TT1: Cams - This Disc is for the World

Scroll down for track listing. Notes to follow in the next post…




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1. Waltz for Koop — Koop, feat. Cecilia Stalin, from Waltz for Koop, 2002
2. Signal to Noise — Peter Gabriel, from Up, 2002
3. This Light is for the World — The Waterboys, from Universal Hall, 2003
4. The Christ in You — The Waterboys, from Universal Hall, 2003
5. Smithereens (Acoustic Version) — Nick Harper, from Smithereens, 1998
6. She Really Was — Nick Harper, from Smithereens, 1998
7. Next to Me — Roy Harper, from Death or Glory, 1992
8. The Fairest of all Yarrow — Kate Rusby, from Ten, 2002
9. Sir Eglamore — Kate Rusby, from Ten, 2002
10. Madan — Salif Keita, from Moffou, 2002
11. 101 South — Peter Finger, from Open Strings, 1999
12. Mutoto — Lokua Kanza, from Lokua Kanza, 1993
13. Interviewing Randy Newman — The Completely Acoustic Glenn Tilbrook (bonus disc as part of The Incomplete Glenn Tilbrook), 2001
14. Goluboi Ogonyok (the Blue Light) — Akvarium, from Navigator, 1995
15. Época — Gotan Project, from La Revancha del Tango, 2001
16. Black Water Side — Bert Jansch, from Jack Orion, 1966
17. Angie — Bert Jansch, from Bert Jansch, 1965
18. Bongo Bong — Manu Chao, from Clandestino, 2000
19. Je ne t'aime Plus — Manu Chao, from Clandestino, 2000
20. La Corrida — Francis Cabrel, from Samedi sur la Terre, 1994
21. River — Joni Mitchell, from Blue, 1971

Cams -
I had the same two Manu Chao songs going onto my CD and dropped them to keep it under 74 minutes.

Clandestino is a great CD. I can't wait to hear your compilation.

FJ in SF.

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If nothing ever changes then.....nothing ever changes

Hi Cams,

In fact I don't know many of these songs apart from those you burned on the other CD for me and the two Manu Chao songs, which were quite popular over here, too. I'm looking forward to hearing it in a year!

Cheers,
Annika

Dear Cams;

Today I received your CD and I'll start listening to it after writing this message. Tomorrow I'm going on a vacation and guess which CD will be in my discman during my journey? yep, yours'

all the best;

Zeynep

That's great Zeynep, thanks for letting me know. I'm glad it arrived in time for your vacation - hope you like it!!

Have a great time,

Cams

Dear Cams
I listened to your CD lots of times and I really love it! This week,before sending it, I'm going to write a review of it here. just wanted to let you know.

love;
Zeynep

Dear Cams;

I guess now is the right time for me to review your cd after listening to it so many times. Except Joni Mitchell’s ‘River’ and Manu Chao’s songs all the tracks on this cd are new to me so it really helped me to learn about new musicians. So thanks for that.

The cd’s first track ‘Waltz for Koop’ opens the CD very lightly. The sound of the bass and the singer’s voice is great throughout the song! As you know the same lyrics are repeated over and over throughout the song but it never bores the listener. I really liked it

Peter Gabriel! He is a wonderful musician and this song is no exception. This is one of my favorite songs on the cd. His voice is so touching, full of pain. I expecially love the part that begins in the second minute 50th second. That part should definitely be listened with a high volume. It brings me shivers every time I listen to it!

The Waterboys’ songs are soft and fun songs to listen to. The music of ‘The Christ in you’ is very emotional but I think I didn’t really get what the lyrics really mean.

Nick Harper’s ‘Smithereens’ is the reason that I think Tape trees should exist! There was no way that I could find this track in my life is it wasn’t on this cd. I simply loved it! The guitar, lyrics, vocals.. I’m giving it 100 points “I found my freedom now, funny how it feels just like being alone” no more words to say
I also liked ‘She Really Was’ so I think I should really learn more about Nick Harper.

Kate Rusby’s songs bring a photograph frame into my mind. Women are dancing with long dresses in the forest, men also join them in their dances, elves are singing etc. Maybe this will sound weird to you but everytime I listen to her songs, the image I’ve just described comes to mind and brings a smile to my face.

