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I have decided to keep you informed as to my progress or lack of it as we move into record mode. I will try to explain how decisions are made and how I arrive at the treatment a song gets.

• 6 April 2010
Today was my second day proper in the studio. I have been fine tuning lyrics and sent demo recordings to Willie Wilson (drums) Tim Renwick (guitar) and Dave Quinn (bass). before we all met up yesterday.

Dave couldn't get to download the songs so we began running down  and routining in the studio. As is my way I went into the live room to tell the boys what I was trying for in this song.

I explained the song as a landscape setting the scene for the ghost of RJ waiting for the greyhound Bus that Robert mentions in his famous song Crossroads. I tried to explain that in my opinion RJ is the greatest of all the blues poets and probably the finest of the guitar players of that or any other blues era. Each subsequent verse looks at the emotions RJ outlines or defines in his songs and I ask the musicians to try to picture the flat delta landscape of the Mississippi. , the slap of bus tyres on concrete roads and a trace of blue cigarette smoke in the listless heat of the night.

Tim had made some basic charts and  after a couple of false starts we begin to play together.

It takes time to get the boys to think of anything other than getting the chord progression right, it always does.
After about five run throughs it is clear that i will not likely get a live vocal down but sing guides on each take. This means i get to practice along with them. Although i know the song a little better we all benefit from playing it over several times.

Dave has restricted his part to sitting exactly with Willie's bass drum and gradually my guitar part gels into a part and Tim wraps his electric lines around mine and into the spaces between words.. It is late in the afternoon before we have the "one". There are several other takes and all are played without fault but sometimes one will have a special hard to define quality and we decide to keep two (Digital) takes and move on to
Moon June and a Cajun Tune

This song has two parts the real description of the reluctant attendee to the Cajun Dance and the reflective mood created by the occasion. The live part goes well but we have to simplify the beats over the sections covering the reverie.

After seven hours we do rough mixes of both tunes and leave the studio for tomorrow. On arrival home I refrain from listening to what we have done until nearly midnight and I am pleased with the RJ song but not so sure about the cajun Tune.

Tomorrow we will try again.

• 10 April 2010
So the first week comes to an end with mixed feelings.

The boys played great although the thing took longer than I hoped but as long as I planned. Studio work ensemble is very demanding especially when after each take one of the guys would like to do it again. I was in another room for the purpose of sound insulation from the drums etc. The guitar and bass amps where hidden from view inside specially built cupboards and mattresses placed in front to deaden sound leakage. We were all linked together by means of T.V. and head phones (cans).

On day two we re did Cajun tune at a slightly faster tempo and I was just singing the words. I put my bazouki (Irish adaptation of the Greek national instrument) later.

The song sounded a bit naked without the creature but I overlaid the track with it on Thursday and it all sounds proper. It is amazing what the new technology can do in terms of exactitude. With computer recording it is entirely possible to move or remove wrong notes and pick them up from previous takes and insert them in the right place for example. This was not needed I am pleased to say but simply recording musicians just playing does not happen much these days and it is quite common to begin a song with just the drums and add everything else afterwards.

We got the song Rosa Linda down in the afternoon to my satisfaction. I played Nylon strung guitar and managed to drive the band with it O.K.

In fact it looks like we will keep my live solo as part of the final mix.

I did another tae on Reverend Thunder yesterday and this time we tried recording me on the sofa that is is the studio. This is the place where I do most of my playing at home and it worked really well for a few takes. I did my first ever recording and singing of two songs Cannabis Creek and Jersey ferry. Both have come out well but I expect to record them again when Chris Parkinson arrives tomorrow with his amazing array of hand pumped keyboards, whistles and harmonicas. Two of my grandchildren will arrive soon and I am sorry that I will only see them before and after studio time. However I know we will have some fun and Chris and I will be rehearsing each day before going in to the studio.

My engineer is named John Cornfield and his CV in music is very impressive. I feel fortunate to have got him and we are getting on famously. One of the aspects we have talked about is studio etiquette. Making sure the musicians are well irrigated (with Tea and coffee) and offering words of encouragement. Also never showing signs of impatience or irritation when someone labours over what seems the obviously simple etc. etc. John is in many ways perfect as he has the right blend of bonhomie, tact and skill. Each night I liten to rough mixes (roughs) of what we have done on cds burnt in the studio. This is a mixed blessing as one is always flattered by the sound emanating from the studio monitors, but my beloved Gibson's bass response rattles the cones on our wee Bose system in my kitchen.

It gives me an excuse to get a better system as the sessions go on!

My friend Maite Bell has done a great literal translation of Sunny Day. Here is her verse to close the song. I think it delightful and I will sign off today with it.

