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Band Listing:
The listing varies so much from track to track that it will be listed with the lyrics. Featured prominantly, however, are Mitchell Froom, Jerry Scheff, Jim Keltner, T Bone Burnett, Jim Burton, Steve Nieve, Pete Thomas and Bruce Thomas.
From the spring of 1984 to the spring of 1985 I completed three separate "solo" tours with only a couple of guitars and some clumsy fingers and thumbs at the piano. On each occasion I was joined by T-Bone Burnett. Our travels through America, Europe, Japan, and Australia gave me plenty of time for writing and performing new tunes. Most of these new songs were written on the acoustic guitar, but unlike many in the past they were intended to be accompanied in the same way.
Somewhere in the middle of all this I became involved with The Pogues, who were also know to do things to acoustic instruments. I saw my task of producing their second album, "Rum, Sodomy and the Lash", as that which I had attempted with The Specials. That was to capture them in their dilapidated glory before some more professional producer fucked them up. The fact that some earworrying folk music frauds were blind to the excellence of Shane MacGowan's songs was their loss.
After that, I pretty much gave up producing other people's records. You can only marry the bass player once.
Then there were The Coward Brothers..... Declaring this to be their "Second Comeback Tour", these embittered characters made several unscheduled appearances in my shows with T-Bone. Despite claiming authorship of most of the very famous songs they performed, the profits of their "First Comeback Tour" had been squandered when they were persuaded to fake their own deaths in advance of the "Ultimate Comeback Tour." These and other shabby admissions were exclusively revealedin The Cowards' impromptu television interview with C.N.N. - whose news crew happened to be killing time while waiting for President Reagan to emerge from his holiday hideaway - when the Brothers - Howard resplendent in a white brocade jacket, Henry in that sober little Nudie nuber with the rhinestone lapels plus sunglasses - stumbled into their poolside barbecue for a drink.
This masquerade was really an excuse for performing songs ranging from their theme tune, the George Jones classic "Ragged But Right", through Bobby Charles' "Tennesee Blues" to a medly of "I Left My Heart In San Francisco" and "If You're Going to San F..." You probably get the picture...... As their ghost writers T-Bone and I composed "The People's Limousine" during a long and occasionally surreal journey through Italy.
In early '85 The Coward Brothers' first and only single was recorded in Los Angeles with David Miner on bass and Ron Tutt on drums. The b-side was a Leon Payne song made famous by Hank Williams "They'll Never Take Her Love From Me" on which the Cowards were joined by D. Miner and Stephen Bruton on mandolin.
During the same visit I went into the Sunset sound studios to record versions of all of the then completed songs for my next record. T-Bone and engineer Larry Hirsch were extremely patient as a collision with a bottle of whiskey gradually undid the session. However this was not before I had recorded several incresingly incoherent takes of "Poisoned Rose", "American Without Tears" and "Indoor Fireworks".
(A very ponderous reading of "I Hope You're Happy Now" was briefly released from this session but for this issue I have chosen another almost entirely unpublished recording: "Suffering Face". I say "almost" because parts of the lyric found their way into a song featured on the album "Blood And Chocolate" called "Crimes of Paris").
Despite the ragged nature of the demos, T-Bone and I were able to plan the album sessions en route for The Coward Brothers' final comeback tour of Australia and Japan, on which we were the "special guests". By the time we entered Hollywood's Ocean Way Studios we had booked several line-ups to tackle the songs.
The first consisted of Ron Tutt on Drums, Jerry Scheff on bass and James Burton on guitar. This trio had been a major part of Elvis Presley's "T.C.B." band, although I was actually more familiar with Ron and James' recordings with Gram Parsons. It turned out that Jerry, whos musical background included the navy and modern jazz, has also featured on records ranging from The Fifth Dimension's "Up, Up and Away" to The Doors' "L.A. Woman".
James Burton is one of the few guitar players who is almost always called "legendary. " This is because he IS amazing AND his credits stretch from Dale Hawkins' "Suzie Q" through his years with Ricky Nelson and Elvis Presley to a fantastic range of session and stage appearances, Jerry Lee Lewis, Emmylou Harris, and Randy Newman being only three of my favourites from the hundreds of artists he has played with.
These sessions were cut as "live" as possible. t-bone and engineer Larry Hirsch had miked me so that my vocal and guitar performances were central to the sound picture. With the exception of some trickery on "Jack Of All Parades", there were few effects employed other than reverb. The distortion of the piano on "Sleep Of The Just" was achieved in the studio (by running the mikes through a Leslie cabinet) so that we could play to the altered sound.
After balances were achieved the musicians gathered around to learn the changes. My task was made much easier as the players were referring to charts transcribed from my demos by T-Bone's associate producer David Miner. It only remained to determine where I intended to straighten out the wayward meter of the solo renditions.
The first song recorded was "Our Little Angel". It took about four attempts to get the finished take. The original intention was to concentrate this ensemble's efforts on any country-styled ballads, but instead I called "The Big Light", a fast, grim comedy that was written in the awful wake of the drunken "Suffering Face" session earlier that year. I had imagined that the accompaniment should be something like The Tennessee Two (and johnny Cash later cut it in that very style). However James kicked off a series of guitar figures reminiscent of the "T.C.B." threatment of "Mystery Train" and Jerry and Ron fell in behind and we were away. Take one! Elated by this, we went on to cut "American Without Tears".
This song was based on a chance meeting with a couple of former G.I. brides during a tour of Florida. They had volunteered their stories while I was drinking at an adjacent table. Of course the names and locations were changed and I added in a little of my own family history but it stayed pretty true to their tale of exile and escape. It is as close as this record comes to having a theme.
