MY MUSIC, IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER, starting at the upper left with (1) All Come Home is a set of original songs, followed by (2) The Country Life is a set of traditional tunes. (3) Westward is a collaboration with Gayla Drake Paul—two friends playing guitar, fiddle, banjo, mandolin, and resophonic guitar, and singing fine and robust harmonies together. (4) Acoustic Muse and (5) The Lion's Cage are original works.

(6) Prairie Schooner is a set of old folk songs featuring banjo and mandolin. (7) Hard Times contains some great American folk and blues standards, with one original instrumental. (8) Airs & Flings is a foray into Irish music, alternating tender ballads with upbeat instrumental work.

(9) Get Used to the Light features several original blues tunes and several original ballads. (10) Way Downtown is upbeat old-time, with fiddle and banjo. (11) What You Leave Behind is original blues work, bringing piano into the mix. (12) It's a Small, Small Town combines original and traditional monologues with Celtic flatpicking. (13) Bright Morning Stars is all traditional, with a hymn, an Irish lullaby, some Child ballads, and two comedy songs.

(14) Music from the Moon is a set of guitar compositions I created one winter, after adapting the double dropped-D banjo tuning to guitar. (15) Flang That Thang is clawhammer banjo, with four vocal tunes. (16) Backroads Blues is original and traditional blues. (17) All the Livelong Day is Celtic flatpicking, with two Celtic ballads and some original guitar work.

(18) The Utmost Farthing contains some of my favorite folksongs, with an original guitar composition and a tender song about fatherhood. (19) Bitter Sweet contains some of my favorite old-time and bluegrass tunes, with the Irish tune "Pretty Peg" and the vaudeville song "Don't You Dare Touch It." (20) Wheel of Misfortune, in bluesy style, offers ten original songs, one with lyrics by my brother Terry, and introduces fiddle into the mix. (21) Bluegrass and Blues is just that—acoustic country blues standards and hard-driving bluegrass.

(22) Mountaintop contains 11 original songs—mostly love songs—and the slave ballad "No More Cane." (23) Rebirth is mostly blues—half original and half traditional. (24) Emptiness is nine original songs and one fiddle tune, including the ethereal "Roses & Wine" and a ballad about folksinger Jim Garland (a labor organizer, protest singer, and friend of Pete Seeger's). (25) 99.3 is original blues and folk, with a cover of Ewan McColl's "Dirty Old Town."

(26) Nemesis incorporates the modal tuning used in "Music from the Moon" and depicts a number of the Greek gods and goddesses musically. (27) Crumble to Dust has some country flavor, a little jazz, and an upbeat blues tune, along with two more portraits of the Greek gods. (28) Echo & Narcissus contains two more Greek god songs, along with some old bluegrass standards.(29) Wide Open Spaces contains a cover tune I think of as beatnik bop, with some upbeat blues, a Dave Macon song, a Utah Philips song, and some original work.

(30) The Well of Song combines three new original songs, four traditional songs, and covers of John Hurt, Lawrence Wilson, and Elizabeth Cotten. (31) Pictures in My Mind features four new original songs, with covers of Fats Waller's "Loafin' Time," Dave Mason's "Lonely Ones," and Van Morrison's "Irish Heartbeat." (32) Map of Paradise includes four original songs, the old shape-note hymn "Samanthra," the blues standard "Delia," and my interpretation of the Cajun song "Jolie Blon."

(33) Game of Perception has a country flavor, though several of the songs owe something to blues and jazz. Half of the songs on this CD are new vocal songs. Four are new instrumentals. The remaining song is a version of Robert Burns' "Green Grow the Rushes-O." (34) Transformation is a mixture of original modal work with dobro, piano, guitar, and voice; and some traditional tunes with three-part harmonies. Three of the songs are about the Greek gods, a theme started in "Nemesis" and carried through sporadically on subsequent CDs.

(35) Cronos is a mixed bag of blues, a Greek god song, and the 1920s jazz standard "Sometimes I'm Happy." (36) Poseidon features six new original works, two traditional bluegrass songs, and a long lament for a lost queen. (37) One Just Man features a number of longer poem-like songs, along with a handful of old-time country and gospel tunes. (38) On the Road features three new free-form lyrical ballads, along with some traditional instrumentals and old blues tunes from Blind Blake and the Rev. John Wilkins.

