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Where do
you or Sting draw the line between arrangement and co-authorship?
When we're in the studio I'm kind of like his cohort, I suppose – I’d
spar with him while he'd be sort of putting some ideas together – just
like his mate. And, every so often these songs came about. It wasn't,
like, planned that I would co-write anything with him. It's just that
I've got a riff and he says, "What's that?" With 'Shape of My Heart' he
calls me up a few days later says, "Do you mind if I write a song to
it?" and I go "Fuck, no! [Laughs] Of course not! Please!" And then he
says, "Do you want to know what the lyrics are about?" And I say, "I
don't give a shit! Seriously, I'm very happy for you to do that." You
know, it wasn't planned or anything. On the last album I haven't got
any co-writes with him, and maybe on future albums I will. It's a
great opportunity for me to write with people like that. As a result
of that, I've had the opportunity to write with various people –
because now I'm a signed, published writer with BMG, so they send me
all kinds of pop artists. I love collaborating with people, because I
know about structure and songs. If you listen to my solo record,
they're all like short stories. All the melodies that I come up with
are usually sung in my head. Sometimes I like to try and do it with
one guitar, like 'Lullaby to an Anxious Child'. That was written just as
a guitar piece and Sting just sang on top of it.
Since you
don't record many solos on electric for Sting's records, what made you
play a slide solo on Heavy Cloud No Rain for Ten Summoner's Tales?
That was just an accident. It really was. [Laughs] Let's go back a bit
to 'Soul Cages', the actual track. I was just joking. We where having a
laugh about Spinal Tap, and I had my foot on the monitor and I played
that riff. I was just joking, and Sting dug it! I was doing this:
[mimes putting his foot on the monitor and banging his head to the
Soul Cages intro]. A lot of these things come about in a strange way.
I'd say with Heavy Cloud No Rain" that was, like, a joke solo. I was
just being sort of cheeky. I don't play slide, really.
It's
pretty funny that one of the biggest solos you have on a Sting album
is a joke!
I know, it's very ironic. In fact, that solo was just lifted from the
demo. It was the first thing that came to my mind.
How did
you like recording 'Ten Summoner’s Tales' at Sting’s home instead of a
regular studio?
It was very intimate. That's actually the record that I was most
involved in, in every song. I had quite a large presence in a lot of
the intricacies of that record. It's his songs, but I was kind of the
midwife to that album and his ideas, in a way.
What was
your favourite track on that album?
Well, the fist track we worked on was 'Heavy Cloud, No Rain'. I enjoyed
that. That set the pace for that whole album because it was humorous.
I remember it was summer and we all had a good time. I like the song
'If I Ever Lose My Faith In You'. I just thought that it was such a
solid arrangement. That was fun. I really enjoyed that. I remember him
doing the vocal and it just sort of lifted the whole thing and we were
so excited. You know, obviously 'Shape Of My Heart'. I was happy to do
that because it was one of my songs. It was quite exciting to hear him
put the vocal down. I thought, "Oh wow, this is amazing."
What is
your overall feeling about some of records you've done for Sting?
'Ten Summoner's Tales' was the most intimate album I've done with Sting,
I suppose. And the first, 'Soul Cages', was the one where I had the most
freedom as a player. 'Soul Cages' is probably my favourite as an
experience, because it was my first experience and I'd got the chance
to sort of express myself. 'Ten Summoner's Tales' was my first chance to
express myself as an arranger. That meant a lot to me. I got a chance
to really get inside Sting's world. That's probably the highlight. And
then we did the last two.
It sounds
like the last two records leaned more heavily on keyboards.
Yeah. 'Mercury Falling' was an experimental album. ['Brand New Day'] I
really wasn't involved in much at all. I just came in and played on
it. I had a busy year and he's had a busy year and he worked with
Kipper, who's the producer on that one. He's very good. That's really
his influence on that album. My role on the last album was very, very
minimal. But [Sting and I have] been together for ten years now. He's
kind of launched me as a guitarist. The umbilical cord [was] cut after
the 'Ten Summoner's Tales' tour. That's when I did my solo album. That's
when I did a lot of work for other people outside Sting. The
relationship that we have now is that I have the freedom to just be
who I am. I'm the veteran in the band now. I've actually been with him
longer than anyone's been with him – including Andy Summers. That's
the weird thing.
What do
you attribute that to?
