SteveAJones Posted August 22, 2008 Share Posted August 22, 2008 But Steve, what about "The Pickwicks". Did he play on the record? The recording can also be found on "Session Man 2". Many believe it is Jimmy on the record, but it's actually Harry Friar (so far as I know). I'll see what can be confirmed. Just because a single is attributed to Page on a cd release does not necessarily make it so! Pop into the Past BBC.com 7/13/05 Local music expert Pete Chambers continues his look at local pop music with a spotlight on dandy-ists The Pickwicks. Remember, Pete goes into more detail, and you can hear the music, every other Friday on the Bob Brolly Show. In a new feature on the Bob Brolly afternoon show on BBC Coventry and Warwickshire, local music expert Pete Chambers takes a look back at the best in pop music from the past and present that came from our area. Every other Friday from 3pm, Pete will be on air to talk about the bands, singers and songs that made Britain swing during the 50s, 60s, 70s and beyond. You can also take a trip down memory lane with the songs themselves. This week, Pete looks at The Pickwicks, who were as famous for their costumes as they were for their blistering beat tunes. The guys began life as Tony Martin and the Echo Four, finally re-invented as The Pickwicks under the watchful eye of the flamboyant Manager Larry Page. Page said: "The costume brigade were definitely The Pickwicks and we had them dressed up in frock coats with top hats at the ready. Facts on The Pickwicks Their record Little By little is valued at £60 in mint condition, mainly because most people believe Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin fame 'sessioned' on it. In fact it was a guitarist named Harry Friar. They released three great singles in their career, with three even better B-sides, one of their B-sides "I Took my baby home" was written by the Kinks Ray Davies. The guys stopped wearing their famous frock coats simply because they couldn't find anywhere to get them properly cleaned. Drummer Malc Jenkins once did a magazine fashion shoot with none other than Cilla Black. Malc was in full Pickwicks gear and Cilla in her best Mary Quant. --------------------------- This from John West, Coventry Evening Telegraph, December 23, 2005: The Pickwicks METAMORPHOSING from the band Tony Martin's Echo Four, they were groomed for stardom by Larry Page and given frock coats and stick-on whiskers to wear. Gimmicks aside their r'n'b laden freakbeat sound made them one of the area's finest combos. Releasing three great singles with what many believe to be outstanding B-sides. Their first Decca single was a beat version of the standard Apple Blossom Time with the better I Don't Want to Tell You Again on the flip. The next (and last Decca) single saw the ballad You're Old Enough chosen as the lead track. Once again a great track superbly sung by John Miles, but it's the B-side that really excites. Hello Lady is freakbeat at its very best. If it had been the A-side, well who knows. The band left Decca and made one single for Warner Brothers, the song Little By Little. It is not a Stones' song, though it's highly collectable, because someone suggested Jimmy Page is playing on it. Sorry but it's not Jimmy Page it was actually session guitarist Harry Friar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swandown Posted August 26, 2008 Share Posted August 26, 2008 I would take any claims by band members with a HUGE grain of salt. For them it's a matter of pride and they have nothing to lose by claiming that Jimmy wasn't there. That said, the guitar parts on "Little By Little" don't sound very much like Jimmy's style. Completely different tone from his usual session sound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the-ocean87 Posted September 9, 2008 Author Share Posted September 9, 2008 I got the compilation "Session Man Vol. 1 & 2"a along time ago. But on which of these tracks does Jimmy definitely play and on which LP or Single can the track be found?? Here is the tracklist Vol. I 1. Don't You Dig This Kinda Beat - Chris Ravel & The Ravers 2. Sweet Little Baby - Zephyrs 3. Roll Over Beethoven - Pat Wayne & The Beachcombers 4. Somebody Told My Girl - Carter-Lewis & The Southerners 5. My Baby Left Me - Dave Berry & The Cruisers 6. Once In A While - The Brook 7. Money Honey - Mickie Most & The Gear 8. That's Alright - Mickie Most & The Gear 9. I Just Can't Go To Sleep - The Sneekers 10. A Certain