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Bruce
john woke up one morning and thought: "I'm dying! One day
I'll be dead". Panic set in as he followed this thought through
and arrived at the realisation that, unless he got cracking, his
songs would go to the grave with him. Thus was born the recording
project that now revels in the name "GEMS". It is a
collection of songs that have been hacked and hewn from the cold
rockface of reality, stripped from the bones of despair by the
biting winds of howling madness, and untimely ripped from the
very womb of alienation. So you should enjoy them, then!
All the music and lyrics are written by Bruce John [except Hard
to Share, written by John Mayall] as are all the arrangements
- except the strings on If you only knew
which were arranged by Charles Beldom. All the recordings
were produced and engineered by Bruce in his basement recording
studio in North London, and mixed and edited by him as well. Special
thanks go to Mike Skeet for his hands-on help and advice during
the 4 years that this project has cleaved its way through the
jungle of vicissitude, and for his final intervention at t he
Mastering stage.
There is a certain amount of satisfaction and relief in finally
being delivered of one's offering after a long and tortuous labour,
but for me the most enjoyable and exciting part has been meeting
and working with all the very fine musicians that appear on this
album.All
of them gave of their best, and though they may not yet be feted
and famed, I would defy anyone to show me more expert, more beautiful
improvising than you can hear on the wide range of instruments
on this album.
One
of the advantages of making music in this way [ie not writing
everything down] is that you invite the musicians to contribute
their own inspiration and character - I hope you can perceive
that rich and varied musicianship in these recordings.
And
don't forget, webfolks: Just because you're paranoid - doesn't
mean they're not out to get you!
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