With the exception of the adding Jo-El Sonnier's French accordion part to "American Without Tears", three of our most valuable tracks were totally finished in the first few hours of recording.
The next day was not quite so successful, but we had a lot of fun racing through "Glitter Gulch", the tale of a game-show swindle, which features James on guitar and dobro, and cut the ballad "Shoes Without Heels", a song dashed off in solidarity with footsore waitresses everywhere. With time in hand we even attempted versions of "Lovable" and "Indoor Fireworks" but concluded that these were really for another day.
(Jerry and james both toured in the "Confederate" bands after the album's release. In fact Jerry Scheff was also the bass player in both "Rude Five" line-ups which toured after the albums "Spike" and "Mighty Like A Rose". James and jerry also feature on my much delayed covers album "Kojak Variety".
The only other time I played with Ron Tutt was when, along with James, Jerry and pianist Glen D. Hardin, the "T.C.B. Band" (plus guest acoustic rhythm guitarist!) accompanied Roy Orbison and "Special guests": Bruce Springsteen, Bonnie Raitt, jackson Browne, T Bone Burnett, k.d. lang and Tom Waits - to mention a few - for the "Black and White Night" T.V. special in 1987).
Recording with members of Elvis Presley's band might have seemed daunting or even provcative, However none of this could quite prepare me for the intimidting prospect of our next session.
When T-bone had pencilled these names next to studio dates somewhere over the pacific it had seemed like a brilliant idea. After all the intention had never been to hire off-the-peg "legends" for the hell of it. In fact the first two players through the door were unknown to me; pianist Tom Canning and keyboard player and producer Mitchell Froom who was to play Hammond B-3 on the session. It was the rhythm section that was alarming! On drums: earl Palmer who, among many other things, had starred on most of the great Little Richard sides. On Bass: Ray Brown who's jazz recording credits could and probably do, fill a book... Gillespie...Parker...Powell...Peterson...Ellington.... You name them. He's played with them. While the introductions were underway T-Bone was musing as to why nobody seemed to be able to achieve the spontaneity that we had heard on a Louis Armstrong/Ella Fitzgerald side playing on the inflight music around the time we were planning this very session. Being the diplomat Earl informed us... "Of course, you know, Ray was Ella's first husband..." and after a beat Ray added "I think I might have played on that session".
"Oh yeah" I was thinking, "and now where going to play this stupid little song I've written".
Actually I think they both might have thought I was out of my mind when I said I didn't give a damn if this record was a hit, so long as it sounded right. This was clearly not the sort of talk they were accustomed to. Still, with Tom and Mitchell quietly taking care of their parts we eventually got the take of "Poisoned Rose". I just had to get my nervous voice under control and catch a first verse where my performance sat right with the Ray's solitary bass accompaniment. Cue the celebration and crack open the Glenlivet!
It was then that T-Bone called "Eisenhower Blues", an obscure J.B. Lenoir side that I had just learned. There was no real reason to cut it except that it gave everyone a chance to relax and play a bit (I think T-Bone just wanted to hear Ray Brown let loose on a tune like this). We did one long double take and cross-faded the highlights together. It certainly gives the album a ckik in between all these ballads.
The session ended with suitably blurred photos being snapped. They seem to have got lost. Even if Ray and Earl thought I was some kind of crazy, limey millionaire who went around hiring my jazz and r'n'b heroes on a whim, I wish I could find that damn photograph.
Unfortunately the "Poisoned Rose" celebrations went on far too long and I arrived for the next day's session in pretty poor shape. Now if this is probably starting to sound like one man's slide to alcoholic oblivion then I think that the results contradict the evidence. Arranged around me in a semi-circle were James Burton on acoustic guitar, Jerry Scheff on string bass, Mitchell Froom on organ. Shaking only slightly, I took up my position and after one complete take we had "Indoor Fireworks".
Of course we always went on to record several further attempts just in case there was any temptation to take the easy way out. However, it was best that we cut it quickly as this kind of romantic obituary is not something you would want to labour over.
Over the next few days a new band emerged with Mitchell Froom on keyboards, Jerry Scheff on bass and Jim Keltner on drums.
(Truthfully, I had originally vetoed T-Bone's suggestion of Keltner as I naievely associated him with some of California's most cliched and formula recordings. Not only did this show an unusual ignorance of my own record collection - Jim had played with Ry Cooder, John Lennon and Bob Dylan not to mention starting out with Gary Lewis and the Playboys! - but I soon discovered that he was one of the most creatively eccentric, inventive and bohemian drummers alive).
This line-up cut three of the album's most personal songs: "Lovable", which features a one-take harmony vocal from Los Lobos' David Hidalgo (and my only electric guitar playing on the record - credited to the "Little Hands of Concrete" as I had once been dubbed by Nick Lowe after trashing yet another set of strings.). "I'll Wear It Proudly" and "Sleep Of The Just".
We also recorded a song called "King Of Confidence" which I had always imagined I would re-cut, until a recent hearing made me wonder why it had not made the album. Obviously the fact that I was playing acoustic guitar and singing "live" guided the arrangements but the players made wonderful use of all of this extra space. Just a few of the highlights are Mitchell's mysterious introduction to "Sleep Of The Just", Scheff's swinging bass line on "Lovable", and Keltner's kick-drum fills on the bridge of that cut and the fade of "I'll Wear It Proudly". This was just the kind of detail that was impossible to isolate on my recordings with The Attractions (although that does not mean that you cannot hear such fine playing). It is just that you would have to listen a little harder due to the claustrophobic nature of our sound. Anyway, where were The Attractions during all of this?
