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avevale_intelligencerAnd recording dragged on. Even the best songs are apt to sound a bit stale by take nineteen, and the sessions started to turn into memory lane excursions, with the guys retreading old ground rather than grapple with the new stuff. The brightest moment was when Karen came down, having hammered out the best deal she could with the suits at the record company. All the Fruits perked up when she arrived, even Les.
“How’s it been, Hughie?” she said to me in a quiet moment.
“Quiet,” I said. “Too quiet. Calm before the storm, sort of thing.”
“Waiting for the next explosion?”
“With bated breath as always,” I said.
“Hughie?” That was Tony. Karen gave him a hug—they were still edging around sniffing each other’s bums, even after everything that had happened—and faded away like the experienced groupie she was.
“Can you set me up all that gubbins of Ray’s, mate?”
“What, the computer and that? Sure, if you want.”
“Well, I thought, you know, maybe Ray’s right. Gotta keep up with the kids these days.” He gave me a feeble sort of grin. “’Sides, the actual keyboard playing hasn’t changed much, has it? Black notes still louder than the white ones and all that.”
I flatter myself that if it makes music, I can set it up, tear it down, keep it running, do just about anything with it except actually making music. Besides, these MIDI rigs nowadays are easy peasy, a kiddy could do it. I wondered if he’d actually contacted Luke, but he seemed determined to puzzle it out for himself, and soon he was getting some impressive sounds out of it and seemed to be enjoying himself. It looked to me as if he’d had a visitation from our resident spook, but I didn’t ask and he didn’t tell. On reflection, maybe not a good move on my part.
*
“Let’s have a go at All Over The World, eh?”
Everyone stopped dead. Tony dropped his coffee, luckily not on the computer. Even Brian looked a bit bemused.
“You feelin’ all right, Les?” Beano said.
“Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?” Les looked defensive.
“You just suggested we do one of Ray’s songs.”
“Yeah, so? What about it?”
“Plus, it’s half ten and we usually stop at ten these days.” Beano grinned. “You know I can’t keep it up the way I used to.”
“No, that’s...that’s fine.” Ray recovered from the shock with remarkable speed. “All right, let’s.”
Tony took a moment to twiddle his controls, Beano counted them in and they were off.
All over the world tonight
Feet are hittin’ the ground
Day is following night
The strong are leading...
I had to admit they sounded good. I mean, better than ever. I’m an old dog, and it takes a lot to get me excited, but listening to them I have to admit I began to feel a stirring of the old bones.
We’re crossing the borders of innocence
Breaking down the walls of time
All over the world
It’s a happening
Happening tonight...
Oh yeah, they were cooking. Even Ray seemed to be finding new significance in his old lyrics, belting them out with an almost religious fervour. Mind you, lending conviction to semi-mystical twaddle was his stock in trade. We were all caught up in it for a moment there, and when they hit that final chord Karen and Astrid were applauding wildly.
“How was that?” Ray asked, and the girls set up a chorus of Great and Wonderful and so on.
“Not bad,” Les said. “Could be better, though. I think we should keep working on it.”
“Yeah, but not tonight, mate, I mean it’s...” Beano glanced at his watch—an Omega Incabloc Oyster Accutron 72, of course—and frowned. “That’s weird.” He held it to his ear. “Oh well.”
I looked at mine. Twenty past ten. Beano must have misread it before. “All right, ladies and gentlemen, that’s a wrap,” I said, and the session dissolved.
*
The next morning Astrid came down to breakfast looking pale and snapping at everyone more than usual, which was an achievement.
“I am having a bad dream in the night,” she said, and everyone stepped back in amazement, because this was as close to an apology as Astrid had ever come. “I think I am going away for a while.”
Ray looked stricken for a moment, and then he sort of rallied. “Okay, babe. If that’s what you have to do.”
It was Astrid’s turn to look stricken. Usually Ray went into meltdown if she was in another room. It had taken major negotiations to get him to leave her behind on the tour. He wasn’t doing the motorbike stutter any more either. “Okay,” she said. “Call me if you need me. Not that I will come back, but...”
“I understand, babe,” Ray said. “When it’s over, yeah?”
“Yes,” she said. “Maybe.”
And just like that, she carried her own suitcases out to her car and drove away.
“A little rift within the lute?” I said quietly to Ray, as he watched her go.
“What?” He frowned. “Oh, no no. She just...had some things to sort out. She’ll be back.”
“When ‘it’ is over.”
“Yeah.”
“What?”
“You’ll find out, mate.” He smiled and clapped me on the shoulder. “It’ll be great. Trust me.”
I added that to the list. And when Brian said he wanted to use the studio for late practice, I made sure the tape was running.
We spent the whole morning on “All Over The World,” with Tony experimenting with new keyboard setups. It never seemed to get stale, and we did it well over twenty times.
