From: Level42-request @ worldmachine.com (Level42 Digest) Subject: Level42 Digest V2000 #8 _ ____ _ ____ _ _ ___ // //__ // / //__ // /__// __// //__ //__ \\_/ //__ //__ // /__ D I G E S T Level42 Digest Volume 2000 : Issue 8 1167 subscribers Today's topics: Subtle Differences & No Hoper! Mark M Walsham Mark's voice Rob van Aperen LEVELFEST- TEXAS ROUND-UP 5 Mike Payne Vocals, Mike and Mark Clare Reeves Mark King and Bill Withers: Vocally seperated at Anthony Richards Looking for any videos of the Mahavishnu Orches>> Anthony Richards SOMEONE NOT LIKING LEVEL 42? Dan Merz Mike Lindup Gig Mike Payne Biblical Proportions Tim Wojton Steely Dan again(st) nature Oliver Pavicevic Walter Franken Norman van den Wildenberg Jazz bass, alembic, status vs. low cost basses Oliver Pavicevic Brian McNight Cedric Freeman Brian McKnight in Take 6 ZW75 Help in Bass Decisions!!! Jay Krause Re: Level42 Digest V2000 #7 TenthSun Re: Level42 Digest V2000 #7 TenthSun Brian McKnight /Take 6 chuck arrington SEND ME THIS EMAIL AGAIN ... Hans Grund learn to say no Sem Hillenius ------------------------------ Subject: Subtle Differences & No Hoper! From: "Mark M Walsham" Date: Tue, 29 Feb 2000 12:16:10 -0000 >AG wrote:- >"You'll have to come and stand beside me on the next tour then Mark. >The only motion is that of my temple throbbing as my rage towards the >Woo Hoo-ers grows ever more intense." Ahh, well, there you go, I was talking about Yoo Hoo's, and not Woo Hoo-ers. If you listen really carefully, you would have heard that there is a slight upper inflection to the Hoo's with a slight hint of a the wail of a Bulgarian lesser yellow legged toad as well. To the untrained ear, yes, it would sound like a Woo Hoo-ers, but you are forgiven in missing this. Next time your at a gig, trying putting a fish in your ear. Woo Hoo-ers, sounds like a noise which eminates from someone in the WC whom has diahorrea or constipation (make your mind up)! >DES wrote:- >"Maybe we can all get together and hassle these Planks at polydor via > their website. Whaddya think?" I have emailled Polydor on five seperate occassions using the email address that is reported on their web site. Have a guess how many replies I have had so far (over a 6 month period), yeah, you're correct, a big zilch. Maybe, we should go and storm the UK Polydor offices, with all the digest members? Or even better, let's hold the next Britfest in the foyer of Polydors offices? COME ON POLYDOR, THIS IS JUST NOT GOOD ENOUGH. Seriously, if anyone knows the UK MD's name and address, then maybe we all should do a co-ordinated write in and complain? The digest has hundreds of subscribers, and if we all complained at the same time, (instead of a dribble of two a month), they may take some notice? It's got to be worth a try.... Just another Yoo Woo Low Hoo 5p down the line, Rgds, Mark Walsham - London, England, 2000 Microkid42 @ Hotmail.com ------------------------------------------------------------ I'm Just A Common Man And In That There Is No Shame - Is There? ------------------------------ Subject: Mark's voice From: "Rob van Aperen" Date: Tue, 29 Feb 2000 15:40:53 CET Hi there! I would like to add something to the discussion about Mark's voice. I don't think he has what we call a 'high quality' use of his voice, but that would not fit this kind of music! The sound of his voice, however, has something special that seems to give the music it's own 'flavor' and makes it unique. Also you should not under-estimate how sophisticated the composition of many of the songs is, and that Mark has to sing likewise! And then the fact that in rhythm, the bass sometimes totally differs from the singing part. Brilliant! That's my opinion! Greetings, Rob ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Subject: LEVELFEST- TEXAS ROUND-UP 5 From: "Mike Payne" Date: Tue, 29 Feb 2000 08:56:12 CST ***** LEVELFEST TEXAS ROUND-UP 5 ********** I N V I T A T I O N Where: Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas, USA When: Saturday, March 25, 2000 Host: Matthew Blackmon "Zaphod" RSVP: March 20, 2000 (Monday) Cost of spending time with other levelheads: Priceless ******************************************** ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Subject: Vocals, Mike and Mark From: Clare Reeves Date: Tue, 29 Feb 2000 14:59:43 -0000 Hello.. Great debate so far guys.. Sabine, as another digest girlie I know what you mean about Marks voice.. and yes, his bass playing too.. and then there's his bum!!! Can't decide which I like best either... The Duke gave us a great expose of his personal life through Good Man in a Storm... interesting.. anyone else prepared to give us clues to their life history through a L42 song?! Vocals.. thinking about whether Mike or Mark was responsible for for the harmonies on the L42 tracks, it;s