Midnight Voices (https://www.peteatkin.com/cgi-bin/mv/YaBB.cgi)
Pete Atkin >> Music >> Midnight Voices - the CD
(Message started by: Pete Atkin on Today at 23:35)

Title: Midnight Voices - the CD
Post by Pete Atkin on Today at 23:35
As I announced on Thursday evening at the St George's gig, in the course of preparing for the concert with Simon Wallace and the guys it made a lot of sense that we should record the songs as we worked on them in the finely tuned acoustic of the Abbey Road-like Wallace studio complex in south London.  And so we have ended up with fifteen tracks which are now in the latter stages of post-production, aiming to have actual copies available unofficially through Hillside Music from about late August or early September, with an offical release date set probably for October.  

The basic personnel is the same as at the concert: Simon Wallace (piano), Mark Hodgson (bass), and Roy Dodds (drums and percussion), plus occasional acoustic guitar contributions from yours truly, and with considerable electric guitar contributions from Mike Outram, with additional guest appearances by Sarah Moule (vocal), Clive Bell (shakuhachi), and Alan Barnes (clarinet and tenor sax (doublin' on baritone)).

I'm going to call the CD "Midnight Voices - the Clive James-Pete Atkin Songbook Volume One."  The songs included will be (not necessarily in this order) -

Touch Has A Memory
Senior Citizens
Thief in the Night
Be Careful When They Offer You the Moon
Thirty Year Man
Sessionman's Blues
The Flowers and the Wine
Payday Evening
Between Us There Is Nothing
The Hypertension Kid
Perfect Moments
The Faded Mansion on the Hill
Master of the Revels
Laughing Boy
Beware of the Beautiful Stranger

I decided to stick to songs from the original '70s LPs, mainly because the availability of the original recordings is and is always likely to be patchy (for reasons described elsewhere on the Forum) and because in this way we can be certain that these songs at least will continue to be reliably available in some form.  

I haven't set out deliberately to create wilfully different versions of any of the songs, but some are much closer to the originals than others;  mostly the differences are simply the result of the passage of thirty five years or so.  I know the originals are firmly lodged in many people's brains and that any variation may possibly be considered a travesty, but simply to try to reproduce them would be both impossible and, it seems to me, pointless.  The originals continue to exist after all, and I'm not seeking to disavow them or to disown them or to supersede them.  But I certainly don't want to give the impression of apologising in any way for these new versions.  In any case, you'll be able to make up your own minds pretty soon.  Keep watching this space for further details.

All best to all
Pete

Title: Re: Midnight Voices - the CD
Post by Gerry Smith on 24.06.07 at 01:58
Well, vive la difference, I say if St George's was anything to go by! Not better, just...different!

Gerry


Title: Re: Midnight Voices - the CD
Post by Leslie Moss on 26.06.07 at 11:48
Having been unable to attend St George's due to the totally unreasonable demand of my employer that I deliver a presentation to a group in Paris that afternoon I am absolutely delighted that there is to be a recording of the new band, even if it's not "live". I hope that Pete and co. can be prevailed on to do additional live performances - it has been one of my wishes over the years to see him perform with a band and darn if I couldn't make the one occasion when it happened.

Having said that I must admit that my Thursday evening was not exactly unpleasant either - following my presentation (to a group of high-potential employees) we hit the fleshpots of Paris on midsummer night and found that the entire centre of the city had been turned into a music festival. Sitting in a bar on St Germain at midnight accompanied by lissom young ladies and enthusiastic youngish men listening to a pretty darn good Cream tribute band was a pretty good consolation for missing the main event.

Leslie

Title: Re: Midnight Voices - the CD
Post by BogusTrumper on 26.06.07 at 13:50

on 06/26/07 at 11:48:00, Leslie Moss wrote :
Having been unable to attend St George's due to the totally unreasonable demand of my employer that I deliver a presentation to a group in Paris that afternoon I am absolutely delighted that there is to be a recording of the new band, even if it's not "live". I hope that Pete and co. can be prevailed on to do additional live performances - it has been one of my wishes over the years to see him perform with a band and darn if I couldn't make the one occasion when it happened.

Having said that I must admit that my Thursday evening was not exactly unpleasant either - following my presentation (to a group of high-potential employees) we hit the fleshpots of Paris on midsummer night and found that the entire centre of the city had been turned into a music festival. Sitting in a bar on St Germain at midnight accompanied by lissom young ladies and enthusiastic youngish men listening to a pretty darn good Cream tribute band was a pretty good consolation for missing the main event.

Leslie


I too am anxiously waiting for the new CD to be purchased and shipped to the good old US of A

And remind me to tell you sometime the story of how I didn't see the Cream's farewell perrformance in the Albert Hall  :D

Title: Re: Midnight Voices - the CD
Post by Richard Bleksley on 26.06.07 at 20:24
Well, I did see Cream's farewell concert, so there....  My God, was it really 39 years ago?

I was also at St. George's last Thursday, and I can tell Leslie and the rest of you who weren't there that the new CD is definitely well worth waiting for.  For me, the best bit of all is that there will finally be a CD version of Be Careful When They Offer You the Moon.

Title: Re: Midnight Voices - the CD
Post by Cathy Corbishley-Michel on 01.07.07 at 09:29
Dear MVs

A new member of MV for only a few weeks I was also disappointed to miss the St George's gig (Urological Surgeons conference in Glasgow since you ask) but the news of a new CD makes up for it somewhat.  Bristol was my old stamping ground where I went to University and saw Pete in 1974 after which I quickly ran off to Triangle records (are they still there?) to buy/order all the vinyl which has been trekked around all my house moves for many years and recently converted to MP3 using one of those natty turntable gadgets.

The fact that the new CD is going to be called volume 1 gives me hope for a volume 2 (or more).

best wishes

Cathy Corbishley-Michel
(from Wimbledon and only 2 miles from where you held PoD - if only I'd known about you all then)

Title: Re: Midnight Voices - the CD
Post by naomi on 02.07.07 at 00:07
Yes, I'm also consoled by the prospect of the CD - and of similar future concerts, please !

I've had the odd dilemma of wanting to read reports of the Bristol gig ... but then feeling even more envious of those who were in the audience !!  It was plainly a superb concert - and, I reckon, a milestone in the development of Pete's work.

I was absent from Bristol only because it might have caused raised eyebrows had I not turned up to my own concert, in South Kensington, on June 21 !

Incidentally, the music festival in which I was taking part was the London counterpart of the Paris festival that Mr Moss enjoyed.

Best, Naomi

Title: Re: Midnight Voices - the CD
Post by Jan on 02.07.07 at 08:27
Hi Cathy,
Welcome to Midnight Voices.


on 07/01/07 at 09:29:21, Cathy Corbishley-Michel wrote :
 if only I'd known about you all then)

I'm glad you found us. How did you find us?
Chance?
A tip off?
Something Clive said or wrote?

Hope to meet you at a future gig.
Jan

Title: Re: Midnight Voices - the CD
Post by Richard Bleksley on 02.07.07 at 11:49
Hi Cathy.

Let me second Jan's welcome to our virtual community, especially since you are probably the nearest Midnight Voice to me. I live just down the road in Sutton, which is why PoD was there - I was the organiser, or PoDmeister, as some put it.

The St. George's gig was something a bit special, but it's definitely worth making the effort to attend any gig that Pete does. He, and we, are fortunate in that, instead of fading away as some artists do as they get older, he just seems to keep getting better.

Ever since PoD I've been dropping occasional hints that I might be prepared to do another one. Maybe sometime I'll actually do something about it; and if that does happen, it'll be nice and handy for you.

