Midnight Voices 
The discussion forum for fans of Pete Atkin and Clive James,
their works and collaborators on stage, TV, disc and in print.
Pete Atkin Home | Discography | Julie Covington
| Audio Clips | Visitors' Comments | Join Midnight Voices
Web Digest week 38 (17.05.98, MV1054-1080) begins | index | prev | next |
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Pete Atkin
Subject: MV1054: Subject clicks to enter here
Date: Sun, 17 May 1998 11:52:31 +0100
Dear All
Just a few quick stacked-up thoughts. Can't remember the MV numbers, but I
seem to have made some notes to reply to various things.
The whole Top Ten exercise was entirely fascinating. I hadn't given Clive a
print of any of the voting until I saw him to have the latest photo taken,
and I asked him to guess what had come out top (as it was at that point)
Without hesitation he said "Faded Mansion". Spooky or what?
I'm sorry (well, maybe sorry isn't quite the right word) that the Bottom
Three voting doesn't seem to have taken off, if only because of course the
bottom three faves would almost certainly not turn out to be the same as the
top three unfaves - if you see what I mean. I was looking forward to seeing
at least some of the Top Ten Faves also in the Top Three Unfaves list. The
best thing, though, was the wide spread of choices, and I'm truly flattered
and grateful for that - not least because it means you're not in any way a
boringly homogeneous bunch. I haven't checked, but I think you could have
found several pairs of Top Tens with not a single song in common.
I confess I'm not surprised no one voted for Our Lady Lowness. I think I
knew at the time it didn't work. I simply lacked the ability to realise
the sound I heard in my head, which sort of depended on me having a voice
like Joe Cocker's. Even then it probably wouldn't have worked. I own up
totally to its being a musical failure. I sometimes think I should go back
to it and do something completely different with it, but that's probably
impossible - I'll never get the original out of my head.
I'm also not surprised about The Luck Of The Draw, but (and please forgive
the presumption), I would be surprised if it was a Top Three Unfavourite.
It's just a little song that was always going to be crowded out by other
things. I still like it, anyway, and I still do it occasionally, often
tacked on to something else as a sort of intro or outro, as some of you will
know.
I've never really thought all that much about why I've performed some songs
less than others, but I guess hindsight helps identify a few reasons.
Sometimes maybe it's a feeling that the recorded version presents the song
in a moe effective way than I'd feel capable of live, perhaps because of the
fullness of the arrangement or something. But mostly, looking for what the
less-performed ones have in common, I think it may be because they seem to
me to be songs that need more than one listen. (You could say that's a
covert admission of failure.) But I'd perhaps prefer to think it's because
recording and live performance do make different demands and present
different possibilities. One of the pleasures of performing again these
past few years has been revisiting some of the less-performed songs and
finding some new ways to try to make them work - attempts that some of you
have been witness to. I've got a few more of those lined up for you.
Sometimes it's as mystically simple as changing the key. It's amazing what
a completely different feel that can sometimes generate (it seems to me, at
any rate).
Which leads me to gigs. What you know about is all there is. I have been
wanting to do more, but clearly haven't been doing enough about making them
happen. From time to time various MVs have enquired about possibilities and
with combined rudeness and neglect I have so far failed utterly to respond
to any of them. I'm truly sorry for that, not least because I really would
like to put one or two things in the diary before Buxton, if possible. I
have been trying to interest one or two agencies in taking me on, but
without much response so far+ADs- and in any case that idea would be likely
to bear fruit only a bit further down the line. So I am very much open to
offers. I don't charge a fortune, but I do have to be realistic, since with
travelling (depending on distance from Bristol where I live) and preparation
a gig takes at least a day and more likely effectively two out of otherwise
earning my living. But if anyone has any suggestions or proposals, please
let Steve know and I'll promise to respond as quickly and constructively as
I can.
I have also been most grateful for your clues about which songs to use pull
in the uninitiated most effectively. It's a question and a judgement I've
always agonised over, so I'm particularly pleased and thankful to have some
help.
I always start out meaning these contributions to be brief and to the point.
PA should stand for Prolixity Anonymous. Thanks again to you all for
everything.
Pete
==============================================================================
From: BSHOLLEY <email address>
Date: Sun, 17 May 1998 09:56:09 EDT
Subject: MV1055 Re: MV 1049: caption suggestions
'How do you think we look, Pete - pretty neat, huh ?'
'I see the joker and a screen freak.'
