Third solo album from ex-Karmatruffle frontman Bernard Blake. ("His best yet." Mrs. Blake)

15 MP3 Songs
POP: Beatles-pop, ROCK: Acoustic



Details:
This is my fourth album (if you include Karmatruffleâs What You Do Comes Back To You) and, possibly, my last. Simply because Iâve nearly run out of songs! Good ones, at any rate. I still had some left after Final Whistle that I was going to let die, but for some reason they kept niggling away at me. After an enforced break from all things musical during the latter part of 2006, the New Year arrived with fresh inspiration and I decided to give some of these discarded orphans a chance. I originally intended to record a single called Blakeâs 7 inch. This turned into an EP, Blakeâs 7 inch (extended), and, after Iâd recorded six or seven songs, I realised it was going to be a fully fledged LP.

When I was in Karmatruffle, weâd toyed with the idea of calling our album âCarruthers Gets Bashedâ â canât remember why exactly, but it was something to do with Paulâs experiences at Cheltenham Boys College. The tune itself was originally from a song called âDirty Old Manâ which was rejected by the band mainly because of its ridiculous lyrics. It reminded me of the Grange Hill theme â in a âRipping Yarnsâ kind of way â so I thought it worked well.

âYou Could Be Part Of My Dreamsâ was the last song to be written. I went to see Duke Special play in Bristol the other day and itâs kind of inspired by him. The chorus I dreamed. I was onstage singing it with, I think, Linda Ronstadt. I was Van Morrison!

âSheâs Not All Thatâ and âA Better Wayâ were both recorded by Karmatruffle for our single release on the Ectomusic label. Unfortunately, after we fell out with the company we had no access to the sound recordings and we couldnât be bothered to record them again for our album (having spent over six months working on them in the first place). I re-recorded them based on the original demos I had made on my Tascam four track. I kept Magdaâs original bass line from the tape for A Better Way and built the song around that. I discarded the record companyâs alterations to âSheâs Not All Thatâ and enjoyed recording it as I originally intended.

âMarketing Manâ was a song that never went further than a demo but I was desperate to record it as I could hear the cowbell part and Iâd always wanted to have a song with one on! Perversely, I donât even own a cowbell so I had to settle for a frying pan. âMake Up Your Mindâ is a song that after Iâd finished writing it I was convinced it would be a huge hit for Robbie Williams and my fortune would be assured. How wrong I was.

Café Retro I recorded in 2002 and I simply added some reverb to the original four track recording. (Apologies to John Barry.) âMan of 1000 Yearsâ I wrote about and for Danny Kirwan. Itâs pieced together with the names of his songs and itâs just about my favourite thing Iâve written. âBluest Eyesâ I actually recorded for Final Whistle but it didnât make the cut. However, on re-listening I realised it was a lot better than I remembered and I thought it slotted in well amongst the mainly noisy stuff Iâd been recording for Carruthers.

âSick and Tiredâ is a song Iâd never even demoed. Iâm not sure I really share the singerâs perspective. Itâs clearly influenced by Elliott Smith. âBreatheâ is about some heavy stuff that Sarah and I have been going through lately. I just felt it was time to do a CSNY thing. I sacrificed a song called âSevens & Ninesâ to make room â it was inspired by Goldfrapp and had an eschatological bent, but I didnât really like the idea of an electronic blues.

âGive It To Youâ was a song Karmatruffle turned their noses up at. I wrote it in France at the same time as âBeautiful Starâ. âWishing On A Starâ is probably my most autobiographical song â I was really pleased with the way this one turned out.

Bernard Blake
March 2007