Richard

Title: Re: Midnight Voices - the CD
Post by BogusTrumper on 02.07.07 at 13:30

on 07/02/07 at 11:49:59, Richard Bleksley wrote :
Ever since PoD I've been dropping occasional hints that I might be prepared to do another one. Maybe sometime I'll actually do something about it;

Richard


Chicago or St. Louis can be very nice in the Spring or Autumn  :D

Title: Re: Midnight Voices - the CD
Post by Cathy Corbishley-Michel on 02.07.07 at 20:49
Dear Jan and Richard

Thankyou for the warm welcome.  

I found MV through Pete's/Steve's Smash Flops site after hankering after replacing my vinyl last year and eventually giving up on Amazon and locating Hillside records, unfortunately only after most of the re-releases were sold out.  However I have obtained BOTBS/DTMA and SD/LL on CD and have put the old vinyl onto the computer so I have BCITOYTM rather than Touch has a Memory.

Having bought the new CDs I am now getting familiar with the new songs, particularly the Lakeside sessions ones which have a lot of resonances with the earlier material.

As far as PoD goes I would have loved to be there and would be happy to help Richard organise a rerun if he needs any help ( I have history in this kind of area if you count organising postgraduate exams, running large NHS hospital departments, managing a budget of several million (which I was not allowed to spend) and organising a textile exhibition for three months in central London).

I actually live in Merton Park which is even nearer to Sutton than Wimbledon - but no-one has ever heard of it and Wimbledon is more upmarket.

best wishes

Cathy

Title: Re: Midnight Voices - the CD
Post by Richard Bleksley on 03.07.07 at 02:00

on 07/02/07 at 20:49:51, Cathy Corbishley-Michel wrote :
I actually live in Merton Park which is even nearer to Sutton than Wimbledon - but no-one has ever heard of it and Wimbledon is more upmarket.



Oh yes? What about those one hit wonders of (I think) the early eighties, the Merton Parkas, and their You Gotta Have Wheels? (Contains the priceless line "A man ain't a man with a ticket in his hand".)

And thanks for the offer of help with the putative PoD2. Maybe it'll even encourage me to get off my backside and do something about it.

Title: Re: Midnight Voices - the CD
Post by Seán Kelly on 18.07.07 at 23:17
Touch Has A Memory
Senior Citizens
Thief in the Night
Be Careful When They Offer You the Moon
Thirty Year Man
Sessionman's Blues
The Flowers and the Wine
Payday Evening
Between Us There Is Nothing
The Hypertension Kid
Perfect Moments
The Faded Mansion on the Hill
Master of the Revels
Laughing Boy
Beware of the Beautiful Stranger

That is a hell of a line up for an album - thanks Pete - can't wait for this one!
Seán

Title: Re: Midnight Voices - the CD
Post by Leslie Moss on 10.08.07 at 12:01

on 07/03/07 at 02:00:35, Richard Bleksley wrote :
And thanks for the offer of help with the putative PoD2. Maybe it'll even encourage me to get off my backside and do something about it.


Richard, perhaps you could run it in Second World in a virtual online pub. We could call it iPod!

Leslie

Title: Midnight Voices CD - sample track
Post by S J Birkill on 11.08.07 at 18:59
Here (http://www.peteatkin.com/laughingboypreview.htm) is a preview of what we'll all be able to hear when the new album comes out.

I'm reliably informed that the powers that be will arrange pre-release copies of the genuine polycarbonate around the middle of September, all being well, from the usual source. Save your pennies!

Steve

Title: Re: Midnight Voices - the CD
Post by naomi on 11.08.07 at 23:45
Yippee ! Thank you so much, Sir Steve - it's fab !!!

I love that pinch of klezmer seasoning (NB, Leslie) - supplied by Mr Barnes, I guess.

Naomi

Title: Re: Midnight Voices - the CD
Post by Chris Reichardt on 12.08.07 at 09:27
One of my favourite songs

Still sends shivers up and down my spine

Title: Re: Midnight Voices - the CD
Post by Gerry Smith on 15.08.07 at 16:00
Terrific stuff and wonderful clarinet. Interesting that Pete chose 'Laughing Boy' for the taster track; the original BOTBS version is not at all dissimilar to the new version in terms of lineup - ie vocal, drums, acoustic bass and guitar. In the new recording the guitar is replaced by piano though but as far as I can see that is the only substantial difference.

In other songs, the difference the new lineup makes is far more noticeable.

Very much looking forward to getting hold of the new CD.

Gerry

PS - Pete, was the clarinet solo 'open' or written?


Title: Re: Midnight Voices - the CD
Post by paul.leighton on 15.08.07 at 16:01
After a brilliant evening at St.George's In Bristol, nothing will ever surprise me again when it comes to breathing new - quite different, but equally valid - life, into musical old friends.
Laughing Boy happens to be a favourite of mine - and I treasure the original recording - but this version is a gem. Still true to the original but changed - subtly changed. Great arrangement. Have been playing it to my colleagues at work who have responded with some enthusiasm!

At 54, I really should try to sound a little less like an enthusiastic teenager...but.......


Title: Re: Midnight Voices - the CD
Post by Pete Atkin on 15.08.07 at 17:11
Hi Gerry - Well, the choice was mainly driven by what we had ready, but beyond that I thought it might reassure anyone who thought I was going to be riding roughshod over the old versions.  There was clarinet on the original as well, of course (missed from your list), and its inclusion here was another nod backwards.  

And it may have been lost in the MP3, but acoustic guitar is actually quite prominent on the new version, but steel-strung this time and therefore rhythmically a bit tighter than the nylon strum on the BOTBS version, which strikes me now as quite unsatisfactorily sloppy (without wishing to tread on anyone's nostalgic toes).  Actually, LB is perhaps unrepresentative of the new stuff in that acoustic guitars (both the Atkin OM and the Taylor NS) make relatively few appearances on the new CD.  

Simon and I have given a lot of attention to getting first the tempos and then the grooves right on all of the songs this time.  It's amazing what a difference it makes to having a chance of singing them properly.    

The clarinet here is all the inspiration of the wonderful Alan Barnes, Gerry.  On the original version I had written it all out for the nevertheless equally wonderful Henry McKenzie (he of the Fabs' When I'm Sixty Four clarinet ensemble, among many other things).

And thanks for your generous endorsement too, Paul.   It's terrifically encouraging - more than I can say.   I'll try to get another sample track to that nice Mr Birkill for him to upload soon - something maybe with a slightly different approach.

All best - Pete

Title: Re: Midnight Voices - the CD
Post by naomi on 16.08.07 at 00:06
To add to my earlier remark: that bitter-sweetness of klezmer is so apt for the bitter-sweet mood of Laughing Boy - as of course is the major-minor equivocation.

Thank you so much, Mr Barnes, for your superb clarinet-playing - and, Mr Atkin, for your superbly committed singing of text.

I am hugely looking forward to the rest of the CD.

Naomi

Title: Re: Midnight Voices - the CD
Post by Gerry Smith on 16.08.07 at 00:44

on 08/15/07 at 17:11:00, Pete Atkin wrote :
Hi Gerry - Well, the choice was mainly driven by what we had ready, but beyond that I thought it might reassure anyone who thought I was going to be riding roughshod over the old versions.  There was clarinet on the original as well, of course (missed from your list), and its inclusion here was another nod backwards.  


How could I forget my own instrument?!


on 08/15/07 at 17:11:00, Pete Atkin wrote :
And it may have been lost in the MP3, but acoustic guitar is actually quite prominent on the new version


OK, heard it with the cans on, but it's *way* back in the mix - perhaps as you say, it's down to the mp3 compression?


on 08/15/07 at 17:11:00, Pete Atkin wrote :
The clarinet here is all the inspiration of the wonderful Alan Barnes, Gerry.  