And after a dance in the forest ‘Madan’ is just like a tribal dance. The rhythm is crazy, I can hardly stop myself from moving while listening to it.

And after this much dance Lokua Kanza’s ‘Mutota’ tells me to calm down and sit down. In which language is this song? It sounds very poetic.

The beginning of Akvarium’s song reminded me of the soundtrack of ‘Amélie’.I can’t understand what the lyrics mean in this song and also in Gotan Project’s ‘Epoca’ but the music is so good that I don’t pay attention to the lyrics at all.

Bert Jansch ‘Angie’ reminded me that I should study a lot more if I want to be a good guitar player. There’s no way that I can play that L He is so talented.

I knew Manu Chao’s songs before but I listened to it so many times in the past that I can’t have the same taste anymore.

Francis Cabrel’s La Corrida – I liked it the first time I listened to it and the more I listened to it the more my ‘like’ turned into a ‘love’.

I was planning to put Joni Mitchell’s River into my CD too but I forgot it at the last second. Out of all Joni Mitchell songs this one is my all time favorite. It makes me cry, It’s the perfect choice.

Well my review for your CD is finished for now Cams.I want to thank you for the cd and also for bringing this Towie Tree project into life. Take care!

all the best;

Zeynep

Hi Zeynep,

are you a fan of Amélie? So am I. It's my favourite movie EVER and the music just makes you dream away. In my case it makes me think of my favourite city, which is, not hard to guess, Paris!

Cheers,
Annika

Yes Annika!

I loved the movie and then instantly I went out and bought its soundtrack. The music is great and also very relaxing. Amélie is a kind of movie that makes you happy to be alive and soundtrack makes the same effect too.

best;

Zeynep

Amilie is the best! :o) Beauuuuuuutiful! And the music is fantastic too. I almost included something from Yann Tiersen on my CD. Butttt, he didn't made it.

By the way, my next compilation is going to be a mixture of classical and modern music. I want to prove that classical and modern music can actualy live together on one CD*. Maybe I'll send it in the next round of our Towie Tree starting next September! :o)

*(Although I must admit, I don't listen to much classical music. It is actually alternative music that made me interested in classical music. Especially Bjvrk. I think some of her songs are inspired by classic tunes: Hunter -> Ravel's Bolero; The Overture on SelmaSongs -> Dvorak's New World Symphony; Vespertine -> Ahm... haven't find its pair :o) Maybe Samuel Barber's famous part-song? Don't know its title, but it is beautiful... and full of sorrow.)

Andr.

Hi Zeynep

Thanks for such a great review! Seems I hit a few of the right notes for you, and I'm glad you've taken to Nick Harper. I've introduced him to a few friends too and they were also impressed.

I have actually written most of the "sleeve notes" for my compilation but haven't managed to finish and get them posted to the thread as I'm a bit pressed for time at the moment. I will try and get it finished today if I can so you can see where I'm coming from in my choice of music.

Firstly though I shall respond to your comments Zeynep:

"Peter Gabriel! He is a wonderful musician and this song is no exception. This is one of my favorite songs on the cd. His voice is so touching, full of pain. I expecially love the part that begins in the second minute 50th second. That part should definitely be listened with a high volume. It brings me shivers every time I listen to it!"

The entire album from which this track was taken is of a similar high quality such as we have come to expect from Peter Gabriel. I've been a fan of his music for some time now and I'm very rarely disappointed. But Signal to Noise was the standout track from the CD for me.

"The Waterboys’ songs are soft and fun songs to listen to. The music of ‘The Christ in you’ is very emotional but I think I didn’t really get what the lyrics really mean."

I've written a couple of paragraphs about the Waterboys in my sleeve notes so you can read about my love of their music when I get them posted. But I would say that the lyrics to The Christ in You are very simple and open to your own interpretation IMO. It would be worth reading a bit of what Mike Scott has to say about the location where this album was recorded, a little Scottish village where the Universal Hall (title of the album and location of the recording studio) was built. It's very spiritual...

