 Thread: Horrendous Disc: Cancel & Eat? |
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On the HORRENDOUS DISC album, I always thought it was interesting how the credits showed all of the songs as "(c)1980 Cancel & Eat." I guess "Cancel & Eat" was the "publishing company name" (or whatever the term would be) that the band was using at the time. Does anyone have any insights as to what this name means? It sounds like an inside joke of some kind.
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| Thread: DA - Darn Floor Big Bite 20th Anniversary |
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| quote: |
Originally posted by Jimmy Brown
I think one of the most obvious musical jokes on DFBB is "Safety Net". Trying to deal with the weird timing on that one makes it sound like a band would need one. |
I don't know if I'd consider it a "musical joke," but the weird timing involves the guitars being played in 7/8 while the drums basically keep going in 4/4. As a fan of strange rhythms, I consider "Safety" to be one of my favorite DA musical moments.
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| Thread: Terry Scott Taylor - John Wayne |
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That would explain some of the lyrics to "Hey John Wayne," wouldn't it? ("It's good to see you when I get off the plane," etc.)
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| Thread: Terry Scott Taylor - John Wayne |
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I recently listened to this album, so I'm digging up this old thread...
An observation on "You Told Them Exactly What I Didn't Say": In the printed lyrics, the second line is "exactly how I didn't say it," which is consistent with the rest of the words. But Terry actually sings, "exactly how I haven't said it." This kind of disrupts the overall flow of the lyrics, so Terry must have had a definite reason for saying it that way. (BTW, Terry thanks Flannery O'Connor in the credits for inspiring this song. Does anyone know anything about this?)
Thoughts in response to the previous post:
<< What exactly is "Big Shot & Miniature Girl" about? He and his wife? Throw a brother a bone here. >>
To me this sounds like it's about a marriage (or a frequently seen marital situation) that Terry had observed and wasn't impressed with. It paints a definite picture of the "Big Shot" -- wealthy and outwardly high-class, but arrogant, dominant and controlling towards his wife. The middle section (which makes me think, "Why isn't there more music that's this interesting?") confuses me, but I've concluded that it may represent the unspoken thoughts of the "miniature girl" herself.
<< Speaking of "Ten Gallon Hat"... Is this The Debil singing? That's what I always imagined. >>
This is an odd and difficult one, but here's how I hear it: The "narrator" is a fallen human like everyone else, but finds himself pressured by his position in life to appear godly and near-perfect. He looks forward to when the perfection will be real (in heaven) and there's no more need to keep up appearances.
<< I even like the cover and the hippies (what are they exactly?) >>
Random Californians?
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| Thread: Thoughts on "A Briefing for the Ascent" |
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This album has been on my mind lately, so I thought I'd scribble down my thoughts about it and post them here.
When one member of a band is the sole writer and lead singer on one of their albums, as Terry Taylor was on DA's VOX HUMANA, you might not think his next major move would be to make a solo album. But that's what Terry did, with KNOWLEDGE AND INNOCENCE. Clearly, this was too personal of a work to be a DA album. (Not to mention it wouldn't have fit in with the ALARMA CHRONICLES project that the band was in the midst of.)
Terry himself has described KNOWLEDGE as "an album about death." I don't entirely agree, as only a couple of its songs really deal directly with that subject; I'd describe it more as being an album about Heaven as seen from Earth. At any rate, all of the same descriptions – too personal to be a DA album, an "album about death," an album about Heaven and Earth – can be applied Terry's second album, A BRIEFING FOR THE ASCENT.
Given the personal loss that Terry was facing when writing it, I'm hesitant to judge BRIEFING too harshly. Nonetheless, I was initially disappointed by it. Its predecessor was an absolutely stunning work, with songs that stood out individually while also comprising an impressive whole. In contrast, BRIEFING sounded to me like one big, and rather hazy, lump. All of its songs seemed to have the same sound, feel and mood – dreamy, wistful and echoey.
I've gradually come to appreciate BRIEFING for what it is, though, without making comparisons.
In the album notes Terry talks about singing these songs to his grandmother as she lay dying. Of all the album's songs, the title track is the one I can most easily imagine such a bedside performance of. To me, in fact, this one song so perfectly sums up what the whole album is about that the rest kind of seems smaller in comparison.
I suspect that Terry was focused on comforting his grandmother and was not thinking in terms of writing his next album. This is evidenced by BRIEFING only having seven Terry originals, adding up to rather less than half an hour. The various interludes and the two covers serve to bring the collection to full album length.
