THE DARK SIDE THE COMPLETE 'I AM A TRAIN' EP
[Press the play icon of track 1 and the full tracks play in sequence automatically. They also play individually on the lyrics pages.]
- VENUS RED (Marek Black) 0:58
Read lyrics & Musicians | Venus Red
‘Venus Red’ is the first of the six songs that make up the ‘I Am A Train’ EP that I’ll be adding one by one over the next few months. I wrote Venus Red when I was 16. It never grew into a longer song, however much I nudged it. I was still at school at the time it was written. The song I wrote before it was called ‘Monk Feast’. The song after was called ‘Slave For The Devil’. The ‘violence’ was all in my virginal head. I was longing for the Goddess Of Love ... . However, when Venus became rather the Goddess Of Tennis, I had to try out other names. ‘Kirstie’ sings the best by far. Recording factoids: I recorded the basic piano and vocal demo in Ludlow in October 2001 on a four-track Fostex cassette machine. Jon Banknote and I then digitised it and Mark Howe added his fab broken guitar, in Norwich, in March 2009. The loud glissando note near the end is the sound of a clip deciding to eject itself off a guitar string (perfectly in time, as it so happens). We had to immortalise this moment of serendipity ...
- YOU BREAK MY HEART (YOU MAKE ME PUKE) (Marek Black) 5:01
Read lyrics & Musicians | You Break My Heart (You Make Me Puke)
I always wanted to manage a restaurant called ‘L’Épaule Froide’, where punters would be obliged to be so uber-chic and soigné that they would, of course, give everyone - other than those on their own super-elite table - The Big Cold Shoulder, whilst pouring Cristal down their A+-listed gullets and popping chilled crunchy chicken feet into their thin-lipped mouths. Yes, I wasn’t most pleased when I wrote these lyrics, most of which I wrote while circling around and around and around on the tube. There was a rich, druggy geezer involved in a section of my life at the time who used to like to wear purple shell suits and motor round in his gross 4x4, while styling himself a ‘musician’. You’ve guessed it. Major pukerama. Meanwhile, on a perhaps surprisingly positive note, don’t miss the outstanding guitar soloing from Mark Howe on this merry little track ...
- I AM A TRAIN (Marek Black) 3:58
Read lyrics & Musicians | I Am A Train
This charming little ditty about a train that gets so frustrated with its ‘life’ that it jumps the rails and crushes a child was originally called ‘Taxi Nightmare’ and was all about an equally frustrated bus. The first verse went: “I am a bus/ I got people in my trust/ And I hate taxi queues/ Swimming black/ Makes me lose my perspective/ Of life/ Of life”. Even though the word ‘bus’ sings brilliantly, I prefer the ‘train’ theme. As did my pal Adam Masterson, a quite excellent London/NYC-based singer-songwriter, who asked me to play it live to him three times in a row one night at his flat: www.adammasterson.com Once again, Jon and Mark in Norwich added their own particular magic, with Mr Banknote working out some brilliantly quirky guitar parts for Marco as well as adding to the fably relentless beats. Love the way the stretched original 4-track cassette mix plays with the tuning ...
- THE HANDS OF VICTOR JARA (Marek Black) 4:52
Read lyrics & Musicians | The Hands Of Victor Jara
Victor Jara is a legend, the ultimate folk hero, a symbol of the horrors of pitiless totalitarianism. When he sang protest songs in opposition to Pinochet’s regime in Chile, they dragged him to a football stadium and crushed his hands ... and then they asked him to sing one of his songs. I use some sort of licence and say that they cut off his hands. Whatever, we must never forget ... the hands of Victor Jara ...
- TAKE ME TO THE AMOR (Marek Black) 3:44
Read lyrics & Musicians | Take Me To The Amor
“Give me green Chartreuse and a black masseuse – I’m speeding!” Oh, yes, please, matron! This crazed and much-loved track was recorded in Robin’s bedroom, on an ancient reel-to-reel that allowed for one overdub, where the two keyboards were recorded, including Pickford’s ‘Captain Pants’ solo which is half a beat out, because he was monitoring using only one half of a set of headphones! I recorded the vocal and piano live in one take. Ah, the good old days! Once again, Jon and Mark subsequently added their magic in Norwich. What is The Amor? The Amor is The Love of Beauty and Excess. What else, mes braves?
- WILD BOY (Marek Black) 3:58
Read lyrics & Musicians | Wild Boy
A plaintive song of pure lust, for the Millennium. The track hit new heights when Mark added his outstanding grunge guitar accompaniment. Love as grunge fantasy. So right. I love Elsie Phipps’ image, which illustrates the lyrics pages. The Dark Side, indeed ...