'Speak for yourself- I've just got that indefinable something which comes
across on TV.'
'Perfect moments for senior citizens on your payday evenings.'
'That's more like it, cobber. I'm never at a loss for words but how can I sum
up the effect I have on my millions of viewers ?'
'Aching at nightfall'.
P.S. Why do I keep thinking of Laurel and Hardy ?
==============================================================================
From: Dave Jones <email address>
Subject: MV1056 RE: MV1054: Subject clicks to enter here
Date: Sun, 17 May 1998 12:36:18 -0400
>But mostly, looking for what the
>less-performed ones have in common, I think it may be because they seem to
>me to be songs that need more than one listen.
I'll take this as a cue for a suggestion - or a challenge - that I wanted to
make as a follow-up to the Top 10. Let's hear people's nominations for the PA
song they Really Can't Stand - with the proviso that they listen to their
candidates at least three times before voting. I find time and time again
(and time again) that just as soon as I get really set in my dislike for a
piece and listen to it in preparation for a deconstruction it'll never forget,
I actually start getting hooked by it instead.
For instance, "Tenderfoot" was actually in the tumbril and leaving the gates
of the Bastille, only to have the horse bolt for freedom taking the cargo with
it. Something about that melody line just wouldn't let go... "You can't
expect to be remembered" was headed for the Pretentious Nonsense category, but
then I started listening to the lyrics and changed my mind. The Monyash
rendering of "Biro" was Song Most Likely to be Skipped on CD, but little
things about it started getting attention, even down to the way Pete colours
in the word "borrow".
So anyway, I for one would like to see how many of the Voices can keep up
their disdain for a particular piece through multiple listenings.
By the way, whatever I may think about the lead guitar breaks on "Wall of
Death", I would like to note that Paul Keogh seems to have been a most
competent and versatile side-man on "Road of Silk" and "Secret Drinker".
He may have choked a little when really in the spotlight, but he was equally
at home underpinning "Shadow and the Widower" and the far gentler "Senior
Citizens".
Dave Jones
==============================================================================
From: cjb<email address>
Date: Sun, 17 May 1998 18:45:41 +0000
Subject: MV1057 Re: MV1049: Caption competition anyone?
"If you don't hurry up and take that photo we're going to smile"
"Call that a brindled crew cut?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What happened to Andy's lyric competition? My initial reaction was
"Hm, naw, I couldn't do that" But then a line started going
round in my head and despite the fact I knew it was rubbish some more
lines joined it. So, though I - why not take the plunge ..... results
below.
----------------------------------Plunge-----------------------------
The future of our past has gone
And left us all surprised
The dreams we had seem silly now
But cannot be denied
The hero's we once had
They now seem fragile, failed the test
The debts of life are paid in kind
We've whittled down the rest
We'll drink a toast to life
Because the best is yet to come
We've learnt the wrongs weren't right
And now's the time for fun
With people all around us
We were told what to believe
We heard the words they said
But found our own way to succeed
We've read the books, we've heard the songs
We've tried to pass the test
And now the life that's left for us
Is just to do our best.
We'll drink a toast to life
We've found that we were not the fools
And now's the time for fun
Because we've learnt to use the tools
---------------------------------------------------------------------
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ROCK FOLLIES - The Classic 1970's TV Drama starring
Julie Covington, Charlotte Cornwell and Rula Lenska.
Online at:- http://members.xoom.com/Follies
Pictures,sounds and much more (unofficial site)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Regards - Cary (like Mary with a 'C' for cat)
==============================================================================
Date: Sun, 17 May 1998 19:46:48 +0100
From: Leslie Moss <email address>
Subject: MV1058 Re: MV1047: top 6 albums
>1. Driving Through Mythical America 570 votes
>2. Beware Of The Beautiful Stranger 493 votes (Touch Has A Memory version)
> 463 votes (Be Careful version)
>3. A King At Nightfall 474 votes
>4. Road Of Silk 392 votes
>5. Secret Drinker 237 votes
>6. Live Libel 60 votes
Hi guys! Just returned from sunny Edmonton and can report that Jeff was very
pleased to receive wedding greetings from Voices (special thanks to Pete
himself for a typically witty response). He and Sharon are now honeymooning
in Hawaii and I am hoping that he will persuade her to join our band having
given up on the two kids who are rather more taken with Metallica and Nirvana.
