Martyn Joseph
Please Sir
She was always a very pretty lady
He had always caught her eye
They were married in a mining valley
And swore they'd be together until the day that they died
Twenty years later with the coal all gone
And golden lamp in his hand
He stands at the bar with his pint and his friends
They all agree together that they don't understand
Meanwhile little David takes his books off to school
And learns of times gone past
And when it comes to questions he puts up his hand
There's something that he just wants to ask
Please sir can you give me and answer
Please sir you know it doesn't seem fair
Last night as I walked through the door
I thought I saw my father crying sat in his chair
She stood there with her arms around him and she said
She promised him a better day
But after twenty years of working underground
It's not just your job that they take away
Sometimes he'd walk to the edge of his world
And stare at the valley below
He thought about leaving maybe running away
But knew there was nowhere to go
Please sir can you give me and answer
Please sir you know I just can't see
Please sir when you make these decisions
Do you have a vision of what happens to me
Life goes on in the mining valley
But the young men leave for a better wage
And every day he coughs and he splutters
He knows love is the reason he stays
He knows love is the reason he stays
Meanwhile little David takes his books off to school
And learns of the times gone past
And when it comes to questions he puts up his and
There's something that he just wants to ask
Please sir can you give me and answer
Please sir you know it doesn't seem fair
Last night as I walked through the door
I thought I saw my daddy crying sat in his chair
Please sir can you give me and answer
Please sir you know I just can't see
Please sir when you make these decisions
Do you have a vision of what happens to me
Do you have a vision of what happens to the likes of me
Please take a look, take a look and see.
Max Q
Michael Kelland John Hutchence
January 22, 1960 – November 22, 1997
Michael Kelland John Hutchence was born on January 22, 1960 at Mater Misericordiae Hospital in North Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. His mother Patricia Kennedy, was a former successful Melbourne model turned makeup artist and mother of eleven-year-old Tina when she married Sydney businessman Kelland Hutchence on January 31, 1959.
Michael was a very happy child with a big smile for everyone. He just seemed so excited to be alive. Soon after he was born the family moved to Brisbane where his brother Rhett was born. The family returned to Sydney when Michael was three years-old and just days before Michael's 5th birthday in January, 1965, the family departed for Hong Kong where Kell had accepted a position with a company which imported beef from Australia and wines and spirits from France.
Michael attended pre-school, Kindergarten and elementary, eventually going on to King George the 5th High in Hong Kong.
During those formative years in Hong Kong, Michael proved to be an excellent athlete at certain sports, namely those, which did not involve a ‘team' or running. He was a superior swimmer and also won several trophies for diving.
The music played in the Hutchence household ranged from his parents' tastes; Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra to his teenage sisters' the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. He studied classical guitar for a short time and the violin which, the way he played it, was excruciating to the ears. At other times he would sit around with his friends singing folk songs when he wasn't involved in Boy Scouts, fencing, judo, or kick boxing. Although he was interested in music, he dreamed of becoming an airline pilot.
One of his favourite past-times was visiting his mother and sister on movie sets at Shaw Brothers Studio. He started this at a very young age and instinctively knew to sit very quietly while the actors were doing a ‘take'. He watched everyone intently, interested in every aspect of movie making.
At the age of eleven, he made a recording of Christmas carols for a toy manufacturer.
The recording was made to a small disc which was encased by a Santa Clause and sold quite well that Holiday Season.
When Michael was 12 the family returned to Sydney and settled into a home in Belrose, New South Wales. Michael used to call it ‘Sausage Hill' because of the weekend barbeques in the neighbourhood. This was a huge culture shock for Michael. His first day at Davidson High was eventful but not very pleasant – as the students did not take kindly to his slightly British accent. It was a blessing in disguise however when he met Andrew Farriss who was to become his lifelong friend and business partner. Over a 25 year friendship and a writing partnership that spanned 20 years, together they wrote and performed with the other members of INXS some powerful music that is still heard in motion pictures, on commercials, in clubs and on the radio today.
At the age of 15 Michael and his mother left for California. He has said that with the breakup of his parents' marriage he felt that she needed someone and it pained him to think of her alone. He and his mother joined his sister Tina, and her son Brent in a house in Studio City. While his mother continued her work in motion pictures, Michael enrolled into North Hollywood High where he found the student population and instructor/student relationship liberating. He was quite introspective and began to write poetry with a passion. He continued to visit his mother on sets and soaked in the down to earth basics of movie making which possibly helped him later on when it came time to make videos with INXS.
Michael and his mother returned to Australia where he continued his friendship with Andrew who was seriously edging toward a career in the music industry. With Andrews' band ‘Doctor Dolphin' together, there was no place apart from vocals for Michael who did not play an instrument. Gary Beers was playing bass guitar in this first band. Slowly Michael began to expose his poetry to Andrew who was already an accomplished musician.
All three Farriss brothers played an instrument. Eldest brother Tim, a guitar player was already performing in a band with Kirk Pengilly. Youngest brother Jon was learning the drums. They eventually formed the line-up that would endure for more than 20 years. After some rehearsals in the Farriss or Hutchence garage, they debuted their band the ‘Farriss Brothers' on August 16, 1977 – Tim's 20th birthday and the day Elvis Presley passed away.
The day after Michael completed high school, he and Kirk Pengilly drove across the Nullabour Plains to join the Farriss family and Gary Beers in Perth to give their dream of becoming a band a chance.
After a tough ride in and around Perth, playing covers the band made their way back to Sydney. By this time Michael was getting his stage legs. He had a presence that only a select few performers exhibit; a certain something that was a combination of his natural charisma and instinct. The band was spotted by Garry Morris the manager of Midnight Oil who, was too busy to manage them himself but called another manager who was searching for a band. Not only did they get a manager, they changed their name at the same time. Their stage persona was so excessive it seemed appropriate that they should call themselves ‘INXS'.
Chris Murphy's managerial savvy combined with the musical talent of INXS members, with Michael as front man took them to international stardom.
Chris, no stranger himself to hard work, had Michael working on his craft constantly. Gig after gig on the road 300 days out of the first year was very humbling. Michael never forgot those days of sharing one order of fish and chips between two people and one hotel room for 6.
That same year 1980, they released their first two singles ‘We Are The Vegetables' and ‘Simple Simon' and began work on their first album-music by Andrew and lyrics by Michael.
Every night after performing in and around Sydney pubs, they would drive to the studio and record. It was a gruelling but satisfying time for the band. Michael and Andrew barely felt the pressure of writing and performing and recording and continued on the same routine throughout most of their careers. With every tour they were writing songs for the next album.
Michael's performances began to get noticed by the media and his stage persona was likened to Mick Jagger and Jim Morrison.
Their self-titled debut album included their first hit, ‘Just Keep Walking'. They continued to work hard and just six months later they released a cover of a sixties hit, ‘The Loved One' which truly proved to be the perfect set of tempo and lyrics to showcase Michael's sensual phrasing and erotic stage persona.
The music journalists lavished praise on the band. One journalist, Jenny Hunter Brown described him thus: “He stares quite fearlessly, slightly surlily, out at the milling pub crowd. And for a moment Michael Hutchence echoes the late Jim Morrison. ” She continues; “He's twenty, fit a fine dancer. He swings side to side with the mike stand as access in a mutant, Austral skank. A great mat of damp curls flopping over one angry eye, he shoots out each rounded word like a rocket off a pad.”
In no time at all INXS were on their way to the international scene in a short leap. In 1984 they embarked on their first world tour. This would mark the beginning of years of constant touring, writing and recording for Michael.
In 1985 INXS played to 50,000 fans over three sold out shows in their homeland and dominated the music award shows –something they continued to do for the next 5 years. In the same year Michael and the band performed for Prince Charles and Lady Diana in a charity concert called ‘Rocking with the Royals'.
In March of 1986 Michael made his movie debut in Richard Lowenstein's Dogs In Space. Michael played Sam Sejavka, real life punk rock singer from Melbourne in the late seventies who had struggled unsuccessfully with heroin addiction. Richard had written the movie with Michael in mind, positive that he could carry it off. Michael did not let him down receiving admirable reviews for his performance and entering the top ten with a single titled Rooms For The Memory .
By the mid eighties Michael was no longer residing in Australia, he had moved back to Hong Kong. This began a habit of Andrew and Michael writing on separate continents. Michael had a habit of writing on anything available as he often misplaced his notebook and rarely was it around when the creative thought reared. It was not unusual for Andrew to send Michael 25 pieces of music.
By late 1986 INXS was breaking out in North America with ‘What You Need' on heavy MTV rotation. Michael was becoming a ‘video' star as he was a natural in front of a camera.
In 1987 INXS recorded ‘Kick' which was to become their most successful album. In September 1988 they swept the MTV Music Awards with ‘Kick'.
In 1989 Michael teamed with Melbourne musician Ollie Olsen to record ‘Max Q'. For the first time Michael explored life in and out of the studio without INXS. It was a critically acclaimed album and a personal success for Michael.
Michael then accepted a call from Roger Corman to co-star in his movie ‘Frankenstein Unbound' starring John Hurt and Brigit Fonda. It was shot in Lake Como, Italy . It was not a commercial success and the critics hated it, but as Michael said, “You really don't know what the end result is going to be with a movie. You just do your best and trust your director.”
By 1989 Michael's private life was taking a front seat with romantic partners such as Kylie Minogue and Helena Christensen. Although he was taking time off from INXS, he continued to write and listen to new music and absorb ‘life'. He didn't understand the pre-occupation the press had with his personal life.
During this time INXS played the big stage at Wembley, arriving by helicopter to a screaming, throbbing audience of approximately 75,000 and a recorded live performance "Live Baby Live".
Although future album sales would never hit the heights of Kick, the bands' live performances were still at a premium. They were always known as an exciting live band and INXS always delivered.
Michael's base was in the South of France but he also spent a lot of time in the U.S. and London. He was known for taking exotic vacations and was often photographed with celebrities though never sought the limelight. He was proud of the fact that he could walk around unrecognized.
That all changed when he became involved with British television personality Paula Yates with whom he had a daughter, Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily Hutchence in July, 1996. The press would not leave him alone and he was placed in the unenviable position of defending himself when the British press dubbed him the man Paula had left Bob Geldof for. He was swept up in the Yates/Geldof child custody wars –a position he should never have been placed in. After 18 years of a love affair with the media, he was no match for the onslaught of mud slinging and nastiness from the tabloids.
In 1997 he embarked on his last tour with INXS for the very personal album, ‘Elegantly Wasted'; taking a large amount of Prozac to keep on an even keel; he was not being monitored and had only seen a therapist twice. His last shows on the east coast of the U.S. were not his best by far.
He had recently signed with a U.S. agent for his acting and his manager had been negotiating with Quentin Tarrantino about a movie beginning in early 1998. But personal problems plagued him. On November 22, 1997, just 4 days prior to beginning the Australian leg of the tour, seemingly despondent over his personal life, Michael took his life in a hotel room in Sydney.
Way Of The World
Listen!
You are born into this world
Looking down the barrel of a gun
And those who hold the gun
Want you to work fast and die young
And if you don’t work, if you don’t obey
They’ll make you live in fear till your dieing day
Those who govern with a gun to your head
With religions corporations proud of the blood they’ve shed
Whether it’s God or the bomb it’s just the same
It’s only fear under another name
Whether it’s God or the bomb it’s just the same
It’s only fear under another name
And the corporate snakes coming in to feed
On that pathetic fact known as human greed
Skin and bones being raked over those hot coals
This dungeon don’t seem to give time for human soul
And all those things that we have learned
No time for questions you just get burned
You just get burned
Whether it’s God or the bomb it’s just the same
It’s only fear under another name
Whether it’s God or the bomb it’s just the same
It’s only fear under another name
And the world crushes you flat like your skulls under a brick
And the fear is so damn strong that it makes you sick
And you can see right through those eyes
That make you fear, that make you lie
And you’re taught to hold high
Yet you wont know why
Dumb values forced upon you by the living lie
Whether it’s God or the bomb it’s just the same
It’s only fear under another name
Whether it’s God or the bomb it’s just the same
It’s only fear under another name
Whether it’s God or the bomb it’s just the same
It’s only fear under another name
Mazzy Star
Formed: 1989
Members: Hope Sandoval, David Roback
f psychedelic music had a voice in '90s post-punk, Mazzy Star may have been its strongest reincarnation. That doesn't necessarily mean that fans of Jefferson Airplane and The Grateful Dead will find the band to their liking, however. Mazzy Star much prefered the dark side of psychedelia, as exemplified by the most distended tracks of The Doors and The Velvet Underground. Their fuzzy guitar workouts and plaintive folky compositions are often suffused in a dissociative ennui that is very much of the 1990s, however much their textures may recall the drug-induced states of vintage psychedelia.
Although Mazzy Star was nominally a full band, they were basically the core duo of guitarist David Roback and singer Hope Sandoval with backing musicians. David Roback boasts a long history in the paisley underground, with Rain Parade and Opal. He came across Hope Sandoval after hearing a tape she had made as part of a folky duo, Going Home. (The Going Home album that David Roback subsequently produced remains unissued.) Hope Sandoval ended up replacing Kendra Smith on Opal's final tours. After Opal dissolved, David Roback and Hope Sandoval continued to work together as Mazzy Star, and released their first album for Rough Trade, She Hangs Brightly, in 1990.
Rough Trade's U.S. branch went under shortly afterwards, but luckily Mazzy Star were picked up by Capitol, who kept the debut in print and issued their follow-up, 1993's So Tonight That I Might See. There isn't much to differentiate the two albums, though that's not necessarily a criticism. Both share similar strengths and weaknesses: appealingly dreamy and atmospheric arrangements, rambling distorted guitar workouts, and lyrics that mix the haunting and the meaninglessly vague. So Tonight That I Might See had been around for about a year before it suddenly got hot, reaching the Top 40, and spinning off a small hit single, "Fade Into You." Even in the wake of this surprise success, David Roback and Hope Sandoval remained as enigmatic and aloof as their music, rarely submitting to interviews, and offering mysterious, unhelpful replies when journalists did manage to talk with them. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide
After the breakup of Mazzy Star, vocalist Hope Sandoval joined with Colm O'Ciosoig (formerly of My Bloody Valentine) to form Hope Sandoval & the Warm Inventions. The project retained the laid-back, slowcore sound of Mazzy Star, and much like Mazzy Star, featured Sandoval's sensuous, hypnotic voice. However, it replaced the psychedelic leanings that Mazzy Star was known for with spare, subtle arrangements that reinforced Sandoval's gentle vocal style. In 2000, Sandoval issued her first EP with the Warm Inventions, , and followed it up with her debut full-length, , a year later. ~ Stacia Proefrock, All Music Guide
Fade Into You
I want to hold the hand inside you
I want to take a breath that's true
I look to you and I see nothing
I look to you to see the truth
You live your life
You go in shadows
You'll come apart and you'll go black
Kind of light into your darkness
Colors your eyes with what's not there.
Fade into you
Strange you never knew Fade into you
I think it's strange you never knew
A stranger's light comes on slowly
A stranger's heart without a home
You put your hands into your head
And then smiles cover your heart
Fade into you
Strange you never knew
Fade into you
I think it's strange you never knew
I think it's strange you never knew
Into Dust
Still falling
Breathless and on again
Inside today
Beside me today
Around broken in two
'Till your eyes shed
Into dust
Like two strangers
Turning into dust
'Till my hand shook with the way I fear
I could possibly be fading
Or have something more to gain
I could feel myself growing colder
I could feel myself under your fate
Under your fateIt was you breathless and tall
I could feel my eyes turning into dust
And two strangers turning into dust
Turning into dust
Melanie Safka
I Think It’s Going To Rain Today
Broken windows in the empty hallway
A pale dead moon in the sky streaked with gray
Human kindness is overflowing
And I think it's going to rain today
Scarecrows dressed in the latest styles
With frozen smiles to chase love away
Human kindness is overflowing
And I think it's going to rain today
Lonely, lonely
Tin can at my feet
Think I'll kick it down the street
That's the way to treat a friend
Bright before me the signs implore me
To help the needy and show them the way
Human kindness is overflowing
And I think it's going to rain today
Metalica
FORMED: 1981, Los Angeles, CA
The most consistently innovative metal band of the late 80s and 90s was formed in 1981 in California, USA, by Lars Ulrich (b. 26 December 1963, Copenhagen, Denmark; drums) and James Alan Hetfield (b. 3 August 1963, USA; guitar/vocals) after each separately advertised for fellow musicians in the classified section of American publication The Recycler. They recorded their first demo, No Life Til' Leather, with Lloyd Grand (guitar), who was replaced in January 1982 by David Mustaine (b. 13 September 1961, La Mesa, California, USA), whose relationship with Ulrich and Hetfield proved unsatisfactory. Jef Warner (guitar) and Ron McGovney (bass) each had a brief tenure with the band.
At the end of 1982 Clifford Lee Burton (b. 10 February 1962, USA, d. 27 September 1986; bass, ex-Trauma) joined the band, playing his first live performance on 5 March 1983. Mustaine departed to form Megadeth and was replaced by Kirk Hammett (b. 18 November 1962, San Francisco, California, USA; guitar). Hammett, who came to the attention of Ulrich and Hetfield while playing with rock band Exodus, played his first concert with Metallica on 16 April 1983. The Ulrich, Hetfield, Burton and Hammett combination endured until disaster struck the band in the small hours of 27 September 1986, when Metallica's tour bus overturned in Sweden, killing Cliff Burton. During those four years, the band put thrash metal on the map with the aggression and exuberance of their debut, Kill 'Em All, the album sleeve of which bore the legend "Bang that head that doesn't bang".
This served as a template for a whole new breed of metal, though the originators themselves were quick to dispense with their own rule book. Touring with New Wave Of British Heavy Metal bands Raven and Venom followed, while Music For Nations signed them for European distribution. Although Ride The Lightning was not without distinction, notably on "For Whom The Bell Tolls', it was 1986's Master Of Puppets that offered further evidence of Metallica"s appetite for the epic. Their first album for Elektra Records in the USA (who had also re-released its predecessor), this was a taut, multi-faceted collection that both raged and lamented with equal conviction.
After the death of Burton, the band elected to continue, the remaining three members recruiting Jason Newsted (b. 4 March 1963; bass) of Flotsam And Jetsam. Newsted played his first concert with the band on 8 November 1986. The original partnership of Ulrich and Hetfield, however, remained responsible for Metallica's lyrics and musical direction. The new line-up's first recording together was The $5.98 EP - Garage Days Re-Revisited - a collection of cover versions including material from Budgie, Diamond Head, Killing Joke and the Misfits, which also served as a neat summation of the band's influences to date.
Sessions for ... And Justice For All initially began with Guns 'N' Roses producer Mike Clink at the helm. A long and densely constructed effort, this 1988 opus included an appropriately singular spectacular moment in "One" (a US Top 40/UK Top 20 single), while elsewhere the barrage of riffs somewhat obscured the usual Metallica artistry. The songs on 1991's US/UK chart- topper Metallica continued to deal with large themes - justice and retribution, insanity, war, religion and relationships. Compared to Kill "Em All nearly a decade previously, however, the band had grown from iconoclastic chaos to thoughtful harmony, hallmarked by sudden and unexpected changes of mood and tempo.
The MTV -friendly "Enter Sandman" broke the band on a stadium level and entered the US Top 20. The single also reached the UK Top 10, as did another album track, "Nothing Else Matters". Constant touring in the wake of the album ensued, along with a regular itinerary of awards ceremonies. There could surely be no more deserving recipients, Metallica having dragged mainstream metal, not so much kicking and screaming as whining and complaining, into a bright new dawn when artistic redundancy seemed inevitable. Metallica was certified as having sold nine million copies in the USA by June 1996, and one month later Load entered the US charts at number 1. The album marked a change in image for the band, who began to court the alternative rock audience.
The following year's Reload collected together more tracks recorded at the Load sessions, and featured 60s icon Marianne Faithfull on the first single to be released from the album, "The Memory Remains". Garage Inc. collected assorted cover versions, and broke the band's run of US number 1 albums when it debuted at number 2 in December 1998. The following year's S&M, recorded live with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, evoked the worst excesses of heavy rock icons Deep Purple. In January 2001, Jason Newsted announced he was leaving Metallica after almost fifteen years service with the band. During spring 2001 Metallica entered the studio again, although with no bassist, and began recording the new album which they hoped would be released by christmas that year or early 2002. However, in July 2001 James Hetfield announced that he was in re-hab for alcohol and 'other' addictions. The recording of the new album was put on hold until he recovered. Robert Trujilo is the new bass player!
No Leaf Clover
And it feels right this time
On this crash course we're in the big time
Pay no mind to the distant thunder
Beauty fills his head with wonder, boy....
Says it feels right this time
Turn around, found new high lights
Good day to be alive Sir
Good day to be alive, he said.....
Then it comes to be that the soothing light at the end of your tunnel
is just a freight train coming your way
Then it comes to be that the soothing light at the end of your tunnel
is just the freight train coming your way
Don't it feel right like this
All the pieces fall to his wish
Suck up for that quick reward boy
Suck up for that quick reward they said.....
Then it comes to be that the soothing light at the end of your tunnel
is just a freight train coming your way
Then it comes to be that the soothing light at the end of your tunnel
is just the freight train coming your way......
It's coming your way
It's coming your way......
Here comes
Yeah, Then it comes to be that the soothing light at the end of your tunnel
Is just a freight train coming your way.... Yeah...
Then it comes to be, Yeah...
Then it comes to be, Yeah...
Then it comes to be, Yeah...
Then it comes to be, Yeah...
Then it comes to be, Yeah...
Then it comes to be, Yeah...
Then it comes to be, Yeah...
Then it comes to be, Yeah
Bleeding Me
I'm diggin' my way
I'm diggin' my way to something
I'm diggin' my way to somethin' better
I'm pushin' my stay
I'm pushin' my stay to something
I'm pushin' my stay to something better
I'm sowing the seeds
I'm sowing the seeds I've taken
I'm sowing the seeds I take for granted
This thorn in my side
This thorn in my side is from the tree
This thorn in my side is from the tree I've planted
It tears me and I bleed
Caught under wheels roll
I take the leech I'm bleeding me
Can't stop to save my soul
I take the leash that's leading me
I'm bleeding me I can't take it
Caught under wheel's roll
The bleeding of me
Repeat
I am the beast that feeds the beast
I am the blood, I am the release
Come make me pure
Bleed me a cure
I'm caught under
Michael Oldfield
North Point
Have you ever been to North Point
To spend your time and pray?
The prison walls are dark and cold and grey.
The writing on the wall at North Point
Speaks to a silent room.
They shut the bars down, leave you to the gloom.
How could we get any closer?
So high is the wire and the guards won't listen,
They won't believe me.
And then it all came back.
Somewhere far above has a new day risen?
Way beyond the searchlight,
Comes a light, comes a light.
Then on a bright day at North Point
The gate was open wide.
They chanced to look at what was inside.
There were a million stars at North Point,
And from the silent tomb,
They took it to the heart and left for the moon.
How could we get any closer?
So high is the wire and the guards won't listen,
They won't believe me.
And then it all came back.
Somewhere far above has a new day risen?
Way beyond the searchlight,
Comes a light, comes a light.
Have you ever been to North Point
To spend your time and pray?
The prison walls are dark and cold and grey.
Michael Penn
Walter Reed
I count the cases piled up high
For the 1:15.
For platform and for passerby
It's the same routine.
I'm ranting while I’m raving,
There's nothing here worth saving.
Tell me now, what more do you need?
Take me to Walter Reed tonight.
Baby I've lost the will for fighting
Over everything.
Well there's a few things I gotta say
Make no mistake, I'm mad…
'Cause every good thing I've had
Abandoned me.
All I want to do is hide.
It's graduation day
And everything I learned inside
Didn't seem to pay.
I've had my fill of palm trees
And lighting up Grauman's Chinese.
Tell me now, what more do you need?
Take me to Walter Reed tonight.
Baby I've lost the will for fighting
Over everything
Well there's a few things I gotta say.
Make no mistake, I'm mad.
'Cause every good thing I had
Abandoned me.
A sad and lonesome me.
I’m the walking wounded
I say it to yopur face
But I can’t find my place
Tell me now, what more do you need?
Take me to Walter Reed tonight.
Baby I've lost the will for fighting
Over everything
Well there's a few things I gotta say.
Make no mistake, I'm mad.
'Cause every good thing I had
Abandoned me.
Michelle Branch
b. 2 July 1983, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA. This US singer-songwriter was raised in Sedona, a small town in Arizona. After receiving a guitar for her fourteenth birthday, Branch began writing her own songs and playing live gigs around her home-town. Before reaching 18 she had recorded an independently-released debut album and opened for Hanson. A recording contract with Maverick Records followed, with her second album appearing a few months later. Recorded with Melissa Etheridge producer John Shanks, The Spirit Room was buoyed by the success of the radio-friendly singles "Everywhere" and "All You Wanted". In 2002, her duet with Santana on "The Game Of Love" became a major transatlantic hit.
Branch's preference for slick pop rock and self-absorbed lyrics has earned her inevitable comparisons to both Etheridge and Alanis Morissette, although Cat Stevens remains her mentor. Nevertheless, the quality of her material marks her out as one of the leading figures in the new wave of musically literate, good-looking female singer-songwriters.
Are You Happy Now?
Now, don’t just walk away
Pretending everything’s ok
And you don’t care about me
And I know there’s just no use
When all your lies become your truths and I don’t care... yeah, yeah, yeah
Could you look me in the eye
And tell me that you’re happy now, ohhh, ohhh Would you tell it to my face or have I been erased,
Are you happy now?
Are you happy now?
You took all there was to take,
And left me with an empty plate
And you don’t care about it, yeah.
And I am givin' up this game
I’m leaving you with all the blame cause I don’t care, yeah, yeah yeah,
Could you look me in the eye?
And tell me that you’re happy now, oohh oohhh
Would you tell it to my face or have I been erased,
Are you happy now? Ohhh, ohhhh
Are you happy now?
Are you happy now? yeah, yeah, yeah.
Do you really have everything you want?
You could never give somethin' you ain't got
You can’t run away from yourself
Could you look me in the eye?
And tell me that you're happy now, yeah, yeah
Come on, tell it to my face or have i been replaced,
Are you happy now? Ohhh, ohhhh
Are you happy now?
Would you look me in the eye?
Could you look me in the eye?
I’ve had all that I can take I'm not about to break
Cause I’m happy now, ohhh, ohhh Are you happy now?
Drop In The Ocean
Love took me by the hand
Love took me by surprise
Love led me to you
And love opened up my eyes
And I was drifting away like a drop in the ocean
And now I realize that nothing has been as beautiful
As when I saw heaven's skies
In your eyes
In your eyes
And every time I drift away
I lose myself in you
And now I see I can be me
In everything I do
Cause I was feeling as small as a drop in the ocean
And now I realize that nothing has been as beautiful
As when I saw heaven's skies
In your eyes
In your eyes
Love took me by the hand
Love took me by surprise
And I was drifting away like a drop in the ocean
And now I've realized that nothing has been as beautiful
As when I saw heaven's skies
In your eyes
In your eyes
Moby
When Moby first erupted onto the rave arena with the Twin Peaks-sampling "Go", little did the world realise just how far this New Yorker would go to confound the public. From house innovator to techno punk originator, thrash metal rocker to inadvertent soundtracker and composer, Moby has travelled disparate musical terrains with an insatiable thirst for fresh sounds and spiritual energy. It's been a long and varied journey, and one which laughs in the face of the accepted take on eclecticism. Not for Moby the safe bet. Moby, you see, is one of music's true mavericks. Something to be cherished in the current climate of rampant mediocrity.
And yet, unlike so many artists who map out their shape shifts with a marketing executive's eye for demographics, the genre-bending that Richard Hall (as Moby's mom called him) has explored has been nothing if not passionate, heartfelt and honest. Far from aiming to deliberately confound his friends and fans, Moby has simply followed the signposts laid out by his own creative mind, inspired by the world he lives in.
The story of Moby we all now know. Unfortunately, most of the clichés attached to Moby - strident environmentalist, Christian, non-drinker, non-drug taker - have kind of fallen by the wayside over the last few years as his take on the world has become more and more ambiguous. He is as engaging a conversationalist as you're likely to meet; neither po-faced nor dogmatic in his beliefs, he is quite unlike the vast majority of the stars from the entire lexicon of rock'n'pop'n'techno. In other words, he is genuinely interesting. But then he could hardly fail to be when you consider his background.
Born in New York and raised in Connecticut, Moby's father died when he was only two. Subsequently he was brought up by his mother, an open-minded woman who encouraged Moby to pursue whatever creative avenues appealed to him. By the time Moby was ten he was actively learning classical guitar, something which held him in good stead for the punk explosion which attracted him in his teens. By his twenties he had been involved in bands as disparate as speed metal kids, The Vatican Commandos, anarchist noise combo Flipper and critically acclaimed 4AD band Ultra Vivid Scene.
With Moby's love of new in music it was inevitable that he would be drawn to the house scene in the late 80s. His early singles were staples of the rave scene, with "Go" storming the top ten in the UK. With 1995's "Everything is Wrong" album - his first true long player, the previous releases being little more than collections - he could be found pouring the styles that he'd grown up with into a hybrid of house, rock, hardcore, thrash and jungle, all laced with more than a touch of drama. The singles "Hymn", "Feeling So Real" and "Everytime You Touch Me" revealed Moby's ability to create uniquely moving music.
With Moby's appearance playing on 1995's Lollapallooza came the realisation that he had eschewed his dance roots and gone back to the hardcore thrash punk of his youth. A tryptych composed of industrial punk, speedcore and heartbreaking instrumentals, the following year's "Animal Rights" album was a stab in the back for purism of any kind. "It was an intentionally abrasive, misanthropic record." he recalls. Around the same time he also released "The End Of Everything", an album of breathtaking synthetic orchestrations, under the pseudonym Voodoo Child.
In 1997 Moby released "I Like to Score", a compilation of some of the many of his tracks which have been used in movies. Among these was the breakbeat-driven version of the universally recognisable "James Bond Theme", a single which not only represented Moby 's return to the dance arena but also hinted at a new-found love of hip hop, a genre explored in a little more relaxed way on his latest opus "Play".
As you would expect, the release of "Play" heralds yet more musical exploration from the man who gained his monicker thanks to being a direct descendant of "Moby Dick" author Herman Melville. Almost twelve months in the making, "Play" is a downtempo affair which is perhaps his most cohesive album to date.
"I suppose the genesis of this record can be found on the downtempo tracks on 'Everything is Wrong'" he explains. "With 'Everything is Wrong' it was me bringing in all of the styles and sounds that I was into in a wildly eclectic way. With this album I wanted things to hang together far more naturally."
If "Play" were a theatrical performance it would be in three acts. Act one finds Moby building his music around field recordings of indigenous black music from the early 20th century. Act two features Moby himself on vocal duties. The final act is represented by the quietly reflective instrumental tracks. The glue that holds the entire performance together is provided by the breaks of hip hop ("I listen to a lot of commercial hip hop like Jay-Z, Noriega, Timbaland, and Busta Rhymes"). Fear not because the overall effect is often moving, occasionally spooky and always breathtaking.
"The field recordings were made by a folk historian called Alan Lomax who, along with his father, amassed a huge catalogue of indigenous field recordings in the early part of the twentieth century. When I first heard these recordings I was so moved by them. These wonderful vocals became the starting points for my music."
Interesting that, at a time when millennial fever has so many people running to their 70s and 80s records for inspiration, Moby has found it lurking in obscure recordings from the beginning of the century. These tapes held all of the energy that originally drew him to both punk and rave.
Moby's use of these field recordings was heralded by the release of "Honey" in September '98. A swaggering slice of b-boy swamp blues, "Honey" received accolades throughout the media with NME calling it "a sparkling diamond" while The Guardian described it as "joyous, hypnotic, romping blues".
With "Honey" Moby set the scene for the astonishing bride-stripped-bare minimalist blues of "Play". And, as is the norm for the man who is occasionally known as Little Idiot, he plays all of the instruments himself.
"I was playing the album to one of my friends and he asked me who the drummer was. When I said it was me he was amazed."
He plays everything from classical guitar to Roland 303, he's played everything from thrash metal to hands in the air techno, he's remixed everyone from Michael Jackson to Metallica, and he's turned down production offers from Hole and Guns 'n' Roses. One thing is certain about Moby : he can still surprise. With "Play" Moby has delivered another stunning head turner. And the best bit is, you get the feeling that there's still so much more to come from NYC's favourite maverick.
Extreme Ways
Extreme ways are back again
Extreme places I didn't know
I broke everything new again
Everything that I'd owned
I threw it out the windows, came along
Extreme ways I know move apart
The colors of my sea
Perfect color me
Extreme ways that help me,
That help me out late at night
Extreme places I had gone
But never seen any light
Dirty basements, dirty noise
Dirty places coming through
Extreme worlds alone
Did you ever like it planned
I would stand in line for this
There's always room in life for this
Oh baby, oh baby
Then it fell apart, fell apart
Oh baby, oh baby
Then it fell apart, it fell apart
Oh baby, oh baby
Then it fell apart, it fell apart
Oh baby, oh baby
Like it always does, always does
Extreme songs that told me
They helped me down every night
I didn't have much to say
I didn't get above the light
I closed my eyes and closed myself
And closed my world and never opened
Up to anything
That could get me along
I had to close down everything
I had to close down my mind
Too many things to cover me
Too much can make me blind
I've seen so much in so many places
So many heartaches, so many faces
So many dirty things
You couldn't even believe
I would stand in line for this
It's always good in life for this
Oh baby, oh baby
Then it fell apart, fell apart
Oh baby, oh baby
Then it fell apart, it fell apart
Oh baby, oh baby
Then it fell apart, it fell apart
Oh baby, oh baby
Like it always does, always does
Harbour
The street bares no relief
When everybody's fighting
The street bares no relief
With light so hot and binding
I run the stairs away
And walk into the nighttime
The sadness flows like water
And washes down the heartache
And washes down the heartache
My heart is full
My heart is wide
The saddest song to play
On the strings of my heart
The heat is on its own
The roof seems so inviting
A vantage point is gained
To watch the children fighting
So lead me to the harbour
And float me on the waves
Sink me in the ocean
To sleep in a sailor's grave
To sleep in a sailor's grave
My heart is full
My heart is wide
The saddest song to play
On the strings of my heart
My heart is full
My heart is wide, so wide
The saddest song to play
On the strings of my heart
Signs Of Love
If I was beautiful
If I had the time
They'd flock to me
Bathe me in the wine
I know that's not the way
I know that's not how things are to be
(My baby left)
(My baby left)
(Gone gone)
(Gone gone)
I was always looking
and I held until the time began
Solo things come at me
I look to see where loss had ran
I can have the sun it come
And touch me on my shoulder
Think of all the things that I could
Wish that i had told her
I fly so high
Then fall so low
(I fly so high, I fly so high)
If I was beautiful
If I had the time
You would flock to me
And bathe me in the wine
I know that's not the way
I know that's not how things are to be
If I was like you
With nothing to get around
Then everything would be beautiful
As far as I can see
You'd be sitting here with me
'Till love's end
I fly so high
Then fall so low
I fly so high
Then fall so low
Signs of love (I fly so high)
Away we could run (then fall so low)
I can see the light come peering through the sky in my mind
Closing people come in but also lying on the floor
I would hold you in my arms until we both are home
I would hold you in my arms until we both are all alone
When It's Cold I'd Like To Die
Where were you when I was lonesome?
Locked away with freezing cold
Someone flying only stolen
I can't tell this light so old
I don't want to swim the ocean
I don't want to fight the tide
I don't want to swim forever
When it's cold I'd like to die
What was that my sweet sweet nothing?
I can't hear you through the fog
If I holler let me go
If I falter let me know
I don't want to swim the ocean
I don't want to fight the tide
I don't want to swim forever
When it's cold I'd like to die
I don't want to swim forever
I don't want to fight the tide
I don't want to swim the ocean
When it's cold I'd like to die
I don't want to swim the ocean
I don't want to fight the tide
Molly Hatchet
Named after a legendary Southern prostitute who allegedly beheaded and mutilated her clients, Jacksonville's Molly Hatchet melded loud hard-rock boogie with guitar jam-oriented Southern rock. Formed in 1975, the group's lineup featured three guitarists -- Dave Hlubek, Steve Holland, and Duane Roland -- plus vocalist Danny Joe Brown, bassist Banner Thomas, and drummer Bruce Crump. The group recorded a self-titled debut album in 1978, which quickly went platinum; the follow-up, Flirtin' With Disaster, was even more successful, selling over two million copies. Brown left the group in 1980 after the constant touring became too tiresome; he was replaced by Jimmy Farrar for Beatin' the Odds, but Farrar's voice was less immediately identifiable, and Molly Hatchet's commercial appeal began a slow decline. The band experimented with horns on Take No Prisoners, but Farrar left for a solo career soon afterwards. Brown rejoined the band in 1982, but the ensuing album, No Guts...No Glory, flopped, and guitarist Hlubek insisted on revamping Molly Hatchet's sound. After The Deed is Done, a straightforward pop/rock album, the group took some time off in 1985 while its Double Trouble Live album, a collection of some of its best-known songs, was released. Molly Hatchet returned in 1989 without Hlubek for an album of straight, polished AOR, Lightning Strikes Twice. Not even the group's fan base bought the record, and they disbanded shortly afterward. Molly Hatchet reunited in the mid-'90s as an active touring outfit, releasing Devil's Canyon, their first record since Lightning Strikes Twice, in 1996. Continuing to recapture the style of their glory days, Silent Reign of Heroes followed in 1998, and Kingdom of XII appeared in early 2001. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide
Dreams I’ll Never See
Just one more morning I have to wake up with the blues.
Pulled myself out of bed, put on my walking shoes.
Climbed up on the hilltop baby, to see what I could see.
The whole world was falling down, right down in front of me.
Chorus:
Cause I’m hung up on my dreams I’ll never see.
Lord help me babe.
The dreams got the best of me, yah.
Pull myself together, gonna put on a new face yah,
Climb down from the hilltop baby,
Lord get back in the race.
Cause I got dreams, I got my truth, to remember,
I got dreams, I got my truth, to remember,
Cause I’m hung up on my dreams I’ll never see.
Lord help me babe.
The dreams got the best of me, yah.
Pull myself together, gonna put on a new face yah,
Climb down from the hilltop baby,
Lord get back in the race.
Cause I got dreams, I got my truth, to remember,
I got dreams, I got my truth, to remember,
Cause I’m hung up on my dreams I’ll never see.
Cause I got dreams, I got my truth, to remember,
I got dreams, I got my truth, to remember,
Cause I’m hung up on my dreams I’ll never see.
Lord help me babe.
The dreams got the best of me, yah.
Moody Blues
In a remarkable career that spans the 60's to present, The Moody Blues have earned a reputation for breaking down barriers and setting precedents. They played a key role in expanding rock's sonic and lyrical horizons; they've survived countless musical trends while maintaining both their integrity and popularity; and continue to produce the goods for a multi-generational and fanatically devoted international following. In short, the Moodies are one of the world's most innovative and successful bands in rock history.
For close to 30 years, The Moody Blues have been musical mainstays on concert stages, record albums and radio airwaves. But success for the Moodies did not come overnight.
With humble beginnings in the mid-60's as an R&B act, The Moody Blues were on the verge of becoming dubbed "one hit wonders" when they were unable to reignite their commercial appeal following up their mega-hit Go Now. With the exit of Denny Laine and Clint Warwick, and the replacement of the two with Justin Hayward and John Lodge, the band soon took on a different style - and a whole new beginning. "We were lower-middle-class English boys singing songs about people in the deep south of America, and it just wasn't truthful. When we started playing our own songs, expressing our own feelings and developing a style of our own, things began improving," says Justin Hayward.
The Moody Blues - Justin Hayward, John Lodge, Graeme Edge and Ray Thomas, have generated sales of more than 60 million albums to date with three #1, one #2, five Top 20 and multiple Top 40 albums. They have become one of the top touring acts in rock history, with a following that has been compared only to that of The Grateful Dead's.
The band's first full studio album, Days of Future Passed, was released in 1967 and stayed on the Billboard charts for more than two solid years. Featuring the classic hit, Tuesday Afternoon, and one of the biggest selling singles of all-time, Nights In White Satin three separate years), the album became a milestone in rock recording, as it marked the first time a rock band fused its music with a symphony orchestra. It was one of the very first concept albums, and one of the first albums recorded in stereo, which set the standard for many others to follow.
The Moody Blues soon began to quickly emerge from its Birmingham, England roots, finding an intense and immense following of fans in the U.S. and throughout other continents for their subsequent albums In Search of a Lost Chord, On The Threshold of a Dream, and To Our Children's Children's Children.
In 1970, The Moody Blues formed their own record company, Threshold Records, and it served as a business base for the group for several decades. The group's first release on Threshold included Question, which became the Moody Blues' first international #1 hit single from the album A Question of Balance.
As the 1970's emerged, the Moody Blues became established and settled, touring the world, and recording such hit albums as Every Good Boy Deserves Favour and Seventh Sojourn, spurning another classic hit I'm Just A Singer (In A Rock And Roll Band). In 1972, Days of Future Passed returned to the charts as an American reissue for another amazing two-year chart run.
With the incredible success of Seventh Sojourn, the Moodies reached the height of their popularity in 1972, and it elevated to the point where the band felt entrapped. To all outward appearances, the Moody Blues were at the top of their game. They followed Seventh Sojourn with a triumphant nine month world crusade that saw them play for over a million people throughout Europe, Scandinavia, Japan, Hawaii and the continental U.S., but it was to be the last time that The Moody Blues were to appear together on stage for the next four years.
The break allowed band members to focus on projects outside the group. Justin Hayward and John Lodge collaborated on the Blue Jays album in 1975. Graeme Edge made two solo albums with Adrian Gurvitz, Kick Off Your Muddy Boots and Paradise Ballroom, before departing for an ocean-going trip around the world. Ray Thomas produced two solo albums, From Mighty Oaks and Hopes, Wishes and Dreams. John Lodge recorded
Natural Avenue. Justin Hayward recorded solo albums, Songwriter and Nightflight, and worked with Jeff Wayne on the War of the Worlds project which produced the beautiful worldwide hit Forever Autumn. Keyboard player Mike Pinder announced his intentions not to perform live again, and produced his own solo album, The Promise.
In 1974, This is the Moody Blues "best of" album was released, in addition to the `77 release of Caught Live +5, a live 1969 concert with five previously unreleased studio tracks. The healthy sales from these albums made it clear that the band's fans were as enthusiastic as ever. It was no surprise that when the Moodies reformed in 1978 to deliver the much anticipated Octave, that the album shot to the top of the charts with singles Steppin' In A Slide Zone and Driftwood. This proved that their fans had remained loyal despite a four year absence.
But for the Moody Blues to prove their continuing viability, they needed to see how well they were to be received on the next album and tour, by which time and nostalgia factors would have dissolved, and the band would have to stand or fall on its late 1970's merits. Punk rock had shattered the music establishment at the time, and power pop and new wave were just beginning to be accepted. The group's 1980 album, Long Distance Voyager, was savaged by the press as none of the band's previous albums had ever been. Fortunately for the band, the buying public felt otherwise, and Long Distance Voyager reached the #1 spot on the U.S. album charts. The accompanying singles, Gemini Dream and The Voice, became hit songs, and the U.S. tour was a complete sell-out.
In 1983, The Moody Blues followed with The Present, which continued in a similar vein with such standout tracks as Sitting At The Wheel and Blue World.
The Moodies' next album in 1986 created an entire new wave of young fans with the release of their mega-album The Other Side of Life. Teaming up with former David Bowie producer Tony Visconti, was yet another pivotal effort, introducing a newly streamlined musical and lyrical style for the Moody Blues. With the mega-hit, Your Wildest Dreams, the Moodies acquired a new generation of fans when its accompanying video became a huge MTV hit and claimed Billboard magazine's "Video of the Year" award, aggregating one of the biggest singles of their career to date.
Sur La Mer followed in 1988, and continued with yet another hit single, I Know You're Out There Somewhere, the counterpart to Your Wildest Dreams; and in 1991, the album Keys of the Kingdom, produced the hit single Say It With Love. By this time, the Moodies were firmly reestablished as one of rock's most reliably popular concert attractions, playing for audiences composed of both longtime devotees and new converts -- many of whom had been drawing breath for fewer years than the band had been making records.
In September 1992, the Moody Blues commemorated the 25th anniversary of Days of Future Passed with a live performance at Denver's Red Rocks amphitheatre accompanied by a full 88-piece symphony orchestra...the first time the band had played live with a symphony. The performance was made into a PBS television special, home video release, and live album, and became one of PBS' top pledge drive producers for the four ensuing years.
Responding to the overwhelming success of the symphony appearance, the Moodies took their celebratory extravaganza on the road, playing with symphony orchestras in each city of the U.S., and have been doing so to present, establishing them yet again, as one of the top touring acts of the decade.
In 1994, the band released Time Traveller, a five CD box-set collection on Polydor Records, chronicling their rich history, from their 1967 singles through their ground-breaking recordings, to their current concert successes. That same year, the Moodies were inducted in Hollywood's Rock Walk, where their handprints and signatures are now permanently on display, alongside Aerosmith, Black Sabbath, Johnny Cash, Bon Jovi, Van Halen, Carlos Santana, Jimmy Page, B.B. King, ZZ Top, and many others.
Over the course of their longevity, the Moody Blues have collected various awards including: U.S. performing rights society, ASCAP, the NARM Number One World rights society, ASCAP, the NARM Number One World Performance awards, and the Ivor Novello Statue Award. The group also received an unusual award from the group's biggest outer space fan, Robert 'Hoot' Gibson, Chief NASA Astronaut. Taking audio cassettes of Days of Future Passed and Seventh Sojourn with him on every one of the space shuttle trips -- the Challenger, the Endeavor, and the Atlantis -- the Moodies' music has had the singular distinction of having travelled 10 million miles, and circled 420 times around the earth. Encased in a special plaque, the cassette of Days of Future Passed now resides in Los Angeles' Hard Rock Cafe memorabilia display.
A quarter century after they first vowed to stay true to themselves regardless of the consequences, the Moody Blues remain one of rock's most vital and unique resources. The Moody Blues have undoubtedly earned the reputation they've achieved as one of the most innovative, respected musical groups in rock history, and continue to maintain their status as one of the preeminent rock groups of all time.
Dawning Is The Day
Rise, let us see you,
Dawning is the day,
Miss, misty meadow,
You will find your way,
Wake up in the morning to yourself and leave this crazy life behind you,
Listen we're trying to find you.
Flow to the sea,
You know where to go,
Still we are free,
No one tells the wind which way to blow.
Wake up in the morning to yourself, open your eyes and start to be you.
Listen, we think we can see you.
Baby there's no price upon your head,
Sing it, shout it,
Now the angry words have all been said,
Do it, don't doubt it.
So rise, let us see you,
Dawning is the day,
Miss, misty meadow,
You will find your way,
Wake up in the morning to yourself and leave this crazy life behind you,
Listen we think we have found you.
How Is It We Are Here
How is it we are here, on this path we walk,
In this world of pointless fear, filled with empty talk,
Descending from the ape as scientist-priests all think,
Will they save us in the end, we're trembling on the brink.
Men's mighty mine-machines digging in the ground,
Stealing rare minerals where they can be found.
Concrete caves with iron doors bury it again,
While a starving frightened world fills the sea with grain.
Her love is like a fire burning inside,
Her love is so much higher it can't be denied,
She sends us her glory, it's always been there,
Her love's all around us, it's there for you and me to share.
Men's mighty mine machines...
Stealing rare minerals where they can be found.
Concrete caves with iron doors bury it again,
While a starving frightened world fills the sea with grain.
Melancholy Man
I'm a melancholy man, that's what I am,
All the world surrounds me, and my feet are on the ground,
I'm a very lonely man, doing what I can,
All the world astounds me and I think I understand
That we're going to keep growing, wait and see.
When all the stars are falling down
Into the sea and on the ground,
And angry voices carry on the wind,
A beam of light will fill your head
And you'll remember what's been said
By all the good men this world's ever known.
Another man is what you'll see,
Who looks like you and looks like me,
And yet somehow he will not feel the same,
His life caught up in misery, he doesn't think like you and me,
'Cause he can't see what you and I can see.
I'm a melancholy man, that's what I am,
All the world surrounds me, and my feet are on the ground,
I'm a very lonely man, doing what I can,
All the world astounds me and I think I understand
That we're going to keep growing, wait and see.
Question
Why do we never get an answer
When we're knocking at the door
With a thousand million questions
About hate and death and war?
'Cos when we stop and look around us,
There is nothing that we need,
In a world of persecution that is burning in its greed.
Why do we never get an answer
When we're knocking at the door
Because the truth is hard to swallow
That's what the war of love is for.
It's not the way that you say it
When you do those things to me
It's more the way that you mean it
When you tell me what will be.
And when you stop and think about it
You won't believe it's true
That all the love you've been giving
Has all been meant for you.
I'm looking for someone to change my life,
I'm looking for a miracle in my life,
And if you could see what it's done to me,
To lose the love I knew
Could safely lead me through.
Between the silence of the mountains,
And the crashing of the sea,
There lies a land I once lived in,
And she's waiting there for me,
But in the grey of the morning,
My mind becomes confused,
Between the dead and the sleeping,
And the road that I must chose.
I'm looking for someone to change my life,
I'm looking for a miracle in my life,
And if you could see what it's done to me,
To lose the love I knew
Could safely lead me to,
The land that I once knew,
To learn as we grow old,
The secrets of our soul.
It's not the way that you say it
When you do those things to me,
It's more the way you really mean it
When you tell me what will be.
Why do we never get an answer
When we're knocking at the door
With a thousand million questions
About hate and death and war?
'Cos when we stop and look around us,
There is nothing that we need,
In a world of persecution that is burning in its greed.
Why do we never get an answer
When we're knocking at the door
Because the truth is hard to swallow
That's what the war of love is for.
The Balance
After he had journeyed,
And his feet were sore,
And he was tired,
He came upon an orange grove
And he rested.
And he lay in the cool,
And while he rested, he took unto himself an orange and tasted it,
And it was good.
And he felt the earth to his spine,
And he asked, and he saw the tree above him, and the stars,
And the veins in the leaf
And the light, and the balance,
And he saw magnificent perfection,
Whereon he thought of himself in balance,
And he knew he was.
Just open your eyes,
And realise, the way it's always been.
Just open your mind
And you will find
The way it's always been.
Just open your heart,
And that's a start.
And he thought of those he angered,
For he was not a violent man,
And he thought of those he hurt,
For he was not a cruel man
And he thought of those he frightened
For he was not an evil man,
And he understood.
He understood himself.
Upon this he saw that when he was of anger or knew hurt or felt fear,
It was because he was not understanding,
And he learned compassion.
And with his eye of compassion
He saw his enemies like unto himself,
And he learned love.
Then, he was answered.
Just open your eyes,
And realise, the way it's always been.
Just open your mind
And you will find
The way it's always been.
Just open your heart,
And that's a start.
And The Tide Rushes In
I've been searching for my dream
A hundred times today,
I build them up, you knock them down,
Like they were made of clay.
Then the tide rushes in
And washes my castles away.
Then I'm really not so sure
Which side of the bed I should lay,
I should lay.
You keep looking for someone
To tell your troubles to,
I sit down and lend an ear
Yet I hear nothing new.
Then the tide rushes in
And washes my castles away.
Then I'm really not so sure
Which side of the bed I should lay,
I should lay.
Blackbird sitting in a tree
Observing what's below,
Acorns falling to the ground,
He'll stay and watch them grow.
Mumford & Sons
The Cave
It's empty in the valley of your heart
The sun, it rises slowly as you walk
Away from all the fears
And all the faults you've left behind
The harvest left no food for you to eat
You cannibal, you meat-eater, you see
But I have seen the same
I know the shame in your defeat
But I will hold on hope
And I won't let you choke
On the noose around your neck
And I'll find strength in pain
And I will change my ways
I'll know my name as it's called again
Cause I have other things to fill my time
You take what is yours and I'll take mine
Now let me at the truth
Which will refresh my broken mind
So tie me to a post and block my ears
I can see widows and orphans through my tears
I know my call despite my faults
And despite my growing fears
But I will hold on hope
And I won't let you choke
On the noose around your neck
And I'll find strength in pain
And I will change my ways
I'll know my name as it's called again
So come out of your cave walking on your hands
And see the world hanging upside down
You can understand dependence
When you know the maker's hand
So make your siren's call
And sing all you want
I will not hear what you have to say
Cause I need freedom now
And I need to know how
To live my life as it's meant to be
And I will hold on hope
And I won't let you choke
On the noose around your neck
And I'll find strength in pain
And I will change my ways
I'll know my name as it's called again
Murray Attaway
While frequently lumped in with such Southern alternative pop bands as R.E.M. and Let's Active, Guadalcanal Diary was distinctly different from its peers, with a sound that was at once melodic and rhythmically aggressive, and a decidedly literary and spiritual bent to the group's lyrics. And at a time when Athens, GA, was being hailed as the new center of the smart-pop universe, Guadalcanal Diary hailed from Marietta, GA, an Atlanta suburb where the band formulated its sound with little input or influence from the local rock scene.
Guadalcanal Diary was formed in 1981 by guitarist and singer Murray Attaway and lead guitarist Jeff Walls, who'd first met in 1977 when they both joined a punk band called Strictly American. Rhett Crowe, who was sharing a house with Attaway at the time and was learning to play bass guitar, joined the new band's lineup, and shortly before the new group's first show, John Poe, a former bassist who has worked with Walls, was recruited to play drums when their original timekeeper quit at the last minute. Attaway chose the name Guadalcanal Diary from a book by Richard Tregaski about the U.S. campaign against Japan during World War II, enamored of the name's surface ambiguities and undertones of patriotism and warfare.
After developing a reputation on the Georgia music scene thanks to frequent gigging in Atlanta and Athens, Guadalcanal Diary cut its first record, a four-song EP called Watusi Rodeo, in 1983 for the Athens-based DB Records label. A year later, DB and the band followed it up with a full-length album, Walking in the Shadow of the Big Man, produced by Don Dixon. Filled with rich but moody songs about faith, doubt, and the legacy of life in the Deep South, and driven by thundering drums and the clarion call of electric guitars, Walking in the Shadow of the Big Man quickly won an enthusiastic reception from critics and college radio programmers, and in 1985 Elektra Records signed Guadalcanal Diary and reissued the album. More touring followed, as did a cameo appearance in a best-forgotten youth comedy called Rockin' Road Trip.
In 1986, the band released its first album financed by Elektra, Jamboree, which was produced by Rodney Mills, best known for his work with the likes of .38 Special and the Atlanta Rhythm Section. While Mills brought a greater polish to Guadalcanal Diary's approach and the band displayed a greater stylistic diversity, it lacked the force and impact of Walking in the Shadow of the Big Man and was not as well received. Guadalcanal Diary returned to the studio with Dixon for 1987's 2x4, which coupled the energy of the first album with Jamboree's sense of musical adventure and spawned a minor alternative rock hit, "Litany (Life Goes On)." However, Guadalcanal Diary's busy touring schedule was beginning to take its toll when the group cut 1989's uneven Flip-Flop, and by the end of the year, after a long stretch on the road, the bandmembers amicably parted ways.
Following Guadalcanal Diary's breakup, Murray Attaway signed to Geffen as a solo artist, and released the well-reviewed In Thrall in 1993. Walls played guitar with Hillbilly Frankenstein and Dash Rip Rock, and produced recordings for Southern Culture on the Skids, the Woggles, and Man or Astro-Man? Poe pursued a low-key solo career, and Crowe retired from music after a short spell with Ottoman Empire to raise her children. In 1995, Attaway began recording a second album and decided to invite Walls, Poe, and Crowe to join him on a few songs, and while the album was never released due to a change of management at Geffen, the four were happy enough with the tunes they recorded to play a few reunion gigs in Atlanta. In late 1998, the band self-released a live album, At Your Birthday Party, recorded at one of its reunion shows; in 2000, the bandmembers announced they'd gone back on hiatus, but had not ruled out working together again in the future. Continued interest in Guadalcanal Diary has been confirmed by a "two-fer" compact disc reissue of Walking In The Shadow Of The Big Man and Jamboree, released by Collectables in 2003, and limited-edition remastered and expanded editions of the group's first three albums, issued by the Rhino Handmade imprint in 2003 and 2004. ~ Mark Deming, All Music Guide
Angels In The Trees
Hail to you who are full of grace
You who live and breathe without shape
You who walk inside my head
Will you lead me along the razors edge
With the promise of some mystery
And the songs of angels in the trees
When I struggle in the dark to hold on
Are you there to pull this thread along
Shall I praise the things I've never seen
And rejoice in angels in the trees
There's a clock standing in an empty room
To measure the time I have to choose
Strange how we fret and how we frown
Till we merge at last with the ground
Will the restless soul finally be free
Then to live with the angels in the trees
Will the restless soul finally be free
Then to live with the angels in the trees
Even Song
In the gathering
Of the not quite
Song and dance and a nod up ahead
The lord of light has surely fled tonight
Swing swing low
Move out of sight
Listen to the whispering
In the empire of the night
Door is locked
Windows tight
A hurried prayer in the darkening air
Rides the moon high tonight
Soft a wind cries
To watch the sun fall
Join the slow Even Song
Even song
With songs to sing
And words to pray
We change the order of the day
Easily we're called away
Soft a wind cries
To watch the sun fall
Join the slow
Even Song
Even song
Even song
In My Book
When I write my book
I'll tell you all the tales I never thought I'd tell
Cross the T's and dot the I's and reach into some dark forbidden well
Cause I have walked between the lines for years and I am ready to confess
And crawl into the looking glass and put my hand into the vipers nest
All in my book
In my book
I raised the cup of fury with the souls who sing the songs of ancient lust
Drank the night to pieces then with sirens lying face down in the dust
Stood upon an arid plain and watched the steel canyon fall to blight
Sailed a handbasket to hell in time to see the Devil beat his wife
All in my book
In my book
Careful, careful with your eyes
Though the road is always empty
How my footsteps rise to taunt me
Who is this who walks beside me
What is this that's drawing nearer
A burning bush is calling
Another tower falling
A cloud of Ravens rise and darken out the sky
The sea is boiling red under the thunderhead
The center cannot hold
The sacred flame has grown cold
Awakened from a fitful sleep to find we're in no ordinary dream
We take a closer look inside for nothing is ever quite the way it seems
This book is comming to an end and there is so much that I wanted to include
Like all the deep dark secrets that I heard from you and you and you
All in my book
In my book
Walpurgis Night
Shadows in a guarded room
Air is thick with boast and ruin
Rusty voice intones a mournful tune
Painted eyes will never see
Sign of life where none should be
A wooden mouth begins a mockery
Such a night
Stay at home
Some things are better left alone
Graven images have come to life
On Walpurgis Night
So it is the die is cast
Slaves of power spiritless
Made to lie to rule and to opress
With gold and silver talisman
The reins of cruelty in hand
Swaggering and vicious on command
Such a night
Stay at home
Lock the doors, unplug the phone
Graven images have come to life
On Walpurgis Night
Hey ho the wind and the rain
We can watch them stand up, fall down
But all the same they return
Freshly painted and shiny
Virtue is not welcome here
Stricken dumb with promises and fear
We're just mortal
No more safety in numbers
Such a night
Stay at home
Some things are better left alone
Graven images have come to life
On Walpurgis Night