Unlike the inexplicably edited CD version, the LP and cassette versions begin with a little skit acted out by Terry (playing "Mr. Borthwick") and, presumably, Greg Flesch. After this comes the title track, followed by an instrumental interlude that, oddly, doesn't involve Terry as either writer or performer. The next song, "Beyond the Wall of Sleep," has musical touches that, to my ears, evoke a sense of a long-gone world without really sounding like old music – a neat trick, and appropriate for a contemporary song addressed to an elderly person who would be looking back at their life. Somewhat similarly, "Changeless" and "My Love, My Love" subtly evoke music from the late '50s or early '60s, without sounding dated (or even "retro").
"The Wood Between The Worlds" and "Where Dreams Come True" (the latter of which is severely, and pointlessly, edited on the CD version) have titles taken from The Chronicles of Narnia, but they give these phrases totally different meanings from those in the books. The lyrics to the former include a quote which has become a favorite of mine: "I die a little every day I live."
A favorite musical moment of mine is found in the pre-chorus of "Capture Me"; I would have liked to hear this part with different lyrics. (I understand the point of "through the hole in a hand," but it still makes me wince a little.)
The Beatles cover, "Long Long Long," might seem like an odd choice, but Terry basically turns it from a Hindu-ish song to a Christian one just by changing one word.
After the "Prelude" (edited down to almost nothing on the CD), wherein several songs from the album are briefly referenced, the album ends with the classic hymn "Going Home" (already previewed in the "Prelude" and elsewhere). On first listen I was put off by the sound of the old folks' choir, but I've since gotten used to it. Overall, the album's final stretch serves as sort of a mini memorial service for Mrs. Borthwick, and in that context the choir is quite appropriate. (I've always suspected that the singers are people who knew her, although I don't know that for sure.)
One last observation: What do Terry's first two solo albums have in common with Randy Stonehill's BETWEEN THE GLORY AND THE FLAME and WONDERAMA, and the (heavily revised) CD version of Phil Keaggy's WAY BACK HOME? Answer: Each has at least one song about one or both of the artist's maternal grandparents. (For whatever reasons, we never hear anything about their paternal ones.)
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| Thread: A Briefing For The Ascent (CD vs LP) |
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| quote: |
Originally posted by Jimmy Brown
Can you tell what makes up the additional 1'25"?
My CD version (1993, Frontline) has the whole 2:59. The final verse and chorus start at 1:40, which would have DwDunphy's version only 1:19, or 1:34 if they included the instrumental music from the beginning of the song. Seems extreme to cut it short like that. 
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They didn't cut the song down from 2:59 to something even shorter. They cut the song down from 4:26 to 2:59. (So technically the difference is 1:27.)
I did a comparison between the LP and CD versions, and here's what's different.
The LP version starts with footstep sounds and "Part 4: The Ascent."
Verse 1 is "You come to me in silence of the night."
Verse 2 is "The stars come nightly to the ancient sky."
Verse 3 is a repeat of verse 1.
At the end Terry sings: "To be with you where dreams come true / To be with you where dreams come true," with the last 4 words sung higher.
The CD version starts at a point about 1:20 into the LP version. Thus, the intro (footsteps etc.), the 1st verse & 1st chorus are all cut off. Also, at the end, the bars with the last 4 words are edited out, so the song ends with "To be with you."
Honestly, I wouldn't have noticed that the song was shorter if DwD hadn't pointed it out, and I wouldn't have known what was cut out without carefully comparing the versions.
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| Thread: A Briefing For The Ascent (CD vs LP) |
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I know this is a really old thread, but...
I have been in the process of creating a custom "hybrid" version of BRIEFING, with the main stuff restored that was edited out of the CD version, but also with most of the intrusive spoken parts ("Part x - The X") still left out.
I decided to check into DwD's comments about "Where Dreams Come True," and sure enough the CD version was 2:59 in comparison to the LP version of 4:26. Overall, it looks like the CD version is some 4 minutes shorter than the LP.
I may have some comments about the album later, but I just wanted to mention this part now.
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| Thread: Knowledge & Innocence |
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Another K&I observation (really nitpicky)…
Am I the only one who's noticed that the CD reissue of this album (well, the CD version I have, at least) is very slightly different from (and shorter than) the original LP? The difference concerns the transition between "Old Time Gospel Camp Meeting Hour" and "Picture of You (Reprise)".
OTGCMH on CD: The fake "scratchy old record" noise fades out fairly quickly, right after the applause fades out.
OTGCMH on vinyl: The noise goes on for several seconds longer, before ending abruptly.