Catching up on MVs I was wondering if the Top 6 albums list would have
looked different if we were voting on the albums rather than totting up the
songs. I was listening to BOTBS/DTMA on the plane home and the former album
felt very meant to be, even the songs like Biro and Revels which IMHO are
okay but not special - in the context of the album they work perfectly. The
whole album conjures up a unique feel that brings back memories of the
period and how refreshingly different it sounded.
If I had to pick a single album to take on a desert island I'd probably
plump for AKAN, though if we include PA/CJ songs recorded by others, then
The Beautiful Changes is an outstanding album (with the possible exception
of the non PA/CJ "He just don't appeal to me") that ought to be out on CD
and in everyone's collection whether they be fans of PA or not. If only
James Cameron had picked Julie Covington instead of Celine Dion for the
Titanic soundtrack!
BTW, did Girl on a Train win the Top 50 list because it is everyone's
favourite or because it appears in so many top tens. I'd be really
interested to know people's all-time one favourite - I guess it would be the
one they put at the top of their Top Ten list. Ian, would it be possible to
compile a Top Ten of number ones from your data?
Can I also make a plea that we and Pete don't take the Top 50 list too
seriously as a basis for gig selections. I felt hesitant enough about my
choice in the first place and see songs way down the list like An Array of
Passionate Lovers (28), Care Charmer Sleep (42), Screen Freak (43) and Where
Have They All Gone (49) which would have been in my 11-20 list. Also, some
songs just work better live than others - Ballad of an Upstairs Window and
Errant Knight are great live songs as is, in a very different way, Lady of a
Day.
Caption comp - I agree with the Laurel and Hardy parallel! Surely Clive is
saying "Live on stage? That's another fine mess you've got me into!"
Now I'm off to sleep off the jet lag.
Leslie
==============================================================================
From: IChippett <email address>
Date: Sun, 17 May 1998 18:07:08 EDT
Subject: MV1059 Re : MV1056; MV1054: Subject clicks to enter here
I think that the opening line to "biro" is beautiful both lyrically and
musically, simple, beautifully balanced and unforgettable. Pity that it goes
a little haywire after but it's the fault of the words rather than the music
which clever but almost unsettable, I feel which is why it gets on some
Voices' nerves.
==============================================================================
From: IChippett <email address>
Date: Sun, 17 May 1998 18:07:07 EDT
Subject: MV1060 Re : MV1058; MV1047: top 6 albums
Sure thing, Leslie. Richard Corfield is doing a full-scale statistical
revision of the Top Ten but here's a Top Ten of Number One choices.
1. Faded Mansion 7 times number one choice out of 19 votes
2. Girl On The Train 6 times out of 21 votes
3. Perfect Moments 4 / 18
Beware Of The Beautiful Stranger 4 / 18
History And Geography 4 / 12
6. Between Us There Is Nothing 3 /12
Thirty Year Man 3 / 21
8. Thief In The Night 2 / 18
Practical Man 2 / 4
Hypertension Kid 2 / 9
Ballad Of An Upstairs Window 2 / 5
After that we have the other No. One choices.
Tonight Your Love Is Over 1 / 6
Last Hill 1 / 6
Hollow And The Fluted Night 1 / 6
Pavday Evenings 1 / 13
Little Sammy Speedball 1 / 1
Canoe 1 / 15
which makes 17 different songs. It's curious that TYLIO never got a lower
score than 8 points from any of the 6 voters. A song we either love or hate?
Flowers and the Wine which was chosen 17 times never got a No. 1 place. Over
to you now, Richard!
An unnatural timidity prevented my sending your brother a message but I have
since overcome this and now do so. Congratulations, Jeff, and I hope that on
your wedding night, things more or less went right. 8-)
==============================================================================
From: IChippett <email address>
Date: Sun, 17 May 1998 18:07:11 EDT
Subject: MV1061: Secret Drinker
As I pointed out during the Top Ten saga, it seems incredible that this album
got so few votes. Can we please have a discussion as to why. Is it that not
everyone has a copy or just indifference? It's probably, in my opinion, Pete's
most consistent album with not one duff song on it though maybe only the title
track really reaches the heights.
Ian C
==============================================================================
Date: Mon, 18 May 1998 20:53:10 GMT
From: <email address> (Michael J. Cross)
Subject: MV1062 Re: MV703 Train Blues -- Postscript from Pete
In MV703, Pete Atkin wrote:
>"One extremely peripheral PS to the OOHTNTB influences: one of the train
>blues rolling around my brain at the time was a particularly wonderful
>piano track recorded in the 60s by Luckey (sic) Roberts, from an album he
>shared with Willie The Lion Smith - Railroad Blues. It's on CD and
>massively enjoyable and unpredictable piano playing - not at all
>conventional boogie-woogie from either of them (they each play solo,
>separately). LR was cited by Duke Ellington as one of his most important
>influences - INFLUENCES! - for heaven's sake."
