Tag: Just Enough

June 2021

THIS MONTH’S AUDIO UPLOADS:

Interlude (Anlg) – SKETCH – 1997:

To begin with, a very short instrumental. I discovered this track on a cassette of similar material that I estimate would have been written back in approximately 1997. A thoughtful number to kick off June’s ten uploads.

Always Be There (Anlg) (Nick Rundall Mix) – Sections – 1996:

One of three versions of Always Be There that Nick Rundall was directly involved in. In this instance, it’s his own remix created during the last of our University years. I always liked this version of the song, and it goes without saying that it’s always a privilege to have some of your creative endeavours recognised by way of someone else’s fine interpretation of them.

Sassy Queen (Picante Mix) – 2008:

An unused additional mix of this track, the original of which had been written for use on the landing page of a Turkish friend’s website – “Sassy Queen“. Probably only of any interest to me, but I like to compare and contrast the different versions of my tracks which tends to then tell the story of their evolution, and with a little luck, will ultimately display a little positive progress!

Worthless – 1992:

The closing track of my 1992 album, Just Enough, is yet another display of manic / hyper song writing. Lord alone knows what I was on at the time, but most of my output during those days was just a free-flow of energy. I think much of the crudeness of these tracks was down to having programmed the backing tracks on a small device (Yamaha QY10) which offered neither sustain nor reverb options, and so to cover up this fact, I just threw in as much busy (and unnecessary) instrumentation as possible. The resultant chaos would then often be overdubbed by additional synth parts (Korg M1), and a whole load of guitar. Talking of which, watch out for Jim Thomas as he summons the spirit of both Jay Graydon and Brian May for his soaring chorus descant lines. And it’s a good chorus. What can I tell you!

Family Film Scene Setter – Section – 2010:

Imagine if you will a 1980s/1990s John Hughes film. A moving overhead shot of a suburban scene in the sprawling leafy suburbs of perhaps Chicago? People are going about their daily business. The paperboy cycles along the streets throwing papers onto lawns. School kids trot merrily along pavements. A man waves at his neighbour whilst washing his car. You get the idea. And this is a sketch of the music that accompanies that opening scene.

I Just Know (Anlg) – Sections – 1993:

Following on from the manic nature of my first album of tracks, I had then clearly been on the beta-blockers or something as I slipped into a more reflective, and to be quite honest with you, self-indulgent phase of writing moody, thoughtful songs whose duration was positively prog rock-esque at times. This particular song in fact weighed in at a soul-destroying eight minutes in its original form. Mercifully, I’ve spared you from such a test of endurance on this occasion. I Just Know is another track featuring the guitar of Jim Thomas as well as some backing vocals from the same source.

Always Be There (Late Version) – Sections – 1998:

Whilst all involved were pretty happy with the original version of the song that had been recorded in the studios at University College Salford back in 1995 or so, I had personally always wanted to tighten a few things up, and to make it all a little more grandiose. And this was my attempt at that. Some things worked well, and others not so much.

Wayward Wolf Theme (Rough Cut Version) – 2012:

Another version of the track that had been intended as the main theme for my Wayward Wolf Film Review podcast. This was the podcast, of course, that never actually was. After much mming, aahing and before it even had a chance to actually commence, I abandoned that particular creative venture. Probably for the best.

Never Knew Love (Stripped Version) – 2012:

Essentially, this is just a late version mix of the song with most synths, piano and backing vocals dropped out, but I rather like the way it exposes Rebecca Saxton’s excellent vocals. The various other versions of this track can be found in August 2020’s mid-month uploads should you feel the burning desire to compare and contrast.

Early 90s Dance Backing Track (Anlg) – SKETCH – 1994:

I assume that this brief snippet that I’ve uploaded here was intended to be an upbeat song of some description, but unlike many backing tracks that I wrote and have then unearthed after many years, I am completely at a loss with this one as to what the melody might have been, let alone what it was going to be called. It sort of holds up on its own as an instrumental though – to some extent at least.

April 2021

This Month’s Audio Uploads:

Double Piano & Glock Study – 2012:

Double Piano & Glock Study actually started life as “G.C.S.E’d“, a piece that I was commissioned to write as a soundtrack for a charity marketing campaign. Ultimately that project never reached fruition, but the process of creation was a particularly enjoyable one as it introduced me to larger-than-life character, Donald Banks – a true entrepreneur if ever there was one.

