East Of The Sun (Download)

About fifteen years ago one of the music publishers said to me, "Why don't you get a tape of your shorter songs together, you know, things that other people might be able to cover... And I'll give it to a few people."

MMmmm.. I thought; but I was very busy at the time. Defending the realm.. From invading governments, middle men, brickbats and weasels. But it was something that began to turn over in my mind... Now and then.. Then not long ago we made a tally of categories of my songs. It was pretty loose, you know, agit prop, humour, social commentary etc., but there was a surprise in it. 39% of the songs involved love in one form or another. Actually I was amazed.

I found this fact crossing my mind quite often. About three years ago it occurred to me that with so many records available, it was probably quite hard to know where to start if you weren't that familiar with me. So I began to think about making it easier. The thought was that 3 or 4 compilations could be made reflecting different moods. And the obvious first one to release is a love songs record.

My songs are my diary, and the love songs are a great part of the emotional journal. Arrivals into consciousness of some past moment is a continuous experience. Sometimes the distance from reality to dream is too close and I read through a lyric in my mind to relive a time, a circumstance, a terror, a passion, a desire. A face, turned to the side, long flowing hair underneath a beret. A fleeting recollection of an attitude, a hope, a care... a secret longing..

There are omissions, like 'Jack Of Hearts', 'Evening Star', 'Song Of The Ages', 'Forget Me Not', and 'Black Clouds' etc, but I think that I've satisfied myself with the choice and the order. It was good hearing them all again. I never listen to my own records, so this was a chance to re-aquaint myself with some of the memories. Some of the songs are first takes in the studio, like 'South Africa'. 'Hallucinating Light' was a rehearsal take that happened to be recorded. Lucky. 2 of the women are Swedish, one of the men has left the planet and the other is related. Now there's some arcane trivia. It felt nice to create this atmosphere. Hope you can partake.