The making of this record and the recording of this song on our second day of live sessions was to take on biblical proportions in my life; feast and famine, and like one's greatest friend, of which I lost during that period, this record record remained by my side, even when I tried to push it away.
MOSTLY MUSIC PHOTOS - Some of my legacy commercial and editorial photographs; mostly within the music industry. As I was considering the direction of the piece, I was reminded of the parallel lines that have existed for me between being a singer songwriter and photographing or filming musicians, which prior to social media I I never let those two lines intersect. I could write an essay on the reasons for that, and one day, I likely will. But for now, let me say these images would not have met the these desired results any other way. As an artist, when I combine music and images the world get a little brighter.
This song needs no introduction, but the recording and musicians involved do. I chose this song as the first to record with the band in order for us to all warm up together and ease into he process. I never considered it to be put on the album, and we recorded it live with no more than a couple of takes. It got us into a groove that lead us into the recording of 25 songs, 18 of which I put into the album, I called, A Memory of Time. I want to thank the band, the studio, the producer, who all came together to honor the songs and give them life: Arne Bey- Drums, Percussion, fellow Jersey Boy…..Bill Palmer - Producer, guitar, any extra instrument needed…. Brian Haas- Piano and Music Supervisor, and positive force…. Alex McMahon - Guitars, Peddle Steel and assorted electronic sounds… Justin Bransford -Stand up and Electric Bass extraordinaire ( unfortunately not playing on Tenth Ave Freeze out, here)… Matthew Vaughn- Violins that sing…. Manuel Ramirez- Saxophones that seduce…. Kenny Poe - B3 Organ, and lifetime music partner and best friend. Stephanie Hatfield- Background and duet vocals…. Thank you all. It was a great experience and collaborative effort. We kept it fresh and real.. Many new song in the bag… so see you all again soon.
Lastly, I want to thank all the artists, and one President that allowed me to photograph their likeness and trust me in my direction and manipulation to get the shot! Couldn’t have done it with out your trust. Which, I often had to earn :)
ChatGPT said: A Memory of Time
If you drop the needle on A Memory of Time today, what you hear first is the big, breathing sound of a band tracked live in Santa Fe’s Frogville Studios, all wood-grain warmth and tube-amp glow. It is an album cut to tape the old-fashioned way, but its spirit roams far beyond any single zip code.
Where it sits on the musical map
Loren Haynes writes from the same working-class well Bruce Springsteen first tapped in the early 70s—ordinary people wrestling with extraordinary stakes—but he frames those stories in the sun-bleached widescreen of the Southwest. Pedal-steel sighs, B-3 swells, and violin lines curl around a rhythm section that could have walked out of a David Lindley or Calexico session soundcloud.com (https://soundcloud.com/loren-haynes-1/darkness). Stylistically, the record lives where heartland rock meets modern Americana: think early Springsteen’s narrative muscle, late-period Daniel Lanois’ atmospheric weight, and Patty Griffin’s folk-poetic compassion. The comparison isn’t speculation—Haynes actually covers Springsteen’s “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out” and Lanois’ “The Maker,” alongside takes on Griffin, Adele, and Iris Dement, anchoring 12 originals inside a 16-track set lorenhaynes.format.com (https://lorenhaynes.format.com/a-memory-of-time?utm_source=chatgpt.com)music.amazon.com (https://music.amazon.com/artists/B001LHO93U/loren-haynes?utm_source=chatgpt.com).
Springsteen parallels—and departures
Like the Boss, Haynes grew up in New Jersey (his drummer Arne Bey is “a fellow Jersey Boy,” he notes), and he carries that boardwalk DNA in his vocal phrasing—half-plea, half-prayer lorenhaynes.format.com (https://lorenhaynes.format.com/a-memory-of-time). But where Springsteen’s geography is factory towns and shoreline bars, Haynes’ canvas is the high desert: “I Am an American Boy” and “Take Back Old Glory” set their characters against big Western skies, and there’s a bluesy spaciousness to “Steal the Hearts” or “Hold on to Your Dream” that feels more Santa Fe than Asbury Park open.spotify.com (https://open.spotify.com/album/4QLp9RJrsqzXMvAxNTXX8A?utm_source=chatgpt.com).