(39) Heartwood features an adaptation of a 1920s blues tune "Bad Luck Blues" by Blind Lemon Jefferson, several original lyrical tunes with banjo, dobro, and guitar; instrumental work on guitar and banjo, and an arrangement of the traditional blues tune "Another Man Done Gone." (40) Old Blues is a set of ten old blues tunes I've arranged and performed from artists like Blind Boy Fuller, Robert Johnson, Blind Willie Johnson, and Leadbelly. (41) Old Pictures features blues, swing, some original ballads, and a couple of Doo Wop tunes from the 1950s.

(42) The Midwest is half new original work and half old blues songs from Blind Blake, Sleepy John Estes, and others. (43) Pantheon is a compilation of my songs of the Greek gods. 15 of the 20 songs on this CD are taken from previous CDs. Five new songs appear here: "Hera," "Athena," "Aphrodite," "Pantheon" (an introductory gloss of the gods), and "The Daemon." (44) Life of Rhyme is ten new original works: bluesy cuts with inventive lyrics and a variety of beats. "Flathead" is the story of a big catfish. "Sorry to See Her Go" is about a funeral. "Life of Rhyme" is a humorous song about writing songs.

(45) The Barn Out Back is a collection of seven original vocal songs. Most of them are lyrical songs, some using a modal-tuned guitar (DADGAD or CGCGCD). The title song is a lightly rocking tune. (46) Heartsick Lovesick Fool is a progression of stories about relationships, from childhood to middle age. It features 12 original songs with voice, guitar, dobro, and bass. (47) Song Mill is an exploration of the relationship between poetry and music. Several of the songs are poetry loosely coupled with chord progressions. (The title song, by contrast, is a new old-timey tune.) At the end of the CD is a seven and a half minute musical rendition of the ancient Welsh poem "Hanes Taliesin."

(48) Lonesome is a tribute to great country music, including covers of four songs by Hank Williams, Sr., two bluegrass tunes, a Texas swing tune, and one that originates with the Carter Family. (49) Snow Across the Road is about the experience of growing up musically, from touring with a rock and blues band to experiencing the old-time music scene. "Bringing the Horizon" is a jazzy tune. (50) Ship of Love includes nine new original songs, ranging from the rockabilly song "The Dirt on Me" to the haunting "Courtroom of Conscience."

(51) Country Blues is named after my arrangement of a Doc Boggs songs from 1927. This CD features several original introspective ballads, several old-time country tunes, and a Blind Lemon Jefferson blues tune, "Broke and Hungry Blues." (52) Locks & Keys begins my exploration of the Child Ballads, a collection of songs reaching into the Middle Ages, surviving and adapting to new cultures. "Mackerel of the Sea" is one such ballad. Another is "Tam Lin." This CD also contains my adaptation of Blind Boy Fuller's "I Want Some of Your Pie." "Rusty Old Boat" is my midlife self-assessment, in a nautical context.

(53) Our Daily Song features four blues tunes from the early 20th century, three new original works, a Child Ballad, and a banjo/mandolin rendition of an old-time waltz. (54) Ballads & Jigs continues my foray into the Child Ballads, with six ballads arranged for voice, guitars, mandolin, and banjo—along with three Irish jigs to lighten the mood. (55) Just One More Song starts with the Depression-era ballad, "Down on Penny's Farm," then features a Blind Lemon Jefferson song, "Matchbox Blues." At the heart of this CD are four new original works, followed by my adaptations of three Child ballads.

(56) Songs of Love & Shipwreck features a shipwreck song, the Bahaman calypso tune "Run Come See." The CD includes four new original songs, some old blues tunes, and a Woody Guthrie song. (57) Old & Broken contains four old blues standards, two new original country ballads, covers of Randy Newman's "Mr. President" and Hoagy Carmichael's "Skylark," and my version of "I Know You Rider." (58) Black Dog Blues contains three old blues tunes, a Bahaman Calypso song ("Mama Out De Light"), two instrumentals with banjo and dobro, and several new original lyrical works.

(59) The Lost Soul features an old-time gospel tune (the title track), a song by Archie Fisher ("Witch of the Westmereland"), an old-time country song ("Been All Around This World"), two new introspective ballads ("Two Doves" and "Trout"), a pair of songs based in Celtic myth ("Finn MacCool" and "Hen Wen"), and several instrumentals ("Hot Dog," "Temperance Reel," and "Dobrology"). (60) River Night Song features eight new original works and two traditional songs. (61) Try Love features the old-timey ballad "A Picture from Life's Other Side," two new bluesy numbers ("On the Strip" and "I Never Knew Love"), a rendition of Julie Gold's "Try Love," and a cover of John Kay's "My Sporting Life."

