Auf der offiziellen Savoy-Homepage gab's mal sehr interessante Kommentare zu den einzelnen Songs der ersten drei Alben. Ich denke, die meisten kennen sie noch nicht:
Mary is coming 1996
released on February 27th, 1996 in the US & Europe
Produced by Savoy
Warner Bros. Records/WEA International
Daylight's Wasting
What a relief it was to write this song; to say excactly what I wanted to say, and hear it back the way I wanted to. This song is a call to arms. It felt like the start of something new and pure that we could pour our hearts into.
Tears From A Stone
This was the first session I did with Frode and he nailed in a couple of takes. I Had only put down a very weedy sounding accoustic guitar as a rough guide, and asked him to imagine this huge wall of guitars as he played, which he thought was a bit strange at first. The lyric describes someone trying to extract tears from a stone. I had this alchymist-scene in mind.
Velvet
All through this album we constantly tried to simplify the writing, and you might notice that songs like "Velvet", "Get up now", "Tears from a stone" and "Underground" stay pretty much within the same 3 or 4 chords throughout. Lyrically it's our version of "All this useless Beauty" by Elvis Costello
Foolish
Was recorded as a last minute add-on. We thought the album was finished, but we had to have this one on. It happens every time.
Half an Hour's Work
I'm singing through a microphone meant for a blues-harmonica as lazily as I could muster, after Lauren's orders. The whole song is built around the line : "Oh how I wouldn't mind; half an hour's worth of feeling fine " Pretty "up", huh ? The bass line is a neat one : Check it out if you have the ears for it.
Underground
Is a tribute to Velvet Underground. We were listening a lot to these guys when we made this album. They had such great songs and an "honest" no nonsense production. Frode Unneland IS Maureen Tucker.
Get Up Now
I was so self-conscious about my vocals on this album, and on this track I sang it with an accoustic guitar strapped to my head; ..... convinced it sounded much better !!
Still I'm On Your Side
Written on Isle Marada on a trip down the Florida keys.
We Will Never Forget
This is a single, but it wasn't (somebody should do a cover version).
Raise Your Sleepy Head
Straight up pop-song that I wished Lauren had sung. The drum beat that comes in at the very end was an accident and it's from the first version of "I won't forget her"Later recorded by a-ha on "Minor Earth Major Sky".
Mary Is Coming
This was the song where I realized that a lot of my stuff fell on deaf ears in a-ha. But Lauren loved it, and pushed it in a much more sensual direction - which is what it needed.
Fade
Savoy was originally called "Fade" after a Mazzy Star song we all loved, called "Fade into you". It was Andy Wickham at Warner Bros who suggested Savoy as the name of the band. This instrumental was recorded in half a day based on a riff played on a Polymoog keyboard. The track was done in such a hurry that it wasn't until later in the mix that we realized that a ride cymbal had bled into all the drumtracks. Simon Vinestock, the engineer, wrote on the mixing console :Channel 1 : Cymbal w/bass-drum Channel 2 : Cymbal w/snare-drum Channel 3 : Cymbal w/hi-hat etc. etc.
***
Lackluster me 1997
released in Norway
Produced by Savoy
EMI Norsk A/S
Lackluster Me
A big song about feeling small. I guess that's one of the perks of being a musician : You can add strings and guitars to your vulnerability. Lauren had the verse onto which I wrote the chorus.
Unsound
I loved the song "Lakini's Juice" by LIVE, and I wanted to write something similar (with a better lyric. Jeez !!)"Very male" says Lauren about these type of songs.
You Should Have Told Me
I would've given this to Glen Campbell had we written this in the sixties. I used some of the words again on A-HA's "Summer moved on" because they kill me. I like the songs were we both sing: We gotta do more of this !
Foreign Film
This is so Lauren ..... every line, every word. She loves movies. She eats books. She's had stomach aches since the day I met her.
Flowers for Sylvia
This was a soundtrack for a short-film Lauren did a few years ago.
I Still Cry
As one of Lauren's occational stomach aches was going away, she told me with great relief : "It's almost worth it just to feel it fade away". I used these words in the quiet soothing section of this song.
Sycamore Leaves
David Lynch ripped off this song for the last episode of Twin Peaks. A-HA sent him four songs and asked if he'd like to do a videoclip. He declined, but at least he listened to it. The episode even contains a song "Under the Sycamore Trees".
Rain
Wet pavements, New York City in black & white. Walking around with an umbrella and a microphone to catch some ambience-noises
Butt Out
Trying to be Veruca Salt, or Tracy Bonham maybe. Lauren says everyone she knows thinks it's written about them.
This, That & The Other
Was written when SAVOY was playing the Midtfyn Festival in Denmark (to a very hungover audience I might add). We were sitting backstage waiting to go on after Ocean Color Scene, when the song suddenly popped up.After hearing Eels play in New York, we tried to arrange it more in that style.
Hey Luchie
Written during A-ha's South-American tour (you can hear me play it in the documentary 'Live in SouthAmerica' sitting by a swimming pool)It's the only song I know how to play on a mandoline.Lucia is Laurens middle-name by the way.
Easy
There's an auto-harp in there, a flanged Sitar, a triangle and bells from Marocco. I came back from a walk and Lauren had added some beautiful 3 part harmony. Favourite line : "I'll take you down, down and then you'll be with me here where things are not so easy"
If You Tell
A simple song made difficult. Will I ever learn ?
***
Mountains of time 1999
released August 23rd in Norway
Produced by Savoy
EMI Norsk A/S
Man in the Park
We wrote "Man in the park" and "Summer moved on" in the same month, and for awhile I was trying to figure out which band should get which. Lauren came up with the trumpet sequence, and as usual we got the Vertavo girls in to add strings.
Star (I'm not stupid baby)
"Write us a hit" I asked Lauren, and she came up with this one. It spent 13 weeks in the Top Ten in Norway.
End of the line
We tried to go for this eerie, easy-listening, almost muzak vibe : High-register string parts with tons of spring-reverb and cheesy trumpets. A little bit Spector, a touch of "In the Ghetto" and lots of Jimmy Webb.
Any Other Way
We were going for a 'pot-boiler' with this one, but the quiet part is my favorite... especially the bit that goes: "things will get better with time, and I know that's a wonderful line.. etc'
Grind You Down
Notice barbershop harmonies in middle-eight. Notice Frode in good form.
Bottomless Pit
Pessimistic people is all around and in particular in the music business it seems. The guy in this song just can't seem to get a break.
Mountains
Originally called "In the eye of the beholder". Two people standing against the onslaught of time.
Ocean Floor
For a long time this was the title of the album. Lauren had one song ; I had another. They seemed to speak to each other so we super-glued them together.
Everyone
Written in New York before going out to breakfast at Bobby's. A song of self-pity ..... so much it becomes tongue-in-cheek.
See what becomes
We did a lot of drum takes at Sorcerer Sound in New York City. They have a great old Neve desk and lots of vintage microphones. Frode nailed this drum take as another band was setting up. The lyric is a couple of Childhood-memories stuck together.
Break it gently
Another lyric-driven song by Lauren.
Tongue Tied
For songwriting we often use a small cassette-player to help us remember the good bits. Listening back to old tapes, I came across 'Rain' from 'Lackluster me' and for a few bars there it sounded like a totally different song. We took this and added a bridge and chorus..
Do any of you know if similar comments are available for the remaining albums, i.e. Reasons To Stay Indoors, Savoy and See The Beauty...?