One Last Knock

(c) 1984 Karen Suzi Austin and Lee McKee

Tell me what possessed you to open the box deep in your heart
You knew the conditions of the situation were designed
Specifically with you in mind

This evil is free upon the earth and strikes at will
With no regard for human life the beast inside me won't be still
I think he's sharpening his wit

And I can't tell the killers from the ones who wish me well
Just the memories won't bring me back from hell

Since it seems that there's some lesson to be learned
In purging your soul and letting your fingers be burnt
For what it's worth, I'd rather not have opened this discussion

Serious repercussions thrive
I move to the window quite alive
Accusions fly
I hide my eyes


From Critical Mass' second studio effort Strings Attached (1984).

Strings Attached (Fads)

Lyrics (c) 1984 Karen Austin
Music (c) 1984 Andy Austin

I came just for you
Now I take my leave
You did not expect a life time, did you?

Don't know how you do
Know who to believe
When you've only done what blind faith bid you

Check it out!
Ain't it bad?

Fads

The feeling escapes me
But the color's bright
Does it mean to you what it means to me?

It will be flashy
Underneath the lights
Wait... and see...

Check it out!
Ain't it bad?

Fads

I'm just mad about fads

I'll knock you for a loop
Rock you with my hula hoop
Videotape you dancing
To be laughed at by your offspring
Yeah

Check it out!
Ain't it bad?

Fads

I'm just mad about fads
Mad about fads
Aren't you glad the're fads

I'm glad

The title track from Critical Mass' second studio effort Strings Attached (1984).

Immortal

Andrew Austin (c) 1983

A draft in a crack of window
A cold shoulder
A faint smoulder
A withered plant stuck in the snow

The empty trees look skyward
Above the sparrows tracks
Below my windows growing cracks
Beside my father's world war sword

Staring out my frosty portal
Hanging from a rusty gutter
Drip icycles to make me shutter

The empty trees look skyward
Above the sparrows tracks
Below my windows growing cracks
Beside my father's world war sword
He can't remember which one, though

I wish like rain
I could be immortal
Flowing to a sea
Of endless wisdom

From Critical Mass' second studio effort Strings Attached (1984).

Life by an Open Window

Andrew Austin (c) 1983

Cobblestone wet drawing dew down
Dark pools collect all around and reflect
Refracting neon lights and crimson in the night
Gray shadows grow on maudlin glow

A man in an overcoat roams the dim streets
Street lights discreetly fade on with the night
Quietly observing the time line in progress
You can only guess why their lonely

Light penetrating the blanket you're under
Clouds in the distance rumble in the mist
Twilight's movement is forward to dawn
The night is done and you're alone

From Critical Mass' second studio effort Strings Attached (1984).

Death Dealer Update

Work continues on Death Dealer.

Death Dealer reached the final stages of production in late August and was set for a round of critical listening by band members and associates. However, another complete song from the Death Dealer sessions was discovered in early September, a song that carried various names in recordings with the earlier Critical Mass lineup ("Icy Portals," "World War Sword"), but which will appear under the title "Immortal" for this release.

"Immortal" goes straight into "Quietly Passing On," here presented with a different guitar solo than the previously announced version of the song. The previously announced version has been renamed "Quietly Passing On (Grand Reprise)" in honor of the magisterial synthesizer work that appears on it and placed last in the track listing.

The release of the CD has been postponed until a mix of the song is completed, all the tracks are mastered, and the round of critical listening finds participants satisfied with the results.

Mixing the album has been difficult for obvious reasons. The session was originally recorded on a cassette tape using a 4-track machine. Each track was digitized separately, and so syncing tracks has consumed more of my time. I still have more syncing to do. I fear that some of the long-running tracks may never be perfectly synced, but I have split the difference so it is not intolerable. I may divide tracks to deal with the problem more fundamentally. Other problems involve dropout (the tape was more than two decades old at the time of transfer), missing tracks, and awkward track sharing due to the constraints of 4-track recording.

Mastering has been quite difficult, as well, since bass and treble response change with the decomposition of the tape. The transfer process could have perhaps been done better given what I have learned during the process, but the age of the tapes and the amount of work put into the project so far makes starting over virtually prohibitive, although I may at some point give it one more try.

Overall, I think the final product will be the best I can make it and I predict that the listening public won't be dissatisfied. It is a special moment in the history of Critical Mass.

Track Listing:
1. Osiris Arises
2. Death Dealer
3. You're Own Your Own
4. Beneath the Sea
5. She Likes the Night Life
6. Mist
7. Immortal
8. Quietly Passing On
9. In the Name of the Lord
10. Burn Gypsy Town
11. Reflections
12. Quietly Passing On (Grand Reprise)