(62) Headin' Down the Road consists of eight new original songs and three traditional tunes. "Winding Roads" and "Jump and Jive" are upbeat, swinging blues. "One Meatball" and "Nobody Knows You" are old blues standards. "White House" blues is an upbeat traditional song about the assassination of President McKinley. (63) Good Old Songs features my adaptations of 10 American folk and country songs, ranging from poetic and melancholy to upbeat and comic. (64) Small Town Sunday combines old blues, new original work on guitar, banjo, dobro, and piano; and a couple of nostalgia tunes from the 1940s and 1960s.

(65) Alchemy compares human development to a chemical process. This CD includes covers of Don Gibson's "Troubles of My Own," Billie Holiday's "God Bless the Child," the old-time tune "Black-Eyed Suzie," and a handful of new original songs, ranging from narrative ballads to upbeat acoustic rock. (66) The Source of Song combines old-time country ballads and fiddle tunes, five new original songs, and my arrangement of the 1927 blues tune "James Alley Blues." (67) The Turning Point includes three old blues tunes and one old country song, remakes of two of my earlier songs, and a handful of new original songs.

(68) Menagerie is predominantly American folksongs culled from historic sources, along with a Sonny Terry blues tune, "The Sporting Life," and a new original work, "Swinging Door." This CD features much banjo work, along with mandolin and fiddle. (69) Wild Over Me draws on American and Celtic tradition, with three historic blues tunes, several Child ballads, a cowboy ballad, and an original comic song. (70) The title song of Over the Factory Wall is about a man writing home to his sweetheart in Iowa from a factory in the city. "Crawdad" and "Single Girl" are upbeat country tunes. "Well Below the Valley" has a man and a maid meeting at the well. "Edward" is my arrangement of a Child ballad about fratricide. "As I Went Out for a Ramble" is the hard-luck story of a hobo in love.

(71) The Man in the Wood features two Child ballads, a blues tune, several new original works, and a musical interpretation of Andrew Marvell's famous seduction poem "To His Coy Mistress." (72) Broke Down Blues is devoted to my arrangements and adaptations of nine blues tunes from the first third of the 20th century. I adapt and perform songs by artists including Charlie Patton, Blind Boy Fuller, and Robert Johnson. (73) Wild Rippling Waters combines original blues with old ballads. (74) Banty Rooster Blues features several new original gospel-blues songs, adaptations of blues tunes by Charlie Patton and Robert Johnson, and a handful of old-time country tunes.

(75) An Angel Fell from Heaven Yesterday combines two new original songs, remakes of three previously released original works, and four new adaptations of songs from traditional sources. (76) Bull Doze Blues includes my adaptations of blues numbers by Robert Johnson and Henry Thomas; two new original works; reprises of three of my earlier recordings; and two old-time banjo tunes. (77) Jack O' Diamonds combines old-time country arrangements with old blues arrangements, from the marrow of the American musical tradition. (78) Casey Jones is a tribute to the works of two early American blues musicians—Gus Cannon and Henry Thomas. Also on this CD are my interpretations of two railroad songs ("Railroad Bill" and "Casey Jones") and one original song ("The Scapegoat").

(79) The Drunken Poet is ten new original songs colored by blues influences from previous works. (80) The Wolf combines five new original works with my renditions of five historical blues songs by Henry Thomas, Gus Cannon, and Washington Phillips. (81) Orpheus consists of five new songs plus historical works by Henry Thomas and Washington Phillips. Styles range from lyrical verse and upbeat light rock to country and down-home. (82) Down Home features my interpretations of historic blues material by Gus Cannon, Charlie Jordan, and Charley Patton. Also included are two bluegrass songs and a comic gospel tune, "God Don't Like It."

(83) Boat's Up the River is a collection of old-time country and blues tunes with influences from Big Bill Broonzy, Fred McDowell, Clarence Ashley, and Dock Boggs. (84) The Willow Tree consists of my adaptations of old-time country and blues tunes, along with two a capella vocal numbers. (85) We Can't Go On Like This is half new original work and half adaptations of historical works. (86) Spread Your Wings is seven early blues adaptations and one new original song. (87) Engine 143 is my arrangements of early blues works by Victoria Spivey, Luke Jordan, and others, with one railroad wreck song.

