Although I have a vinyl copy of the LP Knife which was released by Aztec Camera in 1984, its one that I've never converted to mp3, partly because I'm not all that fond of it and partly because it has a scratch on one side of it that causes the tracks to badly skip and jump.Last week however, I saw that a CD copy was on sale in a local record shop for £5, so along with a few other things I picked one up.
Having listened again in full to the record for the first time in at least 20 years, while still thinking it is a huge disappointment on the back of High Land, Hard Rain, the songs on Knife are a reasonable enough collection, albeit with just 8 tracks making the final cut, it still feels as if Roddy Frame had a wee bit of writer's block at the time.
But something odd struck me as I was going through the booklet that comes with the CD.....
It features all sorts of information, including all the lyrics. It tells you that Roddy Frame was vocals and guitar, David Ruffy did drums and backing vocals, Campbell Owens played bass and did backing vocals and that Malcolm Ross was responsible for guitar and backing vocals.
There are credits for Guy Fletcher (Keyboards, Backing Vocals), Frank Ricotti (Perscussion), Chris White (Saxophone) and Martin Drover (Trumpet). The person who illustrated the sleeve , the photographer, the engineer, the assistant engineer and the studio Knife was recorded in are all clear to see.
But only in a smaller sized print does it say 'Produced by Mark Knopfler for Straightjacket Songs Ltd'.
It's almost as if everyone involved in the band, management and label want to forget that the Dire Straits frontman was ever involved in the process.
I remember well the furore when it was announced that Mark Knopfler was to take control of the second Aztec Camera LP, but the argument being that he was someone who was capable of getting the very best out of Roddy's guitar playing skills. But the cynics among us knew that it was all about WEA trying to get some of the millions of folk who had bought Dire Straits records to show an interest in the latest Scottish band they had added to their roster.
The move backfired. Too many fans of old (and I count myself among their number) were quick to dismiss the record without really giving it a proper listen, while Dire Straits fans showed they were only interested in Mark Knopfler's playing and singing and they shied away from the record. The result was that, despite a heavy promotional budget, the lead-off single All I Need Is Everything stalled at #34, while the follow-ups Still On Fire and Backwards And Forwards bombed completely. The album reached #14 which was a respectable enough showing, but nothing like as expected by the label.
Anyway, back to what I was saying.
I had a look at my vinyl copy and the name Mark Knopfler is as prominent as anything else on the sleeve. 26 years on and it is a completely different story....
mp3 : Aztec Camera - All I Need Is Everything
mp3 : Aztec Camera - The Birth Of the True
Oh I should mention that the 8 tracks do stretch out to a shade under 40 minutes, but nine of these are taken up by the closing song Knife, one that even now I struggle with. I don't deny there's a really decent song buried among the rubble of a dreadful production......but it still is at least 5 minutes too long.
Still, given all that Roddy has done in recent times to help Edwyn recover from his various ailments, I'm more than happy to forgive him!!
Feel free to disagree.
But surely no-one can forgive Roddy those trousers.
10 comments:
Still On Fire is better than I remember, and the 12" came with the lovely live version of Mattress of Wire on the b-side. I completely agree, otherwise, save that I think slightly higher of the title track than you do. And it's worth saying that the whole thing is still hugely better than 'Love'.
I really like Knife, head and shoulders above the mid atlantic follow up.
Just Like The USA and Birth of The True are my favourites but i do like the sprawling badly produced Knife.
re the trousers, the boy wonder did have a singular take on fashion, that suede jacket with the fringes and those cowboy boots!
Didn't Knife also have Head is Happy (Heart's insane)? That was the only track I liked on the album though Still on Fire is better than I remember.
The album was a huge disappointment after the first, though as Adam says, nothing compared to the disappointment of the third album. Now that was a let down...after all those years waiting for a follow up.
Don't diss the Knopfler. His time will come again. If you like your guitars, you'll love this. Probably my favourite album of all those he produced.
Have to second adam's mention of that live version of Mattress Of Wire; also share his ambivalent regard for the title track - actually, it's got that same vaguely mystic intent that Mattress has, lyrically. It's a bit too heavy-handed, but y'know, "We made a mound on some sacred ground, & never was it seen again" / "And its features are obscured every time I turn to face it". It's of the same, slightly gnomic, bit spooked lineage. It's hardly We Could Send Letters, like, but then what is??
As for Knopfler - at the time, I never minded the news of his involvement, although the end result was underwhelming. Even though I cannae take to vast tracts of his work, there's something about him I rather like. Not sure *what* exactly... but I imagine he's a good guy underneath it all. Even taking Brothers In Arms into consideration.
At this remove, the one thing about Knife that really throws it out the loop for me is that awful cover art. Always dreadful, nowadays it irks me even further cuz I can't help imagining that it's Miles Hunt back in his Wonder Stuff pomp, but wiv a pretty dress on.
The debut album was and remains one of my all time favourite albums thus for me it was always going to be difficult to better it.
"The Birth Of The True" was by far my favourite track as it at least had a feel more akin to the debut album.
HD
Nothing was ever going to be as good as the debut so he was doomed before he started - I still like the lp and quite like the title track although as far as long meandering songs go Stray wins every time
I think Love as the real disappointment as it has some great songs but awful production
I'm surprised nobody mentioned one of my favourite cover versions, their ironic take on Van Halen's Jump. It was on the b-side of the All I need is everything 45 and for me it remains one of the main symbols of that mid-eighties fight against techno-pop and arena-rock. Even in this minor record, the way Aztec Camera (and dozens of other bands often remembered by the Vinyl Villain) played rock music was a healthy breath of fresh air in those difficult years. So the gentle acoustic strumming on that hugely popular melody, without the keyboards, the acrobatic guitar solo and David Lee Roth singing, had a great effect, giving a sense of "us against them".
Believe me, at the time, when Roddy played Jump live it had all the acrobatics, soloing and feedback that Van Halen would have been proud of.
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