In the media, a reviewer has his personal vision but it's passed along to a million readers or whatever. He might think that this particular song sounds like Jo Blow. Or like a Bo Diddley record that he heard six years ago. But the artist who made the record may never have even heard the Bo Diddley song. We all respond differently.

I was just getting tired of the image bullshit...that man of mystery trip and what have you. What's that all about?

The idea [of A Period of Transition album] was to get a break from everything for a while because I've been doing it for so long. I started doing it when I was 12.

There's a realization that you have to do something but you just can't do it all the time.

I do see value in music criticism. Most of the criticism I have received over the years has been very good.

If you're putting somebody down, you're doing it because you're just seeing a part of yourself that you don't like. That's all that is.

The music I really like to get off on is the old rhythm 'n' blues and rock 'n' roll stuff... that's what I really dig. And I also dig to sing ballads as well. And I also dig writing my own songs. I was just trying to find a way of integrating the whole thing, taking a look at the total picture.