WAITING WITH ANTICIPATION |
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The downside of
living at the tip of Africa is that it sometimes, no make that always, takes us awhile to
catch up with the rest of the world. We generally get television shows long after the rest
of the world has seen them and new CD releases also take some time to reach our shores. Thanks to Rod, my copy of Beatsville should arrive
next week and I can't wait to hear it. I've had to suffer through the past few weeks
listening to all the rave reviews from everyone in the First World and the wait has been
frustrating, to say the least!
Todays Flight Plan, originally published on
September 9, tells of Rod's experiences while laying down the extra tracks for Beatsville.
- Ken, Johannesburg, December 16
A SUNDAY NIGHT RECORDING SESSION
I always forget how much fun it is to make records until I
get into a studio and begin doing so. It's been awhile since I've made any new live
recordings with musicians also alive and well and playing and contributing beautifully. I
do some voice overs to keep various wolves from the door, but it's not the same. Not
my copy and my music and though I'm usually the spokesman for something I believe in [or I
wouldn't do it], there's a big diffrence in producing your own session with an engineer
you know, love, admire and trust than working with an ad executive you've never met and
are not likely to see again.. Even working with new musicians, especially today's young
crop, is a treat.
Sunday night was such a high for me. I went into my favorite studio, Private Island Trax,
to work with my favorite anal retentive engineer, Michael McDonald [nothing gets by this
guy] on two new trax for the reissue of "Beatsville". Recent poems, "I
Always Knew" and as is my want a final track that probably won't even be listed on
the album's contents. Just a little added something.
The musicians were two young men whose names I want you to remember. These guys are so
talented you'll be hearing a lot more about them and not just from me. Chris Anderson
tripled on piano, guitar and a very haunting musette like accordion solo on "I Always
Knew". Brent Harding shined on an honest to God standup bass [you know how I love
acoustic instruments.. Have you ever seen an electronic bass at one of my concerts.?]
Before the first take on "Poem X" was finished, I knew we'd be making more music
together. It will be soon if I can get a few Flight Plans ahead and a few hundred Ask Rod
letters condensed & answered. The plan is to do all 60 or so new poems from "A
Safe Place To Land" for a CD/Book combination. Have made no publishing/recording
deals on either, but like most projects I undertake have a gut feeling about this one, so
I'll back it myself.
"Beatsville" seems like a good place to start for a preview. Am not sure how
most of you will react to these new efforts, they are a bit different than most of the
things I've done. Still, usually when I like something, you do too. That’s why we're
all still here, I guess.
Also included on the "Beatsville" reissue are two
tracks from "In Search of Eros". And, "The Yellow Unicorn" (original
version, uncovered by the intrepid Jay Hagan). . .which according to recent letters you
nearly all seem to like better than the revised version, "Six Songs For The
Sun", "If I Could Fly". . .yeah you know that like "I've Been To
Town" & "The Ivy That Clings To The Wall", I love singing that song. At
Richard Kegler's insistance [he's the honcho at P22] we even included "The Beat
Generation" by Bob McFadden & Dor, only record I ever made with Bill Haley &
his Comets. Watch out or "The Mummy", "The Dracula Cha, Cha, Cha"
& "The Beverly Hills Telephone Directory Mambo" may be next.
I'm not sure what any of these added tracks have to do with "Beatsville", but
you know me, love to add trax to just about anything. And this is some stuff I like a lot.
Can't think of a better excuse to tag them onto "Beatsville.", than to hear them
again myself.
Hope all your Sunday nights were as good for you as the full moon of 9/6/98 was for me.
- September 8, 1998, Previously unpublished |
