Dream of You

Dream of You features nine of Todd’s original songs for guitar, piano and voice. A few of these tunes were written over forty years ago, and two were written in the last year. The primary guitar tracks and vocals were recorded simultaneously to give the songs a live feel, with Marcia Sloane’s gorgeous cello and Gwyneth Moreland’s splendid vocal harmonies added thereafter.

Song Notes

Wake Up Thinking About You

Written thirty years ago as a slow smoky blues, I never got around to recording this tune until now. When I was learning the tune again for this album, I sped up the tempo, added some swing, and loved the joyous feel.

Strange Confusion

This song is twenty years old. I’ve long imagined harmony parts for this song and was thrilled when they were all in place. I sang two harmony tracks, Gwyneth sang two, too, and I love how hip the song feels now.

Dream of You

The newest tune on the album, this was written a few months before we started working on the album. Following a ten-year break from playing the guitar to focus on my piano music, this tune was the first to come to me as I was regaining my guitar chops. Marcia’s cello and Gwyneth’s harmonies add to the dreamlike feel of the tune.

Alone and Lonely

I wrote this song fifty years ago. A vagabond in those days, I spent many hours a week standing by the sides of roads hitchhiking. This tune was born in those long hours of playing guitar while waiting and hoping for a ride.

Nothing Anybody Says (piano)

This is my newest piano tune, written within the last year. I dreamt of singing this with a female vocalist, and Gwyneth fulfilled my dream.

Whole Lotta Kissing

I wrote this tune in Berkeley, circa 2000, in response to a painful dismissal by a woman who clearly (erroneously) thought she was too good for the likes of me.

Hey Baby

This tune was written in Seattle in 1977. I was very poor, very lonely, and longing for an old love. I imagined Bonnie Raitt singing this song, and I actually tried to get it to her over the ensuing years without success. This song also forms the basis for my novel Night Train.

Agnes June

I wrote the words for this song in 1970 in New York City. A young German composer asked me to write lyrics for operatic lieder, and this was my favorite of the seven poems I created for him, none of which he used. I found the lyrics in my guitar case some years later and put them to music. Gwyneth’s harmonies on this tune are ethereal.

One Last Time (piano)

I wrote this song in Sacramento in 1989 and first performed it during a two-man show with the great poet D.R. Wagner. A song of resurrection.

Sample Clips

1. Wake Up Thinking About You
2. Strange Confusion
3. Dream Of You
4. Alone and Lonely
5. Nothing Anybody Says
6. Whole Lotta Kissing
7. Hey Baby
8. Agnes June
9. One Last Time

Dream of You is on Spotify.

You can view/listen to "Wake Up Thinking About You" on YouTube.