Something I forgot to say about this… first appearance of a descant recorder on a TDC track since Regeneration?
The One Who Loves You I agree that this more direct approach makes an affecting change after the metaphorical songs, but I prefer the 2nd and 3rd verses (really dig the "finding your other half is anything but a laugh, it's hard" lines) as well as the "it's worth it" part. I agree with the above and am equally torn, which is why I'll give it a 3.5. You perfectly explain why it is not among my favourite TDC albums as a whole, although I do enjoy a lot of the songs on their own. That credit goes to someone else, but I also enjoyed these live versions (even if I don't like the first song) and the unusual setting.
Well, yesterday’s two bonus tracks were a rip-roaring success! Let’s carry on with a couple more… ARP Break A synthy instrumental thing, presumably named after the Korg ARP Odyssey synth?
And here’s one of Neil’s covers - this time it’s “C’est Si Bon”, a French song originally composed by Henri Betti and André Hornez. Not quite sure why a) Neil uses the French title but sings it in English or b) it peters out after a minute!
And because let’s get this over with, here’s the last track we haven’t yet posted. A cover of Depeche Mode’s Just Can’t Get Enough Arranged in sort of Trad Divine Comedy style, mostly for piano, bass and woodblock
Teeth 1 Lucky 2.5 ARP 2 (possibly a 2.5, but I prefer Lucky Day) Bon quite like this brief little song. 2.7 Enough not so keen on covers of popular songs that I'm not that fussed by. 2
The instrumental wibble is neglible as stands. C'est si bon is a rare DC French cover where a) I'm not familiar with the original and b) I don't like it much now that I've heard it. Just Can't Get Enough falls into the "fun live, pointless on record" category of cover version. A blanket 2/5 one and all.
I like all of these doodles, though don't have much to say about them - as @jon-senior says, it would really help to know what they were for, if anything. ARP Break is my favourite, Kraftwerk with meditative warmth. Maybe there's a bumper pack of Kraftwerk presets available - or do we think Neil programmed those Europe Endless arpeggios himself? I'm increasingly intrigued by the Charmed Life third disc though. What do we think those songs are? 'New and unreleased' says the blurb. But if the box set bonus discs had room for Them Chattering Teeth and several virtually identical demo versions of album tracks, what is left over? I guess there could be some real dregs, but maybe it's just stuff that didn't fit thematically? Or those additional 2013/14 tracks that Neil hadn't found a place for yet? Or is it effectively a new album of post-Office-Politics tracks? Mixture of everything probably... Yep, will do - will wait for the last few scores to come in though. Oh good... I'm very glad you like A Desperate Man by the way - my grumpiness is usually annoyance that I can't get into something, but surely the problem is with me... What's the point in not liking things? I had a second thought about the album actually - this has been bothering me: My basic assumption about Foreverland is that it's Neil's 'happy in love' album - which, as a few people said, gets cloying by the end, if that's all that's going on. But maybe coming in with that lens is making me miss some of the less positive aspects. How Can You Leave Me On My Own?, My Happy Place and A Desperate Man are all negative in a sense - yes, Neil's in love, but he's clearly worried about being so dependent on love, about whether that's healthy. Not sure that adds up to an exploration of the 'terrifying and unfathomable' aspects of your other half but it's something. (Apologies to the many people who've probably already said this and I've forgotten...)
I've already mentioned my main takeaway from the album Foreverland - it's the only album where there's not a single song I dislike. On the other hand, I haven't given full marks to any single song either, though I think there was one or two who got in the high fours. As for these bonus tracks: Them Chattering Teeth Fun for a listen or two, but the joke isn't that funny and the lack of substance ultimately hurts it. Like @jon-senior I wonder if it isn't longer, because the fade seems to come out of nowhere. 2.4 Your Lucky Day This is more like it. I like the melody and while the backing is twee I sort of enjoy it anyway. I wish this were longer, but it's good enough for my playlist so I'll give it a 3.7 ARP Break I like this in general, but would have liked there to have been some kind of melody accompanying the ARP riffing. Again, good enough for my playlist. 3.6 C'est Si Bon The song itself isn't a particular favourite of mine, and this short run-through is okay as a bonus track but doesn't really hold my interest. I too wonder why, if Neil thought it worth it to record it, he didn't make a bit more out of it. 3.2 Just Can't Get Enough The original is a classic, and while I like that Neil has changed things up a bit with the backing instrumentation, I don't find it engaging enough. I'll always choose the original before this one. That percussion (woodblocks?) gets incredibly annoying after a while. 3.2
Yes I've been wondering about those too, but more from a stylistic point of view in that the titles sound a bit like they could be Foreverland-style, but of course they could be something be something completely different... ARP @LivingForever I'm sure you're right it's the name of a synth, that makes more sense than it being somehow related to ARP wardens...! Its a fine little doodle, but doesn't stick with me at all after hearing it. 2.5/5 C'est si bon Short and pleasant, maybe he just felt it a bit sickly to continue for longer? I'm glad ot is short and sweet. 2.7/5 Just Can't Get Enough I do enjoy the basic feel of this and can imagine Neil sitting in a room in the National Concert Hall slapping a table with a plastic ruler to get that slightly irritating sound. It's ok to begin with but gets a bit annoying, especially as nothing else really changes in the song. I like the piano part - yes, 'trad-TDC' it is! Reminds me a bit of his covers of The Model and Life's What You Make It. 3.2/5
