From: Level42-request @ worldmachine.com (Level42 Digest) Subject: Level42 Digest V97 #147 _ ____ _ ____ _ _ ___ // //__ // / //__ // /__// __// //__ //__ \\_/ //__ //__ // /__ D I G E S T Level42 Digest Volume 97 : Issue 147 492 subscribers Today's topics: Rethinking Guaranteed J Shuford Covers - non-album Pieter van der Heijden covers dirk.vael New Projects Jason Bell Jakko's album is killer! Marc_Dupuis re L42 in Charts Again! + an idea Bilaltab Strike N Collier The Needles, LIAPW By Sean. Paul Hammond L42 Rarities Dave Mock FW: HMV STANDS FOR... 7250 Al's photos compared/the Dashiki question answe>> Richard J. Reddick ------------------------------ Subject: Rethinking Guaranteed From: J Shuford Date: Tue, 27 May 1997 03:51:39 -0700 (PDT) So I'm still up this early Tuesday morning, working on a paper and I'm listening to Guaranteed on my CDRom and through my Sony Headphones. Suddenly I'm hearing all manner of things I've never heard before. Not only that...the mix sounds pretty damn good. I'm enjoying this album as perhaps I never have before. So I suppose I owe Tom Lord Alge an apology for all those nasty things I said about him ham-fisting the mix job. I don't know...the longer that Level 42 is gone (sob!), the more I am coming to appreciate Guaranteed and True Colours as albums that are very different from the rest of the Level 42 corpus (and are very different from each other). I think Guaranteed was sunk as much as anything by not having Phil in the head lyricist chair. George Green's contributions were (for the most part) really quite good, but I've always been disappointed with the rest of the album lyrically. I guess the "new" listening of this album and how interesting/complex it is musically (and how it sounds so much better than before) is making me wish for Gould lyrics again. Sigh! Back to paper writing... Shuf John Shuford Department of Philosophy University of Oregon Eugene, OR 97403-1295 (541) 346-1054 shuf @ darkwing.uoregon.edu ------------------------------ Subject: Covers - non-album From: Pieter van der Heijden Date: Tue, 27 May 1997 13:42:44 +0000 (MED) Hi all, just my $0.02 about covers. The one Level 42 cover I like best is not an album cover, but the cover from Heaven in my Hands. And I'm not looking for a deeper meaning: it's just the photo (obviously cut'n'paste), the layout and the colour scheme that appeal to me. But regarding albums, I think SATS is #1 for me, with WM #2. The fact SATS beats WM is the overall booklet art. But then again this is not fair because WM was produced in a vinyl-era..... Pieter ------------------------------ Subject: covers From: "dirk.vael" Date: 27 May 97 14:24:18 Level Best = Fuji mountain, Japan Dana Coolshit = see SITL lp > If I was here I'd change my name! d!Rk ------------------------------ Subject: New Projects From: Jason Bell Date: Tue, 27 May 1997 18:57:03 +0100 (BST) Dear All. I just wanted to let you all know about a fairly major solo project that I am undertaking. I have decided to play ambient soundscapes in places that they would not be normally heard. I shall document my progress on my web page (the address is below). The first update shall be online this Saturday, May 31st. I don't want to say too much, as everything will be on the web site. If you have any comments, I would be glad to hear them. Many thanks. Jason Bell Email : xdr44 @ dial.pipex.com OR Jason.Bell @ PEmail.net WWW : http://dialspace.dial.pipex.com/town/estate/xdr44/ Chapman Stick Player and a Member Of The HTML Writers Guild ------------------------------ Subject: Jakko's album is killer! From: Marc_Dupuis @ MADISONUSA.CCMAIL.CompuServe.COM Date: 27 May 97 14:25:15 EDT Whoa. Thank you very much, Mr. Arruda. Mustard Gas and Roses is a great album. He is a very strong songwriter, and has a diverse set of influences by the sound of this album. I hear a little bit of Sting, a little Richard Page, a little Gino Vanelli... but not anything plageristic (did I just make that word up?). Excellent and tasteful sequencing, and I don't know who the guest musicians are, but they're excellent. He lets his guitar take a back seat to the songwriting, although there are some very powerful snippets here and there. Who is that drummer?? Good God... Joe, there's some extra Jakko tracks included, are these from another Jakko album? I've got to find this stuff on disc... -Marc ------------------------------ Subject: re L42 in Charts Again! + an idea From: Bilaltab @ aol.com Date: Tue, 27 May 1997 16:44:56 -0400 (EDT) Hello Everybody! First of all, may I apologise to all those who asked for Strike (Leaving Me Now) CD singles. I lost some of my mail, so mail me again ok? I got a copy last week and low and behold, it actually says on it "Written by:... Wally Badarou, Phil Gould, Mark King (amongst others)" !!! So the boys are in the charts again! Again I agree that this is a huge compliment. Then today as I was driving home, I heard another song by another band, I'm sure it used a sample from the True Colours album. Can't put my finger on it, maybe Kouyate. Anyone heard this one? Now for a project idea: *********************** Many of you seem to be able and keen bassists. How about producing an instruction video for the digest? A video showing how to play our favourite Level tracks! Not only would it be interesting for other bassists, but even for L platers and the fans! Other matters: 1. Thanks for those who wrote about conversations with G. Husbands (great to hear) and P. Crockford. 2. What is 'The White Funky' (mentioned in last digest) 3. SATS cover: OK, GREAT art work, but somewhat inappropriate from a marketing point of view. Too plain, I remember rushing to Virgin to get it. They had devoted an entire window to a SATS display, but the colours just didnt stand out enough, like the previous album. 