Gear - First Gear 11. Leave My Kitten Alone - First Gear 12. How Do You Feel - The Primitives 13. Zoom, Widge, And Wag - Bobbie Graham 14. She Just Satisfies - Jimmy Page 15. Keep Movin' - Jimmy Page 16. Night Comes Down - Mickey Finn 17. Little By Little - The Pickwicks 18. Surprise, Surprise - Lulu & The Luvvers 19. Little Games - The Yardbirds 20. Most Likely You'll Go Your Way - The Yardbirds 21. Dazed And Confused - Jake Holmes Vol. II 1. Bald Headed Woman - The Sneekers 2. See You Later, Alligator - Wayne Gibson/Dynamic Sounds 3. I Can Tell - The Zephyrs 4. Castin' My Spell - The Talismen 5. The Feminine Look - Mickie Most 6. I'll Go Crazy - The Untamed 7. Talkin' Bout You - The Redcaps 8. Honey Hush - Neil Christian's Crusaders 9. I Like It - Neil Christian's Crusaders 10. This Sporting Life - Mickey Finn 11. Baby I Go For You - The Blue Rondos 12. I'll Come Running - Lulu & The Luvvers 13. Is It True? - Brenda Lee 14. I Took My Baby Home - The Pickwicks 15. The World Keeps Going Round - The Lancastrians 16. Masters Of War - The Talismen 17. You Said - The Primitives 18. The Train Kept A-Rollin' - Scotty McKay Quintet 19. Eveybody Knows - Sean Buckley/Breadcrumbs 20. Nothin' Shakin' - Billy Fury 21. White Summer - The New Yardbirds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swandown Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 Definitely Jimmy: 4. Somebody Told My Girl - Carter-Lewis & The Southerners 5. My Baby Left Me - Dave Berry & The Cruisers 6. Once In A While - The Brook 7. Money Honey - Mickie Most & The Gear 8. That's Alright - Mickie Most & The Gear 9. I Just Can't Go To Sleep - The Sneekers 10. A Certain Gear - First Gear 11. Leave My Kitten Alone - First Gear 12. How Do You Feel - The Primitives 13. Zoom, Widge, And Wag - Bobbie Graham 14. She Just Satisfies - Jimmy Page 15. Keep Movin' - Jimmy Page 18. Surprise, Surprise - Lulu & The Luvvers 19. Little Games - The Yardbirds 20. Most Likely You'll Go Your Way - The Yardbirds 1. Bald Headed Woman - The Sneekers 2. See You Later, Alligator - Wayne Gibson/Dynamic Sounds 4. Castin' My Spell - The Talismen 8. Honey Hush - Neil Christian's Crusaders 9. I Like It - Neil Christian's Crusaders 12. I'll Come Running - Lulu & The Luvvers 13. Is It True? - Brenda Lee 15. The World Keeps Going Round - The Lancastrians 16. Masters Of War - The Talismen 17. You Said - The Primitives 19. Eveybody Knows - Sean Buckley/Breadcrumbs 20. Nothin' Shakin' - Billy Fury 21. White Summer - The New Yardbirds Probably Jimmy: 2. Sweet Little Baby - Zephyrs 3. I Can Tell - The Zephyrs 6. I'll Go Crazy - The Untamed Maybe Jimmy: 1. Don't You Dig This Kinda Beat - Chris Ravel & The Ravers 3. Roll Over Beethoven - Pat Wayne & The Beachcombers 5. The Feminine Look - Mickie Most 16. Night Comes Down - Mickey Finn 17. Little By Little - The Pickwicks 7. Talkin' Bout You - The Redcaps 10. This Sporting Life - Mickey Finn 11. Baby I Go For You - The Blue Rondos 14. I Took My Baby Home - The Pickwicks 18. The Train Kept A-Rollin' - Scotty McKay Quintet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
widget Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 Good list. Have you ever read Record Collector magazine's feature article on Jimmy Page's session days? The article's author claims that after Jimmy released "She Just Satisfies", the record company Fontana did not want him to release a second solo single, so he released it under the pseudonym "Paul" instead in January 1966: "Will You Follow Me"/"Head Death" Polydor BN 56045 (written and produced by Jimmy Page) There is very little information on who this obscure "Paul" is. It could be Page, nothing has been seen or heard of Paul since. Meg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kabbalahone Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 so he released it under the pseudonym "Paul" instead in January 1966: "Will You Follow Me"/"Head Death" Polydor BN 56045 (written and produced by Jimmy Page) There is very little information on who this obscure "Paul" is. It could be Page, nothing has been seen or heard of Paul since. Meg No, I will lead, bwaaa ha ha, What's even more interesting is that Paul McCartney's first name is James. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the-ocean87 Posted September 10, 2008 Author Share Posted September 10, 2008 Jimmy played guitar on Herman's Hermits Singles -Silhouettes (1965) -Can't You Hear My Heartbeat (1965) In an interview Peter Noone told the following about his work with Page & Jones: Q - Is it true that Led Zeppelin members Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones played on your records? A - On many of them, yeah. Q - Couldn't the guys in the Hermits play their own instruments? A - Of course they could, but it was just a question of getting things done better. We decided, Mickie Most (Hermits record producer) and I decided, and it was pretty rude of us to have done it. But, you know sometimes when you're young, you don't care about people's feelings. You just go for what's best at the moment. Jimmy Page at the time wasn't a much better guitar player than Derek Leckenby. But, he had more imagination. Rather than have to tell people what to do in the studio, Mickie and I decided we could get people to show us what they had. Can anybody remember more singles with Page on guitar?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swandown Posted September 11, 2008 Share Posted September 11, 2008 Good list. Have you ever read Record Collector magazine's feature article on Jimmy Page's session days? The article's author claims that after Jimmy released "She Just Satisfies", the record company Fontana did not want him to release a second solo single, so he released it under the pseudonym "Paul" instead in January 1966: "Will You Follow Me"/"Head Death" Polydor BN 56045 (written and produced by Jimmy Page) There is very little information on who this obscure "Paul" is. It could be Page, nothing has been seen or heard of Paul since. I think it's a bit of an exaggeration to call it a second solo single. "Paul" was most likely Paul Bedford, a London folk singer and poet. Jimmy produced and arranged both songs on the 45, but the writing credits both say "Bedford". Maybe it was Jimmy using a pseudonym, but I doubt it. Also, the timeline doesn't quite work for being a follow-up to "She Just Satisfies" (since the two records were released almost a year apart, which was an eternity in the mid '60s). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the-ocean87 Posted September 15, 2008 Author Share Posted September 15, 2008 So that is what he is rumored to have played on in 1963 (must be more of course): Date Title Artist/s Official recordings 1963-01-02 "Diamonds"/"Hully Gully" Jet Harris and Tony Meehan Decca F 11563 1963-02-27 "Trouble is My Middle Name"/"Let the Good Times Roll" Brook Brothers Pye 7N 15498 1963-06-12 "Sweet and Tender Romance"/"Who Told You?" Carter-Lewis and the Southerners Oriole CB 1835 1963-06-12 "Mr. Porter"/"Yes Indeed I Do" Mickie Most Decca F 11664 1963-06-26 "Hello Josephine"/"Road Runner" Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders Fontana TF 404 1963-06-26 "Dance On"/"Playboy" Kathy Kirby Decca F 11682 1963-07-10 "The Worryin' Kind"/Come to Me" ‡ Brian Howard and the Silhouettes Columbia DB 7067 1963-07-17 "A Little Bit of Something Else"/"Get a Load of This" Neil Christian and the Crusaders Columbia DB 7075 1963-08-15 "That's What I Want"/"Hey, What'd You Say" Marauders Decca F 11695 1963-08-15 "I Do"/"Don't You Dig This Kinda Beat" Chris Ravel and the Ravers Decca F 11696 1963-09-18 "Please Believe Me"/"Angie" Gregory Phillips Pye 7N 15546 1963-09-25 "The Feminine Look"/"Shame on You Boy" Mickie Most Columbia DB 7117 1963-10-24 "Your Momma's Out of Town"/"Somebody Told My Girl" Carter-Lewis and the Southeners Oriole CB 1919 1963-11-01 "Secret Love"/"You Have to Want to Touch Him" Kathy Kirby Decca F 11759 1963-11-15 "Blowing Wild"/"Crazy Dreams" Houston Wells and the Marksmen Parlophone R 5069 1963-11-15 "Country Boy"/"Long Tall Jack" Heinz Decca F 11768 1963-11-22 "Not Too Little - Not Too Much"/"I'm Lookin'" Chris Sandford Decca F 11778 1963-11-29 "Love Hit Me"/"Don't Make Me Mad" Orchids Decca F 11785 1963-12-06 "Talkin' Bout You"/"Come on Girl" Redcaps Decca F 11965 1963-12-13 "Sea Cruise"/"It's a Little Bit Hot" Mickie Most Columbia DB 7180 Can we confirm anything??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swandown Posted September 16, 2008 Share Posted September 16, 2008 Can we confirm anything??? He definitely played on "Diamonds" and the 2nd Carter-Lewis 45 (the 1st one may only feature Jim Sullivan, though). Definitely on "The Worryin' Kind" and the Neil Christian 45s. After that it's mostly conjecture. It's very difficult to track down Jimmy's sessions from 1962-63. Jimmy apparently can't remember the sessions, and nobody else seems to remember him. And he rarely played lead guitar anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