This piqued my interest enough for me to search through some of the
WWW-based CD shops to see if any of them listed it.
After one false start (Cheap Or What CD's at www.cow.co.uk who listed it
but then couldn't supply it), I now have the CD, courtesy of CDNow
(www.cdnow.com) who sell it for $14.49 plus p&p (plus import duty & VAT
if you're in the UK of course).
It isn't as easy to find on CDNow as it could be, though; according to
them the artist is Roberts/Smith, and the title is "Lucky & The
Lion-Harlem Piano".
If anyone wants to try and find it by other means, the full details are:
Luckey Roberts/Willie "The Lion" Smith - Luckey & The Lion: Harlem Piano
Good Time Jazz, GTJCD-10035-2 or S10035, 1991
Luckey Roberts - piano solo (tracks 1-6)
Willie "The Lion" Smith - piano solo (tracks 7-12)
Recorded in New York City, March 18, 1958
Total Time 44:00
And yes, after a few listens, it's wonderful.
So, many thanks to Pete for mentioning it.
all the best,
--
Michael J. Cross BSFA Magazine Index at http://www.mjckeh.demon.co.uk
"Beware of the Beautiful Stranger/Driving Through Mythical America"
by Pete Atkin & Clive James, CD reissue 11/97 on See For Miles
For more info on all PA/CJ releases, see http://www.rwt.co.uk/pa.htm
==============================================================================
From: NNorman<email address>
Subject: MV1063: Caption competition
Date: Tue, 19 May 1998 08:52:04 +0100
"Why did Steve cut us off at the shoulders when I put on my flares and
clogs specially"
----------
==============================================================================
Date: Tue, 19 May 1998 14:29:04 +0000
From: Stephen Payne <email address>
Subject: MV1064: Misc Responses
I've been very much enjoying all the recent communications; light relief
from exam marking.
I thought about entering the bottom three voting. I'd said months ago that
I couldn't really enjoy Lady Lowness, Wall of Death or The Man Who Walked
Toward the Music. However, my views on the last two as songs were really
changed by hearing them live, and TMWWTTM even more so by playing it on
guitar. And it may be hopelessly sycophantic to say so, but there isn't a
single other song that I find close to irritating (though I don't have Live
Libel, which may have some candidates for someone like me who is a fan of
some of the pilloried.)
More generally, I've found the guitar chords that have been posted have
really added to my appreciation of the songs. I wonder why it is that some
of them sound so compelling and some much less so. I don't think it's
correlated with whether the song is a guitar song or a piano song in the
original: for example, I find playing Perfect Moments or Payday Evenings
or My Egoist very satisfying, whereas I find Road of Silk, and Be
Careful... much less so. I wonder if it is correlated with the ones Pete
prefers to play live. My favourite of all to play, at least for the
moment, is Shadow and the Widower. Now there's one I'd like to hear in
Buxton...
By the way, if it makes sense as a question, I wonder, Pete, how you
"decide" which songs are piano and which are guitar based? Would swapping
from one to the other for live performance ever make sense? Are there any
that you've done that with?
Given that Pete wondered in public about how to sort out a Buxton playlist:
if I can be bold enough to make suggestions, the songs that I'd most like
to hear at Buxton are the ones that haven't been recorded at all (e.g. I
think Get That Out of Your Head sounds terrific on the website) , and my
second choices would be all the ones that aren't on the Monyash CDs. I'd
have thought that might go for many of the Voices?
As for pulling in new listeners... I think one of the most instantly
striking songs is Girl on The Train. I've also had some successes with
Care Charmer Sleep (where are the chords for that, someone, please!). In
concert it may be somewhat different, as you can take for granted perhaps
more attention from the audience. I first heard Pete playing live (c
1976), and the songs that really stood out for me at the time were I See
the Joker and Secret Drinker (hey - both on the unpopular album, just goes
to show).
==============================================================================
Date: Tue, 19 May 1998 17:19:35 GMT
From: <email address> (Michael J. Cross)
Subject: MV1065: Top Ten Survey - Another View
Given the difficulty I, and more than a few others, had in ordering
my favourite 10 titles, I thought it would be interesting to tot up the
votes by counting how many times each title was voted for.
