I'm on a roll today, aren't I? Two posts in one day! Such is the impatience and enthusiasm which results from being new to the mp3 blog game :)And my over-exuberance is your gain, that's for certain. not only do you get the unreleased Age Of Chance track below *points down*, but you can also have this much-overlooked gem as well.
Ed Sirrs is one of this country's most respected music photographers, working with some of the best musicians in the business. He shot some of Nirvana's most iconic images, as well as being heavily involved with photographing The Manic Street Preachers ( it was Ed that shot THAT image of Richey with "4 Real" carved into his arm)
He also photographed my band many times, though quite why I never asked him about this record, I'm not sure.
"I Think....." is a great little slice of punked-up electro-dub, coming over like a restrained Dr Mix & The Remix, with that little drum machine gently pulsing away, and the buzzing synth line over the top....if it had to be strictly defined, I suppose it might be labelled "no wave".
Ed does a nice line in self-deprecating vocals, bemoaning his own lack of success and good fortune. Ed, you're too modest. The single crept out in 1979 on Charlie Gillet's Oval imprint, never really reaching the wider audience it deserved. If you see one these days, it'll probably set you back somewhere between £10-20.
Ed Sirrs "I Think I Think Too Much" (mp3)
9 comments:
There was a single by the Piranhas that JP played with a similar line in self-deprecation, 'I Don't Want My Body' ('God give me another one, you can have this one back'), ever heard of it?
I can't believe this never became a big hit. Radio-friendly, quirky...what was wrong with the record-buying public of 1979? too busy buying Blondie, I bet.
I remember that Pirhanas track :) Interestingly enough, one of the first ever productions by Pete Waterman, of all people! (or at least, he was part of the production team that worked on the album)
Wow! had been tipped off about your blog. This is excellent stuff, will add a link to you over at 17 Seconds. Keep up the good work!
Ed
Cheers Ed, i'll be linking to your blog as well :)
Two posts in one day? That's just showing off :)
I found myself way outside my comfort zone with the Age of Chance song and much more at home with this. One thing I've been meaning to ask, what have you got against tractors?
@ Mick, it's the title of a Swell Maps track, from their "Whatever Happens Next" compilation, and it's also the title of a Fanzine I put out in 1987......
ITITTM +still do - poss. only vinyl contender recorded without any kind of mixing desk? all parts by me and just d.i.'d thru a chorus echo into a blagged 4track one afternoon, set up by the front door of some publishers office reception area. mixed off later in 5 mins at halligan and heaps health risk on holloway road. ignorance is bliss.
Mr Sirrs! *doffs cap*
Top tune fella, and all the better for knowing its provenance. All of that with DI's and a 4-track! Wonderful.
All the best,
iain
Great to discover this online. I have been very slow in making sure it is properly registered for commercial downloads at iTunes, etc, but will make it a New Year's resolution to do right by Ed's two singles on Oval, the other being 'Mumbo Jumbo' under the name Woodhead Monroe. Strangely, I was back in 1981 on Saturday night, playing a DJ set at Coalition on Brighton's waterfront, after watching the film Listen to London, shot in 1981 by a couple of documentary film-makers from the US. More info in the forum of my website (* below) under 'gigs'; the film itself can be bought at www.listentolondon.net The point of all this - I played 'I Think I Think Too Much' during the set, and it sounded great as it always did. You are right, we didn't do justice to it on first release. But if you don't get airplay, what can be done next? The perennial problem for any record label, big or small.
Charlie Gillett (Oval Records)
www.ovalmusic.co.uk
(*) www.soundoftheworld.com
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