On Track Series Notes on Style, Tone, and Format

 

1. 
   

    -Notes on Style, tone and formatWord count for the series is a minimum of 40 000 up to a maximum of 60 000 for artists with many albums. Although it is preferred to cover an entire artist's output, in some cases it is possible to pick a particular era and focus on that. "Frank Sinatra in the 1960s" would work, for instance. You are also asked to fill a 16 page picture section.Tone and ContentThe series is designed to provide a contrast between solid, factual information and critical analysis. How these two balance is up to the author (in conjunction with the publisher, of course). None of this is set in stone, so if what I say belowdoes not chime in with what you want to do, let's discuss it. However, please note the followingas rules of thumb:Basic album credits are given at the beginning of each chapter (see below). It is not necessary to give credits for each track UNLESS this provides useful insight into how the track was created.Discussion of live performance variations in arrangements (for instance) are very useful, but there's no need to list every gig or tour the trackwas played at. Track and album timings are an optional extra. They are not compulsory. Writing credits are important, though.Every artist has peaks and troughs, but part of the ethos of the series to treat every album with respect. Poor or unsuccessful albums must be discussed in the same way as good ones, where possible.HOWEVER do not get bogged down on CD bonus tracks and demos, unless they give genuine insight, though these should be listed. It's the songs on the original albums that people will want to hear about in detail.Arrive at abalance between discussion of music and lyrics. Do not get bogged down in too much analysis of lyrical content.Using quotes from the artist or other critics can be very useful, but do not rely on them. We want to hear the author's voice in the book. HOWEVER...This is not the time to give us your revisionist take on the artist, so all strong opinions -good and band -MUST be justified, either by argument or by quoting from external sources. Remember that purchasers will -in the main -will be fans wanting to read positive comments.
2. 

    IntroductionThis should set out the artist's work in context and give a brief history if appropriate, discussing overall changes in musical style. You should also set out what you are aiming to achieve in the book, plus any quirks the reader needs to be aware of.For each studio album, we want UK and US information by default, plus the country of origin if relevant (eg. Canadian or Australian chart places and release datesfor artists from those countries)Dates should be in US style (Eg. 26 April 1973).For each album. Credits.Title.Release date (UK and US if different)Personnel: (name and instruments played)Recorded at: Studio name, location, datesProduced by: NameAny other significant credits: (eg. Engineers)Chart placings -(eg. UK -5, USA -did not chart)Current edition: (eg. EMI CD)IntroductionPlace the album in context. Discuss it's musical direction, its success, line up changes and critical reception. How do you feel about it and why?SongsName of track.Writing creditsAny other credits (eg, guest musicians, chart placings if releases as a single) can be included in the text. The text may be anything from500 words to a single line depending its complexity and place in the canon. Bonus tracks and demos included on CD special editions should be covered briefly.Live albums, DVDs and other mediaThese should be discussed in a separate chapter at the end of the book. Some may be worthy of extensive coverage, others may be dismissed in one line.Again, this is not set in stone, so if in doubt, ask.Acknowledgements and BibliographyUseful if you can fit them in.
3. 

    You are asked to provide enough pictures to fill a 16 page colour section. In most cases this will be about 25 pictures.Thesewill be the only pictures in the book. There is no budget to pay for photo library pictures except for the cover, so it is necessary to be creative. 8 pages will be acceptable in some circumstances.

On track series - Notes on Style and Tone.pdf

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Avalanche, Ian Hunter, Rant outtake

This song emerged somewhere between the Artful Dodger sessions and described as a Rant outtake. The lyrics are about a man who does not want to appear to be an animal but he has strong feelings for his girl. 

In a clever twist of images, the guy will light up as the "Blackpool Illuminations," an annual lights festival, all over the Sackcloth and Ashes, which were an Old Testament outward sign of mourning, repentance, or abasement. Hunter re-uses the name Alice again, as in the Mott The Hoople song about a prostitute but here the reference is more fantastical as in Alice in Sunderland from the 2007 graphic novel exploring the links between Lewis Carroll and the Sunderland area, with wider themes of history, myth, and storytelling. 

Both the narrator and the girl suggest they don't have to do anything but "hoping and praying" they understand each other. Alice comes to bed while "Christopher Robin" or the innocent slips out. The lovers are hit by an avalanche. 

