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April 6, 2006
I think I now have an order. I tried various combinations and ended up with
One More Second as the opener and Iguazu as the closer. The
reasons I didn't share this tune with you before were a) because I suddenly
felt protective over my children and didn't want them exposed in this way.
This is a very special tune to Rufus and I. I have now made it an
instrumental but kept their backing vocals. b) because there is a female
artist in Japan who has done a cover version of this tune with Rufus'
lyrics. Long story. I didn't want our version to come out before hers. She
really has done an amazing job with it (I hope you hear it some day) which
Rufus and I are proud of. So it's more than likely One More Second
will be the most heard title from Fourth Wall. My friend Dave Heath
plays alto flute on this one and I am totally in to his performance. He
nailed it. I am fairly convinced this is the best opener for the album. I
hope you will agree.
I am
having my doubts about Count it Off. Either I have to do a radical
mix or drop the tune entirely and just come up with another like I did with
Meeting Point. It just doesn't seem to fit anywhere. Shame really
because I like this tune. If I were a major pop artists this would be the
sort of tune that would make the perfect B-side or bonus track to a single.
Unfortunately that's what it sounds like to me today. I will try and save
this one today and let you know if it lives or not. It's certainly on the
critical list. It's kind of like the tunes are in a talent show and they are
slowly slipping away. Another one has to go. It looks like it might be the
boisterous one. I am being Simon Cowell and the nice guy.
April
11, 2006
I keep listening to the mixes and hear
faults every time. Either I should just stop or seriously try and fix these
flaws. The day before yesterday. I walked in to our kitchen and Fanny asked
me if I had finished. I said I thought I had. Her response was "OK great,
then can you take Pablo out for a walk now?". Not "Oh darling,
congratulations, allow me to give you a back rub". Her response put the
whole thing in to perspective. Basically, this album is not that important
in the grand scheme of things. It is unlikely to bring on world peace or
solve the world's famine crisis. It's just a collection of tunes put
together by a musician who lives in London and plays the guitar for a
living. No more and no less. But truth be known, I secretly want to change
the world with this album (in a Dr Evil kind of way). Unless I believe I can
this won't have been worth it. Two days until the birth of this album. I
wonder what the stars have in store for this record (13th April 2006). I
must contact my astrologer. I do know it will be an Aries like me. Creative,
moody, etc. I will be in touch again soon.
April 15, 2006
Here is the
final order...
One More Second
The Bridge
Lost & Found
Three Souls
Meeting Point
London Paris Cardiff
Count is Off
Lyre's String
Gabe
Iguazu
I have mastered the album.
I went there with my son Harley, Mike Lindup and Susan Gluth who is the
German woman who has been shooting a documentary about me for the last two
years. She spent the last few days staying with us. I was working to the
last minute with Count it Off which has changed radically. It was
great having Harley there with me because we are very close. Mike is a very
close friend and also has very good ears for detail. I asked his advice a
few times. There were occasions when I had to tune certain tracks up as
little is 0.7 of a percent to match either the tune before or the one after
any given track. I didn't use a tuner for this record so there were a few
tuning issues. Mike has super sharp ears. The main determining factor with
the order for me was the contrast in keys. The second was the tempos or
feels. I have to listen to it one more time to approve the cut (as they
say). This will be the last time I hear it for a few weeks. Then the studio
will fed-ex it to the label in Germany and manufacturing will begin. I need
to make a couple of small adjustments to the credits and off we go. The
timing couldn't be more perfect because I am going away for two weeks with
Sting for some shows in US and Central America. This will help take my mind
off the project and just concentrate on his music. On my return I can start
thinking about it again and if I have the nerve I might even listen to the
album. I will then start planning a release date and launch with the label.
It's all looking June/July'ish. I will be planning a couple of club shows in
Germany to get this thing going. This is where I would love to present the
album to you. I will get Mike, Rhani and Nicolas to join me in an intimate
gig which you must come to. Details will follow. So that's it. I would like
to play you one mix from the record but I don't know which one. Perhaps you
could do one of your vote type things to find a tune you can agree on
(see the poll in the forum). I
don't want to play you the whole album for obvious reasons. But It has
changed or developed quite a lot.
So that's it. I am signing
off now. I would like to thank you for making this journey with me. You have
been wonderful companions. There have been a few ups and downs but the
experience has made me richer. I have learnt a lot about my strengths and
weaknesses (especially the latter). I can still hear faults which I now
accept will always be there. But I am not perfect, nor ever will be. I am
just trying to improve as a musician and person. I believe I have made some
progress. Some might disagree. I think it's a question of acting one's age,
musically. If I were to try and reproduce anything I have done in the past
it would be comparable to a middle aged guy trying on an old pair of jeans
only to look ridiculous. I could never do an album like First Touch
again, nor would I ever want to. This album represents where I am in the
universe now and my take on life and music today. Only time will tell if it
is any good. No one has ever "got" any of my albums right away and most
people have said "it's not as good as the last one". Those same people
usually let me know they "get" it a year or two later. Then I make another
album and the same happens again. This amuses me. I don't want you to get it
right away. If you did I don't think it would say much about the music. It's
like making friends. Some of my best friends were people I didn't understand
from the get go. They made me want to know them. I tried to find meaning and
a connection with them. We are friends for ever now. I sincerely hope you
can find a connection and meaning in this album, Fourth Wall.
April 21, 2006
Here is the final mix of One More Second. This tune means a lot to me
for various reasons. I co-wrote this with my son Rufus who originally sang
the melody I am playing on the guitar. My daughter Misty sings a couple of
phrases in the chorus. My friend Dave Heath plays some stunning alto flute
at the end. I feel this tune sets up the album nicely because it starts very
simply and then slowly introduces some of the other elements to be found on
the album. I hope you like it.
Listen to 'One More Second'
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