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Post by Admin on Dec 14, 2020 9:44:22 GMT
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tommo
New Member
Posts: 9
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Post by tommo on Dec 18, 2020 14:21:25 GMT
This book from the "On Track" series is well worth buying too:
By Dan Coffey, publication was delayed (through Covid ?) and my copy arrived a fortnight ago after a wait of nearly a year. Well worth it, though.
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noamn
New Member
Posts: 20
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Post by noamn on Jan 31, 2021 6:41:04 GMT
I thought that the Dan Coffey book was disappointing. There was very little in the way of analysis, and his opinions differ somewhat from mine. There were very few items that I didn't know and I find some of those dubious.
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Post by stranger on Jan 31, 2021 12:59:01 GMT
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Post by longhello on Jan 31, 2021 20:33:31 GMT
There were very few items that I didn't know and I find some of those dubious. Like what? |
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Post by Admin on Feb 1, 2021 16:55:50 GMT
Yes!
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noamn
New Member
Posts: 20
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Post by noamn on Feb 2, 2021 9:37:51 GMT
Regarding the Dan Coffey book:
page 19 - John Anthony was the producer of TLWCD, not the engineer
page 21 - David Jackson is not a co-author of 'Refugees' ... but he *is* the co-author of 'Out of my book', missing out on his credit on page 22.
page 25, third paragraph - 'H to He' is not a *chemical* reaction but rather a nuclear reaction
page 26 - to the best of my knowledge, Hugh Banton does not play bass pedals on 'House' but rather bass guitar. Coffey himself notes this on the previous page.
page 28 - wrt 'Pioneers', Coffey writes that part of DJ's solo "is rendered backwards". If so, this is news to me.
page 33 - wrt 'Viking', "Rod Clements, Martin Pottinger and Ray Jackson ... give the VdGG contingent a well-deserved rest". I have always wondered about the two different rhythm sections on FM; maybe certain people were only available on certain days? Was Fripp present for all the recordings or did he record his parts separately? These are factoids that I would like to know.
I could go on, finding bits and pieces that are factually wrong, but that's not the point. What probably irked me the most was that almost every track received about the same amount of space in the book, with no correlation to a track's length or complexity. I also expected some form of musical analysis, or even simply noting the varied time signatures, but there's none of that.
In short, 'The Book' taught me a great deal more than 'On track'; even 'The Lemmings chronicles' (which I haven't read for some time) probably contains more information. I have to admit that I have been listening (closely!) to VdGG since 1970, so I've heard these recordings with a discerning ear hundreds of times.
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Post by Lighthouse on Feb 3, 2021 9:26:04 GMT
For me the Coffey book was an enjoyable read. I would have preferred to have a more critical take on the music, but he rarely criticises any of the songs. Of course maybe he thinks they are all great ...
But yes, he got obviously a few things wrong, and maybe a few more than necessary, which could have been avoided by a proof reading by some other VdGG fans.
E.g. he claims that the Belgian TV Lighthouse Keepers was recorded in many small parts, and then edited together to make an uninterrupted impression. I think he confused that with the recording of the album version, while the TV version was indeed played in 2 parts, it is still a real live recording. Or am I wrong?
Or that the Squid/Octopus track was recorded in July 70, when it actually was recorded a year later. And confuses elswhere the released live-in-the-studio recording of this one with the unreleased BBC In Concert recording.
Whatever, there is not so much literature about Hammill and VdGG, so buy it, read it, criticise it.
Or that Judge Smith left the band before Evans joined. But later mentions the 5-piece line up for the recording of Firebrand, but for early 1969.
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Post by ilgebra on Feb 3, 2021 14:14:08 GMT
Regarding Belgian TV "Lighthouse," i recall hearing that it was recorded live in 2 parts. I don't recall whether they were both first takes but I assume that they were. Also, they hadn't planned on playing it.
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Post by Lighthouse on Feb 3, 2021 16:04:45 GMT
That's what I meant. Live, but in 2 parts, and the break between the 2 parts was edited out.
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Post by ilgebra on Feb 3, 2021 16:42:36 GMT
That's what I have heard and Hammill had a celebratory glass of wine at the end because they managed to get through it (quite nicely, I might add).
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