Marvellous, I shall look forward to more of that.



Title: Re: Midnight Voices - the CD
Post by Pete Atkin on 16.08.07 at 08:26
I didn't want the song to be 'guitar led'.  It's function is almost percussive primarily.  

And, sorry, but this is only song where Mr Barnes plays clarinet.  He does make several delicious further appearances on tenor sax though (and one doublin' on baritone, natch).

Pete

Title: Re: Midnight Voices - the CD
Post by Ian Chippett on 16.08.07 at 13:41
Pete wrote:

<<It's function is almost percussive primarily.  >>

Its a comfort to know that even Homer nod's...   ;-)

Ian C


Title: Re: Midnight Voices - the CD
Post by Pete Atkin on 16.08.07 at 14:23
D'oh!  -- P-ete

Title: Re: Midnight Voices - the CD
Post by avner greenberg on 19.08.07 at 06:30
I had to replace the speakers on our PC last week. Since no Fairtrade ones were available, I got the default pair for the equivalent of around 5 quid, made in guess where. Good enough for MS Windows' relentless signature tone I thought, forgetting that I do occasionally listen to something slightly more demanding on the PC.

Miraculously, with a pinch of imagination perhaps, the new Laughing Boy sounds wonderful even through this degrading medium. Not quite the usual warm texture in Pete's voice, but a treat nevertheless. Indeed, a man can die for things like that, but not quite yet. Wouldn't miss the CD for anything.

Many thanks to all responsible, and warm regards.

Avner

Title: Absolutely gorgeous!
Post by Jan on 23.08.07 at 20:15
My boss left work early this afternoon and whilst looking on Smash Flops for some music to play I happened to come upon this unannounced treasure halfway down on the left hand side:

http://www.rwt.co.uk/play/touch.htm

How long has that been there?
Its wonderful!

Jan

Title: Re: Absolutely gorgeous!
Post by S J Birkill on 23.08.07 at 20:31

on 08/23/07 at 20:15:16, Jan wrote :
How long has that been there?
Its wonderful!

Ha! So someone still looks at the Atkin website  ;)

Last Friday, 17th.

S

Title: Re: Midnight Voices - the CD
Post by paul.leighton on 24.08.07 at 15:21


Well,  usually I do keep an eye on Smash Flops...but I have to admit I had not spotted it.  Very glad that Jan brought it to ourattention.   As she rightly says, it IS a gem. And doesn't Pete sound so "comfortable" with the arrangement.  Brilliant.

Title: Re: Midnight Voices - the CD
Post by Gerry Smith on 24.08.07 at 16:51
Well that one sneaked in while we were all sleeping at our desks, didn't it?! Another cracking re-work, presumably with Alan Barnes on the oh-so-subtle tenor?

Title: Imminency
Post by Pete Atkin on 30.08.07 at 08:23
OK - Mr Wallace and I have ceased our fiddlings about and have committed ourselves.  The CD has been mastered (including the embedding of the track titles for the benefit of those who drive the right kind of BMW) and the whole caboodle along with its kit has gone off to the replicators, which means that the Hillside Fulfilment and Despatch Arm should have copies available for, um, fulfilment and dispatch by about the middle of September.   There will be further postings when this level of reality has been attained.

This time there's going to be an official release date - yet to be finally decided on - some several weeks away, in order to coordinate a bit of a publicity effort, but until then the CD will be exclusively available from the Hillside Music shop.

Meanwhile the front and back cover artwork can be viewed on the main part of the website, where that nice Mr Birkill has also placed a slightly more prominent link to the two tracks which you can sample in mp3 form.

Keep on truckin'

Pete

Title: Re: Midnight Voices - the CD
Post by paul.leighton on 30.08.07 at 12:47

Excellent news!  More strength to your..........er, .... Fulfilment and Despatch Arm!

Title: Re: Midnight Voices - the CD
Post by jeremy pymer on 31.08.07 at 20:18
Well, well, well.  Never really came to terms with THAM replacing BCWTOYTM on BOTBS - just couldn't get on with all those strings, and the latter is one of my all time favourites -but how good is this THAM!  Pete so relaxed and easy and that sax - can't wait for the CD - will check re the ordering arrangements right now for some more IRT (internet retail therapy).  A tonic after a difficult week.

Jeremy

Feeling a little brighter in Fowlmere, South Cambs

Title: Re: Midnight Voices - the CD
Post by BogusTrumper on 01.09.07 at 02:33
And especially good news for those of us stuck a rather long way away from all the *oD's  :D

Title: Midnight Voices - the CD : Master of the Revels
Post by S J Birkill on 17.09.07 at 17:51
Well, this is different.

It starts out sounding as if the band's tuning up. And it pretty much stays that way! We have saxes, piano, bass, drums and shimmering cymbals twiddling up and down before Pete's voice comes in over drum rolls, piano arpeggios and noodling electric guitar runs. The piano is perhaps the most structured, counterpointing the melody and keeping recognisable time while the rest of the band tumbles about it. Pete's enunciation is as precise as ever, so a little at odds with the rubato delivery. The verse finishes over drum rolls, bass thumps and tinkling piano, before giving way to sax and cymbal smashes over a snare rhythm and a hint of Dai's original tuba, fading martially into the distance.

It's over too soon and leaves you wanting more, but the most remarkable impression it creates is the expectation that a 'chorus' is due, what we've heard having been merely the out-of-tempo 'verse'. Now what would a chorus to MOTR sound like?

SJB

Title: Re: Midnight Voices - the CD
Post by Gerry Smith on 17.09.07 at 19:15
Does this mean it's now on sale? Hope so!

Title: Re: Midnight Voices - the CD
Post by S J Birkill on 17.09.07 at 19:50
Very soon! I'm lucky in that the Powers That Be...

Title: Midnight Voices - the CD : Faded Mansion
Post by S J Birkill on 17.09.07 at 21:34
I must state first that I'm a great admirer of the 1971 recording of this song, with its electric piano, melodic bass and rim-shot drums, and Pete's gentle vibrato on the understated exposition of the lyric.

Here it's revised at a slower tempo, with acoustic piano over the verse, a less prominent bass and drums, and some interesting and pretty electric guitar fills. The vocal is more expressive, with moderate reverb, but somehow doesn't carry quite the same conviction as the original -- almost as if it's looking for the powerful ballad that's somewhere else.

The recording quality is superb, without the studio creaks and clicks and the ping-pong stereo of the original -- the whole thing feels bigger and more substantial. But I don't think it works quite as well.

Incidentally, when you eventually visit Doyle's seafood restaurant at Watson's Bay, don't forget, as well as mentioning Clive's name, to climb the half-mile up the hill behind the bay to The Gap, and walk north to the point where you can look down on those same headlands from the seaward side of South Head, with the city in the distance. Unforgettable!

Steve

Title: Re: Midnight Voices - the CD
Post by Keith Busby on 18.09.07 at 13:06
S. J. Birkill wrote: "Incidentally, when you eventually visit Doyle's seafood restaurant at Watson's Bay, don't forget, as well as mentioning Clive's name, to climb the half-mile up the hill behind the bay to The Gap, and walk north to the point where you can look down on those same headlands from the seaward side of South Head, with the city in the distance. Unforgettable!"

