Now I have fond memories of the ABWH period of music. For those of you who don’t know or who have absolutely no knowledge of progressive rock music, this band was the bastard offspring from the Yes franchise in the late 1980s, which had floundered both commercially and creatively. With lead singer Jon Anderson conning ex-Yes and King Crimson dummer, Bill Bruford, to come play some drums on his solo album, an interesting franchise was creating. With the band name sounding a lot like a local solicitors, the first album offered a lot of promise. OK – some of it was a little sweet and sickly thanks to Anderson’s input, but as a whole, the album is quite robust when compared to others of that period. And for once it was a progressive rock album that actually had a smile on its face, rather than frowning earnestly and asking you to marvel at the musicianship.
So the best memory was getting excited about going to see the band at Wembley Arena and it was the first time that I had ever been to a gig. It was also the first gig me and the Missus attended together and it was a rather stonking night. I got to watch my favourite rhythm section (Bill Bruford and Tony Levin, both of King Crimson) working out and to hear some old Yes classics that I thought I’d never hear played live. It was a good night, apart from me slipping on some spilt beer (not my own, I didn’t drink back then) and falling down the stairs during “Heart of the Sunrise” as I attempted a quick toilet break. Ouch! Also, my English teacher Mr Bailey was also a fan and he attended the concerts, though I found it a little embarrassing to talk prog rock in the class in front of frowning, disapproving peers. (Mind you, this was the guy who used to quote King Crimson lyrics and give me the wink during lessons too…so it was a really progtastic period of my life!)
In terms of merchandise, there was a video EP released called “In the Big Dream” that documented the recording process for the album, which was put together at the recording studios in Montserrat, and included a couple of promotional videos too. A few years after all this, a concert was released on video as a limited edition and I was lucky to pick this up and it is the same concert that I am reviewing here.
Voiceprint, a company that specialises in reviving old classics back from the dead and the obscurity of deletion, saw fit to release this concert in its entirety and bring out a 2 DVD edition that also includes “In the Big Dream” as a bonus. Of course, being a fan and deserving of a couple of hours of sweet nostalgia, I snapped it up. The concert itself is a surprisingly good transfer, however there’s nothing in the way of a surround sound mix or anything. But despite this, the music sounds fresh and clean. The concert itself starts with each member of the band doing his party piece until they are all on stage and then the fun begins with cuts from the ABWH interspersed with some well chosen songs from the Classic Yes period. The only downside to this performance is that Tony Levin is missing due to illness, replaced by Jeff Berlin.
In terms of quality, I thought this was a good upgrade to my old VHS edition, but my one bugbear was that the concert was split over two discs (ever heard of dual layer, Voiceprint?) and the original introduction was tacked on as an extra on the second disc, completely out of sequence. This original opening showed Jon Anderson as he walked to the concert explaining that he was going to appear in the middle of the audience and start singing. OK, so its not THAT important, but when I saw it originally, it really added to the sense of excitement and anticipation. Now, it is resigned to an outtake on the second disc, which seems a bit stupid. Either keep it in or cut it out, no?
My other major grip is the quality of the “In the Big Dream” video EP. There have been edits made to this and the video quality is bordering on awful. It is actually worse that my old VHS because it is obvious that they’ve taken a PAL VHS source and recoded to NTSC, rendering the colours muted and washed out. The sound is also awful. On my old VHS, there was a recording error during one of the songs and the sound is spiked by a tape wobble. Guess what? The same error occurs on this DVD, so obviously the tape was from the same source. Gee – I could have just dubbed my VHS to DVD and saved myself the trouble.
On one hand, this is really great for those who have never owned the original VHS, but for those of use die-hard fans who have the tapes and the T-shirts and the novelty blow-up Steve Howe dolls, you might be a bit disappointed with the quality of the “extras”. It really is a game of two halves. But saying that, for the money, it was nice to wallow in the warm glow of nostalgia with The Missus and feel really, really old.
“The order of the Universe, the order of the Universe…”
Indeed!
For even more information, go to http://www.abwhdvd.com/
And here’s a little video sample for you:
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So The Missus is away in Amsterdam attending some media show and I am left at Chez Lock, feeling miserable and so alone. Boo-hoo! Me and Alex the Wonderdog are pining and we take it in shifts to lay on the doormat sniffing at the front door, waiting for our mistress to return
.