interesting to listen to how similar the harmonies are on Mark and Mikes solo work too.. in fact on One Man, the harmonies and the backing vocals almost fool you into thinking that Mike is actually singing on it! So, I believe that it was a style they developed together and got really into and even on their solo work is was the style that came naturally.. Also, Mike does have a massive range.. I believe it's 3 and a half octaves? xx Clare Reeves Studio Manager, Africa and Middle East Region World Service, BBC Resources ------------------------------ Subject: Mark King and Bill Withers: Vocally seperated at birth? From: "Anthony Richards" Date: Tue, 29 Feb 2000 10:08:29 -0500 Another quick shout out da international posse of Level 42 funkateers. How y'all doin' ? Here in New York, the local R&B "oldies" station has been playing a lot of Bill Withers' songs lately. As a similar thread to the Mark's/Mike's vocals discussion, has anyone out there ever noticed the vocal resemblence between Mark and Bill? The phrasing, vocal timbre, etc are very similar (Bill could be Mark's funky older brother). Just thought I'd bring it up, or is it just me that hears the resemblence? Hmmmm............... By the way, nice to see all the Brian McKnight discussions going on. Luckily for me, I had the pleasure of meeting Brian on a few occassions during my days at PolyGram. His self titled debut CD on Mercury is killer! He even does a great cover of Hall & Oates' "I Can't Go For That". If ya haven't, check it out! Keep it Funky, "Funky T" Anthony Richards Account Executive/Rainbow Interactive (516) 803-9776 (voice), (516) 396-8742 (fax) arichards @ cablevision.com (e-mail) Visit us @ www.news12.com & www.ezseek.com ------------------------------ Subject: Looking for any videos of the Mahavishnu Orchestra From: "Anthony Richards" Date: Tue, 29 Feb 2000 10:19:03 -0500 Me again, It's common knowledge to most digesters that Mark, Mike, Phil and Boon were all fans of the music of the Mahavishnu Orchestra....a band that was a ground breaking pioneer of the jazz fusion movement, and perhaps one of the all time favorite bands in that genre. I was just wondering if there are any Mahavishnu Orchestra fans on the digest that live here in the U.S. or abroad, and have any video footage that they would be willing to trade? I would need the footage to be in the NTSC VHS format. I already have some footage, and am looking to incerase my collection. Please e-mail me privately at arichards @ cablevision.com if you are interested. Thank you. Sincerely yours, Anthony Richards Account Executive/Rainbow Interactive (516) 803-9776 (voice), (516) 396-8742 (fax) arichards @ cablevision.com (e-mail) Visit us @ www.news12.com & www.ezseek.com ------------------------------ Subject: SOMEONE NOT LIKING LEVEL 42? From: Dan Merz Date: Tue, 29 Feb 2000 10:34:57 -0500 (EST) Seen this yesterday posted on the digest....... Subject: DO NOT SEND ME THIS EMAIL AGAIN ! From: maros.uhliar @ st.sk Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2000 12:56:51 +0100 I didn't know there were people out there that didn't like Level 42!!!!! Dan Merz ------------------------------ Subject: Mike Lindup Gig From: "Mike Payne" Date: Tue, 29 Feb 2000 10:29:13 CST I just wanted to say that I hope everyone has a good time at the Mike Lindup gig tonight, I am totally green with envy....and it figures that I arrive on the 29th March, after he plays on the 15th....oh-well, I will have to accept my short visit with him in Camden Jazz Cafe in November.....life will never be the same! Best and Kind Regards, MIKEY42 ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Subject: Biblical Proportions From: "Tim Wojton" Date: Tue, 29 Feb 2000 12:00:34 -0500 42 Fans, Glad to see the newfound interest in Mark and Mike's vocals. I think it is safe to say that they do indeed sound very well together, in harmony and alone. If they didn't sound well together, one might ponder their initiative to sing such harmonies in every album! Looking at each voice separately, I think that they both have nice ranges. I've heard remarks before that Mark is a bass. However, he can hit some pretty high notes in his chest voice (All Over You, Leaving Me Now) to be a bass. I say he's a baritone. As for "Good Man in a Storm," I have the notion that that was not Mike who started out the scale and Mark who finished. But rather, I think it was Mark's voice aided by a voice machine (to get the top of the scale). And as the scale went down, less and less machine was used until you heard his official voice bellow in. I only say this because the voice at the top of the scale did not sound normal or human to me. It sounded very synthesized. Not that it matters to me or anything, the song's awesome! Now, as for this reunion talk, I think we need to be aware of what