The next song, "Sometimes A River", is replete with hooks, and wistful realism that life can change course mid-stream. I love the imagery of "You danced in my dream in a white dress/I watched from the top of the stairs/ I woke up looking to find you/But you were not there"
"Big Compromise" is provided by the guitarists Billy Nershi and Jim Lauderdale. Again, the piece is light on orchestration and baroque, relying on a simple melody and soft vocals. Sometimes, breaking up is 'the big compromise'. "There was this couple out on the street/One look could show they were feeling the heat/All I could think as the man turned away was/I wish I could give him the courage to say/You're right, you're right, it's time for the big compromise"
"Silence In Your Head" is balladry at its best. This is so good it puts Coldplay to shame. "The silence in your head/Is louder than a hurricane/The silence in your head/Will never let you go/With the rising of her chest/You feel the shallow breath/Will nothing be the same?/All you give is all you get". Kyle takes the reins, aided by Malcolm Burn in the writing.
"Drive" pumps up the tempo, and is a quintessential song of the road, or Pather Panchali, if you'll allow me the pun. A true collaborative effort, most of the band members chip in on the composition, along with guest work by John Perry Barlow. Kyle's keyboarding is similar to work on the early albums."Highway glimmered with morning dew/Reflected the rain in your eyes/The trees pass by like Van Gogh's brush/What were you leaving behind?"
"45th of November" with Kyle and Robert Hunter is a mystical look at the quantum ways of the future. The difficulty of fathoming the connections between cause and effect, here and there, 'the proper combinations' are explored, with the insight that 'we keep the faith of years/Or we blow the whole thing up in one good fight'
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