I’m sitting here at my desk as one of Tom Waits’s many masterpieces MULE VARIATIONS washes over me like a beautiful unpolished bath.  I have been back off tour for a while now and and gearing up for Christmas and all the entanglements it will impose (IF ANY OF YOU ARE WONDERING I WOULD LIKE A PONY PLEASE). 

I was touring for a week supporting Marcus Foster and over the week we dropped in on Cambridge, Nottingham, Manchester, Stroud, Bristol and last but by no means least Birmingham. We also did a show at London’s Dingwalls which was a great night for me as I did a solo show and then sped of to the Cuckoo Club to do a show with the guys (Treetops) for renowned songwriter Guy Chambers. 

As is often the case on tour I met a broad spectrum of music lovers of all ages and as always a few nutters.  I saw some great scenery and came away with several albums in my head from hours spent in the van between cities. To name a few, TOM WAITS ‘MULE VARIATIONS’ (Just perfect) ELLIOT SMITH ‘FIGURE 8’ (Amazing production  I won’t be putting this down for a while), BEACH BOYS ‘BEST OF’ (How can you ever feel bad when this is playing), REM ‘OUT OF TIME’ (Who would win in a fight?  Michael Stipe or Thom Yorke?)

And last but not least…. The 1990 forgotten treasure, The SYNTHESIZER ALBUM  

 YES you may say I have changed and abandoned any credibility I may have mustered but please let me explain..  I had a dream one night on tour and it took me back to age ten when I bought this record on casette  I do not know why but the dream brought it all back to me and I had to find a copy of this monstrosity.

The record features such classics as AUTOBAHN, CROCKETT’S THEME and the sublime EVE OF THE WAR (War of the worlds).  It says on the cover a big thanks to ROLAND UK..I BEG TO DIFFER.  This album is a misguided experiment in new technology and was proudly recorded live to DAT. Hmmm. Produced arranged and performed by Chris Cozens and Nick Magnus. Where are they now? Anyone? I challenge you people out there to air your dirty musical laundry with me.  

What’s in your closet? This album makes me shiver with disgust but its still spinning as I write and I know my girlfriend is gonna love it….