The Elephant was my first album and in many ways remarkable. It was the first of three albums I made where people believed and invested in me. Although it did not cost as much as the later recordings in Japan, it had a huge impact on me and my self belief because someone believed in me. Someone who had seen some of my gigs in London paid £500 for a day in Tempo Studios, Fulham (now defunct). The engineer was Mark Roberts, who I had never met and have never seen since. The name of my patron is lost in the mists of time but in February 1996 I turned up at the address I had been given. There I warmed up and played 12 songs straight through, perhaps repeating one or two but basically it was the same method as Please Please Me by the Beatles which was recorded in 12 hours flat. Any extra parts like the bassline in Timeless were played by Mark, on the spot. The synthesiser on Giants was improvised by me on the fly with perhaps one or two corrections. All the guitars are me including the messy solo on ‘Such a Lot’. Mark’s talent is reflected in the quality of the recording and his ability to play a mad bassline like that after hearing it for the first time. The purity and simplicity of this album are a tribute to him and benefit from my busy schedule of live gigs at the time which meant I was able to play songs with accuracy and fluidity. The messy harmonies I added have an unpolished charm of their own and reflect the time pressure which limited attempts to get things perfect. Not every song hits the mark but there are some that are amazing in the context of the amount we managed to get through in a single day. I am very fond of this little album. Tracks like ‘Timeless’ and ‘Water’ appeared on Warmaker later but in many ways I prefer these simpler versions for their freshness and energy.
Such A Lot
Time
Leaving
Timeless
Air
Giants
Water
Hold My Eyes
Deaf Blind Monster
Waiting
Witches