I had originally intended to feature The Attractions on half of this record so that the contrast of accompaniments would be heard to best effect. The news of this plan was not exactly recieved with wild celebrations and I suppose I became pretty high-handed about my recording plans. On all sides the old cliche about "familiarity" probably had some substance.
Anyway, by the time The Attractions arrived in Hollywood there was more than half an album's worth of material in the can. This meant that our sessions had a doomed air of suspicion and resentment. After spending so much time together on the road T-Bone and I had a rapport based on a humour that unwittingly drove a wedge between the band and myself. In these circumstances it is hardly surprising that The Attractions delivered some of their worst ever performances.
I had little patience for our failure to get to grips with the one song which I had been certain would suit the band's sound and was fast becoming the session's theme song: "Brilliant Mistake". Apart from the lyric providing the album's title I had always seen this song as the record's opening track. Despite any other departures, I wanted to lead off with an Attractions recording. This was not to be.
I can't quite recall the exact sequence of events but I know we cut a throwaway number that we could have played in our sleep and about which the title was probably the best thing: "Baby's Got A Brand New Hairdo". This steadied our nerves but we weren't exactly having fun. We also cut a song about work and respect called "Suit of Lights". This was inspired by watching my father, Ross, sing of experience and tenderness to an uncomprehending rabble of karaoke-trained dullards. The lessons I might have learned from my own words seemed only to have dawned on me after the event.
Nevertheless I believe that something of those pent up frustrations went into making this one of the most passionate recordings with The Attractions.
(Perhaps this is a very subjective and personal observation but I know we regained some of the looseness that was second-nature to us while we were recording such songs as "Posession" and "Clowntime is Over" during the "Get Happy" sessions in Holland).
Sadly nothing else seemed to fall into place. The recording schedule had to move on and it left my sullen and estranged band hanging around our hotel harbouring a grudge or honing an embittered anecdote. I say this with more than a little unflattering hindsight as by the time I had developed serious tunnel vision and was equally resentful at the disappointing outcome of our sessions.
Into this ugly atmosphere came the rhythm section that was intended to be T-Bone's production trump card. Certainly Mickey Curry and T-Bone Wolk (this brace of "T-Bones" starts to get confusing) did not follow on from the relaxed approach of the earlier sessions.
One of the features of this record is the way in which the instrumentalists arranged themselves in support of the singer, rarely offering an unbidden challenge for the spotlight. This was what I was responding to, and was the complete opposite to my relationship with The Attractions.
The essential difference between English and American musicians could be very crudely defined in these terms: American musicians will always ask "How do we end?", English Musicians only ask "How do we begin?". There are, of course, virtues in both approaches. T-Bone and Mickey probably lay somewhere between these extremes. I knew them as the fine R'n'B rhythm section with Hall and Oates but they were also fans of the English Approach and were frankly by my decision to use them ahead of The Attractions until they witnessed how strained that relationship had become.
We got to work on the song that was intended to give the record company a point of entry into the new/old world of this record. I was still resisting the process of isolating one song from the body of the record by applying the kind of varnish that usually betrays a "hit single attempt".
The original recording of "Blue Chair" stayed in the running order for some time after the session. We maintained the space that the acoustic rhythm-guitar gave us but also had the driving motor that T-Bone and Mickey provided. However as the final sequencing drew nearer I started to doubt the track, feeling that it seemed brash and too eager to please without really doing so. So, the track was shelved until I re-worked it with the addition of an intricate vocal arrangement for a "stand-alone" Demon Records single following the release of "Blood and Chocolate".
(The finished version, along with the above mentioned "Baby's Got A Brand New Hairdo" can be found on the "Extended Play" section of "Blood and Chocolate". CD time capacity does not allow their inclusion here.)
This line-up, which also included Mitchell Froom on Hammond organ, also cut "Jack Of All Parades", an unapologetic companion to "I'll Wear It Proudly". Without the pressure to deliver a "hit-sound" the band worked very well, with fine touches such as T-Bone's volume-control bass interlude before the coda. Steve Nieve added piano to this track, as we searched for the right combination of musicians to capture the last few elusive titles.
Premier among thes was "Brilliant Mistake". When we finally hit it the rhythm section was Mickey Curry playing with brushes (something he was hardly ever asked to do) and Jerry Scheff on string bass. Mitchell Froom took care of the organ and harpsichord while our other bass-player, T-Bone Wolk, was playing Telecaster and later added the accordion part.
The "King Of America" sessions were spread over a period of just under three months due to my reluctance to spend any extended periods in California. The actual "record dates" were quite few in number and were determined by the titles, players and the spontaneous style of the recording. Very few of the attempts of remixing and embellishing the sounds met with success. Most of the tracks were mixed at the end of the session. These became the difinitive balances as surely as if they had been cut to wax.
There were two further record dates for this album. The first was a solo session at which I attempted Eric Bogle's "My Youngest Son" and Richard Thompson's "End Of The Rainbow". However the track which I included was my own "Little Palaces", which was as close to a folksong form as I had ever used. I dubbed on a scratchy mandolin part which was set off to better effect after Jerry Scheff suggested adding his string bass to the instrumental sections.
My final trip to Hollywood was made with the intention of adding "I Hope You're Happy Now" to the album. having previously failed in an attempt to cut it as a single with The Attractions and stumbled through it on my drunken demo session, I was determined to capture it with the Keltner/Scheff/Froom line-up that had provided much of the heart of the record.
Almost before we had the instrumental balances my voice started to vanish. We struggled through a few tentative takes but it was useless. Rather than scrap the session we cut a slow, violent version of The Animals/Nina Simone song: "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood". The next day we borrowed Michael Blair from Tom Waits band to add a marimba part and the record was complete. This may seem ironic as I attacked the song with a vocal capacity that Tom might have rejected as being too hoarse.
