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Bassman Group: Members Posts: 548 Joined: Feb. 2008 Posted: April 21 2008, 09:47 Has anyone here been able to keep up with all that he's done?  It's ridiculous.  He's amazing, but in the time it takes me to go potty he's put out another 2 albums. I very meticulously went through the entire 33 pages of the "Other Artists" lists and I was really surprised that his name had not yet appeared. So come on, let's see some accolades for another artist that always did it his own way! Back to top

Dirk Star Group: Members Posts: 1331 Joined: Sep. 2007 Posted: April 21 2008, 11:33 The guy never stops does he?I`ve got little bits and pieces of his stuff here and there, going right back to a couple of Be-Bop-Deluxe albums in fact.I`m a big fan of Kate St John who used to be in The Dream Acadamy.So I`ve got both the Channel Light Vessel albums.As well as an album she recorded with Roger Eno on which Nelson himself is also very prominent.I`ve also got an album he recorded with Harold Budd.And a guitar instrumental album which I can`t remember the title of now because the version I own is a mini-disc copy from my local library.(smacks own wrists in self admonishment here) I`m quite surprised he has`nt been mentioned before on here either.Some of his guitar playing especially on his instrumental work is very reminiscent of Mike at times.I`ve had some of his other albums from the library as well in the past which I`ve always enjoyed.And I`ve even owned some vinyl as well at one stage,couple of double instrumentals if I remember rightly.He`s a talented player/composer no doubt.I just feel he could do with some more quality control going on at times.He sure likes to bang those things out. Back to top

Bassman Group: Members Posts: 548 Joined: Feb. 2008 Posted: April 21 2008, 11:46 That's where a good producer would come in handy.  Someone who could make him flesh out his rough ideas and make him jettison ideas he may have already expressed.  A "judge" the way MO regarded Trevor Horn.  But at the same time, there's something to be said for the spontaneity with which Nelson works.  We get to see his creativity in it's freshest state, before over-thinking gets a chance to creep in.  Considering the bad circumstances that had dogged his career at times, he really is a hero. Long live Be-Bop Deluxe! Back to top

Dirk Star Group: Members Posts: 1331 Joined: Sep. 2007 Posted: April 21 2008, 12:20 Yeah that`s what he needs a lot of the time I agree.He could do with cutting down on some of that whole talking through a song thing that he tends to do as well.Sometimes it works and is very effective in fact,it just tends to annoy me a little bit after a while.I`ve just dug that guitar instrumental album out that I mentoned earlier and I`ve wrote "Practicaly Wired" down the side of the mini disc case.Now normaly I`m not into guitar player workout type albums.As often too many of them seem to go into that whole "look at me I`ve got three million fingers"approach to my non-muso ears.But this is just a really fun and mood expansive album that is an absolute joy to listen to IMO.It`s also very well produced and put together into the bargain,so maybe he had some other input here I can`t remember now.Cracking album though. He plays in a kind of similar sky/saw style to Robert Fripp a lot of the time as well does`nt he.Although I like some of Fripp`s stuff.I just feel Nelson does it with a lot more emotive resonance somehow.It`s probably just my own personal taste more than anything,but I think that`s probably where I got the Oldfield connection from earlier when I think about it. Back to top

Bassman Group: Members Posts: 548 Joined: Feb. 2008 Posted: April 21 2008, 12:32 From '77 onwards Nelson cut down A LOT on the Hendrixian workouts.  Nothing wrong with guitar heroics, but for me that's when he really focused on song structure and melodicism.  Come to think about it, that may be my favorite period of his songwriting.  Maybe he was infatuated with a lot of the new synths that were appearing around that time.  I dunno. How about this: an album of twin-guitar work from Oldfield and Nelson (a la Mark Knopfler and Chet Atkins), but produced by Alan Parsons (to keep things from getting too self-indulgent!). Back to top

Dirk Star Group: Members Posts: 1331 Joined: Sep. 2007 Posted: April 21 2008, 12:58 Quote (Bassman @ April 21 2008, 12:32) From '77 onwards Nelson cut down A LOT on the Hendrixian workouts.  Nothing wrong with guitar heroics, but for me that's when he really focused on song structure and melodicism.  Come to think about it, that may be my favorite period of his songwriting.  Maybe he was infatuated with a lot of the new synths that were appearing around that time.  I dunno. How about this: an album of twin-guitar work from Oldfield and Nelson (a la Mark Knopfler and Chet Atkins), but produced by Alan Parsons (to keep things from getting too self-indulgent!. Now there`s an Alan Parsons project I`d pay money to listen to.I know Nelson was quite friendly with Andy Partridge,and they even corresponded with each other for a while apparently.Oddly enough they`ve both recorded albums with Harold Budd as well.Nelson was a big admirer of XTC`s Drums & Wires album,and said something along the lines of it was the kind of album he was trying to make himself,but had`nt quite got there.High praise from a guy with his ability.Listening to his Modern Music album with Be-Bop-De-Luxe I guess you can hear some of what he said there though.Don`t think there`s enough said about them today unfortunatly.They don`t fit neatly into a little box though do they?..Like you say he does things his own way,and fair play to him for that. Back to top

