AL’S COMMENTS:  I had just returned from my 2006 tour of New Zealand to the Wordplay Songwriter Showcase in LA, and I had to write a song riffing on the theme of "Traveling."

Some travels are outer, and some are inner. Sometimes the two go together. I was a late bloomer in life, mostly sheltering myself until my early 30s, and then I exploded into the world with my first trip to Burning Man. Ever since that time, my life has been one of exploring the uncharted territories of my heart, my mind, my body, my consciousness. When inner and outer travels co-mingle, it becomes a pilgrimage.

The catch-phrase in the bridge, and the title of the album is "The Fall of Man." I have reclaimed this phrase that used to be synonymous with "sin" to that of discovery. In Greek mythology, Icarus put on wings and ascended until the wax that bound his feathers melted and he fell from the heavens. I have found that heaven is not "up there," but "right here" and "down there" and "over there." Revelation is found in the soil we tread on, the deep waters of the canyon, in the setting of the sun, the pleasure of wine and touch, and in the most awkward moments of our own humanity. The Fall of Man: Our greatest, most accessible path to God -- or dare I say -- The Goddess.

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Farther I Go (Click HERE to preview/download the song.)

Another night spent in the shadows
The golden dawn before my eyes
Counting boundaries crushed and swept away
As old illusions die

Farther I go, farther I go
When I think I can't go farther,
Farther I go
Farther I go, farther I go
When I think I won't go farther,
Farther I go

And would the ones who knew me back there
Know the treasures I have seen?
Or would they fear for my eternal soul
Knowing where I've been?

BRIDGE
Making love to what I always feared
Sleeping when I can
Wonderful and wise and often weird
Such is the Fall of Man

Musicians:
Al Polito: Vocals, Acoustic Guitar
Pete Jacobson: Cello

Recorded at Rocky Road Ranch Studios
Produced by Scotty Manzo and Al Polito