Yes! You'd think the boxset would have left the cupboards reasonably bare - too bare to suddenly discover another 10 songs, anyway. And you'd think the quality threshold for the Charmed Life extra disc would be higher than the boxset as the market is more casual. I suppose its possible that they were held back for Charmed Life depending on how long the project has been in development. For now, I'm inclined to go with "recently written and recorded tracks that don't have another obvious home", but I have nothing to base that on. ARP Break Pleasand bit of noodling. Nothing to get excited about, to be honest, but I guess his continued creation of things like this is what lead to Office Politics. 2/5 C'est Si Bon I have no familiarity with the original track, but this is nice for what it is. Hard to get a handle on it because it's so short. Feels similar, to me, to Your Lucky Day in style which makes me wonder whether they were both recorded for the same reason (whatever that might have been). 2.5/5 Just Can't Get Enough This one I really like. I know the original, but not that well. I think the arrangement is excellent, and I generally love the feeling of Neil relaxing into a song he enjoys. Again, I wonder why it was recorded, but I can see the possibility that it was just for fun, and why not. This track, and the two covers from Office Politics, really make me want a TDC solo-recorded covers album. A shame he didn't knock one out during lockdown - if it didn't happen then, I guess it probably won't. 4/5
While we wait to move on from the bonus disc, this is a bit out of chronology but @drykid very kindly sent me the full TDC set from La Philharmonie in Paris from February 2015. This is the gig which was previously posted in part as a joint video with some songs from Tindersticks’ set- but now this is the full 2+ hour TDC set as live streamed on the night. As @drykid said previously he prefers to only put up single songs, and I’m willing to risk a full concert, here it is for your viewing entertainment! This is one of the very first TDC band gigs since the “Victory” tour. (If not the first?) Setlist : Part 1 : 1. Absent Friends 2. Assume The Perpendicular 3. Have You Ever Been In Love 4. Your Daddy's Car 5. The Summerhouse 6. The Plough 7. The Booklovers 8. In Pursuit Of Happiness 9. Something For The Weekend 10. Becoming More Like Alfie 11. The Frog Princess Part 2 : 12. Charge 13. Sweden 14. Bang Goes The Knighthood 15. A Lady Of A Certain Age 16. Songs Of Love 17. When The Lights Go Out All Over Europe 18. Generation Sex 19. Down In The Street Below 20. The Complete Banker 21. Charmed Life 22. Tonight We Fly Encore 1 : 23. Our Mutual Friend 24. National Express Encore 2 : 25. Sunrise
This is probably my favourite track on the bonus disc besides the disco version of "Napoleon Complex". I have included it in my alternate tracklist for the album just before "To The Rescue" and "How Can You Leave Me On My Own". I think that works quite well thematically: first a song which in its final form ended up on a charity album related to the animal rescue project that is responsible for the following songs dealing with Neil's admiration for Cathy's activism and moaning about him being left alone because of it. Them Chattering Teeth I'm glad it's not longer as it's not my style, but it's actually quite listenable. 2 Your Lucky Day I think its length is perfect, otherwise it might annoy me. Completely agree with you. Again, this is not what I usually listen to, but it works as a bonus track and doesn't outstay its welcome. Argh, this actually sounds so familiar, especially the trumpet hook, which might even be ripped off from another classic song, but I just can't put my finger on it... 3 Thanks for this. It was very unusual to see Steve Pemberton (one half of the often brilliant creators of Inside No. 9) singing with Neil's voice. According to IMDB, Neil voices two more songs for actors in two other episodes. ARP Break Definitely named after the synthesizer brand from the 70s, though I'm not sure which one he uses here. Orbital used the ARP 2600 for a lot of their tracks. Yes, it's nice and reminds one of Kraftwerk and early instrumental B-sides by Depeche Mode, but it's the addition of melodies that elevates tracks like this to something more substantial (something that Orbital excel in). It would be nice if he programmed them himself. It's my favourite of the bunch, too (besides the DM cover), although there are more successful tracks in this vein coming up on the Office Politics bonus disc. 3 C'est si bon I'm not sure either, but I'm glad for both. I vastly prefer it to Eartha Kitt's version. Surprisingly enjoyable given I don't really like these type of songs. It helps that Neil sped it up. 3 Just Can’t Get Enough Yes, it doesn't hold a candle to the original, but I think it wasn't Neil's intention to better it. It really does sound like a fun cover of a synth classic done in traditional TDC style that works better in a live environment. That said, I'm not averse to @jon-senior's suggestion of a covers album (though one could compile one from the best covers already released). I don't think I'd like to listen to ten synth songs in this style, though. If anything, I'd prefer it if he turned other songs into synth covers for a change. 3.5 Good questions. I'm hoping for the additional 2013/14 tracks that Neil hadn't found a place for yet, mainly because they started out as synth tracks and I hope he'll just use these demos and continue in an Office Politics vein. Both of which could mean that my hope for these tracks may be fulfilled, unless he's saving them for the next album proper.