widget Posted September 16, 2008 Share Posted September 16, 2008 He definitely played on "Diamonds" and the 2nd Carter-Lewis 45 (the 1st one may only feature Jim Sullivan, though). Definitely on "The Worryin' Kind" and the Neil Christian 45s. After that it's mostly conjecture. It's very difficult to track down Jimmy's sessions from 1962-63. Jimmy apparently can't remember the sessions, and nobody else seems to remember him. And he rarely played lead guitar anyway. BJS did many lead solos but not all of them. Not many people could remember who played what. One organisation that would keep records would be the Tax office, but unless they did an audit, they would only show income totals in their books now archived. We know the legend of Jimmy having a reputation of being "Led Wallet". No doubt he would have kept receipts and invoices for taxation purposes. So would the studios being used, and so would the producer on the session. What has happened to them? Who knows. Meg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the-ocean87 Posted September 16, 2008 Author Share Posted September 16, 2008 BJS did many lead solos but not all of them. Not many people could remember who played what. One organisation that would keep records would be the Tax office, but unless they did an audit, they would only show income totals in their books now archived. We know the legend of Jimmy having a reputation of being "Led Wallet". No doubt he would have kept receipts and invoices for taxation purposes. So would the studios being used, and so would the producer on the session. What has happened to them? Who knows. Meg Jimmy played the solo in Dave Berrys "My baby left me". It is from 1964. Don't know if it was posted anywhere, but this is Big Jim Sullivans comment on Jimmy in sessions and the solo from "my baby left me": I'll always remember the first time I met Jimmy. We had a session at Decca studios for Dave Berry. It was the session for 'My Baby Left Me' and Jimmy played lead guitar and I played rhythm. I remember the great solo that he did on that session, it is one of the best constructed rock solos on record. We got on well on sessions, sometimes I would play lead and some times Jimmy. I used to do most of the country solos and he the rock ones. We would change over sometimes and I would be the rocker. We also did a lot of folk sessions together. I played a lot of accoustic12 string in those days, I had the first 12 string guitar in the session world and it was used a lot on rhythm. Jimmy was into blues and I was into jazz and country blues. The rhythm section that played on a lot of the 60's group record consisted of Jimmy, myself, John Baldwin or John Paul Jones as he liked to be called, and Bobby Graham on Drums. The amount of recordings we did together was amazing and when he said he and john were going to leave he said I should join them too. I said I was married and would stay in sessions a while longer. I did put a group of session musicians together a couple of months later. This group had another guitar player from that time his name was Alan Parker. I'll tell this story on his page. Jimmy and I still talk to each other now and again and he even came and sat in with me on a pub gig a couple of years ago. He still plays great and his influences are still being felt with the young players of today Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swandown Posted September 17, 2008 Share Posted September 17, 2008 BJS did many lead solos but not all of them. Not many people could remember who played what. One organisation that would keep records would be the Tax office, but unless they did an audit, they would only show income totals in their books now archived. We know the legend of Jimmy having a reputation of being "Led Wallet". No doubt he would have kept receipts and invoices for taxation purposes. So would the studios being used, and so would the producer on the session. What has happened to them? Who knows. Session musicians were usually paid in cash. Producers would give the cash to a middleman (called a "fixer"), and the fixer would then pay the session musicians. That way producers could protect the reputation of their artists. (Imagine the uproar if Jimmy Page went public with an invoice from Shel Talmy saying "Services rendered - Kinks guitar solos"!). Now, some of these fixers may have kept their own records, but it certainly wasn't encouraged. Studios kept logs of sessions but they didn't write down much beyond artist/producer/engineer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
