Eric "digest-god" Hansen wrote:

>Anyways, I haven't had the pleasure of hearing Gary's trio, but I did see
>him with Billy Cobham last year. Gary played keyboards, and its safe to
>say that there was absolutely, positively NO recollection of anything
>even remotely Level 42. Of course, that being said (and tying in another
>current Digest thread), I'd like to hear Level 42 (with Gary on Drums)
>playing Cobham's STRATUS. Not sure how creative Mark or Gary could be
>beyond the original version, but it would be an interesting tour de force.
 

Funny you should mention this since Stratus was played at the Trigonstock gig with Phil Gould on drums and Al Slavik on bass. They did a pretty good version with outstanding drumming by Phil, and a great keyboard solo by Mike Lindup who also doubled the bassline on keyboards on a lot of the song to keep Al on track. Like Mike said at the end "A special prize to those of you who managed to keep dancing 'til the end."

 

I do hope that more stuff from this gig can be made available soon. It's Phil's recording and he has said previously that he would add some stuff to his own site when it gets on-line. That is bongosaloon.com.

 

The full track list from the Trigonstock gig is as follows:

 

1. Haunted House (Lee Oskar) (available at http://www.boongould.com/boontalk6.htm)

2. Mine (Boon Gould)

3. Love Is The Answer (Mike Lindup)

4. Stratus (Billy Cobham)

5. The Ghetto (Donny Hathaway)

6. Perfect Love (Phil Gould) with vocals by Berenice Scott (daughter to the founder of M)

7. Something About You (Th e fab four)

8. The Sun Goes Down (Ditto)

9. Danceable groove type jam

10. The Ghetto (space mix) (Donny Hathaway) 15-minute version with an temporary unintentional power failure induced acoustic section in the middle which features a great harmonica solo.

 

If you're still wondering what I'm on about some details surrounding the Trigonstock gig, also known as the 75% reunion, are available at http://www.boongould.com/boontalk6.htm)

 

And yes, Sklar plays on the original Cobham track, as does Tommy Bolin, later in Deep Purple and other bands.

 

Lars

Hiya,

I do play Saxophone (alto) and Bass guitar. I'd like to chat about reeds and mouth pieces. Wow Bass trombone that sounds cool!

 

Ruth xx

Tom Foolery <grooveyardtom @ yahoo.com> wrote:

 

>my middlemost neutral song that I am the most
>ambivalent about is "Gresham Man" or whatever it's
>called. I don't care if it lives, dies, or wins a
>grammy - I'm so nonplussed as to not really be certain
>of its correct title, and far too disinterested to get up and check.

 

I'm guessing you mean 'Gresham Blues'? Regardless, it's one of my least favorites as well. Completely goes against the grain of the entire rest of the album, and is especially horrible following 'Man', which has to be one of my all time favorites. Musically and lyrically, it's a very sophisticated track.

 

Dave Mock <dfmock @ rocketmail.com> wrote:

 

>I have to say "Gresham Blues" is a moving
>instrumental, almost like the "SNL" closing music.

 

Speaking of bad music (and a painfully unfunny program still on so many years after it's 'Sell By' date)

 

 

In addition to 'Gresham' (which would also fall under the category of sounding the LEAST like Level 42), I'd add 'Leaving Me Now' and 'It's Over' to my list of least favorite tracks. Hate that overly mushy, sentimental, sad crap. And the video for 'It's Over' also get's my vote for worst L42 video as the visual content had absolutely NOTHING to do with the lyrics.

 

Favorite tracks: Man, At This Great Distance, I Sleep On My Heart, Children Say, Sleepwalkers, A Kinder Eye, Romance, Overtime (to name but a few).

 

Not sure I have a favorite album, though EARLY TAPES comes closest. I also once recorded on tape what I referred to as the ultimate WORLD MACHINE. I based it on the running order of the U.S. version, but after 'Physical Presence' on Side 1, I added 'I Sleep On My Heart', Dream Crazy',  the instrumental version of 'Coup D'Etat', then 'Leaving Me Now'. Side 2 ran the same for the first four tracks, but then I put in the vocal version of 'Coup D'Etat, and the Shep Pettibone remixes of 'World Machine' and 'Something About You' after 'Lying Still'. So in that sense it's one of my favorite L42 albums as well, but it's my version of their album.

 

BTW, does anyone know why two tracks from TRUE COLORS made it onto the U.S. version of WORLD MACHINE, and why 'I Sleep...' and 'Dream Crazy' were dropped? Always wondered about that one...

 

 

Chris L.

Ok, you knew it had to be me starting in with the pure non-Level 42 content.  :)

Due to "popular" demand (i.e., all of 3 people have asked me), here's the link

to download my "Lakeside" mix that a handful of other folks have heard:

 

 

Click on the "lakeside" mix, which is a WMA file, about 70mb / 71 minutes.  The

style is electrolouge and deep house.  You won't hear any Level 42, but some of

you may dig it... there is a healthy dose of retro jazzfunk and vocals,

as well as some smooth atmospheric beats. FYI this is a straight-through

mix put together purely from MP3 sources, digitally assembled and edited.

 

 

cheers,

Eric

 

Well played Andrew. If only I proof read this crap before sending it off, you'd have less to comment on. My bad.

 

The Chinese Way is the best track from Live at Wembley, the song (Studio version) sucks. But jeez, can they wail at the end.

 

  Anyhoo.....

 

    Level 42's style is dead....so anyone wanting to here something nostalgic or even reminiscent for that matter, only hopes for the further decline of Mark et al.

 

    I vote for something new, inspired, fresh, and non fat.

 

    A ToFu, Soy based lump of seaweed. That's what we want from the boys.

 

 

    Bri