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LOOK BACK!

by Bruce Madden

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  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    A collection of songs written by Bruce Madden that will grab and shake you viscerally as well as mentally. Some of these songs have been previously released on out-of-print albums: Zombie Without A Home (2002) and Talking With The Angels (2004). One song is from the album Through The Amp (2020) which is still in print. Included are three bonus items that were recorded as demos in 1993 and one radio live on air performance from 1992.
    If you are listening on a computer, Bruce recommends headphones to get the full stereo effect of some of these songs.
    Shipping included with compact disc purchase for USA.

    Includes unlimited streaming of LOOK BACK! via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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      $15 USD or more 

     

  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      $10 USD  or more

     

1.
We'll All Be Gone 04:10
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We’ll All Be Gone (Words & Music by Bruce Madden) You been hangin' 'round With dysfunctional clowns No wonder you been Feelin' down But you don't need To live your live this way There's only one thing for certain, We'll all be gone some day Well I've been good And I've been bad But the worst feeling I know Is when I've been had But no one here needs To understand these blues There's only one thing for certain We'll all be gone someday Just live your life The way you want to Cause nobody here Has to walk 'round in your shoes But everybody here Has to pay their own kind of blues There's only one thing for certain We'll all be gone someday You look at me And I look at you You act like an angel People say I'm the devil's fool But what do they know Living their life inside of a cage There's only one thing for certain We'll all be gone some day.
2.
Leave This Town 03:24
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Leave This Town (Words & Music by Bruce Madden) I'm ready Said, I'm ready Yes, I'm ready to leave this town And nobody here can hold me down I'm tired Said, I'm tired Yes, I'm tired of being your fool Now, I'm gonna make my own rules I'm shoutin' Said, I'm shoutin' Yes, I'm shoutin' I'm a free man Gonna make you finally understand I'm ready Said, I'm ready Yes, I'm ready to leave this town And nobody here can hold me down I'm drivin' Said, I'm drivin' Yes, I'm drivin' down this highway Nobody here is gonna get in my way
3.
Zombie Without A Home 03:40
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Zombie Without A Home (Words & Music by Bruce Madden) I've spent my whole life Or at least part of yesterday Watching so many colorful people Wondering what they all had to say I ride the seahorse Beneath the surface of all my pain And I would reemerge hopeful Before sinking below the waves again You wore the jewelry and I, I wore all of the blame Part of you was an Aztec clone- My heart beat in the palm of your hand I stood there staring Just like a zombie without a home I stood there staring Just like a zombie without a home I'm not here looking For some kind of emotional rosetta stone Your truth is Pompeii-molded My ashes scatter across the floor You stand there staring Just like a zombie without a home You stand there staring Just like a zombie without a home
4.
Drifter 02:29
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Drifter (Words & Music by Bruce Madden) Tell me your story I'll tell you mine You might have to save yours For some other time You see I'm a drifter And that's all I really wanna be I've been around A time or two You hurt me And I hurt you 'Cause I'm a drifter And that's all I really wanna do Never built a pyramid Or a house I owned In the middle of a crowd I feel all alone 'Cause I'm a drifter And that's why I'm bound to go There's a lot of places I still wanna see The faces change But not the personalities Yeah, I'm a drifter And that's all I really wanna be Pontius Pilate asked What is truth? I guess it all depends On your point of view Yeah, I'm a drifter And that's all I'm gonna do Some folks say The devil lives inside But I've seen more hell On the outside Yeah I'm a drifter And that's all I will confide If I stop here Can you spare a dime The world's my oyster But I don't have much time You see, I'm a drifter And that's all I really wanna be
5.
Sister Mary 04:34
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Sister Mary © Words & Music by Bruce Madden Tell me Sister Mary, tell me Just don't read the cards too fast Tell me everything you know Just make my future last......... I know you're a holy woman But do you practice the voodoo too? Look at my palm now Tell me everywhere the lines will go Will I be healthy happy and wise Or does my excessive curiosity show? Tell me everything you know Just make the future last I know you're a holy woman But do you dabble in the voodoo too? Can you see me at night in the city Walkin' thru your back streets Queens and queers and jungle teens Red bricks, the steam and the heat Release me from this nightmare The one that won't let me sleep Sometimes I hear the sound of spaceships And vampires on a midnight creep Tell me Sister Mary, tell me Just don't read the cards too fast Tell me everything you know Just make my future last...
6.
Bisexing The Blues 03:54