we are dealing with here. For Level 42 to reunite would be an act of biblical proprtions. Just how incredible would that be? Can you tell me that? How awesome would it be? How about this....you'll like this.....what if not only Mike and Mark reunited, what if the REAL Level 42 reunited? I mean the original cast!!! Mike, Mark, Phil, Boon!!! Oh God.....I shouldn't have said that! I'm sorry. I should not have said that! Now I shall spend my days in a hopeful stupor of dreams. You know what ticks me off the most? Forever Now! I love all of L42's albums, but I think Forever Now has to be my all time favorite! I love the sound of that album. It has a feel to it! It has the feel of their early stuff (when the Goulds were in the band). It has the groove, it has the funk, and it has the jazz. How can you beat such songs as "All Over You," "Tired Of Waiting," "Model Friend," and "The Sunbed Song" ? I think that L42 struck gold with Forever Now and it could have lead the band back to that original, true, and grooving sound. It could have lead to so much more material...material similar to the aforementioned FN hits. If only they did not break up at that point! I think that they were on to something....that they were rolling! In fact, listen to some of the hits today! They have a sound similar to the FN stuff! Smashmouth and Sugar Ray for example have a few songs that remind me of FN. But hey, enough crying. If "if's" and "buts" were candy and nuts, we'd all have a wonderful Christmas. I apologize....but I had to vent! Thank you for your patience and understanding. All things must run their course I suppose. It's all good...at least L42 accomplished what they accomplished....and that's a hell of a lot!!! As for the vocal parts of Mike and Mark.....hey, all I have to say is: keep on singing boys! Keep on singing! Tim W Take care,. ------------------------------ Subject: Steely Dan again(st) nature From: Oliver Pavicevic Date: Tue, 29 Feb 2000 18:18:50 +0100 Hi folks, First thing that I did today: I run into first CD shop here at Milano , to by new Steely Dan CD, them back home to put it into my player. What can I say, the CD is great, apsolutely great!!! Always thought, like they were never gone. Seems like I know where will go next Grammy :-)) I alwats thought that Steely dan was only Donald Fagen and that he was doing well with or without Becker. Well, seems that I was wrong. What leads me to concludion: Donald is great, but Steely Dan are greater... Seems that I can say the same thing for L42... Mike is great, Mark is great... but together are greatest. Like Mike said 'Life will never be the same'. Maybee, but does it have to be? Times are changed, Steely Dan isn't same, for god sake, we are at new millenium, these aren't 70' or 80'... This doesn't mean that we dont need to keep climbing! Hoping to see new reunion! These days I bought Michael Franks CD... I heard one song on radio, and it seemed wery nice... so I foun this CD Best of Michael Franks at my local store... he is apsolutely great! A must for everyone who likes Level 42 and Steely Dan.... he has the woice like Mike Lindup and sings with realy great band... like Larry Carlton, Abraham Laboriel, Paulino da Costa (who played also percussions for L42), Joe Sample, Marcus Miller and Wayne Shorter. Oliver ------------------------------ Subject: Walter Franken From: "Norman van den Wildenberg" Date: Tue, 29 Feb 2000 22:13:13 +0100 Walter Franken.... Mail me a.u.b. The Goog man who's called Storm ------------------------------ Subject: Jazz bass, alembic, status vs. low cost basses From: Oliver Pavicevic Date: Tue, 29 Feb 2000 22:14:30 +0100 Hi, Fender Jazz bass When I started playing bass at '93, my first bass was very old Fender Jazz bass from '75... At that time, I didn't like the sound of it... So, I went to Paris to by new bass.... with 3000 founds back at my pocket... I wanted to buy Alembic or Status Graphite... There was this street near Mulen Rouge, with bunch of shops with musical instruments... some 30-40 shops at one street.... so, I spend three days going from one to another shop playing all instruments... finally, I didn't know what to buy... there was this Alembic with Mark King signature and one very playable and nice black Status 1000... I vent crazy, running from one shop to another and backwards, their sounded just great... Finally, what bass do you think I bought? None of the above! Yes, that's right... I get inloved with another bass "Vantage". Never heard before, but it sounded great! Its just a low end bass, with low price, something about 200 founds. I'm still playing this bass, it has great sound and I would never sell it for any price. Right now I'm using also a hand made copy of Status 1000 (my own home-made bass) with policarbonate neck, and 30 % mahogany 70 % 10 year old