From: Level42-request @ worldmachine.com (Level42 Digest) Subject: Level42 Digest V98 #299 _ ____ _ ____ _ _ ___ // //__ // / //__ // /__// __// //__ //__ \\_/ //__ //__ // /__ D I G E S T Level42 Digest Volume 98 : Issue 299 869 subscribers Today's topics: Changes...Mr Lindup in the Raw ERICWHE01 Slap (bass) in the face EMIKATIE blah blah blah Laurence Green Whinging... DShaw57425 Re: Marks Basses-Adman Maliawan Adman Maliawan Thoughts on One Man DonZipf [Fwd: hey] Thunderthumbs L42 Sheet Music Adrian Bond no more e-mails Andreas v. Hillebrandt Re: Level42 Digest V98 #298 Cedric Freeman ------------------------------ Subject: Changes...Mr Lindup in the Raw From: ERICWHE01 @ aol.com Date: Sun, 1 Nov 1998 10:32:56 EST Although 8 years have gone by since 'Changes' has been released, I must admit it still has a special place in my collection and for many reasons. In one of my earlier incarnations as an Electrical Retail manager, (posh word for I'll kick your arse if you don't sell something today kinda guy), I always insisted on playing L42 in the shop, just to piss off the younger staff who'd have 'Hammer time' on or some latest whim (REM...blah,blah) and try to wreck the speakers. The staff couldn't really understand why I'd sell more Hi-fi equipment than them, even though I was in the office most of the day. Well the secret weapon was 'Changes'. As an album, the production was crisp and their were good changes of pace which was ideal demo material, which made the nastiest piece of kit sound somewhat better. It was an album suited to the late 20's-50's age bracket because it empassed a range of musical styles that threw its ranging net out to cover many peoples tastes. However, I think either customers or staff got to know about the album, and in quick succession one cd followed by it's replacement went missing. Still I kept buying the album, (I'm on my fourth copy) and many people pointed out that they would have bought the album if it had been promoted better. I feel that 'Changes' is one of those Gems you'll find occassionally, like being on a treasure hunting trip and going off the well worn beaten track to find the spoils hidden down some side street somewhere (did I really say that...?!) I wonder if in 8 years time 'One Man' would have had the same impact. In many ways 'One Man' has the same tempo changes, but as other digesters have said, is it really what Mark wanted to put out ? What I got from 'Changes' was the virtuoso performance that could only be Mr Lindup in the raw. With 'One Man', it seems like Mark is trying too hard to be different and some of the songs seemed strained. It's almost like something is missing (besides 3 more tracks to make a full length CD). It's not just the slap bass element, only 'CotG' seems to have any real aggression about it. I've mentioned before that Mark has said that he left out some 'angry' songs from the album, but why ? I like playing 'One Man', especially 'Swimming with the Sky', but I don't feel that the album shows all of the new Mr King whereas 'Changes' showed trademark Mr Lindup... Can anyone give any clues why this is the case ? The Man in the Asbestos Suit..Eric W ------------------------------ Subject: Slap (bass) in the face From: EMIKATIE @ aol.com Date: Sun, 1 Nov 1998 10:54:48 EST Regarding One Man: Does anyone else feel, even a bit, that the album is a bit of a disappointment in that Mark's playing is nondescript? I mean, it seems like he was simply a guest vocalist with a bunch of studio musicians. His bass playing abilities are world widely known and one of his greatest assetts. Not giving us that was a dissappointment. I agree with whomever said, "it's like a Superman movie without him flying" or something. To those who downplay this and say he has taken a different direction, I say he has taken the off-ramp and gotten into a different vehicle altogether. Hell, he may even be stuck in traffic. He has taken a winning formula and "modified" it. I get the feeling that many of us do truley like the album, (me included) but I was looking for more Mark. I'm not hard to please. There is ample space on the CD for an instrumental track. There is ample room for some slap bass. Heck, one of the high points on the album is the horn solo on Love Wars - all eleven seconds of it :-( and it was minimized. No showcasing anyone, anywhere. This horn section could/should have been extended here. Pamela is rockin enough to have some slap bass, other tunes as well. Hey wait, the intro to One Man has some bass thumping, which borders on slapping, but no cigar. I guess the consensus is that we are all a bit disappointed with his lack of signature bass playing but the content of the CD makes up for it. (Nightfly83 : how's that for a backstroke before the fact? I've heard more slap bass on Pelican West!!!) The machine stops John ------------------------------ Subject: blah blah blah From: "Laurence Green" Date: Sun, 1 Nov 1998 16:22:41 -0000 blah blah blah blah balah blah baloney Lin, I was inferring that subject header towards the chap who