Christopher Robin is a character created by A. A. Milne, based on his son Christopher Robin Milne. The character appears in the author's popular books of poetry and Winnie-the-Pooh stories, and has subsequently appeared in various Disney adaptations of the Pooh stories.

Alice in Sunderland: An Entertainment is a 2007 graphic novel by comics writer and artist Bryan Talbot. It explores the links between Lewis Carroll and the Sunderland area, with wider themes of history, myth and storytelling.

Sackcloth and ashes were an outward sign of mourning, repentance, or abasement. It was a type of cloth made of black goat’s hair that was thick, rough, and coarse material. It was uncomfortable to wear, and later it was used as a sack. It was also used as an outward sign of mourning and submission (Genesis 37:34; 42:25; 2 Sam. 3:31; Esther 4:1 Esther 4:2; Psalms 30:11).

Alice in Sunderland

don't have to do it, what's that song where we can just be here as well?

hoping and praying

Christopher Robin 

Both lovers have been hit by an avalanche. 

Blackpool Illuminations is an annual lights festival, founded in 1879 and first switched on 18 September that year,^[2] held each autumn in the British seaside resort of Blackpool on the Fylde Coast in Lancashire. Also known locally as The Lights or The Illuminations, they run each year for 66 days (since 2020, this has been extended to 100+ days),^[3][4] from late August until early November at a time when most other English seaside resorts' seasons are coming to an end.

Avalanche

(Ian Hunter)

Here I am, trying to be a man
Hoping that you won't think I'm an animal,
I'm so scared
Cos I get these feelings, strong
How can they be so wrong?
Touch me and I'll turn the Blackpool Illuminations on
The Sackcloth and Ashes all over the bed
Alice in Sunderland takes off her coat and she says,
"It hit me, it hit me like an Avalanche
When I saw you I knew
If love's gonna bury me
I want it to be here with you".
Don't let go, torture me there real slow
Hold me until I come to my senses again
The Sackcloth and Ashes all over the bed
Alice in Sunderland takes off her dress and she says,
"It hit me, it hit me like an Avalanche
Oh, like a bolt from the blue
If love's gonna bury me
I want it to be here with you".
We don't have to do it if you really don't wanna do it
No, we don't have to do it at all
We don't have to do it if you really don't wanna do it
Well I'm hoping and praying you know what I'm saying that's all
Alice in Sunderland lies on my bed And Christopher Robin slips silently out of my head
I've been hit, I've been hit by an Avalanche
Oh, like a bolt from the blue
If love's gonna bury me
I want it to be here with you
If we're ever gonna set the world on fire
For you know it takes two
If love's gonna bury me
I want it to be here with you
I've been hit by an Avalanche

Avalanche

5:00

Outtake from the Artful Dodger sessions, released on The Journey and (described as a 'Rant outtake') on Tilting The Mirror - Rarities (box set only).

The Artful Dodger, Ian Hunter, The Artful Dodger

The title track The Artful Dodger of the LP was recorded in 1995 but there is an early version released on Experiments - Previously Unreleased Recordings (box set only). Ian starts the tune with a spy reference as he used in American Spy but takes it in an entirely different direction. Here he is a bit of a scamp trying to score with a woman in a bar. The woman is having G 'n Ts which is a shortening of gin and tonic, a cocktail made out of gin and tonic water. The dysfunctional Artful Dodger, Jack Dawkins, is a rogue character in Charles Dickens's 1838 novel Oliver Twist. The Artful Dodger hopes drinking will do the trick since she's drinking heavily. The song is a fun tune and one of few straightforward macho type tracks that Hunter has written. They go back to a flat for a romp. It's a change of pace and occasionally Hunter has released simply humorous songs such as Skeletons (In Your Closet) and The Artful Dodger is in that vein and no more serious than picking up a woman in a bar and having sex. 

The cleverness in the lyrics is that the words are more playful and cryptic than a simple let's do it in the road blandness and bluntness. Darrell Bath is the Artful Dodger. The verse on the liner notes about running it up and down the flagpole are actual words of Bath. Hunter asked him to repeat them when they came out one day and he wrote them down; Darrell is a character. 

This was released as a single and included the non-album track F*ck It Up on the flip side.

SIGN UP NOW FOR THE PRE-RELEASE OF IAN HUNTER ON TRACK FOR SONICBOND PUBLISHING AT THEDOCTOROFDIGITAL@PM.ME!