That would be fun Thanks everso much for this, both to you and @drykid . I watched a bit of it while cooking dinner (got as far as the 'interesting' version of The Booklovers!) and really like the arrangements so far with the trumpet/sax, cello, violin and accordion all adding a lot in my book. Will watch the rest when time allows as I like the mix of songs in the set list. Could this be the first time he'd played songs from Knighthood live in a fuller arrangement? It looks as though he forgot where he was more than once during Have You Ever Been In Love because he was just enjoying listening to the strings and trumpet/sax! (Neil looks really different with that 'hipster' beard!)
"The One Who Loves You": This is fine, and makes sense as the album closer. It just doesn't blow me away with greatness or anything, and yet more banjo up front. It's fine, like several things on the record, that just don't go any further. 3.5/5
Them Chattering Teeth Interesting idea. Wonder what it would have become. 2.5/5 Your Lucky Day We must be thinking of the same song. And I can't peg it either. Been trying. Regardless, nicely short and sweet. 2.75/5 ARP Break Neil has a knack of introducing just enough new elements, twists, and turns as these electronic tracks progress that it keeps the listener interested to the end. 3.0/5 C'est Si Bon It swings....A very enjoyable 60 seconds recalling another era. I especially like the guitar and piano finale. 3.2/5 Just Can't Get Enough Agreed that it's not in the same league as the original, and that's fine for the bonus disc. The de-synthing in favor of the piano is an interesting take, and more intimate. Wonder what prompted it. Might have been a rainy day and Neil was testing some new studio equipment. This one and Pop Muzik on the next disc of extras mildly annoy me in that I can't help but think of all the worthy covers he played live and never recorded in studio (or did record, and didn't include on the box set), that I wonder how these two made the cut. 3.3/5
Thanks for this! I previously had only that joint edited version, so this will be fun to run through. I've always liked what I'd heard of the show and the filming is quality. Thought the addition of Sia's Chandelier in the Our Mutual Friend outro worked surprisingly well, bringing a bit of the same yearning to the song that the narrator conveys when describing that unusual night.
Ok, up next, we have the chamber piece "In May". When we discussed this before, it seemed to be kind of 50/50 for covering it as if it was an album. On reflection I think we will cover it like "Swallows and Amazons", posting 2-3 tracks s a day. People can choose to participate in this bit, or not if they don't wish to. Also please feel free to listen along and comment without scoring if it feels "wrong" to score these songs...! Will post some background info later this morning and then we can get started with the first couple of tracks later.
I'm a bit rusty on the previous history lessons I wrote, to say whether it is the very first one, but this was certainly one of the first times those songs were played other than as solo piano/guitar renditions. These pre-"Foreverland" gigs in 2015-6 really do feel like a kind of belated "Bang Goes the Knighthood" band tour as a result!
With In May I feel it works best when listened to as a whole in one go, or the emotional impact and musical progression are diluted, so I'll probably not comment as we go along until I've had the chance to sit down and listen to it all again, which will probably be later in the week.
Yeah, it’s a tough one to get right, this. Even more so than “Swallows and Amazons” I don’t know whether each individual track really stands up to separate scrutiny and discussion. But the alternative is I dump 19 tracks all on one day, tell people to go away and digest the whole piece and come back to tell us what they thought, and that seems like it would result in a dead thread for a week, so perhaps this other way will keep things going!
Sorry, don't think I quite expressed that properly above! I completely agree that discussing them a few at a time makes the most sense (and grouping roughly by month seems a good idea). I just meant that I'd like to listen to them all again in one go before commenting, so will join in once I've done that.
So this is where I'm up to now... My Happy Place - it's a bit of an odd song, I like the darker verses but the chorus is twee and irritating. I imagine a guy clutching a teddy bear for some reason. The demo is - as most people seem to agree - a lot better, with it's electronic feel. The only problem I have with the demo is that the lyric switches sharply in the chorus and there the doom-laden backing sounds at odds with the cheerfulness of the words. I wonder if maybe Neil is trying the musically impossible by combining a sad verse with a happy chorus. Because every time you transition from one to the other then it just jars. I kind of wish that this was one of those demos with a different lyric to the finished song, because if the chorus lyric was different then the demo would work even better. I give the finished version 3 /5 but the demo 4 / 5. A Desperate Man - obviously a pastiche of sixties TV action themes, and well done I guess. The lyric is very silly but I suppose the thinking was - assuming that the music was written first - that if it's meant to mimic those kind of TV shows musically, then why not make the lyrics a nod to the man-on-the-run theme that was a staple of such shows. So I think it's nicely thought out, but still a bit slight. I prefer the demo for being a bit more understated, although I imagine it's just because he was only trying to get down the basics with the intention of filling out the rest later. I think it's sometimes easy with these demos to forget they are just demos rather than alternate versions as such. And if they're more stripped down then it may just be because that's all that was needed at that point. Anyway I'd give both versions 2.5 / 5.