said 'One Man' was crap. It was nothing to do with your comments from Wally, which I found enlightening. You jumped to the wrong conclusion and posted a message to the digest which wasted space (partly). If you'd mailed me first, I could have explained that it was nothing to do with your post and you would have saved yourself this embarresment, AND, in line with your remarks, I didnt even mention that chaps post either, this isnt the place for it, but I thought a subject header would get everyone going, Did anyone read Mike Paynes remarks? He was spot on, c'mon people, drop the childishness. Mails to me please, not the digest. LOZ ------------------------------ Subject: Whinging... From: DShaw57425 @ aol.com Date: Sun, 1 Nov 1998 11:44:41 EST It seems the healthy discussions of the digest have dried up........we are all so eager to stab someone in the back for thier comments......why is this ??? what we should be discussing is the music isn't it ??? everyone is entitled to thier own opinion...and should not be threatened with being thrown off the digest......because of their opinion on whatever it may be, does not fit in with yours........Im sure if we all met at a certain place.....a levelfest??? we could all be the best of friends couldn't we ??? It seems some people hide behind thier keyboards........ Yours a WHINING 15 year old............ Richard "Mark King wore my hat on stage once" Graham. Morgan are you still alive .....??? It seems ages since I heard from you...... Ian can I change your Mind ??? ------------------------------ Subject: Re: Marks Basses-Adman Maliawan From: Adman Maliawan Organization: KUIC.24. Date: Sat, 02 Jan 1904 05:04:56 +0000 Dear Dave Glover Thank you very much for the information about Fender Mark King Signature Jazz Bass Deluxe. It seems that Mark surprises everyone by using a new kind of bass and it's a Fender Bass. Do you notice any difference in his sound/bass tone? I mean, I don't hear any huge diference between his Jaydee, Status and Alembic bass tone. What do you think? By the way, it seems that a lot of people love Alembic Mark King Signature Model. Does it sold well world wide? In my country (Indonesia) almost everybody loves Fender. And people are going crazy trying to buy the Fender Jazz Bass 5 strings. I think they are going to be much more crazy when they know the Fender Mark King Signature Jazz Bass Deluxe is coming out!! Thank you. ------------------------------ Subject: Thoughts on One Man From: DonZipf @ aol.com Date: Sun, 1 Nov 1998 15:03:00 EST >> I mean can you imagine a new Superman movie where he doesn't fly? > > Great analogy! Indeed! But it's not really surprising that Mark has not employed his most marketable skills on One Man; he has a history of such. Consider all the old Level 42 videos in which he merely held - not played - his bass while singing. I always assumed that it was because he hates to go back and figure out exactly what he played so he can duplicate it for the shoot. But, come on, who the hell wants to watch the world's greatest bass-player HOLDING his bass! As Mark has said, he's not precious about the bass; but, if he had been a bit more "precious" about it and shown it off a bit more, I think that Level 42 would have had much greater success in the US. People here LOVE watching even a mediocre slap bassist - imagine if Mark had actually used his skill to advantage in the vids! As for the material on One Man, it took only one road trip with the new CD to grow to like it. But I do have criticisms. Number one is the horrid sound of the Dreadful Abomination (aka Fender bass). Bass-wise, One Man is a f***ing mud-bath - yuck! Number two is all the distortion (what's up with the vocal on "One Man"?) - this album is low-fidelity, a grunge trend I cannot get with. The only song I really dislike is "Resupply" - again, yuck! Other tracks range from just okay to pretty good, but nothing on this album qualifies as brilliant. Still, I find the overall work enjoyable, if not satisfying. Some Digesters have praised Mark's brave effort to re-invent himself. But I think that trying to re-invent himself as a pop-singer at age 40 is foolish. Frankly, he doesn't have the voice for it. What always made his singing impressive was the fact that he was thundering away on the bass while doing it. He has a very good voice, but not a great one. Just listen to "Bitter Moon": he's straining like a stuck pig on the high parts. I wish he could content himself with his status as a bass god, and get back to enjoying his place in world's musical hierarchy. But I guess he's as entitled to a mid- life crisis as anyone. Just my $0.02 - Don Z. ------------------------------ Subject: [Fwd: hey] From: Thunderthumbs Date: Sun, 01 Nov 1998 16:31:54 -0500 thought you might enjoy this... Beyond the Bass Clef: The Life and Art of Bass Playing -- by Tony Levin In the beginning there was a bass. It was a Fender, probably a Precision, but it could have been a Jazz -- nobody knows. Anyway, it was very old ... definitely pre-C.B.S. And God looked down upon