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Monday, January 24, 2005

AND THE ALBUM AFTER THAT?

So, we wrapped 'The Wall', artwork and all, it's all over but the assembly. During the many months of working on that project other titles were thrown out for the 'next cover record' project. During my absence, work has begun on 'Moving Pictures'. I am certainly behind this project, as it's an album that I love, and I'm certain that Chris, Rob, and Dave will be able to do it justice, but my question is; where does that leave me? I don't posses the chops to play bass or guitar on this record, and vocally, though I'd love a shot at 'Camera Eye', I feel that not only could Chris do better, it's already being handled in my absence. So, my next question is; what's the next one gonna be? It would be great if I could get Chris and Rob into doing a record more along the lines of my tastes and abilities, something I could feel more a part of as an artist. Taking in Chris' tastes and sensibilities, I think I might be able to rope him into a Neil Young record. Likely choices would be 'Everyone Knows This Is Nowhere', 'After The Gold Rush', 'On The Beach', or 'Rust Never Sleeps'. I know that I could get Tony Alva into doing the Stones 'Sticky Fingers', and given Tony's voice and knowledge of that record, Chris might be lured in that direction as well. Given the number of artists we've worked with I could probably get some guys interested in doing a Ramones record. I'd be into doing any of the first five, 'Ramones', 'Leave Home' (with 'Carbona Not Glue'), 'Rocket To Russia' (probably my first choice), 'Road To Ruin', or 'End Of The Century' (probably my last choice). Being that I'm looking at a stretch of time when I won't be working when I get back next week, maybe I can get the ball rolling on this.

Comments:
I'm on your bandwagon with one. I LOVE Moving Pictures, but must admit to being a little bummed at the choice knowing that there probably won't be an invite to guest vocal on that one unless serious transposition is evoked. Any of your suggestions I'd be thrilled and humbled to participate in. The Neil suggestion would certainly be an interesting challenge. I have a few tunes from the records you suggested in my regular playing rotation. The challenge with Neil songs, as with the Stones songs but much harder, is to perform them without imitation. Obviously, Neil's voice is unique and I can atest that some Neil tunes transpose weirdly to more comfortable keys. Love to try "Pocahonas" and the "Thrashers". Keep me posted on this process. Let me know what I can do to help.
 
I think Rust Never Sleeps would be the best choice (Pocohantas and Thrasher), thouhg Everyone Knows This Is Nowhwere has more known tunes, Cowgirl In The Sand and Down By The River are simply too long on a Chris standpoint, he'd cut 'em down to three thirty five.
 
What album is Dancing in the Moonlight on? You could do Live and Dangerous but being a live album I guess that sort of goes against the spirit of the law.
 
It's on 'Bad Reputation'. I'm afraid ther will be no Lizzy cover record, though Tony Alva could well do justice, and Andy Rock and Rob Machold could easily hang, and the bass playing ain't too tough, but I really don't have an interest in it, and since I'm the rsident Lizzy fan.....
 
It's on 'Bad Reputation'. I'm afraid ther will be no Lizzy cover record, though Tony Alva could well do justice, and Andy Rock and Rob Machold could easily hang, and the bass playing ain't too tough, but I really don't have an interest in it, and since I'm the rsident Lizzy fan.....Chris and I did start a version of "Dancin' In The Moonlight", and even attempted a live version with Tony at my brothers barbque this summer, maybe we'll get that tune in the can.
 
[Ken] I'd do Exile instead of Sticky Fingers. Seems like it would be a lot of fun.
 
NO MORE DOUBLE ALBUMS!!!!!!
 
[Ken] But it fits on one CD!
 
Since 40 minutes used to be the standard album length (blame those pesky mastering engineers and the laws of physics and vinyl), the double album fitting on an 80 minute CD is right on point. With a few cuts, "The Wall" could've made it onto one, but that's not so much fun, is it?

As far as "Moving Pictures" goes, I think you're all getting a little too worried. I do not posess the chops to really play these songs either (I haven't even started on YYZ yet), and my vocals will never be Geddy Lee. But the whole point of these projects is re-interpretation, so I'll be singing some stuff an octave lower, and I'm sure both Jackson and Tony Alva can handle a number of the vocal duties. There are plenty of pure power chord moments on the record, and I would say that overall the complexity of the arrangements equals "The Wall," considering we're talking about 7 songs versus nearly 30 (plus all those sound effects and acting bits). The difference, of course, is that on "Moving Pictures" all the arrangement ideas are jammed into far less space.

Now, I have no intention of doing "Moving Pictures" without the support of our whole community. So far, I've been creating demos with no permanent parts; everything is still fair game. The reason I threw this one out there is 'cause, for me, it was as important a record as "The Wall," in terms of making me want to be both a musician and an engineer. It was also the first CD I ever bought, and one of the first commercial rock and roll albums that utilized digital recording technology. Don't forget, there's more to making a record than just playing on it; we're going to need the Terry Browns and Skip Gildersleeves as well. "Moving Pictures" is as much about sound as it is about playing, and only top notch engineers need apply. To that end, I think there's room for Jackson and Tony.

I'm a big Neil fan, and I certainly wouldn't cut down "Cowgirl in the Sand." I'm not sure if a Neil Young record is any "easier" to cover than a Rush record; this ain't just about playing the parts. Capturing Neil's attitude is arguably as hard as capturing Geddy's bass parts.

I'm pretty sure, however, that I wouldn't want to do any Stones record. I feel like the Stones have been covered quite enough, and I'm not sure I'd have anything to add.

The Ramones idea is great. I'd cover just about any of them, and again we'd be traveling down the path of sound and feel more than technical ability, so it might not be easy either.

The whole point of these cover records was to put up an impossible challenge and then do it. Don't give up!
 
The more I think about it, the more I don't care what we do, as laong as we do do.
 
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