The Unknowns - 16 Years Later

I was streaming this album while thinking about what I wanted to write in this story about it. And one question kept creeping up, "Is it still any good?" Of course, being good is subjective when it comes to any form of art and, most of the time, being the creator, I'm my own harshest critic.

Well, I hadn't played the whole thing from the beginning in a very long time, so I just sat there and listened. And it was like every track was somebody else's music. I was completely disconnected from its creation. It's wild when that happens.

It wasn't half bad. It wasn't half good either - my own worst critic again. There was a lot of, "Whoa, what was that?" and "This sure is going on for a long time." But then, there were those moments. The ones that made me sigh, took me to a place I loved, held my hand and whispered in my ear, "This is your soul."

And ... well, I cried. Two of the tracks were my late partner's favorites, so that added extra tears; they were a part of his memorial service. And while I can say that I do think some of the tracks on this album could have remained unknowns, the ones that took me to that place - along with the smile of my partner, Stephen - are still very much a part of me.

Sixteen years is a long time. But I'm still very happy to share that part of my soul with the world.