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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.

• 8 July 2010
I have been back in the studio and completed the re recording of Moon June and a Cajun Tune (that is its title now) Steve Turner has added double bass as was my intention and Chris Parkinson has added a new accordion part. It sounds really good now and I am playing drums as well as Bazouki on this track!!

We also finished Somewhere Down the Road and this track now closes the album. It was quite sad leaving the studio this time. John Cornfield has been a great help with all aspects of the recording, always willing to try something new and working way into the night after the sessions have ended to do fine tuning editing and experimenting with reverbs etc. Working so intensely together is a bonding process and I am hopeful that we will work together again.

• 12 July 2010
I have been listening to the final mixes of the new album. John Cornfield has done a great job and I have finally settled on a running order.

There is some cohesion to the album in spite of the instrumentation and diverse subject matter and the vocal position is constant whether I am backed by an orchestra or playing solo.

The last mini drama concerned The Break Of The Union which was very nearly left off. It is strange that the track that took the longest to write and record should have still been giving me concern.

There are several reasons. The hugeness of the topic described and all the elements this brought to light. The poetic structure and the restrictions that brought to bear on the proper exploration of the subject. The melody which sounds like a chorus when it starts and has a second part which also sounds like a chorus. The magnificent arrangement that Maart wrote and played. The additional musical bridge that he also wrote.My rudimentary piano playing with all the passing notes in the left hand.

This all conspired to make me consider leaving the track until next time. However John introduced the song to James Hallawell a fellow producer and pianist and he has contributed a beautifully felt piano part which has humanised the song and given it a fluidity. I almost wanted to sing it again but realise I have to stop somewhere and I am already way over budget and John C is committed to new recordings for the next two months. Also there is the small matter of having thirteen tracks on an album. Suffice to say there are now fourteen, and yes I am superstitious about some things. I know I shouldn't be logically but I maintain a soloist needs all the help he can get, so don't let the forces of darkness in unnecessarily. As Dylan Thomas said so wisely when asked if he invoked superstitious belief...”I'd be a damn fool if I didn't!”...

Now we are concentrating on the artwork so I will expect to keep you up to date with the CD.s progress into an actual item.

Peter Thaine (my old art school mate and designer) and I are in contact most days and now we are preparing a 28 page book of lyrics to the songs which we hope will be included in the package. This has meant a great deal of proofing by me which I am not very good at. The reason being of course that I wrote the songs so I can anticipate the written word even if it is wrongly spelt. However we are nearly there. The design of the CD cover will be the same as the posters and hand bills that went to the printers today. I am very pleased once again with Peter's design and also looking forward to my forthcoming appearance in Harrogate at the town's arts festival.

Of course I have been playing everyday and after the studio, by way of relaxation I play some more. Even whilst watching the World Cup I have my sofa guitar with me.
So lucky Liverpool have poached our great manager Roy Hodgeson. I only hope Roy won't poach our Fulham stars for Liverpool. I know it's the way of the world and being a supporter means that you stay loyal come what may.

Good Luck Roy and thanks for all you brought to Fulham!
(Please leave us something to remember you by, say Danny Murphy and Breda Hangeland for a start!)
There will be more of these ramblings from time to time until the Cd is finally released.

• 19 July 2010
I have now had the songs in running order for a week or so and after a slight volume level change on “ Moon June and a Cajun Tune” all mixes will stay as they are.

John Cornfield mastered them over this weekend and they will be sent off to the pressing plant once the art work is finished.

For the last several days I have been communicating with Peter Thaine in Spain via emails. These mostly contain corrections between what was written and what was sung. However there are matters of type setting which are particularly painful for Pete as I am no typist and Joanna Cadman is on holiday.

Pete Thaine in Spain is nearly insane
Words back and forth again and again
To say nothing of tunes rattling round in my brain
The whole operation's becoming a pain

We are going to include a booklet of all the lyrics and setting them out is proving a lengthy process. I am keen to have uniformity of line and layout and sometimes this doesn't lend it self to the space available. But with Peter's patience we are slowly getting there.

The design of the sleeve/jacket is almost complete and Peter is hoping to do some small illustrations for some of the songs along the same lines as he did in Time's Poems.

The thing with proof reading lyrics is that I am the only one that knows what they should be. Sometimes you add an 'and' or a 'so' and that needs to be included to make the reading of the words O.K.

I am hoping we will complete al the work by the end of this week and we will send off all the parts for production.

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