(In Fact I had just seen Waits and his band perform two mind-bending concerts in Paris. I was very impressed by Blair and guitarist Marc Ribot. Both featured on the album "Spike" and the subsequent tour. Marc went on to play on both "Mighty Like A Rose" and "Kojak Variety" and be part of the "Rude Five" touring bands).
FOOTNOTE: Needless to say Columbia, my U.S. record company, showed their customary imagination in releasing the safe "cover" song as a single ahead of any of the more unusual and heartfelt balladry that I had composed. I suppose in recording such a different sounding track I presented them a way of ducking the problem of presenting the gentler songs to suspicious radio stations. By now my mounting debt to the company seemed to make them unwilling to risk any further effort on my behalf.
However I very nearly pulled off a plan to play entirely new arrangements of these songs live on a cable music channel with a different band, in a different U.S. city, every day for one week. Although the musicians' response (Los Lobos, Z.Z. Top, The Heartbreakers and John Mellencamp's band among them) was very positive, the money to pull this off was never found and the idea went unrealised.
Similarly nothing was ever done with "We Don't Even Try Anymore", a song written at this time with "X's" John Doe (who was then performing as part of The Knitters). My collaboration with David Weiss, "Shadow and Jimmy", was also composed during these sessions. It was featured on the Was Not Was album "What Up, Dog", but for me the most enduring part of our meeting was a conversation in which I accidentally stumbled on the expression "Brilliant Mistake" while describing my ever changing impressions of America.
The U.K. release of the record coincided with a terminal conflict with our distributor RCA. This was resolved by the dissolution of our business relationship at the cost of any sustained promotion. In some ways this marks the first serious release of "King Of America".
Brilliant Mistake He thought he was the King of America Where they pour Coca Cola just like vintage wine Now I try hard not to become hysterical But I'm not sure if I am laughing or crying I wish that I could push a button And talk in the past and not the present tense And watch this hurtin' feeling disappear Like it was common sense It was a fine idea at the time Now it's a brilliant mistake She said that she was working for the ABC News It was as much of the alphabet as she knew how to use Her perfume was unspeakable It lingered in the air Like her artificial laughter Her mementos of affairs "Oh" I said "I see you know him" "Isn't that very fortunate for you" And she showed me his calling card He came third or fourth and there were more than one or two He was a fine idea at the time Now he's a brilliant mistake He thought he was the King of America But it was just a boulevard of broken dreams A trick they do with mirrors and with chemicals The words of love in whispers And the axe of love in screams I wish that I could push a button And talk in the past and not the present tense And watch this lovin' feeling disappear Like it was common sense I was a fine idea at the time Now I'm a brilliant mistake INSTRUMENT CREDITS ACOUSTIC GUITAR - THE LITTLE HANDS OF CONCRETE BRUSHES AND DRUMS - MICKEY CURRY STRING BASS - JERRY SCHEFF ELECTRIC GUITAR/PIANO ACCORDION - T-BONE WOLK HAMMOND ORGAN/HARPSICHORD - MITCHELL FROOM
Lovable (chorus) It's going round the town It's going round the town It's going round the town You're so lovable My baby gave me notice to quit I just can't get used to it She broke my little heart in two Now somebody else is being the same old you (chorus) My baby has Egyptian eyes And a wicked look beyond compare If you thought I was a fool for you Then I must be a bigger fool for her (chorus) He'd turn the flowers of springtime into a wreath He says he'd love you eternally I say please please can't you keep it brief They say they're going to bury you Because you're so lovable Put your money where your mouth was You're so lovable Each tender mumble brings us closer to bedlam You're so lovable The toast of the town and the talk of the bedroom You're so lovable You're so sweet You're so honest You say `I'll be true to you boy' But I won't promise Then you say you love me Then you show me As you lie there so lifelike below me (chorus) INSTRUMENT CREDITS ELECTRIC BASS - JERRY SCHEFF STICKS AND DRUMS - JIM KELTNER ORGAN - MITCHELL FROOM ACOUSTIC/ELECTRIC GUITAR - THE LITTLE HANDS OF CONCRETE HARMONY VOCAL - DAVID HIDALGO
Our Little Angel This is the place where I made my best mistakes This is the place even angels don't understand I've seen the disappointment in her face And the collection of engagement rings on her right hand She sits alone apart from the crowd In a white dress she wears like a question mark Friends speak of her fondly Enemies just think out loud You think you're man enough to please her And you're fool enough to start You're not going to do a thing to our little angel There's nothing you're thinking tonight that tomorrow won't change Now the cabaret is frozen and the laughter comes in cans And the lonely hearts club clientele don't know what to do with their hands You think that you'll be sweet to her but everybody knows That you're the marshmallow valentine that got stuck on her clothes But you're not going to do a thing to our little angel There's nothing you're thinking tonight that tomorrow won't change So you mix your drinks and words You make bad jokes you make bad time The floors are there to walk over The walls are there to climb You swear that you'll never go back again once you're inside You're never the bridegroom she's always the bride And you're not going to do a thing to our little angel There's nothing you're thinking tonight that tomorrow won't change You'll come in a sweetheart and you'll go out a stranger Well you try to love her but she's so contrary Like a chainsaw running through a dictionary So get your mind off the sweet behind of our little angel You're not going to do a thing You're not going to do a thing You're not going to do a thing to our little angel INSTRUMENT CREDITS ELECTRIC GUITAR AND DUBRO - JAMES BURTON STRING BASS - JERRY SCHEFF BRUSHES AND DRUMS - RON TUTT ACOUSTIC GUITAR - LITTLE HANDS OF CONCRETE
Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood Baby can you understand me now Sometimes I feel a little mad Don't you know that no one alive can always be an angel When things go wrong I seem to be mad (Chorus) I'm just a soul whose intentions are good Oh Lord please don't let me be misunderstood Baby sometimes I'm so carefree With a joy that's hard to hide Other times it seems that all I have to do is worry And then I know you're bound to see my other side Chorus If I get mad at you I want you to know That I never mean to take it out on you Life has its problems and I get my share But that is one thing I would never do 'cause I love you Oh don't you know I'm human I've got my faults just like any one Sometimes I lie awake long regretting Some foolish thing, some sinful thing I've done Chorus x 3 INSTRUMENT CREDITS MARIMBA - MICHAEL BLAIR STRING BASS - JERRY SCHEFF BRUSHES AND DRUMS - JIM KELTNER HAMMOND ORGAN - MITCHELL FROOM ELECTRIC GUITAR - T-BONE BURNETT
Glitter Gulch Enter Madam X painted in a shocking pink spangled dress Her teeth are perfect but her mouth is loose Rubbing their hands together she persuades them that it's better to confess Which unpleasant fate they'd like to choose (chorus) Every step might be your last Money signs are in your eyes sucker You've been taken in this time You might just get out alive if you're lucky All the vultures tuning in to Glitter Gulch Are looking in on you And they're hungry he stood five feet tall in his elevator shoes and stovepipe hat He was known by several different names Prompted by Madam X he answered all their questions And then after that he said I'm sick and tired of stupid games (chorus) We've got prizes if you can afford Some small humiliation before you get your reward And I'd rather be an outlaw than an inlaw to you And to live my life in miserable poverty Than to have to grovel to have some dream home hovel So watch me while I get away with prime time robbery As he enters Madam X he things of red raged faces and the sweet greenbacks He climbed upon his honey and he covered her with money As they do their victory dance He thinks I hope they choke upon their laughter tracks They can all go straight to hell while we howl down the whole hotel INSTRUMENT CREDITS ELECTRIC GUITAR AND DOBRO - JAMES BURTON STRING BASS - JERRY SCHEFF BRUSHES AND DRUMS - RON TUTT ACOUSTIC GUITAR - LITTLE HANDS OF CONCRETE
Indoor Fireworks We play these parlour games We play at make believe When we get to the part where I say that I'm going to leave Everybody loves a happy ending but we don't even try We go straight past pretending To the part where everybody loves to cry (chorus) Indoor fireworks Can still burn your fingers Indoor fireworks We swore we were safe as houses They're not so spectacular They don't burn up in the sky But they can dazzle or delight Or bring a tear When the smoke gets in your eyes You were the spice of life The gin in my vermouth And though the sparks would fly I thought our love was fireproof Sometimes we'd fight in public darling With very little cause But different kinds of sparks would fly When we got on our own behind closed doors (chorus) It's time to tell the truth These things have to be faced My fuse is burning out And all that powder's gone to waste Don't think for a moment dear that we'll ever be through I'll build a bonfire of my dreams And burn a broken effigy of me and you (chorus) INSTRUMENT CREDITS ACOUSTIC GUITAR - JAMES BURTON ACOUSTIC GUITAR - LITTLE HANDS OF CONCRETE STRING BASS - JERRY SCHEFF HAMMOND ORGAN - MITCHELL FROOM
Little Palaces In Chocolate Town all the trains are painted brown On the silver paper of the wrapper There's a dapper little man And he wears a wax moustache That he twists with nicotine fingers As he drops his cigarette ash And someone comes and sweeps it up And then he doffs his cap And there's a rat in someone's bedroom And they're shutting someone's trap And they'll soon be pulling down the little palaces And the doors swing back and forward, from the past into the present And the bedside crucifixion turns from wood to phosphorescent. And they're moving problem families from the South up to the North, Mother's crying over some soft soap opera divorce, And you say you didn't do it, but you know you did of course, And they'll soon be pulling down the little palaces. It's like shouting in a matchbox, filled with plasterboard and hope, Like a picture of Prince William in the arms of John the Pope. There's a world of good intentions, and pity in their eyes, The sedated homes of England, are theirs to vandalize. So you knock the kids about a bit, because they've got your name, And you knock the kids about a bit, until they feel the same. And they feel like knocking down the little palaces. You're the twinkle in your daddy's eye, a name you spray and scribble, You made the girls all turn their heads, and in turn they made you miserable. To be the heir apparent, to the kingdom of the invisible. So you knock the kids about a bit, because they've got your name, And you knock the kids about a bit, until they feel the same. And they feel like knocking down the little palaces. INSTRUMENT CREDITS ACOUSTIC GUITAR/MANDOLINS - THE LITTLE HANDS OF CONCRETE STRING BASS - JERRY SCHEFF
I'll Wear It Proudly I hate these flaming curtains they're not the color of your hair I hate these striplights they're not so undoing as your stare I hate the buttons on your shirt when all I wanna do is tear I hate this bloody big bed of mine when you're not here [chorus] Well I finally found someone to turn me upside down And nail my feet up where my head should be If they had a King of Fools then I could wear that crown And you can all die laughing because I'll wear it proudly Well you seem to be shivering dear and the room is awfully warm In the white and scarlet billows that subside beyond the storm You have this expression dear no words could take its place And I wear it like a badge that you put all over my face [chorus] I'll wear it proudly through the dives and the dancehalls If you'll wear it proudly through the snakepits and catcalls Like a fifteen year old kid wears a vampire kiss If you don't know what is wrong with me Then you don't know what you've missed We are arms and legs wrapped round more than my memory tonight When the bell rang out and the air outside turned blue from fright But in shameless moments you made more of me than just a mess And a handful of eagerness says "What do you suggest?" [chorus] INSTRUMENT CREDITS ACOUSTIC GUITAR - THE LITTLE HANDS OF CONCRETE ELECTRIC BASS - JERRY SCHEFF BRUSHES AND DRUMS - JIM KELTNER HAMMOND ORGAN - MITCHELL FROOM