4. Guys (L42), if you ARE reading this, say something, go on!!! We would appreciate it very much. 5. Believe it or not, a SATS tape I had in my car actually turned into Melted In The Sun! I guess the British sunshine just took a fancy to it! I'll keep the CD well away! Finally, thanks again to all on the digest, your efforts are much appreciated. Bilal (Bilaltab @ aol.com) ------------------------------ Subject: Strike From: N Collier Date: Tue, 27 May 1997 22:22:04 +0100 > Yeah, heard it a few times, "STRIKE"..."I've got peace on my > mind"... Probably a rip off, yes, but, Cool that a group in the late > 90's want to use this as a sample I bought the CD single today and it's playing in my PC right now. I'm not convinced the keyboard is sampled, rather I suspect it's actually played - doesn't quite have the Lindup ring to it. The keyboard just repeats the first 8 bars of the chorus but the bassline is also used, albeit in a very simplified form, throughout. Not bad, I really can't stand rap which the track predominantly is, but I'm a Level 42 fan with disposable income so what can I do? Interestingly, the liner notes say, "written by A.Gardner/M.Cantor/K.Gordon/ P.Gould/M.King/W.Badarou". Does the 'written by' suggest that the keyboard wasn't sampled - 'written by' doesn't mean 'performed by' does it? Nigel "...friends all over the world, none in this country but all over the world" - Tony Hancock, The Radio Ham http://www.ncl.ac.uk/~nnac/ ------------------------------ Subject: The Needles, LIAPW By Sean. From: Paul Hammond <"Paul Hammond"@mail.demon.net> Date: Tue, 27 May 1997 19:02:37 +0000 Hey guys, > Well, like most seemingly pointless mysteries there is a > reason for this photo being on the cover of this album. > > The rocks in the background of the photo are The Needles - a rocky > outcrop at the western end of The Isle of Wight which are arguably > the most famous landmark on the Island. My god, I lived on the Island for seventeen years, and I missed this one!!! Good spot. :-) Also, gotta agree wholeheartedly with BobC about Sean's midi version of LIAPW .. top stuff! Look out for my version of Silence to be sent to Sean's site soon... Bass regards, Paul. ================================================ Paul Hammond paul @ bassnet.demon.co.uk ================================================ ------------------------------ Subject: L42 Rarities From: Dave Mock Organization: Long Island Community Newspapers Date: Tue, 27 May 1997 19:25:44 -0400 Hey, Micro-Kids: WinMan does it again! I went to the NYC music stores stores HMV on 34th St. and Virgin Megastore in Times Square in search of Level 42 CDs, on the recommendation of Winston. Virgin was out of stock but HMV landed me "True Colours" -- the version with "My Hero" -- and the compilation "Turn It On" from Karussel International. This is the first time I've heard "My Hero" Its melody is often deliciously subversive -- as if they've been taking Steely Dan pills -- and is one of the most sophisticated tunes L42 has cut. Donald Fagen could have cut the same thing nine years later for "Kamakiriad," though he'd add more irony than regret. As for the "Turn It On" compilation, artistically it may be a better "best-of" than "Level Best" because you hear songs that never got broken here even as album cuts. Also love the live "Physical Presence," though I would like to have heard a Boon solo take some of the room of the saxophone solo. Was that Gary Barnacle or Krys Mach playing sax? BTW -- 1) Thanks, Winston (My Heeeeee-ro of the day), for correcting me on "Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind." It was Paul O'Duffy who recorded the cut, but it was Wally "Without Whom" Badarou who produced. 2) Check out the youth in Mark's voice on "Love Meeting Love." To hear as a youngster the man who would almost go gospel on "Billy's Gone" 14 years later...some comparison. (Wouldn't "Billy's Gone" sound great with organ and full chorus?) It's like hearing Natalie Merchant on early Maniacs stuff vs. "Tigerlily." 3) My favorite popular bassists who are not Mark King: Stanley Clarke Tony Levin Frank Blair Bernie Edwards (R.I.P.) Flea Tom Wolk TCOY, Dave (The Duke) Mock ------------------------------ Subject: FW: HMV STANDS FOR... From: "KAHAR, Kudsia (7250)" Date: Wed, 28 May 1997 13:30:21 +0800 >---------- > >Hey Brad..... > > >You asked what HMV stood for. It's an old label which means His Master's >Voice - it had this cute little dog cocking his head at a gramaphone...the >dog has since died....... > > >Kudsia. > ------------------------------ Subject: Al's photos compared/the Dashiki question answered! From: "Richard J. Reddick" Date: Wed, 28 May 1997 00:50:49 -0500 (CDT) Ow! Point taken, the drawings, lettering, etc. are JAPANESE. How I was supposed to know that, I don't know. Thanks, though, Don. As far as Al's picture, compare the photo inside SATS. To me, he looks like a completely different person from the Level Best photo (in the inlay, not on the back). The back photo isn't v. clear, but the one inside shows him losing hair and looking more gaunt. I've never seen a picture of Al outside of those two, so maybe I'm mistaken... I didn't know Al was ill when I first got LB, but I remember comparing the photos and thinking, "Is that the same bloke with the crew cut? God he's aged." Kudsia--a dashiki is traditional African garb, with the large poncho-like top and baggy pants. They look mega, mega, cool. I don't suppose that you have to wear them with an Afro, though. I've seen Caucasians done up rather nicely in them! Bruce, thanks for shedding light on the Needles. Now it makes sense (at least the location). Posing still unexplained. Later... Rich