And here are the results:
21 girl on a train
thirty year man
19 beware of the beautiful stranger
faded mansion on the hill
perfect moments
18 thief in the night
17 flowers and the wine
15 canoe
13 carnations on the roof
payday evening
sunlight gate
12 between us there is nothing
history and geography
11 senior citizens
sessionman's blues
9 hypertension kid
8 a king at nightfall
7 i see the joker
prince of aquitaine
search and destroy
secret drinker
touch has a memory
wristwatch for a drummer
6 hollow and the fluted night
last hill that shows you all the valley
laughing boy
no dice
rain-wheels
rider to the world's end
shadow and the widower
sunrise
tongue-tied
tonight your love is over
5 an array of passionate lovers
ballad of an upstairs window
errant knight
lady of a day
man who walked towards the music
master of the revels
national steel
screen freak
you can't expect to be remembered
4 all i ever did
double agent
pearl-driller
practical man
3 beautiful changes
care-charmer sleep
driving through mythical america
have you got a biro i can borrow?
original original honky-tonk night train blues
tenderfoot
2 black funk rex
eye of the universe
road of silk
time and time again
wall of death
where have they all gone?
1 a man who's been around
all the dead were strangers
apparition in las vegas
be careful when they offer you the moon
frangipanni was her flower
friendly island song
i need new words
i used to see him far too often
little sammy speedball
my egoist
nothing left to say
what am i supposed to do
Total votes cast: 456
[This includes one Top 5, plus a Top 11, and also, I think, 1 song
under it's variant titles.]
all the best,
--
Michael J. Cross BSFA Magazine Index at http://www.mjckeh.demon.co.uk
"Beware of the Beautiful Stranger/Driving Through Mythical America"
by Pete Atkin & Clive James, CD reissue 11/97 on See For Miles
For more info on all PA/CJ releases, see http://www.rwt.co.uk/pa.htm
==============================================================================
From: DangerDon <email address>
Date: Tue, 19 May 1998 18:15:35 EDT
Subject: MV1066: Introducing Pete - the Wilderness Years
In over 25 years of trying to get people interested in Pete's music, I've
never had the slightest success. My wife, my friends, my new-born children, my
parents, people I've met on the beach, captive audiences on drunken nights,
local politicians canvassing for my vote, stray dogs - all have remained
unmoved by any track or tracks.
They just don't get it.
So there's nothing else for it: Pete will have to cover a version of
Chumbawumba's 'Tubthumping' and maybe we can hook them that way...
Don Bowen
==============================================================================
From: DangerDon <email address>
Date: Tue, 19 May 1998 18:15:36 EDT
Subject: MV1067: Francis Albert Atkin
Over the last few days, I've watched quite a few Frank Sinatra tribute
programmes - Frank in films, Frank behind the scenes, and, of course, Frank in
concert.
And I've seen three different versions of him performing '..give me one for my
baby, and One More For the Road'.
And then it struck me.
If ever there was a song for Frank to have covered, if ever Clive and Pete
(whose avowed early aim was to write for other performers) had sold one
particular song to an artiste, surely Frank singing 'Thirty Year Man' would
have been just perfect.
I played the Monyash CD version just now; it's a marvellously intricate song,
yet full of simple yearning, jaded but somehow optimistic.
In other words, perfect for Ol' Blue Eyes.
I began to imagine (and no disrespect to Pete's two recorded versions) that
had Frank phrased it, interpreted it and (above all) managed to remember the
sheer amount of lyrics in it, it could have been one of his great songs.
But since he didn't and it won't, it will just have to remain, up there in the
all-time PA Top 3, a wonderful song for us few in the know.
Don Bowen
==============================================================================
Date: Wed, 20 May 1998 18:06:21 +0100
From: S J Birkill <email address>
Subject: MV1068 Re: MV1064: Misc Responses
Stephen Payne wrote:
>I've also had some successes with Care Charmer Sleep (where are the chords
>for that, someone, please!).
Here they are now:
http://www.rwt.co.uk/d7c.htm
-- Steve
==============================================================================
Date: Wed, 20 May 1998 18:24:26 +0100
From: Leslie Moss <email address>
Subject: MV1069 Re: MV1067: Francis Albert Atkin
Don, you've hit the nail on the head! Thirty Year Man by Sinatra - what a
treat that would have been, not to mention the royalties. So how about
offering it to Tony Bennett, or the Misty fella whose name eludes me?
