A little bit about our album...
DON'T LOOK 'EM IN THE EYE
The tracks:
1: Don't Look 'Em In The Eye.
(Fielden / Edmundson)
This song was one of the first two that we recorded, late in 2023 . The lyrics were a general observation about stange people in strange towns, but Ian added a couple of lines that were specifically about a couple of people who were hanging around outside our jam night venue, causing mischief. It was chosen as the first single from the album and was made available on Spotify and streaming platforms. The song featured regularly in the band's setlist.
IAN EDMUNDSON - VOCALS, BASS GUITAR, ADDITIONAL GUITAR
GRAHAM FIELDEN - DRUMS, BACKING VOCALS.
TONI BAKER - KEYBOARDS, BACKING VOCALS.
IAN TAYLOR - GUITAR
RECORDED WITH PAUL HUTCHINSON AT NORTH WEST RECORDING STUDIO, ADLINGTON, LANCS.
2: Better Than No Love At All.
(Fielden / Edmundson)
The lyric - about pining for the sole attention of a woman who has other men going on the side - inspired Ian to try to come up with a classic 60's pop-soul type arrangement. As with all of the Workhouse studio recordings, Ian's demos were finessed into finished recordings for the album. The song has made it into the band's setlist.
IAN EDMUNDSON - VOCALS, BASS GUITAR, ALL GUITARS.
GRAHAM FIELDEN - DRUMS
RECORDED BY IAN EDMUNDSON AT THE WORKHOUSE, FARNWORTH.
3: Cold Cold Heart.
(Fielden / Edmundson)
Recorded at The Workhouse in Farnworth. Graham's lyrics here concisely deal with the fickleness of the opposite sex. Ian went for a sparse Joe Jackson Band type feel on this one, keeping his guitar and bass sounds crystal clear, leaving lots of space and not building up the guitars too much.
IAN EDMUNDSON - VOCALS, BASS GUITAR, ALL GUITARS.
GRAHAM FIELDEN - DRUMS
RECORDED BY IAN EDMUNDSON AT THE WORKHOUSE, FARNWORTH.
4: She Said.
(Fielden / Edmundson)
Graham's lyrics are about the kind of women who can't be trusted and how to deal with them. Cut her loose - problem solved. The idea behind the general feel of this one was to get a bluesy song on the album and the original version Ian recorded was a much slower take on the song, weighing in at around 8 minutes. While the song worked and the initial idea was good, it was felt to be a little bit too long and a bit ponderous, so that version remains in the archive.
IAN EDMUNDSON - VOCALS, BASS GUITAR, ALL GUITARS.
GRAHAM FIELDEN - DRUMS
RECORDED BY IAN EDMUNDSON AT THE WORKHOUSE, FARNWORTH.
5: When Things Go Wrong.
(Fielden / Taylor)
Graham's lyrics are a study in love and loss. It was envisioned as being a country song. We were indebted to Toni Baker for his additions to the track - banjo, violin and piano parts, which really assist with the alt.country feel that we wanted.
IAN TAYLOR - VOCALS AND GUITARS.
GRAHAM FIELDEN - DRUMS.
IAN EDMUNDSON - BASS GUITAR.
TONI BAKER - KEYBOARDS.
RECORDED AT STUDIO STUDIO, WHITWORTH BY PETE TROUGHTON.
6: The Silence Is Screaming At Me v2.0.
(Fielden / Edmundson)
When Ian came up with the melody and the guitar parts for this song, it turned into a blend of a feel of AC/DC and T.Rex. He fulfilled his dream of a rock solid bass part that is just ONE repeated note for about five minutes, coupled with his Pete Townshend-styled rhythm part. The song is called 'v2.0', as Graham has previously written and published another song with the same title. He can't find it anywhere.
IAN EDMUNDSON - VOCALS, BASS GUITAR, ALL GUITARS.
GRAHAM FIELDEN - DRUMS
RECORDED BY IAN EDMUNDSON AT THE WORKHOUSE, FARNWORTH.
7: We Are United.
(Fielden / Edmundson)
Not about football. Graham had written a song about people working together and pulling together and being united with a single goal. A more football-y version exists.
IAN EDMUNDSON - VOCALS, BASS GUITAR, ALL GUITARS.
GRAHAM FIELDEN - DRUMS
RECORDED BY IAN EDMUNDSON AT THE WORKHOUSE, FARNWORTH.
8: And Then I Woke Up.
(Fielden / Taylor).
The longest song on the album was originally known at times as Cruisin' and Graham's lyric is about someone who dreams his life away and who fantasises about living a lavish lifestyle, then keeps waking up and seeing his somewhat different poorer reality. It boogies along nicely. This was one of the harder songs to get together, as it went through a couple of more complex arrangements before finding its final form. It has a lot of lyrics and getting the phrasing right was a task. The Three rehearsed this song for quite some time and originally attempted a recording at their jam night venue, but opted to do it again in the studio.
IAN TAYLOR - VOCALS AND GUITARS.
GRAHAM FIELDEN - DRUMS.
IAN EDMUNDSON - BASS GUITAR.
TONI BAKER - KEYBOARDS.
RECORDED AT STUDIO STUDIO, WHITWORTH BY PETE TROUGHTON.
9: I Hate Christmas.
(Fielden / Edmundson)
This was one of the first two songs that we recorded, late in 2023. Graham wrote about the small things that really bug most people about Christmas, making it a time when we'd rather hide under the bed than be visited, or to go out of the house and see people, or get ripped off by anything to do with the festive season. Bah humbug. This gets played live in December.
IAN EDMUNDSON - VOCALS, BASS GUITAR, ADDITIONAL GUITAR
GRAHAM FIELDEN - DRUMS, BACKING VOCALS.
TONI BAKER - KEYBOARDS, BACKING VOCALS.
IAN TAYLOR - GUITAR
RECORDED WITH PAUL HUTCHINSON AT NORTH WEST RECORDING STUDIO, ADLINGTON, LANCS.
We think the album is a good result. Though we might know who the influences on various songs are, we don't think the songs particularly sound like other people, or like other songs. They sound like our own work. Thanks to Toni Baker for his help on the album, which was very much appreciated. And thank you so much to the people who have bought a copy.
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