SOMETHING WITH A PULSE (Laughing Gull)released in 1997
SOMETHING WITH A PULSE (Laughing Gull)
released in 1997
Comments:
Mark Craney is a fabulous drummer. I was first turned onto him in 1980 when he played on Jethro Tull's album "A" (prior to that he'd played with Jean-Luc Ponty and Gino Vannelli). At a show on the "A" tour I was dazzled by the sureness and precision with which he negotiated those tough structures, especially the ear-tickling tom fills he sprinkled between the changes. The concert was a fairly profound influence on me, actually - I was tickled by the possibilities suggested by the juxtaposition of complex compositional ideas with tight pop song structure.
Later I worked with Mark on the "Shampoohorn" album - among several other tracks he plays on "Dreaming" and "Leviathan", two of my top four favorite songs on the album. Recording "Leviathan" with him was especially a pleasure - we sat and watched Dweezil write the song, quickly came up with parts that worked and had the basic track on tape within a couple of hours. Since then I've placed great value in the idea of presenting a song to musicians on the spot in the studio and seeing what they can make of it (ie. "Own" on "Sluggo!").
Mark has had a seriously rough time, medically speaking, the last few years and this album was conceived by Doane Perry and Bill Forth as a means to help Mark with his medical bills. My song, "Craney", is a heavily Miles Davis-influenced instrumental with me on all instruments, recorded during the "Sluggo!" sessions. (A sound file of the tune is available at Mark's website at http://www.rth1.com/markcraney.html.) Continuity with "Sluggo!" is achieved with the drum part on the B section, a pattern which also appears in "Cardboard Dog". "Craney", which I wrote in the studio moments before recording commenced (another nod to "Leviathan's" lasting effect on me), was actually based around the drum part, which I recorded first, then laid down a bass track which felt nice against the drums, then added the guitars and keys playing a melody derived from assigning notes to the letters in the sentence "Mark Craney is a wonderful musician and friend. I wish him happiness and peace."
This album starts with a great live track from Tull's "A" tour, "Black Sunday". Tull fans will also be delighted by the appearance of a March 1997 re-recording by Ian Anderson, Martin Barre and Andy Giddings of "Song For Jeffrey", the first song from the very first Tull album from three decades ago. Very cool rearrangement of this classic. There are also tracks from Eric Burdon, Tower of Power, Gino Vannelli, Dave Garibaldi, Fairport Convention, Terry Bozzio, James Taylor and many more...so buy this album please. Follow the link above to find information on how to order the album, or contact Laughing Gull Records at P.O. Box 5603, Sherman Oaks, CA. 91413-5603.
Contents ©1994 - 2013 Obvious Moose (except where noted) and may not be reproduced without permission. All rights reserved.