(88) A Cowboy's Soul (Ain't White as Snow) features several authentic cowboy songs, learned from the singing of Harry Jackson, a Johnny Mercer spoof of the cowboy life, an original instrumental, and several blues jumps. (89) Prairie Music combines early American hillbilly and ragtime music with straight blues, one original song about migration and music (the title track), and an old folk song about a husband left to sit at home and rock the cradle. (90) What the Crow Told Me is a cross-section of early American music, freely adapted from sources including Dock Boggs, the Allen Brothers, Leadbelly, and Jazz Gillum. (91) Woe is the Way comprises five new original works, two historic blues tunes, and one cowboy song.

(92) Didn't He Ramble is a collection of adaptations of American folk and blues tunes, with one original work, "Here With Me," first released on my initial recording All Come Home. (93) River of Song combines cowboy songs, early American blues, and two new original works, including the title song. (94) Your Feet's Too Big combines original and traditional blues and country work. (95) Highway 30 Blues is mostly blues, including several remakes of my own work from earlier CDs, the new title cut, and some historic blues from the late 1920s and early 1930s. (96) Golden Day is nine new songs, blues and jazz, plus one Child ballad. (97) Tumbleweed has four new original songs and five traditional tunes from the archives of blues, blues gospel, and old-time country music. (98) Long Time Gone is my adaptations of old country and blues songs, with one original work, "Sad Alone," written in the style of the old songs. (99) The Song is the Seed combines five new works with five adaptations of traditional songs. (100) Looking Toward the Light is nine adapted songs and one new original work. The adapted songs are primarily from the early American country tradition.

(101) The Dead is five new original works plus three adaptations of traditional songs. The original works include character portraits of working people, an adaptation of Gerard Manley Hopkins' 1819 poem "God's Grandeur," and a pair of lyrical works. The adaptations include my renditions of Willie McTell's "Searching the Desert for the Blues" and "The Brown Girl," a Child ballad also sometimes referred to as "Lord Thomas and Fair Ellender." (102) Progress combines old-time country music with blues and one original jazz number. The centerpiece of this CD is a seven and a half minute blues adaptation of the song "Drunk Driver."

(103) The Cherry Tree features four new original songs, mixed with traditional country and blues. (104) Though it begins with an old country song ("Moonshiners," adapted from the Roscoe Holcomb version), Long Gone John is primarily a blues CD, with my adaptations of songs from Son House, Frank Stokes, and Jimmie Rodgers. The title song was written by ragtime piano pioneer W.C. Handy. (105) New River Train presents my adaptations of ten traditional songs originating in the American South and West—old-time country, Gospel, ragtime, blues, and a cowboy song. (106) More Old Blues contains my adaptations of eight prewar blues songs by artists like Son House, Bo Chatmon, Lonnie Johnson, Kid Bailey, and Luke Jordan. (107) Poetics reprises five of my songs from earlier CDs, with new arrangements and instrumentation, and introduces three new original songs.

(108) My Best represents my best songwriting, playing and singing—12 works that span my earliest recordings to my most recent ones, and my stylistic range from country and folk to blues. (109) Looking Glass comprises remakes of eight earlier songs, most with drums and slide guitar, and two new songs — "Long Dark Road" and "Looking Glass." (110) The Eyes of a Song features remakes of eight of my earlier works, with new arrangements featuring drums and bass, and two old blues standards—"Big Fat Woman Blues" and "Built for Comfort." (111) Down with the Old Canoe is eleven songs from the heart of the American folk music tradition—folk songs, blues tunes, songs about drinking and roving and rambling.

(112) A Beer at the Legion with You features remakes of six of my earlier acoustic works, with full percussion, piano, bass, and lead instruments including slide guitar, mandolin, fiddle, and banjo. This CD also includes my adaptations of Hank Williams' "Ramblin' Man" and a blues tune, "Stack o' Dollars," first recorded by Charley Jordan in 1931. (113) At Home features a balance of traditional country and blues, with new original works. (114) In Our Town is a return to my acoustic roots, with original lyrical works, original instrumental works, old-time country standards, and Irish picking on banjo and mandolin. (115) One Friday Morning is a set of ten original songs, performed with voice and acoustic guitar. (116) Black is the Color is a set of eight traditional songs, some derived from the song-collecting work of Alan Lomax. Blues, old-time country, and a little Celtic material.