Click the Findhorn link here:

http://www.thewaterboys.com/

"Nick Harper’s ‘Smithereens’ is the reason that I think Tape trees should exist! There was no way that I could find this track in my life if it wasn’t on this cd. I simply loved it! The guitar, lyrics, vocals. I’m giving it 100 points “I found my freedom now, funny how it feels just like being alone” no more words to say
I also liked ‘She Really Was’ so I think I should really learn more about Nick Harper."

This comment alone has made the entire tree worthwhile to me – great!! I picked the second track partly because of it's great bass playing, knowing, as I do, that Mike Visceglia is a big part of Suzanne Vega's music.

"Kate Rusby’s songs bring a photograph frame into my mind. Women are dancing with long dresses in the forest, men also join them in their dances, elves are singing etc. Maybe this will sound weird to you but everytime I listen to her songs, the image I’ve just described comes to mind and brings a smile to my face."

Kate is a wonderful artist and the picture you describe is similar to my own picture. Her voice is like honey.

"And after a dance in the forest ‘Madan’ is just like a tribal dance. The rhythm is crazy, I can hardly stop myself from moving while listening to it.

And after this much dance Lokua Kanza’s ‘Mutoto’ tells me to calm down and sit down. In which language is this song? It sounds very poetic."

Again, more will be revealed about Salif Keita and Lokua Kanza in my sleeve notes to follow. About the language of LK, I'm not too sure to be honest. He comes from the Republic of Congo (formerly Zaïre) and sings in French a lot as a remnant of the Belgian colonialisation. French is still the language of government there, but there are also four official indigenous languages.

"Bert Jansch ‘Angie’ reminded me that I should study a lot more if I want to be a good guitar player. There’s no way that I can play that. He is so talented."

Notes will follow… but I will just quickly mention that I can play this on the guitar – not as well as Bert obviously, but it's getting there! Start in Am. I also had the good fortune of seeing Bert in concert last week for the first time – absolutely amazing!

"Francis Cabrel’s La Corrida – I liked it the first time I listened to it and the more I listened to it the more my ‘like’ turned into a ‘love’."

Notes will follow…

"I was planning to put Joni Mitchell’s River into my CD too but I forgot it at the last second. Out of all Joni Mitchell songs this one is my all time favorite. It makes me cry, It’s the perfect choice."

Thanks – I'm not afraid to admit that this particular Joni Mitchell song has also brought tears to my eyes on more than one occasion. She brings so much emotion and personality to her music that one can't help but be moved by it. She is one of the greats.

"Well my review for your CD is finished for now Cams. I want to thank you for the cd and also for bringing this Towie Tree project into life."

Thank YOU Zeynep. It's an absolute pleasure to have breathed life into this and it is very rewarding to have comments such as these.

Best wishes,
Cams

Oh, and incidentally, Amélie is one my favourite movies too and in a previous tape tree I included two tracks from the wonderful soundtrack.

And finally, here are the sleeve notes to my compilation as promised.

Koop

I first heard Koop when I went into a music shop in Cornwall to buy a Pink Floyd CD for my father-in-law's birthday. I'd never heard anything quite like it and bought it on the spot. It's the only music of its sort that I have and I love it!

Peter Gabriel

I've been a fan of Peter's for a long time now, and his latest album from which this was taken was a long time in coming. This is high on my list of CDs of the year.

This particular track features Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, and the way that it builds up at the end is uplifting.

The Waterboys

I've been a fan of Mike Scott and The Waterboys since their first album back in 1983. (That album has recently been remastered with some bonus tracks by the way). They didn't have many hits and are probably best known for their 1985 hit single, The Whole of the Moon. Their first three albums were fairly rocky-poppy but with more meaningful lyrics than your usual pop music. Lyrically and melodically they were kind of bleak.

Their fourth album – Fisherman's Blues -- showed a big departure from their roots into a more Scots/Irish folky place and received much critical acclaim. That album was possibly their best and I didn't think they'd ever release anything quite so influential, but it's just possible that I like their new album more. Maybe it's just that I and Mike Scott seem to be getting older at the same time, who knows. The production on the new album is superb, and the recording on the vocals gives his lyrics a rare kind of honesty IMO.