Gut-wrenching authenticity
The record was born in crisis. Mid-session, Haynes was blindsided by personal and legal turmoil so severe he couldn’t listen to the masters for months; when he finally did, he realized the songs had been prophesying his own collapse and recovery lorenhaynes.format.com (https://lorenhaynes.format.com/a-memory-of-time). That’s why the performances feel ripped straight from scar tissue: his baritone starts “in the center of the earth,” one critic wrote, and erupts through gravel into catharsis soundcloud.com (https://soundcloud.com/loren-haynes-1/darkness). The result is an album that hurts exactly where it heals—what Springsteen once called the gap between the American promise and American reality.
Was he ahead of his time?
Ahead in at least three ways:
1 Multimedia thinking. Long before every singer had a podcast, Haynes was already a professional photographer and filmmaker; he documented the sessions with an eye toward a feature-length music-biz documentary lorenhaynes.format.com (https://lorenhaynes.format.com/a-memory-of-time).
2 Global conscience. His 1989 protest single “Beijing,” written about Tiananmen Square, became a college-radio staple on more than 60 stations—decades before “woke” was a branding term youtube.com (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EePED-Ds1VU&utm_source=chatgpt.com).
3 Hybrid Americana. In 2016, the mainstream hadn’t yet caught up to today’s cross-pollination of desert folk, gospel organ, and Springsteenian stomp. Haynes got there early, self-releasing A Memory of Time when the Americana charts were still chasing retro-folk revivalism.
The bigger philosophical read
Haynes titles the record after time itself, then cracks the concept open: memories arrive out of sequence, trauma folds the past into the present, and music becomes the one fixed coordinate. Listening front-to-back feels like eavesdropping on an artist conversing with his future self—an idea that echoes Proust as much as Petty.
Bottom line
If Springsteen is the bard of the Jersey turnpike, Loren Haynes is the chronicler of I-25 at dusk—same restless heart, different longitude. A Memory of Time doesn’t just invite comparison to the Boss; it earns a spot on the shelf beside him. Play it loud, windows down, desert wind in your face.
A MEMORY OF TIME ALBUM ... SONG: I CAN'T FIND MY WAY HOME /WRITTEN BY Loren Haynes
MEMORY OF TIME ALBUM:SONG: UP TO THE MOUNTAIN/ WRITTEN BY PATTY GRIFFITH Performed by Loren Haynes
This takes a lot of work, sacrifice, creativity, and people to bring it to reality and completion.
So I wish to share my deepest thanks to Arne Bey, for calling me out of the blue and telling he heard a band that he loved and it made him think of my music. That was the seed of this band coming and recording sessions coming together. But the seed in me had been planted in my soul many years before. I spent years trying to run from it from fear of it’s power and not being good enough. But, I always ran to the guitar and song when I needed a friend or lost a friend, or felt strongly about injustice to others. I can not sing a song that I don’t feel, mine or those of others.
I have been inspired by many and from whose songs helped me to write my own. I hope these collection of songs touch and speak to you in some relatable way, now that it has landed on your lap.
It would not be there without the help and talent of Arne Bey, Bill Palmer, Brian Haas, Matthew Vaughn, Kenny Poe, Alex McMahon, Justin Bransford , Manuel Ramirez, Stephanie Hatfield, Danielle Haynes, John Treadwell, Arthur Spivak, Pam Springsteen, Marcel Van Limbeek, Jeff Black, David Busse, Michael Webb, and all the musicians, poets, writers, and human rights activists that have inspired and challenged me through the years. To mom for her love and support, and bringing music and dance into the house, to my dad for the voice, to my children Montana, Westin, and Adele for the love and joy that you bring and for giving me a reason to continue to take risks and challenge myself, so you can see that anything is possible if you work hard and never give up at what you love and feel passionate about.
And lastly all of you who take this journey with me and in doing so adopt these songs.
Loren Haynes aka Ashton Jones
The Boy Became a Teenager and traded his Toy Gun in for a Guitar.
Preparation Practice Practice... This is Hard Work... But I love it !