Wayward Wolf Media Showreel – 2012:

I slaved away on this showreel video for absolutely hours during my time working at Specific Media in 2012. That’s the same Specific Media, in conjunction with Justin Timberlake, of the ill-fated $35 million attempt to revitalise the ailing social media platform, MySpace. I barely left the premises to be honest. By professional standards the video’s not really up to scratch, but as a relative editing amateur at the time, I was quite pleased with the simple but effective results that it yielded. Voice-over was courtesy of the lovely Lauren Wentzel.

Price Of Life – 1992:

The opening slice of nonsense from the Just Enough album. Here it is, folks, in all of its 29 year-old crusty glory. Price of Life, was written, along with many other tracks, during my six-month travels around the good ol’ U.S of A, back in 1991. Subsequently, it was recorded at Dartington College Studios by way of a mash-up of an old Yamaha QY10 dry backing track that had been captured on C90 cassette, some 16-Track recording through a desk, and some Korg M1 synth overdubs. Despite nearly deafening the odd session musician here and there due to my studio ignorance at the time, somehow I wasn’t lynched, and a final mix was ultimately achieved, and this is it. Thanks to Jim ‘Pasty’ Thomas for the axe contributions, and more recently to Graham Joiner for rescuing the audio from an old Sony DAT master tape that I wasn’t even aware existed until relatively recently.

Flexible Films – Restraint – End Titles – 2013:

This is the rather sinister-sounding closing theme for Flexible Films‘ powerful Restraint film which I was involved in some years back.

Right From Wrong (Anlg – 2021 Edit) – DEMO – 1995:

Another rough-cut demo from the mid 90s. The one-shot vocal was intended for guide purposes only, so excuse the plethora of issues with that. It’s another song with a sound which very much anchors it in the 1980s / early 1990s, but it’s a pretty momentum-filled memorable little number. Go on, admit it!

The Chase – Section – SKETCH – 2014:

A lively little sketch intended to be used as upbeat energetic library music for any particular project that might require such a thing.

Wrong (Delpy Song) – Section – SKETCH – 2006:

Was it Richard Linklater’s Before Sunrise or Before Sunset in which the film’s chief protagonists ultimately find themselves in Julie Delpy‘s apartment and at which point she proceeds to play Ethan Hawke a little whimsical musical ditty that she’d written? Well, anyway, it was that film which inspired this little idea for a song – “Wrong“. I’ve no idea why, but no sooner had the DVD concluded, I was plugged into the studio once again, playing around with my own equally whimsical flights of musical fancy. It’s a song that never got beyond the quick sketch stage, and is, as you will hear, largely lyric-less. See what you think.

80s Style Slap Bass Song Backing Track (Anlg – 2021 Edit) – 1994:

Catchy little track name, don’t you think? Spot the early Mark King / Level 42 influence, as well as my mild obsession with throwing in 70’s-esque sort of Charlie’s Angels French Horn lines! Magic. Lord alone knows what this song was actually called, or how the vocal melody was meant to go, but fortunately it’s a backing track that stands up pretty well on its own as an instrumental.

Intergalactic – SKETCH – 1996:

One of the numerous Yamaha SY85 Workstation instrumentals that I threw together in the mid 1990s. It was intended to conjure an atmosphere of vast infinite intergalactic nothingness. Or something.

Walkabout – Section – 1996:

Nik Kershaw‘s “Walkabout” is one of the two or three stand-out tracks from his oft-overlooked 1987 album, The Works. Tasked with doing a cover version that stayed faithful to the track’s original format and instrumentation as a part of my university degree, I ventured forth bravely into Studio A in Salford. This track was an absolute pain in the arse to put together from start to finish as there were some severe restrictions imposed upon me, and there really are so many things that I’d have done differently had I been given the scope to flesh the production out and go with my own ‘vision’ of things, but it is was it is, and indeed was what it was. A particular highlight was having to punch-in one or two bar segments of bass line at a time for the track’s entire duration, as that particular instrumental part was a little beyond our bassist at the time. I forget the bass player’s name, but fair play to him, he hung in there and we kind of got the job done in the end! I forget the vocalist’s name too (decent effort by him), but it was definitely Jimmy Drew on drums (summoning the spirit of the late, great Jeff Porcaro – the original drummer involved on this track), and probably Nick Rundall on guitar, but I couldn’t swear by that. At the end of the day, it’s a passable impression of what is actually a really great song, even if Nik Kershaw, himself, had some serious reservations about that album, in general.