"Crazy That Way" is a collection of my original songs spanning big band, bossa nova, jazz waltz, gospel, funk, "quiet storm," and jazzy pop styles. Together they examine love from a variety of different angles: the first sensation (That Moment), romantic bliss (September Seems So Far Away), pure devotion (You Are Everything to Me), hopes and regrets (Paris Apartment) and primal passions (Only Human), love’s journey (The Mystery of Love), enduring passion (I Still Want You So), and its frequent craziness (Crazy That Way).  My special thanks go to producer/arranger Dori Amarilio and guest vocalists Mark Winkler, Tawanda, Sidney Jacobs, Nicolas Bearde, and the Perri Sisters.

Crazy That Way Playlist

Like most of us, this song has "been through some things" over the last few years.  I wrote it when Covid was near its peak of fear and worry, before the vaccines emerged.  It was looking ahead with hope for a better time post-pandemic.  As the infection rates rose and fell, the lyrics evolved and the verb tenses changed.  In what is hopefully the final version, it celebrates looking at that terrible time in the rear view mirror.

We Can Get Together Again

Another love song, this one a reaffirmation, in the "quiet storm" mode that has always been one of my favorites.  Nicolas Bearde gave us a wonderful performance of a song that I knew was "out of my league."

I Still Want You So (featuring Nicolas Bearde)

I wrote this during a brutally cold "polar vortex" in New York City, and it seemed like a good time to right a summer fantasy.  A lot of people have compared my writing to (one of my idols) Donald Fagen.  This may come the closest.

September Seems So Far Away

This song recounts in almost exactly detail the evening I met my wonderful wife, Frances.  From waiting at the bar, to the touch on the shoulder, and the sensation that something important was happening.  I hope it captures a little of the magic of how others have experienced similar moments.

That Moment

Even (or even especially) as a white boy growing up in Iowa, Black popular music was a lifeline to a certain transcendence. "Temple of Soul" honors the legacy of R&B greats, backed to full effect by a "Tower-of-Power-like arrangement by Dori Amerilio and the legendary gospel-inspired Perri Sisters.

Temple Of Soul

This was the last track we recorded for the album, which I felt still needed a very personal and heartfelt song that could be the emotional anchor.  I believe that we all can probably relate to this  anchor the album emotionally. We all probably can relate to the combination of fragility and passion, that we all make mistakes, and we all need to be forgiven - maybe first of all by ourselves.

Only Human

I wrote this in a time of great apprehension and even fatalism about the future especially in such a divided country (and world). I wanted to write something that was realistic, but still hopeful.  And now, what seemed like a hopeful prayer feels more like an affirmation.  And, I hope, a small spur to action. We WILL find a way! It made sense to give this song a gospel feel, and who better to bring it than the Perri Sisters, and of course the inspiring Tawanda and Sidney Jacobs contributing lead vocals.

We Will Find A Way (featuring Tawanda, Sidney Jacobs, and Perri)

This began, like many songs, with a chord pattern, then a melody, then developed into a song about love's journey through a lifetime. Where these lyrics came from, who knows?  It's a mystery.

The Mystery Of Love

"Crazy That Way" came about when I was searching for a title to prompt a new song. I saw it on a list of "lost" films of the '30s. I thought it would probably work well as a swing tune, and probably with a twist.  I discovered later that, like my stalkerish protagonist, one of the characters in the film follows a young heiress and her fiancé everywhere.  Anyway, given the preponderance of love songs on this album, it serves pretty well as a title, I think!

Crazy That Way

This song was written in one of prolific songwriter and jazz vocalist Mark Winkler's lyric writing classes shortly after I had arrived in LA.  So it's a very fitting honor that he chose to sing it on this album.  I've never lived in Paris (though I've visited on many occasions); still, I hope this story-song captures something universal about memories and reflections on what might have been.

Paris Apartment (featuring Mark Winkler)

It was only natural that I would write a song about my newly adopted home town. I wrote it within a year of moving here from New York.  The line about "open freeway arms" is meant to capture the larger sense of possibility that I as a newcomer feel in this town.

Good Morning, LA

When first dating my wife Frannie, I wrote her song that was truthful but a bit tongue-in-cheek, called "Perfect for Me."  She loved it (and it obviously didn't hurt the relationship's progression).  But once we were married, she said "Hey mister songwriter, why haven't you written me a truly sincere love song?"  Thanks, honey, for inspiring this.  And thank you, dear Tawanda, for so beautifully bringing it to life!

Crazy That Way Playlist

Steve Sieck