Today, I received a phonecall from BT Broadband. This time it was BT Broadband UK and not India and someone higher up the foodchain had heard about my internet problems. We spoke and I explained and she listened and she was incredulous at my problems and agreed that it was pretty shitty getting a random connection somewhere between the speeds of 3.5Mb (rare) and 135k (common).
She said she’d have a word with billing to see what could be done and returned saying that they weren’t shifting and weren’t going to give me a regrade back to my old service. So she said she’d send me a new Home Hub (my first one never worked and got binned) and we’d see what happens. Her advice was, “You’d be better off with cable because these phone lines are that good when it comes to broadband”. Ouch! However, I really appreciated the truth coming from a BT minion and it kind of endeared me to her.
However, when my contract expires in May, I am off to my cable company…UNLESS…something magical happens in the meantime.
I’ve been using my crappy broadband connection to research my council tax rate. I saw something on TV saying that many homes had been miscalculated when it came to the original council tax bandings back in 1991, so I had a nose around. Apparently, all the tunnel-linked homes in our street are in band “C”, the bungalow next door is in band “B” but all the properties in the middle of the street, which are of a larger size and command a higher price at market are all in band “A” and are paying £200 a year less than the rest of us in the street. How the heck did they work that out then? Oh well, it is another injustice heaped on me from an uncaring, money-grabbing world. If you want to check out what your neighbours are paying and be a snoop go to the following link and enter your postcode. I have a feeling you will be just as surprised as me:
http://www.voa.gov.uk
With the Missus away, I’ve been trying my best to justify all the musical equipment in the house. I believe in the “Use it or lose it” ethos, but I am having trouble finding my groove. I think it might have something to do with going through all my old recordings and putting them on the site. I realise that 98% of everything I’ve ever done is utter toss…oh why did I waste my time when I could have been getting drunk or shooting up speedballs? But no, it is a stupid hobby. Creativity sucks…but all the music bar a few CDs of stuff are now on the site. You just have to go to the music section on your way in.
Go on, do it! Do it now!
But back to futility, I recorded a little soundscapey thing. I had a good vibe going but I ruined it but putting this awful wah-wah pussycat noise on it. Because of this, I call it a Catscape. Meeeooow!
DIRECT DOWNLOAD
Despite our warnings and requests, the Missus’s grandmother was today robbed by some scumbag. What happened to our old neighbour should have been a warning. She had been robbed a number of times by con-artists pretending to be “workmen” or warning her of a leak. These filth then distract the victim whilst a second person sneaks in and robs from the house. Like I said, this should have been a warning as we’d explained this to The Missus’s grandmother and what had happened to our neighbour, but our explanations NOT to let anyone into the house had fallen on deaf ears.
Today, a young white youth knocked on the door and told her she had a leak. She let him in and he then kept her talking while a second accomplice came in the front door and stole a significant amount of money and her bank book. Part of me is angry by these scumbags and I’d love to have ten minutes of their time alone and part of me is angry at The Missus’s grandmother because she didn’t take any bloody notice of us. I do believe that as you get older, you get more gullible and trusting. Oh well, these scrotes will be back in a few weeks to try it again. They actually pass on lists of vulnerable pensioners amongst each other, so they know who they can target and who is rich pickings. That’s how our old neighbour got targetted so many times to the point where her sons insisted that she be moved to secure accommodation. These scumbags have a lot to answer for. They are the lowest of the low, scum of the earth and I would happily wipe them out without a care. But of course, the bleating middle-classes, those with a conscience, will complain that these criminals are the victims and that society made them this way. Bollocks, I say.
So BBC throw-back detective series “Life on Mars” returns next month for one last spurt of Brut-soaked nosalgia and crime fighting. The first series wasn’t that bad, though I did often nod off during one or two episodes. Anyway, the Beeb is promoting the show by using Camberwick Green style characters. I like the way Gene Hunt is beating up a nonce. Ahhh, the good old days when you could bash up the crims without getting yer collar felt. Have a viddy:
While wandering the web, I found this very strange link. It is a shop that sells diguises for dogs, so that you can take your Hellhound to the park disguised as a poodle without fear of being nicked for having a dangerous dog. Weird…
Meanwhile, I’ve uploaded even more old tunes for you to plunder. Head over to: www.darrenlock.com/music.htm
So I decided to refocus the website. You see, I’ve literally got gigs of data storage on this webhost and so I decided to make the most of my money. So I am uploaded all the music I’ve recorded over the past 10 years. Some of this is dire. I make no excuses – for me, music making is one long learning process and the latter recordings are light years away from the earlier ones.