maple and ebony fretles fret board with small led's. It has very natural acoustic sound. But, It costed me to make it something about 100 founds (and lot of time, of course). Price isn't the measure of performance... Oliver http://members.xoom.com/olixy ------------------------------ Subject: Brian McNight From: cfreeman @ wfyi.org (Cedric Freeman) Date: Tue, 29 Feb 2000 16:13:01 -0500 Level42 @ worldmachine.com writes: > >I personally enjoyed Brian McNights vocals when he was with the group Take >6, nice and buried in the mix. > >Are you sure about this? His older brother, Claude, is the bass singer of >the group [he does those fantastic walking basslines, and is also drop >dead >gorgeous!] > >Lolita Claude sings 1st tenor-Avin Chea sings Bass and you are correct on that Brian was not in take six BUT he did sing along with Take Six on Quincy Jones album it was the FIRST time they had performed together. ------------------------------ Subject: Brian McKnight in Take 6 From: ZW75 @ aol.com Date: Tue, 29 Feb 2000 17:03:31 EST Hi all, I went to see Brian McKnight in concert here in Seattle and it was AMAZING. Go see his show, if he comes to your town, you will be impressed. To, Lolita and Laura, Brian McKnight is on the Take 6 "Brothers" CD which came out in 1996. He produced 5 or 6 tracks on that CD (which won a Grammy in Contemporary Gospel). He does sing backup vocals and plays most of the instruments on those tracks. "Delilah" is my favorite track. His brother, Claude is definitely part of Take 6. They even did a duet together on that CD, too. I hope that helps! Peace, Zanchie W. ------------------------------ Subject: Help in Bass Decisions!!! From: "Jay Krause" Date: Tue, 29 Feb 2000 22:59:05 -0000 Could any of you bass fanatics out there suggest a cheaper alternative to an Alembic (say around 500 to 600 pounds) with (pretty) similar shape, active electronics and natural wood finish (cocobola preferably). You know lot what I mean, something close to even a pangborn or an alembic (if these things do exist outside my dreams.....) I think I read on Nick's Jaydee page that there was a company which produced Alembic copies? If anyone can help in ANYWAY what so ever, no matter HOW SMALL or trivial the information is, even if it's just the name of a luthier in the UK. On another note a tear sprung to my eye at reading the e mail ' stop sending me the digest'..... HELP!!! Thanks! Dale ------------------------------ Subject: Re: Level42 Digest V2000 #7 From: TenthSun @ aol.com Date: Tue, 29 Feb 2000 21:53:59 EST In a message dated 2/29/00 5:59:32 AM Eastern Standard Time, Level42-request @ worldmachine.com writes: << I'll have to go back and listen to that again (it's been a while... I've been listening elswhere: see below) but now I think I gotta say something. I've been listening to Mike's Changes lately (again - I keep rediscovering the delightful thing). Unless it's digitally manipulated somehow, the opening bit of the title track has Mike singing harmonies in which he's singing all the parts himself, including the low part. It was him, wasn't it? In an earlier digest somebody said Mark and Mike did a good job overcoming their individual vocal limitations... I'm no vocal expert, but it sure as hell sounds to me like Mike has a range with way wider limits than some I've heard. Bass (or baritone-I don't know which it is for sure) all the way up to falsetto? Am I wrong? I wasn't going to say anything, because we'll all end up agreeing in our praise anyway. I just wanted to point that little bit out, is all. Nor do I wish to impugn Mark's voice, which just, well, turns me on sometimes. You know... >> Hi Ann, Thanks for your contribution on this. Gosh, I'm so happy :-) to see people chiming in on this. And I hope I didn't offend when I said limitations. But one of the things I love about this band is how they started off as these raw young kids (although Mark is like 11 years older than me:-) and their vocals were the same way. I discovered Level 42 through World Machine. And when I finally went back and got Level 42 and Pursuit of Accidents, Standing in the Light, and True Colours, I was shocked to hear how raw the vocals were. No offense meant that's just how they struck me. But I also noticed they got better from one album to the next. Which shows they worked and got better each time. I DEEPLY respect people who have the guts to do something imperfectly with the understanding (and the commitment) that they're going to keep doing it until they get it right. Interesting note: I think Mark first got really comfortable with his voice on Standing in the Light which was produced by Verdine White and another guy from Earth Wind and Fire. I grew up listening to Earth Wind and Fire. And Maurice White and Phillip Bailey used the same vocal trick; Maurice took