I have written some basic sleeve notes for the new album, just giving some background on each song, as there isn't a physical release this time, this will replace what would have been in the accompanying booklet.
To hear previews of all the tracks, and, heaven forbid, to actually buy it, you can here.
So, here we go, track by track:
1) IF THERE IS SOMETHING (5.54)
writer: Bryan Ferry
musicians: John Hodgson: vocals, keyboards. Paul Fowler: drums. Harrison Todd: bass guitar. Ray Radford: lead guitar. Unknown: guitars.
Recorded and produced by John Hodgson at Imperial Digital 30th November 2008, 7th, 8th, 11th, 19th, 23rd December 2008, 1st January 2009
In late 2008 Mick Todd approached me about doing a cover version of this Roxy Music classic. He had been asked to submit a contribution towards a tribute album featuring assorted bands performing various Roxy Music songs.
We finally decided on “If There Is Something” and the first demo had Mick on guide vocals, his son Harrison on bass, and my old mate from Makaton Chat, Paul Fowler, on drums. As the project developed Mick's other son Jackson was brought in to handle the lead vocals, and a friends of his (I don't have his name) came in to play the guitar parts. I worked on a rather elaborate arrangement and provided numerous keyboards including piano, organ & synthesizer.
We submitted the song but was amazed to be told it wasn't going to appear on the album.
A short while later Ray Radford, my old mate from Blitzkrieg Bop, told me he was visiting Teesside to see his parents, and he had a couple of hours spare to see me. He was keen to play some guitar on any of my tracks that needed it, and the main task I asked of him was to try his hand at some lead guitar on If There Is Something.
In the short time he did such a good job that I decided to remix the track and replace the original vocals with mine, yet another track I was hoping to include on a planned “covers” album.
Although Ray's guitar part wasn't perfect, some creative mixing meant I had a passable mix feauring Ray's guitar parts and my new vocals. The song has sat on the shelf for a couple of years but I was always pleased with the outcome, particularly the great contributions from all the musicians concerned, that I am delighted to include it on this project.
2) INSTANT KARMA (4.24)
writer: John Lennon
musicians: John Hodgson: all instruments and vocals.
Recorded and produced by John Hodgson at Imperial Digital June 2012
You can listen to this track for free here.
I had been considering a “covers” album for several years, and I was not afraid to try someone elses song, often just for my own amusement. I realised that trying to cover such a huge song as this can lead to faliure, but if I gave it my own spin I might get away with it.
In the end the song has a mild reggae feel, which was not in my mind when I started. Part of the enjoyment of recording so quickly (I went from click track to final mix in about 3 hours studio time) is that I literally make things up as I go along. Ideas are tried and some rejected, and eventually I play something that sounds right, and before I know it it's done.
3) CALL OFF THE DOGS (3.54)
writer: John Hodgson
musicians: John Hodgson: all instruments and vocals.
Recorded and produced by John Hodgson at Imperial Digital, May-June 2012
You can listen to this track for free here.
This track gave me the title of the album, mainly because of early positive feedback from several people. It is (as I write this) my personal favourite from the album.
A result of my “instant writing” method, where I record the entire backing track on the fly in one take, with no idea of what I was doing apart from some basic chord progressions. A very personal lyric that was also written quickly from scratch, the whole session to record the basic song took no more than a couple of hours. Like many of my songs, it was recorded initially with a click track, with the percussion parts recorded later.
4) JUST FOR YOU (5.21)
writers: John Hodgson/Jeff Fogarty
musicians: John Hodgson: keyboards, percussion, vocals. Jeff Fogarty: rhythm programming, guitars, keyboards.
Recorded and produced by John Hodgson at Imperial Digital* (*except the basic rhythm track and guitars, recorded in Australia, recorded and produced by Jeff Fogarty) 29th March, 4th, 6th, 15th & 19th April, 1st May 2012.
This song goes way back to 1994, when I originally recorded a version that was never released. I always had a soft spot for it, and after posting the 1994 version online, and receiving positive feedback from Jeff (a founding member of Basczax with whom I had recorded our 2010 reunion album, “This Machine Rocks”) I decided to re-record it.
The original was a fairly simple affair, with the same verse structure repeated three times. I felt the song needed to go somewhere else so I sent a rough demo to Jeff and asked if he could help me complete the song.
He sent me a version with a rhythm track and acoustic guitars and some barely audible keyboard fills, which I proceeded to overlay with keyboards and percussion. I worked out a vocal melody for the new section, but after careful consideration, I decided that I could do better. I stripped it all back, and re-edited Jeff's basic track to make a much longer piece.
I then scrapped all the new vocal melodies and built up a whole new section, which took the song into new areas. There was one major stumbling block because Jeff had changed the key from G to A which meant that I couldn't reach the notes in the chorus, so I had to sing a whole octave lower – this was not ideal, but it was preferred to re-recording the whole thing.
I spent more time on this song than any other on the album, the time spent recording just the synth solo took longer than some whole tracks.
After mastering the song, I decided that it was too long, so I embarked on more editing and eventually remastered it to the length it is now.
5) LONG WAY DOWN (3.34)
writer: Phil Harwood
musicians: John Hodgson: all instrumentals and vocals.
Recorded and produced by John Hodgson at Imperial Digital, 10th November 2007
A song from almost five years ago, this was originally a Phil Harwood song, which he recorded at Imperial Digital during his sessions in 2007. This recording was a separate version that did not involve Phil. You might notice I had a little trouble with the timing of the gaps, and my singing comes in hesitantly on occasion. The timing on the flute solo is also slightly out, but I like the charm of this version and it is presented here unchanged from 2007.
6) WANDERING MINSTREL (4.08)
writer: John Hodgson
musicians: John Hodgson: all instruments and vocals.
recorded and produced by John Hodgson at Imperial Digital, 24th & 27th March, 9th June 2012
Wandering Minstrel is one of many songs that I have written in what I call my “instant writing” mode. This method is usually inspired by a nice sound on the keyboard, in this case on my newly acquired Korg Kronos.
What I mean by “instant writing” is that I have a vague idea of the chord sequence in advance, but at the point of pressing the “record” button I have no idea what the song will eventually sound like, or musically & lyrically where it will end up. What I have after the first recording is essentially a basic backing track with which to build the song. It's like an architect digging foundations, then deciding afterwards what the building should look like. I find this process incredibly rewarding.
So, the backing track for Wandering Minstrel was a one-take recording, with it's structure (verse/chorus) decided instinctively. The next step is to play the music through many times whilst “scat” singing over the top, with nonsense and made up words slowly evolving into a lyric, and the melody likewise changing each time, hopefully getting better with each attempt.
In the end I am left with a song that I could not have created in any other way.
7) BIBLES IN YOUR CAR (3.17)
writer: John Hodgson
musicians: John Hodgson: all instruments and vocals.
Recorded and produced by John Hodgson at Imperial Digital, 1st & 7th March 2012
This was the first song recorded in the 2012 sessions purposefully for the 2012 project. It was another of my “instant writing” songs, with the backing track recorded on the fly in one take after finding a really nice setting on my Korg Kronos.
I was struggling for lyrical inspiration, and as I like to work quickly if possible, I turned to the internet for inspiration. I googled “random lyric generator” more as a joke than anything else, and was amazed to find a site that did just that (in fact there are several).
After a few minutes hitting refresh I was presented with a line “bibles in your car” which just set me off to write a lyric based around that idea.
8) EVEN SO (5.03)
writers: Anthony Lindo
musicians: John Hodgson: all instruments and vocals.
Recorded and produced by John Hodgson at Imperial Digital, 8th June 2012
You can listen to the track for free here.
A song with a long history, this was a song written by Anthony Lindo back in 1983 when we were both in Makaton Chat. After the vinyl LP "Strange Beach" we kept on recording, but could not get a deal to release anything. In 1984 we decided to release a cassette only album, and "Even So" was one of the standout tracks.
I have always liked the song, and on a whim during sessions for this album I had a go at recording my own version. It is almost a note-for-note replica of the original, but I did add some of my own touches, especially the scat singing on the fade, and a solo, which the original lacked.
I was so pleased with the result that at the last minute I added it to the album. The high vocals in the chorus are at the upper limit of my range, as you will hear!
9) MURDER IN THE PARK
writers: Phil Close, John Hodgson
musicians: John Hodgson: all instruments and vocals.
Recorded and produced by John Hodgson at Imperial Digital, 23rd & 30th May 2012
This was originally a song written by Phil Close in 1991 when Phil and I were songwriting partners in a studio band called The Skydaddies. There is a 1991 4-track version that is more or less identical to the new recording.
The song was written in the style of a psychedelic pop song and the subject of the lyrics (written entirely by Phil) was inspired by a great film from 1966 called Blow Up.
My new arrangement (with sound effects on the intro and a string quartet coda) only added to the feeling of a song that wouldn't be out of place on a Dukes Of Stratosfear LP.
I felt that the song could do with some guitar and I asked Graeme Robertson to come over and put down some acoustic, sadly I struggled to get a sound I was happy with and the guitar parts were left off the final mix.
10) RETURN TO PLANET STRANGE (3.39)
writers: Hodgson (Introduction), Savage (Song)
musicians: John Hodgson: all instruments and vocals.
recorded and produced by John Hodgson at Imperial Digital on 28th July 2010 and 9th June 2012
The song RETURN TO PLANET STRANGE was a song Alan Savage presented for consideration for the BASCZAX reunion album THIS MACHINE ROCKS in 2010, the version Alan demo'd was based around an acoustic guitar, and had a totally different feel to the version here.
I really liked the song, and although the lyrics were Alan's, I felt the sentiments expressed related to me, and with a few minor changes to the words I decided to record a solo version.
As I worked on the intro, I decided that part of an old melody I had written many years ago, called SONG FOR RAEL would fit nicely.
The main part is piano, with strings and flute adding to the arrangement. I harmonise on my lead vocal at many points during the song.
The song was not developed to final master at this stage, and was left off the BASCZAX album and shelved. When I started sessions for the 2012 album in March, I decided that, with a little attention, this version could be cleaned up for inclusion.
So, in June 2012 I re-recorded some vocal harmonies, added more keyboards, and radically altered and edited the end section to finally arrive at the version presented here.
11) IN OUR OWN WORLD (4.33)
writer: Phil Harwood
musicians: John Hodgson: keyboards, lead vocals. Phil Harwood: acoustic guitars, backing vocals.
Recorded and produced by John Hodgson at Imperial Digital, November 2007 & 21st-26th June 2012
On the 14th November 2007 I invited singer/songwriter Phil Harwood to record a “live session”, playing all the songs that he wanted to record in one take so we could decide which were the best. One song in particular stood out, a plaintive ballad called “In Our Own World”.
We went on to record a proper version with some added keyboards, but the song was more or less forgotten about and the songs recorded with Phil were shelved. When it came to putting together the 2012 project I felt this song was too good to hide away, and, as the lyrics resonated with me, I quickly decided to record my version. I of course kept the superb acoustic guitar parts, and added all new keyboards. I retained a little of Phil's harmony vocals towards the end.
12) VALLEY OF THE LONG LOST WOMEN (4.08)
writers: John Cooper-Clarke, Martin Hannett, Steve Hopkins
musicians: John Hodgson: all instruments and vocals.
Recorded and produced by John Hodgson at Imperial Digital 9th May 2010 & June 2012
You can listen to the track for free here.
As previously mentioned, I had long planned to record a full album of cover versions, and towards this aim, I recorded a rough and ready version of this John Cooper-Clarke song back in May 2010, slap bang in the middle of the sessions for the Basczax album. It was shelved until I started to select songs for the 2012 project, and almost included it as is, but I felt the drum parts and vocals could be improved, and towards this end I replaced the drum parts and recorded a new vocal. There was still a problem with the ending, as I could not reach the high “bamm bamm” vocal parts, so I replaced that with a high keyboard. I also had a problem as there were a few bum notes on the original backing track near the end, so some editing was required before I was happy with the finished product. The drum part is still not perfect, but neither am I.
13) ZONE 104 (4.23)
writers: John Hodgson, Anthony Lindo
musicians: John Hodgson: keyboards, vocals, rhythm programming. Paul Fowler: drums, guitar
recorded and produced by John Hodgson at Imperial Digital, 27th, 30th July, 2nd, 5th, 9th August 2008, May 2012.
Probably the most tortured history of any of the songs here, it was written way back in 1980 in the first few months of Anth Lindo's and my tenure in Makaton Chat. It was performed many times by the band, and was twice recorded in the studio but never released. We then changed the title to “Lovezone” and yet again to “For A Moment” (with an altered chorus), this version was recorded yet again in 1986 at Dimmer Blackwell's Teesbeat Studio. The sessions ended in arguments (about money), and the song remained unfinished. The band fell apart soon after.
In 2008 I invited former Makaton Chat drummer Paul Fowler into the studio where we planned to record a few old Makaton songs, one called “I Saw You Tomorrow” was almost completed, and I seriously considered including it on this album, but I could not polish it up to the required standard. So we turned to “Zone 104” (going back more or less to the original arrangement), and this is what you hear on this album. Once again a guitar was needed on the track and Paul added guitar to his drums, as he is not really a guitarist, the two power chords needed for this song did not tax him unduly.
The song has been edited a little for this release, and sounds much better for it.
14) TRACK X-ERT (1.50)
writer: John Hodgson
Musician: John Hodgson: all keyboards and rhythm programming.
Recorded and produced by John Hodgson at Imperial Digital, 1st, 3rd, 6th & 7th June 2012
Added at the last minute, this is part of a song I contributed to the 2010 Basczax album "This Machine Rocks" after main songwriter Alan Savage asked each other member to write a song for the album.
Alan gave each one of us some ideas to help us create our pieces, and he suggested to me that I create a "battle" between Supertramp and The Carpenters, and this section of the song, originally called "Track XXX" does just that. I bolted together two scraps of tunes that I had lying about for years.
It was a great fun to create, and I think that shows. Not to be taken too seriously.
15) CATCH THE WIND (2.21)
writer: Donovan Leitch
musicians: Phil Harwood: acoustic guitars, John Hodgson: vocals.
recorded and produced by John Hodgson at Imperial Digital, November 2007
In late 2007 I had local singer/songwriter Phil Harwood in to Imperial Digital for numerous recording sessions, with the view to laying down many of Phil's original songs and adding keyboard arrangements when needed. Phil and I are both fans of Donovan, and Phil (at my request) layed down a simple backing track of Donovan's “Catch The Wind” which I wanted to record, just for a bit of fun. I recorded many versions, just using one voice, and this is take #8, which I consider the best effort. It sticks very closely to Donovan's arrangement, but I like it so much I have included it on the album, and will take any accusations of karaoke on the chin.