Ideally I'd like to have included many more Waterboys tracks, or maybe at least two from different albums but I'm so happy with where they are now that I thought it better to include two of the newest tracks.

I think Mike Scott is one of those rare kinds of artists who does what he wants to do regardless of how that is perceived, and it's that that gives him the honesty that I feel in his music.

Nick Harper

It was a real trial to pick just two Nick Harper tracks. He is one of the freshest things to come out of the UK in a long time IMO, and he just gets better and better. I've yet to see him live on his own, but it's just a matter of time. I've actually seen him twice accompanying his dad, Roy, on tour but in my opinion he has grown into something bigger than Roy ever was. Seek this guy out, he absolutely rocks! – and for the Gearheads out there, he plays a Lowden 023.

Roy Harper

I thought I'd include a Roy track too. Roy is a great singer songwriter who is not quite so well known as a lot of his peers, the best example of whom may be Jimmy Page.

Kate Rusby

A recent discovery for me, purchased on the back of a recommendation from a BBC Radio 2 DJ (Mike Harding for those who know him). Her voice is gold. Actually she sings a cover of SV's Queen and the Solider with another Katherine whose name escapes men at the moment.

Salif Keita

One time singer of French group Les Ambassadeurs, Keita has gone back to his roots in Mali and is on top form here. This album was introduced to me through the "other" music board where the trees took place, and went down a storm with most of the posters. This CD is also in my top 5 purchases of last year, and warrants repeated and repeated and repeated listings – you get the picture. The more you hear it, the more it gets under your skin until you get to the point where you just don't want it to stop.

Peter Finger

I'm an acoustic guitarist and aspire to play like this guy. I hadn't heard of him until one day he did a gig in Luxembourg in a small café restaurant. I was completely blown away by this guy's technical ability, and of course pleasantly surprised to see that he played the same guitar as I do! He's from Germany and is the man behind the Acoustic Music Records and the Akustik Gitarre magazine. He plays almost exclusively in EBEGAD for those who care about such things.

I left that concert with six CDs and a music book, he's THAT good.

Lokua Kanza

Another African artist, this time from the Democratic Republic of Congo. I first heard this guy on Andy Kershaw's world music show on BBC Radio 3 and had to buy his CD. I bought two and love it. I should really have put on a couple of tracks both of LK and Salif Keita, but you know how space is restricted and choices have to be made!

Glenn Tilbrook

Best known as part of British group Squeeze, Glenn is still very active in the songwriting world. I heard him interviewed and playing a set on BBC Radio Scotland and ordered it the next day. I like Squeeze a lot and find Tilbrook's solo stuff is a continuation of what I liked. A talented songwriter with a typically British sense of humour, this is a quirky track that tells the tale of his interview with Randy Newman.

Akvarium

I spent my gap year in Odessa, Ukraine as part of my Russian language studies. There, I was introduced to Akvarium and a love affair blossomed. This is a prime example of the sort of music that should be played in the UK (and perhaps the US, I can't comment) if it weren't for the fact that non-English language music is completely sidelined (same goes for movies too). The man behind Akvarium is Boris Grebenschikov who pretty well respected amongst "western" artists, just not the music-buying public.

The main lyric in this translates as: my death travels in a black car with a blue flashing light. Brings to mind the black Volgas of the security services – shudder!

Gotan Project

A Franco-Argentinian group playing tango music for the millennium. I was lucky enough to see this group last year and they are phenomenal. A fresh sound that gets right under your skin.

Bert Jansch

My favourite guitarist and, along with SV, responsible for my picking up the guitar. He has been credited as being one of the pioneers of the British style of acoustic folk guitar, whose influences include Brownie McGhee and Leadbelly. Again, one of the folkies who never really made it big in celebrity terms but who has influenced plenty of people who did (again, Jimmy Page).

Mano Chao

Not much I can say about this group, other than I really like them.

