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Time - 33:59
This album, named after King Arthur's sword and released in 1972, is no longer in print. Sometimes Tom sounded almost like he did 16 years later, on Sidekicks; other times he sounded similar to his younger brother. The songs range in length from 2 minutes to 4 1/2 minutes. Since a steel guitar plays in some of the songs, this album could pass for country-rock.
Forty Years (3:47) - For all his adult life, the narrator has been overworked and underpaid. He worries that no better jobs will be open to his children. The slow tempo and the steel guitar licks make the mood of the song even sadder.
Black Jack Jenny (2:32) - This song is set at a casino in Reno. The narrator apparently despises Jenny and resents losing to her all the time. In one verse he sings, "Black Jack Jenny, you ain't no friend of mine"; in another he sings "Black Jack Jenny, you never give me 21." (In blackjack, a 21 is an ace paired with a 10, jack, queen, or king.)
Rocky Road Blues (4:07) - This swing-tempoed song reminds me musically of the Beatles' "12-Bar Original" (found on their Anthology, Volume 2). The lyrics "My road is rocky, but it won't be rocky long" remind me of the Kingston Trio's "A Worried Man" and of "California Blues" on J.F.'s Blue Ridge Rangers. What I like most about this song is the low-pitched guitar licks.
Faces, Places, People (4:01) - The guitar licks are far from the most pleasant-sounding, but the reminiscent lyrics offer a positive side to this song.
Get Funky (1:57) - I like the "doo-doo-doo's" and the swing tempo. Lyrically, this is a carpe-diem song: "get funky," "get crazy," "get lazy," live for today! If only the song weren't so short.
Sick and Tired (4:32) - What the narrator is sick and tired of is fixing his girlfriend breakfast every morning, brushing her teeth, then coming home from work in the evening to find her still in bed. He threatens to throw her out of the house if she doesn't change her behavior. I definitely wouldn't want a girlfriend like that! This song has good steel guitar licks. Good organ-playing, too.
Sign of the Devil (2:45) - Although his girlfriend brings him misfortune, the narrator still loves her. The lead instrument apparently is an oboe, and the tempo is moderately slow.
Straight and Narrow (3:58) - I like the steel guitar licks in this song. In the first verse, the narrator says he's gonna walk on the straight and narrow. In the other verse (sung again after an instrumental), he asks, "Do you believe in love? . . . in rock 'n' roll music?"
Next in Line (2:20) - The narrator is fed up with his current girlfriend's mistreatment of him, and he wonders whom she will mistreat next. The tempo is slow, in 6/8 time.
Annie Mae (4:00) - Annie Mae is the narrator's sister; he is going to visit her. The song opens by doing the reverse of fading, and ends by fading.