Dans le ciel les oiseaux plongent
En pirouettes et tourbillons
Et sudain les rues de la ville
Fleurissent des jolies filles.

• 18 April 2010
This has been a busy week with recording. On Tuesday and Wednesday I had thee fifths of the Bucket Boys in to play. Willie Wilson drums Dave Quinn Bass and Tim renwick Guitar.
The first song we set up was The Ghost Of Robert Johnson

I played acoustic and sang a live vocal. This was done in the control room (C,R.) an the section were in the actual studio live room. I could see them via a video link but they could not see me.

This meant that John the engineer had to monitor what they were playing through headphones to prevent sounds from their set up leaking down my vocal and guitar mics. I had to be in a separate room to prevent their amplified instruments and drums from leaking on to my mics if I were to playing the same room as them. John made sure he had basic sounds and he confidently monitored us through the morning. I got a take down by lunchtime and was very relieved to hear that all the words fitted and the tune survived the augmentation. After a short break the boys begin again and recorded a safety before tackling the Moon and June and a Cajun Tune

This son has two distinct moods and Dave offered an arrangement idea whereby the middle eight section stops dead after two closing beats. I felt this worked and we spent the next few hours learning and recording this tune.

It is hard to tell,exactly where the time goes in the studio but it soon became apparent that the boys wanted to get a perfect take together which is fine and dandy but it means I have to keep singing the song and whilst they grow familiar with the piece we have to remind each other of the more nebulous nuances of the sentiment of the song to keep the two moods within the same groove but somehow separate without sounding like two different songs. Finally I am satisfied that we have it although I know I will have to do a new vocal as my voice is crumbling under the repetition. The boys leave and I review what we have done and get some mixes of the session to take home to listen to. We have done about six hours and have two basic tracks. This is about par for the course as both songs are brand new and still maturing. At home I realise that only “ghost” is ready and we will have to re do “Cajun tomorrow”

Tuesday begins with a re record of Cajun” done a tad slower and I like it better. The song is still fresh in their minds and we get tit down quite quickly. The next song takes longer.“Rosa Linda” is in the jolly Tex-Mex style but is about a serious issue. I talk through the nature of the lyric and all listen intensely. Willie has bought a mini snare drum for the off repeated off beat. As it is in Polka time you will hear it a lot on this track and it has to be right. Soon we are into the swing of it and after a few takes we break and then lay it down in the early afternoon, Dave the bass layer repairs a few dodgy notes (the luxury of separation and digital recording and by 5pm I can let the boys go. Tim and Willy are meeting up with Andy Fairweather Lowe who is playing in Truro. I would have liked to have gone but stay in studio until seven pm. It is tiring and too late to get there when I get back. I review what I have so far and “Cajun “ is much better version and less manic.

After the boys leave I try to overdub a few of the lyrics and once again my old demons about overdubs comes to the fore. However I am now more used to having “in ear” monitors on stage and I am heartened by what I hear back in the C.R.

Over the next two days I re record “Walk into the Morning” and “Reverend Thunder”, I am tempted to leave them unadorned with extras but I already have live versions of both these songs so I am still pondering what else might be an enhancement.

Over the weekend I listen to the five CDs of takes to try to establish what to do next. This is not a problem as Chris Parkinson arrives on Monday all the way from Whitby and it is great to see him again. His wife Nadine is looking forward to a break from work and Chris and I get down to to rehearsals and routining straight away. Chris was on the Royal Festival Hall gig on my birthday and has a great memory for several songs one of which was “Around The Wild Cape Horn”

Also I used some tunes on the Billy Connolly world tour and Chris played on those too. Chris is a natural musician and plays with his whole body. He has an instinctive melodic sense and is soon adding lovely lines to my tunes. Tuesday Chris and I are a bit late in but make up quickly as he puts his part on the tunes we did last week with the the boys. We are looking at three distinct styles here Tex Mex Cajun and later French Musette.
“ Sunny Day” will probably end up with a French title. I have tried adding four other acoustic guitars to this to give it what Django Rheinhardt's band called la Pompe (the pump) but because each finger style part is slightly different I have gone back to the first part which pumps away quite nicely.

I have very clear ideas on this song and Chris is very fast in getting them right. So much so that we get him to lay down several versions which we may “compile” into one take eventually. In the evening we repair to the pub for a couple of pints but both of us are tired so we are comparatively turning in earlier than the last time we were together. About 1.30 a.m.

We complete Chris's overdubs next and I take the following morning for myself and lay down several versions of Cape Horn and London Apprentice.

