Lessons in Life [album]

“Lessons In Life” is Todd’s his fifth studio album. The new 12-track album presents Schroeder’s dazzling piano skills on such tracks as the New Orleans- style honky-tonk number, “I’m In Love With You,” to the heartfelt Bruce Hornsby-esque heartland rock mid tempo ballad, “The Way of Alden Leal.”

A versatile collection of original tracks, “Lessons in Life” shifts impeccably from blue-eyed soul to standard soft rock duets like “You Are My Amazing,” which may recall the classic Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes’ 1982 hit, “Up Where We Belong.”  “This album is a very eclectic collection of original songs, many of them being collaborations with those people in my life from whom I have learned one of the most important lessons of all – the value of friendship,” says Schroeder.  On the stripped down “Too Much to Ask For,” Schroeder laments the loss of a relationship, while on the album’s penultimate track, Schroeder pleads with dreamers to “Don’t Let The World Step On Your Soul.”  Other songs such as “Natural Beauty” highlight Schroeder’s love for country and roots rock, while “Smoke ‘Em If You Got ‘Em” puts a fun twist on the rockabilly genre. The album is peppered with poignant melodies, up-tempo country and blues jams, sentimental torch songs and uplifting anthems. The album’s first single, “Lessons In Life,” a simple and straightforward song about growing through life, was co-written by Schroeder and his collaborative musical partner of over 20 years, Sam Harris.