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You Well Meaning Brought Me Here
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Between this album and the last, my life had changed rapidly
in terms of how I was perceived or how I thought I was perceived.
I was now managed by the legendary Jo Lustig, a hard but totally
loyal New Yorker who was managing Pentangle and had worked
for Nat King Cole and (inadvertently) for the mafia. Jo had
big plans for me but we did not always see eye to eye. I filled
a vacant night for him at the Royal festival hall and we all
were surprised by how many people came. Jo made his pitch
for me on the same night and after consulting at length with
my brother Bruce I signed up with him
The song Streets of London was picking up cover versions everywhere
and the huge record company Paramount had negotiated my contract
from Transatlantic Records and a re mix of various tracks
was released as an LP called “Revisited.”
I was oblivious as to what was going on but it became clear
that this whole exercise was a bit of a smoke screen to get
hold of “that” song for the USA.
It was proposed that I embark on my most ambitious album production
to date with dear Gus Dudgeon once again at the helm.
I was annoyed at the prospect of having to re record “Streets”
again but in so doing I met Danny Thompson who has been a
life long friend.
In the intervening years Gus’s reputation had grown
and he was a brilliant talent spotter of musicians. He had
assembled a mega cast of players for this enterprise and I
cannot imagine the studio bills if it were to be done today.
Musicians included Rick Wakeman, Roger Pope, Davey Johnson,
Caleb Quaye, and the entire LSO!
My young family and I were still living in a council flat
in the back end of Croydon and I was meeting acclaimed musicians
and big record company people. My friend’s lives had
not changed much and I was adrift on a sea of self-doubt and
questioning that gave rise to many of the songs on the new
album. especially the title track.
(Dear old Jo thought I had written it for him and thanked
me with tears running down his face, I had to gently explain
that I had not.)
I had decided to get a piano and spent hours noodling away
with a simple accompanying technique that I had learned from
my friend Gary Petersen. I have always thought that the blues
were my teachers but as has been pointed out to me by musical
friends, I am more influenced by hymn tunes than almost anything
else when it comes to the keyboard. I suppose the prime examples
would be Old
Brown Dog and You
Well Meaning Brought Me Here. Pick
up a Gun also came about through the piano.
In spite of recording most of the album at the state of the
art studios Trident at St Anne’s Ct in Soho, Gus still
wanted me to do live vocals. In the end we compromised with
me giving guide vocals and then repairing both guitar and
vocal parts afterwards. Gus was developing his style of totally
immaculate tight perfect multi tracks to give him maximum
mixing potential. The only trouble was that he had me and
I am a specialist in the rattle and hum department. I began
to get pissed off with this search for perfection as it often
meant that because the vocal was going on later, the musicians
would not know what the song was about and the feel might
not be there.
Somehow it worked out but not before some tantrums and hurling
of the cans (headphones) at the control room glass partition
had occurred from me.
Old Brown Dog
featured a blinding solo from the genius of Caleb Quaye and
it was on his solo at the end of the song that I believe a
Leslie cabinet was used for the first time. This device is
what gives a Hammond organ its distinctive sound. It just
happened to be in the control room and with the help of Robin
Cable the studio engineer it was rigged to receive the signal
from the guitar. Caleb was knocked out and the solo went on
for minutes. If you listen carefully you can hear an edit
after the second chorus. Caleb, Davey Johnson and Roger Pope
the drummer went on to become the backing musicians to a certain
up and coming piano player called Elton John. It was Gus who
brought them together and introduced Ray Cooper – who
played on In
Some Way I Loved You – to Elton too.
Rick Wakeman played some piano on this record and I think
Hammond as well. He went on to become a mega star but he was
such a great bloke and though we don’t see each other
often it’s always nice to meet up, most recently at
the Lonnie Donnegan tribute at the RAH
Tony Visconti was called in to arrange the
Ballad of Dancing Doreen
but the principal arranger on this record was Robert Kirby.
Robert was a school friend of Nick Drake and had done the
arrangements on Nick’s albums. His string parts were
absolutely gorgeous to my ear and he was such a terrific man.
What I did not know was that Gus had persuaded the record
Company to let him use the London Symphony orchestra to play
his parts. These were done at Air Studios and the entire orchestra
plus the Garibaldi Brass Ensemble an eight-piece choir and
a harpist that was dressed as a teddy boy were pressed into
Studio One for the recordings.
Robert conducted and I sat speechless in the control room
overwhelmed by the majesty of the sound. The orchestra could
not hear the part I was playing as they were following the
conductor’s baton. After each take they all tried to
get into the control room to listen.
The clock was ticking as it came to the last song: The
Ferryman. It is a long number and it necessitated
bringing a speaker out into the room with just my guitar and
voice on it for the orchestra to pay to. The first take broke
down as the clock moved to one o’clock. This meant the
entire orchestra would be on overtime, which would have pushed
the budget well over the limit. However they volunteered to
do it at no extra charge and got it in one take. I always
remember the clock at 1.20pm when they all trooped in to listen
to the take. I thought it the most exciting thing I had ever
recorded. Everything went down live – including the
Teddy-boy harpist and the choir.
However the number that seemed to be the most popular on this
record was First
and Last Man.
Gus and his wife Shelia were the backing singers and Gus got
me to play my old harmonium as well. We used that instrument
on Lay
your Money Down as well. I played all the instruments
on that little piece and had a lot of fun doing it.
Genesis
1 v20 was recorded with just two guitars and Mike
Hugg brought in his Moog Synthesiser on which I played the
solo.
I had been rehearsing for months with a bass player called
Steve Bonnett and we recorded Chalkdust together with me overdubbing
piano later. This was the song that was substituted for Streets
of London on the releases elsewhere in the world. Paramount
released an album with just that song on it and wrote on the
cover something about being so excited about my new album
they could not wait for the rest of the songs to be recorded.
I think it may have turned as many people off as it turned
on to the album. A few months after the release of the record
the label was ought out by the Gulf and Western Conglomerate
and the artist Melanie (who had also recently signed to the
company) and I were lost in a sea of bureaucracy. But by this
time I was on tour in the states and more confused than ever
about where I was going.
Ralph McTell
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