The first time I listened to this record I was baffled over Mason's choice of subjects and use of loose, reggae- and jazz-flavored rhythms. But after a while, the heartfelt nature with which he paid tribute to Dr. King, the barely-boiling-over anger of Global Empire, the ode to true love in Ballad for My One True Love and the sighing loss of Train Leaving Gray seemed to pinpoint not only the struggles that Mason seemed to be facing as a songwriter but the same struggles that most of humanity faces in one form or another.