Where No Doctor Can Relieve Me

"If I Should Fall From Grace With God" - The Pogues' James Fearnley

While on a long drive recently, I stumbled across a compelling interview on NPR.  The fascinating fellow telling tales of rock and roll turned out to be James Fearnley, accordion player for and founding member of The Pogues.  It turns out that earlier this year his book "Here Comes Everybody: The Story of the Pogues" was published.  Believe me, if you heard the interview, you wanted to get the book as soon as possible.

I don't recall the first time I heard the Pogues, but very few people I knew were aware of the band. They were much bigger in the UK than they were in America.  But I was drawn to their unique blend of rock, celtic, punk and world music.  Their recordings from the late 1980s and early '90s have held up very well as a result of following their own muse and incorporating traditional elements, rather than chasing whatever sound was au courant.

I reached out to James and he kindly agreed to answer my questions.  The hard part was picking which song would be the subject.  "Fairytale of NY" gradually became a favorite of the musically hip here in the US; it's a Christmas song and this is the holiday season; and I find the song completely amazing even after many hundreds of listens.  But it felt like well-trod ground.

So I chose "If I Should Fall From Grace With God," the single that followed "Fairytale," for its mix of infectuous music and dark lyrics.  Take a listen; the Q+A follows.

IF I SHOULD FALL FROM GRACE WITH GOD - THE POGUES

1 - Do you recall your impression of "If I Should Fall From Grace With God" in whatever state it was in when Shane (McGowan) first played it for you?

James Fearnley:  It was during rehearsals in January 1987 that I first heard ‘If I Should Fall From Grace With God’, along with ‘Rake at the Gates of Hell’, both of which he would probably have written anyway, but each earmarked for inclusion in the soundtrack for Alex Cox’s film, ‘Straight To Hell’, which had been shot, in Spain, the previous summer. 

Both songs, musically speaking - the way we went about them anyway - relied on a kind of propulsive, swampy (aptly enough for the choruses of ‘If I Should Fall From Grace With God’, with their images of rivers and mud), Mississipi Delta shuffle, with elements of Cajun music, even though the band hadn’t actually visited the South at that time. 

Both songs seemed fairly complete by the time Shane introduced them to us, structurally. I had always enjoyed the powerful statement of a melody which could basically stand alone, reiterated in the middle, and as a finale to the song, following the sort of template the Pogues, in conjunction with Shane’s songwriting, had developed in the course of the previous couple of years, and as early as ‘Streams of Whiskey’ and ‘The Dark Streets of London’. 

I’ve written about the opening melody of ‘If I Should Fall From Grace With God’ in ‘Here Comes Everybody’, and how it bore similarities, for me, to ‘The Bonny Banks of Loch Lomond’. I remember adoring the melody - it’s pentatonic scale expansive and ancient, and carrying with it the theme, as in ’The Bonny Banks of Loch Lomond’, of the proximity of death. I wouldn’t have acknowledged, at the time, the narrator’s beseeching ‘Let me go, let me go’, to have been particularly significant, as such appeals became more urgent a couple of years later.

2 - You played a variety of instruments on the IISFFGWG album - grand piano on "Fairytale of New York," a mandolin, a dulcimer which you hammered with teaspoons, etc.  Did you play anything in addition to accordion on the title track? 

JF:  Recording studios have always been a toy box for me, particularly during the recording of 'If I Should Fall From Grace With God’, with Steve Lillywhite in May 1987, and particularly on ‘Fiesta’, when it came to replicating gunshots by means of my mouth, among other things. A few years before, I’d spent quite a long period listening to Spike Jones and His City Slickers. I used to know the drummer from a band called the Vibrators. We’d get the saucepans and lids out from my kitchen, and a couple of spoons each, and 'play' along with dance bands from the 1930s - Ray Noble and Al Bowlly were favourites. 

When it came time to record the demos for a large part of what turned out to be the album 'If I Should Fall From Grace With God’ (’The Terry Woods Solo Album’, which, for ‘contractual reasons’ had to be kept secret), for ‘Fiesta’ there were metal ashtrays and other similar percussion instruments around the penthouse studio at Abbey Road. Otherwise, I remember sawing away at a cello on ‘Turkish Song of the Damned’, and being summoned to the studio by Lillywhite to add a bit of ‘sizzle’ to ‘Bottle of Smoke’, by means of a cymbal laid flat on the floor and beating out triplets on it with sticks. 

