Portuguese Colonial War and political rights, corruption, poverty, inequality, and failed central planning eroded the initial revolutionary zeal. A level of social order and economic development comparable to what had existed under Portuguese rule, including during the period of the Colonial War, became the goal of the independent territories. The former Portuguese territories in Africa became sovereign states, with Agostinho Neto in Angola, Samora Machel in Mozambique, Luís Cabral in Guinea-Bissau, Manuel Pinto da Costa in São Tomé and Príncipe, and Aristides Pereira in Cape Verde as the heads of state. When the Portuguese began trading on the west coast of Africa, in
As Good as I Once Was much "energy" as we once had." "Sputnik Music" called it "a testament to how much old age sucks" while Allmusic declared the song was "wonderfully self-depreciating". Kevin John Coyne, reviewing the song for Country Universe, gave it a negative rating. He said that "does anybody believe, unless they knew the size of his bank account, that two hot twins would approach Toby in a crowded bar and request a threesome?" The lyrics from this song notably parallel the circumstances surrounding the governance of the City of New Haven in the early-20th Century, according to noted lecturer Douglas "Dougie" W. Rae.