There are, however, some early drafts of album cuts like "Miserylou", "Use It", "Slide", "Runnin' Like a Dog", etc, which I include because some of them started out with different arrangements, vocals, guitar solos and so on. For instance, the original version of "Viva" is sung entirely by me (in the final version, we replaced my lead vocals with Devlin's) and its original guitar solo was one of Vernon Reid's out-takes from the "Use It" sessions! So there are some interesting things to hear.

The main reason why I include this stuff is to illustrate the main difference between writing/recording on tape and working on a computer: in the 4-track days, if a song didn't come together on the first try, I would generally throw it out. In digital, however, I can make major changes to a song's arrangement without having to start over from scratch. Example: the original idea for "I Dare You" had kick-ass verses but the chorus  wasn't working. So I simply deleted the chorus and flew a new one in there. Some of these songs underwent several major reworkings before they came to life.

Another big creative advantage to working in digital is the ability to build song ideas almost entirely in the computer by programming drum and synthesizer ideas. For a guy who pretty much always wrote songs with a guitar in his hands, this was really freeing, and pulled me out of some creative habits. Many of my best new songs came about in this way ("Don't Give Up On Giving In", "Nine Butterflies", "Rally 'Round the Queen" and many more).

In the digital audio realm, there is unlimited tracking, infinite editing potential and a world of sounds in VST instruments and effects plug-ins. Which has allowed me to sculpt and hone and poke and prod at some of these songs for days on end until they sounded absolutely ultimate. If you'll pardon the expression, I've been like a pig in sh*t! I don't miss the 4-track one bit.

I want to make a small point here: I am not above using studio trickery of any kind to get a desired effect. However I do NOT auto-tune my vocals. For the record.

For several months, while I was learning how to get around in Cubase, I  re-recorded a lot of older songs, so I could just focus on accelerating my learning curve rather than worry about song writing. This is why you'll hear souped-up versions of songs that already appear on this website in 4-track form ("Animal Wars", "Hotter Than the Sun", "Scream Angel, Scream", etc). Then, once I felt confident in my technical skills, I started writing new stuff. This is where songs like "Nine Butterflies", "The Burning Wreck of Love" and "Slide" came in. The cream of this crop ended up on the first BLACK SUGAR TRANSMISSION CD, which I put out in fall of 2007.

Of course there are some covers, too, for good measure.

Hope you enjoy the music -- it's absolutely some of the best I've ever made.

Now, hit that PLAY button.