Reasons is a story by itself. It was recorded as a live vocal and guitar piece for A New World Order, but just missed out on being included. That version is included at the end of Colours, and was more of a standard singer songwriter style.
When I put together the final song list for A New World Order, it just missed out, and Ellie had suggested that I have a song that was a reggae style or in the ska genre. It wasn't too much of a problem for me because I'd already done some reggae for A New World Order. Slave Song made it's way onto there, but unfortunately The Innocent Dead ended up being accidentally erased. A shame because it had potential, and may have even been worked on for inclusion on Colours. If I haven't lost it then I'll try and fish it out (crossing my fingers).
Anyway, Reasons... A click track was set up and the initial guitar track was recorded, and then put drums down I think. After that I put another acoustic guitar track down (double tracking), and did the bass guitar. Ellie then did the lead vocal and John Sampson the harmony vocal. John then sang sounds through a wah pedal to make up a solo, based on something Sly Stone used to do.
With Sly & The Family Stone in mind, me and John obviously thought of stomping feet on the stairwell, where we already had microphones set up. Me and I think Andy Wright recorded youth club workers and teenagers from the adjoining youth club, as well as some pupils on a music course, all led by John & Joff in what we called the Stompfest for the solo break. After that it was just a case of cutting and pasting it together on the computer.
The intervals are a strange thing really. I can't remember which order they are in, but there were three of them recorded, even though there are only two of them featured on the finished product. The piano in the distance is me playing something I'd had for years but not used, so we just recorded me playing in a room down a corridor at the bottom of the stairwell, using the microphone at the top of the stairwell.
When I put together the final song list for A New World Order, it just missed out, and Ellie had suggested that I have a song that was a reggae style or in the ska genre. It wasn't too much of a problem for me because I'd already done some reggae for A New World Order. Slave Song made it's way onto there, but unfortunately The Innocent Dead ended up being accidentally erased. A shame because it had potential, and may have even been worked on for inclusion on Colours. If I haven't lost it then I'll try and fish it out (crossing my fingers).
Anyway, Reasons... A click track was set up and the initial guitar track was recorded, and then put drums down I think. After that I put another acoustic guitar track down (double tracking), and did the bass guitar. Ellie then did the lead vocal and John Sampson the harmony vocal. John then sang sounds through a wah pedal to make up a solo, based on something Sly Stone used to do.
With Sly & The Family Stone in mind, me and John obviously thought of stomping feet on the stairwell, where we already had microphones set up. Me and I think Andy Wright recorded youth club workers and teenagers from the adjoining youth club, as well as some pupils on a music course, all led by John & Joff in what we called the Stompfest for the solo break. After that it was just a case of cutting and pasting it together on the computer.
The intervals are a strange thing really. I can't remember which order they are in, but there were three of them recorded, even though there are only two of them featured on the finished product. The piano in the distance is me playing something I'd had for years but not used, so we just recorded me playing in a room down a corridor at the bottom of the stairwell, using the microphone at the top of the stairwell.
A very famous instance of where a microphone has been placed on a stairwell to capture a sound is with the drums on the Led Zeppelin song When The Levee Breaks on their fourth album - an absolutely iconic drum sound. Out of interest the link I have here has one wrong piece of information, because it puts the harmonica player on it as Robert Plant, where it is actually John Bonham the drummer playing it (as he also did on the live version whilst playing drums as well). This link is a fantastic source of information though for anyone interested in recording techniques, even if you're not a Led Zeppelin fan.The other interval featured is actually where me and John were testing the stairwell microphone and purposely got feedback, and we recorded it because I was basically trying to record absolutely everything, just in case they could be used. The interval not featured out of interest is something that lasts a couple of minutes with me playing drums with my hands in a sort of ethnic way, as I saw it.
After the first interval is the song Come My Way, which was a song from the Cornerstone days written by myself and Matt Jones. I always loved the chords and the soulfulness of the piece, and thought I would record it. I'm almost certain that it was also tried in the A New World Order sessions? (Since writing this I have found a single acoustic version recorded during the ANWO sessions)
For this version it was started as me and Ellie playing guitar and drums respectively, me looking through a window between the vocal/guitar booth to Ellie in the drums room. The same happened for Faith In Me and One By One I believe.
After we did that on Come My Way, I added bass, a second acoustic guitar, and some guiro. Mark Allsop played the shakers, from which a piece was clipped, reversed and placed in Wreath - he whispered as a joke "I see dead people" before playing, and it made us all laugh, so I thought it would fit into Wreath. Other than that I put electric guitar on and the Rhodes electric piano down. Ellie added the beautiful harmony - such a great voice.Faith In Me was tricky. The initial acoustic guitar and drums take also included a live vocal from me which, when Andy Wright's lead vocal was being put on, meant having to replace that acoustic guitar recording. Parts added to this were my bass and electric guitar, along with John Sampson's organ, Mark "Mario" Smith's percussion, and the fantastically Beach Boys-esque backing vocals by Mark Allsop.
Mark's backing vocals were arranged by myself and him, and I think they are amazing. It gives a great contrast to the brilliantly realised lead vocal of Andy, who gives a performance this song the song for every man that it is. The musical backing is incredibly jam sounding, while in no way seeming wrong anywhere, it just sounds so loose. Funnily enough it is incredibly full and very produced. So much time was spent on it to get it that way.
I think I will leave it there now, and let you wait for Part Three. I know, it's long winded, but someone might be interested in it all. You never know, hehe.
Thank you for reading, please take care.
23 May 2011 (40 years, 5 months, and 27 days old)
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