Songs from Deep in the Vault, Vol. 1 is the first Songs from Deep in the Vault album and the twenty-sixth Moes Haven album in general. It contains 77 tracks and has a runtime of 2 hours and 28 minutes. It was originally titled Songs from Deep in the Vault (1996-2010) before the second volume came out.
The compilation features rare, unreleased recordings made by Matt Farley and Tom Scalzo throughout their career, from their earliest pre-streaming (and even pre-Moes Haven) albums in 1996 to 2010’s Stromboli’s Alarm Clock. Many Stromboli’s Alarm Clock demos appear on this compilation, including an early version of “Sometimes Stars Just Cross” and demos of “My Goldfish Dead” and “I Am Leaving Town in 90 Days”. It also features alternate versions of “Dartmouth Girl“, “Pretty Girls”, and “Let’s Not Let Us Fall Apart”.
This compilation was released during a long hiatus for Moes Haven, who had chosen to make Stromboli’s Alarm Clock their final album of new material. However, around this time, Local Legends — an autobiographical film on Farley from Motern Media — had come out, and he promised that ten years later, Moes Haven would release their truly final album, (Several Supreme Beings Told Us To Make This) One Last Album. That record did indeed come out; however, Moes Haven would release two more volumes of Songs from Deep in the Vault before then, as well as another rarities compilation titled Unheralded Origins of Genius: Analog Archives 1997-2000.
The cover features Farley, Scalzo, and Scalzo’s sister Sharon in the woods while filming the 2012 Motern Media film Don’t Let the Riverbeast Get You!
Notes on included songs
“Her Ailing Grandma” is an early version of “Sometimes Stars Just Cross” from Stromboli’s Alarm Clock. The only change is the last line “But she had to move halfway to Tennessee / To keep her ailing grandma company / And I never saw her again” followed by Tom giggling.
“In the Daylight I Can See” was originally released on 1997’s Moe’s Haven as “Burning Flame”.
“My Goldfish Dead[Demo]” is a demo version of Stromboli’s Alarm Clock track “My Goldfish Dead”. It is significally more rough around the edges, featuring beeping synths and distorted guitars. It also features subtle lyric differences.
“Buried Treasure” was most likely originally recorded for Svetlana Finds Solace in the Arms of English Men of Lettersas it mentions South Dakota, and a woman the narrator is infatuated with that speaks a different language. It also states that he was “a callow bloke”, which is the name of the third track on Svetlana, “I Am a Callow Bloke”.
“I Am Leaving Town in 90 Days [Demo]” is an acoustic demo of the Stromboli’s Alarm Clock track of the same name. Only the last line (“So let’s have a summer fling!”) was changed because it did not fit the rest of the track’s theme.
“Cain Breaks” is most likely a cut demo from Stromboli’s Alarm Clock because it mentions finding the Lord, a 1957 ford, and a girl named Lucinda. Perhaps it was an early version of “Our Troubles May Be Over”, as “Our Troubles May Be Over” features lines about the Lord, a 1957 Ford, but not Lucinda.
“Propane Man” opens with humorous dialogue from Matt and Tom and also features dual vocals from Matt and Emily, a girl that they went to Providence College with[1] and who may also be referenced in “Cancelled Plans“. So, this was probably recorded from 1996 – 1999.
“Don’t Count Me Out Now, Baby” is a cut outtake from Stromboli’s Alarm Clock. Matt described it as the “Up to Me” of that album. “Up to Me” is a famous outtake from Bob Dylan’s 1975 album Blood on the Tracks.
“New York is Not My Home” is the sequel to the Moe’s Haventrack “I Live in NY”. It is the most popular track from the album, as people streamed it in dislike of New York City mayor Bill de Blasio and New York City governor Andrew Cuomo.
“Why Don’t We?” is an outtake from Stromboli’s Alarm Clock.
“Dartmouth Girl [Original Vocals]” is the original version of “Dartmouth Girl” from December, with distinctly different vocals.
“Pretty Girls [Ballad Style]” is a ballad / crooner version of “Pretty Girls” from December.
“Evil Land” was originally released on 2001’s Apocalypse: Bring It On!.
“Let’s Not Let Us Fall Apart [Farley Vocals]” is the version of “Let’s Not Let Us Fall Apart” but with Matt singing instead of Tom.
“I Get Mad When Creeps Look at My Woman” is the sequel to November the Tar!track “I Get Sad When I Look at Pretty Women”. It was written by Tom as an answer to that song.
