role which is just outstanding for guitars. There is a beautifully arranged string part in there as well that just backs-up that slightly ominous feeling more and more.

Lyrically, I think “Tip Toe” might be one Barry Privett’s finest works. I don’t often include whole stanzas, but let’s take a look:

“Tip toe, tip toe. Tip toe, tip toe out of your heart.
And I’m not that proud, I’m not that proud at all,
But I don’t know how to gently break your fall.
Forgive me I’m a coward and a stray,
And I don’t know how to boldly walk away.
Forgive me I’m a coward and a stray,
And I don’t know how to boldly walk away.
So I tip toe, tip toe out of your heart.”

There’s that ominous feeling from the music for you. It’s so poignant and something I’m sure most people have felt before. It’s not easy to break someone’s heart and it sure as hell takes courage that most people don’t have. The song captures it so perfectly that you almost have yourself feeling bad for the coward here instead of the woman who won’t get the closure she deserves. All in all, such an amazingly written song. Whether it was 50 or 1, I’m just beyond happy it made the list.

Song: Tip Toe
Album: Nothing Rhymes With Woman
Year: 2009

As I said, the song is an extremely laid-back folk song that almost reminds me of a folk song your grandfather teaches you over a bonfire in the backyard. As Barry croons, the drums pat away, and the guitars strum, I can almost smell the embers burning in front of my nose. It sure helps matters with the lyrics telling the story of a family gone awry, but it’s the melody and the strong vocal work that make this a strong addition to the Love Loss Hope Repeat album. Seeing it live really accentuates that old-timey, folk feeling of the song. Huddled around their Grand Ole Opry mic, they gather around with the washboard in tow for the percussion and sing away like it’s 1940 and you’re waiting for the radio broadcast that night. Oh, the fire has to be there too.

I’ll say that Love Loss Hope Repeat is not one of my favorite Carbon Leaf albums. It’s got a lot going on for it, but doesn’t seem as cohesive as their other great albums like Echo Echo, Nothing Rhymes With Woman, Indian Summer, and even Shadows In The Banquet Hall. It’s a band that seems to be heading in different directions and they don’t know what that direction is quite yet. In my opinion, the album has a lot of songs that don’t quite live up to their potential, but has others that really stand out in comparison. “Block Of Wood” is one of those very strong songs that I can’t help but nod my head along to as the drum beat rolls on. Ultimately though, I can’t be too harsh on Love Loss Hope Repeat. It does contain what I believe to be the finest Carbon Leaf song out there. More on that later though…

Song: Block Of Wood
Album: Love Loss Hope Repeat
Year: 2006

This song is just a hot mess. A hot mess of vocals, lyrics, folk melodies, soaring guitar lines, random percussive instruments, and contradictory bass lines. This really is one of those songs you need to put on some headphones for and just blast the volume all the way to 11. You’ll really hear all the subtle & random things going on during the song and it really accentuates the loveably weird inflections Barry puts on some of the lyrical lines.

The song is really reflective of the Shadows In The Banquet Hall album. It’s not really what the band is at all anymore, but definitely set the stage for the later albums. Crazy folk rhythms, the background guitar fills, the crazy lyrical stories & lines, random vocal lifts; it is full of a bunch of little things that would become Carbon Leaf trademarks only an album later. They may have taken a turn into Irish melodies for the next albums, but this folk backbone the band developed here really opened the floodgates for everything to come. You might not think it, but without this album, we probably never would have gotten a “Life Less Ordinary” or “What About Everything?” Listen to the song and think about it carefully: you might hear some traits & tricks that show up in those two songs despite them sounding nothing like Barry wailing “Attica” over and over again.

Song: Attica’s Flower Box Window
Album: Shadows In The Banquet Hall
Year: 1997

Now that’s a guitar hook. How can we talk about “Shine” and not mention that guitar hook…or that guitar statement rather? Of course, it wouldn’t be Carbon Leaf without a cool little folk rhtyhm to fill in the space between. I know I’m just repeating the same stuff over and over again by this point, but the guitar work in Carbon Leaf is absolutely ridiculous and this song is no excuse. I would like to say that that’s not my favorite part of the song though. The vocal work, especially the backing & call-and-response, is just an immense amount of fun.

