The album gets of to a great start with the first track “Beautiful World.” The tune and the lyrics are simple and uncomplicated, yet it has an infective rhythm and melody. The lyrics have a touch of melancholy but they are joyful and upbeat. It is a beautiful song that puts a smile on your face.

The heart of the album (tracks 5-9) really show the strength of Colin’s range:
Track five is a dark and yet humane song about children entitled Children’s Parade. The lyrics are vague and haunting:

All the boys and girls have gone away
They never really had much to say
They took of all their clothes and their shoes
Politely asking to be excused

They’re children on parade
They have secrets that they share
They’re the children on parade
And nobody knows . . .

The music is also slower and more serious on this track. Although its subject is heavy it avoids too much sentiment; it has a sense of moral seriousness. It leaves you thinking of the dark fate of children across the world.

Track six is one of my favorite songs on the album. My brilliant feat is a meditation on fame and success and its impact on ones life. It has a touch of tongue-in-cheek humor as well:

To my brilliant feet
They all pay heed
I hear the crows roar oh so loudly

To my brilliant feet
I make grown men weap
And still my eyes grow oh so cloudy

Track seven follows up this meditation on success with a meditation on procrastination and melancholy: Waiting For My Real Life to Begin. The irony of the song is that the lyrics could be read as describing self-deception or hope. The music doesn’t reveal the meaning as Colin’s voice and guitar are upbeat and strong but not without a hint of doubt. This is one of the songs where both Colin’s voice and guitar skills come through brightly. His voice is powerful and crisp and his guitar sets the pace. This is the kind of song that makes you want to see the set live.

Track eight, Don’t Wait Up, switches back to melancholy. It lacks the darkness of a true blues song but rather has the tender sort of heartbreak of a folk song. The lyrics reveal enough so that we can all relate but leave the details to our imagination:

Her restless heart has set its sail
She can feel the waves washing over
She knows what life with you entails
You love her strength you despise your weakness

Track eight, Lifeline, takes this melancholy mood and turns it into a plea for help. It takes that fatalistic sense of loss and adds a touch of hope; a belief that love lost can be saved. The chorus sets the tone: