Chris James's Blog, page 26

100 Great Songs to Publish a Book to, #68: Genesis, Ballad of Big

1978’s …And Then There Were Three… is not widely regarded as the best Genesis album, but it was my first; the point at which I discovered the band.  I remember clearly at the time how fans complained that it was “the worst thing Genesis has ever done.”  To me, it was one of the best things I’d heard up to then, and I kept muttering to myself: “If this is the worst thing they’ve ever done, then how good is their other stuff?!”  Ballad of Big tells a typical Old-West-type story set to very un-Old-West music, of a cowboy who is goaded into taking on a bet to drive a herd over a plain.  Things do not end well for Big Jim.

Onslaught is available for pre-order at the special introductory price of $2.99 in the US here, in the UK here, in Canada here, and in Australia here.

Evidence of Autumn

You spend all year waiting for summer, and then it seems to begin leaving just after it’s arrived.  Only a few weeks ago, we had daylight until 10.00 pm; all of a sudden, it’s pitch black at 7.45 pm.  And this is only the harbinger of even shorter days as we look forward to darkness at 3.30 pm come November.  For now, the garden looks summery.  The cherry tomatoes we’ve grown this year from seed are yielding a couple of bowl-fulls a day:

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The raspberries have only just begun and will keep on giving fruit until the first frosts in October:

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And bees still collect pollen from flowers in my garden whose name temporarily escapes me:

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But other flowers are already on the way out:

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Of course, it’s the Silver Birches and their yellowing leaves that let you know autumn is just around the corner:

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In other developments, I’m almost ready to abandon Onslaught to the capriciousness of the outside world.  The first paperback copies should be here in a week.  If you’d like an advance copy with a view to leaving an honest review, let me know either on FaceTwit, or drop me a line at chris [at sign] chrisjamesauthor.com

In the meantime, you may be interested to know that there’s a Genesis song called Evidence of Autumn.  As it’s not in the 100-song spam festival promotional campaign, here it is:

100 Great Songs to Publish a Book to, #69: Gordon Lightfoot, If You Could Read My Mind

Often called “Canada’s Greatest Songwriter” (not sure if the members of Rush have an opinion on that), Lightfoot has been going for decades, and is still going at the time of writing.  If You Could Read My Mind is full of sublime melancholy.  As you might expect, Lightfoot wrote this during the breakup of his first marriage, and his ability to express his feelings with such exacting clarity demands respect.  If one must listen to love songs, then one should listen to love songs which explore impressions that many might have, but which few, I suspect, can articulate so well.  Heartbreaking stuff *sigh*

Onslaught is available for pre-order at the special introductory price of $2.99 in the US here, in the UK here, in Canada here, and in Australia here.

 

100 Great Songs to Publish a Book to, #70: Cat Stevens, Matthew & Son

A song which epitomises life in our prehistoric capitalist paradise.  Today, as [[the 1% crush the 99% like beetles]] modern western markets mature, and [[bosses take steaming dumps on all our lives]] labour markets become more competitively flexible, most ordinary workers can look back fondly on the days when we had the luxury of taking “a five-minute break for a cup of cold coffee and a piece of cake.”  God bless unfettered capitalism!  (Subs pls check: Has James run out of Prozac?  Ed.)

Onslaught is available for pre-order at the special introductory price of $2.99 in the US here, in the UK here, in Canada here, and in Australia here.

100 Great Songs to Publish a Book to, #71: Joe Jackson, Steppin’ out

Here’s a great track for a Saturday evening.  After starting out in punk and new wave with the Joe Jackson band and having angsty hits like It’s Different for Girls, Jackson produced this track, his biggest hit.  While the lyrics are unexceptional, the melody is terrific for fixing knotty plot problems, and this is one of the first tunes I reach for when I’ve got a story nut I just can’t crack.

Onslaught is available for pre-order at the special introductory price of $2.99 in the US here, in the UK here, in Canada here, and in Australia here.

100 Great Songs to Publish a Book to, #72: Genesis, The Fountain of Salmacis

A story about an illegitimate child called Hermaphroditus, who is sired by two gods (Aphrodite and Hermes) who are having a clandestine affair, which is raised by the naiad water nymphs.  After 15 years, one of the nymphs (Salmacis) becomes so overwhelmed with lust she rapes Hermaphroditus after he rejects her advances.  She demands from the gods that they should never part, so the gods merge them into one creature.  (Point to note here, chaps: never turn a lady down, *cough*)  As he struggles in vain to avoid his fate, poor Hermaphroditus curses the fountain where he is raped so that all who drink from it will also, like him, be turned into hermaphrodites.  And all that set to eight minutes of fantastic progressive rock – phew!

Onslaught is available for pre-order at the special introductory price of $2.99 in the US here, in the UK here, in Canada here, and in Australia here.

100 Great Songs to Publish a Book to, #73: Van Halen, Jump

Another upbeat power track for those days when things are going your way.  In my case, that means being in the second half of a novel, getting down over a thousand words a day, every day.  I talk to myself on public transport.  People stare, not knowing (and I’m sure not caring) how unhinged I might be.  Some disconnected part of my brain nods in agreement and concludes that, well, yes, the plot might as well jump, because that would be a good shift in the story which the reader won’t see coming.  Besides, what’s not to love about America’s answer to Freddie Mercury?

Onslaught is available for pre-order at the special introductory price of $2.99 in the US here, in the UK here, in Canada here, and in Australia here.

100 Great Songs to Publish a Book to, #74: Steve Hackett, Ace of Wands

A vast “What if?” surrounds the career of Steve Hackett: what would have happened had he cooled his jets and remained with Genesis beyond mixing the Seconds Out live album in 1977?  Ultimately, such conjecture is of course futile.  Genesis’s 1978 album obviously would not have been called …And Then There Were Three…, and in any case, there is little to suppose that he would have stayed long enough to be involved with 1980’s Duke.  With the benefit of hindsight, it’s equally possible to appreciate the fact that he stayed as long as he did.  In 1975 he was the first band member to release a solo album, which kicked off with this track, Ace of Wands, with his prodigious talent on full display.  If proof were needed that he is the greatest guitarist of his generation, then here it is – in spades.

Onslaught is available for pre-order at the special introductory price of $2.99 in the US here, in the UK here, in Canada here, and in Australia here.

100 Great Songs to Publish a Book to, #75: Robbie Williams, Feel

In the 2000s, I was busy raising a family and writing books, and didn’t have a great deal of time to ponder new releases.  From what I heard on contemporary radio stations, there didn’t seem much around to compare with previous decades.  I’m still writing books and raising a family, so still don’t get much time to find out what’s going on in the current music scene.  But over the last 17 years, this is one tune which has stuck out impressively: smart lyrics with a broadly life-affirming message.  The kind of song you hear and say to yourself: “Yup, I can write the next chapter.”

Onslaught is available for pre-order at the special introductory price of $2.99 in the US here, in the UK here, in Canada here, and in Australia here.

100 Great Songs to Publish a Book to, #76: Rush, You Bet Your Life

A seriously fun-but-serious track from Rush, which rounds out 1991’s Roll the Bones.  As lyricist Neil Pert explained at the time, this album was all about probabilities and fate and understanding that: “if there’s a chance, you might as well take it.  So what if some parts of life are a crap shoot?  Get out there and shoot the crap.  A random universe doesn’t have to be futile; we can change the odds, load the dice, and roll again.”  And few bands shoot the crap with such accuracy as Rush

Onslaught is available for pre-order at the special introductory price of $2.99 in the US here, in the UK here, in Canada here, and in Australia here.