Leslie
BTW if you see a man on a train (the Metropolitan line) ostentatiously
listening to BOTBS/DTMA on a Discman, that's me doing my bit to raise the
profile.
==============================================================================
Date: Wed, 20 May 1998 19:36:37 +0100
From: Gerald Smith <email address>
Subject: MV1070 Re: MV1064: Misc Responses
Hello Folks
>More generally, I've found the guitar chords that have been posted have
>really added to my appreciation of the songs. I wonder why it is that some
>of them sound so compelling and some much less so. I don't think it's
>correlated with whether the song is a guitar song or a piano song in the
>original:
I'm not so sure. The texture of a sounded chord is a very important part
of its overall effect. Piano and guitar textures are obviously very
different, for example in the way in which harmonic and principle elements
relate and intertwine. Therefore a song which we may be used to hearing
played on piano will have a very different feel when played on guitar. For
instance, I've tried playing 'Girl On The Train' on piano and it does does
not work for me. I have to do it on guitar, ropey playing aside. Also, the
way in which notes are ordered in a piano chord may be difficult to emulate
on a guitar. Note ordering (or, more properly, chord position) is a very
important factor in determining the overall effect of a chord - for
instance a seventh chord in root position (eg C E G Bb) sounds very
different from its last inversion (Bb C E G).
>
>By the way, if it makes sense as a question, I wonder, Pete, how you
>"decide" which songs are piano and which are guitar based? Would swapping
>from one to the other for live performance ever make sense? Are there any
>that you've done that with?
IMHO, the only time this would be worthwhile would be in order to
deliberately perform an 'alternative' rendition of a song - to underline a
contrast with the original, or to effect a change of mood. For instance,
has anyone heard Jose Feliciano doing The Doors epic 'Light My Fire'? A
greater contrast with the original is hard to imagine, the backing
comprising mostly acoustic guitar and strings.
See you in Buxton and let's hope Pete can get something together before
that too.
Regards
Gerry Smith
(big plug for Pete and MV from 'musiclinks' section of the URL below)
Gerald Smith's Homepage :
http://web.ukonline.co.uk/gerald.smith/index.htm
==============================================================================
From: IChippett <email address>
Date: Wed, 20 May 1998 17:38:43 EDT
Subject: MV1071: Man on the Train
"But he kept on the job of improving his single-track brain
Ploughing steadily onward through obsolete Mr. Clive James.."
Nice try, Leslie. I often drive down the Boulevard St. Michel playing Black
Funk Rex at full volume with the sunroof open but Paris is playing hard to
get. My wife and kids, however, after several months of exposure in the car to
a homemade Greatest Hits cassette now whistle along to many of them. "Yes,
sirree!" Junior shouts during LLL, "Oui, j'aime bien cette chanson" says my
daughter (hitherto a Spice Girl addict) to BOTBS while Madame hums along (but
not FMOTH, funnily enough). All this to show that the music stands up by
itself and doesn't depend on the lyrics since the Chippetts are not totally
bilingual, certainly not enough to get all the literary references.
Ian C
==============================================================================
Date: Thu, 21 May 1998 17:54:17 +0100
From: john <email address>
Subject: MV1072 Re: MV1069; MV1067: Francis Albert Atkin
Thirty Year Man by Sinatra! This might end up a great game, if we're
designing a perfect CD of PA covers.
I'll request "Sunrise" by Norman "Hurricane" Smith. I went looking for
web references to him the other day, only to find him on several "worst
rock songs" lists for "Oh Babe, What Would You Say" which is
shockingly unkind. I like singers with instantly recognisable voices.
Is it planned to mention Buxton on uk.music.folk? I know it's going
to be a sell-out but it might be nice to attract a few more webby
people - they might end up here. How are the tickets going, anyway?
john.
==============================================================================
From: Dave Jones <email address>
Subject: MV1073: Be careful what you look for....
Date: Fri, 22 May 1998 08:45:38 -0400
...you might find it. For whatever reason I ran a disk
search for all Real Audio files yesterday and found
the bogus copies I originally tried playing - and a few
more besides.
Sitting there in the Netscape cache directory were
pristine copies of the very files I had given up on.
They had machine-generated names, but it was
easy to figure which was which from the file sizes.
Of course, having found Joe Stead, I immediately
regretted it. This man is to folk music what the
Portsmouth Sinfonia was to Tchaikovsky, but
without the fun. What he lacked in competence,
he more than made up for in sadism. Police could
use that piece to flush criminals out of their hideouts.