This Wednesday evening we visit a tiny local pub in St Ewe where Willy and some friends are having an improvised session and I persuade Chris to take his accordion along. Back about 1a.m. A nice close to the day Chris duly obliged with some musical accompaniment. Everyone was impressed

I now have to chose one as Chris only has one more day. He has a gig in Whitby on the Saturday afternoon at 2p/m. And must leave Friday. I don't envy his journey (seven hours)

Steve Turner drops by to listen to what we have done so far and makes encouraging noises. Chris completes his task and tired as we are we drag ourselves to the pub for a good night beer.

(N.B. I see I have repeated some news but it adds some more detail so I hope you all find this interesting. It seems to have settled into a weekly report but I will try to write more updates whenever I can grab a few minutes.)

Today I am going to re voice Ghost Of R.J. and re-record “Somewhere Down the Road” I am also attempting to confirm Banjo and Fiddle players.

• 24 April 2010
I am tired this evening.
It has been a long week and so many decisions to make. I have recorded A Kiss In The Rain and another version of Reverend Thunder also a new recording of Somewhere Down the Road.

I decided to record the foot tap as I am sure that I do not always convey my sense of time or “Swing” the rhythm sections and the main trouble with overdubbing musicians is that without hearing the downbeat or only hearing the downbeat does not always translate into picking up on the main driver's sense of movement in the song.

John my engineer taped a transducer to the floor ( under my foot.) After a short while we decided that two were better than one as in live performance I switch weight from foot to foot. We then used the foot tap signal to “trigger” a bass drum and Hi hat so that we ended up with a Jessie Fuller drum style accompaniment to the track. I was delighted to see that not only was it predictably in time with every beat I laid down but that it also swung.

When Steve came in to play his guitar over the part he was really swaying along to the track and that is always a healthy sign. We did not manage to get all the work done that day but he will come back this week to finish the take. Steve also played some very moody dark acoustic slide work on The Ghost Of RJ. I had already done a take of Around the Wild Cape Horn and added Chris Parkinson's accordion and so on Friday it was the turn of John Dowling (banjo) and his wife Anna (fiddle) to add their contribution. John is truly a remarkable player and soon laid a complete take over what we had done. Next Anna put fiddle on and I spent the last part of Friday evening listening to the one song I have been playing regularly for the last five years. It now comprises yours truly on guitar and vocals, Chris accordion and banjo and fiddle and is a perfect case of sounding not quite right.

I am finding fault with the rhythm part and wish I had recorded foot taps before laying the other parts on to the recording. On Monday we will review all the recordings and make notes on what we will do as we approach final mix time.

Thursday night I took a copy of Girl on the Jersey Ferry and Sunny day to Truro where I met up with Gareth Churcher who is to write the string quartet part I envisage for this song. We sat in a public car park like two clandestine drug dealers listening to the cd on his car system. We discussed entry points on the song and the various combinations of instruments . I pointed out that I would like the guitar cascade of notes which occur in two sections of the song to be picked up by the musicians. We also discussed how to underline the themes of water, sunshine, turn of the century mood etc and I am confident that Gareth knows exactly my intentions with this song.

The Break Of The Union was recorded on Thursday and again this was the first time I had been able to sing and play the song to hear what it sounds like. My rudimentary piano playing does not stop me from thinking orchestrally and thank fully Maart Allcock is going to arrange this song for me. This will be done via the internet. We will record the part as midi file and send it into the ether. He will then record all,the orchestral parts and send it back through that very same ether into our studio where I can re voice my vocal and all being well we will mix all the ingredients together. For me this is witchcraft.

I am still concerned with the not small matter of a good performance and have been playing the song over and over this morning in an attempt to simplify all the “passing notes” in the last part of each verse of the song. I think it hints at a Scottish ballad theme and am more than confident in Maart's ability to translate my intentions. I just have to work harder to get my bit right.

On Friday evening I attended the Bodmin Folk Club and listened spellbound to the wonderful Will Kaufman's one man show on the life of one of my musical and spiritual heroes Woody Guthrie. I cannot recommend this performance too highly. Most of you will know of my admiration for Woody's take on life and his courage and special gifts.

In Will Kaufman's show you will see and hear in graphic and affectionate detail why this writer has inspired so many guitar singer songwriters. I was deeply moved by the whole performance. Try to catch Will sometime.
This Saturday morning I listened to Bruce Springsteen's beautiful ballad “The River” ( Fee Glover show on radio 4) It is a remarkable recording in so many ways , not the least in the way that the bass and drums carry the tune so well with barely anything but Bruce's telecaster rhythm guitar.

I still want my guitar parts to be heard and being so used to playing as many parts as I can on one guitar in live performance, it is very hard to let it go to someone else. I think however that I have achieved this in some measure on one or two tracks. You will have to be the judge eventually.
Someone tells me that

“England” got a play on radio 2 on St Georges day!! national radio no less, things are looking up.

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