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<\/a>I am doing something here that I seldom do and that is to reach back in time to talk about a less than current CD. I happened to pick up the 2013 production of Ordinary Elephant, \u201cDusty Words & Cardboard Boxes\u201d at one of their shows, because this one slipped past me while I was looking the other direction. When I put it into the CD player in my truck, it didn\u2019t leave for 2-1\/2 weeks. I was so mesmerized by the sound of the music, that I could only reach out and grasp bits and pieces of the poignant lyrics a bit at a time, rather like remembering bits of a dream the next morning. I found that I couldn\u2019t quit listening until I had fully digested all of each song. That is what I would strive for as an artist in any medium, were I to be blessed with talent of that sort.<\/p>\nCrystal\u2019s ethereal vocals and Pete\u2019s understated banjo belie the power of the songs about life, love, the love of life and trying to live with love. \u201cOn My Way\u201d begins the disc with a commitment to strike out to meet life head on with no expectations. It\u2019s followed by \u201cDamage is Done\u201d, a sad but firm goodbye set at the end of the relationship, when there is no doubt that it is over. \u201cBetter than This\u201d is the declaration of one person in the relationship taking the time to appreciate what they have instead of what they don\u2019t have and features the guitar and banjo taking an exploratory trip through that musing.<\/p>\n
\u201cHere Again\u201d is written about another fork in the road of a relationship, where one has to decide whether to go on together or split ways. \u201cLearning to Dance\u201d addresses overcoming the fears and rebuilding trust while trying to stay together through rocky times. \u201cThe Great Migration\u201d is the feeling of seeing someone leave behind the relationships of the past and head into an unknown future with other dreams and hopes. The story of someone trapped in a dysfunctional relationship unfolds in the dirge-like, \u201cNo Way Out\u201d.<\/p>\n
![\"ordinaryelephant\"](\"http:\/\/houstonmusicreview.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/ordinaryelephant.jpg\")
<\/a>\u201cLifetime\u201d is a song of dedication to being in love with a partner. \u201cI Spy\u201d is another song of setting out to discover one\u2019s life in the form of a road song, playing the kid\u2019s game of \u201cI Spy\u201d and rather than seeing mundane roadside sights the singer sees images of a new and better life. \u201cIt\u2019s Time\u201d is written about that last conversation one has with a loved one at the end of their life. Crystal describes a feeling between loss and hope when a relationship is teetering on betrayed trust on \u201cIt\u2019s Love\u201d with a hint of an Eastern European musical theme.<\/p>\n