Steve is correct about bytes getting added to
the files when you download them, but it turns out
the damage is done at the receiver, not the transmitter.
Netscape obligingly builds an untreated version of the
file in the cache as well as a 'bad' version on disk.
I downloaded 'Architect' last night as a test, and got
both playable and unplayable versions, as expected.
"A man who's been around" is a nice piece. Who were
the backing band on that, and where was it recorded ?
Dave Jones
Bugfinder General in Rochester NY.
==============================================================================
Date: Fri, 22 May 1998 15:14:25 +0000
From: Stephen Payne <email address>
Subject: MV1074: lyric competition
Well, I never thought I would expose myself this way in semi-public, but
with the prompt of that lyric competition, and in the spirit of
participation.......
I wrote this over twenty years ago as a student fan of Clive's lyrics. A
friend of mine actually wrote a tune for it, I remember. I was
self-consciously trying to emulate aspects of Clive's lyrical style -
especially the complex rhyme schemes and variations on a metaphorical theme.
I offer it for your amusement, as a salutary lesson for what happens when
people who really can't work the trick nevertheless give it a shot. Having
said that, I must admit, reconsidering it after all these years, I do
harbour some hope that it goes full circle beyond the pretentious and naff
back round to the mildly charming. But that just shows the lengths to
which parents will go to forgive their children......
Chocolate Ginger
The last kiss is a chocolate ginger
The empty box and the shaped paper
Mark the pleasures missed - you won't replace her
While the sweet scents linger
The last touch is a whiskey dry
The empty glass and the stained container
Don't leave the drinker much - but you won't blame her
While your mind's still high
You know this lost love is a bitter sweet
As hard to swallow as my pride
You know this lost love it has bitten deep
Its after-taste has never died
The last goodbye is a long slow dance
The partners push and pull yet step together
You were in perfect time - you won't forget her
While music plays out your romance
You know this lost love is a melody
That though I try I can't forget
You know this lost love it's held on to me
It won't stop playing in my head
==============================================================================
Date: Fri, 22 May 1998 20:52:16 +0100
From: Graham Stibbs <email address>
Subject: MV1075 Re: MV 1073
Midnight Voices wrote:
From: Dave Jones <email address>
Subject: Be careful what you look for....
Date: Fri, 22 May 1998 08:45:38 -0400
>"A man who's been around" is a nice piece. Who were
>the backing band on that, and where was it recorded ?
If you mean the Baudelaire version, it was done for the (brief) TV series
"The Party's Moving On" and involved a band led by MD and pianist Laurie
Holloway throughout the run. Steve's put details on the web site under The
LWT Shows. It was a long time ago, but I'm pretty certain Pete didn't play
piano himself on this one.It's always been one of my favourite songs of the
PA/CJ opus, perhaps for its sweeping melodyand its subtle pricking of the
boastful male pose. Evidently, the guy wants to be seen as a man who's been
around, but the cracks are showing ...
I don't know if Pete's performed the song since then, and perhaps it's a a
little on the Tin Pan Alley side, but as a slice of life I think it deserves
consideration for an outing sometime...
Graham Stibbs
==============================================================================
From: IChippett <email address>
Date: Fri, 22 May 1998 15:57:29 EDT
Subject: MV1076: Midnight Voices C.D.?
Someone on the Pet Sounds discussion group had the bright idea of asking
members to record and submit their versions of songs by their idols (the Beach
Boys) for an eventual private C.D. which has since seen the light of day
though only available to members of the list as far as I can tell. Well, why
not us or, rather, you? I'm fortunately ruled out as my technical know-how is
exceeded only by my technical don't-know-how but there must be a whole load of
musicians out there among the Voices who would love to hand down to Posterity
their version of, well, you name it. Steve would have to be producer 8-)
Ian C
==============================================================================
Date: Fri, 22 May 1998 21:13:25 +0100
From: S J Birkill <email address>
Subject: MV1077 Re: MV1073: Be careful what you look for....
Dave Jones said
>
>"A man who's been around" is a nice piece. Who were
>the backing band on that, and where was it recorded ?
>
The demo version is of course just Pete on piano and vocal. I don't seem to
have time and place, apologies Pete if you've given me them and I've lost
them.