Ian Hunter On Track for Sonicbond Publishing, TheDoctorOfDigital@pm.me

PC Plodger

When the girl you are having sex with is a PC and you bang on the front wheel, whilst the sirens are off, making a loud noise and making people watch you .

Plodger - To voilate somone in the Bum Bum

PC f

e

and insult used by prisoners from the general population to describe someone who is either in protective custody or someone who they feel should be in .

Jolly Rodger - Urban Dictionary

Urban Dictionary

https://www.urbandictionary.com › define › term=Joll...

1.Where one or more males go to the toilet to have a pleasurable urinate involving conversations about birds, a form of male bonding. 2. A pirate ...

• 
  

  jolly roger - Urban Dictionary

  https://www.urbandictionary.com › define › term=joll...

  punching someone in the head, face, stomach, or nuts hard. 

The Artful Dodger

(Ian Hunter)

How ya doin' - all right?

I-I-I spy with my little eye
Something beginning with you
Drool drool drool nearly fell off me stool
I hope you fancy me too
Now I don't wanna set the world on fire
Any old iron, any old iron will do (all right)

Smirk smirk smirk the G 'n T's work
She can knock 'em back like a fish
Smarm smarm smarm I turned up me charm
I think I'm on a promise (he thinks he's on a promise)
Some say yes 'n some say no
And my old man says 'Mind how you go'
A little bit o' this, a little bit o' that
If you can't take a joke well sod ya
(Oh) I'm a dysfunctional chap
'n they call me the Artful Dodger

Chat chat chat it's back to the flat
I strum me little Spanish guitar
Gloat gloat gloat she said 'n I'll quote
'You can take down my particulars' (take down her particulars)
It's a funny old life if you weaken, innit?
You gonna have a laugh, yeah you've gotta give it
A little bit o' this, a little bit o' that
Look out for PC Plodger
If a job's worth doin' it's worth doin' well
'n they call me the Artful Dodger

(Get on yer bike!)
I said yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
If you can't take a joke well sod ya
(Oh) I'm a bit of a lad
'n they call me the Artful Dodger
(Now) a little bit o' this, a little bit o' that
Hoist up the Jolly Roger
That's the way to do it!
Call me the Artful Dodger
'n I'm doin' all right
Yes I'm doin' all right, yes I'm doin' all right
Yes I'm doing very well, thank you
How ya doin' all right (We're doin' all right)
How ya doin' all right (We're doin' all right)
How ya doin' all right (Yeah we're doin' all right)
How ya doin' all right (We're doin' all right)
They call me the Artful Dodger
They call me the Artful Dodger
They call me the Artful Dodger 

... (repeat and fade) 

Ian recorded his 1997 album in Canada and Norway in 1995. Ian used a variety of musicians on this album, but he retained Bjørn Nessjø as producer because Ian was impressed with his work on Dirty Laundry. Ian jointly owns this recording with Bjørn (recordings are normally owned by record companies), and is now leasing it to record companies. Ian felt he needed management before he could do this in the UK and USA, which is why this album was released initially only in Norway (in 1996).

This is a strong album, though it takes a couple of listens to get used to. This is mainly the fault of Too Much, which is a slow opener - the rockers come later, but it is not another Laundry (that said, tho', a friend of mine bought this album immediately after the Burnley gig purely on the strength of Too Much). The standout tracks are Now Is The Time, Something To Believe In, 23A Swan Hill and The Artful Dodger. Michael Picasso, Ian's tribute to his mate Mick Ronson is quieter and more subdued than the live version we'd grown used to (from tapes of the Ronson Memorial show). Resurrection Mary is also a different tempo from the version performed at the Mick Ronson Memorial Concert in 1994.

Ian has described this album as being his most focussed. He also says that he is still writing... maybe his next album won't take another six years!

The album was released in the UK on 21st April 1997 on the Citadel label (CIT1CD); the title track was released as a single on the same day (CIT101CDS). This single included the non-album track F*ck It Up.

The UK release is a picture CD and comes with some nice photos of Ian, together with lyrics.

The Artful Dodger	4:20	Originally issued on The Artful Dodger; also on the compilation Old Records Never Die.
Artful Dodger (early version)	4:07	Originally released on Experiments - Previously Unreleased Recordings (box set only).