Francis Cabrel

I was introduced to the music of Francis Cabrel by my wife and really love it. I don't understand French that well, but the music grabbed me and I've had a lot of the lyrics explained to me. This particular track is from the perspective of a bull, wondering why these bullfighters dressed in funny clothes have a right to take him out of his natural environment for the sake of entertainment. It really is very moving.

Joni Mitchell

I first heard A Case of You on the BBC's Desert Island Discs (picked by Lulu I seem to recall) and was blown away by this woman's voice. I then bought the album that it's on, Blue, and had it on repeat for weeks. It has a particular meaning for me as, when on my honeymoon, I lay on a lounger by the pool in the sun and really listened to the whole album. It was wonderful – never before have I been so moved by music of any kind. The track I've chosen is the one that had me sniffling. Great stuff.

And that concludes my compilation. Hope you like it!

Cams

Cams,

The Kate Rusby CD you were thinking of, where she covers The Queen and the Soldier, was the eponymous 'Kate Rusby and Kathryn Roberts'. (Pure Records, 1995.) Apart from the vocals (both), Kathryn played piano and flute, John McCusker (now Mr Rusby?) played violin, and Alison Kinnaird played cello.

I assume that Pure Records is Kate's own independent label, set up before she became more widely known with her solo 'Hourglass' CD.

I wonder if SuzyV is thinking of going independent? If so, there was a background article about Indies in The Observer newspaper a few months ago, which you should be able to read here:

Size Does Matter. It's Good To Be Small
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/business/story/0,69 03,982274,00.html

You also mentioned The Gotan Project, who I saw in Brighton about six months ago. A great concert and very dramatic, particularly when they ****** *** *******, but I wonder if the novelty might wear off after a while. They seem to have become this year's Moby, with their music cropping up as as backing tracks in every other TV programme. 'Santa Maria (del buen ayre)' from their 'la revencha del tango' CD is even being used in a UK TV advertisement for UPS, the parcel delivery company. Gotan is an anagram of tango, if anyone doesn't know.

While I'm here, I'll just hijack the rest of this message to add how much I've appreciated reading Suzanne's Road Diary, even though I'm sure she must have found it 'just too much' some of the time. I feel a bit guilty because I once mentioned how much I'd enjoyed reading Elvis Costello's road diary, so I hope I didn't give her ideas. No - actually I hope I did! She'll find it useful when she comes to write her autobiography anyway, like politicians when they write their memoirs. Now there's an idea - how about Suzanne standing against Arnie sometime. I'd love to see the debate. She'd wipe the floor with him.

Chris

Hello Cams :o)

So you though I wouldn't write a rewiev :o) OK, it is going to be very short, as I sent your CD to Bob long time ago, and I'm not sure I remember all my thoughts about your music.

First of all: it was a fantastic CD! A real world music compilation. You won the prize for this category, although I haven't yet heard all the CDs... But... :o)

Koop was amazing. This Cecilia Stalin has an enchanting voice. And a weird name :o)

Peter Gabriel & Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. I've heard a song on the Naturally Born Killers Soundtrack by Peter Gabriel. I think it was only this Ali Khan who sang on the CD. But you write that this song is from his latest album. They probably like to work together :o)

You are so lucky that you went to see the Gotan Project! They were in Budapest this year... or was that in 2002?... But the tickets were very expensive and I was flat broke. They played with a band from Romania, and I heard that they were also fantastic. I won't miss them next time.

Manu Chao. Oh, I love that album. But I've heard these two tracks so many times, they lost the magic. But I still love that album, it still sounds so fresh. It is so simple but so fantastic. Although I must say I was a bit disappointed when I heard the same simplicity on his next album... and the same noises... But I guess I'm just not used to world music. It is good, anyway.

Now, the problem is I can't listen to the CD anymore. But I still remember, that I really liked Joni Mitchell's song, Akvarium - the song has this typical Eastern-European mood with politically loaded lyrics. I included a Czech artist on my CD. If you liked Akvarium, you'll probably like him as well. At least, you're already used to Slavic languages :o)

I also liked Peter Finger and Kate Rusby very much.

I wish I could write more, but after 3 weeks it is very hard.
It was a fantastic CD, I also found my brother listening to it :o)

Andr.