Does anyone know if and where, there is a downloadable list of all the studio songs that Matt recorded.
There is a list on Micheles website but its out of date. By the time I've finished releases on here you will know what has been available
I went for the cheaper option of the CD alone on Ebay. I don't do vinyl for various reasons that are nothing to do with music. The full package is on there though if anyone is interested.
The Album 'If I never sing another song' is very difficult. Discogs deny its existence. Allmusic at least acknowledge that but do not have a picture of the cover. A few tracks are on A Time For Love and you can hear some others on YouTube. Has anyone got a picture of the cover?
I dug out my "Walk Away/Invitation" CD, and compared it to "Complete Singles". "Softly is 3.26 on Singles, and 2.06 on Walk Away. Looking at it in Audacity, the section of the original from 1.30 to 2.50 has been cut out.
ImageBam Todos Hablan Puedo Ser Felix (You've Made Me So Very Happy) Cae La Iluvia Sobre Mi Cabeza (Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head) Jean Si Yo Fuera Carpintero (If I Were A Carpenter) No Me Pesa, Es Mi Hermano (He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother) Todos Hablan (Everybody's Talking) Jamás Volveré A Enamorarme (I'll Never Fall In Love Again) Nava Naguilah (Hava Nagila) Por Primera Vez (For Once In My Life) A Mi Manera (My Way) At least that's the listing I have.
The problem i have with this album, and i think the reason it has been ignored in most compilations is that its arrangements stray a bit too close to disco at times. And why include two Christmas songs on an album released in March? I also seem to recollect that the two tracks on Time For Love are needle drops!
I have found four that I thought were not on CD Ready Steady Go Friend, Lover, Woman, Wife Sunday Kind of Woman Only One So where do I find the two tracks that are? Are they on The Man Behind The Voice CD? That's assuming your missing two are on this list too.
Better than nothing! What is the track listing? Also can you tell me what is on The Man Behind The Voice? I can't make it out from the picture on Ebay (I wish they wouldn't take them out of their cover to photograph them btw - it doesn't inspire confidence!)
Only Once is on The Man Behind The Voice. Friend is on "His Finest" which was a Marks & Spencers exclusive CD, though it does still pop up on eBay.
The two Christmas tracks (which have that heavy reggae/disco sound), put in amongst the others, is madness. If you ignore those two (I stick them with Christmas Magic) then the rest of the album doesn't have as much of a disco flavour. "With These Hands" has got that disco backing, but listening to the vocal - it has a standard ballad pacing, so could be placed over a more traditional instrumentation. There's no saving "You Light Up My Life". A bit too sickly for a Matt song. Of the rest "Answer Me" has a bit of drums over it, but sounds like more of a normal ballad backing to me. Likewise "I Think I'm Getting Over You" has a beat to it which Scott Walker's version doesn't, which makes Matt's version sound like they were aiming for a soft rock sound. It isn't horrible. I think if you concentrate on the vocals you can hear that with a more timeless, classic backing you could have a decent album. Especially if tracks from that time like "Precious Moments" had been added.
The arrangement - disco or otherwise - are almost all dated. Yes i agree the vocals are all good though. One of the things i wanted to look at for Alternate was stripping some of the tracks back an maybe even adding new elements (all the way up to complete replacement of the accompaniment), but budgets wouldn't even stretch to getting the tapes transferred. I did get an alternate mix of I think im getting over you sent but its almost indistinguishable from the issued version and the only way i know its not is because the chosen mix had been cut from the reel.