widget Posted September 17, 2008 Share Posted September 17, 2008 Session musicians were usually paid in cash. Producers would give the cash to a middleman (called a "fixer"), and the fixer would then pay the session musicians. That way producers could protect the reputation of their artists. (Imagine the uproar if Jimmy Page went public with an invoice from Shel Talmy saying "Services rendered - Kinks guitar solos"!). Now, some of these fixers may have kept their own records, but it certainly wasn't encouraged. Studios kept logs of sessions but they didn't write down much beyond artist/producer/engineer. If they were paid in cash they would still have to be issued with a receipt, as like everyone else, session musicians would have to lodge a Tax return. Simply telling the Tax office you earned X amount of dollars and incurred X amount of expenses without some form of proof would not go down well with the auditors. I wouldn't see it as an uproar, by showing that he actually did the solos, it would silence many of the critics. All we have right now is simply a person's word who did what, very little written proof. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swandown Posted September 17, 2008 Share Posted September 17, 2008 I wouldn't see it as an uproar, by showing that he actually did the solos, it would silence many of the critics. If the public found out that a session musician played on a famous band's records, it would have seriously damaged that band's career and it would have cost the record label millions of dollars. Remember a band called The Love Affair (big hit "Everlasting Love" in 1968)? They were crucified in the press (and their popularity tanked) after they admitted that session musicians played on their records. The record labels went to great lengths to create the illusion that the artists played on their own records. Dave Clark went so far as to have a press conference in the recording studio to prove that he played drums on the DC5 records. (As soon as the press left, Clark gave way to a session drummer and went back to the control room.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
widget Posted September 17, 2008 Share Posted September 17, 2008 If the public found out that a session musician played on a famous band's records, it would have seriously damaged that band's career and it would have cost the record label millions of dollars. Remember a band called The Love Affair (big hit "Everlasting Love" in 1968)? They were crucified in the press (and their popularity tanked) after they admitted that session musicians played on their records. The record labels went to great lengths to create the illusion that the artists played on their own records. Dave Clark went so far as to have a press conference in the recording studio to prove that he played drums on the DC5 records. (As soon as the press left, Clark gave way to a session drummer and went back to the control room.) Maybe so, but these days the Davies brothers hate each other - there is essentially no longer a "Kinks". There is more chance of a Led Zeppelin reunion than a Kinks one. If there was any uproar, it wouldn't be that great today compared to the 1960s. The public know there is a lot of studio trickery going on let alone the use of session musicians. Another thing, obviously with some of these session men they would have had hectic schedules, sometimes doing a number of sessions a day. It's quite possible Page and others would have kept diaries for their appointments. Meg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquamarine Posted September 18, 2008 Share Posted September 18, 2008 The Davies brothers always hated each other. The most amazing thing is that there was a Kinks at all, let alone a reunited one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beatbo Posted September 18, 2008 Share Posted September 18, 2008 Maybe so, but these days the Davies brothers hate each other - there is essentially no longer a "Kinks". There is more chance of a Led Zeppelin reunion than a Kinks one. If there was any uproar, it wouldn't be that great today compared to the 1960s. The public know there is a lot of studio trickery going on let alone the use of session musicians. Another thing, obviously with some of these session