Karen Clegg
Paul Biggins
Reg Clegg
© 2004, 2005, 2006, 2011
Last update: 23.01.11
Quite
late in the project, we realised that the tracks split into two 'themes': "Journey"
and "People". So we split the CD into two halves, almost as if it was
vinyl. It's nice to be able to finish the jouney with "A-19", and then
re-start the narrative with "That's It". Click on the track names below to stream the mp3 file to your media player | ||
| Part
1: Journey | ||
 | Reg: A song about everything in the world going on simultaneously at any moment, whether it is day or night, good or bad, it's all happening at the same time; the answerphone message happened as I was recording the original demo and came in at the right section of the song at the time - and it was about the delivery of ZOO CDs! | |
 | Paul:
a classic 'road song', never-ending horizons and endless miles of tarmac, tail-lights
fading into the distance, and that feeling that, no matter how far you go, you'll
never recover the situation you just lost. Karen: The realisation that you’ve made a mistake that can’t be reversed. | |
 | Karen:
This was inspired by an amazing trip over Greenland on the way to the States.
The clear skies allowed you to see the vast frozen desolation it was unbelievable.
This song goes some way to expressing this experience. Reg: An empty continent acting as a metaphor for an empty heart… Paul: We experimented with a few arrangements for Wilderness, until we struck on this 'Hot Club de France' version. Hmm...nice! | |
 | Karen:
It speaks of a couple who are reaching another significant point in their lives
– 40th birthday. The wife is beginning to feel that her man isn’t perhaps the
one she wants to be with anymore, he’s holding her back. Reg:…tension & drama, left & right, both one thing and another without resolution. | |
 | Paul:
a delicate, persistant guitar progression to which Karen added equally delicate
lyrics. Reg's slide guitar sets the scene. Dream-like...drifting... Karen: A celebration of the great silent movie stars of the early 20th Century (Garbo, Gilbert, Swanson, Valentino) and some of the early black and whites talkies (Bogart, Hepburn, Grant) that influenced my early childhood. Reg: A lovely juxtaposition of imagery - Silent & Golden Hollywood overlain on the wide open spaces of Americana. | |
 | Reg:
All instruments have songs in them; I bought the nylon guitar in Brighton last
year and by the time we returned to the hotel, the song was writing itself; Sometimes
we all feel like we're not here, but somewhere else outside ourselves… Paul: one of the first songs where we worked out complementary rhythm guitar parts, giving the track much more harmonic depth than just sticking a bass line under it, especially playing live. An approach we've since applied to a number of songs. | |
 | Reg:
Like 'White Shirt', the lyrics were a response to the 9/11 tragedy and the fragility
and uncertainty of everything and anything; one of the first things we wrote as
a trio this year. | |
| Part
2: People | ||
 | Paul:
begun in England and finished in Spain, a bitter-sweet song charting the break-down
of a relationship from the victim's perspective. But who is the victim here? All
is not what it seems. Underlaid with a latin/flamenco rhythm and complemented
by Reg's awesome guitar soloing. I wanted the brief piano riffs to sound like
someone idly playing 'off-stage' - Rubén González in a back room,
indeed... Reg: We'd been talking about doing something in this vein for a while; and it personally means a lot to us all. | |
 | Reg: Tackling individual demons and taking control of life; Karen's piano piece became the catalyst for changes… | |
 | Reg:
…as they do, someone said! And how; sometimes things are better left unsaid. Paul: we rescued the lovely classical chords from an earlier (frankly horrible!) song to create the verses. | |
 | Karen:
Honouring those who have lost their lives - from the devastation of 9/11 to past
and present conflicts and the continued fight for peace. Reg: Inspired initially by the devastating 9/11 tragedy and the messages left behind by the victims' familes and friends, and collected in the book 'Here is New York: a democracy of photography'. Paul: I wanted the piano to have a harsh, gritty edge, almost like a 'Streets of New York' soundtrack. " We are all related..." sings Karen, but we are only observers, watching the latest disaster unfold on Sky or CNN. | |
 | Reg:
We are all affected by the changing weather, some more than others. Some of us
can foretell it by the responses in our bodies. Karen: The response to the main lyrics in this song relates to a programme that talked about short term memory loss and the devastation this has on family and friends, which seemed to complement the idea of a huge thunder storm. | |
 | Karen:
A story of one young man's life and death in another devastating war – WW1. Inspired
by "Forgotten Voices" | |
 | Paul:
a love song, pure and simple, from a poem written many years ago. If you love
someone, shouldn't you let them know? Maybe... Beautifully sung by Karen. Reg: Short and sweet. A simple pleasure. | |
Recording Data
| All
backing tracks recorded 28.03.04 except: "In different places": 06.06.04 "Black and white stories", "A-19", "That's it": 02.05.04 "White shirt, black trousers": 21.02.04 "Big rain": 19.11.03 "Survived": 27.04.04 | |