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Bisexing The Blues (Words & Music by Bruce Madden) I know this woman who’s been hurt too many times I could tell you stories about the woman hurt too many times I want to comfort her and I know that I could But in the end I might In the end I‘m afraid I might In the end I think I might, hurt her too She says she loves me and I know that means a lot This man wants another man A complicated blues But this is not a song A mixed up life can go wrong Well the man he doesn’t know I’m afraid he just might not know In the end will I let him know Will it hurt him too? I’ve lived in a prison all these years with the only key Couldn’t see the inside imprisoned on the outside of me A straight jacketed fool But this is not a song A mixed up life can go wrong How do I slow these things down? I’m over my head upside down I can’t slow my heartbeat down Am I a fool to you? Who wrote the script we live by when we act out life? There are no happy endings When you live a lie Yet who tells the truth? But this is not a song A mixed up life can go wrong You could end up all alone It’s a risk you have to take Better real than a living fake I just don’t know I know this woman who’s been hurt too many times I could tell you stories about the woman hurt too many times I want to comfort her And I know that I could But in the end I might I’m afraid that I just might In the end I think that I might Hurt her too
7.
Devil Is A Man 04:38
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Devil Is A Man (Words & Music by Bruce Madden) The devil is a man I've seen his face The devil is a man I've seen his face Look in the mirror You'll take his place Caught in the moment No thoughts at all Caught in the moment No thoughts at all We ride the mystery With no worries at all And I said: The devil is a man Look in the mirror You'll take my place Yeah, you'll take my place
8.
Talking With The Angels 04:28
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Talking With The Angels (Words & Music by Bruce Madden) So you talk to the angels And it's a mighty fine thing But it's always the devil Who get the last word in Angels are timid and shy Barely have a thing to say But the devil shows movies To complement word play Up there in heaven's domain Things remain pretty calm But down here in hell Bodies manage to stay warm Hold on now Which way is up? Hold on now Which way is down? Somebody turn me around I'm about shout aloud Which way is up? Which way is down? If you could talk with the angels Would you find the right words? But why is it the tempting devil Whose conversation makes you burn? The angels blow a cool philosophy Reading from their weighty tomes But it's always those little devils Acting out their vivid sex poems You might carry me to heaven door Push me through those pearly gates But the devil is selling cheap seats To the kind of show I crave Hold on now Which way is up? Hold on now Which way is down? Somebody turn me around I'm about shout aloud Which way is up? Which way is down?
9.
Razor's Edge 03:41
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Razor’s Edge (Words & Music by Bruce Madden) This old world is all screwed up I’m sick and tired I’ve had enough But what do you do when you’re sick of it You know already you will never fit Too many gods here They get the blues They keep you down You act a fool They don’t own heaven They don’t own hell Don’t be believin’ In what they sell The razor’s edge I’m on the razor’s edge I feel the razor’s edge in my head The razor’s edge I’m on the razor’s edge I feel the razor’s edge In my head It’s in your head It’s in your heart Don’t let them kill ya Don’t play their part Don’t fight their battles You’ll never win They'll steal your heart And call it sin This dream is real You hold the key Don’t let them tell you How you should feel They don’t own heaven They don’t own hell Don’t be believing In what they sell The razor’s edge I’m on the razor’s edge I feel the razor’s edge In my head The razor’s edge this is the razor’s edge I feel the razor’s edge In my head
10.
Drag 04:08
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Drag (Words & Music by Bruce Madden) It’s such a drag Everywhere I look I see your face I can’t escape You’re in the newspapers Or the tv news I seen you online I can’t escape you I’m wondering now What will you do? When someone comes along And takes it all away from you I’m wondering how You’ll see it through When the only image in view Is the face that broke your heart in two I’m on the ceiling You’re on the floor I’m on the outside You close the door The sound I hear is a dissonant roar My heart is bleeding Yours is xxx hardcore I’m wondering now What will you do? When someone comes along And takes it all away from you I’m wondering how You’ll see it through When the only image in view Is the face that broke your heart in two It’s such a drag It’s such a drag When things go wrong You feel justified And I write this song You deserve war To save yourself My heart is bleeding Yours is xxx hardcore I’m wondering now What will you do? When someone comes along And takes it all away from you I’m wondering how You’ll see it through When the only image in view Is the face that broke your heart in two I’m on the ceiling You’re on the floor I’m on the outside You close the door The sound I hear Is this dissonant roar My heart is bleeding Yours is xxx hardcore I’m wondering now What will you do? When someone comes along And takes it all away from you I’m wondering how You’ll see it through When the only image in view Is the face that broke your heart in two It’s such a drag
11.
Ain't Nothing But... 03:47
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Ain’t Nothing But... (Words & Music by Bruce Madden) You don’t need no high tone explanations You don’t need no biblical revelations To tell you why people do what they do If you listen you’ll hear it all around you It ain’t nothing but the blues I said the blues You don’t need no scholar’s dissertation You don’t need no reverend’s lamentation To tell you why people do what they do If you listen you’ll hear it all around you It ain’t nothing but the blues I said the blues You don’t need no to hear the devil’s desecration You don’t need to hear any angelic explanations To teach you why people do what they do If you listen you’ll hear it all around you It ain’t nothing but the blues I said the blues
12.
Coffin Bone 04:12