American Without Tears Outside in New Orleans the heat was almost frightening But my hotel room as usual was freezing and unkind On TV they prosecute anyone who's exciting So I put on my overcoat and went down to find In Revlon and Crimpelene they captured my heart To the strain of a piano and a cocktail murderess She was singing that "It's Too Late", I agreed with that part For two English girls who had changed their address [chorus] Now it seems we've been crying for years and for years Now I don't speak any English, just American without tears Just American without tears One had been a beauty queen and the other was her friend They had known rogues and rascals and showbiz impresarios While the boys were licking Hitler they had something to defend >From men armed with chewing gum and fine nylon hose By a bicycle factory as they sounded the siren And returned into the dancehall she knew he was the one Though he wasn't tall or handsome she laughed when he told her "I'm the Sheriff of Nottingham and this is Little John" [chorus] At a dock in Southampton full of tearful goodbyes Newsreel commentators said "Cheerio, G.I. brides" Soon they'll be finding the cold facts and lies New words for suspenders and young girls backsides Now I'm in America and running from you Like my grandfather before me walked the streets of New York And I think of all the women I pretend mean more than you When I open my mouth and I can't seem to talk Now it seems we've been crying for years and for years Now I don't speak any English just American without tears Just American without tears INSTRUMENT CREDITS FRENCH ACCORDION - JO-EL SONNIER ELECTRIC GUITAR - JAMES BURTON STRING BASS - JERRY SCHEFF BRUSHES AND DRUMS - RON TUTT ACOUSTIC GUITAR - THE LITTLE HANDS OF CONCRETE
Eisenhower blues INSTRUMENT CREDITS STRING BASS - RAY BROWN BRUSHES AND DRUMS - EARL PALMER PIANO - TOM CANNING HAMMOND ORGAN - MITCHELL FROOM ELECTRIC GUITAR - T-BONE BURNETT
Poisoned Rose The poisoned rose That you gave to me It left me half alive And half in ecstasy But if half of your love Is all I can win Give me just a fraction But no more medicine The poisoned rose On a Valentine card That you take straight to the heart That you call my junkyard But if all I can do is save pieces of you The piece of your mind The piece of your heart Didn't tear me apart Like the poisoned rose I received from you I don't know How we came to grow Into this very sad affair Everytime we do the decent thing Somebody spikes the drink And a single becomes a pair The poisoned rose That you wear at your best That I keep pressed between the white sheets Where you lie half undressed I threw away my shirt and shoes You looked and I dived in It's just you and me now 'Cause I threw away the gin I threw away your alibis And all your worn-out clothes I threw myself upon the floor But I couldn't throw away This poisoned rose This poisoned rose This poisoned rose INSTRUMENT CREDITS STRING BASS - RAY BROWN BRUSHES AND DRUMS - EARL PALMER PIANO - TOM CANNING HAMMOND ORGAN - MITCHELL FROOM
The Big Light Well I had a little feeling to have a big night And woke up feeling small and not so brave and not quite right I had to face the who am I and where is she and what did I do But worst of all I had to face the big light <Chorus> The big light came through my window and it opened up my eyelids and it snapped them up like roller blinds and told me things that I did I can't face another day and night of good ideas and complications And I'm thankful that I didn't open another bottle of inspiration When the hangover this morning had a personality And I cast my shattered mind over selected memories I didn't even touch the light switch so I knew I'd never see The haggard face that would be staring back at me <Chorus> Well I had a little feeling to have a big time And I woke up to alarm bells like a big church chime I had to face the who am I and who is she and what did I do But worst of all I had to face the big light <Chorus> INSTRUMENT CREDITS ELECTRIC GUITAR - JAMES BURTON STRING BASS - JERRY SCHEFF BRUSHES AND DRUMS - RON TUTT ACOUSTIC GUITAR - THE LITTLE HANDS OF CONCRETE
Jack Of All Parades When we first met I didn't know what to do My old love lines were all worn out on you And the world walked round at my mouth They lit me up and they snuffed me out [chorus] And I was everybody's boy But soon that thrill just fades To be the love of one true heart Or the Jack of all parades You won't know who to thank You won't know who to blame It's just a part of the Murdering Game 'Cos down in the fleshpots Where they pay you in pounds They're laughing like drains And baying like bloodhounds For the Jack of all parades The Jack of all parades Once I knew a girl That looked so much like Judy Garland That people would stop and give her money And everybody was Frankie, Jimmy or Bobby Not the Jack, the Jack of all Parades, Oh the Jack, the Jack of all Parades, Oh the Jack, of all Parades. Now the way that I feel is no longer news You know my love and how to refuse it Cause you know where the door is And how to use it Oh you know you do But from my chequered past To this shattered terrace Where you can't keep your mind off the Crimes of Paris And you can't keep your peace And try to forget it And I can't forgive you For things you haven't done yet Oh I was anybody's boy But soon that thrill just fades To be the love of one true heart Or the Jack of all parades When we first met I didn't know what to do My old love lines were all worn out on you And the world walked 'round my mouth I didn't mean to say it I just blurted it out As you pretended not to notice Or be taken aback And I loved you there and then It's as simple as that Oh I was everybody's boy But soon that thrill just fades To be the love of one true heart Or the Jack of all parades To be the love of one true heart Or the Jack of all parades Oh the Jack of all parades INSTRUMENT CREDITS ELECTRIC BASS - T-BONE WOLK STICKS AND DRUMS - MICKEY CURRY HAMMOND ORGAN - MITCHELL FROOM PIANO - STEVE NIEVE ACOUSTIC GUITAR - THE LITTLE HANDS OF CONCRETE
