Never Home is singer-songwriter Freedy Johnston

Freedy Johnston

Freedy Johnston is a New York City-based singer-songwriter originally from Kinsley, Kansas.Having scored several minor hits since the early 1990s, Johnston's songs are often about troubled loners, and cover topics like heartbreak, alienation and disappointment...

's 1997 release. Johnston credited producer Danny Kortchmar with imparting a more spontaneous, live-sounding feel to this album than its predecessor, This Perfect World

This Perfect World

This Perfect World is an album released by singer-songwriter Freedy Johnston in 1994.It is an album steeped in regret and loss. The narrator of "Across the Avenue" is unable to get past the memory of seeing his lover killed in a pedestrian accident. In "Two Lovers Stop," a young couple commit...

. http://www.penduluminc.com/MM/articles/freedy.html

The leadoff track, "On the Way Out," is a wry song about shoplifting. It's a re-recorded version of a song that appeared on the soundtrack to the movie Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead

Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead

Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead is a 1995 crime film directed by Gary Fleder from a screenplay written by Scott Rosenberg. The film features an ensemble cast that includes Andy García, Christopher Lloyd, Steve Buscemi, Christopher Walken, Fairuza Balk, and Gabrielle Anwar.The film's title...

. (He had originally written it for the movie Empire Records

Empire Records

Empire Records is a 1995 coming of age film that follows a group of record store employees over the course of one exceptional day. The employees of this independent music store try to fight off a large chain, all while learning about each other...

, but it was not accepted. http://www.splendidezine.com/features/freedy) It and "One More Thing to Break" are the only two songs on the album that have much of a rock edge.

"Western Sky" is about a man afraid to fly because of the death of his father in a crash. Johnston doesn't typically use events in the lives of friends as inspiration for his songs, but this is an exception. He was a little uncomfortable with the notion of having "exploited" a friend, although he noted that the friend had no problem with the song. http://www.triste.co.uk/freedy.htm

Another highlight, "Gone to See the Fire," concerns a woman gradually working out a very disturbing secret about her boyfriend. "If It's True" wrestles with unplanned pregnancy.

"Something's Out There," a fairly light song about UFO abduction

Abduction phenomenon

The terms alien abduction or abduction phenomenon describe "subjectively real memories of being taken secretly against one’s will by apparently nonhuman entities and subjected to complex physical and psychological procedures." People claiming to have been abducted are usually called "abductees" or...

, is a rare collaboration for Johnston. He wrote it with Stan Lynch

Stan Lynch

Stanley Joseph "Stan" Lynch is an American songwriter and record producer. He was the original drummer for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers for 18 years until his departure in 1994.- Early years :...

, the album's drummer, who is best known for his work with Tom Petty

Tom Petty

Thomas Earl "Tom" Petty is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He is the frontman of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and was a founding member of the late 1980s supergroup Traveling Wilburys and Mudcrutch. He has also performed under the pseudonyms of Charlie T...

.

Cellist Jane Scarpantoni

Jane Scarpantoni

Jane Scarpantoni is a classically trained cello player who has played on a number of alternative rock albums.She was a member of Hoboken, New Jersey's Tiny Lights in the mid-'80s, then went on to play with other musicians especially those associated with the Hoboken underground rock scene of the...

, a frequent Johnston collaborator, appears on two tracks.

Track listing

1. "On the Way Out"
2. "I'm Not Hypnotized"
3. "Western Sky"
4. "One More Thing to Break"
5. "He Wasn't Murdered"
6. "You Get Me Lost"
7. "Hotel Seventeen"
8. "Gone to See the Fire"
9. "Seventies Girl"
10. "If It's True"
11. "Something's Out There"