A 15 track album on CD-R (SHR09CD)

AUDIO SAMPLES

TRACKLIST

- Ten Long Years
- Talking To Myself
- Warmth Of The Sun
- How Much
- Blue Water
- When Will It Happen?
- Now Or Never
- Ache
- Head In Your Hands
- Bullet
- Losing Faith
- Apart
- This Time
- Still
- Appetence

View the lyrics to this album

RECORDING INFORMATION

The songs were all recorded on a Roland VS-840 digital workstation. Work commenced in April 1998 with 'Warmth Of the Sun' being the first song started. It was slow progress mainly due to lyric writing and learning a new machine. Eighteen songs were recorded in these sessions and fifteen have been selected for the CDR. The three remaining songs are 'Destiny Calls', 'Holding On' and 'Break Down The Door'. All songs were completed in March 2000.

There is a guest musician on the song 'Losing Faith'. Hanns-Christian Mahler of Brideshead & Elegant and Apricot Records recorded lead guitar and acoustic rhythm guitars to a guide track when he visited England in April 1999. I recorded the rest of the overdubs and drum programming later in the year with the addition of acoustic guitar, electric rhythm, bass, vocals and keyboard. Hanns-Christian also helped shape the song into a format and sound which was different to what was originally envisaged, and is far better for his ideas.

Ten Long Years was actually completed in July 1999 but remixed in February 2000. The song has a cool lead guitar solo on top of a chiming jangly guitar, unusual for a Shining Hour song!
Talking To Myself came about by listening to too many 'easy' records by the likes of Glen Campbell and Bacharach/David. The song skips along to a brush drum kit and gentle acoustic strum leading to a climactic brass and string ensemble by way of a trumpet solo. Another Shining Hour first!
Warmth Of The Sun was one of those problem songs where I couldn't get the vocals quite right. Persistence paid off and the overall result is pretty good. This was the first song attempted on the Roland VS-840 and what is amazing is the clarity of the drum machine sounds. All the drum sounds were recorded in stereo on every song.
How Much is a dare-I-say-it song inspired by listening to Nick Drake, whose music I only discovered in 1999 following a TV documentary about him. However, unlike Nick Drake my guitar playing skills forced me to strum instead of playing the intricate finger picking style he was so famed for. A nice song though, I think.
Blue Water was actually the first song finished in the 'Appetence' sessions in July 1999. It is similar in lyrical theme to 'Warmth Of the Sun' about someone who goes on holiday leaving behind an unrequited love.
When Will It Happen? is the longest song I have ever recorded. It clocks in at 6.47 but don't let that put you off. There are four different sections to the song which interweave, jangling away with two Rickenbacker electric tracks and an acoustic, fronted by 3 vocals.
Now Or Never is one of the oldest songs on this collection and was written and arranged in 1995. It contains a country style piano reminiscent of 'A Kind Of Longing' which appeared on Full Circle and Wait All Summer.
Ache is another piano-led song with some nice acoustic guitar chord changes.
Head In Your Hands is also quite an old song. I attempted to record it twice on my Tascam eight track but had to abandon it twice due to tape drop-out. No such problem on a digital machine thankfully.
Bullet is more of the typical Shining Hour song - strumming verse with singalong chorus.
Losing Faith is described above. Love that English Horn sound too.
Apart was a little experimental. The keyboard sounds are fairly regular but were 'processed' through MIDI filters which give them a haunting quality - purely by accident than design. The trickery at the beginning of the song is pure digital-pokery!
This Time went through three different title changes but never mind because it is still a fast singalong pop song designed to be played loud!
Still took a long time to record and get right. The mix took even longer it seemed. A sweet song none the less and definitely worth the effort. It has an epic feel in its 3 minutes 26 seconds.
Appetence is the first song with the title the same as a Shining Hour album title. I find the song to be quite sad but also uplifting. It was the result of an accident, playing the guitar and just hitting this riff. Much like the word 'Appetence' which I saw at the front of a dictionary. The dictionary had the first few pages missing and the word seemed to leap out at me. It means 'desire' or 'longing' and sums up the lyrical content perfectly.

Hope you enjoy the songs too.

Hanns-Christian Mahler of Brideshead and Apricot Records recording acoustic guitar on Losing Faith.