It's a lot of things. I sort of have a bit of an ability to pre-empt
his thinking a lot of the time, in terms of arrangements. I know his
songs so well – probably better than he does, sometimes. In rehearsal
situations I'm sort of helpful to him. I know his style. I know his
timing. I know the way he uses the rhythm of the beat. I understand
his sensibility and he trusts me, I think. But I'm not in his face
anymore. When I said that we cut the umbilical cord, it meant that I
could get a chance to go away and every time I come back and get
together with him, I've got experiences to bring back to the table –
different music that I've picked up along the way. We're very good
friends. I wouldn't be at all bothered if he used someone else or
wanted to try another route. I've had a good career with Sting. He
keeps coming back to me and I'm very happy that he does. There are
thousands of guitarists who want my gig – you can imagine! – and who
probably feel they deserve it. I'm not stopping anyone from taking the
gig, but I'm not going to make it easy, you know what I mean? I'm
going to maintain my standards. I'll just do what I'm going to do, but
if anyone wants to do it they'll just call him up.
You said
that Sting trusts you now, but to bring in someone new like you were
for 'Soul Cages' and just let you go...
That was a risk. I remember the whole audition process. He was looking
for a British type of guitarist. He wanted to get back into the guitar
thing after his sort of jazz experience. I was fresh from a rock band.
I remember that in the audition I wasn't really that nervous. I was
already quite happy at what I was doing, so I was relaxed with it. He
just gave me the job. The best thing that worked in my favour was that
I didn't prepare for the audition and I didn't know the arrangements
that he had. If I had known them, I would have played them – and
that's not what he likes. He's a quirky, lateral thinker. He wants to
hear what you have to say with these songs. So I did.
You know, the truth always comes out in the end. Anyone can play these
parts. A lot of people can play what I play physically. I can play
what Andy played on the [Police] records, but the important thing is
to come up with parts. I think when [Sting] saw that I could interpret
his harmonies in my own innate way that I was comfortable with, he was
comfortable with that. It showed him that there was someone that could
bring something to the table other than what he already knows. So he
had a chance to nurture me as a guitarist, which he did. I'll give him
all the credit for that – and confidence, because when you get a big
gig, it does wonders for your confidence. It really does. I could tell
that to any guitarist. Any musician, when you get a big session or a
big record or you're on a hit, it just does wonders for your
confidence and self-trust.
Would you
have recorded your solo album if it wasn't for all of that?
I would have done it anyway, but I don't think that it would have been
the same album. It would have probably been something flashy. You
know, like a lot of guitarists try to get noticed. But that's where
the problem is. I mean, I could do an electric rock, Beck-esque album,
I suppose, but why?
Have you
thought about putting vocals on your solo albums?
Yeah, I've thought about that, but the trouble with doing that is that
I'm not really a singer. I wouldn't be able to do it live. I'm known
really as a guitarist, and as soon as I open my mouth, people will
judge me as a singer. Can you imagine Jimmy Page or Jeff Beck singing
on their albums? [Laughs]
I've seen
Jeff sing once or twice.
Yeah, well, it's not a good idea. [Laughs] It's not a good career
move.
You seem
to do some singing with Sting.
Yeah, I do backup. I mean, I can blend with another singer. I don't
want to do lead vocals.
Or bring
another singer in?
Well, there is one guy who did some singing on my album. Mike Lindup
did some textures – like what a keyboard player would do. And he is a
keyboard player.
Do you
plan on touring in support of your solo records?
Yeah. I've done a few festivals, actually, in Europe on my own. And I
do clinics and things like that, and it's a lot of fun. I probably
will go out and do something on my own when this is over. I do
different arrangements, and I can cover most of the tunes on that
record.
You're
going to be on this Sting tour for quite a while, aren't you?
It's going to be another long one. This is my fourth tour. Every tour
that I've done I've always thought was going to be the last one, so I
try and make it as good as I can. This is a very new setup, this band.
New musicians, new blood and everything. We're still kind of shaping
it. It's not there yet, but we're going to get it.
Do you
enjoy touring, even though it's sort of a surreal experience?
It is very surreal, but I enjoy it because I like having my playing up
to scratch by playing a lot. I enjoy the camaraderie of being in a
band. It's everyone's dream, really. I like the whole thing of
travelling with a bunch of musicians. I'm a modern nomad, really.
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