Been there, done that. :)

Keith

Title: Midnight Voices - the CD : Payday Evening
Post by S J Birkill on 21.09.07 at 14:01
A lighter touch here than the 1973 original. Piano and tambourine dominate the backing during the first two stanzas, until "And the gardens..." when Hammond (where is that in the credits?) comes into play to marvellous effect. The mood doesn't change at "But somehow" as before, but the electric guitar plays an increasing part as the song goes on, with a moody solo after "The poetic age has had its day". "Of our lost loves" doesn't get the superfluous repeat of some recent concert versions. The bass is subdued throughout, in contrast to the earlier recording, and the drums simple. Pete's voice is as plain and direct as we'd ever wish it to be, though with a slight tendency to voice the 't's, American style, this time around. Of course this is the song which gave the album its title, as well as spawning a million Internet messages (well, 14090 as of today), so it needs to be good. It sure is.

Steve

Title: Midnight Voices - the CD : Thief In The Night
Post by S J Birkill on 22.09.07 at 14:13
Does a song about a guitar need to indicate what the instrument sounds like? Here Pete demonstrates. The track opens with the spooky, breathy sound of the shakuhachi, a Japanese bamboo flute held like a recorder but played like a bottle in an echo chamber, and together with piano, the outlandish woodwind instrument holds centre stage during each 'white-space' interval of the song. Yet it's remarkably true to the original -- sure, the harmony vocal is missing, but that's not especially noticeable. And the tempo is slowed, not a change I usually like, the song running to 3 minutes 53 seconds as compared to the rattling 2'36" of the 1971 version.

It doesn't remind me much of Memphis, or Majorca. But it all suits.

SJB

Title: Midnight Voices - the CD : Be Careful ... Moon
Post by S J Birkill on 23.09.07 at 13:10
I've just listened to 4 versions of Be Careful When They Offer You The Moon.

The first is from the "The Party's Moving On" TV series (1970), where Pete is accompanied by Julie Covington on harmony vocals, and backed by the trio of Laurie Holloway (piano), Jeff Clyne (bass) and Johnny Spooner (drums). See it HERE (http://www.birkill.com/video/becareful.mpg).

The second, also from TV in 1970, comes from "What Are You Doing After The Show?" and features a double-tracked Pete backed by a band under the direction of Harry Rabinowitz. This can be heard HERE (http://www.rwt.co.uk/play/bcwtoytn.htm).

Third in the sequence is the version which appeared on the RCA re-issue of "Beware Of The Beautiful Stranger". It too was recorded in 1970, on the 11th of August, and features Pete, again self-harmonising on vocals while playing two guitars, tambourine and piano (takes some doing!) together with the famous Albert Hall on flugelhorn, Dai Davies on trombone, Brian Odgers on bass guitar and Tony Marsh on drums. This song must be the best-represented on our site, for you can hear this third version HERE (http://www.rwt.co.uk/play/bcareful.htm).

Lastly, but only in chronological sequence, is the version on the "Midnight Voices" CD. At 3'07" it's the longest yet, but that doesn't mean it's slow. In fact it includes a 16-bar instrumental break, as does the BOTBS version, which has a longer intro and still clocks 2'57"; but the tempo is similar. By comparison the Pete and Julie TPMO version, at 2'10" with no instrumental break, sounds slow. The WAYDATS? rendition, at 2'22" with an 8-bar break, rattles along in a manner quite frantic!

Sarah Moule handles the vocal harmony on the MV version. Her voice takes a little getting used to -- it doesn't soar like Julie's, but keeps quite close to Pete's, giving quite a laid-back feeling overall. Mike Outram's electric guitar and Simon Wallace's piano weave pretty figures around the melody. It's all smooth and respectful, just possibly too respectful, given the song's jokey metaphor which could benefit from a more wacky delivery, though maybe not at the breakneck tempo of WAYDATS!

This could turn out to be the best-ever version of BCWTOYTM. This one isn't available as a preview, but I'm sure you'll all be hearing it very soon.

Steve

PS: Edited to correct audio source URLs.

Title: Re: Midnight Voices - the CD: Hillside update
Post by Pete Atkin on 24.09.07 at 02:46
Just to let you all know that there's been a frustrating glitch with, wouldn't you just know it, the barcode on the digipak.   The upshot is that copies are now unlikely to be available till next week at the earliest (i.e. not before Oct 3rd).  If you're very, very good, perhaps that nice Mr Birkill will post another preview in the mean time.    As soon as I have definite news, I'll post it here, and open the celebratory display counter at the Hillside shop for orders.

Pete

Title: Re: Midnight Voices - the CD: Hillside update
Post by S J Birkill on 24.09.07 at 02:58

on 09/24/07 at 02:46:59, Pete Atkin wrote :
...perhaps that nice Mr Birkill will post another preview in the mean time.

Should I, children?

PS: was that 'mean time' a reference to the clock still being off? :) Sorry!

Title: Re: Midnight Voices - the CD
Post by Gerry Smith on 24.09.07 at 06:18
Oooh, go on! Thief in The Night sounds tempting. But on the other hand it would be a shame to steal any thunder from the 'official release date'.

Gerry

Title: Re: Midnight Voices - the CD : Thief In The Night
Post by Seán Kelly on 25.09.07 at 22:20

on 09/22/07 at 14:13:47, S J Birkill wrote :
Does a song about a guitar need to indicate what the instrument sounds like? Here Pete demonstrates. The track opens with the spooky, breathy sound of the shakuhachi, a Japanese bamboo flute held like a recorder but played like a bottle in an echo chamber, and together with piano, the outlandish woodwind instrument holds centre stage during each 'white-space' interval of the song.


and here http://www.clivebell.co.uk/news.htm  you can find two pictures of the excellent musician,  Clive Bell,who plays the Shakuhachi on Pete's new cd - in fact in the lower, rather orangey, picture he is actually playing the instrument.  I am pleased to say I took the photos - although I didn't expect to get a chance to mention them here  :)
Seán

Title: Re: Midnight Voices - the CD
Post by Master of the Revels on 21.10.07 at 10:25
I also waited with some trepidation for this new album.  I listen to the old 1970s one so much that I was really worried that I wouldn't like the new versions of such old favourites.

I was so WRONG!  I think this new album is totally brilliant and I just can't stop playing it!

The arrangents and delivery of these songs I think just reflect the maturity of Pete as a musician and as a performer.

I really like his laid back, slightly behind the beat, delivery of the lyrics.  Is there no end to this man's talents?

Alan Barnes is brilliant on the sax - I thought that I would miss my old friend Tony Coe on Perfect Moments.  

This album is an excellent supplement to the originals and probably better reflect the way that Pete sings now rather than then.  I think he should be very proud of this as a piece of work!

All I can say is ... if you haven't bought  Midnight Voices ... BUY IT!  You won't regret it.

Title: Re: Midnight Voices - the CD
Post by Robert Reid on 22.10.07 at 16:47
:D At last it's here! ;D ;D ;D ;D Just got home from work to find that my copy has finally crossed the Scottish border. Listening to it for the first time while I write this and make the dinner. Wow! Just heard intro to Thief in the Night. Comments to follow.


Title: Re: Midnight Voices - the CD
Post by Tiny_Montgomery on 23.10.07 at 09:27
Midnight Voices has made it through the postal sludge to reach Tyneside today. Anyone else still waiting? And is it selling well? Critique to follow. But thanks again Pete and Hillside Music.

Best wishes.

Title: Re: Midnight Voices - the CD
Post by Pete Atkin on 23.10.07 at 11:42
There are quite a few still waiting. if the Hillside Music inbox is any indication.  A similar package sent to a London address on October 3rd arrived yesterday...  

145 copies ordered to date.  Is that well?  

Pete


Title: Re: Midnight Voices - the CD
Post by Richard Bleksley on 23.10.07 at 14:33
Well, after Friday's disappointment (see Gigs board) I ordered mine on Sunday (21st) and it arrived this morning! Complete with a note apologising for the lack of CDs on Friday - thanks, Pete, it's appreciated.