it and saw that it was good. He saw that it was very good in fact, and couldn't be improved on at all (though men would later try.) And so He let it be and He created a man to play the bass. and lo the man looked upon the bass, which was a beautiful 'sunburst' red, and he loved it. He played upon the open E string and the note rang through the earth and reverberated throughout the firmaments (thus reverb came to be.) And it was good. And God heard that it was good and He smiled at his handiwork. Then in the course of time, the man came to slap upon the bass. And lo it was funky. And God heard this funkiness and He said, "Go man, go." And it was good. And more time passed, and, having little else to do, the man came to practice upon the bass. And lo, the man came to have upon him a great set of chops. And he did play faster and faster until the notes rippled like a breeze through the heavens. And God heard this sound which sounded something like the wind, which He had created earlier. It also sounded something like the movement of furniture, which He hadn't even created yet, and He was not so pleased. And He spoke to the man, saying "Don't do that!" Now the man heard the voice of God, but he was so excited about his new ability that he slapped upon the bass a blizzard of funky notes. And the heavens shook with the sound, and the Angels ran about in confusion. (Some of the Angels started to dance, but that's another story.) And God heard this -- how could He miss it -- and lo He became Bugged. And He spoke to the man, and He said, "Listen man, if I wanted Jimi Hendrix I would have created the guitar. Stick to the bass parts." And the man heard the voice of God, and he knew not to mess with it. But now he had upon him a passion for playing fast and high. The man took the frets off of the bass which God had created. And the man did slide his fingers upon the fretless fingerboard and play melodies high upon the neck. And, in his excitement, the man did forget the commandment of the Lord, and he played a frenzy of high melodies and blindingly fast licks. And the heavens rocked with the assault and the earth shook, rattled and rolled. Now God's wrath was great. And His voice was thunder as He spoke to the man. And He said, "O.K. for you, pal. You have not heeded My word. Lo, I shall create a soprano saxophone and it shall play higher than you can even think of." "And from out of the chaos I shall bring forth the drums. And they shall play so many notes thine head shall ache, and I shall make you to always stand next to the drummer." "You think you're loud? I shall create a stack of Marshall guitar amps to make thine ears bleed. And I shall send down upon the earth other instruments, and lo, they shall all be able to play higher and faster than the bass." "And for all the days of man, your curse shall be this; that all the other musicians shall look to you, the bass player, for the low notes. And if you play too high or fast all the other musicians shall say "Wow" but really they shall hate it. And they shall tell you you're ready for your solo career, and find other bass players for their bands. And for all your days if you want to play your fancy licks you shall have to sneak them in like a thief in the night." "And if you finally do get to play a solo, everyone shall leave the bandstand and go to the bar for a drink." And it was so. ------------------------------ Subject: L42 Sheet Music From: "Adrian Bond" Date: Sun, 1 Nov 1998 17:21:39 -0000 Hi People Just a quick question, does anyone know where I can order the "Level Best" song book or find sheet music for L42 in the UK. Cheers Ade "Music is the key to set me free" ------------------------------ Subject: no more e-mails From: "Andreas v. Hillebrandt" Organization: Fröhling Werbeagentur Date: Mon, 02 Nov 1998 09:32:17 +0200 pleas no more e-mails. thank you ------------------------------ Subject: Re: Level42 Digest V98 #298 From: cfreeman @ wfyi.org (Cedric Freeman) Date: Mon, 02 Nov 1998 02:55:16 -0500 Level42 @ worldmachine.com,Internet writes: >But then, does Mark owe us anything? Not to start an argument but-yes! We are the fans that bought the albums, went to the shows collected all the stuff and have been waiting all these years for the slightest news of a return. This whole fan group is based on the and style we remember. The subject of "musical identity crisis" has been mentioned in past digests as one of the reasons why Level 42 did not become as popular in the US as they should have. The "level 42" album was a Funk fusion album with a Pop song. Then slowly the that Oh So Funky funk fusion band turned into just another Pop band . (I don't go to Kentucky Fried Chicken to get Hamburger! Yes I am in the US). Please don't take me wrong. I am not saying that he should play the same songs over and over. But the whole point is to develop a FAN BASE -those fans are the ones who support you. So it wouldn't be good to not give them a little of what YOU KNOW they came for in the first place. So Mark next time Slap me -just once please!