Martin Gordon Lobster Q&A
It's been a while since we were able to pin down Martin Gordon for a little Q&A session. And although any old excuse will do, few are better than the release of a new album. While still keeping a safe distance between Martin and the rest of modern civilisation, the following words were extracted from his brain...
- Except for the opening track, the overall sound of the cd is quite different from the 'mammal trilogy' cd's...
MG : Is it? I'm not sure, at this point. But it's usually the way, that I'm so close to the thing that I can't hear it clearly for a few months.I did make a decision to use more 'music hall' instrumentation, and in fact I listened to a lot of George Formby last year. Then I went to see (Spooky Tooth singer) Mike Harrison here in Berlin and he had a great rhythm guitarist named Ralf Leeman. We talked and I found that he also played banjo, ukelele and mandolin, as well as a whole swathe of Rickenbackers, so that was very timely. But as to whether it's a whole new departure or not, I can't say. People kept going on about 'power pop', so maybe this instrumentation might stop 'em. I did consider at one point playing sitar with my feet, but I thought I had better defer to the master on this one.
- With all due respect for Pelle's vocal work, 'Mirror mirror' is very much a favorite. Reminds me of the Bonzo's and Brady Swenson's vocals really do that justice...
MG : I tried out a variety of singers for this one - it's really a matter of casting the voice for the song. As usual, Pelle was more or less the best for everything, and he came over at the last minute and we did all the vocals in five days. But Brady's voice fitted very well to two tunes, I thought. He's an actor as well as a singer, and perhaps that's part of it. I'm working with my pal Martin Seelig, who apart from engineering the thing, also works in the field of radio drama - his comment was that Pelle's voice 'inhabits' the songs, and this was quite an interesting insight. There is a certain theatrical quality to my stuff - it's clearly not 'rawk' - and maybe that's why Brady's voice also works on those two that he sings. I tried out loads of people as vocalists, I should point out, because Pelle wants to retire to the world of real estate and lead a quiet life. There were Spaniards, Russians, Germans, the lot. I have some very interesting outtakes... Plus my own 'cockney git' persona crops up here and there. I don't believe I AM a cockney git, by the way, but this is art not real life, after all.
- What do you mean by 'inhabits' the songs ?
MG : In the sense of 'owning' the character, being believable in the role. It's a theatrical term, sweetie.
- No less than two Gilbert & Sullivan tracks and several more songs that seem to have found their inspiration in the same roots...
G&S are perennial favourites, and the more I discover their work, the more inclined I am to just record G&S tunes. Perhaps on the next CD there will be three, four on the following one, and so on until I stop writing songs completely. They (or rather the wordsmith Gilbert) wrote in response to the times in which they lived, and music hall was a similar reflection of life and times, so there's some kind of connection there. Of course, my stuff is ALSO a reflection of my own life and times. So we are all joined in mutual genius, then.
- Wonderful life even has that finale kinda quality to it...
MG : Yes, that's why I put it at the end of the CD. The screen goes into soft-focus, the camera tracks back and the curtain drops with a crash, trapping the floundering musicians as they struggle desperately to get off the stage while the audience pelts them with rotten fruit and fish. Then Mr Wonderful shoots himself, in a gesture comprised equally of defiance and hopelessness.Some people have noticed a certain 'theatricality' in my work. What they mean by this I have no idea. Are they saying I'm a poof, or what? But I would like very much the opportunity to present the thing on stage - there is a clear protagonist in every single tune, a main character, and I think it would transfer very well to a staged setting. What I need is for someone to make me an offer that I can't refuse... oh, hang on, someone just did. I might be making my professional debut as a solo artiste in the USA in about three months time. Or I may not, it all depends.
- The guitar solo on Wonderful life has that typical Brian May sound...
MG : Well, it's harmony, certainly. I hummed the main melody to Enrico who got out some manuscript and proceeded to harmonise the thing with five parts. Some of the intervals are mere semitones apart, but he clearly learned his trade well from his father, who was the official creator of close harmonies for the former Italian rock band Regina. Can you say Regina on the radio?
- Enrico apparently is also reponsible for 'widdly-widdly'. What's that ?
MG : It's a term I acquired from a pal who used to play guitar in Level 42. His replacement, when his time came to move on, was Allan Holdsworth, and this gentleman was not popular with the roadcrew, for some reason. Referring to his breakneck soloing, he was referred to as 'Mr Widdly-widdly', and I adopted the terminology.
- Hey Bulldog is a particularly interesting choice for a Beatles cover. What made you pick that one ?