Obviously (a) the PO is recovering and (b) the Hillside Music packing and dispatch department has lost none of its legendary efficiency.

Thief in the Night was playing while I was typing this. Sublime!

Title: Re: Midnight Voices - the CD
Post by Leslie Moss on 24.10.07 at 12:17
Well it's arrived this morning, and on the platter (or whatever it's called these days) right now.

First impressions - like the laid-back jazz feel. Love BCWTOYTM. I can see this album accompanying many a dinner party, subtly engaging the attention of the previously-unilluminated guests until one says "who's that artist?".

And what a great set of musicians!

Leslie

Title: Re: Midnight Voices - the CD
Post by jaybarber on 26.10.07 at 17:24
Like Dave, I too was concerned that I would not like the new arrangements of the 1970s
songs, particularly THAM, my all time favourite. However, after playing the CD all I can say is WOW.  
Just one teeny-weeny, nit-picking criticism - TFMOTH was given the track 13 spot, surely this belongs to BOTBS!! ;D

jaybarber,
(returning to lurking mode)

Title: Re: Midnight Voices - the CD
Post by Seán Kelly on 27.10.07 at 12:19

on 10/24/07 at 12:17:30, Leslie Moss wrote :
I can see this album accompanying many a dinner party


I'm glad you have so many dinner parties Leslie - you are obviously a significant arm of the promotions department  ;)

Title: Re: Midnight Voices - the CD
Post by JtJ on 27.10.07 at 20:50
Hi there!

My CD arrived just before I left to drive to Leeds (which incidentally, took exactly the same number of hours that it took me to get to Elephant and Castle the day before).

Point is, I had it on over and over and over on the journey there and back the next day.

I love it.  Just love it.  Even Master Of The Revels (which has always been my favourite)!

So well done everyone and well done, Pete and crew.

It's been a long time coming but worth the wait.

Title: Re: Midnight Voices - the CD
Post by Seán Kelly on 27.10.07 at 22:37
Thats a relief - if you love the new arrangement of Master of the Revels Julian then all my worries about the new CD are now over !

Title: Re: Midnight Voices - the CD
Post by JtJ on 29.10.07 at 18:38
Yes, well....

I like the old one more, I must say.  But I'm impressed how the new version has captured the atmosphere of a show/something about to happen.

Can Pete perform it like this live though?  I think not.  Although I may be wrong.  I often am wrong.

Let's ask him!  (Where else could you do this?)

Pete:  Can you perform Master Of The Revels (new version) like this live?

Well, CAN you?    :-)


Title: Re: Midnight Voices - the CD
Post by Seán Kelly on 29.10.07 at 19:54
...and Julian if he doesn't answer (in time!) I can tell you - and so can Naomi and Richard and Cathy and Steve & Carole and Alexis and the whole audience at the Blue Hours Newbury where he did perform it like this - decisively !  
Seán

Title: Re: Midnight Voices - the CD
Post by JtJ on 29.10.07 at 20:35
Good grief!

The man's a marvel.  I've said it before and I've said it again.  Just then.


Title: Re: Midnight Voices - the CD
Post by Keith Busby on 29.10.07 at 21:39
Midnight Voices has hit North American shores, delivered here in darkest Wisconsin by Al the postguy this afternoon. I note that ITunes recognizes the genre of the songs as "Unclassifiable". What else?

Cheers,

Keith

Title: Re: Midnight Voices - the CD
Post by BogusTrumper on 30.10.07 at 02:30
Mine arrived today.  But visitors are in the way, so I get to play it at work tomorrow  :D

Title: Re: Midnight Voices - the CD
Post by Mike Walters on 30.10.07 at 21:23
I think I might have been responsible for that.  When I put my copy of the truly wonderful 'Midnight Voices' on to my iPod, it wasn't recognised by the Gracenotes database so I duly entered the information.  And then of course was faced with the dilemma of how to classify it.  Well, what would you have done?  

As a Gracenotes aside, some time ago I purchased a CD of the Hal Willner-produced compliation 'Rogue's Gallery' - basically a collection of sea shanties and related music performed by various folk and popular music luminaries.  When I stuck it into iTunes, I noticed that whoever had entered the track data had, with a lamentable lack of respect, referred to the revered lead singer of U2 as 'That W***** Bono'.  And so he remains, on my iPod, to this day.  

Mike


Title: Re: Midnight Voices - the CD
Post by Mike Walters on 30.10.07 at 21:29
I was responding to Keith's note, of course.  As far as I'm aware, I wasn't responsible for Bogus's visitors arriving...

Mike

Title: Re: Midnight Voices - the CD
Post by BogusTrumper on 31.10.07 at 13:23

on 10/30/07 at 21:29:42, Mike Walters wrote :
I was responding to Keith's note, of course.  As far as I'm aware, I wasn't responsible for Bogus's visitors arriving...

Mike



There is always the "quote" function.  :)

And no, I don't blame you for my wife's friends coming to stay.  I guess that is all my own fault  :D

Title: Re: Midnight Voices - the CD
Post by Seán Kelly on 31.10.07 at 17:09
Just do what Leslie does Bogus and play the CD quietly but obtrusively in the background (there is a trick in this - I think it might be like a slight but considerable danger) until they take your copy with them when they go  ;)

Title: Re: Midnight Voices - the CD
Post by Mike Walters on 31.10.07 at 19:13

Quote:
There is always the "quote" function.  


Oh, yes, so there is.  But the truth is that I wasn't expecting the traffic here to be so intense that another posting would appear in the meantime.  Just demonstrates the level of interest that's been sparked by that terrific new CD...

Glad I wasn't responsible for your visitors.  I have enough problems being responsible for my own...

Mike

Title: Re: Midnight Voices - the CD
Post by Seán Kelly on 02.11.07 at 12:23
Yes, I just want to say "That's a hell of a fine album Pete & Simon - Thankyou!"  
[I may add detail to that later  :) ]
Seán

Title: Re: Midnight Voices - the CD
Post by BogusTrumper on 03.11.07 at 20:50

on 11/02/07 at 12:23:12, Seán Kelly wrote :
Yes, I just want to say "That's a hell of a fine album Pete & Simon"  

Seán


Hmm - Pete and my nephew Simon (the visitor in chief)?

:D

Title: Re: Midnight Voices - the CD
Post by bobtaylor on 05.11.07 at 20:58
Although one of the first to order my copy, I wasn't expecting miracles even before the Post Office strikes put the kaibosh on it all, but even at my most pessimistic, I wouldn't have expected to have had to wait until now to get my grubby little hands on the cd.
I don't mind that the Post Office membership feel that they have to strike, but it would help if they were doing a good job.
Attached http://i22.tinypic.com/5oa8g4.jpg is a scan of the packet that those lovely people in Bristol sent out, and the address is clear enough, but Grenada instead of Granada, given that Spain was clearly printed as well, is unforgiveable. Surely there must be software that the post office could use to assist in overseas addresses....

Having vented my spleen, I must then commend Pete and the rest of the musicians responsible for the fabulous array of goodies they have presented us with. I'm not generally a great lover of cover versions, but most of these are an absolute treat.
To single out just one, "The Faded Mansion On The Hill" is probably even better than the original.

I now look forward to Volume Two, and request that a new version of "Tenderfoot" be included on it.

Perhaps a suggestion from any interested MV for a favourite track, and a poll to decide the tracks to which the makeovers would be given?

Saludos,
Bob.

Title: Re: Midnight Voices - the CD
Post by naomi on 06.11.07 at 03:01
Jamaica, Bob ?
Ah no, I see: the CD must have gone to the West Indies of its own accord  ...

Software, you say, dear boy? It'll never catch on. Mark my words. Stick to the wireless.

So glad you like the new versions as much as I do. They are a wonderful development of Pete's renewing art.

