06 Aug, 2008 Stars Will Lead The Way !
I left London at 7am aiming to beat the traffic and head out to the giant green fields that would signify we were on our way west to Bath, Bristol and finally Monmouth.
It was the 5th of August and I was almost as excited as I was when we went to make our first ever recordings, least that is how it seemed two and a bit hours later as we weaved around the wet country roads leading to legendary Rockfield Recording Studios.
It was then that it happened just like I knew it would and the memories of time spent here so long ago came in waves. Rockfield had been sacred ground to us in those formative years of Simple Minds, but so much had occurred since we last set foot here in August ’82 when we knuckled down in the Old Mill House to write the demos for ‘Sparkle In The Rain’.
So was it all too much to imagine that we could instantly slip into the same groundbreaking creative groove all these years later. Apparently no! This is a special part of the world let’s not forget, and if you buy into the idea of lay lines etc (I do!) then this is the place for you. Glastonbury Tor itself is not that far away after all and I have always been attracted to the mythology that is attached to these parts. It sucks me in no end!
In any case as soon as I stepped out the car into the studio courtyard and gulped down the sweet air that I recalled symbolised this place, I felt I knew that we had made the right choice in returning. The smiles on Charlie and Jez’s faces confirmed that they felt the same, while the sound coming from the control room told me that both Ed and Mel had instantly settled down to making the kind of rhythms that they are truly great at.
‘Stars Will Lead The Way’ is a tune that was written by Charlie in Rome earlier this year. And from the first time I heard the basic melody – he played it to me on his mobile phone speaker as we sat on a hotel balcony in Benidorm last April waiting for the Orchestra to set up – I instantly knew that it could be a contender as the opening track on our forthcoming album.
Marvelling at it still as it pumped out of the studio speakers here in Wales, I am still of the opinion that it will be that kind of track, but anything could happen and only time will tell. Nevertheless it is interesting that out of the dozen or so new songs that we are set to record, it is ‘Stars’ that the for some reason they choose to tackle first. I guess to all of us it somehow has the instant feel of an opening chapter to a new story.
Musically, ‘Stars’ is really all about the guitars and particularly the main melody, which recalls the kind of hook that Charlie came up with for ‘Speed Your Love’. It comes charging right at you with some burlesque keyboard melodies poring out the sides, but in all honesty it is easily as catchy and every bit as exciting as the aforementioned ‘Sparkle’ tune. Ed plays around with a cool bass riff that recalls ‘Somebody Up There Likes You’, and Mel plays ‘classic Mel Gaynor’ like only he knows how to.
At the heart of the tune I feel the spirit of both Sparks and particularly Roxy Music during their dangerous and beautiful Stranded period. Lyrically if pushed I suppose the concept is along the lines of – ‘Put your faith in the cosmic drift, align your soul with Mother Nature, whatever will be, will be etc. Mmmm! Still feels like I have work to do on this one.
I will get to it a bit later though as we decide to move on to the next tune, Ed’s favourite!
More later!
Jim Kerr