The story goes that the band while in their rehearsal hall saw an album hanging on the wall released in the early 1960s and entitled Songs of the Heart by Bob and Elsa Beckendorf. The album cover was a simple picture of the two artists. The concept was a trip down Route 66 with the couple they renamed as Bud & Irma Akendorf. They actually used the original album cover with their name as the artist. This is the concept of the album track;
Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You – We look back to the time when Bud first fell in love with Irma
The Glory Road – Bud, now retired, takes Irma on vacation
Get Into The Bus, Aloha – The Akendorf’s witness a strange occurence at a rest stop
Evangeline – The Akendorf’s get a surprise when they visit a Faith Healer our of curiosity
Uneasy Liews The Head Of The Confidence Man – Bud and Irma discuss faith and flim-flam
The Organ Bar – Meanwhile, in L.A., we encounter a mysterious stranger
Donna Nietche And Her Super Race Of Kick Boxing Uber Parrots – The mysterious stranger offers us a questionable proposition
Our Night To Howl, Time To Go Dancing – Bud gets frisky
Sins Of The Fathers – Back home, Bud has coffee at his favorite diner and is tempted to offer some words of wisdom
Turn This Off – Bud complains about today’s music and the state of the world
Loveland – Relieved to be back home, the Akendorf’s find a better view of the world from their love seat
When Everyone Wore Hats – The Akendorf’s reminisce
My Hand To God – The mysterious stranger reappears as Bud says his last goodbye to Irma
I’m not the biggest fan of concept albums as they always seem to concentrate too hard on the concept rather than the songs but if you’re a DA fan you’re gonna like this one anyway.
This is a truly strange album and one of my all-time DA favorites!