Naomi


Title: Re: Midnight Voices - the CD
Post by Pete Atkin on 06.11.07 at 09:08
Blimey, Bob!  I'm glad you included the scan.  Otherwise I'd probably have just smiled wryly and said Yeah, yeah, nice one.  The really worrying thing is that the PO in Grenada have a rubber stamp made up and ready.  So how often does this happen, I wonder?  Thanks, as they say, for sharing.

Oh, yes, and thanks for your most generous comments.   I hadn't thought of this as an album of cover versions, but I suppose you're right - in a way.   I know I'm not very likely to get it from among this crowd, but I'll be particularly interested to hear what people think who don't know the earlier versions - that's ultimately what has to work if there's to be a Volume 2.

Title: Re: Midnight Voices - the CD
Post by hannibalmcnee on 09.11.07 at 18:55
Well, personally, I think it's a terrific piece of work and the finest album that Mr Atkin has released in the last... 30 or so years.

It's better than Winter Spring and The Lakeside Sessions. And it's not because of the songs. WS and TLS had fantastic songs. It's because of the band. It's because of the production. A brilliant dynamic has been found amongst this small group of artists that has created a warmth and a power in the music that oozes out of the CD player to fill the room. It makes me wish that Pete could go back into studio with TLS and WS and re-record all that material again in this way.

I think Midnight Voices is more than a simple cover album or a spit and polish. It's a rejuvination. These don't sound like songs written in the Seventies. They sound like they were written yesterday. It proves that however much the old recordings or Atkin and James or even we may have aged, the power and the beaty of the music and the lyrics has stood the test of time.

I could fill a hundred pages with all the great things I have to say about this CD, but there's no point in me trying to critique it. I have nothing critical to say. The least of these recordings put a new spin and a fresh lick of paint on the originals. The best of them reinvent and transend the originals. I can't express just how much I hope this 'experiment' continues into a second volume... or a third or a fourth... even (maybe, one day, fingers crossed) some previously unrecorded material. With this group of musicians and this level of production, I sincerely believe Pete Atkin is the best he's ever been.

Also, with Christmas coming up, I think I'll buy a couple more copies, send them out to friends as gifts, maybe with a card raving about this 'new talent I've discovered,' who has 'just arrived on the contemporary music scene' and see what people think.

Frankly, I don't see how it can miss.

Title: Re: Midnight Voices - the CD
Post by avner greenberg on 12.11.07 at 22:09

A word of thanks and appreciation for Midnight Voices, the CD. Yes, just a hint of initial trepidation. Am I really expected to welcome with open arms new versions of these cherished songs, at my advanced age and conservative tastes? But hang on a moment, I’ve been hearing and enjoying Pete revisiting the old treasures for some eight years now, so relax, there’s no way he could blow it.

Definitely not alarming, then. Perhaps a little startling here and there, certainly intriguing, and on the whole immensely satisfying. Particularly gratifying to have this splendid rendering of Senior Citizens; the voice so mellow, the tempo so relaxed. To my ear these versions of Between us There is Nothing and The Faded Mansion are just wonderful, and A Shakuhachi is a Thief in the Night is definitely growing on me.

Title: Re: Midnight Voices - the CD
Post by Jan on 15.11.07 at 01:40
I was amused as soon as I saw the track list. The old arrangement of Master of the revels was never one of my favourites, I could see it had its place but it was all that jauntiness and the tuba I didn't take to. Considering the lyrics I'd assumed its place would always be at the beginning, how wrong can you be! The new arrangement is much more interesting and I like just the hint of tuba to recall the old days.
I love the idea of a guitarless guitar song (and am coming to terms with that strange instrument) but I'm relieved Thirty year man wasn't pianoless nor Sessionman's blues without its saxophone.
Its always good to find a run of consecutive favourite songs on a CD and that certainly proved to be the case here. There was only one spot where I missed the old recording, and it took me by surprise. It was at the end of Beware of the beautiful stranger when what passes for my brain was programmed to expect All I ever did. Perhaps that's one for Volume 2.
May it be as lovely as Volume 1!
Thanks Pete
Jan

Title: Re: Midnight Voices - the CD
Post by Kevin Cryan on 15.11.07 at 08:09

on 11/15/07 at 01:40:13, Jan wrote :
...... The old arrangement of Master of the revels was never one of my favourites, I could see it had its place but it was all that jauntiness and the tuba I didn't take to. ...........!

Jan


As this (http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/shows/davies/) is one of the shows likely to give the album a bit of exposure, I'd personally not make too much of the  "the tuba I didn't take to" (http://209.85.129.104/search?q=cache:-TB4C_8CS4EJ:www.peteatkin.com/notes.htm+tuba+russell+davies+master+of+the+revels&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=2&gl=uk). While I'd be the last to suggest that it colours his judgment in any way, Russell's near-legendary fondness for the tuba is, I suggest, always worth bearing in mind.


Kevin Cryan

Title: Re: Midnight Voices - the CD
Post by Jan on 15.11.07 at 09:58
I owe Russell Davies a great debt.
If he hadn't been Welsh my mother probably wouldn't have paid so much attention, and wouldn't have mentioned to me a late night programme called The Party's Moving On. She watched the programme just to see Dai Davies and without him I wouldn't be here now.
Jan

Title: Re: Midnight Voices - the CD
Post by Simon Reap on 15.11.07 at 13:54
On the whole, I really, really, like the new versions of these old favourites.

After hearing the pre-release mp3s I was worried that the clarinet on Laughing Boy would be far too much, but the CD version seems to have reduced the volume a bit and doesn't have quite the harshness of the encoded version (or maybe I am just getting used to it).  I still find it a little too intrusive, though.  Any chance, Pete, of following in the footsteps of Bare Naked Ladies and releasing the separate stem tracks so that we can mix our own versions?

Loved the shakuhachi on "Thief in the Night", and the slower tempo works much better too.

I still can't get the hang of Hypertension Kid.  Was everyone actually performing the same song?  I first heard the track through tinny speakers in a noisy environment (so now bass), and it was very hard to spot any link between the piano and voice!  MOTR leans the same way, but it seems to fit better there.

Simon

Title: Re: Midnight Voices - the CD
Post by Theo Clarke on 15.11.07 at 17:30

on 11/15/07 at 09:58:37, Jan wrote :
I owe Russell Davies a great debt.
If he hadn't been Welsh my mother probably wouldn't have paid so much attention, and wouldn't have mentioned to me a late night programme called The Party's Moving On. She watched the programme just to see Dai Davies and without him I wouldn't be here now.


Er... isn't "and without him I wouldn't be here now" how people acknowledge their fathers?   Just me then?

Title: Re: Midnight Voices - the CD
Post by Theo Clarke on 15.11.07 at 17:50
On a (marginally) more serious note, I have added the CD to FreeDB.  I decided that, of the very limited classifications available, Jazz came closest since I eschew 'Misc'.

Title: Re: Midnight Voices - the CD
Post by Jan on 15.11.07 at 18:44
Whoops! :-[

Title: Re: Midnight Voices - the CD
Post by Pete Atkin on 15.11.07 at 23:01
I think you deserve a prize, Jan (I said 'deserve', not 'are going to get') for being the first to spot the Master Of The Revels sample - or the first to mention it, at least.    And you've got me thinking about a piano-less Thirty Year Man:  it would have to be an orchestral arrangement, so it's likely to remain theoretical, but I think it could work.   And as for Sessionman's Blues, the original didn't have any tenor sax on it;  and on the many occasions I've sung it live, it didn't have any sax at all.

