‘Flares From the Sun’

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The voice at the beginning that says “Last one tonight folks” is me aged 16, taken from a recording of one of my early gigs in 1985.

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“I needed you to be rock not another empty chair” a reference to Don McLean’s ‘Empty Chairs’ - the whole of the 2nd verse in fact was written as a result of meeting with old friends and telling them about the album we were in the middle of writing, and the wave of negativity we then faced. Being a writer and musician is a difficult thing to be in normal, everyday life because nobody ever takes you seriously - there is a general feeling that unless you are ‘successful’ you are nothing, or at best ‘indulging yourself in a hobby’ and treated with more contempt than a stamp collector or model train builder - there is always that worry with friends that one day they may actually have to listen to the shit you produce and have to nod politely, or worse be asked to support you by sharing a tweet or going to a gig, or god forbid actually buying the album at some point. The conversations we had reminded me of a paragraph in Henry Miller’s “Sexus”:

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“When one is trying to do something beyond his known powers it is useless to seek the approval of friends. Friends are at their best in moments of defeat... Sorrow is the great link - sorrow and misfortune. But when you are testing your powers, when you are trying to do something new, the best friend is apt to prove a traitor.. He believes in you only so far as he knows you; the possibility that you are greater than you seem is disturbing, for friendship is founded on mutuality... a man.. must cut all ties" - HENRY MILLER ‘Sexus’ 1962.

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The line “Poles and poles apart” directly references how I feel about those people who do not understand the emotional link an artist has with their art (our sensibilities are poles apart). Along with the artist’s lack of choice when it comes to pursuing their art; we really do not have a choice, it is like breathing. This album is a case in point: I had not written much in a few years, and Kevan hadn’t written for almost thirty years, but our art and the necessity for self-expression could not be stopped.

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“Going back to the future” – this is a nod to Spielberg.

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Kev and I have Irish roots and this arrangement conjured up a singalong in a pub where everyone picks up their instrument or sings. The violin and flute melodies were trying to recreate a hook as powerful and memorable as in The Bluebells’ ‘Young At Heart’ and Men At Work’s ‘Down Under’ (but as I wrote the hooks there won’t be any expensive court cases in the future).

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Sam Cooke can be heard saying ‘One more time’ at the end in the crowd.

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The extended outro in which you hear the singer packing up and the piano player jamming on the tune, was inspired by my desire to create a different arrangement – this never worked out, but I did change the chorus slightly.. those changes are played by the piano player who offers advice to the singer about how to improve the song.. the singer is not impressed “It’s done,” he says indignantly. The piano player replies: “What if it’s never done?” – alluding to the following song on the album and the idea that as an artist the temptation to keep refining and changing a song is constant, both from your own imagination and pressures from listeners.

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This track has two time signatures and two tempos in it; 3/4 in the verse and 4/4 in the chorus, where it also slows down. There is a rough demo of the song only in 4/4, which was recorded as a test arrangement. It didn’t sound right as the tempo shift was too jarring to really work well.

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