Delay caused not by failure of inspiration but by uncertainty--I think it may need some redoing and I'm not sure how. Apologies anyway. Part four will follow at Some Point.
“How’s it been, Hughie?” she said to me in a quiet moment.
“Quiet,” I said. “Too quiet. Calm before the storm, sort of thing.”
“Waiting for the next explosion?”
“With bated breath as always,” I said.
“Hughie?” That was Tony. Karen gave him a hug—they were still edging around sniffing each other’s bums, even after everything that had happened—and faded away like the experienced groupie she was.
“Can you set me up all that gubbins of Ray’s, mate?”
“What, the computer and that? Sure, if you want.”
“Well, I thought, you know, maybe Ray’s right. Gotta keep up with the kids these days.” He gave me a feeble sort of grin. “’Sides, the actual keyboard playing hasn’t changed much, has it? Black notes still louder than the white ones and all that.”
I flatter myself that if it makes music, I can set it up, tear it down, keep it running, do just about anything with it except actually making music. Besides, these MIDI rigs nowadays are easy peasy, a kiddy could do it. I wondered if he’d actually contacted Luke, but he seemed determined to puzzle it out for himself, and soon he was getting some impressive sounds out of it and seemed to be enjoying himself. It looked to me as if he’d had a visitation from our resident spook, but I didn’t ask and he didn’t tell. On reflection, maybe not a good move on my part.
*
“Let’s have a go at All Over The World, eh?”
Everyone stopped dead. Tony dropped his coffee, luckily not on the computer. Even Brian looked a bit bemused.
“You feelin’ all right, Les?” Beano said.
“Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?” Les looked defensive.
“You just suggested we do one of Ray’s songs.”
“Yeah, so? What about it?”
“Plus, it’s half ten and we usually stop at ten these days.” Beano grinned. “You know I can’t keep it up the way I used to.”
“No, that’s...that’s fine.” Ray recovered from the shock with remarkable speed. “All right, let’s.”
Tony took a moment to twiddle his controls, Beano counted them in and they were off.
All over the world tonight
Feet are hittin’ the ground
Day is following night
The strong are leading...
I had to admit they sounded good. I mean, better than ever. I’m an old dog, and it takes a lot to get me excited, but listening to them I have to admit I began to feel a stirring of the old bones.
We’re crossing the borders of innocence
Breaking down the walls of time
All over the world
It’s a happening
Happening tonight...
Oh yeah, they were cooking. Even Ray seemed to be finding new significance in his old lyrics, belting them out with an almost religious fervour. Mind you, lending conviction to semi-mystical twaddle was his stock in trade. We were all caught up in it for a moment there, and when they hit that final chord Karen and Astrid were applauding wildly.
“How was that?” Ray asked, and the girls set up a chorus of Great and Wonderful and so on.
“Not bad,” Les said. “Could be better, though. I think we should keep working on it.”
“Yeah, but not tonight, mate, I mean it’s...” Beano glanced at his watch—an Omega Incabloc Oyster Accutron 72, of course—and frowned. “That’s weird.” He held it to his ear. “Oh well.”
I looked at mine. Twenty past ten. Beano must have misread it before. “All right, ladies and gentlemen, that’s a wrap,” I said, and the session dissolved.
*
The next morning Astrid came down to breakfast looking pale and snapping at everyone more than usual, which was an achievement.
“I am having a bad dream in the night,” she said, and everyone stepped back in amazement, because this was as close to an apology as Astrid had ever come. “I think I am going away for a while.”
Ray looked stricken for a moment, and then he sort of rallied. “Okay, babe. If that’s what you have to do.”
It was Astrid’s turn to look stricken. Usually Ray went into meltdown if she was in another room. It had taken major negotiations to get him to leave her behind on the tour. He wasn’t doing the motorbike stutter any more either. “Okay,” she said. “Call me if you need me. Not that I will come back, but...”
“I understand, babe,” Ray said. “When it’s over, yeah?”
“Yes,” she said. “Maybe.”
And just like that, she carried her own suitcases out to her car and drove away.
“A little rift within the lute?” I said quietly to Ray, as he watched her go.
“What?” He frowned. “Oh, no no. She just...had some things to sort out. She’ll be back.”
“When ‘it’ is over.”
“Yeah.”
“What?”
“You’ll find out, mate.” He smiled and clapped me on the shoulder. “It’ll be great. Trust me.”
I added that to the list. And when Brian said he wanted to use the studio for late practice, I made sure the tape was running.
We spent the whole morning on “All Over The World,” with Tony experimenting with new keyboard setups. It never seemed to get stale, and we did it well over twenty times.
Delay caused not by failure of inspiration but by uncertainty--I think it may need some redoing and I'm not sure how. Apologies anyway. Part four will follow at Some Point.