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Coffin Bone (Words & Music by Bruce Madden) When I woke up this morning I was all alone No one could hear me I felt like a coffin bone Like a coffin bone Everybody else is dead as far as I can know This world is darkness I feel like a coffin bone Like a coffin bone The demons are not dreams to wake up from The sun is gone down I feel like a coffin bone Like a coffin bone Too many times I wished for my dying day When the images of evil would not go away Now I'm living here in this blackness all alone Each day I wake up I feel like a coffin bone Like a coffin bone How many people in the world feel like me Watching inmates run the asylum of misery Too many times I wished for my dying day When the images of evil would not go away Now I'm living here in darkness all alone Each day I wake up I feel like a coffin bone Like a coffin bone
13.
The House Is On Fire 02:27
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The House Is On Fire (Words & Music by Bruce Madden) The house is on fire Everyone is runnin' 'round I said the house is on fire Everything is burnin' down It's time for you and me To sound a loud alarm It's time for you and me To ask what's goin' on? The fire's so damn hot There's ashes in the air The fire's so damn hot People burnin' over there The house is on fire Everyone is runnin' 'round I said the house is on fire Everything is burning down
14.
Watching It All Passin' By 02:17
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Watching It All Passin’ By (Words & Music by Bruce Madden) Nature says you won't last Everything must pass away But it doesn't matter much to me I'm gonna stand up anyway And pull down a handful of stars And get me an eyeful of sky And watch it all passin' by I've seen this mean old world From the inside out Watched as the angels burned While the demons shout Come with us just for awhile You can win with our sin And we can make you smile Some times I just have to grin Shake my head and laugh Not at you but at me Caught up in stupid anxieties And all I have to do is breathe And get an eyeful of sky And watch it all passin' by
15.
Tell Me Now 04:40
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Tell Me Now (Words & Music by Bruce Madden) Okay my head is spinning Wonderin’ about your state of mind You sleep so peacefully Some times I must be blind Yeah I must be blind I’ve seen all the sorrow Floating in your eyes But every time I see you cry It takes me by surprise Always by surprise So we pull up a friendly cloud We try to talk things out Oh it’s just passin by With memory on splash and flow It’s a full splash and flow Tell me now if you can Where do we go? Up here in the clouds Rain on our feet below Where do we go? Up here in the clouds With the rain on our feet below And a head full of searing doubt You smile a little And say I think I know Yeah I think I know Maybe tomorrow it will be alright Yeah tomorrow things will be alright
16.
Put The Gray Light Out 03:57
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Put The Gray Light Out (Words & Music by Bruce Madden) Put the gray light out A yellow wave band shouts It’s the purity of light The stars shoot out the night Hung up in this ancient dust Hazy reminders of us Struggling like the hungry ants Reaching upward toward the light I’m waiting for the great big bang It’s an oxygen rush A wonderous revelation Of light and of sound Still there’s a voice inside Quit your hanging around I think it’s time to push off now Deep into mental space Flying over reeds and grass And rushing blue streams My eyes are closed emitting light Fingertips dipped in stars An underwater dreaming state No worries no pain An endless rain of painted light Warm and perfect to the touch With you by my side tonight Warm and perfect to the touch You’ll be by my side tonight Warm and perfect to the touch
17.
Changing Skins 04:34
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Changing Skins (Words & Music by Bruce Madden) I’m changing skins No fool no giant Changing skins Into articulate whims The blast furnaces of incognito Rules these timid lizard features I’m changing skins in the middle of it Changing skins to win a moment’s freedom The light is bad I can’t see the changes Changing skins in the thick of it Oh I’m just changing my skin you know Changing sins to sin Like the church I’m drunk like a mendicant buffoon Howling at the moon Low and full seductively teasing Those swollen oceans Changing skins on an endless summer run I’m changing skins to touch the sun and to come undone Undone Unglued To bolt outside into the blue Into the blue season And to crack it open Crack open the brittle toys of pleasure Underneath the eyes of god Who smiles and likes to watch Changing skins To wrestle naked on a beach Changing skins And just to stay out of reach Of the perfect order of things

about

LOOK BACK! features songs recorded in 2002, 2004 (both albums out-of-print) and one song from 2020.
Listeners will also get three unreleased demo songs from 1993 and a rare radio 1992 recording of Bruce live on the air at WYCE in Michigan.
Shipping is included for the compact disc for all U.S. purchases.

credits

released September 25, 2021

Bruce Madden: vocals, harmonicas, guitars & slide guitars on all tracks, drumbourine, drum programming plus bass on track 2. Scott Brightup: drums on track 13. Dick Chiclet: additional guitar on tracks 5 & 13. E.C. Powers: bass on tracks 1, 8, 9, 10 and 12. Janet Shelby: bouzouiki on track 3. Jeff Durkee: WYCE radio programmer on track plus assorted WYCE personnel. 17. Sono Moro: photos. Mary Willey: layout.

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Bruce Madden Grand Rapids, Michigan

My love of harmonica began as a child in the South. My love of guitar came about a little later--I use it to compose songs-- for example all the songs on the 2022 release, Trouble Times.
I was born in Arkansas and lived in Texas, Louisiana and Virginia. Eventually, I lived in France for three years before settling in Boston for a time.
I live in Michigan now. ... more

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