MG : I like the semi-obscure songs (as if a Beatles song can have any kind of obscurity at all), and this is one. Plus I was reading Geoff Emerick's book about recording the Beatles, and he had a story in there about Lennon bringing the song in to the studio - I read it while mixing 'Bulldog', and found a couple of good tips, actually, like doing an initial balance in mono, which I had forgotten all about. As he says, great for finding guitar EQs.
- My dog's got no nose sounds as if it came out of a Hey Bulldog closing jam...?
MG : It was, but it made the whole thing about nine minutes long, which I thought was a bit much for the reduced attention span of most people. So I adapted the 'Helter Skelter' fade, and cut it into two. It refers to an old British music hall joke: 'My dog's got no nose'. 'How does he smell?' 'Terrible'.
- Throughout the album appear these various musical 'quotes'... Suite Judy blue eyes, Pop muzik, I'm the walrus...
I would say references rather than quotes, actually. Some are deliberate ('Pop Musik'), some are accidental (CSN) and some are completely unknown to me ('Walrus') (48 seconds into 'Less and less on earth [and twice more after that] : the ha ha ha hi hi hi ho ho ho backing vocals - Ed). (It's called a 'chorus', dear - Artist). All information welcome! But I like conceptual continuity and self-referential stuff.....Oh yes, I see what you mean about Walrus..... But this was unconscious, not to say genetic.
- Rather unusual is the tribute to George Best... (I don't see a corresponding section in the booklet... An oversight ?)
MG : It's actually a tribute to his son, the aptly named Calum. He read a poem in honour of his father at George's funeral. It was broadcast live on BBC World TV to about 150 million people, and sounded as though it had been written by a four year-old Abyssinian pothead after a night out on the tiles. I felt I could do better, or worse, than that. As for why it's not in the booklet: I received death threats from irate football supporters, claiming I was besmirching the name of their idol. Not wishing to be kicked to death by sporting fundamentalists, I arranged for it to be mysteriously missing.
- As usual the lyrics play an important part. Is there anything sacred...?
MG : I wish there was. If anyone knows anything, please send me a postcard. Far from being sacred, it seems that almost everything is profane, in reference to my usual (and in fact only) theme of stupidity. If the goal is enlightenment, we have clearly kicked the ball over the crossbar.
- Besides the Bonzo's I'm hearing 10cc influences...
MG : Love the Bonzos, of course - love 10cc as well, of course. Both are examples of exemplary intelligence and humour applied to serious subjects and using an archaic art form as a vehicle. So there we are - more guitars, please! My favourite 10cc is the early stuff with the original members, of course - a bit nastier and more pointed that the later work.
- What about the song 'What Does Jesus Drive'?
MG : What indeed. American fundamentalist Christians, taking time off from pronouncing that the world was created in six days and is four weeks old, discovered that their lifestyles were partially responsible for the imminent demise of the planet, as they saw it. (Graham Nash made the point recently that, should the eco-campaigns be retitled 'Save the Human' rather than 'Save the Planet', it would be much much effective, not to mention accurate).
Where was I?
Oh yes - these Christian fundamentalists decided to share their concerns with the rest of us by coming up with this phrase as a campaign slogan. I merely decided to expand it a bit.
- Who's Chesta Gordon ?
He is a small charming Anglo-Asian boy, and he plays that role on one of the tunes.
- Where does the title of the album find an explanation ?
Well, it is, isn't it? You know, many people just don't realise that the Lobster (or World) is just, like, lying there spread-eagled, revealing what it, like, had for breakfast and stuff, and all you have to do is seize the moment. Carp Emptor, matey! Just reach in, nick its pearl and scarper. But do they get it? Do they f**k.
- And where does the cover art come in ?
MG : This is where you can actually see the actual Lobster of God, bearing the weight of the world upon its shoulders. Well, they don't have actual shoulders, so I mean the bit at the top, below the neck. Is it the thorax? And he's wearing a German helmet, to symbolise sausages. He has replaced Charles Atlas, who previously held the position. Charles Lobster, it's got a nice ring to it. As you see, the world is falling to bits and exploding, with smoke rising from the Horn of Africa, Spain, the Middle East, New York, London, Paris, Munich, nobody's talking about pop muzik. It is Chris Townson what drew it, innit...
- And what everybody is just dying to know...is this the first instalment of a seafood trilogy ?
MG : It might be. But I am currently working on a tone poem about the bombing of Dresden, arranged for two bicycle wheels and a kazoo. This will be taking up a considerable portion of my time in the near future. This is art, this is what is real. Who needs pop music, or crustaceans, for that matter?