The longer (I called it "Baudelaire") version was recorded off-air by (MV)
Graham Stibbs from the TV series "The Party's Moving On" broadcast by
London Weekend Television (in the London area only) in 1970 (Graham has his
own story of inspiration here). Recording details are at
http://www.rwt.co.uk/tpmo.htm : Laurie Holloway (who taught my wife Carole
piano when she was a child in Oldham) led (from the piano) a trio featuring
Jeff Clyne on bass and Johnny Spooner on drums. The studio might have been
the ex-Rediffusion place at Wembley Park which was used for the later
series "What Are You Doing After The Show", but I'm not sure. Ten 12-minute
shows were made and broadcast; Clive James was credited as Programme Editor.
Thank you Dave for analysing the RA download problems. I'll try to sort
something out to allow y'all to have disk copies of these songs, preferably
without needing to upZIP them first. Meanwhile, trawl your caches for Joe
... or listen on-line -- the RWT RA server is running just fine this evening.
Steve
PS: I see as I prepare to send this that GS has also replied. Sorry (Graham
and the rest) for any repetition here!
==============================================================================
Date: Sat, 23 May 1998 13:16:13 +0100
From: Gerald Smith <email address>
Subject: MV1078 Re: MV1076: Midnight Voices C.D.?
At 21:18 22/05/98 +0100, Ian Chippett wrote:
but there must be a whole load of
>musicians out there among the Voices who would love to hand down to Posterity
>their version of, well, you name it. Steve would have to be producer 8-)
The imagination boggles!!
Gerry Smith
Gerald Smith's Homepage :
http://web.ukonline.co.uk/gerald.smith/index.htm
==============================================================================
Date: Sat, 23 May 1998 16:25:15 -0400
From: John Corfield <email address>
Subject: MV1079: PA - Top ten
As a new member to MV and a long standing enthusiast for PA and CJ I would
like to add my top ten hits:
1 Beware of the beautiful stranger
2 Screen freak
3 Wristwatch for a drummer
4 Girl on a train
5 A King at nightfall
6 Apparition in Las Vegas
7 Carnations on the roof
8 Errant knight
9 The Original Honky Tonk Train blues
10 Stranger in town
I will be interested to find out how this compares with other Voices
choices.
best wishes
John
==============================================================================
From: "andy & lynn" <email address>
Subject: MV1080: Lyrics
Date: Sat, 23 May 1998 22:54:34 +0100
Its good to see that my tentative suggestion of a lyric competition has begun
to produce a response. Perhaps competition was the wrong word, I saw it as a
trawl through the collective consciousness to see if anything of note was
dragged up. Here's a lyric I wrote after the Space Shuttle Challenger
exploded. Christa McCauliffe was a teacher who won a competition for the
civilian place. As an added bonus, $1 000 000 of life insurance were thrown
in. Cynics said that the civilian place was to act as a candy coating for
Reagan's ridiculous 'Star Wars' programme. The song is written from the point
of view of her husband. There that's more background than Clive James has
offered about 'The Faded Mansion on the Hill' on twenty five years.
Christa
The cheque arrived today, never seen so many noughts
I suppose its supposed to pay for losing you
I'm sorry , sir, we lost your astronaut
There was really nothing we could do
Christa, Oh Christa
When will someone tell me why
I've been crying for so long
I have no tears left to cry
A trip down to the cape all expenses paid
A few false starts and finally on your way
I saw you in the distance, saw you smile and wave
Looking very scared and very brave
It's hard to watch your favourite star turn to a burning sun
But you hold your breath and watch until it's done
It's hard to watch your nightmares turning into facts
While someone's taking photographs to see how you react
Christa, Oh Christa
When will someone tell me why
I've been crying for so long
I have no tears left to cry
Eight miles away, eight miles too far
You might as well have been in outer space
It's a heavy price To pay to send the was up to the stars
And save the Agency from losing face
And they say that someone knew but no-one cared to listen
We've got to show the people this thing's safe
The taxpayers are out there, they've paid to see this mission
We've got to beat the Russians in this race
Christa, Oh Christa
When will someone tell me why
I've been crying for so long
I have no tears left to cry
And on that cheery note,
See you in Buxton
Andy Victor
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Web Digest week 38 (17.05.98, MV1054-1080) ends | index | prev | next |
Pete Atkin Home | Discography | Julie Covington
| Audio Clips | Visitors' Comments | Join Midnight Voices
The discussion forum for fans of Pete Atkin and Clive James,
their works and collaborators on stage, TV, disc and in print.
Midnight Voices
Midnight Voices, the Pete Atkin and Julie Covington Websites are operated and maintained by Steve Birkill