Title: Re: Midnight Voices - the CD
Post by Jan on 15.11.07 at 23:52

on 11/15/07 at 23:01:21, Pete Atkin wrote :
you've got me thinking about a piano-less Thirty Year Man

Aarghh!!!


Quote:
And as for Sessionman's Blues, the original didn't have any tenor sax on it;  and on the many occasions I've sung it live, it didn't have any sax at all.

On one memorable occasion (http://www.peteatkin.com/sodrevpg.htm)  it didn't have any keyboard either
(you'd have to be real anorak to know that  :cool: )
Jan

Title: Re: Midnight Voices - the CD
Post by avner greenberg on 02.12.07 at 21:08
Midnight Voices vol.1 SOLD OUT !!

Now wouldn’t that be something.

If you’ve received Pete’s recent newsletter you’ll be aware that he is still far from covering the production costs of the universally acclaimed Midnight Voices Songbook vol. 1. That strikes me as a crying shame, and does not bode well for the prospects of hearing a volume 2.

So, folks, what can be done about this? Pin our hopes on the miraculous appearance of some latter-day Medici? Wait patiently for UNESCO to declare Hillside Music a World Cultural Heritage Site? Or each of us order one more copy of MV vol.1 before that SOLD OUT sign is posted on the Hillside Music On-Line Shop?

Just think, you could change someone’s life by giving them this CD!
It’s only 22 days to Christmas, 137 days to Passover, 303 days to Eid el Fitr and 331 days to Diwali. Not to mention that upcoming birthday, wedding anniversary, confirmation, bar-mitzvah, Ascot ball, Buckingham Palace garden party, etc.

Happy shopping.

Reminder: Any purchase in excess of 500 pounds must be reported to the Sun and the Daily Mail.

Title: Re: Midnight Voices - the CD
Post by Ian Chippett on 03.12.07 at 18:16
Avner wrote:

<<If you’ve received Pete’s recent newsletter you’ll be aware that he is still far from covering the production costs of the universally acclaimed Midnight Voices Songbook vol. 1. That strikes me as a crying shame, and does not bode well for the prospects of hearing a volume 2.>>

I have to admit guiltily that I still haven't ordered mine yet: a self-imposed ban on any record-buying till 2008 in order to keep the wolf (the Frog Tax authorites) from the door has seen to that but "au diable l'avarice!" as they say over here: the self-imposed ban is about to lifted and my order will be on its way.

Ian C

Title: Re: Midnight Voices - the CD
Post by Ian Ashleigh on 05.12.07 at 21:55
The CD is wonderful, its a shame that sales have not made it viable yet - hopefully it will go on general relase, reach a wider audience and pay for itself.  

Maybe, as the top 40 now includes downloads, we could co-ordinate a download en masse and get a PA/CJ song in the top 40.  Is it ethical for me to suggest this?

Ian

Title: Re: Midnight Voices - the CD
Post by hannibalmcnee on 10.12.07 at 04:44
Only one thing is going to get the sales up and that's promotion.

At the moment, the only people who know about the album are people who are already fans of Pete's work, and even then, only the fans who make a point of regularly visiting the site. My father's been a huge fan for decades, but he NEVER visits the site, so he hasn't the faintest idea there's a new album out.

It's going to make a nice surprise when I buy it for him for Christmas, but my point is that there are many like him. Not to mention all the thousands of people I know would love the music, but have never had the opportunity to hear it.

Now, the album will sell. Even if it's only available through the website, with no promotion except the limited word of mouth amongst us die-hard fans. It will sell, but it will take FOREVER.

You want strong, fast sales, enough to justify going back into the studio for another volume, it's going to take promotion, going out there, finding a new audience, getting the music heard by music journalists, broadcasters, etc. Another tour would be good, obviously. Perhaps with a stop in East Yorkshire (hint hint).

I hope I'm only saying things that everybody connected with the album already knows and that in the new year, when it goes on wider release, we will see the level of promotion and subsequent sales that it so clearly deserves.

Title: Re: Midnight Voices - the CD
Post by Pete Atkin on 10.12.07 at 14:08
We are and will be doing our best, believe me.  (And I do appreciate hugely your belief in what we've produced that makes you want to see it succeed.)   The redoubtable Hayley Redmond will swing into intensive action as soon as we fix the official release date (currently itself dependent on fixing one or two key gigs) and attempt to get as much airplay as possible and as many reviews as possible in as many media as possible.  Having learned from The Lakeside Sessions that doing nothing does nothing and that, mightily valuable as they are, the purchasing Midnight Voices themselves aren't as yet numerous enough to make a difference, I sent out a hundred or more promotional copies of Winter Spring myself with absolutely no effect whatsoever.  It's so easy now to make well-recorded 'professional-looking' CDs, and so many people are spraying them around hopefully, that without back-up PR effort they just get chucked in the bin by producers and editors without a second look.  So I learned from that that it's going to take more time, effort, and knowledge than I have myself if we're to get anywhere.  Hence Hayley.   Stay tuned for news.

Title: Re: Midnight Voices - the CD
Post by Jon Philpot on 22.02.08 at 19:56
Kevin Cryan's post elsewhere on this website about the review of Clive's 'Cultural Amnesia' on Amazon prompted me to search for 'Pete Atkin'. I was surprised to see that 'Midnight Voices' was already listed there as available - since 18 Feb 2008. No reviews yet so those of you more erudite than myself might like to rectify this?

Jon

Title: Re: Midnight Voices - the CD
Post by Pete Atkin on 01.03.08 at 08:53
The official launch of the MV CD is on Tuesday March 11th.  It's impossible to tell what kind of a response we'll get (almost anything will be an advance on previous efforts), but it helps to pin it to a specific event and date, even though the old notion of a release date doesn't mean much;  as Jon has noticed, it's available as soon as retailers have access to it from the distributors.

So far I can tell you that the April edition of The Word magazine (available in just a week or so's time) will, I believe, include a feature in which Clive and I each respond to a list of questions about our songwriting and about songs in general.   With luck we may even manage to get a track on the cover CD of the May edition, but that's not yet certain.

Oh, and it looks as if there'll be a piece on Front Row on BBC Radio 4 at 1915 on Monday March 10th (Mark Lawson interview with Clive and me).

Title: Re: Midnight Voices - the CD
Post by Mike Walters on 01.03.08 at 20:09
Excellent news about The Word, I think - it strikes me as the perfect medium for raising awareness of Pete's work among those who might unaccountably have missed it first time round or who might recall the 1970s stuff but who may still be unaware of the more recent activity.  I say this on the assumption that I'm fairly typical of those who buy the magazine, in terms of age and musical interests.  But I think that's not an unreasonable assumption.  

And I suspect that if Pete does manage to get a track on one of the magazine's generally excellent free CDs, that would help the mighty Hillside corporation to shift a few units.  

Mike

Title: Re: Midnight Voices - the CD
Post by Kevin Cryan on 02.03.08 at 13:48

on 02/05/08 at 13:39:40, Kevin Cryan wrote :
Blogger David Hepworth (http://www.wordmagazine.co.uk/users/david-hepworth) posted a  People You Didn't Know Rocked… (http://www.wordmagazine.co.uk/content/showman039s-life) entry to the online diary he maintains on The Word (http://www.wordmagazine.co.uk/) site..........


I should have made it clear at the time that David Hepworth is your average Word blogger.  He is in fact a founding editor of the magazine.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

David Hepworth (born 27th July (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/July_27) 1950 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1950) in Dewsbury, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dewsbury) Yorkshire (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yorkshire)) is a journalist and music writer responsible for the launch of many British magazines.

He attended the Queen Elizabeth School, Wakefield and Trent Park College of Education, Barnet. He then worked in record shops and for the London office of Beserkley Records, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beserkley_Records) before becoming a freelance journalist.