Seriously, what happened to call-and-response singing? I know it’s Beatle-esque and sometimes outdated, but I’d be hard pressed to find many modern songs better at it than this. Of course, who wants wooing call-and-response lyrics? Shout it! Shout it like it means something! Like I said, the vocals in this song are ridiculous and the lyrics really help it get there. “I’d like to change the world/it’s easier than changing me.” That’s honesty right there and with the way it’s sung, makes it one of the more memorable Carbon Leaf lines around. I really don’t have much else to say. Listen to the first 30 seconds and you’ll see what we’re all talking about with the song.

Song: Shine
Album: Echo Echo
Year: 2001

There are so many simple things about this song that make it great. First let’s talk about the obvious: the drums! All he is doing them is over and over again as the verse progresses, but Jesus Tap-Dancing Christ if it isn’t enough to make you stop and pay attention. Of course, the drum work through the chorus is fine too, but there are very few simple things that musicians can do that really capture your undivided attention as well as really make a song. As the guitar strums along and the steel guitar wails in the background, you just wait for that drum to kick in and give everything that much more weight, that much more importance. God, I could never be a drummer. Every song would be about doing as little as possible to see what I could get the audience to feel…and I’d fail….worse than Creed.

The guitar work is excellent in this song as well with a perfectly fit electric solo, the main acoustic melody, and how the steel guitar really echoes the sentiments of the narrator. And the lyrics. Remember how I said Barry Privett writes some of the best one-line lyrics around. Well, let’s piggy-back and just commend how he can open a song with such a powerful line. He’s done it a lot already. “This Is My Song, Toy Soldiers, Follow The Lady;” there’s so many more. This is just one of those great opening lines…or opening statements. “I need to feel redeemed.” No wonder the drums kick in so boisterously. I’ll end by saying this is one of those Carbon Leaf songs you really need to see live to experience. The drums & the steel guitar are all enhanced ten-fold by the atmosphere and Barry always delivers on this song. Always, always.

Song: Under The Wire
Album: Love Loss Hope Repeat
Year: 2006

Surprise or not, the song does hold a spot in my heart and is a track I look forward to Indian Summer. As I infer it, the narrator sings about using music to cure his depression as love is lost yet again. Love lost or not, who hasn’t used music to cure whatever funky mood they’re in? Whether it’s blaring The Clash when you don’t feel like going to work or playing a family one’s favorite tunes after they pass, it really is going to cure your ailing condition. With every song I learn the words to, with every album I quickly digest, and with every new band I obsess over, I get closer to knowing that laughter isn’t the best medicine. Music is. Of course, you could blare some Lonely Island and get the best of both worlds, huh?

This song really nails that sentiment though and it sure helps with the music going around the words. There’s a lot going around in here actually. At one point, I think I counted four guitar parts. The mandolin melody, a strumming acoustic guitar, a sweeping distorted guitar, and what sounded like a talk box in the background. I turned up the song and it’s actually a faint sweeping echo of the vocals that give it a cool old-timey radio effect. It’s so subtle that I don’t think I ever noticed it until I stopped to think about what was really going on in the song. Putting this much in one song is sure to distract you from whatever is bothering you too especially when you find a cool hidden thing like that effect. Surprise entry or not, the song really hits it out of the park.

Song: When I’m Alone
Album: Indian Summer
Year: 2004

Catchy Riffs, sweet one-liners, and a swanky instrumental break: how could you not love Carbon Leaf? “Shot, take it in. Shot of Indigo.” Who doesn’t love saying that in a hurried hush with the bullet really hitting your lips? I love the clever build-up to this too. The Pixies may have trademarked the soft verse/loud chorus style, but they could have never imagined it in a folk setting like this and it really nails the song. That snare hit lead up into before shouting, “American Tale,” quickly makes it a song you know you aren’t going to forget anytime soon.

Really that’s all I got guys. I try and listen to each song a few times before writing this so I can have something fresh in mind to write about. It’s not that I didn’t get any ideas to write about for this song, but more that after the fourth listen, I found myself to wrapped in tapping my foot and shouting out indigo as much as possible. If my wife wasn’t next time, I might have jumped off the couch during the instrument break and just started going nuts. There’s no shame in that either. The song is excellent and tons of fun to listen to no matter where. Oh, by the way – I’m on my fifth listen now and the instrumental break is on. Gotta go!

Song: American Tale
Album: Ether-Electrified Porch Music
Year: 1999