POY(R) on CD: The snoring & clock ticking starts quickly, at full volume.
POY(R) on vinyl: The snoring & clock ticking fades in slowly and goes on a few seconds longer.
I noticed the OTGCMH difference immediately when first hearing the CD, but I only noticed the POY(R) difference today.
Also, POY(R) is credited to Taylor/Watson on the original LP (label & inner sleeve), but this credit is missing from the CD.
And now you know.
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| Thread: Please Pray for Steve Baxter |
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Sorry to hear about this. I'll admit that the DA era with Steve isn't on my radar at all (I had the first album on both LP and CD but passed both of them on); but there can be no doubt that Steve was important to the founding of the band. Terry's tribute (above) is both beautiful and enlightening.
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| Thread: Bibleland Appreciation Thread |
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| quote: |
Originally posted by Jimmy Brown
I spent Summer 1987 in Bakersfield. It really was a desolate patch of sun-blasted hardpan full of Okies and fundamentalists. |
But did you see the ghosts of all them Okies?
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| Thread: Odd things in the credits of MIRACLE FAITH TELETHON |
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Happened to be looking at my copy of MIRACLE FAITH TELETHON (the original CD) and saw a few things...
(1) On MFT, "Hide The Beer" is credited to Camarillo Eddy/Berger Roy Al/Gene Pool. However, on OUTDOOR ELVIS the song was just created to Camarillo Eddy. Which is correct?
(2) MFT has a (hilarious) Terry-sung version of Isaac Air Freight's "Sprinkler Head." The notes mention the names of IAF's members, but (in an apparent goof) the actual name "Isaac Air Freight" isn't mentioned.
(3) Also on "Sprinkler Head," Ed McTaggart is credited with lead guitar ("Really! We promise!") I guess he's responsible for the very short solo in the middle -- not the most serious solo, but it still sounds like it took some ability. Does Ed have some guitar skills we don't know about?
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| Thread: Daniel Amos - Horrendous Disc Deluxe |
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| quote: |
Originally posted by Audiori J
September 7, 1977:
Daniel Amos, in a session that began at 1PM, records "Happily Married Man" at MartinSound Studios in Alhambra, CA.
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I just came across this, and it answers a question I've had for quite a while -- i.e., when was the track recorded and by which line-up? I always wondered why it was a bonus track on the CD release of the first album, since I was sure it wasn't recorded at that time. I guess it was just a matter of stylistic consistency...
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| Thread: Daniel Amos - Horrendous Disc Deluxe |
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| quote: |
Originally posted by Jimmy Brown
"Hound of Heaven" = Terry
"Man in the Moon" = Jerry
"Never Leave You" = Mark
"Horrendous Disc" = Jerry |
Slight correction: "Horrendous Disc" is mostly sung by Jerry, but Terry sings the middle part ("The show is over...").
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| Thread: Tim Chandler |
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I just came across this thread, and... wow, I'm stunned.
I remember reading an interview with Tim (don't know where to find it now) wherein he said something about how the bass guitar part is "the least important thing" going on in any given song. I shook my head and thought, "not when you're the one playing the bass, Tim."
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| Thread: Live Bootleg '82: What was I thinking? |
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I'm pretty sure it's two guys, and the voice going "El Sw-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-m" at the end seems to be the same as the subsequent "all right," which I think is Tim.
I'll have to listen again, though.
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| Thread: Live Bootleg '82: What was I thinking? |
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Just listened to LIVE BOOTLEG again today, and... is that Jerry and Tim trading lead vocals on the "handsome fiancé" (aka "foreign language") part of "Tidal Wave"?
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| Thread: Ed, when not on vacation |
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I don't get outside my home state much, but I had occasion to visit Dacula, GA less than a year ago. I never would have thought a DA guy would live there.
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| Thread: Confession... |
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Wow... I always saw Randy's credit on the album, and I never thought the two voices sounded alike at all. And I used to be really bad at distinguishing voices.
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| Thread: Terry Scott Taylor - John Wayne |
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Random thoughts:
"Mr. Flutter" would be improved by using only the first half of the chorus the first time. Having the whole, long chorus so many times drags the song down.
A few songs (including "Boomtown" and "John Wayne," at the very least) sound to me like DA songs in every possible way.
"Big Shot & Miniature Girl" isn't a favorite but the middle section is really cool.
"Ten Gallon Hat" makes me wonder: when exactly did they make music that actually sounded this way authentically?
It's hard for me to pick a favorite, but "Chicken Crosses the Road" and "Too Many Angels" are probably my top picks, by a narrow margin.
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