Suit of Lights While Nat King Cole sings "Welcome To My World" You request some song you hate you sentimental fool And it's the force of habit If it moves then you fuck it If it doesn't move you stab it And I thought I heard "The Working Man's Blues" He went out to work that night and wasted his breath Outside there was a public execution Inside he died a thousand deaths And they pulled him out of the cold cold ground And they pulled him out of the cold cold ground And they pulled him out of the cold cold ground And they put him in a suit of lights In the perforated first editions Where they advocate the hangman's noose Then tell the sorry tale of the spent Princess Her uncouth escort looking down her dress Anyway they say that she wears the trousers And learnt everything that she does And doesn't know if she should tell him yes Or let him go And they pulled him out of the cold cold ground And they pulled him out of the cold cold ground And they pulled him out of the cold cold ground And they put him in a suit of lights Well it's a dog's life in a rope leash or a diamond collar It's enough to make you think right now But you don't bother For goodness sake as you cry and shake Let's keep you face down in the dirt where you belong And think of all the pleasure that it brings Though you know that it's wrong And there's still life in your body But most of it's leaving Can't you give us all a break Can't you stop breathing And I thought I heard "The Working Man's Blues" I went to work that night and wasted my breath Outside they're painting tar on somebody It's the closest to a work of art that they will ever be And they pulled him out of the cold cold ground And they pulled him out of the cold cold ground And they pulled him out of the cold cold ground And they put him in a suit of lights And they put him in a suit of lights INSTRUMENT CREDITS ACOUSTIC GUITAR - THE LITTLE HANDS OF CONCRETE ELECTRIC BASS - BRUCE THOMAS STICKS AND DRUMS - PETE THOMAS PIANO/HAMMOND ORGAN - STEVE NIEVE
Sleep Of The Just The soldier asked my name and did I come here very often Well I thought that he was asking me to dance In my holy coat and hat and him in his red bonnet We'd have made a lovely couple but we never had the chance [chorus] And now you say that you've got to go Well if you must you must I suppose that you need the sleep of the just Well it was a powerful day and there were black crows in the road And I kept my strong opinions to my chest I suppose I should have told them that I was on fire for you When the bus burst into flames outside some place, 'The Poet's Rest' [chorus] A girl woke up in a naked light and said "Oh no not again" He even looked like her brother in the army but she never mentions him He'll be tucked up in his bed tonight with his dirty-pictures girl Saying, 'You're some mother's daughter you know or is it immaterial girl?' Now she's pinned up upon the barracks wall in her home town All the soldiers taking turns with their attentions And as they speculate what she'd look like beneath that thin nightgown His family pride was rising up as he cast his eyes down INSTRUMENT CREDITS DOCTORED PIANO - MITCHELL FROOM ELECTRIC BASS - JERRY SCHEFF BRUSHES AND DRUMS - JIM KELTNER ACOUSTIC GUITAR - THE LITTLE HANDS OF CONCRETE
The People's Limousine It's a chilly Florentine evening Two men in evening hats Telling tales of the underground and fishing for Reds Policemen armed with Uzis stand guard but they don't speak Ain't seen no Michaeangelo he'll be here next week. The girl in the shoes with the crystal heels went chaperoned by her brother They raise a glass of amber wine take pictures of each other of the policemen in the fountains and the sickle and the hammer and they came with Uncle Romulus with his walking cane and camera She looked like someone's girlfriend she looked like a dream she looked as unlikely as the people's limousine. Come and sit by me, girl, before I breathe the breath out of you Hush your mouth and cover your eyes for I'll tell your father of you He paid to have you painted in the company of angels Only to find you flirting anew with Chico Marx and perverted Engels The patron saint of television smiles down from the shelf Romulus can't criticize but he can't bless himself He has a tin of pea-green paint and a big roll of black tape To vandalize these obscenities then make his escape She walked up to the nice policeman and asked him for a match He saw Romulus approaching and slipped off the safety catch Then cut down her uncle, he was painted red and green Just as she was kidnapped in the people's limousine. INSTRUMENT CREDITS GUITAR AND VOCALS - ELVIS COSTELLO AND T-BONE BURNETT BASS - DAVID MINER DRUMS - RON TUTT
They'll Never Take Her Love From Me (Written by Leon Payne, Submitted by Craig Ciccone) If today the sun should set on all my hopes and cares There is one who's smiling face the gods would see For she'll walk along beside me up the golden stairs Oh, they'll never, never take her love from me What a fool I was to go and break the trust she gave And see her love turn into sympathy It's the one regret I carry with me to my grave Oh, they'll never, never take her love from me I'm so thankful for each golden hour of happiness That we shared together in the used to be Someone else's arms may hold her now in fond caress But, they'll never, never take her love from me I thought I would make her happy if I stepped aside But I knew her love would never set me free And even on the morning she became another's bride I said, "They'll never, never take her love from me."