men they would have had hectic schedules, sometimes doing a number of sessions a day. It's quite possible Page and others would have kept diaries for their appointments. Meg the brothers davies may hate each other (and that may be overstating it a bit) but they both hate the "jimmy page plays on the kinks records" story even more..... as far as schedule diaries are concerned, jpj's wife kept his while he took sessions, and he still has it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the-ocean87 Posted December 21, 2008 Author Share Posted December 21, 2008 This is an very interesting link about the session work of Big Jim Sullivan. Jimmy often is also mentioned. http://www.overzeal.co.uk/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlanetPage Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 Dave Berry talks about Jones/Page - Session days: http://www.thestar.co.uk/lifestyle/music/free_download_dave_berry_song_celebrating_50_years_in_showbiz_video_1_3271411 The Crying Game Video - 1964; Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrycja Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 Not really sure where else to put it, so I'm dusting off this thread for a bit of Jonesy-the-arranger related news: 1967 hit 'To Sir With Love' inducted into Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame By Nick Patch, The Canadian Press February 3, 2015 British singer Lulu. Photograph by: Handout , Vancouver Sun TORONTO - The latest entry into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame is a song that few realize is Canadian. "To Sir With Love" was the signature hit for Scottish singer Lulu, who hoisted the tune to No. 1 for five weeks back in fall 1967. The song soundtracked the British drama of the same name, which cast Sidney Poitier as an inspirational teacher of troubled teens in London's tough inner city. Montreal-raised composer Mark London wrote the sweeping tune with lyrics by Don Black, who co-wrote several of the most memorable James Bond themes. "To Sir With Love" was recorded in Britain for a British movie with a Scottish singer — so most people always assumed it was written by a Brit, London explained. "No one knows," he said in a telephone interview. "I don't think anyone thought it was Canadian." London moved overseas from Montreal in 1965. It was there that he was approached with the opportunity to write the music for "To Sir With Love" — the catch being that he had less than a day to do it. London sat down to the piano that night and wrote the song in about a half hour. "To Sir With Love" began a long creative partnership between London and Lulu, who was managed by London's wife Marion Massey. Another bit of trivia: Led Zeppelin's John Paul Jones provided the song's string arrangement. With the song's induction, Montreal's Nikki Yanofsky and Toronto guitarist Dan Kanter recorded a cover for CBC Music, which they describe as a "campfire" rendition with "funked up" acoustic guitar. Kanter, musical director for Justin Bieber and a music academic, calls the "romantically haunting" song subtly, astoundingly complex. "I wonder ... if it came out today, if people would respond to it?" he said in a telephone interview. The tune has been covered by Al Green, Jann Arden, Tina Arena, Soul Asylum and Luscious Jackson. "To Sir With Love" has also been belted out by characters on TV shows including "Sons of Anarchy," "Boy Meets World," "The Golden Girls" and "Glee," whose cast performed it "beautifully," London said. So it remains relevant — to everyone but millennials, perhaps. "I would imagine it's played a few times every day, because the royalties I get from BMI in America — it's quite a bit," London said. "They keep having new versions coming out constantly. Everyone knows it. "The funny thing is, young people don't know it," he added. "If you're like under 30 or so, most of them haven't heard the song." http://www.vancouversun.com/entertainment/1967+With+Love+inducted+into+Canadian+Songwriters+Hall/10783768/story.