Thoughts on Brian Wilson's Passing
I am writing this with tears in my eyes having just heard that Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys has died. He was one of the greatest influences on my musical life. Thank you Brian for writing, singing and playing some of the finest popular music in the world. I had the honour of singing ‘Good Vibrations’ at the Cambridge theatre in London’s West End virtually every night for 2 years as part of “Return To The Forbidden Planet”. Those were good vibrations indeed!
MuuMuu Progress
Its not often in the MuuMuu-sphere that we get a 2nd bite of the cherry, but now we have.
The track ‘Pretty Poison ‘ (which might or might not be the “pen”-ultimate track on the “Difficult 2nd Album” ) started life as a gentle, reflective piece with lyrics exploring the follies of the excesses in life. For example - the Rock ‘n’ Roll life styles favoured by some.
When the rough demos of ‘Pretty Poison’ were played to discerning folk (“2 ears at a time”, remember ) several of those ears, connected to brains and mouths, pointed out that “You can’t call it pretty poison if it’s a gentle ballad”. Hmmm… Point taken, the tempo was increased in a new rough demo and, voila, it kicked ass! My drummer friend Ben Swan was then engaged at vast expense and personal risk. His job - to beat the living daylights out of his Gretsch drum kit to achieve that “oh so authentic, it hurts “ sound that only his exclusive South London studio environs can provide ……and both he and it, did it!
Please note the photographic evidence of this monumental occasion with Mr E. S. Luskin on the desk. By the way, that is NOT an American flag on screen - rather a red white and blue display of the Logic recording software.
We now had the framework to re-record the tune's other parts as a rock anthem. Alright, yours truly is not Robert Plant or Axle Rose but, in my mind I am!
When you enjoy ‘Pretty Poison’ (and soon you will be able to on our Bandcamp site), please marvel at Rick’s skillful application of silly amounts of EQ to achieve his fascinating vocal sound. It mimics ace producer John Parish’s uses of a ‘wazz- a- phone’ on our track ‘Blown away‘ that he produced earlier this year.
The eagle eared amongst you may also notice in the background the sound of an unfamiliar acoustic guitar. An Epiphone AJ45 to be precise, not an instrument normally associated with DTMM. I actually found this beast in a dumpster and restored it to working condition for your delectation and delight in the mischievous spirit of “Why the heck not ?”
In the mean time “Take your pretty poison “ but, as the warning label clearly indicates, please do it responsibly.
