Singled Out: Steve Postell's How Far We've Come

Steve Postell just released his new album "Walking Through These Blues" and to celebrate we asked him to tell us about one of the track and he selected "How Far We've Come". Here is the story:

Glen Phillips is the lead singer and primary writer for the alternative band "Toad The Wet Sprocket". We got together for a songwriting session and came up with a song looking at this now very pertinent reality; that despite how much progress we as a culture have made, we have so much more we could do going forward. The song has a very Americana feel to me, so I got Tom Petty's Heartbreaker bandmate Steve Ferrone to play drums, along with my Immediate Family bandmate Leland Sklar on bass, an iconic rhythm section.

As with many songs, this writing session started with the two of us playing a groove on our acoustic guitars, which started to dictate the feel of the song. I will usually lay down a simple drum loop after settling on a tempo that feels comfortable, which makes it much easier to continue the writing process. We took a music break and got into a discussion where we shared some observations about the current state of the world. We decided it would be interesting to examine the juxtaposition between the incredible advances and opportunities offered in this modern age with the very obvious blind spots that we as a society share. Then, we were off and running.

We highlighted these issues throughout history from the planting of crops thousands of years ago, to the missing out on life staring at a mobile phone. In the final verse, we reflected on how the same need to keep investigating, keep striving to do better, is just as relevant when thinking about a romantic relationship as it is in pondering man's evolution.

As far as the music goes, we decided it would make sense to share the lead vocals, each taking part of each verse to tell the story. Although our voices are obviously unique to each other, we come from a similar tradition and have been inspired by many of the great storytelling singer/songwriters who have paved the way.

Sometimes when embarking on a co-write, you can find yourself sort of staring into space. But with Glen, it was a very organic and inspiring collaboration. Within one day we pretty had our song. From there, I try to let the song dictate the direction of the arrangement, production and mix. Having my own recording studio, Katonah Studios in Los Angeles, means I can let this process develop at its own natural pace. There is a saying; a song is never finished -- you just decide when you are done. I feel like we got very close on this one.

Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen and watch for yourself below and or stream the full album here

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