After working at the music magazines NME (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Musical_Express) and Sounds, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sounds_magazine) he joined the newly-launched Smash Hits (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smash_Hits) magazine in 1979, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1979) and two years later became its editor. In 1983 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1983) he started Just Seventeen, (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Just_Seventeen&action=edit) a perennially popular magazine for teenage girls, and in 1984 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1984) the magazine Looks.

Since then he has launched several further magazines in the entertainment field including Q (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Q_%28magazine%29) (1985 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1985)), More (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/More_%28magazine%29)(1987 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1987)), Empire (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empire_%28magazine%29) (1988 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1988)), Mojo (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mojo_%28magazine%29) (1993 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1993)), Heat (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heat_%28magazine%29) (1999 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1999)), and The Word (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Word_%28magazine%29&action=edit) (2003 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003)).

He is the only person to have won both the Periodical Publishers Association's writer of the year and editor of the year award, and in 2004 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004) he released a book The Secret History of Entertainment.

In the early 1980s he had a short period as presenter of the BBC music show Old Grey Whistle Test. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Grey_Whistle_Test)


Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Hepworth"
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>..

Kevin Cryan

PS. A few of the Wikipedia links do not work.


Title: Re: Midnight Voices - the CD
Post by Kevin Cryan on 19.03.08 at 07:36

on 03/02/08 at 13:48:01, Kevin Cryan wrote :


I should have made it clear at the time that David Hepworth is your average Word blogger.  He is in fact a founding editor of the magazine.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

............
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Hepworth"
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>..

Kevin Cryan

PS. A few of the Wikipedia links do not work.


I've just noticed that Clive has recently added David as a "prose find (http://www.clivejames.com/prose-finds/david-hepworth)" to the Prose Finds (http://www.clivejames.com/text/prose-finds) section of his www.clivejames.com (http://www.clivejames.com) site.


Kevin Cryan

Title: Re: Midnight Voices - the CD
Post by Kevin Cryan on 19.03.08 at 11:05

on 03/19/08 at 07:36:06, Kevin Cryan wrote :
I've just noticed that Clive has recently added David as a "prose find (http://www.clivejames.com/prose-finds/david-hepworth)" to the Prose Finds (http://www.clivejames.com/text/prose-finds) section of his www.clivejames.com (http://www.clivejames.com) site.


Kevin Cryan


It still astounds me how quickly news gets around on the net.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

AND ANOTHER THING (http://whatsheonaboutnow.blogspot.com/2008/03/man-about-town.html)
DAVID HEPWORTH  .  NOTHING GOES TO WASTE


WEDNESDAY, MARCH 19, 2008

Man about town


......................

........ It's very nice of  Clive James to say something flattering (http://www.clivejames.com/prose-finds/david-hepworth) about my piece on The Wire (http://whatsheonaboutnow.blogspot.com/2008/03/wire-can-tv-show-really-change-way-you.html) though he reckons the white out of black design of this blog makes it hard to read. Normally I'm very careful about this kind of thing but I've never had any trouble dealing with it. Anyone else reaching for the pince-nez?
POSTED BY DAVID HEPWORTH AT 8:32 AM


>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Kevin Cryan

Title: Re: Midnight Voices - the CD
Post by Rob Spence on 20.03.08 at 13:06
Just loaded the CD into i-Tunes, and noticed that under "genre" every song is listed as "unclassifiable". Well, yes, quite.

Title: Re: Midnight Voices - the CD
Post by Ian Ashleigh on 20.03.08 at 13:10
Rob

Windows Media Player does that to most of the music that I load on to it  ;D.  

It didn't find the cover art for Midnight Voices either.

Title: Re: Midnight Voices - the CD
Post by Rob Spence on 20.03.08 at 13:34

on 03/20/08 at 13:10:37, Ian Ashleigh wrote :
Rob

Windows Media Player does that to most of the music that I load on to it  ;D.  

Well, that's Windows ::) for you. Looking down the Pete Atkin playlist on my computer, I see that, as well as unclassifiable, he's "folk" (Road of Silk/ King at Nightfall), "pop" (Secret Drinker / Live Libel/BOTBS/Driving Through Mythical America) "blues" (Lakeside Sessions) and "chanson" (Winter Spring) though I think I put that last one in.
Should have a broad appeal, this Atkins bloke :)

Title: Re: Midnight Voices - the CD
Post by BogusTrumper on 21.03.08 at 17:48

on 03/20/08 at 13:34:59, Rob Spence wrote :
Should have a broad appeal, this Atkins bloke :)


Never 'eard of 'im.

:)

Title: Re: Midnight Voices - the CD
Post by S J Birkill on 23.03.08 at 10:36
High praise to member Philip Winter for being the first to write a review of MV (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Midnight-Voices-Clive-James-Pete-Songbook/dp/B00142Q82C/) for amazon.co.uk.

This kind of thing really does help raise awareness and sales, and it's hard to overdo it -- more reviews wouldn't hurt, there and anywhere else which accepts customer comments. Remember when mail order operator Magpie stocked the first SFM CD (BotBS/DTMA), which became their on-line bestseller for weeks in a row, the reviews stretched right down the page.

Of course, other kinds of publicity push can easily be overdone: radio exposure is especially valuable, but if I were to suggest (for instance) that you wrote to Radio 2's daytime presenters suggesting such-and-such (or even any) track be played, chances are more than one of you would respond eagerly, and at about the same time. Unfortunately, radio producers have a keen eye for anything that smacks of a coordinated publicity campaign, so such an initiative would get us precisely nowhere, or even set back the probability of airplay. What works in their world is a genuine background seethe of demand, which just bubbles casually past their awareness threshold a few times in a while. And that's not the kind of thing a forum like ours can orchestrate -- it has to arise spontaneously.

So, all I can really ask at this point is, keep those on-line reviews coming!

Steve

Title: Re: Midnight Voices - the CD
Post by Pete Atkin on 26.03.08 at 11:50
Many a thank to Steve for pointing this stuff out;  it really is a way you can help to make a difference.  It may also be worth pointing out that you don't have to have bought the record from Amazon in order to post a review.

Title: Re: Midnight Voices - the CD
Post by Paul Leighton on 27.03.08 at 11:32
Full marks to Steve for having nudged us in the direction of on-line reviews. It seems an age since I wrote a piece about the Lakeside Sessions for Amazon:  I had been meaning to produce a review of Midnight Voices ever since I first put it into my CD player!  Having taken his reminder to heart, I have rectified my omission!!
And the next one please......

Title: 'Q' review - Re: Midnight Voices - the CD
Post by S J Birkill on 17.04.08 at 18:32
Nobody's mentioned this one, so here goes:

'Q' magazine, May 2008

Pete Atkin - Midnight Voices - Hillside Music - ***

TV's Clive James has his '70s songs reworked. Really.

Before finding fame as a TV presenter, author and critic, Clive James spent the early '70s co-writing the lyrics on six albums by Pete Atkin, which earned the duo a cult following - and the patronage of John Peel - but few sales. Atkin has now re-recorded the pick of this material with a new band, revealing a strong set of songs that have aged well. James's carefully chosen words owe more to poetry than rock lyrics and are allowed to breathe by the sparsely downbeat, jazz-inflected arrangements. It's unlikely to bring Atkin any more success than first time around, but is still frequently beguiling. -- Phil Mongredien

Download: Laughing Boy.

Title: Re: Midnight Voices - the CD
Post by Kella limpson on 06.08.11 at 13:40
One of my most favorite....

"Between Us There Is Nothing"

Cheers..!



Midnight Voices » Powered by YaBB 1 Gold - SP 1.3.1!
YaBB © 2000-2003. All Rights Reserved.