Carry Me Away

DW: Three of the songs were previously released as singles. We did some extra work on Carry Me Away though... Why not just include it as it originally was?

JM: Carry Me Away — and I can say this now — made my bones itch to have released as it was. I'm not too proud to say that I felt like before that song even came out, it didn't have enough of the rocket fuel a track needs to get somewhere in the world. And that was completely my fault. I remember being on tour and experimenting with the idea of making a song as a two week summer vacation project, which I did. And I had a blast, because I really caught a beautiful tune in the process, but it just wasn't fully fleshed out. When it came time to make this album, I knew I could take that extra time I needed to make it great, and listening to it now is a remarkable experience. My shoulders drop, I get totally into the music, and I go 'there it is.' Same song, but it comes to you where you sit now, instead of you leaning forward in your chair to find it. I always knew that song was in there, and now everyone can hear it.

This next song is one you may have heard before, but not the way it exists on this record. I keep thinking about George Lucas, and his going back into the Star Wars films and retouching them. I did that for the first time in my career, I think. I've remixed a couple of songs, but they were known to be remixed.

This is a song called "Carry Me Away," that I knew could use a little extra music on it. I kind of knew when I put it out. I tell people when it comes to this record, Sob Rock, the album, I go: well, I can't tell you it's great, but I would've known by now if it was terrible.

And I kind of knew when it came out that it wasn't what it could be. And that to an artist is the same thing as it being terrible. Cause it's a terrible feeling to put something out that you know could've been different or better. We all gotta deal with it. I just knew pretty quickly, [and] went, oh! That really left the garage pretty quickly and now it's on the racetrack, and—like I said, metaphors. That's a NASCAR metaphor. That might be the first time I've ever gone for that. And I call that progress.

I knew I wanted to go back and write this feeling that had been in my chest for a couple years where I knew we could get more music out of it. And we did. And it was a little bit like taking younger—2019, if that's younger—John's work and going, come here, give me the record, what do you have? Just let go—it just needs that and that and that, let's just do that and that and that. And to hear it come back through the speakers with that fully fleshed out sound, I was like, this is full circle. I can finally put away this incomplete feeling of not having closure on this song. And it is called "Carry Me Away," and now I think its potential to carry you away is fully realized.

I say it again, hear it for the first time, it is "Carry Me Away."

That's a sneaky little appearance by Cautious Clay, a great recording artist. Dynamite young recording artist. Doing that little vocal thing at the end. Giving it just that extra little splash of sunshine there. So thank you, Cautious Clay, for that.