I think the hammered dulcimer came later, once I’d realised there was an instrument that sounded better than laying a mandolin on my lap, damping off the strings I didn’t want by means of cardboard stuck between them, and laying into it with teaspoons. The break in ‘Haunted’ (to Philip Chevron’s chagrin, because I rather think he would have liked the opportunity to play a guitar solo), which we recorded a year earlier, is done that way.

3 - Why did the band choose to name the album after this track?

JF:  Frank Murray, our manager, was vexed that we hadn’t come up with an album title. ‘Red Roses For Me’ had come so immediately and simply. I wonder if Shane knew all along what he wanted the title of our first album to be. ‘Rum Sodomy and the Lash’ became obvious, from Andrew Ranken’s navy stories - though I’m glad the album wasn’t called ‘Dance of the Flaming Arseholes’, which was one of Andrew’s most memorable stories. ‘If I Should Fall From Grace With God’ proved to be not so easy. Nothing ever spontaneously raised its head. Murray, with his back against some sort of wall, burst into our rehearsal, wanting an album title. Shane just shouted back "‘If I Should Fall From Grace With God’!”  to make him go away.

4 - IISFFGWG was used in a 2010 Subaru commercial about hockey moms.  Could you ever have envisioned this back in 1988?

JF:  No. Neither could Iggy Pop have envisioned ‘Lust for Life’ in a commercial for Royal Caribbean cruises.

5 - An earlier, slower version of IISFFGWG was released on the soundtrack for "Straight to Hell" in 1987.  Why did the band decide to revisit/redo the song?

JF:  There’s no gripping story to this. The song, with ‘Rake at the Gates of Hell’, was recorded for the ‘Straight to Hell’ soundtrack. There was some foot-dragging on our part, vis à vis our relationship with Stiff Records, and we were eager to record. After our summer holidays in the Tabernas Desert outside Almerìa there was a lot of energy in the band, musically. ‘If I Should Fall From Grace With God’ and ‘Rake at the Gates of Hell’ were part of that energy. ‘Rake at the Gates of Hell’ should have been a contender for the record had it not been for the malevolence of the lyrics. Shame.

6 - How disappointed were you, or not, when IISFFGWG peaked at #58 in the UK after the previous single, "Fairytale of NY," was a #2 hit? 

JF:  ‘Fairytale of New York’ hit a nerve that was always going to remain hidden from ‘If I Should Fall From Grace With God’, I suppose. Christmas in the United Kingdom (in perpetuity, it seems) was ready for ‘Fairytale of New York’. Easter not so much for ‘If I Should Fall From Grace With God’. (I think I’m right in saying that the single of ‘If I Should Fall From Grace With God’ was released around Easter 1988.)

7 - What is your most memorable live performance of IISFFGWG?

JF:  All performances of ‘If I Should Fall From Grace With God’ have tended to run into one collective one. It has been a favourite of mine to play, since we first started playing it. It provides me one of the first opportunities in the set to throw the bass end of the accordion skyward and drag the keyboard end down towards me for the last chord. If there’s any performance or series of performances I particularly remember, they were for the video we recorded at the Town and Country in Kentish Town during the week of St Patrick’s Day 1988. Philip Chevron was masterful in front of the cameras. I had no idea what to do and learned a lot from him. Not much of a memory, it’s true, since it forms part of that residency we had, and in our stamping ground, in our home town, at the end of a tour of the UK, not long after coming back from the other side of the world after our first tour of Australia. It was good to be back at home.

For other interviews James has done, see the links at this page on his website.

Go Ahead and Hate Your Neighbor

"One Tin Soldier" - Written by Dennis Lambert & Brian Potter.

"Listen children to a story that was written long ago..."

You know the song.  Maybe you learned it at summer camp.  Maybe you remember it from the movie "Billy Jack." Or maybe you've heard it on the radio repeatedly.  But you know it.  "One Tin Soldier" is a song that endures. After 45 years, it's seemingly as popular as ever.

What makes a great song? A memorable melody, a message that resonates, and the ability to be interpreted in any number of versions.  As you will see and hear in the videos linked in this post, OTS works as a pop song, a bluegrass number, as comic fodder, and in genres from country to alternative rock.  And that's barely scratching the surface of what one can find on YouTube.

OTS was written in 1969 by Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter, who produced it as a single for the Canadian band The Original Caste.  

That version was a Top 40 hit, but the song became even better known when the band Coven recorded it for the soundtrack of the cult classic film, "Billy Jack."  Coven's version of OTS was named the Number One Most Requested Song in 1971 and 1973 by American Radio Broadcasters.

Skeeter Davis recorded OTS in 1972, earning a Grammy nomination for Best Female Country Vocal.

  This animated version comes from The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour. 

I got in touch with Dennis Lambert, who kindly agreed to answer my questions about the writing of OTS.  It would take a full post just to cover the highlights of his composing and producing career, so let me share just a few highlights: 12 Grammy nominations, 80 Top 100 hits, writing or co-writing songs such as "Ain't No Woman Like the One I've Got" (Four Tops), "We Built This City" (Starship), "Nightshift" (Commodores), producing "Rhinestone Cowboy" (Glen Campbell), "Baby Come Back" (Player), "Rock and Roll Heaven" (Righteous Brothers) and so on.  Click the link beneath his picture for a full bio.

Dennis Lambert @lambertsongs
http://www.tuneworks.net/

Dennis is also the subject of an award-winning 2009 feature documentary titled "Of All The Things."  

"It’s the most unlikely comeback of the year.  Dennis Lambert was one of the most successful and diverse songwriter/producers of the 70’s and 80’s.  Today, he’s a 60-year-old family man selling real estate in Florida.  But it turns out his obscure 1972 solo album Bags and Things is huge – in the Philippines.  A Filipino concert promoter has been begging Dennis to tour for decades, and in 2007 he finally agreed.  Of All the Things is a hilarious, touching and winning pop/rock/country/R&B documentary that follows Dennis on his whirlwind tour as he rediscovers his passion for music – a two-week adventure that takes him from the comforts of Boca Raton to a sold-out show at Manila’s famous Araneta Coliseum for thousands of fans he never knew he had.  Some lives deserve and encore, indeed." -- collider.com

I've yet to see this film, but after reading that synopsis, it's at the top of my list.

Without Further ado, here's my Q&A with Dennis:

1 - Did you know what the treasure was going to be when you started writing or was it something that evolved?

Dennis Lambert:  I had a general idea that we would attempt to tell a story about the futility of war and use a fable-like device for its style.  The specific “treasure” was a revelation somewhere in the process.

2 - Wikipedia claims that the chord progression of OTS's verses is based on Pachelbel's Canon. True? If so, intentional?

DL:  It is not an uncommon chord progression and I would think there are many songs that have a similar feeling using parts of Pachelbel’s Canon.  It was not intentional on my part to use that piece.

3 - Did you write OTS specifically for the band The Original Caste or was it something you had in your back pocket when you started working with them?

DL:  We wrote it for them specifically having signed them to our label, TA Records.  Since they were a folk-rock based band, it was a good fit, assuming they would like the song.  Needless to say, they did.

4 - Many famous songwriting teams consist of a lyricist and a composer. But you and Brian Potter both did words and music. What was the process like when you wrote OTS?

DL:  A lot of songwriting teams from the '60s era forward consisted of people who would sit in a room together and hammer out a song.  While generally speaking, someone did more of one thing than the other (I play piano, Brian Potter does not), there were contributions from both of us across the musical and lyrical spectrum.

5 - I really like your own version of OTS, performed at Joe's Pub in 2008. Why did you choose to do the song in a slower, more soulful and understated manner than in the versions by The Original Caste, Coven, Cher, etc?

DL:  I feel like the song deserves to be heard in a more plaintive and intimate way.  The story is important if you can pick up on the nuances. Doing it more slowly and “naked” is a way for that to really come across.

6 - I won't ask you to pick a favorite version of OTS, but what was the most interesting/surprising version you've heard - or maybe one that's under appreciated?

DL:  Roseanne Barr’s ridiculous version made me roar with laughter.  The Original Caste’s version is still my favorite.

7 - A number of anti-war songs songs got radio play during the Vietnam War, many of which have faded into obscurity. Why do you think OTS has endured?

DL:  Because it’s fabulous???  Ha Ha…just kidding.  I think it has a lot to do with the fact that most of the fans were between 6-16 in 1970 (they are now 50-66) when they saw Billy Jack and heard the song for the first time.  It became and remains a major campfire song, spiritual hymn albeit a lite one, and a favorite of that generation of young people, particularly girls.

http://www.ofallthethingsmovie.com/

Get Funky, Sweat a Little Bit

TWIN CITIES FUNK & SOUL: Lost Grooves from Minneapolis/St. Paul 1964-1979

Click here to check out the album's website

I recently stumbled across this amazing anthology from Minneapolis based record label Secret Stash, somehow having missed its release in 2012.  What caught my eye were the tracks from the Prophets of Peace, a band that was based in my south Minneapolis neighborhood.  They were older than me and my friends; when we were just learning how to play our drums and guitars and horns, I was always impressed and intimidated when I could jam with someone whose brother was in that band... or who had played with a Prophet.  But I hadn't thought about the band in years.

So this album was a true find.  Even better, its grooves (pun intended) contain a wealth of musical history that I didn't know about my hometown in the era BP (Before Prince).  The music is excellent and the packaging is even better.  Take a look at the fantastic "newspaper" that Secret Stash produced for TCF&S by clicking on the following:

TwinCitiesFunkAndSoulNewspaper

This project was obviously a labor of love, given all the time and work that went into researching and writing the "newspaper," tracking down and clearing various recordings from 40-50 years ago, and putting the whole shebang out on vinyl and CD. The music itself is priceless, but overall music sales continue to shrink as more people prefer to simply stream content - and issuing an anthology of relatively obscure music is not a way to get rich.

TRACKS

1. All Day Long - The Valdons

2. Sock-A-Poo-Poo '69 (Part 1) - Maurice McKinnies & The Champions

3. Work Your Flapper (Part 1) - Jackie Harris & The Champions

4. She's A Whole Lot's A Woman - Mojo And His 'Chi 4'

5. Ridin' High - Dave Brady And The Stars

6. I Ain't Gonna Cheat on You No More - Wee Willie Walker

7. Save Me - Wanda Davis

8. Get Funky, Sweet a Little Bit - Jackie Harris & The Exciters

9. There Goes My Used to Be - Wee Willie Walker

10. Take Care - Wanda Davis

11. Sweet Smell Of Perfume - Maurice McKinnies & The Champions

12. Baby, Baby I Need You - Dave Brady And The Stars

13. Love Me, Leave Me - The Valdons

14. Dipstick - Willie and The Bumblebees

15. Rusty McDusty - Morris Wilson

16. Thieves In The Funkhouse - Band of Thieves

17. You Can Be - Prophets of Peace

18. Saxophone Disco - Morris Wilson

19. Honey From The Bee - Willie and The Bumblebees

20. The Maxx - Prophets of Peace

21. Get Up - The Lewis Connection

So I tip my hat to everyone involved in putting out this album.  The rest of Secret Stashes' catalog looks interesting and I'm eager to check it all out.  In the meantime, Secret Stash's Eric Foss, the man behind TCF&S, has some answer for my seven questions:

1 - What was the inspiration or catalyst for producing TCF&S - and did the concept evolve between the initial idea and the final product?  

Eric Foss: The idea started when we got hipped to a record by a band called the Lewis Connection (though it’s misspelled on the album jacket).  We met with the band leader and he gave me a copy of the record.  He wanted to a deal for the record, but part of what makes that record so collectible is also what makes it tough to deal with.  Prince plays guitar on a couple tracks.  It’s really what would sell the record.  But The Purple One is well-known around these parts for being one of the most litigious people you could ever come across.  

I think that is what honestly first started the conversation about a compilation.  Even still, it took us at least 6 months before we knew what the goal for a finished project was. 

The Lewis Connection - "Get Up"

2 - Were there any tracks you really wanted to use but were unable to find or couldn't clear the rights for, etc?  

EF: Yes, they will remain nameless at this point because A) we may end up licensing them for something else, and B) some of that left a few people feeling very disappointed.  

I remember one track in particular was a real letdown for us.  The guys in the band wanted a shit ton of money for the license.  I had to tell them we couldn't do it.  Then they called me like a day after we approved the test pressings and said they’d go with my original offer (which was like a tiny fraction of what they said they wanted).  It was a real bummer. 

3 - You had an album release party in September, 2012, featuring performances from a number of the musicians from TCF&S. What was that like? 

EF: Life-changing.  Basically that show was supposed to be a onetime thing, but I was getting non-stop offers to bring the show to different festivals and events around the Twin Cities.  The problem was, I knew it had a short shelf life.  A very short shelf life.  We (I say we because I wound up drumming for most of that stuff) weren't writing and recording new material, and frankly didn't have the ability to that well if we wanted.

I saw very serious excitement for what we were doing, but saw that within a year, no one would really care anymore.  How many times can you put on the same show in the same town?  

Anyhow, I say it was life-changing, because after identifying the limitations of what we were doing, I started a new band with one of the singers called Sonny Knight & The Lakers.  For years I swore I wouldn't work “new” records at Secret Stash.  But now here I am just weeks away from the debut of the first Sonny Knight & The Lakers LP. 

4 - Secret Stash released TCF&S on collectible vinyl and CD, but why is it not available to buy as a download?  

EF: A couple guys thought they could do digital themselves.  I wound up giving them some names and phone numbers of people who could help with that.  For something like this, to me it’s all or none.  I wasn't going to put the record on iTunes with a few tracks missing.  

5 - What about this project did you find most gratifying? 

EF: Getting know and play with the artists. 

Prophets of Peace - "You Can Be"

6 - What was the most challenging aspect of producing TCF&S? 

EF: Woof…. Clearing the rights and organizing the live events.  Also, I wound up laying out that newspaper that’s tucked inside the LP myself.  I had literally never used Indesign a day in my life when I decided to do that.  That shit sucked.  Will (GM at SSR) and I had about 7-10 days of very little sleep leading up the deadlines for print materials. 

7 - For anyone who loves this anthology, what would you recommend be the next album they listen to from the Secret Stash catalog? 

EF: Hands down, it’s the new Sonny Knight And The Lakers album.  This band got started by covering material off the TCFS comp.  It’s really where the roots of our sound lies. 

http://sonnyknight.com/

Where has your father gone?

Vdova - The Nightingale Trio

The term "World Music" is so broad that it borders on silly.  Generally, anything that isn't English language pop or Western classical music can be and has been categorized as such.  Cuban jazz, Algerian rai, Polynesian drumming, Brazilian salsa, J-pop, klezmer, Celtic, Cajun... the list is endless.

Whether or not it makes sense to combine all these diverse and rich genres under one heading is debatable.  There's no denying, however, that expanding your musical horizons beyond the Top 40 opens up worlds of rhythm, melody, harmony and instrumentation you never even knew existed.

Nowadays it's easy to explore this cornucopia.  You can wander down a million musical rabbit holes online and listen to any type of song, any time, any where.

It hasn't alway been thus.  A generation ago, if you lived in an area that had a public radio station, you occasionally might have heard World Music.  Your library may have had a few records.  Or perhaps you'd read a review somewhere that opened your eyes and ears.

I don't recall how I came across the following album, which I bought on cassette...      

...but it was one of of the most strikingly distinct things I had ever heard.  While the acapella woman's voices had echoes of familiar religious music, the tone and (especially) the harmonies were strange. Strange and beautiful.  I loved it immediately.

"Le Mystere des Voix Bulgares" ("The Mystery of Bulgarian Voices") is a collection of folk songs by the Bulgarian State Radio and Television Female Vocal Choir.  The album was released in the US in 1987 and three years later the group's second album won a Grammy.

Fast forward to this year, when I was deep in one of the musical rabbit holes I mentioned above.  I came across a video shot under frozen Minnehaha Falls in Minneapolis.  That alone was enough to enticement me.

To my delight, the music was as wonderful as the setting.

It turns out the Nightingale Trio is a unique act, one inspired by the folk songs of the Balkans and Eastern Europe (such as "Le Mystere des Voix Bulgare").  While remaining true to the music's traditions, the trio also brings a unique approach to this type of singing.

Sarah Larsson, Nila Bala, and Rachel LaViola met at Yale as members of the Women's Slavic Chorus.  Now based in Minneapolis, San Jose, and Dallas, respectively, they continue to perform together.

You can learn more about the three of them and their music at nightingaletrio, facebook.com/TheNightingaleTrio and thenightingaletrio.bandcamp.com

I had the chance to ask Sarah and Nila about recording "Vdova."

1 -  As a teenager, I enjoyed exploring underneath/behind Minnehaha Falls, which may or may not have been permitted.  What was it like singing in this unique environment and why was it chosen?

Sarah Larsson: Why we chose that spot: We had already filmed another video with Trent Waterman from North Shore Sessions, and we loved his work.  We contacted him about filming another video, with our thought being, “Something haunting, beautiful, still—like winter.”  

His first suggestion was the Falls!  Since I live in Minneapolis, I had actually explored back there before, and knew it would be magical.  Actually, the first time I climbed back there, I was by myself, and I couldn’t help but sing.  The cavern makes a beautiful acoustic space.

2 - The trio includes a Minnesotan, a Texan and a Californian.  Did the cold winter air affect your voices, particularly for the two of you coming from warmer climes?

SL: Totally!  You can’t tell in the video, but I was moments away from drooling almost the entire time.  Trent, the videographer, took off his gloves to do the filming, and we were completely impressed at his fortitude.  In the cave, the air was a little warmer than the air outside, but we still happened to be singing in Minnesota during the coldest weekend on record — the “polar vortex”, if you remember!

Nila Bala: Cold weather is definitely something we have to watch out for.  We like to keep warm water or tea close by, and cough drops to counteract the cold.  Since we didn't have to do too many takes for Vdova, our voices survived the adventure!

3 - "Vdova" is a sad song about a woman learning that her husband has been killed, his body scattered by ravens. Since most of your listeners are unlikely to understand Ukrainian, how much is your song choice dictated by "sounds amazing" and how much by "great lyrics"?

NB: I think its hard to separate the "sounds amazing" from the "great lyrics," since the meaning of the song drives the sound and the way it is rendered.  It is important for us to know the meanings of the songs, so we can imbibe the songs with that feeling, even if our listeners may not understand Ukrainian. 

Sarah Larsson

SL: Most of our first impressions about songs are based on the harmonies and aesthetics, sound-wise.  Pretty often, we find out about the meaning of a song in a general way at first, and don’t get literal translations until we are already performing the songs and meet a native speaker.  Other times, we learn the songs directly from a master-singer, who tells us all the song’s background right away.  

For this one, we knew it was a widow’s song from the start, and we hope that the sorrow in the song comes through just through the feeling in the tune.  

In any case, so so many of the songs are about the stark, real, often-desperate calling-out of women in the old country.  Other songs say, “Mother, oh please do not marry me off; I will forever miss my friends and my little garden.”  Somehow, we love these sorrowful stories, too.  Other songs, of course, are as joyful as can be.

4 - Do you sing this any differently than would a traditional group of Ukrainian women?

SL: Yes, our style is very different.  Traditional folk Ukrainian is a bit more brash, and “forward”, to use the language of vocal production.  It varies a lot region to region, but here is an example that is pretty typical of what we have heard: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAfBO9vMwt4.  

Our style is different, but we have grown into our style through being really focused on listening in to each other, and letting our harmonies ring.  

Ukraine is, admittedly, one of the nations whose music we know least about.  We’ve studied with master singers from Bulgaria, Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia, and Russia, but not yet Ukraine.  

Also, it’s interesting to note that we each have very different singing backgrounds.  Nila was trained in classical South Indian music, and also performed in touring Broadway shows as a child.  Rachel has no formal music training, but is also a phenomenal country and bluegrass singer.  I had most of my vocal training in a classical Western women’s choir, and I’ve also studied music of several West and East African traditions.  We all come together!

NB: We try our best to sing Slavic music as authentically as we can--meaning the pronunciation, the vocal placement, and the tone.  However, we are not fluent in the languages we sing in, nor is it the only type of music we enjoy, so you are likely to notice some differences. 

If you listen to traditional Ukrainian women's groups, you might find that they have an even louder, fuller, tone, with a heavier vibrato than we use.  However, even within Ukrainian voices you will likely notice differences, since every vocal group makes different stylistic choices.

Nila Bala

5 - The three of you live in different places, so singing together live is not always an option.  Do you ever rehearse a song like "Vdova" via Skype or other digital technology?

NB: For now, electronic rehearsals are not a good option given the feedback and delays that occur.  We tend to learn our parts very well on our own, and then come together before our tours to put our songs together.

SL: We have tried to use Google hangouts, but the problem is that the program mutes your microphone while anyone else is talking!  So no, that doesn’t work for us.  What we do instead is have our hangouts to plan tours and repertoire, and then we all go home and learn our parts on our own.  We convene for an afternoon before our gigs start for each tour and put everything together.  We’re constantly emailing back and forth with new music ideas.

