Blue No More

Up History Part 1 History Part 2 Musicology Band Profiles

A MUSICOLOGIST WRITES....

[3]  SEX THING

      (Walsh)

 Kelleher percussion;   Shephard bass;  Walsh vocal, rhythm guitar;  Taylor Drums;  Waxman lead guitar

 Recorded: 1st March, 2003

Released: Immediately (without charge) (EP: No Sleep‘Til Charvil)

Walsh’s SEX THING has the distinction of being the first original composition recorded (and indeed performed live) by Blue No More.  The lyric takes a wry look at sexual politics, principally from the male perspective. Considering how early it appears in the band’s catalogue, it is an admirably ambitious track. A striking feature of the verses is the fast moving funk rhythm that is skilfully played by Walsh, his chords tastefully soaked in reverbed chorus.  Shephard’s uncomplicated but well constructed bass line, Kelleher’s masterly use of egg shaker and Taylor’s insistent rim shots add to the sense of effortless forward momentum in the verses.  Walsh adds a clever twist to proceedings by bringing the song to an abrupt halt at the end of each verse, triggering a slower descending chorus over which he sings the hook line.  Inspired by the sonic possibilities on offer, Waxman serves up three distinctive high energy solos on his Stratocaster, using a heady Floydian mix of overdrive and delay to boost impact.  The second solo is arguably his best, and features a wonderfully flamboyant fast flurry of descending notes at 2:46.  During the mix down phase of this recording, the last descending chorus line at the end of the song was removed (at 5:16) to give a sudden, more emphatic finish.  Despite this astute edit, the track borders on being over long and it is worth noting that these days when Blue No More perform the track in a live setting they do a shorter version, Waxman jettisoning his third solo for the sake of brevity. Although an undoubted highlight on ‘No Sleep‘Til Charvil’, interestingly Walsh is reportedly keen to re-record the song at some point in the future.  

 

[7]  MY DOG’S GONE AND LEFT ME

      (Shephard)

 Daniow drums; Kelleher harmonica; Shephard bass; Walsh vocal; Waxman lead guitar, rhythm guitar

Recorded: 29th January 2005

Released: Immediately (on bail) [EP: It's Been A While...]

Based on a standard 12 bar blues progression in A major, Shephard’s MY DOG’S GONE AND LEFT ME cleverly satirises the blues genre, the narrative of the lyric bemoaning the fact that a favourite pet (rather than the usual wife/girlfriend) has left home.  It is an amusing premise that lends a certain left-field charm to the song.  Shephard’s bass playing is McCartneyesque in its prominence and fluidity, and he is lent able support by Daniow’s excellent use of the snare and high hat throughout. Waxman lays down a fairly standard blues rhythm guitar part, but enhances this by sliding up a half tone into his chords to achieve a suitably languid feel.  Kelleher applies his harmonica diligently along the way, adding a further touch of blues authenticity.  At the session Walsh was apparently actively encouraged by his colleagues to go for a gritty vocal delivery and this gambit pays off – he successfully conveys a deep sense of loss and inner pain to the listener.  For his guitar solo, Waxman deliberately set out to provide a sudden jolt to the senses, and his manic double-tracked solo, based on the A blues scale, bursts out of the mix like an avenging rhinoceros.  With the pressure on to complete a tight recording schedule, Waxman reeled off  the solo in just one take and whilst in his haste he misses fully applying a polished vibrato flourish at the end, the need for urgency helps him to get the high energy, ‘in your face’ effect he was looking for.  Unfortunately, due to a mix up the solo was inadvertently inserted too early into the song (on live performances it normally appears after the third verse). With time moving on and sensing that he was unlikely to get as tight a result again that afternoon, Waxman declined the offer to re-record the solo in the correct slot.  The premature appearance of the guitar solo arguably adversely affects the song's overall balance.  This is however a minor blemish – indeed,  MY DOG’S GONE AND LEFT ME is a very satisfying track, particularly notable for the quality of Shephard’s bass playing, the clarity of the sound and the enthusiasm and amiability of the group’s performance.   

 

[8]  TWO WORLDS, ONE PLANET

      (Waxman)

 Daniow drums; Kelleher rhythm guitar   Shephard bass, samples  Walsh rhythm guitar; Waxman vocal, lead guitar, rhythm guitar

Jo Walsh: backing vocals

Recorded: 29th January 2005

Released: Immediately (on remand) [EP: It's Been A While...]

Originally crafted in the mid-1990s, TWO WORLDS, ONE PLANET was for a long time a two verse meditation on the inequity of life in the Third World.  Energised by his participation in the massive Stop The War march in London in February 2003,  Waxman added a further verse which neatly articulated his growing sense of unease with respect to the negative impacts of rampant globalisation and the resultant disenfranchisement of ordinary citizens. Realising that the bluesy mid-tempo song with its catchy signature guitar motif and driving rhythm would sit well in Blue No More’s repertoire, he duly demoed the piece - in virtually ‘ready to go’ form - to his colleagues.  The song has a fairly horizontal verse of two alternating (minor to major) chords, which eventually makes way for a rising three chord chorus. It is skilfully propelled along by Shephard’s prominent bass (with a rounded tone setting) and Daniow’s energetic use of snare and bass drum.  Kelleher maintains reggae-style rhythm chops using two chords throughout on the off-beat, providing a distinctive and effective counterpoint to the songs steadfast 4/4 rhythm.  Walsh, his guitar soaked in echo, delivers some tight fills in the spaces between the vocals and he also does a good job reproducing the signature guitar motif.  Rather than bellow his dissatisfaction, and risk over-cooking the point he is making, Waxman chooses instead to deliver the majority of his vocal lines during the verses in a somewhat passive, detached way.  This confers a ‘reportage’ feel to his description of situations and events, as if he is saying to the listener “look, I’m just telling you how it is”.  Only on the last line of the second verse, in the choruses and in the chanted finale does he appear to get off the fence and express, albeit in fairly restrained terms, his sense of moral outrage. His overdriven guitar solo midway through the track is nicely paced (although almost imperceptibly he makes a minor mistake at 2:18).  He uses the G blues scale in the initial stages before moving, via a bridge of sliding double stops, into the signature riff which he then plays in tandem with Walsh.  The entire production benefits from the gloss provided by Shephard’s thoughtfully chosen samples and the presence of Jo Walsh’s ethereal backing vocals which shimmer like an elusive butterfly floating on the sonic breeze. Possibly these embellishments could have been mixed higher (at least for those not listening through earphones) to increase their impact but overall the soundscape created is satisfying and the band successfully pull off the not inconsiderable feat of creating a modern protest song that people can dance to.  Due to time constraints the band were unable to record the 'Other Worlds' ambient remix version of  the track. This is by all accounts a far more laid back affair, the arrangement is looser, Waxman's vocals are softer and more distant, and Shephard substitutes his bass guitar for keyboard bass.