Anyway, if you go to www.darrenlock.com you can access the first few albums I’ve made available. I would end this with a naturally chirpy “Enjoy!” but I doubt anyone will. Don’t worry, the albums pick up with “Loops and Scales” which I haven’t gotten around to uploading yet. But trust me, they do get better.
Katina wrote on 09.01.07:
It’s weird how things work. Today is Jan 8th, 2007. I met Ian in 1999 while dating one of his mutual friends. I mentioned his name last night… about seeing him on a commercial… and, as chance would I have it, I came across his name on a Resident Evil web page… so out of curiousity… I googled him and look at where I’ve ended up. I feel rather sick…
Yes, while I never actually met Malcolm Xerxes, I had many dealings with him on the net over the years at various music forums. He was a funny guy, if a little eccentric in his ways, but still an Englishman. I was very sad to hear what happened at it was still a shock even though I didn’t really know him that well. I am not going to add any more as I don’t really know the surroundings of the case.
Rtreynor wrote about the Ashbory bass on 12.01.07:
Thanks for this. Yesterday, I recalled seeing a demo for this thing back in 1987. I was impressed, however the price back then was quite expensive, especially for a 17-year old. After a google search (“small bass, rubber strings”), I discovered that they’re making these things again. Your youtube video was great, and I especially like the sound clips of it alone, so you can hear those rubbery strings in action. Very cool sound. Nice job putting this info out here. Thanks!
You are welcome. The Ashbory Bass is a wonderful little instrument, if a little unstable in the tuning department, and it delivers a big old sound. I have fond memories buying my Ashbory for my 30th birthday from Highland Park Pawn in Los Angeles. I recommend this intrument wholeheartedly.
Eino on 17.01.07 wrote:
I’ve been releasing my crap music to electronic bbs:s and web for just a bit over ten years now. I can’t remember more than two comments or e-mails from anyone, except friends or people I didn’t know formerly. Case in point is some tracks I have in Mod Archive:
http://www.modarchive.com/artists/keskitalo/
Apart from “editorial reviews” for two songs, I’ve heard nothing from listeners, even though each piece has hundreds of downloads. That’s how it goes.
Well I don’t know what to say, Eino. All I can suggest is keep on with it. When I started out posting my own crap tunes on the Internet back in the late 1990s, no-one responded. Sites like YouTube have allowed me to get some feedback, but that’s only because of the sheer numbers passing through that site. So pitch your music at sites that get lots of traffic and I am sure you’ll get a response. But don’t expect anything from the listening public, just keep on making music for yourself and any response you get (good or bad) is a bonus. Stay inspired!
On 18.01.07, Hans asked about my recent improvisation:
Did you have a metronome click coming through your headphones on the B improv?
Nope. No metronome was harmed during the making of this recording. I just have a very active left leg.
Joke:
Q.What do you call an elf who uses the Tube to travel to work?
A. A Metro Gnome
With regards to my recent battle with BT Broadband, Crimcinnaman says this:
Sounds like you and RF got the same Indian BT rep! Please, stop not being rude to everyone, your liable to pull something or have an aneurysm.
Oh there are lots of people working at those call centres. I feel sorry for them as they clearly aren’t equipped by BT to deal with the highly technical problems thrown up by ADSL technology. You have to be zen-like when dealing with them and polite at all times. I am never rude to anyone in the real world and am the embodiment of politeness and good manners. Now fuck off! 🙂
To my shame, I’ve not been doing much creative stuff lately. Been too busy messing around with my PC and playing UNO on the Xbox 360, but I recently had a few technical issues with my webcam that stopped me from recording any more vodcasts. Anyway, in an effort to prepare myself for Windows Vista and to claw a little bit of money back from the taxman as an expense, I upgraded my PC. The new PC now lets me record using my webcam and lets me burn DVDs too. The old “Beast” was just too unreliable to keep, so it has been gutted and the parts now available on eBay. My new PC is one of those off-the-shelf types and it is the first time I’ve done away with a self-built PC for over seven years. It’s the price of home PCs are so reasonable now that it made more sense just to buy a whole new PC.
Anyway, I am looking for the creative juice. It is out there somewhere. I know I haven’t dried up. I just need da juice. Here are a couple of vids of me trying to find my way back into the creative process. Be warned – they aren’t pretty or very creative.
Video: 18-01-07 Soundscape
A Soundscape
Video: 18-01-07 "B" Improvisation
An Improvisation