the low to middle range; Phillip took the middle to falsetto. So clearly Mark and Mike learned from those guys (very good taste). Any thoughts anybody? Terri H. ------------------------------ Subject: Re: Level42 Digest V2000 #7 From: TenthSun @ aol.com Date: Tue, 29 Feb 2000 21:56:07 EST In a message dated 2/29/00 5:59:32 AM Eastern Standard Time, Level42-request @ worldmachine.com writes: << Hello everyone, Just to add to this..... L42 always amazed me how they constructed their harmonies and backing tracks, they were for the most part flawless and very intricate. I have to say the two songs that really showcased their vocal talents and arrangment styles were Lying Still and Seven Years, I also thought if you were to mix Mike's voice with Mark's you'd get Annie McCaig. I would like to hear some of these tracks with just a acapella version, to really hear those killer harmonies. I am curious to know who (in L42) was mainly responsible for developing the vocal arrangements, as for two musicians such as Mark and Mike to be so pro on their perspective instruments (never really being known for their vocal talents) for them to have such vocal arrangements that would make the Vienna Boys choir blush...... Mikey42 >> Hi Mikey, Good question. Anybody out there know who or how Mark and Mike developed their vocal arrangements? Please share. Thanks:-) Terri H. (Dancin' on Heavy Weather) ------------------------------ Subject: Brian McKnight /Take 6 From: chuck arrington Date: Tue, 29 Feb 2000 19:43:37 -0800 (PST) Just to clear some things up. Brian was never a member of take 6. His brother Claude does sing in the group however he is the second highest voice in the group. Alvin Chea is the bass for Take 6. Brian has sung along with take 6 on a couple of projects. Namely a selection on his first self titled album & the latest Quincy Jones CD. While he was considered for a time, he chose the solo route & the guys selected Joey Kibble instead. The current roster for take 6 is Cedric Dent, Mark Kibble, Joey Kibble, David Thomas, Alvin Chea & Claude McKnight. This is the same group with only one change (that being the Mervyn Warren/Joey Kibble switch)That started at Oakwood College, Hsv. Alabama all those many years ago. I'm Not an authority, they just happen to be College classmates & very good friends of mine. > Subject: Brian McKnight in Take 6?? > From: "Jackson, Lolita" > Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2000 08:45:20 -0500 > > Subject: Brian McNight > From: "Allwyn & Laura Kelly" > Date: Sun, 27 Feb 2000 19:50:31 -0700 > > I personally enjoyed Brian McNights vocals when he > was with the group Take > 6, nice and buried in the mix. > > Are you sure about this? His older brother, Claude, > is the bass singer of > the group [he does those fantastic walking > basslines, and is also drop dead > gorgeous!] but I don't think that Brian McKnight was > ever in the group. I > met Take 6 in 1990 and he certainly wasn't there > then. > > Lolita == chuck arrington, jr __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Talk to your friends online with Yahoo! Messenger. http://im.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Subject: SEND ME THIS EMAIL AGAIN ... From: Hans Grund Date: 01 Mar 2000 09:01:08 +0100 Hi all, yesterdays digest was good. Nice to see contributions from first-timers (Hallo Sabine! ). Also a good laugh: > Subject: DO NOT SEND ME THIS EMAIL AGAIN ! > From: maros.uhliar @ st.sk > Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2000 12:56:51 +0100 these hopeless efforts always make me laugh, they're nearly as funny as most of AG's postings. One thing annoys me though, why do so many people still believe that Mark plays Fender basses? (Help me Don Z, please!). I've never seen Mark playing a Fender Custom Jazz Bass! I know the booklet says that he used them on "One Man", but a lot of the bass on that album was synth bass anyway, I wonder why? :-) READ CAREFULLY AND REPEAT: Mark currently plays GB-Bassguitars! made by Bernie Goodfellow! from Croydon! England! got it? thanx for reading, take care y'all hans grund ------------------------------ Subject: learn to say no From: Sem Hillenius Date: Wed, 01 Mar 2000 09:49:20 +0100 Hi everybody, I just received a package through the mail (ordered through blackrhythm.com) that realy mistifies me: it's a remix album of Learn To Say No. Anybody know this ? Side A is 45 RPM and contains The Pharmacy Dub. Side B is 33 RPM and contains The Club Vocal and The Instrumental. On the label it doesn't even say Level 42. It says The Townhouse, whatever that is...The info on Level 42 is handwritten on the label. It's one of those very heavy, unbendable records. Weird... BTW I'm still looking for the original song (no remix). Can anybody shed some light on this for me ? Thanks. Bye for now, Sam