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thozil Posted April 18, 2015 Share Posted April 18, 2015 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrycja Posted July 18, 2015 Share Posted July 18, 2015 Ever more versatile Jonesy has contributed to John Potter's Amores Pasados - on lute, no less! John Potter - Amores Pasados Posted by Christian Carey in CD Review Amores Pasados John Potter, voice; Anna Maria Friman, voice and Hardanger fiddle; Ariel Abramovich and Jacob Heringman, lutes ECM New Series 2441 CD John Potter is best known for his work with the recently disbanded Hilliard Ensemble (writing recently disbanded for that estimable group is saddening indeed). But he has kept an active profile as a soloist as well. On the ECM label, he has focused on lute songs, with albums devoted to the Dowland Project. Anna Maria Friman is a member of Trio Medieval, who also record on ECM. They are joined by lutenists Ariel Abramovich and Jacob Heringman on Amores Pasados, a most imaginative project. The central repertoire are lute songs written by rock musicians: John Paul Jones (of Led Zeppelin), Tony Banks (of Genesis), and Sting. Potter and company have also included selections by 16th century composer Picforth and by John Campion, a 17th century composer famed for his lute songs. Rounding out the recording are Potter and company’s arrangements of songs by early Twentieth composers and compatriots E.J. Moeran and Peter Warlock. For those who misread this as one of too many “casual” crossover projects, don’t forget the background of the pop musicians involved. Tony Banks played 12-string guitar on the early Genesis abums, Sting has recorded an entire album of songs by John Dowland and Robert Johnson, and John Paul Jones is a versatile and formidable musician. This is in part why the results of this collaboration are so successful. The other factor, of course, are the performances. Whether in tuning the achingly beautiful close part harmonies in Jones’s No Dormia or navigating the harmonic and rhythmic shifts found in abundance in Banks’s “The Cypress Curtain of the Night,” Potter, Friman, and their lutenist colleagues prove skilful and sympathetic collaborators. They make no pretense to be pop singers, performing with classically trained singers’ diction and tone. The way they manage to meet these songs in the middle is rhythm and phrasing: they readily adapt to the syncopation that is ubiquitous in pop songs and amply present in those collected here. With material so uniformly strong, it is difficult to call out favorites. However, Sting clearly picked up a great deal about ayres when recording The Labyrinth. His “Bury me deep in the greenwood” could pass for a song by one of Dowland’s contemporaries: it is quite stirring. I would love to have a crack at the sheet music – even if I had to negotiate lute tablature! -Christian Carey http://www.sequenza21.com/cdreviews/2015/07/john-potter-amores-pasados/ Some more details about the album and Jonesy's part in it from John Potter's site: Amores Pasados will be released by ECM in June. Uniquely, this ensemble performs lute songs by rock musicians alongside 17th century originals and transcriptions of songs by English composers of the early 20th century. Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones has set three Spanish poems, Genesis keyboardist Tony Banks has set poems by Campion, and Sting contributed a song on the death of Robin Hood. The group also performs music by Warlock, Moeran, Finzi and others arranged for voices and two lutes, as well as the only known work by the elusive Mr Picforth. The musicians first came together to record Secret History, an album of sacred music by Josquin and Victoria, whose motets and masses sit beside each other in the 17th century Paston manuscript. The live debut of this programme was in Avila, Victoria's birthplace, in 2014. ECM will release the recording in the autumn. Future plans include further explorations of the early 20th century English song repertoire and more commissions from rock musicians. You can hear a short sample of John Paul Jones 'Al son de los arroyuelos' here. The opening ident music on this site is from 'Oh fair enough are sky and plain' by E J Moeran. http://www.john-potter.co.uk/amorespasados.php Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sathington Willoughby Posted August 8, 2015 Share Posted August 8, 2015 Just discovered this one a few months ago, great Floyd-esque track, David's playing is reminiscent of his work on 'Shine On You Crazy Diamond' IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmie ray Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 ^ Rod Stewart originally did that song as a session singer for an Australian group called Python Lee Jackson. His payment was a set of car seat covers. Powerful organ in this version - anyone we know? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.