Suffering Face Well, there's an old man's fantasy Put in a young girl's mouth Like cheap pink lipstick Smeared on her wedding dress Will you look what you've done to her Will you look at this disgrace Well, it's all over Your suffering face If we were chrome, we would be rusty If we were thirst, we would be quenched You don't need the same old rivet gun You need a brand new wrench Someone to pull you down on the ground And cover you with kisses Once I was the jewel of your heart Now I'm only semi-precious But if I seem so preoccupied It's just my alibi--I'm all broken up inside Even the words of love seem cruel and crass When you're tough and transparent as armored glass I prepared a bed for you Then I sprayed perfume Upon the wilted roses That I'd scattered 'round the room You came in gentle as a lamb And turned into a terror And you left your love and other threats In the steam fading on my bathroom mirror Well, it's an old man's fantasy Put in a young girl's mouth Like cheap pink lipstick Smeared on her wedding dress Will you look what you've done to me Now you've put me in my place Oh, it's all over It's all over It's all over Your suffering face
Shoes Without Heels This love of mine is packed with stepping stone These shoes are made for walking in reverse In the dead of night, you tiptoe out and leave me all alone Putting on your satin slip-ons and your sultry French cologne. She's wearing shoes without heels. She's walking over the floor. She's walking all over me Weirder therein, you know how it feels When she walks right out of the door. Well, I thought that I was bigger than this town I thought I'd spend a pace and go the distance But she picked me out, she used me up, and then she put me down Now I'm driven til I'm crying, or I'm dreaming 'til I drown. She's wearing shoes without heels. She's walking over the floor. She's walking all over me Weirder therein, you know how it feels When she walks right out of the door. While you're busy packing underwear and other worthless trinkets, Spare a thought for worthless men who drag on women like they're cigarettes, 'cause you watch him walk away from you While he gets down and deals Oh, he'll watch you walk away without heels Oh, you think that he's a fool to tolerate All the liberty you cherish and you roughly take But to watch your love turn slowly from indifference to hate Would hurt him more than any heart that you might care to break. She's wearing shoes without heels. She's walking over the floor. She's walking all over you But when she's finished, I know (?) When she walks right back through the door. INSTRUMENT CREDITS (THIS IS A BEST GUESS AS IT ISN'T EXPLICITLY LISTED) GUITAR AND VOCALS - THE LITTLE HANDS OF CONCRETE GUITAR - JAMES BURTON BASS - JERRY SCHEFF DRUMS - RON TUTT
It Tears Me Up (Written by Dan Penn/Spooner Oldham, Submitted by Craig Ciccone) I see you walk with him I see you talk to him It tears me up, oh, it tears me up And I can't stop crying Oh, baby, I can't stop crying I see you kiss his lips And squeeze his fingertips It tears me up, oh, baby, it tears me up And there's nothing I can do about it Oh, baby, baby, can't you see I'm still in love with you It's a faithless world we're livin' in When I turn around and there you are with my best friend Sometimes when you pass me on the street You look at me as if to say I'm sorry my sweet And being sorry might be enough Then you look back at him and [ ? ] a smile And that makes me feel kinda rough Oh, darlin, it tears me up I see you smile at him You never tire of him It tears me up Oh, baby, it tears me up There's nothing I can do about it Baby, can't you see I'm still in love with you Still hungry for something I can't have Oh, it tears me up so bad Still hungry for something I can't have Tears me up so bad Can't you see I'm still in love with you Still hungry for something I can't have Baby, please, please, please I'm still hungry for something I can't have It tears me up so bad Oh, oh, it tears me up so bad Tears me up so bad
The Only Daddy That'll Walk The Line (Written by Ivy J. Bryant, Submitted by Craig Ciccone) Everybody knows you been steppin' on my toes And I'm gettin pretty tired of it Keep steppin' outta line and messin' with my mind If you had any sense, you'd quit But ever since you were just a little bitty girl Since I was the only man in this whole world Now you better do some thinking then you'll find You got the only daddy that'll walk the line I keep workin' everyday, all you wanna do is play I'm sick of stayin' out all night You've been coming unglued from your funny little moods So, honey-baby, that ain't right 'Cause ever since you were just a little bitty girl Since I was the only man in this whole world Now you better do some thinking then you'll find You got the only daddy that'll walk the line Everybody knows you been steppin' on my toes And still just puttin' me on When I start-a-walkin', don't I hear you start-a-squawkin' Beggin' me to come back home 'Cause ever since you were just a little bitty girl Since I was the only man in this whole world Now you better do some thinking then you'll find You got the only daddy that'll walk the line
Your Mind Is On Vacation Your Funeral, My Trial (Written by Mose Allison/Sonny Boy Williamson, Submitted by Craig Ciccone) I see you laughin' Right in my face I guess I'm gonna have to Put you in your place Because if silence was golden You couldn't raise a dime Because your mind is on vacation And your mouth is working overtime You're quoting figures And dropping names You're tellin' stories About the dames You're over-laughin' When things ain't funny You're tryin' to sound Like you're the big money, honey If talk was criminal You'd lead a life of crime Because your mind is on vacation And your mouth is working overtime Life is short, talk is cheap Don't go makin' promises that you can't keep If you don't like this little song I'm singin' Just grin and bear it All I can say is if the rich shoe fits, wear it If you must keep talkin', please try to make it rhyme Because your mind is on vacation And your mouth is working overtime Well, I recall when we first met It was on a Friday night We spent two lovely hours together And the world seemed all right I'm beggin' you, baby, please stop that off-the-wall jive 'Cause if you don't treat me no better It's gonna be your funeral and my trial Well, the Lord made the world and everything that's in it The way my baby loves me, it's a sign that it's it [?] She can love to heal the sick, she can love to raise the dead You might think that I'm jokin', you better believe what I said I'm beggin' you, babe, please stop that off-the-wall jive Oh, if you don't treat me no better It's gonna be your funeral and my trial I see you laughin' Right in my face I guess I'm gonna have to put you in your place 'Cause if talk was criminal You'd lead a life of crime Because your mind is on vacation And your mouth is working overtime
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