For months after completing Thirteen Tales we all had copies of the album. I had listened to my copy roughly 4000 times when one day I was riding in a car that had one of those CD players that automatically started the disc over again after the last song. The last song on the record was “Nietzsche.”  It turned itself around to the first song on the album which, for the first 4000 times I listened to it, was “Country Leaver.”

“Country Leaver” to me sounded really great right after “Nietzsche.” I started thinking of how it would work if it was moved to song two but “Solid” didn’t seem right directly after it. Then I thought maybe it would work if the record just started with the “trippy ending” songs at the top then “Nietzsche” would be third and “Country Leaver” would be fourth and so on. This was before iTunes and laptops and iPods so I had to go back to the car stereo and start the record at “Godless” to see how it felt.

It was amazing. That “Godless” intro right at the top into “Mohammed” just seemed perfect. Then “Country Leaver” sort of worked as a wake up call with its rooster sort of waking you from the stoned haze of the first three songs. Magically, “The Gospel” ends up last when you do this creating a perfect ending to what I believe is a perfect record.

BRENT DEBOER