Music

Click CD cover for songlist & previews, MP3 downloads & physical CD orders.
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You can also order a CD by sending $17 ($15 for CD + $2 shipping)
to Spook Handy, 109 Nichol Ave., #B, New Brunswick, NJ 08901

 Whatcha Gonna Do?
2007

“This is quintessential Spook Handy – witty and poignant.  The music is upbeat.  The songs paint pictures and tell stories about the world we live in today.  The stories raise questions that aren’t heard often enough in public discourse.  Yet, one question seems to be on everybody’s mind.  “Whatcha Gonna Do?”

The spirit of American folk music, its passion and sense of purpose, ring loud and clear in these songs and its message seems more relevant today than ever.”

– Bob Harris, Producer

Song List:

1. Do More with Less (5:09)
2. Mom & Pop’s Small Towne Corner Hardware Store (3:55)
3. Waist Deep in the Big Muddy (4:02)
4. Mrs. Michael Browne (3:37)
5. Death Came Anyway (4:19)
6. Your Flag Decal Won’t Get You Into Heaven Any More (3:02)
7. California Cool (4:30)
8. A Note to Saint Nick (3:47)
9. Whatcha Gonna Do? (3:34)
10. Heading for the Hague (4:10)
11. I Ain’t Afraid (2:59)
12. It’s Your War Now, Mrs. Bly (4:31)

 

Breakfast at Bill’s
2001

“Spook really understands how to write a good song that says something important. “Vote” should be played by people all over the country whenever there’s an election.”

… Pete Seeger

“Except for the fact we don’t pull down levers in a voting booths up here (in Canada), Spook Handy’s ‘Vote’ is a near-prefect fit.”

… Greg Schatzmann host of Sunday Coffee House – CJLX-FM, Ontario

Here’s another journey through my neighborhood. We’ll poke our heads into cafes, rural environs, college towns, and cities. We’ll listen in on the quirky circumstances which people create for themselves and their resolve to make the most of what would otherwise be mundane. We’ll start with a cheating song – or should I call it a creative solution to a rather unpleasant situation. Then we’ll work our way through dreams and schemes and end with a resolution to keep the journey alive.

– Spook Handy, songwriter

Spook Handy is accompanied on this album by violin, mandolin, slide guitar, acoustic bass, piano and other instruments. Spook’s solo rendition of this same collection of songs is available on the other album, “Breakfast by Myself”.

Song List:

1. Tube Timing Son of a Gun (3:51)
2. Next Train to New Orleans (4:16)
3. Missoula (4:04)
4. Santa’s Night Off (3:19)
5. Breakfast @ Bill’s (4:55)
6. Loaded (3:06)
7. Porch Top Blues (3:19)
8. Vote (3:35)
9. The Happy Song (4:02)
10. Finger Picker # 44 (3:35)
11. The Senior Blues (5:28)
12. Time Has Come to Go (4:31)

 

Breakfast by Myself
2001 Solo Album

This is Spook’s SOLO rendition of the collection of songs known as “Breakfast @ Bill’s”. Spook plays a Martin D-35 acoustic guitar, various harmonicas and sings on this album. The full band joins him on the other album, “Breakfast with Friends”.

I woke up today, with “Missoula” in my head. Yesterday, it was the “Senior Blues”. In fact, everyday this week I’ve found myself singing Spook’s songs throughout the day. So I put on the CD. And every time I listen to this record, I discover something new – some subtle inflection of his voice or guitar picking or occasional harmonica solo. Or maybe I suddenly recognize a subtle play on words in the lyrics.

Very few CD’s draw the listener in like this one does. I should know. I’ve produced hundreds of them. And the real pleasure of this record comes from Spook sharing his Soul through his music. His songs focus on the important things in life – happiness, spirituality and peace. They bring you to a place where love, fun and optimism are the coins of commerce. This is Spook’s world. Welcome to it!

– Bob Harris, Producer and friend

Song List:

1. Next Train to New Orleans (3:22)
2. Senior Blues (5:06)
3. Missoula (4:01)
4. Porch Top Blues (3:14)
5. Loaded (3:07)
6. Breakfast @ Bill’s (4:36)
7. Santa’s Night Off (3:16)
8. Vote (3:28)
9. Tube Timing Son of a Gun (3:16)
10. The Happy Song (3:59)
11. Finger Picker # 44 (3:27)
12. Time Has Come to Go (4:29)

 

Freedom Is Your Destiny
1995

Soul is a happy entity. Sometimes it just forgets. I remember a warm breezy summer day just after I graduated eighth grade – sitting on the swings in the playground, looking toward the sky, making faces with the white fluffy clouds and knowing that I didn’t have a single care. Everything was taken care of. There was no worry about tomorrow or what Mom was going to put on the dinner table, or how the rent was going to get paid or the car get fixed. It was probably the last time such a feeling of pure carefree joy came to me without any work on my part.

I waited many years for this sense of freedom to return and eventually found that it takes a little effort to achieve. Among other things it takes a little faith that life is on your side giving you experiences that always hold gems for those who can see them. I learned that with the right attitude and focus of attention you can find peace, hope and love in your life. It doesn’t happen all the time – at least not for me. But, there have been moments  when I’ve been able to see through the mire of daily struggles and have re-found that natural state of carefree joy.

This is what music is about – those moments when Soul steps outside the hustle-bustle and sees- no, it actually knows deep in its heart – that It truly is free, that no matter which road it takes or how long it takes it will eventually reach its highest aspirations. This is the moment when you can truly realize that FREEDOM IS YOUR DESTINY.  – Spook Handy,  songwriter

Song List:

1. Time to Catch That Train (3:37)
2. Why I Love You (3:40)
3. Tomorrow Only Comes and Goes (3:30)
4. Free (3:24)
5. Finger Picker # 43 (1:26)
6. Be Here Now (3:00)
7. All I Want Out of Life (3:49)
8. Freedom Is Your Destiny (5:21)
9. Colours (3:51)
10. Patty’s Farm (On We Grow) (5:32)
11. Shakes Away (5:32)
12. Fat Rooster (1:30)