Bassman Group: Members Posts: 548 Joined: Feb. 2008 Posted: April 21 2008, 16:30 Dirk, you just reminded me that "Statue Of Liberty" always bore more than a passing resemblance to "Kiss Of Light" but I was never sure of which came first.  In any case, one can be sure that it would be a case of respectful tribute and not plagiarism. Back to top

Dirk Star Group: Members Posts: 1331 Joined: Sep. 2007 Posted: April 22 2008, 04:35 Quote (Bassman @ April 21 2008, 16:30) Dirk, you just reminded me that "Statue Of Liberty" always bore more than a passing resemblance to "Kiss Of Light" but I was never sure of which came first.  In any case, one can be sure that it would be a case of respectful tribute and not plagiarism. A few years back Bill Nelson`s son(elliott)..Joined the XTC message board to pose the very same question as you`ve just asked yourself there.I completely forgot all about that connection until you mentioned it again just now.(Kiss Of Light was first btw)Anyway after a little digging about in their archives over there I managed to locate that little discussion here There`s some interesting reading in there.Including Elliott talking about how his dad once contemplated asking both Partridge and David Bryne into making a guitar instrumental album with him.I dare say old Alan Parsons would have had to have been at the top of his game to sort that little collaboration out.   Back to top

Dirk Star Group: Members Posts: 1331 Joined: Sep. 2007 Posted: April 22 2008, 05:32 Ah but it gets better..Straight from the (uffington) horses mouth itself in fact.From an interview with Andy Partridge that took place last year Andy openly talks about the Be-Bop influence on Statue Of Liberty.He mentions a different record to yourself (Maid In Heaven,it`s mis-spelt in the article)But I dare say he`ll have been familiar with Kiss Of Light at the time of him writing it as well.One thing about Andy he`s always upfront with his influences and ideas for songs etc... TB: Let's talk about "Statue of Liberty." AP: Do you know what I heard today? I hadn't heard it for many, many years, but I heard "Made in Heaven" by Be Bop Deluxe. They were quite a sort of a template for us -- well, sort of a template for me -- pre-White Music. TB: What did you find compelling about them? AP: I liked the succinctness of them. I could see what they were aiming for, and they were obviously aiming at and hitting it much better than we could. I think things like "She's So Square" sound almost like ersatz Be Bop Deluxe, but not played as well, or as tight. But what they were aiming for was a noble thing. It was almost like all the good parts of Yes condensed down to a few drops. Whereas Yes were a little long and flaccid in places, Be Bop Deluxe had the best, tight side of Yes, and distilled it and squished it down. And I thought, "Hey, that's not a bad template." So, "Statue of Liberty" almost has Be Bop Deluxe in the back of my mind. I also think I wanted to write a Lou Reed Rock and Roll Animal thing, like "Sweet Jane" -- the very simple [sings pattern] three-chord thing. It was a matter of, "Well, if Lou Reed can do something great with three dumb chords like that, I'm sure I can."   Back to top

Bassman Group: Members Posts: 548 Joined: Feb. 2008 Posted: April 22 2008, 10:47 "Maid In Heaven", the song with the intro that takes up half the song! I have always thought that "Sound-On-Sound" was very XTC-ish.  Almost as though at that period in time Nelson heard the band and thought "That's the sound I've been looking for!".  It seemed to have rejuvenated him, somehow.  Maybe, that's where he developed the ethic that compelled him to start pumping 'em out faster and faster.  The Be-Bop stuff was so lovingly and skillfully crafted-like perfect little pop symphonies, and then the punk/new-wave ethos comes along and he was just ripe for a change. So much stuff.  So little time (sigh). Back to top

Major Gowen Group: Members Posts: 83 Joined: June 2008 Posted: Aug. 02 2008, 23:49 Ages ago Mojo had a free CD called Roots Of Punk (or something like that) and there was a Be Bop Deluxe track on it called Sound Track. It totally blew me away, such a riotous and colourful song. So I bought the Futurama album and loved that as well. I've never been one for extended guitar solos but Bill Nelson gets away with it. If BBD can be categorized I suppose they sound like the link between glam rock and new wave, but that's probably simplifying them to much. It looks like Bill Nelson's discography is bigger than a medium-sized South American country, but I'd like to discover more of his music, the Northern Dream and Red Noise albums sound pretty interesting. Back to top

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