Rachel LaViola

6 - The video was produced for the North Shore Sessions.  What are they and how did the Nightingale Trio get involved?

SL: North Shore Sessions is an awesome project based in Minnesota, that films local and touring bands playing in interesting spaces.  Most of the videos they film are taken in one single shot without cuts, so they have a great live feel.  

I learned about it because Trent Waterman filmed videos of several musician friends here in town (The Hummingbirds: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AREG8tX04bU and Lynn O’Brien: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzs1UgXACpA).  Trent is also a good friend. 

There are a lot of amazing local artists in Minneapolis-St. Paul, and Trent does all of his filming just out of his own artistic passion for good music and for film.

7 - Did you nail this video on the first take?

SL: We did about 5 takes of this song, but I think this version is maybe the 3rd or 4th one.  It took us a moment to get into singing mode after climbing up an ice covered waterfall (!), and then we needed a bit of time to get the sound right. Fun detail: we recruited some strangers who were also exploring that day to guard the entrance to the cave, so no one would walk into the shot.  

I Want To Feel What You Feel

"Love Belongs Right Here" - Mary Hopkin

One of the first artists the Beatles signed when they launched Apple Records in 1968 was a young Welsh singer named Mary Hopkin.  

The first commercial single the label released, Apple #2, was Hopkin's "Those Were The Days."  Produced by Paul McCartney, the record became a huge international hit and made Hopkin a star. 

Hopkin's next single was a McCartney original, "Goodbye," a #2 hit in the UK and #13 in the U.S.  Prime Paul, its catchy melody is a perfect match for Hopkin's lilting vocals.

(Apple single #1, by the way, was a private pressing of Frank Sinatra (!) singing a revised "The Lady is a Tramp" for Ringo's wife, Maureen.)  

Goodbye 

Credit: Morgan Visconti

Mary Hopkin has been involved in various music and theatrical projects in the years since, from the Blade Runner soundtrack to the theme song for a Billy Connolly TV series, working with myriad artists from David Bowie to Dolly Parton to the Chieftains. 

Credit: Morgan Visconit

Hopkin's children, Jessica Lee Morgan and Morgan Visconti, share her musical talents and she has collaborated with both.





My impression, right or wrong, is that she has never seemed commercially motivated, that she is driven instead by a love of singing. Hopkin doesn't do much press or perform publicly often, but she's no recluse - she tweets regularly (@themaryhopkin) and has a nice website (www.maryhopkin.com).  And she continues to grace us with new recordings.

Her most recent album, "Painting by Numbers," concludes with a powerful yet intimate song, "Love Belongs Right Here": 

 I sent Hopkin seven questions about LBRH.  She quite kindly responds:

1 - You wrote LBRH with your longtime guitarist Brian Willoughby for a solo album he released in 1998. What was that process like?

Mary Hopkin: Brian had already written a lovely 8-bar melody on guitar, which we used for the verses. Once we'd worked out the chords for the rest of the song, I wrote the remaining melody and lyrics.

2 - The only instruments on the track are two guitars, one electric and one acoustic. Is that Brian and/or you?

MH: I wish! Brian played all the guitar parts - beautifully. I just played the keyboard pad.

3 - On LBRH (as well as the rest of "Painting by Numbers") your voice is as beautiful and distinctive as it was when you signed with Apple records in 1968. What's your secret?

MH: Thank you - it must be neglect! I prefer my voice now, though - my range has improved and it seems to reflect more of what I'm feeling.

4 - Have you ever tried singing LBRH in Welsh?

MH: No, but there is a translation and it has been sung by the lovely Welsh singer, Heather Jones.

5 - Did you do anything special to get in the right mood to record the vocal for LBRH or do you just start singing and the emotion comes easily?

MH: What are you suggesting? Have you heard the lyrics? :-) No, no foreplay necessary - I'm a professional :-)

6 - Was it easy to keep the arrangement simple or were you ever tempted to add strings, bass, percussion, etc?

MH: Brian's whole album (Black and White) was beautifully understated - in fact, he didn't use the electric guitar part on his album version. A big arrangement would have affected the intimacy of the song - although we did think of pitching it to Celine Dion :-)

7 - Why did you decide to end the album with LBRH?

MH: I chose it as the last track because it's the only song that is not a demo, but a finished recording. I also like the way the slow fade leads the listener gently into silence.