Track listing
| # | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | My Friend Elijah Oughta Meet You | 0:42 |
| 2 | Her Ailing Grandma | 0:59 |
| 3 | Andre Agassi | 1:37 |
| 4 | In the Daylight I Can See | 2:15 |
| 5 | You’re an Angel (You Have Wings) | 1:19 |
| 6 | My Goldfish Dead [Demo] | 1:26 |
| 7 | Buried Treasure | 1:58 |
| 8 | I’m Already in Your Veins | 1:06 |
| 9 | I Am Leaving Town in 90 Days [Demo] | 1:51 |
| 10 | Cain Breaks | 1:47 |
| 11 | Music in My Bed | 1:16 |
| 12 | Propane Man | 0:54 |
| 13 | Oh Oh Oh Oh | 2:34 |
| 14 | Guest House Living | 2:21 |
| 15 | Don’t Count Me Out Now, Baby | 1:42 |
| 16 | Can’t Wait to Get That Che Guevara T-Shirt in the Mail | 1:30 |
| 17 | Let’s Move Back to the City | 1:24 |
| 18 | I’m Sorry That I Broke Your Heart | 1:41 |
| 19 | Time to Get Cookin’ | 1:36 |
| 20 | I Love You (I Wanna Be Next to You) | 1:42 |
| 21 | I Love You (I Want You to Be My Woman) | 1:01 |
| 22 | The Lonely Man (Am I Ready?) | 1:20 |
| 23 | Jazz Odyssey | 5:38 |
| 24 | New York is Not My Home | 1:12 |
| 25 | Christmastime and Everybody’s Happy | 2:33 |
| 26 | Driving Past a Yard Sale | 2:24 |
| 27 | Centralia | 1:38 |
| 28 | Ain’t No Doubt About It | 1:22 |
| 29 | Why Don’t We? | 2:30 |
| 30 | Hobo Usurption (Can’t Do Nothing About It) | 1:36 |
| 31 | Side of the Road | 1:05 |
| 32 | Back Alley Alibi | 0:56 |
| 33 | Dartmouth Girl [Original Vocals] | 1:48 |
| 34 | Life On the Road | 3:21 |
| 35 | Let’s Go Down to the Deli | 1:12 |
| 36 | If I Were With You | 0:57 |
| 37 | Have You Seen My Baby? | 2:44 |
| 38 | Stormy’s Shelter | 2:54 |
| 39 | Ancient Chinese Nature Poetry | 1:15 |
| 40 | Scissors | 1:38 |
| 41 | New York City is My Home | 2:27 |
| 42 | Lighthouse Girl | 2:59 |
| 43 | Je T’aime Avec Mon Coeur | 3:24 |
| 44 | Clean Cut Cowboy | 1:40 |
| 45 | Pretty Girls [Ballad Style] | 2:50 |
| 46 | It is What it Is | 1:24 |
| 47 | You Called Me On the Phone (You Love Me (You Do)) | 1:17 |
| 48 | Look at That Monkey | 1:16 |
| 49 | Jesus, Won’t You Come Bumby? | 1:47 |
| 50 | PettyFears | 0:45 |
| 51 | Mauff’s Tale | 1:30 |
| 52 | I’ll Never Be a Professional Athlete | 2:12 |
| 53 | Evil Land | 2:59 |
| 54 | Everything’s Gonna Be Alright | 4:24 |
| 55 | Lockiophobia | 2:19 |
| 56 | I Came Here to Dance | 1:39 |
| 57 | Let’s Not Let Us Fall Apart [Farley Vocals] | 1:04 |
| 58 | Let’s Fall in Love | 2:37 |
| 59 | I Get Mad When Creeps Look at My Woman | 1:25 |
| 60 | Mr. Collins | 1:14 |
| 61 | Uncle John’s Niece [Full Band] | 4:14 |
| 62 | Overall Sanity | 1:18 |
| 63 | Final Week of College | 2:47 |
| 64 | Fair Game | 3:26 |
| 65 | Go to the Bathroom | 1:52 |
| 66 | Missing You, Ferucci | 1:25 |
| 67 | Lisa’s Dress | 1:33 |
| 68 | Lisa’s Scarf | 1:53 |
| 69 | Bumblebee Land (Greetings From) | 1:51 |
| 70 | Shovel in My Hand | 1:32 |
| 71 | She’s an Eskimo | 2:23 |
| 72 | Living On a Prairie | 1:01 |
| 73 | Funeral Dirge (Redundant) (Why Did You Have to Die?) | 1:41 |
| 74 | Lester, You’re On Your Own | 1:13 |
| 75 | Allison | 4:06 |
| 76 | Brothers to the Bone | 2:43 |
| 77 | Holding My Head Up High | 1:41 |